Responsibility
As the Communications Director, I spun the LakerHacks hackathon branding into advertisements, social media posts, and opening and closing presentations. I used Canva and created templates based on content from other well-produced hackathons. Canva was the best option for the event because it allowed other team members to quickly place content that I was able to ensure fit the established brand guidelines.
Outcomes
Social Media Posts
I built off of the playful, rugged look of the logo for the social media posts. In Canva, I created three custom templates, each with an Instagram Post and Story varient. The Instagram Post varient was reused for Linkedin posts. These templates made it easy to quickly produce social media posts with existing material. Each one was sent out on a scheduled timeline, and I catered to what the target audience wanted to see to join a hackathon.
Promotional posters
I adapted the poster made by the Graphic Designer on team to meet the technical requirements of the printers available and reoriented the layout to landscape for broadcasting on TV screens across the university campus. The posters were distributed to every campus building and student dorm.
Presentations
As for the opening and closing presentations, I produced and managed them with my team members, who were able to drop their content onto the slides. I ensured that their content fit the established design guidelines and checked for consistent language and proper grammar. Much of the content for the closing presentation was produced during the hackathon, so I made myself ready to make revisions at any moment.
Reflection
LakerHacks was a huge success. Our participants and volunteers loved the event and our efforts laid the groundwork for next year with more sponsorships. Being able to adapt existing design materials from other team members kept the event moving while ensuring everything looked professional. Working with tools like Canva made for quick decisions being made in the moment easy to do.