ADOBE YULEFEST

Brand Design + Illustration + Event Signage

YULEFEST is an employee festival of seasonal winter events and celebrations spanning across several large office locations at Adobe. The company’s Global Workplace Experience Team wanted to create a foundational internal identity that encompasses these events and enhance their employee experience. In previous years internal holiday season motifs and messaging surrounding the events varied in consistency. Wanting to always innovate on their workplace experience they commissioned me to create a brand system that aligns with their high standards for workplace environment and event storytelling. This system will be used annually from 2018 onward to increase employee activation during the Winter season.

GOAL:
TO CREATE AN INTERNAL EXPERIENCE BRAND THAT ALIGNS WITH ADOBE MASTER BRAND AND INCREASES EMPLOYEE ACTIVATION FOR THE GLOBAL WORKPLACE EXPERIENCE.

BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS

• Rustic modern holiday sensibility with Northern European feel that encompasses winter celebrations.

• Incorporate iconic trees, branches, botanicals, and ancient Nordic symbolism.

• For use in all media platforms including banners, informational signage, T-shirts, meterboards, marketing collateral, menus, wayfinding, kiosks, and app development.

• Create visual language that supports internal brand hierarchy.

• Signals entire series of events for winter season like a festival within the business.

RESEARCH & CONCEPTUALIZATION

Understanding Adobe’s brand from its origin story and into the future, this project had to dance the line of not creating a iconic brand mark, but one that resonates within the business and is a unifying element. Research took me into ancient nordic alphabet characters, traditional home elements, cabins, various illustration styles that harken back into a simpler time. Several concepts were developed and three were presented to the team. The concept nicknamed “Pine Rustica” was selected. It was then refined, making adjustments based on brand team feedback. We leveraged more experience touch points centered around the event storytelling, and removed the tree from the initial encompassing circle.

WINTER FESTIVAL VIBES KEEP BUILDING

Brand team approved, expression from the Global Workplace Experience team came with quantifiable findings that it helped unify the season’s events and has increased momentum to utilize the design system to effectively encourage employees to experience more of the company’s offerings during the winter season. Touchpoints at events created playful backdrops and activities to take a selfie, to mingle or just a relax and hang out while staying connected with what was happening.

The brand style guide and design system has ensured this program is maintained and continually building on its success moving into this 2019 Winter season of events for Adobe employees.