event branding | event collateral
PAA Chairman’s Brunch
Polish American Association’s prestigious fundraiser, honoring Dorota Kobiela, artist, co-writer, and director of the Academy Award® nominated film Loving Vincent, and the Art Institute of Chicago
the gist
The Polish American Association is a human service non-profit in Chicago, IL, who targets multiple donor profiles for various fundraising events.
The objective was to organize, manage, and create visual identities for two separate events that would target donor profiles from vastly different economic backgrounds. The common thread? A love for the cinema, and Polish pride.
scope of project
Event Strategy and Positioning
Event Branding
Landing Page Design
Marketing Collateral Design
Donor Acquisition
Event Management
loving vincent
Loving Vincent, the world’s first fully oil painted feature film, brings the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh to life in an exploration of the complicated life and controversial death of one of history’s most celebrated artists. The project took more than six years to bring to life, with the help of 125 specially trained painters.
The Polish American Association wanted to honor Dorota Kobiela, co-director of Loving Vincent, for her incredible work on the film.
While we had such an amazing talent come to us in Chicago, the PAA wanted to use that to bring in donations from different donor profiles. The solution? Creating two events that maximized accessibility, donations, and community engagement.
a private screening
Our first objective was to create an event that was accessible to donors of all economic statuses: a smaller, private screening of the Academy Award nominated film, hosted at Mesirow Financial. Afterwards, a Q&A session with the director, Dorota Kobiela, along with film producer, Sean Bobbitt took place.
Our target audience for this event was more focused on local art and film schools, and cinema lovers. We promoted this event more digitally, through our social media channels and email campaigns, and engaged our Junior Board, to engage a more diverse and younger audience than the PAA typically attracts.
the chairman’s brunch
The second event was the PAA’s prestigious Chairman’s Brunch, where Dorota Kobiela was being honored.
The Chairman’s brunch is one of the PAA’s most honored traditions. The Chairman of the Board presents an award of recognition to someone who elevates the Polish people of the world, in this case, Dorota Kobiela.
An event as prestigious as this required more a more formal strategy. Paper invitations were sent in the mail, along with save the dates and RSVP’s. The event branding included strokes of paint in cool tones, paired with sunflowers motifs, a nod to Van Gogh’s iconic work. Stills from the film were also used in event documents, sponsor letters, and guest books.
The brunch was held at the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the worlds most iconic art museums that also simultaneously houses collections of Van Gogh’s work. Miss Kobiela also presented a lecture with a Q&A session about her journey of conceptualizing and directing the film.
testimonials from the PAA
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Arletta through the Polish American Association, of which I am a director. As a non-profit deeply embedded in our community, our print collateral and content began to feel redundant and uninspiring over time. Arletta’s creative design has allowed our organization to take on a more exciting and engaging feel. From print design and social media content, to event branding, Arletta has raised the standard for PAA’s graphic aesthetic. She was able to take the core values of our organization, and incorporate them into professional and inspiring content. I would definitely work with Arletta again, and know she will be an asset to any organization looking to begin a transformation.”
— Adam Kamieniak | PAA Board Member
“Arletta Gromek is as talented a designer you will see. As a board member of the Polish American Association, I had the privilege of working with her on numerous fundraisers. The design, content and execution exceeded expectation. From event invitations and sponsorship packages, to letterheads and social media content, Arletta always delivered beautiful, custom designs. From providing multiple design schemes to buttoning up the tiniest of details seconds before going to print, and with her ethic and attention to our the organizations vision, she was able to make the process enjoyable and easy. I highly recommend her for any design, branding or electronic media task or campaign. Truly a wonderful experience.”