ON-RAMP WORKSHOP.
Overview.
In 2021, The Indiana Arts Commission chose Marion as one of six locations to host On-Ramp, a three-day workshop to help and guide artists with their businesses. From July 15-17, 2021, Marion Design Co. would host On-Ramp at Lark’s Song in downtown Marion. In preparation for this event, we created a visual brand identity for the Marion workshop.
Background.
On-Ramp is a three-day program that provides selected creators with an intensive course, one-on-one mentoring, funding for their business, and connections with their cohort. The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) selected Marion to host one of their Summer 2021 workshops. The Marion workshop was led by Wendy Puffer, Tashema Davis, Henrik Soderstrom, Eric Marshall, and Anna Tragesser, and was sponsored by the Indiana Small Business Development Center, U.S. Small Business Association, Minerva Financial Arts, and the Marion Arts Commission. A cohort of fourteen creators, representing disciplines from creative writing to painting to classical music, participated in the workshop.
As we prepared to host the event, we discovered that a coherent visual brand identity could make the curriculum come to life in a personalized way for the Marion cohort.
Process.
As we began designing the brand, we focused on creating a mark that adopted the same creative thinking we were asking of our cohort of creators. We also sought an understanding of the curriculum itself and explored the various materials created by Minerva Financial Arts to grasp the goals of the workshop. One lesson caught our eye in particular, and the playful dots on the corresponding PowerPoint presentation inspired our next steps.
Our team began ideating with the dots and experimented with different iterations until we landed on the final mark. We then selected colors from the artwork of Henrik Soderstrom, Tashema Davis, and Eric Marshall for the brand.
After solidifying the final mark, we incorporated the colorful dots into the rest of the workshop materials.
Objectives.
Creativity
Embrace the creativity of the cohort and encourage further imagination during the workshop
Playfulness
Maintain a sense of playfulness within the educational aspects of the workshop
Cohesion
Adopt a sense of continuity throughout the different sessions, resources, and disciplines
Results.
First, we designed a mark for the On-Ramp Marion workshop. After this visual mark was established, we applied it to nearly every element of the workshop.
Using the visual brand, we designed various materials for the cohort to use throughout the three-day workshop. From the participant name tags to tote bags, the On-Ramp brand came to life. We also created a booklet for participants, including the workshop schedule, creator bios, a map of local spots, and more.
With the brand’s colors, we created a system by which participants could easily identify the various disciplines represented. For example, we used the brand color purple to represent writers, and the workshop’s writers accordingly wore a purple button beside their name tag.
We also incorporated the branding into the educational materials used by the instructors, and the brand was evident throughout PowerPoint presentations.
During the workshop itself, we watched the creators bond as they dreamed about the ways their businesses could grow in the future. The visual brand added a similar sense of connection throughout the workshop, uniting different elements toward one goal: accelerating creators and their creative businesses.
