I led art direction and brought to life this event, which is an extension of Shipt’s brand.
Many executives raved about how Beyond did not feel like a first-time event. It was repeatedly said that larger companies have teams that work all year to pull off an event like this, while ours surpassed those events. Shoppers left feeling inspired and completed more jobs in the following weeks than before. In a post-survey, 95% of attendees said they had enjoyed themselves.
While at Shipt I was tasked with art directing Shipt’s first shopper conference from ideation to completion. This is the first event that I art directed and designed from the very beginning with a vision entirely my own. Over the course of a couple of months, I was able to create a professional and impactful experience that surpassed everyone’s expectations. We worked with an agency who helped coordinate vendors and provided support for the day of the event.
There is one thing that sets Shipt apart from its competitors, the shoppers who are the heart and soul of this company. Shoppers go above and beyond from picking the perfect banana to surprising members with balloons and cards. Without their attention to detail and extra care, Shipt would not be the company it is today.
After a year of expansion, Shipt knew it was the year to focus on their secret sauce. After launching a national commercial highlighting the shoppers, it was time to give back to them. And there emerged the idea to have a conference. On April 10, Shipt held the 1st Ever Shipt Shopper Summit in Birmingham Alabama. 1000 Shoppers from across the country joined Shipt HQ and Shipt Partners for a day of celebration, learning, and networking. And there was a giant party to kick it off the day before.
At the end of 2018, I was added to the committee responsible for creating Beyond, though at the time it was just a small idea without a name or design direction. With my background in event design, I took the lead. Working with stakeholders and other departments to refine the goals and outcomes of the event, our small group of creatives presented 3 different names and identities for the event.
After some more discussions and guidance, the name Beyond was picked. And then came the fun part. As the lead designer and art director on the project, I got to pick colors, shape the logo, and bring to life my vision. At the heart of Beyond, the event was designed for the shoppers to leave feeling like they were apart of a larger community. We wanted them to feel inspired, heroic, surprised, and delighted by their time at Beyond.
In order to accomplish this not only were keynotes and activities designed to inspire them, but design elements were chosen to make them feel included. The color purple was introduced as an extension of the Shipt color palette. Purple represents royalty and that’s how Shipt HQ views its shoppers. A textile gradient pattern was created and used throughout most of the artwork to represent inclusion. Each triangle is unique in shape and color, but together they create a beautiful piece of artwork or community.
All the signage was thoughtfully placed and created to work within the space and with the other signs around it. Different parts of the textile pattern were used to color coordinate the type of sign based on wayfinding or activity marker. And the designs featured light raw wood texture to soften the textile pattern and feel more inviting. A second set of inspirational signage was created. These featured stats and quotes about Shoppers of how they have gone above and beyond.
At the event, the signage and pods created a relaxed and inviting experience. 10×10 rooms or pods were a feature of the event. These pods were designed to invite Shoppers to talk with their metro leads or different HQ employees. They were not a standard conference pod but featured fun furniture and plants to make the Shoppers feel more at home. The pods were a huge success in creating a way for the Shoppers to connect with HQ people and other people from their home regions.
