Five Talks design event
Five Talks design event
Five Talks design event
Five Talks design event
Project details
Client
Five Talks / Eight
Year
2022 — 2023
Collaboration
Eight
My role
Initiator, Organisator and Host
CHALLENGE
Organizing a design event without experience: determination and innovation
How do you organize a design event with no experience or knowledge, but with the determination to put something great together? As a team from Eight, we faced this challenge. Although we had a lot of experience attending design conferences, organizing them was new to us. Finding the right marketing and promotional strategy to generate awareness for our event was unfamiliar territory.
We wanted to deviate from traditional, rigid design conferences and strive to create an interactive and accessible atmosphere for attendees. After two years of the pandemic, both we and our attendees felt a strong need to reconnect and share knowledge and inspiration.
RESULTS
Successful line-up of inspiring speakers
Despite the lack of experience, we managed to put together an inspiring line-up of speakers with names including Lisa Enebeis (studio dumbar), Nikki Gonnissen (Thonik) and Adam Oostenbrink (mister adam). With five different perspectives, they took visitors through the theme of this edition: typography.
Besides the diversity of topics they provided entertainment with a fun typography quiz and the drinks provided an excellent opportunity for networking and conversation. Nearly 150 visitors enjoyed the first edition, which confirmed its success. After this success, the second edition was organized in 2023, this time with the theme Motion.
Within the project, I performed several tasks, including organizing the event, curating the lineup and performing marketing and promotion. But my greatest pride is that I hosted the first edition of the event.
The honour to host the first edition of the event
Branding
I designed the event's branding and visual identity. The chosen look combined technology and innovation with a nod to the past and the basics of our profession. Our branding consisted of futuristic 3D objects based on typography, with vintage color tones and an emphasis on the number "five." The typography consisted of a mix of the classic sans serif Helvetica in the reading text and the visually stimulating Formula (Pangram Pangram), allowing us to strike a balance between the past and futurism.
Poster design for the event
Acknowledge your skill gaps
Organizing and hosting an event requires courage and confidence, but it is not just about having good speakers. It is important to realize that marketing plays a crucial role and takes a lot of time. In my case, I had no experience in this area, which was an important learning moment. It is essential to recognize where your skill gaps are and bring people on board who have those specific skills.
Outsourcing tasks to others who excel in those areas promotes successful execution of the event. Collaboration and leveraging the talents of others are key factors; you don't have to do everything yourself.
Cheerful crowd at Five Talks
