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Conversations with the Obama's
In February of 2018 the Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama appeared in back-to-back engagements with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. This would mark the first time in her career she's appeared on stage with the same organisation twice in the same day.
Due to having two engagements on the same day and having to run all of the artwork through an external agency on a 48-hour turnaround, the visual design needed to reflect the similar-but-different aspect of having two showings with the same speaker, hosted by the same organisation.
Ultimately it would be the use of colour that would distinguish the two in terms of materials and the on-site experience.
Stage Presence
The biggest challenge of working the rear-projected backdrop was finding ways to create an engaging branded experience with opportunities for impactful photographs that meets the expectations of an external agency. I really wanted this to be an elevated, ego-less presentation for the guests to enjoy, so I found myself asking how do I balance the needs of an organisation, an agency and the audience?
My solution was to create an asymmetrically tiled background using elements from the GVBOT logo and have motion introduced through variable-controlled lines that would travel up-screen throughout the programme, bringing the screen to life.
My original mock-up featured exaggerated variations for demonstration purposes, knowing we would have an opportunity to modify it on-site during the screen test.
"How do I balance the needs of an organisation, an agency and the audience?"
Graham Qually, President
Afternoon Engagement
The first of the two conversations was centered around youth and education and geared towards participants of the WeForShe 2017 Conference and had a few hundred students from around the Lower Mainland. With the events ties to the WeForShe and the conference, we chose to lead with an energizing violet theme.
Variations in speed and line length
Detail of shadows showing dimension
Evening Engagement
While similar in terms of general themes, we went with the darker blue to provide a distinctly formal feel to the evening.
President Barack Obama
Thirteen months after successfully hosting the Former First Lady, her husband President Barack Obama, made his first appearance in British Columbia at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. Due to familiarity with the agency, and the short runway for execution, many of the live assets were reused.
Results
At first, the events team was apprehensive about going with an asymmetrical logo placement versus a traditional step-and-repeat, but I felt strongly about the need to challenge that notion for the sake of a more elevated experience.
Working directly with the photographer on site, we were able to plan out the best angles for capturing the speakers and maintaining brand presence, without bombarding the guests.
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