2011 Brand New Conference

A design conference identity is a difficult assignment. There is no tougher crowd for a designer than other designers. Not only does it have to appeal to that audience, but it has to be of the moment as well (a conference that feels behind the times won't attract any goers). And to top off that tall order, this particular conference is on branding. The conference branding better be good.

Given all the demands, Armin Vit did an admirable job building an identity for his first Brand New Conference. Armin was clearly aware of the Fat Font Fad, documenting it on Speak Up three years ago. And while his design for the Brand New Conference may seem to follow that trend, it can't be accused of being out of date. The key isKlimax, by far the most interesting of the ultra bold poster fonts to come out of the Oughties. Ondrej Jób's take on the genre eschews pure geometry, using a sort of super ellipse shape for rounds instead of a circle. The counters are monolinear lines, the same weight of the typeface's thin counterpart.

Klimax is more than the logo type, it makes great frames for the speaker photos as well. What is normally the blandest part of a conference program (we've seen many of these mugshots before) is now a poster-worthy part of the conference brand.