Project Details
Client
TEDxIasi
Country
Romania
Services
Art Direction, UI Wireframing, Graphic Design
Duration
1 year
PROJECT OVERVIEW
When the TED organization granted approval for TEDxIași, the opportunity was extraordinary and so was the challenge. There was no brand, no website, no social presence, no audience. Just a team of three, a city brimming with potential, and five months to make it real.
As Head of Marketing, the role spanned every creative and strategic dimension of the event: art direction, UI wireframing, graphic design for digital and print, social media strategy, PR and media outreach, sponsor relations, and day-of coordination.
challenges
TEDx events operate within strict brand guidelines, the iconic red, the precise typography, the globally recognized identity. The constraint isn't just aesthetic; it's contractual. Deviating from TED's framework risked losing the license entirely.
Yet building something that feels generic or interchangeable with any other TEDx event would fail the audience in Iași. The city has its own character, its own history, its own cultural energy. The brand needed to feel unmistakably local, while remaining unmistakably TED.
On top of this, the team had to earn the trust of sponsors and press who had never heard of TEDxIași, convince speakers to participate in an unproven event, and sell 180+ tickets to an audience that didn't yet know what to expect.
solutions
The art direction centered on a single, powerful metaphor: a paper boat riding tidal waves. Paired with the architectural silhouette of Iași's most iconic buildings, the visual language translated the theme "Navigating through Uncertainty" into something emotionally immediate and locally rooted.
The palette leaned into TED's red, not as a constraint, but as an anchor. Deep blacks, stark whites, and bold red created an exploratory, hopeful mood that felt both familiar to TED's global audience and distinctly its own.
The paper boat became the event's soul: a vessel navigating uncertain waters, fragile yet determined, guided by the silhouette of Iași on the horizon.
impact
In five months, a team of three turned an idea into a fully realized event that sold out, earned media coverage, attracted 20+ sponsors, and left an audience excited for what comes next. The brand built from scratch became the foundation for future editions, proving that a first-time event, done right, can carry the authority of something much more established.
The social growth until the event's day, 700 new followers in total, reflected not just attendance but genuine enthusiasm. An average of 100 likes per post across three platforms sustained that energy throughout the campaign, and the hype for future editions signaled that TEDxIași had become something the city actually wanted.
200+
Attendees at the first edition
700
Total new followers until the event's day
100
Average likes per post across Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn
20+
Sponsors secured
