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spread of digital assets created for event

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Each year, the Northwest Seaport Alliance hosts their fall customer reception and announces the winners of the North Star Awards. The event brings together marine cargo partners that operate in the ports of Seattle and Tacoma to celebrate outstanding work in importing, exporting, environmental stewardship, and more. D2 designed the 2026 visual experience from start to finish, marking our fourth year of involvement with the event.

An awards experience to celebrate supply chain leadership

Overview

The NWSA came to us with the idea of a western theme and several sources of inspiration, one of which was vintage “Wanted” posters. Following a couple rounds of broader concept development, we narrowed in on that direction and ran with it.One challenge that this concept presented was how to keep the theme aligned with the brand. Both the NWSA logo and the North Star Awards logo feature vibrant colors and lightweight, sans serif typefaces, which felt out of place against a semi-photorealistic vintage design. Our solution was to swap out the usual North Star Awards logo for the sheriff’s star and to bring in the teal from both logos through a rustic, painted wood texture. These key elements laid the groundwork for the theme, along with a selection of western typefaces, ornamentals, woodblock-style illustrations, and vintage paper textures.We carried these elements across an array of print and digital assets, from the digital save-the-date and invitation to the event signage and presentation.

Bringing western flair to a maritime brand

Process

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For a maritime industry event hosted at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, a western-themed reception could have easily felt like a mismatch. We made the concept work by leaning into the eclectic character of old western design while maintaining a consistent creative direction across every event touchpoint. The result was a distinctive, memorable event that brought the theme to life while providing a fitting backdrop to celebrate industry leadership.

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A New Frontier for the North Star Awards Northwest Seaport Alliance