Case Study: SMS Conference Brand

The purpose of  SMS Conferences is to “convene and conduct meetings and conferences for the professionals in the field of strategic management”, to do this they host yearly conferences in a multitude of locations.

Each conference is unique and because of that, each must stand on their own as a recognizable experience. But, they also need to fit into the context of the larger organization. Over the years we’ve collaborated to create logos that are unique to each conference but still communicate the larger brand.

Many large organizations deal with this tension of needing their programs to be recognizable but also reflect the larger organization.

Other situations where this might be necessary are a university setting where individual departments have missions and goals to express but need to be consistent with the larger university branding.

You can also think of this like that family photo your grandma made you take where she demands you wear white shirts and khakis so that you all, “look nice.”

In the case of SMS, the conference logos maintain consistency with a few key elements and then vary in fonts, color schemes. The standards we’ve created that every logo conforms to are using the same shape, a recognizable architectural element from the place the conference will be held, and a consistent illustration style. Each conference also gets a style guide with the colors, font and when to avoid using the logo to keep the branding consistent with all other materials. The conference materials also have the same format year to year, but get updated with the new colors and illustration.

Below are some favorite logos!