Brand Design
Case Study
PMISAC
'22 Professional Development Conference
Brand Design
Objective
Octopus & Son designed the brand identity for PMISAC's 2022 Professional Development Conference, the first after COVID, creating a look that signalled forward momentum while nodding to the past. This brand design case study walks through the colour palette, typography, logo and social campaign that brought that theme to life.
The Professional Development Conference is PMISAC's annual event, hosting its members alongside Alberta's project managers looking to discuss, learn, and build their skills within the industry.
In 2022 we were asked to build the conference brand, the first after COVID cancelled the previous year. It needed to speak of forward momentum while acknowledging the past.
This is how we envisioned it.
2
Colour Palette
We understood immediately that the palette we chose needed to be bright, to evoke confidence after COVID.
Thankfully, PMISAC's brand already held positive colours and we decided to draw from it so that we had a callback to them as an organization rather than a completely different brand that didn't connect.
We took their blue and orange, added light beige and reduced opacity to create dynamic in our assets.
3
Typography
For typography we needed something that would melt into the overall brand. We had to shy away from brash as the demographic was drawn more to simplicity, therefor we chose the font family of Averta.
Here we had the clean lines of Helvetica with a slight change in presence when moving between weights.
Averta Semibold was used as the primary whereas Averta light was chosen as the secondary.
4
Logo Overview
In needing to draw attention to the past but focus on the future we chose circles as our element.
The outlined circles to the left denote the past, present but not heavy. Opposite to the sits fully coloured circles representing the future. The transparent nature of the right circle allows it to take on the colour of any background, something you can see in the social assets.
This is meant to show the ever adaptable nature of the conference.
The logo itself is meant to be a logotype that can sit on its own. A simple reminder of forward momentum shown in the rotated chevron allows for symbolism to take a bow.
5
Social Media Campaigns
We understood immediately that the palette we chose needed to be bright, to evoke confidence after COVID.
Thankfully, PMISAC's brand already held positive colours and we decided to draw from it so that we had a callback to them as an organization rather than a completely different brand that didn't connect.
We took their blue and orange, added light beige and reduced opacity to create dynamic in our assets.
6
Conclusion
The 2022 PDC brand was very well received by the board and conference attendees, successfully drawing attention to what lay ahead rather than the discussions of COVID that sat in the air at the time.
The social media campaigns allowed the brand to breathe and reach a wider audience beyond the membership, helping to create a very successful 2022 conference.
Brand Design Case Study: Frequently Asked Questions
What did Octopus & Son design for PMISAC?
The full brand identity for PMISAC's 2022 Professional Development Conference: colour palette, typography, logo and social media campaign, built around a future forward theme.
What was the brief?
To build a conference brand that signalled forward momentum while acknowledging the past, for the first Professional Development Conference after the previous year was cancelled by COVID.
How was the visual identity built?
The palette drew on PMISAC's existing blue and orange, adding light beige and reduced opacity for dynamism; typography used the Averta family, Semibold as primary and Light as secondary; and the logo used circles, outlined for the past and solid for the future, with a rotated chevron for momentum.
What was the result?
The brand was well received by the board and attendees, kept attention on the future rather than COVID, and the social campaigns extended reach beyond the membership, contributing to a successful conference.
Review our other Case Studies such as User Acquisition and Fractional CMO.