Communications DirectorGabrielle Tuomisto
CopywriterMadison Maki
Project ManagersBruno D’Angelo, Chris Krumpholz
Senior DesignerFarida Habibulla
Theme ArtistKevin Belmore
The First Nations Housing Conference is Canada’s first and largest housing conference aimed at First Nations housing professionals. At TAG, we were tasked with developing the conference, being their 20th anniversary. The event branding was supposed to be different and more impactful than previous efforts to end 20 years off right. My main tasks were establishing & updating the branding for the event this year and developing the advertising brochure & poster for community delegates in collaboration with our copywriter at the time.
Because TAG had been with the event from the very beginning, I asked the team about information on the event's history, the organization hosting the event, the audience, and the event's purpose & goal. The goal is to both better the housing conditions for First Nations people in remote communities & reserves as well as assist in supply chain issues relating to the manufacturing of housing for First Nations people. I also researched previous years' branding, which focused on speaking to housing professionals via presenting raw materials and muted colours, which the art director applied to this year's initially, which ended up being rejected. In earlier years, Indigenous artists were hired to create artwork for the events. The team all agreed to use a painting again this year, done by Kevin Belmore, which signified people coming together to learn from each other to create a better tomorrow.
The first steps were analyzing previous efforts in branding and presenting the brochure & poster and finding a better, more impactful solution. Brainstorming with the team brought me to the conclusion of a gate-folded brochure with die-cutting for rooftops. I then sampled a palette from the supplied artwork that was different from previous year's efforts. Afterward, I modified the conference logo to include "20th Anniversary" radially around the teepee, like a sunset. I laid out the brochure and presented the solution to the agency owner. With some refining, we created a few different solutions and presented them to the client, who was impressed with our efforts.
The deliverables to this process were the brochure & poster mailed to each of the 600+ First Nations communities in Canada and brand guidelines for the designers to use or direct others for further marketing materials for the event. All of this presented the event in a much more different & impactful light than previous years' which got great attention.
Because of this advertising effort, we've noticed roughly a 250% increase in of delegates registered within the first month after the communities received the deliverables. We've also noticed reception for the event being much more positive.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
hello@valeriegiffin.design