2017 – 2020

Signature Event Materials for the Center for Reproductive Rights

Art Direction, Brand, Event, Experiential, Layout, Print, Prototyping, Organization, Typography, Vendor Management

Over my years with the Center for Reproductive Rights, I assisted and by 2019 led the visual direction of the Center’s signature fundraising events. I began in 2017 by contributing designs for signs and marketing collateral on site, progressing to the lead on the invitation suite and overall look and feel on site for the central New York 2019 event and art direction for the subsequent events in Los Angeles and San Francisco in addition to onsite branding. The series of signature events from Fall 2019 through Spring 2020 also served as launch spaces for the Center’s Creative Council and new branding, thus adding to the weight of the visuals at the events.

My contributions included but were not limited to the art direction, design, and sourcing of the following:

  • Step and repeats, 2019 (CA & NY)
  • Onsite signs, 2017-2019
  • Swag, 2017-2020
  • Invitation suite, 2019 (in close collaboration with Gabriel Lee)
  • Save the dates, 2019-2020 (SF)
  • Additional print collateral, 2019-2020 (SF)
  • Pull up banners, 2019 (CA)
  • Staff badges, 2019
  • Slide design, 2019

All 2017 and 2018 materials were created under the creative direction of the unconquerable Carveth Martin. All materials through 2019 include the eyes and/or skills of Gabriel Lee. All event photos are copyright of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Made with Adobe InDesign CC, Adobe Photoshop CC, Google Sheets, and many vendors

The Process

Swag research and budgeting. Meetings to ensure leadership and audience alignment with stakeholders in the fundraising teams. Project management and close coordination with all vendors and printers to secure samples as needed for quality assurance and as direct as possible sign offs from leadership.

From year to year, the goal was to balance what worked well the year before without getting stale. In 2017, our umbrella was a hit and so for 2018, leadership pressed a repeat of a winner. However, when the CEO nixed the idea at the 11th hour, we were ready to pivot to a quick turn option that would hold to the high value of the event without breaking the budget.

The Outcome

Year by year. 2017 proud of the clean elegance I contributed with direction signage and managing print production.

For 2018, the directional sign was rendered unnecessary and we instead highlighted social media interactivity with event specific hashtags to promote the org’s media strategy. As mentioned, we did a quick change of our swag strategy to create luxurious gift bags.

In 2019, we launched a new series of events in California starting LA. This was an exciting venture with big names in eager attendence including Busy Philips, Adam Scott, Charlie Day, Rhea Perlman, Elizabeth Banks, and many more faces that were a joy to sift through during the photo library management after the event.

Next, the fundraising and design team collaborated on an event in San Francisco. This had been a smaller imprint in previous years, but in 2019, we invested more in directly mailed Save the Dates and printed calls for sponsorship.

For the biggest annual fundraising event in 2019, I led as the art director for overall event material management. This included an eleborate print invitation, every sign throughout the space, reviewing and providing tech support at the event for all live digital graphics and materials, and designing the slide deck for the presentation portion of the event.

I was so grateful to collaborate with fellow designers, the events coordinator, Gwen Franklin, the generous staff at Jazz, Lincoln Center where the event was hosted at least 3 years running, and supportive members of the Communications team.