Empowering new and beginner hackers
at Hack Western 11
Hack Western 11 ❋ Designer ❋ May - Nov (2024)
Overview
Hack Western is one of Canada’s largest student-run hackathons, welcoming 400+ students across North America each year.
I designed the brand identity for the 11th iteration of Hack Western, which realized a 31% increase in applicants from the previous year. We received 2100+ applications through the website, an all time high.
Event: Nov 29 - Dec 1 (2024)
Team: 4 designers
Toolkit: Figma, Procreate
🧩 Challenge
Let's make this year the biggest iteration ever of Hack Western!
How might we design Hack Western 11 to empower new and beginner hackers?
Our goal was to improve our reach by surpassing the number of applications received in previous years. Since Hack Western’s mission has always been to foster an inclusive and accessible environment, we focused on empowering beginners eager to break into the tech industry.
🚀 Process
This year's theme, "Where ideas take flight"
The final theme, "Where ideas take flight".
Our focus was on emphasizing creativity and bold experimentation over expertise, encouraging new hackers to focus on innovation without the constraint of technical limitations. We wanted to help new hackers recognize that everyone has the potential to bring an idea to life, built from the ground up.
Together, my design team and I worked out the design system, events integrations, merch designs, and promotional materials.
Application website
We designed an engaging and interactive website that was used to submit applications from over 2100 students across North America. I designed the hero visuals, which established and guided the design theme for the entire hackathon.
Merch + assets
With the assistance of my team, we reformatted the assets I had created to design stickers, lanyards, photobooth strips, and more for hackers to utilize and display.
Beyond creating visually appealing items, I wanted to resonate with the audience by incorporating pop culture references. I also hand-drew an illustration for the postcards to give them a personal touch, encouraging hackers to write messages to one another and foster connections throughout the event.
A reference to the popular 'side-eye horse', in the form of our Hack Western mascot. I illustrated the sticker using Procreate.
Postcards with personalized notes can be sent to another participant at the event. I illustrated the postcard using Procreate.
The photobooth strip design. I created the assets but my team formatted the strip.
Lanyards and badges used to distinguish hackers and organizers. I created the assets but my team formatted the layouts.
🏆 Outcome
Results
We received 2100+ applications through the website, approximately a 31% increase from the 1600 applicants we received at Hack Western 10.
62
projects submitted
300+
hackers attended
2100+
applicants
Reception: My designs were projected across massive screens in the venues, worn by everyone involved in the hackathon, and appreciated by both hackers and organizers alike. It’s moments like these that remind me why I find design so fulfilling and that inspire me to continue creating.
💭 Reflection
Designing for implementation
While I have many ambitious design ideas, I realized that translating them into working code can be challenging. Some designs proved unrealistic or unnecessary to implement, considering the heavy workload and tight schedules of our developers.
This experience taught me the importance of balancing creative ambition with practical constraints, and the need for effective communication when creating a product.
