How do you creatively rebrand a yearly conference on an annual basis?
Every year, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) hosts its Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, a global three-day conference centered around social and community impact for museum professionals. Approximately 4,000 professionals attend the meeting.
I have worked as the lead designer on this project, in collaboration with Brevity & Wit, to execute on the brand design and production of each of these conferences. Aside from the conference visual identity, deliverables have included website design, social media posts, ads, signage, supporting print collateral, and large scale walls and spaces within the conference centers.
I have branded following conferences:
AAM 2023 - Denver
Used gradients and an organic line to emphasize Social & Community Impact.
AAM 2024 - Baltimore
Implemented photos of actual Baltimore museum staff into the branding.
AAM 2025 - Los Angeles
Generated ampersands with AI to play on the theme, Trust.
AAM 2026 - Philadelphia (upcoming)
Setting up the visual identity for AAM's Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo:
- Hosted an initial kickoff meeting for the conference design concepts to get on the same page about a shared vision for the project.
- Researched the location of each event, conference branding, and exhibition signage to elicit concept ideas.
- Delivered two in-depth concept designs and brand boards that varied greatly in design, one of which to be selected to move forward with.
- Set up the final design concept to be easily workable for AAM to apply the graphics to its own collateral beyond the scope.
- Built out several digital images and files, including advertisements, several social media pieces, and a web page design for the Annual Meeting.
- Built out print collateral that included signage, exhibit panels, booths and storefronts, and various annual meeting programs.
The outcome:
- I have branded the conference year after year.
- The initial design concepts were valued so much that they were each selected for other 2023 and 2024 events.
- Many attendees and attending organizations shared the various graphics on their social media channels (such as this image and the thematic graphic for People). Some even applied the branded graphic elements—on their own accord—over their own images for posts.
