Gig Era Conference
Naming, Branding, Poster Design
Problem
The rapid rise of the gig economy workers is creating a new standard for what it means to have a job in the United States. The labor systems and norms are outdated, labor rights are being violated, and people are struggling to find their way.
Concept
When it comes to people stepping out in their own businesses and organizations, it always seems like the same story. They were lost, navigated through, made mistakes, and came out on the other side having survived. It felt like with so many people experiencing the same motions as our whole economy transitions, shouldn’t these people have a platform to support one another and share what they have learned?
Purpose
This conference would serve for some of the most siloed professionals in the same room together, sharing their experiences, failures, and successes. Simultaneously, they can build a community of people who understand their experience and a network for future opportunities. This is also a time for cross-disciplinary learning. For people to talk with instagram influencers, designers, sex workers, writers, and artificial intelligence developers all in one room.
Process
Brand Concepts
A. Slashie
The vernacular around gig economy workers is the title “slashie” or “multihyphenate.” This concept plays into that title and uses slashes and hyphens as design elements.
B. Disorientation
The gig economy is not new but is on the rise. The workforce in the U.S. is undergoing a significant shift and we are in uncharted territory, this comes with a bit of disorientation. Not only are we are creating new systems for working, but learning to find new clients, invoice, and project management. As new doors open to us, we never know what is coming next.
C. Hybrid
People in the gig economy often hold more than one title, in some ways, they are a hybrid of two unlikely characters together like a financial advisor, illustrator, and driver.
Naming
Final Logomark
Visual Concept Exploration
Visually, this final concept stems from the vernacular built around the Gig Economy with terms like “slashie” referring to people who hold multiple job titles, i.e. a realtor/chef/developer. I primarily played with the use of a slash as well as abstracting a slash. I ended with lots of abstracted slashes “building” on top of each other, because these titles build our identity and this conference is for building community.
Tonally, the north star of this branding was anonymity. The diversity of people, work, industry, and so forth made me more conscious of what I was communicating visually to the audience, to ensure I wasn’t implicitly excluding anyone. The choices in visual direction, typography, color scheme, and composition were all made with the intention of inclusion, modern professionalism, and a sense of playfulness.