Every year since 1935, the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) presents their flagship event, the IAAO Annual Conference & Exhibition. Event attendees, who typically number between 1,500 and 2,000, are both domestic and international assessing professionals and appraisal experts. This is a complex conference that involves a cohesive aesthetic applied across many applications, from the logo, to advertising, slide decks, signage, and swag.
Conference Branding
For this event, the client prefers a complete redesign every year, centered around the host city. I have been the sole designer to create the overall aesthetic and iterative designs for IAAO since 2018. Below is a selection of the logos I’ve designed over the years. As you can see, the colors, configuration, and style change from year to year; I create these designs with minimal creative direction besides to make it relevant to the city, and occasionally I’ll receive direction in terms of color or local aesthetics, or the “vibe” the client wants to achieve. The yearly theme also figures in to the overall design concept.
Creating a Conference: Auxiliary Design
When approaching conference and event design, my goal is to create cohesive visuals to make it clear to attendees what information is coming from the conference host, rather than information from sponsors, presenters, etc. Slide decks for sessions are branded to reinforce the conference visuals; swag that promotes sponsors still ties in the look and feel of the event itself. This approach requires a relatively strict adherence to the conference color scheme and visuals while at the same time leaving room for endless and creative iteration. While these two goals may seem at odds, different logo configurations and variety in look and feel keep this project fresh year after year.
Here are some examples of the iterative design required for the IAAO Annual Conference & Exhibition, using materials from the 2024 event.
Takeaways
Conference design requires both a broad design approach and a close eye on the minutia of event needs. Visuals need to have variation to keep them interesting, but all design decisions need to be made with the end user and client needs in mind. With the right visual language, attendees will know where to go, who to see, and will remember the value that your event created for them professionally.