ideacity 20

Conference creative

creative lead design

Celebrating its 20th edition in 2019, ideacity became one of Canada’s premier conferences, gathering the world’s brightest minds to explore and share innovative ideas.

The conference was known for its curated mix of voices from diverse fields, including science, technology, design, the arts, health, and business. Over the course of 3 days, ideacity stood apart from many larger conferences, focusing on the personal connection and shared experience between speakers and attendees.

Fun Fact: ideacity began as TEDCity in 2000, after Moses Znaimer was invited to speak at the early TED conferences in Monterey. When TED’s founder Richard Saul Wurman sold the conference and retired, Znaimer decided to keep the idea going in Toronto—renaming it ideacity.

Project overview

I worked closely with Moses Znaimer, the Conferences & Events team, and the VP of Creative Services, taking the lead on creative development, design, and execution of the marketing and communication elements that spanned the entire lifecycle of the event—from pre-conference promotion to post-event collateral.

This project was a year-long journey, involving theme exploration, ideation, stakeholder pitches, numerous revisions, production, and rollout. What began as initial sketches, mood boards, and concepts evolved into the cornerstone visuals for the conference, shaping the look and feel of everything from the conference book to attendee badges, venue signage (across 3 locations), promotional ads (print + digital), social media posts, web site, and post-event materials.

The theme that emerged from our research and team planning centered around the concept of hindsight and foresight—the ways we reflect on the past, interpret the present, and look toward the future. Every element of the design aimed to visually represent this exploration of time and perspective.

Theme ideation

ideacity 20 concept ideation - 20 years - body - mind - future

Conference book

Attendee badges

Venue signage

Ads + social

Web site