Break/through

Story

The Frontier Project is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in the human ecosystem in the workplace, i.e. how individuals and groups interact with one another. Companies solicit our help when they need to make a profound shift in how they work internally.

One such company, a global multinational that recently experienced a leadership change, had already done some work building “growth behaviors” to be embodied by their staff and wanted help to socialize them as well as to introduce aggressive sustainability goals.

Challenge

We originally built a comprehensive year-long campaign with workshops, self-guided work, communications, manager guides, among other tools to put the new culture into the water, however, the company decided to shift the scope from its North American office to its global operations.

With the massive shift in scope, we zeroed in on an upcoming yearly summit —where leaders from around the world converge at the North American headquarters—to serve as a launch of the new cultural initiative. What originally followed a rather set (and unimaginative) agenda of social events and tactical information sharing, we set out to revamp as a profound hands-on, highly interactive experience.

For my role as Creative Director, I was charged with providing a comprehensive brand for the event and the ongoing campaign.

Opportunity

Developing the branding for the event as well as the internal campaign offered me responsibilities both within and outside my comfort zone. What began as a traditional campaign and branding exercise expanded to experience and space design.

Deliverables

Branding & Identity

Express ambitious cultural shift and sustainability goals
Mindfulness
Nature/organic
Growth
Different/breaking free of routine

Print & Digitial

Badges,programs, agendas, swag
Graphics and animations for screens, apps, wayfinding
Tools: vis elements, PPT templates

Environment & Experience

Transformed corporate spaces
Installations, custom signage, furniture, plants, surfaces, textures
Event styling

Theme and Logo: Break/through

During our discussions of the programming, the concept that recurred the most was breaking through—inertia, patterns, assumptions—the things that prevent change and hold us back. The client was prepared to really shake things up both within the company and with the event.

The client also wanted a flexible visual mark that would work for both fun promotional pieces as well as internal planning materials. We opted to do two different "logos" depending on whether readability and/or tone was a concern.

Visual Identity

An important component underlying all aspects of the event was the sustainability goals introduced by new leadership. So I made an event-specific palette, based on the client's existing one, that shifted the priority and proportions of the colors toward earth and sky.

I also designed an angular, faceted pattern that could be used as a background pattern, frame, or animation to embrace the notion of breaking through.

Experience Design

Where possible, we wanted to bring nature inside and integrate an organic feel in what is a very clean and minimal but sterile corporate headquarters. We brought in recycled cardboard furniture. We had environmental graphics installed from found objects and reclaimed wood. We even brought in a synthetic tree to the convention center where participants could hang the answers to prompts we sent through the event mobile app.

For the event finale dinner, my vision was tied to the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, where nature and technology seamlessly weave together. The palette was slightly different, brining in jewel tones and lights of pink and purple.