Client: University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR)
Localizing Global Agreements
A UN conference booth and brochure built around a paper series on sustainable urbanism
My Role
As a member of the University of Pennsylvania’s delegation to the World Urban Forum 9, the UN's premiere urban conference, I managed the editing and publication of a cross-disciplinary paper series on sustainable urban development. I also produced the content for an exhibit booth and brochure conceived around the paper series.
The Challenge
The primary challenge was coordinating feedback from three separate research institutes. With three sources of direction, the danger of having too many cooks in the kitchen was high.
The second challenge was limited space. The exhibit booth and collateral were intended to publicize the ideas in the paper series, but space (in the booth and on paper) was limited. Boiling down big ideas from the papers into essential lessons was a challenge.
What’s more, I knew that conference attendees’ attention would be limited. Attendees would be walking by the exhibit booth in a loud and crowded conference hall filled with other booths. The booth had to draw visitors in and capture their attention.
The Solution
To address the primary challenge, I created a workplan with clear deadlines and explicit opportunities for feedback. Creating a project brief aligned the goals of the institutes. Distinct responsibilities for individual contributors minimized opportunities for disagreement.
To accommodate the lack of space, I worked iteratively with graphic design consultants. I provided draft content, they provided draft graphic concepts, and we worked closely to condense the content and revise the graphics.
To capture the attention of conference visitors, I proposed hosting informal presentations by contributors to the paper series. Not only did this draw people interested in a particular topic or researcher, but it created a buzz that drew passers-by into the booth. By providing comfortable seating and a welcoming atmosphere, we were able to engage many more visitors with the research than we would have with a static exhibit.