Designing event experience at K-night event 2024
Silicon Valley,
What is Happiness?
Period 3 months
Tool Figma, Figjam, Canva, Midjourney
Media Team David Lee, Haley Park, Yuha Kim, Amy Kim, Jinwon Choi
My Role UX/UI Designer, Moderator
Creating K-night's Most Ticket Sold-Out Experience: From Website Design to Live Moderation
🕔 September 21, 2024 (Saturday), 4 PM
📍 Computer History Museum in Mountain View
Bay Area K Group (BAKG), a non-profit for Korean professionals in tech with 7000 members, hosts K-Night each year to explore meaningful topics. This year’s theme, "Silicon Valley: What is Happiness?" invites attendees to reflect on happiness and success amid the unique pressures of Silicon Valley life.
Domain context:
My role:
I volunteered as a designer on the media team, creating the event website, offline banners, and name tags. Additionally, I served as the moderator for the most popular session, 20x20.
Goal:
- Website: Maximize ticket sales by highlighting K-Night’s purpose and key details.
- Banner: Capture San Francisco’s unique culture, resonating with locals and visitors.
- Moderator: Create a welcoming atmosphere, guiding sessions with clarity and empathy.
Brainstorming the event’s tagline and mission using FigJam
Branding Brainstorm Process
David, Amy, and I brainstormed the event theme together together on the event theme. Since the event focused on happiness, we aimed to create something that tech professionals in the Bay Area can relate.
The common theme for the event was broken down into three key sections: 1. A rushed and busy world, 2. A brief pause, 3. A time to reflect on the meaning of personal happiness.
To communicate with stakeholders, we had a single point of contact who relayed feedback and decisions from the 10-person management team. David gathered our ideas and shared updates with the team regularly. After incorporating feedback, our mission for the K-Night event was finalized:
Let's take a moment to pause and reflect on the meaning of our own happiness in a fast-paced life.
Brand Visual Direction
Defining the Branding Theme with Mood Board
Deciding on the visual concept was crucial, as it would serve as the foundation for the marketing materials, website, t-shirts, and more. We created mood boards based on the essence of what this event aims to bring.
Out of 6 options, we chose the "Real Life Photos" mood board, featuring organic, photo-style images. This choice reflects our desire to focus on everyday life and perspectives that feel natural and unmechanized.
After
However, as we explored different options, we realized that a single image with one theme made it challenging to capture the essence of Happiness. After several discussions, we decided to use AI to create images that resonate with everyone.
Before
An image that inspires people to envision their own happiness while living in the Bay Area 🌉.
Websites
Designing the Website to promote the event
The goal of the website was to clearly convey the event's purpose, key details, and encourage ticket sales. With a tight timeline, I spent a week generating thousands of images on MidJourney, experimenting with different prompts to create visuals that captured the theme of happiness in San Francisco with a nostalgic Japanese pop aesthetic.
The design prioritized intuitive navigation, clear information presentation, and emotionally resonant visuals to engage visitors and drive ticket sales.
Standup Banners & Nametags
Designing Banners for the Event
My mission was to design banner images that foster a sense of connection by highlighting experiences unique to San Francisco, creating visual moments that resonate with both locals and visitors, and celebrating the city's diverse and iconic culture.
Moderation
Moderating 20x20 PechaKucha for the first time!
I was invited to moderate the 20x20 event, and I immediately said yes! Public speaking is one of the things I’m most passionate about. Introducing speakers, wrapping up sessions, and connecting with the audience brought me so much joy. I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to further developing this skill for my future UX presentations.
What I learned
If your heart is beating, it means you want it, so go for it!
My heart raced when I applied to volunteer at K-night 2024, knowing how many others wanted to be part of this event. It beat even faster when I was selected and asked to moderate one of the most popular sessions—and without a second thought, I said, “Yes.”
The experience was unforgettable. There were moments of frustration, but collaborating with other volunteers made every challenge worthwhile. From picking up shirts to moderating, every task felt like adding a piece to a larger vision, like building with Legos as a team. Being part of K-night and helping create an incredible experience for 450 attendees was deeply fulfilling, and I’ll never forget the joy I felt once it all came together.
Looking back, I’m so grateful I applied and said yes in those moments of excitement. It was challenging, but giving my best moment by moment made the reward at the end truly priceless.