Sales kickoff 2026
I worked on this year's SKO from planning and design conception to brand development and production. One thing I keep in mind throughout the entire process is, the attendee experience and the business goals. Does the brand reflect where the company is currently and where we are headed? Do the event experiences speak to things that the sales org will enjoy and leave feeling excited? Are the signs clear, inclusive, and provide a seamless way of moving throughout the venue? These are questions I make sure to come back to at every step of the process.
Branding
The theme that was chosen for this year was "Lead the shift". With now becoming an IBM company, the theme needed to align with the company goals to lead the charge in a fast evolving tech world.
Signage
Our team previously built a flexible template system that can be adapted for each event’s theme. From there, the design is tailored to the specific spaces where the signage will live. For this venue, long hallways called for larger type sizes to improve visibility. The predominantly dark blue interior pushed the palette toward richer purples and brighter blues so the branding would stand out against the environment.
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Activations
For our Sales Kickoff activations, I partnered closely with our main stakeholder and the event production team to bring a range of ideas to life. The production team pitched several concepts, I contributed a few of my own, and together we chose the approaches that best supported the goals of the event and things we knew the sales org would have fun participating in. From there, I created the custom visuals and branded elements needed to make each activation feel cohesive, energetic, and aligned with the overall SKO experience.
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On screen
All screen content was developed in close collaboration with our motion designer, who created the keynote’s leader animation. Throughout the process, I provided feedback to keep the color palette and typographic treatment aligned with the event’s brand system. Key moments from the animation were then selected as background motion various slides. From there I designed the layout for our registration screens, production housekeeping slides, and award dinner templates.
