Summer School Party Website Design

Summer School Party

Client: Pencils of Promise

Services: Branding, Event Design, Web Design

Role: In-HOUSE art Director

Every summer, the Leadership Council of Pencils of Promise throws its annual fundraiser. The Council is a group of young, New York City professionals and the event allowed them to celebrate the start of summer with their friends while also raising money for children around the world. Celebrating its 9th year, the party needed a brand update to continue to attract attendees.

Objective

The first Leadership Council event in 2008 was a White Party inspired by P.Diddy and his all-white dress-code celebrations. 10-years later, the party was getting stale and no longer reflected the brand that Pencils of Promise had built up over the years. We needed to create a new theme and visual identity that would be attractive to 20-somethings and spoke to the mission of the organization.

Process

One of the reasons the White Party was so popular initially was the dress code. Asking attendees to wear all white made it a unique event and encouraged participation. We didn't want to lose that feature, so we decided to make it a school-themed party but also tap into nostalgia by asking attendees to dress up at their high school selfs.

The visuals need to reflect this mix of old and new, so I designed a contemporary twist on the composition notebook for the hero image. Letterman jackets inspire the typography, and the neon colors and geometric shapes give the design some energy. Elements that helped round out the experience included pencils enamel pins and individualized Instagram posts for the Leadership Council members to help promote.

Outcome

I was thrilled with how this project came together⏤it was not only a fun party but also a successful fundraiser complete with a prom-styled photobooth and marching band. Nearly 200 attendees showed up at The Aula, a high school gymnasium turned event space in SoHo, to party for a purpose.