Branding a Two Day Hackathon Event
As a visual design intern at AbbVie, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, I was asked to create the branding for the 2023 summer hackathon, “HackVie.” This event was hosted at AbbVie headquarters in Lake County, IL, with 31 participating student interns and over 100 attendees at the final presentation.
For this project, I was tasked with creating an ’80s-themed brand identity using bright colors and fun graphics that embodied the decade’s vibe: neon, bold, groovy, tight jeans, and big hair. The requested assets included a logo, t-shirt design, sticker sheet, four posters, and PowerPoint templates. The project lasted two months, including time for feedback, revisions, and working with various vendors to order the assets.
Establishing the Theme
After researching different styles and design trends from the ’80s, I created a logo and brand identity that embodied the bold, neon, maximalist vibe. I chose to illustrate a boombox for the logo, a classic symbol from the ’80s, and incorporated flat, simple shapes to make it more dynamic. After establishing the logo, type, and colors, I created the posters and sticker sheet, including a few stickers on the posters to create cohesiveness across all assets. The gradient background and striped triangles in varying sizes and opacities add depth and hierarchy to the posters.
While creating the sticker sheet, I illustrated classic objects from the ’80s, including subtle nods to the AbbVie Innovation Center (AIC), the office where the interns work. I added flat shapes to the background of the sticker sheet to tie it together with the posters. These sticker sheets were a hit and still live on many employees’ laptops today!
