About the Event
Now in its sixth year, the annual Lurie Prize award ceremony is the FNIH‘s premier event. It brings together some of the foremost leaders in the field of biomedical sciences to recognize outstanding achievement by a promising scientist aged 52 or younger. The award is made possible by a generous gift from FNIH board member and philanthropist, Ann Lurie, and the winner is chosen by a distinguished panel of jurors.
Branding
The Lurie Prize award ceremony is an event like no other and requires unique and exciting branding that rises to the level of this prestigious event. This year, Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D. was honored for discovery of the cGAS enzyme and pathway and their unique role in immune and inflammatory response which are the catalyst for the critical immune response that defends the body against viruses, bacteria and tumors, but they also can inflict autoimmune disease.
Is all of that over your head? Yeah, mine too. Nevertheless, in an effort to not disappoint the guests, the front and back of the invitation was kept simple with crisp white and ultra-modern holographic foil that changes color as it moves, but the invitation had a bit of a surprise inside.
The top and bottom panels when pulled apart reveal a stunning and colorful abstract illustration, revealing the name of the winner and information of the event. The panels on the back of the invitation also open to candy-colored delightful design.
The Process
As with every event I design, I always present fully fleshed out branding packages that includes the save the date, invitation, response card and envelopes. We sent out the printed save the date that gave a bit of a sneak peek into the bright and bold branding with a large colorful numbers and holographic foil text.
Once I got started working on the program design, I mimicked the surprise component of the invitation with a crisp white and holographic foil cover but with the same bright elements upon opening.
Foil takes quite a bit of time to print—roughly 2.5 weeks due to the fact that a metal die needs to be created to heat and cut the foil. Therefore, I always recommend putting evergreen info in the foil sections, in this case the cover, and printing that first. The inside text pages, sponsor inserts and menus can wait until the last moment because they are either digitally or offset printed.
Finally, the always fabulous Design Foundry created this amazing stage set based on the branding of the event.
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museum of the bible opening branding • pomp creative • graphic design studio • washington, dc • annapolis, maryland
