“Mature and elevated sophistication” is a brief that could go a hundred directions. The key was finding the one visual anchor that was specific to this event — not just elegant in the abstract, but true to the music at the center of it. Once we had that, everything else followed.
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Key Impact
Full Event Identity System • Print • Digital • Environmental • Social • Video • Expanded Scope on First Presentation
The Unique Challenge
• The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association — a prestigious nonprofit organization within the University of Notre Dame — needed to refresh the identity and experience of its annual fundraising gala, Inspiration Celebration, one of the organization’s most important revenue events
• Leadership sought an identity that felt significantly more elevated and sophisticated than previous years, while honoring the musical tradition and prestige at the heart of the Fischoff competition
• The event required a cohesive visual system capable of working across a wide range of touchpoints simultaneously: formal print materials, digital communications, on-site environmental design, social media, and video — all needing to feel like a single, intentional experience
• Required close partnership with the Executive Director and Board of Trustees — a high-stakes stakeholder environment where creative decisions carried institutional weight
The Strategic Solution
• Developed a visual identity for the Inspiration Celebration anchored in the event’s featured performance: the Thalea String Quartet — incorporating a modern illustration of a string instrument as the central creative element, connecting the visual identity directly to the musical experience at the heart of the evening
• Built a sophisticated event identity system around a black, white, and gold palette that communicated elegance and prestige without relying on generic gala conventions — the illustration giving it a distinctive, arts-forward character
• Presented an initial invite design that so impressed the Executive Director and Board of Trustees that the scope was immediately expanded to include the full suite of event materials — a direct measure of creative confidence and client trust
• Extended the identity across every event touchpoint: formal invitations, event program, sponsorship materials, email communications, on-site signage and environmental design, table settings, social media content, and a video featuring archival footage from past Fischoff performers
• Directed the alumni video from concept through completion — editing provided footage into a narrative piece that opened the evening and set the emotional tone for the event
measurable impact
• Earned an expanded creative scope on first presentation — the Board of Trustees’ decision to entrust the full event identity to Scurte Design after seeing a single deliverable is the clearest measure of creative impact
• Delivered a cohesive event identity across print, digital, environmental, and video that elevated the perceived prestige of the gala and reinforced The Fischoff’s reputation as one of the premier chamber music organizations in the country
• Created a visual system distinctive enough to differentiate the Inspiration Celebration within the nonprofit gala landscape — moving the event’s brand presence from functional to memorable
• Built a client relationship that led to a subsequent engagement directing the creative and communications program for The Fischoff Competition the following year
Key Leadership Competencies
• Event identity development creating a cohesive visual system rooted in a specific, authentic creative anchor — the featured musical performance — rather than generic gala conventions• Strategic creative rationale connecting every visual decision back to a clear conceptual foundation that the client could understand, believe in, and champion internally
• Stakeholder partnership and trust-building earning expanded creative scope through the quality of a single deliverable — demonstrating the confidence and credibility required to lead a high-stakes institutional creative program
• Multi-channel event execution extending a sophisticated identity across print, digital, environmental, social, and video with consistency and craft
• Video direction concepting and producing an alumni video that set the emotional tone for the evening — connecting past performers to the present event through archival storytelling
