Background

Techstars Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event where participants build a startup from scratch. Participants form teams to compete and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, winning prizes to help them build their startups with the knowledge they’ve gained over the weekend from mentors and guest speakers.

Each event is put together by a local team that is given access to resources for managing the event. By the time we held SW Classic, our local team had organized more than a dozen events going back since 2010 and I had played a role in all of these events. SW Classic was held prior to the Techstars acquisition of Startup Weekend.

For Startup Weekend San Diego: Classic Edition (aka “SW Classic”), I created numerous visual assets to support our event identity. This required careful attention to Startup Weekend brand guidelines and a hint of creativity to help put a spin on a brand we needed give a slight refresh – without losing brand recognition.

Goals and Objectives

For SW Classic, I really wanted to reinforce that this event was going back to our roots. It was the first event in a few years that did not focus on a specific vertical or industry, and participating teams were less limited in what type of company they wanted to create or product they wanted to build. I chose to go with an iconic Startup Weekend look by using the original green and putting a spin on the beaker characters that would, unbeknownst to us then, be phased out of Startup Weekend branding.

Details

In addition to the visual assets, I managed the email marketing and social media for the event and shared duties with teammates working on catering. I also contributed to seeking judges and mentors, sponsors, and attendees. It’s truly a team effort!

Tools Involved

• Adobe Creative Suite