I undertook this project in my capacity as a Digital Media Specialist for the South Island Prosperity Partnership and not as an independent contractor.

Skill Summary

Video Production, Graphic Design, Website Design, User Interface Design, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, Event Management, Event Planning, Email Marketing, Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress.

Project Description

The Rising Economy Week Conference was created in direct response to the societal and economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its primary objective was to facilitate discussions among influential figures from the business, government, and non-profit sectors regarding strategies to address the challenges of the 21st century. As part of this initiative, I played a crucial role in shaping the conference's branding and marketing efforts. This encompassed various aspects such as selecting fonts and colors, designing the website structure, creating engaging email campaigns, developing compelling social media content, and producing traditional print advertisements.

During my tenure at the South Island Prosperity Partnership, I had the opportunity to oversee the entire process of developing four web projects: COAST, MicroStart BC, Rising Economy Week, and The Indigenous Prosperity Centre. This encompassed managing all aspects of graphic design and user experience interaction. Starting with creative sprints, I facilitated the creation of low-fidelity hand-drawn wireframes. Subsequently, I transitioned to digital high-fidelity prototyping using Adobe XD. Finally, I conducted post-launch stress tests and incorporated quality feedback from users to further refine the projects.

The Technical Stuff!

When I joined SIPP in June 2020, along with the Director of Marketing, our primary focus was contributing to the development of Rising Economy Week. With ongoing discussions already in place, we were able to quickly immerse ourselves in brand development and outreach activities. Working closely together, we collaborated on ideating the conference's branding and crafting a strategic communications plan. Once the conference date was confirmed, we promptly initiated the development of a detailed work-back plan to ensure timely delivery of all project deliverables. Although the 2020 conference took place exclusively online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent editions, including the 2021 event, adopted a more hybrid/in-person approach.

Web Development

Developing the website for this project posed unique challenges, particularly in relation to participant registration, ticketing, and scheduling. The complexity of these aspects made the process of building the website architecture dynamic and required making real-time decisions as issues emerged. We embraced an agile approach, allowing the product to evolve and adapt to meet emerging needs and circumstances. Despite the project's complexity, I followed my typical design process, starting with mapping the primary user journey and how that relates to the development of the site’s information architecture. Additionally, the broader scope of Rising Economy Week's audience added complexity, as we had to consider a diverse user base from around the world and from different backgrounds.

To assist with the creation of complex graphics and custom CSS implementation we secured the services of a professional graphic designer who specialised in WordPress coding. I held regular meetings with the contractor to answer any content-specific questions and provide feedback on design mockups.

Video Production

Video content played a significant role in the Rising Economy Week conference. Since the 2020 event took place on Zoom, we had the opportunity to record and edit videos for on-demand viewing on the South Island Prosperity Partnership's YouTube Channel. Using Adobe Premiere Pro, I performed various post-production tasks, such as color correction and sound-level balancing, to enhance the quality of the videos before exporting and uploading the final files.

I also coordinated with a professional videographer to develop and design custom animated graphics for the 2020 and 2021 conferences.