Mailers and social Ad for Formnext Chicago,
Billboard displayed during competing manufacturing event.
My Role: Formnext Chicago Design Lead
Organization: AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology
Organization: AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology
Formnext is one of the world’s leading additive manufacturing shows, held annually in Germany. Formnext Chicago was planned as its first United States edition, launching in 2025 through a partnership with AMT. I led the design of the launch campaign: mailers, social ads, print, and a billboard.
Two Constraints
The show came with a strict European brand system that left little room to reinterpret its identity. And for most American manufacturers, Formnext was an unfamiliar name. The campaign had to introduce a new event while staying within someone else’s rules.
The show came with a strict European brand system that left little room to reinterpret its identity. And for most American manufacturers, Formnext was an unfamiliar name. The campaign had to introduce a new event while staying within someone else’s rules.
The Decision That Shaped the Campaign
Stakeholders wanted the ads to carry more information: dates, features, and reasons to attend. I argued for the opposite. A new event doesn’t win attention by explaining everything at once. It wins by making people curious enough to look it up. I pushed for restrained layouts, short headlines that raised a question, and one striking image per piece. That approach became the campaign and ran across placements for months.
Stakeholders wanted the ads to carry more information: dates, features, and reasons to attend. I argued for the opposite. A new event doesn’t win attention by explaining everything at once. It wins by making people curious enough to look it up. I pushed for restrained layouts, short headlines that raised a question, and one striking image per piece. That approach became the campaign and ran across placements for months.
The imagery featured manufactured parts, including renderings provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with AMT, so the technology itself did the selling. The campaign also reached attendees directly, with a billboard placed during a competing manufacturing event.
Getting in Front of the Right Audience
One billboard ran during a competing manufacturing event, putting the new show in front of exactly the people it needed to reach. We ran ads and social campaigns leveraging the AMT and IMTS brands as well.
One billboard ran during a competing manufacturing event, putting the new show in front of exactly the people it needed to reach. We ran ads and social campaigns leveraging the AMT and IMTS brands as well.
The Outcome
The show was ultimately canceled due to market competition before its first edition. The campaign still stands as an example of launching an unfamiliar brand inside a rigid system and pushing for an elegant solution.
The show was ultimately canceled due to market competition before its first edition. The campaign still stands as an example of launching an unfamiliar brand inside a rigid system and pushing for an elegant solution.