WeMake Celebrates—
A Design Conference

A brand campaign for makers

Building brand awareness for a local non-profit’s annual fundraiser which caters to the design and maker community.

Services Provided

• Brand Strategy 
• Brand Design
• Curation
• Copywriting
• Marketing
• Event Planning
• Event Design
• Website Design
• Social Media Campaign

COMPANY PROFILE

WeMake is a local, non-profit 501(3)(c) that helps to foster art and design in Portland, Oregon’s creative community. Visit the site

INSIGHT: 

In 2012 Yvonne Perez Emerson launched WeMake, a creative platform that engages the Portland creative community through hands-on experiences, creative dialogue, and design-in-action initiatives. WeMake’s mission is focused on the process of making and the spirit of community. 

In 2015, WeMake held their first design conference. The Study planned the direction of the event; including curation, art direction, event design & graphics, social media engagement, and website design.

TASK: 

If process is the common thread, how do you communicate it across all creative mediums and engage the audience to participate and attend. 

SOLUTION: 

Every year we reinterpret the brand through the the lens of each year’s overarching theme, the core mission, and the dissection of the creative process. As a rule, we have used the shapes of the logo to create design assets for each event.

DELIVERABLES: 

Brand design, print collateral, event graphics, website design, copywriting, social media & brand awareness.

2017

EXPERIMENTS

The 2017 conference explored the idea of failing to succeed, and celebrating design that approaches both sides of the practice—analogue and digital.

Social Media Campaign— Images were created by experimenting with various mediums and elements. Each week a new letter revealed a new experiment, the experiment and process was used to create content.

There is no right answer except to play and experiment.

Not everything fits into a perfect mold. Sometimes we must experiment to find the sweet spot. Ideas are ignited and burned-out in the blink of an eye. 

Nothing is precious in design, and concepts are boundless. 

event swag & PRint collateral

The 2017 concept focused on a simple look and pushed the idea of experimenting; through type, imagery, a utilitarian bag design, and the experience. The swag bag became a maker kit with a pencil you had to make to use, a shop rag for cleaning up your messes, a mini experimental journal, a maker magazine, and a creative ruler. The bags were design by The Study and made by Klum House.

2016

Process is golden

The 2016 theme, Process is Golden was interpreted through music from the 70’s era.

Social Media Campaign— Each week, for 12 weeks leading up to the conference a series of mini video’s were created for Instagram based upon the steps and the process of creating something new. Copy was written to correlate with the music and to inspire action by the followers to participate and share in the hype of the conference. 

you can call us old school 

Making requires a process. A commitment to the art is a journey, a rhythmic dance that plays out over time. Sometimes you need a friend to help take you there. Sometimes you have to take risks and walk on the wild side. It’s the steady pulse of the beat that pushes you towards the end result, and the golden process that transforms thoughtful movements to create a final score. 

Remember...stay golden, maker. 

event swag & PRint collateral

Leftover bag material from 2015 was used to make pencil cases as part of the event swag. On the backs of each badge a mix of fun phrases played with the statement, “Process is golden like...”. The program was printed with Scout Books and in one color.

Speaker swag bag.

2015

why we make

Everything starts with a blank slate.

Forms take shape, stories simplify, and designs develop. No matter what the medium, process is at the center. Embrace intention, precision, expression, alterations, do-overs, commitment, traditions, form, and reflection. Celebrate the art of the making. This conference is about the journey. Be inspired by the why.

Social Media Campaign—To engage the audience each week we asked, “How do you make?” in addition, they were prompted to answer the question and engage other makers.

2014 

Fun & Bright

In 2014 we kicked off the design campaign to celebrate WeMake. We expanded the color of the brand with bright hues and balanced the tone with simple white text.  3D paper elements were photographed in-house to be used in print collateral, digital components, and a series of stop-motion videos.  The bird logo was created in 2012 and we used him as a mascot to tell the story. The videos were released (via Instagram) weekly for seven weeks leading up to the event.

We collaborated with Jeremy Pair for photography and Jill Dryer for background images in our videos and photo booth art.

A success story

2015 PRINT MAGAZINE DESIGN ANNUAL: FAR WEST

 1 OF 5 FROM PORTLAND, OREGON. Every year, thousands of designers, studios and companies enter their work in the Regional Design Annual, which has held its place as the premier design annual for more than 35 years.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: 2014 ROSEYS

1 OF 19. With over 400 entrants, only 19 Awards of Excellence were awarded.