MEDA
70th Convention
Project Location
Toronto, Canada
Project scope
Environmental Design
Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) is an international economic development organization that creates business solutions to poverty. In November 2023, MEDA celebrated 70 years of creating business solutions to poverty that are sustainable, scalable, measurable, and replicable. Each year, MEDA hosts an annual gathering – called the MEDA Convention – where partners come together to amplify their collective impact and drive sustainable results.
As MEDA’s 70th Convention was a milestone event, they turned to Haft2 to develop the creative concept and design for all key event collateral, including lobby activation, staging, signage and videos.
Solution
It was imperative to show the progress of the organization over the past 70 years, and to do that, Haft2 took inspiration from original photography MEDA shared with us. Applying an illustration effect to the photography so it had a fresh, animated quality, Haft2 brought a new look and feel to existing materials. Furthermore, by selecting the brighter and more vibrant colours from the palette and developing a visual language we defined as “the rays”, we invigorated the traditional event collateral.
Once the creative visual language was developed, Haft2 set to work designing and producing the event collateral and all event elements, to ensure the space was cohesively tied together. We created a timeline activation using historical milestones throughout the organization’s history and applied the creative to wraps around the pillars in the event space lobby.
We designed a stage and backdrop design, with a lectern, meant to emphasize the speaker. Event signage, including floor decals, a registration sign, easels, and posters were all created. Finally, we created a 45-second event introduction video as well, which received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Results
Throughout the conference, MEDA brought together a diverse group of 400 members, partners, donors, staff, and stakeholders. The attendees captured memorable moments in front of the “MEDA Moments” Backdrop we created, and attendees commented on how inspiring it was to be a part of the holistic event environment. Haft2 received positive feedback from clients on the design process and support they received throughout the creative journey.
