Othering and Belonging Conference

The Stakes

UC Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute hosted a two-day national conference on structural belonging for about 3,000 attendees across a multi-floor venue. Everything they saw, from the stage screens to their badges to the signs pointing them to sessions, had to read as one event.

The Constraints

• Multiple entrances, areas, and floors, each needing signage to direct attendees.
• Print and screen had to match: signage and badges in the halls, speaker graphics on large screens.
• Speaker photos arrived in all different styles.
• An existing OBI visual identity to work within, not a new one.
• Every physical piece produced by an outside fabricator.

Key Decisions

• Wayfinding people could follow. Directional arrows and consistent colors ran through every sign, with separate templates for public-facing and internal collateral.
• A template system for speakers. Every speaker appeared on the large screens through one template system. Each portrait was stylized to match, with the identity's pattern as a double exposure, so photos from different sources read as one set.
• Badges that sort the room. Each of the roughly 3,000 attendees got an individualized badge, built with a data merge from the registration list, with a distinct image for each attendee type, including speakers and VIPs, so roles were clear at a glance.
• One identity across print and screen. The background pattern framed titles and headers, and the stage backdrop used the identity's gradients, so the halls and the screens matched.
• Production, not just design. I worked with the event director on what each space needed and directed the fabricator on printing and materials.

The Outcome

OBI has asked me back to design collateral for later conferences, and the relationship has continued across books, curricula, research briefs, and websites.