For the 2015 SXSW Interactive Festival, I was commissioned to design a logo and related branding material to be used as the identity package for that years Interactive Innovation Awards. It was the first year that the festival added 'Innovation' to the title and expanded the categories in which they gave awards to match a broader and more robust field of interactive technology.

 

My idea for the logo was inspired by the idea of a 'trailblazer', someone who forges ahead into the wilderness. I looked to the designs of old patches and badges, from boyscouts and other wilderness and travel related brandings.

To accompany the logo I also designed a series of individual badges, sort of like 'merit badges', to represent each of the individual categories that would be represented at the ceremony.

The first group is: New Economy, Privacy & Security, Sustainable Technology, Transportation Advancements, and Health, Med & Biotech.

Second Group: Internet of Things, Wearable Tech, Innovative 3-DIY, Responsive Design, and Innovation in Connecting People

Third Group: Music Discovery, Visual Media Experience, Student Innovation, and Sci-Fi No-Longer

The project also called for a guide book that was handed out at the ceremony, containing information on the awards, the finalists, and the presenters. I designed the layout for this and cover illustrations along with some matching print ads that were used in the larger SXSW guidebooks, magazines, and publications. The content of the guidebook as well as the final copy used in the ads were added in house at SXSW.

SXSW.com
Interactive Awards