KIRBY COOK

Sandage Symposium

Task

Occurring every other year, the Sandage Symposium is an event that connects current advertising students with the industry and alumni network. Through keynote events, networking socials, and panels, the symposium brings together students, instructors, alumni, and beyond to celebrate and promote advertising education and careers. In 2022, I worked with the event committee to develop an event program and promotional materials.

Approach

I brainstormed some initial artwork based on the event theme, Connecting to the Future of Advertising. For the overall look, I envisioned icons to show Illinois' influence on the advertising industry with lines connecting these icons on a map towards the future. During a brainstorming session on my iPad, I drew a collection of icons to represent Illinois, advertising, and the interrelated concepts with the Chicago and New York City skylines, Foellinger Auditorium, the internet, as well as a selection of drawings to show the advertising business, the academic side of the field, and collaborative knowledge.

Outcome

Working closely with the event committee, the final look blended the hand drawn icons with photos that added a human factor to the theme. As an event preparing students for their futures, the photos added a real-ness that further communicated the event mood as human-centered and future-facing.

Promotional Materials: Sneak peaks of the theme

To promote the event, the College of Media and the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising needed teaser images to share via classes, newsletters, and social media. After the theme and overall look had been decided, I created a selection of promotional materials for the event. Each piece included a small amount of the main map from the main design.

Final Product: Sandage Symposium Event Program

After the copywriters and lead strategist finalized the speakers, panels, and event schedule, I created a program layout that blended design elements of the map. As a printed booklet, the program featured the map on the front cover as well as small icons to carry the theme throughout the final product.