Stars of STEM 2020 Invitation
Invitation design for the Museum of Science’s signature fundraising event.
The Museum of Science, Boston annually hosts the Stars of STEM, a signature fundraising event created to award a person, organization, or company for their contribution in science, technology, engineering, or math.
I worked on this project for years, changing the design regularly to reflect a theme for that year.
At the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, the Museum and the Advancement division experienced multiple leadership changes, from the president’s office to the event manager. As a result, the direction of this campaign changed multiple times, and I had to adjust along with it.
Only two weeks before the invite needed to mail, I worked directly with the VP of Advancement and VP of Marketing to develop an idea that conveyed the notion of a fun and innovative evening. The theme’s direction would be: CONVENE | INSPIRE | IGNITE.
I visualized an invitation motif that highlighted these concepts while recognizing the award recipient: Dell Technologies.
My goal would move the reader through the three concepts, just as they would experience the actual event. “CONVENE” was the cover, “pointing” to the Museum’s logo, indicating that we wanted the attendee to “convene” at the Museum of Science. On the introduction panel, I used “INSPIRE” to indicate that the Stars of STEM event would “inspire” the attendee in all disciplines of STEM. I placed “IGNITE” on the award panel to represent the work that Dell has done in STEM by “igniting” innovation.
I picked a blue color palette to connect with Dell’s brand, but also to provide an “evening” feel. The cool, dark blues on the front contrasted with the flipside, which was flooded with a bright, warm yellow, and pops of red.
The invite included teasers about festivities the attendee could expect during the evening, including a visit to the Dogs! exhibit and a performance from special guest Baba Brinkman, a science-based rap artist.
The invite was designed and printed in two weeks, a race to the deadline to mail in time for guests to RSVP in April. The day it landed in peoples’ mailboxes, the Museum and the world shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The event was canceled.
I was disappointed not only that the event was terminated but because I wouldn’t be able to convert and apply the design to the other support materials typically needed: program, signage, web graphics, etc. But I was very happy with the process and glad I was able to acquire actual printed copies of the final piece.
BRAND GUIDELINES:
The Museum of Science brand guidelines include two fonts, Berthed Akzidenz Grotesk and Scala, and a wide variety of primary and supporting colors.