The American Fraternal Leadership Values Conference is an annual event held in Indianapolis, Indiana. While writing this blog I am sitting in my hotel room at this conference. I decided to take this predicament as a unique opportunity to showcase design related to the conference and how it displays 5 of the aforementioned design concepts. My chosen 5 are as follows:
Form/Function/Message:
The name tag given to every attendee and advisor of this conference displays incredibly well, this concept. The form is lanyard based, it serves to make all participants of the conference aware that you are also attending, it gives you full access and also serves as a security measure. The message relayed is that I am a member of the Greek community at the University of Oklahoma and my credentials are listed below that.
Minimalism and Use of Space:
The keycard given to me by the hotel is as minimalistic as can be. The solid green background with simple white font allows for the user to know exactly what the card is and how to use it, without overwhelming the guest with unnecessary information. Each text is also reasonably spaced out from each other as to not throw the guest off from what they are supposed to do with the card.
Typography:
Just before coming to the conference I was given a business card from Melanie Adams, advisor in career services. As you can see from the photo below, the chosen fonts for her business card are in accordance with University of Oklahoma licensing policy. The fonts are diverse including block, bold, and certain script fonts. The business card is clean and contains all the necessary requirements to define an effective business card in accordance with the video assigned in this last lesson.
Metaphors/Symbols:
Each attendee of the conference was given a program book. In each book contained the daily schedules as well as offers and advertisements for brands and companies. One of those brands that was being advertised was “The Gathering.” What is unique about their advertisement is the use of the universal power symbol as the “G,” as you can see below. As the tagline for the advertisement reads “The Power to Restart Your Work,” it makes complete sense as to why the company would choose to substitute the “G” for the power symbol.
Balance:
The hanging flags that are placed below attendee name tags are perfect examples of balance in design. Different colors allow for viewers to differentiate between meanings quickly but as they overlap each other while hanging, the designer of this concept created a very functional and balanced idea.

