# Event branding: one look from invite to stage

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/event-branding)

An event is seen in a dozen formats over a few weeks: a story, an invitation, a registration page, a poster, a badge, a screen the size of a wall. Here is how to make them all feel like one night.

## The short version

- Event branding is the single look that carries an event from its first announcement through invitations, signage and stage screens to the follow-up.
- Build a small event kit first: a name and date lockup, a palette, one background look, type and a few layout rules.
- An event appears in very different shapes, from a 1080×1920 story to 1920×1080 stage slides and print posters, so each format needs its own layout from the same kit.
- Motion on stage screens should be slow and seamless so it supports speakers rather than competing with them.
- An event's look should relate clearly to the host brand while having its own accent, so it feels special but familiar.

**Event branding** is one look that carries an event from the first save-the-date to the last thank-you, through invitations, the registration page, signage, badges and stage screens. The way to get there is to build a small event kit before designing anything, rather than designing each piece as it's needed. The kit holds a name and date lockup, a palette, one background look, type and a few layout rules, and every format is made from it.

The hard part of event design isn't any single piece. It's that an event is seen in a dozen shapes over a few weeks, often made by different people in a hurry. Without a kit, the poster, the slides and the social posts end up looking like three different events.

## What event branding covers, from invite to stage

List every format before you start. The sizes below come from each platform's recommended upload and from standard print sizes at 300 dpi.

| Phase | Asset | Size (px) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Announce | Save-the-date story | 1080×1920 |
| Announce | Feed post | 1080×1350 |
| Announce | Facebook event cover | 1920×1005 |
| Invite | Printed invitation, 5×7 in | 1500×2100 |
| Invite | Email header | 1200×600 |
| Register | Registration page hero | 1920×1080 |
| Register | Link preview (Open Graph) | 1200×630 |
| On the day | Poster, 18×24 in | 5400×7200 |
| On the day | A3 signage | 3508×4961 |
| On the day | Stage and holding slides | 1920×1080 |
| After | Thank-you post | 1200×1200 for LinkedIn |

A typical event's formats. Few events need all of them; most need more than you first expect.

- Story: 1080 × 1920
- Invitation 5×7: 1500 × 2100
- Event cover: 1920 × 1005
- Stage 16:9: 1920 × 1080
- Poster 18×24: 5400 × 7200

The same event in five shapes, drawn to scale. Tall, square-ish and wide formats each need their own arrangement.

## Build the event kit before anything else

1. **Lock up the name and date** Set the event name, date and place as one unit with fixed spacing. This lockup appears on almost every piece, so decide it once.
2. **Derive a palette from the host** Start from the host brand's colours and add one event accent. The event should feel special but still clearly belong to its host.
3. **Choose one background look** One gradient, material or texture that runs behind every format, from story to stage. This is what makes a poster and a slide look like the same night.
4. **Pick the type** Usually the host's typefaces, perhaps with one display face for the event name. Stage screens need type that reads from the back of the room.
5. **Write the layout rules** Where the lockup sits, the margins, how speaker names and times are set. Put it on one page and share it with everyone making materials.

- Host navy: #14213d
- Event coral: #ff6b4a
- Stage black: #0b0b0f
- Signal yellow: #ffd23f
- Badge white: #ffffff

An event palette: the host's navy, one event accent in coral, a near-black for stage screens, a bright colour for wayfinding, and white for badges and small print.

## One look, every format

With the kit ready, each format becomes an arrangement rather than a new design. A countdown story, a stage slide and a poster share the ground, the lockup and the type; only the layout changes to suit the shape.

A vertical countdown story showing a large number 3 with Days to go, for an event called Launch night

A countdown story in the week before…

A wide stage slide for Launch night, Thursday at 7pm, on the same background as the countdown story

…and the holding slide on the night. Same ground, same lockup, a wide layout.

For the physical side, see [event backdrop design](https://gradiently.design/guide/event-backdrop-design) and [poster design](https://gradiently.design/guide/poster-design). Print needs the same background rendered at full resolution, not a stretched social image, and [printing gradients](https://gradiently.design/guide/print-gradients) covers how to keep blends smooth on paper.

## Motion for stage screens and the event page

Screens are where an event brand comes alive. Between talks, a holding screen with the background slowly moving feels far more considered than a static slide. Keep motion slow and continuous, and make sure the loop joins invisibly, because a visible jump every thirty seconds on a wall-sized screen is hard to miss. [Seamless loops](https://gradiently.design/guide/seamless-loop-video) explains how. Behind a speaker, reduce motion further or stop it; the audience should watch the person, not the wall.

On the registration page, the same idea works in CSS. Respect people who have asked their device to reduce motion.

```css
.event-hero {
  background: linear-gradient(120deg, #14213d, #ff6b4a, #14213d);
  background-size: 200% 200%;
  animation: drift 24s ease-in-out infinite alternate;
}

@keyframes drift {
  from { background-position: 0% 50%; }
  to { background-position: 100% 50%; }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .event-hero { animation: none; }
}
```

A slow drift for the event page, in the event palette. Alternating direction means the loop never jumps.

Gradiently exports any design as a 5 to 30 second seamless loop, with the movement, pace and colour you choose, which suits holding screens and stories alike.

## Keeping event branding coherent

### Avoid

- Each supplier recreating the look from a screenshot
- Stretching the story design to fit the stage
- A new accent colour for every session
- Busy motion behind speakers
- Tiny type on stage slides

### Do

- One kit, shared as files, with the lockup and palette
- A layout made for each shape
- One event accent, used consistently
- Slow, seamless loops on holding screens only
- Type sized for the back row

## FAQ

### What is event branding?

Event branding is the consistent look that carries an event across every touchpoint: announcements, invitations, the registration page, signage, badges, stage screens and follow-up.

### What should an event brand kit include?

A name and date lockup, a palette, one background look, typefaces and a short set of layout rules that every supplier and designer follows.

### What size should event stage slides be?

Most modern screens use 16:9, so 1920×1080 pixels is the usual choice. Check the venue's screen before designing.

### Should an event look like its host brand?

It should clearly relate to it, using the host's colours and type, with one event accent so it feels special but familiar.

### Should stage backgrounds move?

Slow, seamless motion works well on holding screens between talks. Behind a speaker, keep it very subtle or still so it doesn't distract.