March 30, 2018

Design Case Study – GR Pride Festival 2018

Share the goods.

The Grand Rapids Pride Festival takes place annually in downtown Grand Rapids and features music, performances, activities, and delicious food in celebration of our LGBTQ community.
This year’s festival is especially exciting because it is the 30^th anniversary – and we were thrilled to help bring the festival’s design to life! Here is a peak of the work behind-the-scenes to create the final result.

PURPOSE

Grand Rapids Pride Center, host of the Pride Festival, wanted to emphasize its 30^th anniversary through the overall design aesthetic for promotional pieces and announcements.
The theme “30 and Fabulous” aligned perfectly with the festival’s message: a celebration of happiness, beauty, and individuality, much like a person’s 30^th birthday party.

APPROACH

A successful design needed to convey that sense of celebration. The final product, pictured below, was inspired by the happiness of summer, the beauty in bright and eccentric colors, and the sensation of individuality you feel when you throw on a unique pair of shades.
This design has an energetic and modern aesthetic, with playful colors, shapes, and typography. It encompasses celebration and entertainment all in one: two main aspects of the Pride Festival.

We also wanted to be sure that the design concept for the festival seamlessly aligned with Grand Rapids Pride Center’s current logo and brand standards. The font family, Avenir, stayed cohesive with their current brand, however, we utilized its outlines to create a colorfully fun, layered effect on the type treatment for the “30 & Fabulous” tagline.
Also cohesive with their brand standards, the color palette used in the festival’s design is a brighter version of the Pride Center’s current rainbow palette.
After finalizing this concept, we ensured that all promotional pieces and announcements complemented each other to create recognition for the festival.

We loved helping Grand Rapids Pride Center convey the excitement surrounding their 30^th anniversary celebration, and giving the festival’s design a modern, playful refresh. We may make it look easy, but successful design requires a perfect blend of art and science.
We hope to see you this summer at the Grand Rapids Pride Festival on Saturday, June 16, from 12pm to 10 pm!

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Kim was in Washington, D.C., this past week for #AUSA2026 - three days where Army leaders, industry partners, and the defense community come together for innovation, insight, and connection.

We can’t wait to hear some of her takeaways. Stay tuned for more soon.

@ausaorg #DefenseIndustry #Leadership #AUSA

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A little rain didn’t slow @bodespeaks down.

Kim was in Washington, D.C., this past week for #AUSA2026 - three days where Army leaders, industry partners, and the defense community come together for innovation, insight, and connection.

We can’t wait to hear some of her takeaways. Stay tuned for more soon.

@ausaorg #DefenseIndustry #Leadership #AUSA

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Don’t wear color. Don’t share your ideas. Don’t put yourself out there. Don’t talk about your family.

We’re told to follow them, but @bodespeaks says question every single one. Then uncover your big hairy audacious goal, throw out the rulebook, and build a personal brand that actually works for you.

Thank you to Aggie and Cristy for having Kim on the @badass_women_in_business Podcast and, well... for being total badasses.

Listen to the full episode in bio.

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We had some fun in the office this week and asked some of the 8THIRTYFOUR team what “square up” means.

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How do you “square up”?

#trending #fyp #squareup #agencylife

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We had some fun in the office this week and asked some of the 8THIRTYFOUR team what “square up” means.

Surprisingly, the Gen Z of the group got it, but one of our Gen X’s did not (not saying any names…)

How do you “square up”?

#trending #fyp #squareup #agencylife

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If you need a spot to host your offsite team training, leadership quarterly, photo shoot (dogs can be included), or you just need a space to network or cowork - reach out.

We got the goods:
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- A dog (or two) if you ask nicely

Drop us a line at hello@8thirtyfour.com or click the link in bio to rent the Hub today.

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The 834 Learning Hub is where we throw fun shindigs, where cool people come to work, where Big Deal Energy gathers, and where we push you to get uncomfortable.

It’s not your typical event or coworking space - and we like it that way. The lighting, colors, wallpaper, layout, and yes, the dogs, are all very intentional.

If you need a spot to host your offsite team training, leadership quarterly, photo shoot (dogs can be included), or you just need a space to network or cowork - reach out.

We got the goods:
- A sweet sound system
- State-of-the-art digital whiteboard
- A really big T.V. Like it’s big.
- Your own private entrance
- Free parking
- A dog (or two) if you ask nicely

Drop us a line at hello@8thirtyfour.com or click the link in bio to rent the Hub today.

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The girls deserve to know what’s coming (perimenopause shouldn’t be a surprise party nobody wanted). And the boys? They’ll be partners, dads, coworkers, and bosses to women going through all of it.

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We love Dr. Karen May’s mission.

What if we taught our daughters AND our sons about women’s health, hormones, and pregnancy? Not as a whispered “talk” or a one-time awkward conversation. Just normal dinner-table stuff.

The girls deserve to know what’s coming (perimenopause shouldn’t be a surprise party nobody wanted). And the boys? They’ll be partners, dads, coworkers, and bosses to women going through all of it.

Thank you, Dr. May, for sharing your best practices to keep the women’s health conversation going at our Uncomfortable Conversations | The Pause event.

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