GASP! Creative Industry Conference

It started out with a list

The idea for GASP! originated from a desire to celebrate Piquant’s 10 year anniversary of harnessing creativity to deliver success for our clients. What started out as putting together a list of people to have a get-together and talk about creativity over drinks, morphed into a two day conference in Limerick city supported by the IDI, Design Skillnet, Limerick City and County Council, TUS, TUS LSAD, FactoryXChange and Creative Futures Academy.

To convince industry professionals to take time out of their busy schedules to attend the conference we knew we needed an impressive line-up and a high impact visual identity. Thanks to the generosity of fellow creatives nationally and internationally, the programme quickly took shape, while Piquant’s branding team developed a visual identity that expressed the energy, curiosity and passion of the conference.

Visual identity

The expressive visual identity for GASP! utilises motion design to create moments of surprise across applications. The logo was designed to be flexible and adaptable, in both expression and movement. The dynamic system allowed for a bombastic approach that could thrive across digital, print and environmental platforms. Our communications were punctuated by a bold colour scheme of white, black and silver, and a vibrant red. We pursued a dynamic and idiosyncratic approach to imagery, utilising found imagery, AI generated visuals, 3D models, emojis and professional headshots to help convey key themes and messages.

Website development

We developed a microsite, using Drupal, as a destination for all campaign content. Easy to update and accessible across all search engines and devices the website was crucial in promoting the event and attracting audiences.

Social media promotional content

We ran a marketing campaign across social and digital channels to generate awareness and ticket sales. We created a highlights video that captured the event atmosphere, panellists, guests and venue details. Vox Pop style snippets were also included to capture ideas from guests and speakers. Maximising the ‘surprise’ features of  the visual identity, we included typographic elements throughout the content to emphasise key messages and ideas.

Space design

With a low budget but loads of creativity we transformed a local venue using plywood, paint and the GASP! visual identity, to create a stimulating location for the conference. The event successfully attracted local, national and international visitors and showcased the talent and innovation that is taking place in Ireland’s creative industry.