what is finding home?

Finding Home is a proposed 3-day long conference that is made by queer people, for young queer people. This concept and the branding for the concept was the product of my final year as a BFA student. 

I decided to focus on helping a group that was close to me; the LGBTQ+ community. As a queer person attending a religious university, I sought out safe spaces to find the community I was lacking. I joined and later became president of USGA-Rexburg, a queer support group. I was so grateful for the friendship I found in this group, and I realized just how vital having a positive and supporting community is. This conference is inspired by the lessons and activities I experienced at queer support groups like USGA and Encircle.

The goal of this conference is to create lasting communities for minority youth in Detroit, Michigan. This includes young adults who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, or anything outside of society's "normal." All people are welcome to this conference, but it is specifically geared towards those that may feel ostracized and in need of community. I branded and designed all the following pieces for the proposed Finding Home conference.

This is the logo for the conference. Each color represents a different theme: orange for friendliness, yellow for hope, turquoise for healing, blue for loyalty, and pink for love. The connection of the "f," "h," and "i" represent the connection meant to be made during the conference.

These are personas that I created of people who I think would both enjoy attending and benefit from attending the conference.

These posters would be physically posted to promote the conference.

This would be posted on social media to answer questions that people would have about attending the conference. It ends with a call to the website.

These would be the name badges that each attendee would be given along with a swag bag at registration. The badges have a barcode on the back to scan every day for entry as well as the speaker lineup and when the speakers would present. The attendee badge is a slate grey color and the badge given to guest speakers and staff members are a cream color.

This is a swag bag that all attendees will be given at the entrance of the conference. Each swag bag comes with a branded water bottle, branded pen, stickers, an informational pamphlet, and ear plugs for those with sensory sensitivities.

This pamphlet would be handed out to each participant in a swag bag. Inside, you'll find a conference schedule, map of the venue, and a list of keynote speakers as well as their bios.

This is a propsed special edition Field Notes notebook for the event. The reason I chose Field Notes is that I think Field Notes' co-founders, Aaron Draplin and Jim Coudal, are incredibly talented and I would love to work with Field Notes as a company someday. (So I'm using Field Notes to be self-serving, I think they're neat!) Inside, you'll find a schedule of the conference events, a place to take notes throughout the conference, and a QR code that you'll scan with the app to register in the conference.

This is the app that attendees of the conference would use to get around, learn more about the conference, and connect with other people. More information can be found on the slides.

This is what the website for the conference would look like.