#XYPNLIVE 2022 Conference

// identity + theme + Website

XYPN’s annual conference, #XYPNLIVE, connects the XYPN member community with specialized content, networking opportunities, and industry innovating exhibitors. As the XYPN Brand Designer, I own conference look and feel. From brainstorming initial theme concepts and creating visual mood boards to ensuring final print files for name badges are packaged and sealed with a kiss, I shape countless touch points for the conference, including the website, email and social graphics, templates for presentation decks, swag bags, on-site wayfinding, attendee guide, name badges and keycards, XYPN exhibitor booths, and much more. The conference presents an incomparable opportunity to create a fresh identity system inspired, but not confined by the core XYPN brand.

identity rework + theme

One of my first goals for the conference was the update the eight-color, gradient-scaped logo previously in use. Keeping much of the familiarity of the old form, my priority in this rework was to maintain familiarity while simplifying the mark for better practical usage in print and online.

Because XYPN releases the initial website for the conference at the closing party of the prior year’s conference, baseline theme and visual direction are decided more than a year in advance. Each year’s theme embodies more than just hype, speaking to industry zeitgeist and shaping conference content. Working with the Managing Director of Sales & Marketing, Kelly Moorman, we struck on a theme concept that spoke to the XYPN vision for the financial advising industry—re:imagine. re:define. re:invent.

We struck on a theme concept that spoke to the XYPN vision for the financial advising industry—re:imagine. re:define. re:invent.

After honing in on the theme together, I worked to craft a visual direction that spoke the the theme while staying true to the XYPN parent brand. The final direction evokes the changing landscape of financial planning with a nod to the ways each XYPN advisor shapes the industry. The design balances the dynamically flowing mesh, representing the changing energy of the industry, and that almost-deep-fried, vibrant gradient, which drives at the complexity in the space. The high-texture, 3D-style icons with their vivid color and playful proportions give a sense of the real and unreal combining to create an incomparable experience.

Conference materials are a team effort—while I’d love for the design team (aka me) to have hands on every single graphic, the reality is that many people outside the design team of one end up shaping conference materials. Much of the initial work involves ensuring the rest of the team has access to the basic building blocks of the conference campaign—from the wave graphics and gradients to the typography and button styles—readily available to combine for their own purposes in Canva.

For the typography, I chose Garet, a modern geometric sans serif, as the primary header. Garet balances a playful disposition in that sky-high x-height and smooth proportions with a solid sense of hefty fortitude to leave an impression that is as friendly as it is strong. Complemented by the italicized Lora, a well-balanced contemporary serif, which brings in just a little edge in those snarky sub-heads, while also providing a touch of maturity.

Web Design

Every year, building the conference website feels a bit like gutting a house and rebuilding from the baseboards. The website serves as the conference home base, one of XYPN’s primary means of communicating every little update throughout the year ahead of the conference. Using the same core infrastructure through HubSpot CMS and limited resources, I prioritized high-impact pieces for the biggest visual impact while ensuring the frequent updates can be implemented easily. With a many kinds of content to display, it’s also crucial we have modules that can be customized for different uses widely available to help avoid confusion between, say, Pre-Cons and a Coaches’ Corners.

Working with XYPN’s Web Design Intern, Ryan Unroe, we iterated on design concepts to give the website a fresh feel while maintaining functionality and ease of use for the entire Marketing team. The full-page cover on the home page creates a portal-like entrance to the site while key animations and a smooth parallax add a tech-forward impression. We worked to add a filter to the schedule for attendees to find relevant content, a testimonial section that highlights the message over the speaker, and a swath of editable modules that increase ease of use by the entire Marketing team.