North Star Summit 2025
There was a gap in the market for a premier ideas festival in the Upper Midwest — something of the same caliber as The New York Times' DealBook Summit, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and the Texas Tribune Festival, to name a few. The Minnesota Star Tribune's North Star Summit brought together influential business, political, and cultural leaders to discuss vital ideas and solutions that shape the future of our communities and region as a whole.
My role included collaborating with the creative team to develop a sub-brand and design system to promote the event, live on event collateral materials, and serve as a long-term platform for years to come. Additionally, this sub-brand needed to coexist with Minnesota Star Tribune's other North Star-branded initiatives.

Associate Creative Director: Stevie Lacher
Senior Copywriter: Tim Walker
Designer: Stevie Lacher, David Jaimes, Molly Olson
Photographer: Jayme Halbritter​​​​​​​
North Star Summit required a simple logo, mark, or typographic lockup that could scale, remain legible at small sizes, be updated in future years, and expand to more North Star–branded initiatives, such as North Star Insider and North Star Live. While Stevie Lacher's original lockup was chosen, it was fun exploring alternative directions.
To sell tickets, the Minnesota Star Tribune ran event promotion across social, display, email, out of home, and newspaper (not shown). We also included personalized graphics that each speaker could share on their social platforms. The flexible speaker grid was designed to accommodate last-minute speakers confirming their spot, and adapt across all sizes we needed to execute. 
Digital display ads. All digital promotions were created in accordance with WCAG AA color contrast standards while keeping the user experience and clear calls to action as a priority.
Different audiences received different email messaging. From Minnesota Star Tribune subscriber discounts, to essential information attendees needed to know before going, each email was designed to drive conversions. 
Out of home advertising in downtown Minneapolis.
Beyond the promotional campaign, we designed the entire suite of event collateral. ID lanyards, food menu's, signage, stage presentation slides, notebooks, pens, goodie bags, etc. Featured below are  the touchpoints I owned. With every deliverable I was assigned, I pitched alternative layouts and conceptual approaches that elevated the messaging.
Lastly, the Minnesota Star Tribune had to thank attendees for coming to the inaugural North Star Summit event. This was done through print ads that ran throughout the paper, as well as emails (not shown).
The result? A sold-out event the Minnesota Star Tribune is bringing to Guthrie Theater in 2026.
https://www.startribunecompany.com/services/north-star-summit-2026/
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