All workCase study

Typographics

Twelve years directing the show — and the marketing — for New York's premier typography and design festival, at The Cooper Union's Great Hall.

  • 12 years
  • The Cooper Union, NYC
  • ~700/edition
  • Show + Marketing Director
  • since 2015

RoleShow Director & Marketing Director

The challenge

Typographics is one of the world's premier typography and design festivals, held every June in The Cooper Union's historic Great Hall. I've directed it for twelve consecutive years — its own kind of challenge: keep a ~700-person festival feeling fresh and essential edition after edition (the same Great Hall, a new conversation every year) while growing its audience and reach. And I don't only direct the show; I run the marketing that fills the seats.

The approach

I own it end to end: the conference identity and environmental design, the live stage and speaker experience, the marketing campaign and ticket sales, and the live stream that carries each year's program to a global audience. The show stays rooted in the Great Hall; the marketing makes it global. Directing one event for twelve years also taught me what no single gig can — how lead time and continuity compound into a better show.

What I directed

  • The live show — stage, speaker experience, and production at the Great Hall
  • The conference identity and environmental design, year over year
  • The full marketing campaign and ticket sales
  • The live stream that extends each edition to a global audience

Twelve consecutive years, since 2015; Citiview the long-standing production partner.

The result

The marketing I directed turned a respected conference into a global event: a 1,000% increase in website visitors, 75% year-over-year growth in new attendees, 46.2M social impressions, 1.2M lifetime engagements, 110.7M in earned media, and an Instagram audience of 68.5K. The show sells out the Great Hall — the reach now travels far beyond it.

  • 1,000%increase in website visitors
  • 75%year-over-year growth in new attendees
  • 46.2Msocial impressions
  • 1.2Mlifetime engagements
  • 110.7Min earned media
  • 68.5KInstagram audience

Gallery

Photos of the show at the Great Hall: own media to come.

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