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Fundraiser Event Branding & collateral for a nonprofit

Deliverables:

  • Multi-piece invitation suite

  • Sponsorship packet

  • Email templates

  • Digital “swag bag” for attendees

  • Event landing page

Team:

  • Client: YWCA St. Paul

  • Copywriter: Jonell Lundquist and Teresa Morrow

Sweet Success is an annual celebration and fundraiser honoring the outstanding achievements of YWCA St. Paul program participants and Change Maker Honoree. In 2021, this event was held virtually. As the agency’s designer, I created the identity and all print and digital collateral for the event.

The original aesthetic for 2021’s Sweet Success was springy, fresh, and included honeybees for a playful, lunchtime event. After the original concept was approved, the leadership committee decided to do a formal, evening gala event instead. The committee really wanted to stick with a honeybee theme, so I had to quickly update the design to be more elegant and formal. The short turnaround time and theme constraint was a big challenge for me, but the new design was well-received and a better fit for the final event.

 
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Challenge

On the left is the original concept for Sweet Success, which was planned as a playful, lunchtime event. Later in the planning process the event changed to a formal, evening gala. The design didn’t match the event’s new time and formality. I was asked to rework the design, and specifically asked to include black in the color scheme and maintain the honeybee theme.

This new direction was a challenge because YW’s primary brand color is a bright orange, so I had to be thoughtful about how to incorporate a black without making the event feel Halloween-inspired. Additionally, we were running on a very tight timeline, so I had to find a solution ASAP.

Solution

My solution was to use a different shade orange as the primary color and paired it with an almost-black shade of grey, and I incorporated original brand color every time I used YW’s logo. This compromise captured the essence of the brand and received praise from the leadership team; and I was able to complete the redesign on the project’s original timeline.