Fundraising Event Branding
Every year, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation hosts the Heroes & History Makers Celebration. This big event honors military caregivers and raises money for an important cause. I have had the privilege of designing the look and feel for this event over multiple years. My main goal was to take simple ideas from the foundation leaders and turn them into an elegant, exciting reality. By using visual guides early in the project, I helped everyone agree on a creative direction for all of our online marketing and day-of event graphics.
Getting Teams to Agree: Using detailed style guides to help board members and executives quickly agree on a design look.
Creating Marketing Graphics: Designing beautiful invitation packages, matching social media graphics, and promotional emails to get people to attend.
Designing the Event Space: Creating large physical signs, video backgrounds, and presentation layouts for the night of the gala.
Role: Lead Designer
Project Type: Event Branding
Year: 2023
Team: 3 Designers, Marketing & Communications team from EDF
Task & Action
The main challenge was taking a simple event concept and turning it into a complete visual story that felt premium and high-profile. It can be hard to get a large board of directors to agree on one style. To fix this, I created "stylescapes" and moodboards at the very start of the project. I collected and arranged perfect layout images so the leaders could clearly see the end goal. This extra work upfront saved a lot of time and kept the project moving forward smoothly. Once the main style was approved, I built the online marketing materials, focusing on clean graphics that highlighted the foundation's celebrity guests and brand ambassadors.
The 3 stylescapes presented for the 2023 event.
Project Results
Our pre-production style guides turned a messy review process into a smooth, easy workflow. The style rules I built were so clear that outside print companies and video teams used them without any confusion. They were able to easily create matching video loops, stage backdrops, and physical table decorations that looked completely consistent with our main brand identity.
When you design for a massive event, you have to work with multiple outside vendors. Creating a clear style guide is the best way to make sure everything looks right. This project demanded strict time management to ensure all digital assets were ready for launch. If I am able to lead the strategy for future galas, I want to bring even more storytelling into the actual event space. For example, I would love to place timeline posters throughout the ballroom so guests can walk through an interactive visual history of military caregivers.