Elevating an Iconic American Cancer Society Gala with Brand New Design
Each year the American Cancer Society of Central Florida hosts the Cattle Baron’s Ball Orlando to raise money for cancer research. This year marked a Silver 25th year Anniversary and JK Creative came onboard to help transform the event with some new elevated design. The gala occurred on Saturday, September, 7th with many months leading up to the big day full of a variety of design projects. Read on to see a case study of the evolved design solutions and the big event!
About Cattle Baron’s Ball Orlando
Cattle Baron’s Ball is a fabulous, Western-themed gala celebrating 25 years in Central Florida, where over 500 cowboys and cowgirls will come together for an evening of good ole’ western fun and philanthropy!
The Cattle Baron’s Ball is a premier fundraising event, both locally and across the nation, first held in Dallas Texas in 1974. Since then, the Cattle Baron’s Ball has brought community members together who are committed to raising funds and awareness to help finish the fight against cancer.
Grab your hat and dust off your boots for what promises to be a toe-tapping, knee-slapping, rip-roaring, kick up your heels good time to make a measurable difference in the fight against cancer.
The New Logo for this Year’s Event!
Past Cattle Baron’s Ball Events
Cattle Baron’s Ball has always been a unique event. Where other charity galas typically call for fancy attire, this one is a little more fun and casual with the western theme. However we found that many current design choices were not feeling as elevated as they should for a higher-ticketed fundraiser event. The branding consisted of a lot of bright red and bright blue on white. There was a mix of barn style decor and western graphics on signs (and even some hand written signs!). Many pieces of collateral, both digital and print, lacked polished graphic layouts. It was time for an overhaul to clearly communicate the high-quality intention of this event while still keeping the essence of the historical cowboy vibes. So we got to work using this year’s brand new logo as a starting point to curate a completely new elevated look on everything…
In the past a collection of rustic, western decor greeted guests.
Signage at the event used heavy western textures and overly decorative fonts.
Many elements were mixed and matched like this handwritten sign using neon pen.
Re-inventing Cattle Baron’s Ball 2024
For this year’s brand look we leaned into a rich black background with gold and white elements such as delicate western flourishes and new text treatments. We blended in real aspirational cowboy imagery as well as event photography to convey elements like food, drinks, and music.
Digital Graphics
We started with a lot of digital graphics such as emails and website graphics. In previous years the social media pages ended up with a hodge podge of various sized graphics creating a chaotic look. This year we made sure to balance a pattern of brand graphics and photography that flowed and looked cohesive while communicating pertinent information.
BEFORE: a mismatched and busy social presence.
AFTER: a rich and cohesive social presence.
Print Graphics
We applied the same look across print assets such as print ads, invitations, program books, and more. We focused on elevated designs that balanced the rich black with clean white space to present information in an elevated way.
BEFORE: Bright colors and western textures.
AFTER: rich black, gold, and delicate accents.
INVITATION: a gatefold front felt like saloon doors with aspirational photography and info inside.
Cattle Baron’s Ball 2024: The Big Night!
This year’s Cattle Baron’s Ball took place at the Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek and included so many fun elements:
Various bars with specialty cocktails
20+ booths featuring local restaurant specialities
Entertainment such as dancers and a mechanical bull
A presentation and auction in the main ball room
A display by the entrance.
One of the many delicious dishes.
Entertainers dressed for the silver anniversary!
A welcome glass of champagne.
A collection of signs made by JK Creative.
It was really cool to see so many JK Creative designs across the event. We helped with so many touchpoint including:
Printed program
Committee and Volunteer shirts
Table Signs
Tons of posters
Larger format signs
Presentation Deck
Auction paddles
Signs helped feature culinary partners.
We created shirts for the volunteers.
The event featured the Ben Allen Band.
Some JKC team members at the event.
This paddle design was seen a lot while funds were raised during the auction.
About the American Cancer Society
We have a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. Learn more at cancer.org or by calling us at 1-800-227-2345 anytime. The American Cancer Society is the leading cancer-fighting organization with a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. We are the only organization improving the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.