CRTC TechAwards Branding and Creative
The Chesapeake Regional Tech Council (CRTC) propels the advancement of technologies in the Chesapeake region. TechAwards is the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council’s annual signature event honoring the region’s rising tech companies, outstanding innovators and regional tech leaders.
For several years, Substance151 worked with CRTC to develop the theme, creative and all of the event’s marketing materials.
Connect with Confidence | #SociallySecure
This year’s theme, “Connect with Confidence | #SociallySecure,” brings together the concept of security in the social space and CRTC’s mission to connect tech companies around the region.
Get in the Game
Leveraging the latest technology trends and tipping the hat to the title sponsor, the 2014 TechAwards theme was developed around gaming. The flexibility of the theme and the diversity of the visual vocabulary we created allowed for a multitude of creative expressions across event materials and beyond, allowing CRTC to use the “get in the game” concept for the annual member recruitment and sponsorship efforts.
Geek Is the New Chic
Following on the heels of an Inaugural Celebration of Geeks that wrapped up the CRTC’s 20th anniversary, Substance151 developed a theme that embraced “geekness” and presented it in a sophisticated, elevated manner, as appropriate for the awards ceremony: It’s cool to be a geek. It’s elite to be a geek. It’s chic to be a geek – geek is the new chic.
Capitalizing on the concept of “geek” and “chic,” the event’s brand identity incorporated a modern, abstracted icon of the thick geeky glasses. Combined with strong colors and modern, techy detailing, the overall look and feel was dynamic and full of energy, yet sophisticated. It was the pinstriped suit meeting tech.
Vision 2032+ / 20 Years in Tech
The event’s brand identity is based on the premise that when it comes to technology twenty years from now, it’s simply unimaginable – we can only speculate that it will be incredibly exciting, exceedingly forward-looking and innovative beyond what we can imagine today.
Substance151 chose to communicate the futuristic and exhilarating aspect of the theme through the use of color and bold graphics.
To ensure maximum flexibility and to maintain design integrity when translating the new identity across a multitude of applications involved in producing a large-scale event, the design system encourages a playful use of all 3 primary colors and other design elements interchangeably for a more fluid, exciting and unexpected brand experience.
The ongoing success of the CRTC’s TechAwards program is due in large part to our partnership with Substance151. They bring not only top-notch creative talent to the challenge of branding and promoting the TechAwards but also budget-minded, practical, no-nonsense guidance and support that frankly makes us look good year after year.
