Mighty Citizen had the privilege of collaborating with the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) to elevate their conference branding and digital presence. AOSSM is the premier global sports medicine organization for orthopaedic surgeons and other professionals who provide comprehensive health services for the care of athletes and active people of all ages and abilities. They partnered with us to strengthen the visual elements of their brand. Over a few years, we embarked on a transformative journey, reimagining their conference websites and enhancing the overall user experience.
2020, 2021, & 2022 Annual Meeting Website Redesigns
In 2020, AOSSM partnered with Mighty Citizen on a hardcoded website for their 2020 Annual Meeting. A year later, AOSSM approached Mighty Citizen to work on a conference website for their joint 2021 Annual Meeting, in tandem with another association. Our initial work established a partnership that extended to their main association website and their 2022 Annual Meeting website—lining up with their 50-year anniversary.
Main Website Redesign (sportsmed.org)
Following our initial work on the 2020 and 2021 Annual Meeting websites, Mighty Citizen undertook the redesign of AOSSM’s main website, sportsmed.org. In performing a redesign from head to toe, we could showcase our ability to streamline AOSSM’s digital presence, creating a cohesive platform that aligns with their brand and values.
In the past, AOSSM faced challenges in effectively communicating their brand. To address this, we focused on clarifying their identity as an association dedicated to surgeons working with athletes. The main hero section of their branding prominently features an image of an athlete and a surgeon, side by side. This visual strategy swiftly and clearly communicates who they are and what they represent. We paid careful attention to the portrayal of surgeons to emphasize AOSSM’s commitment to prestige and excellence. By streamlining their brand expression, we aimed to enhance the perception of exclusivity and prestige—and we further reinforced this by adopting a darker color palette and striking photography, adding a touch of luxury to their brand aesthetic.
2023 & 2024 Annual Meeting Branding
With AOSSM’s trust in our creative process deepening, we took charge of branding the 2023 conference. In the association space specifically, conference and event branding can go off the rails—slipping into a life of its own and becoming detached from the branding of the sponsoring organization. This kind of branding is an opportunity to do something dynamic or memorable, but it should still speak to the overall brand and be cohesive.
We crafted a visually compelling website that stood independently from the main site while still incorporating existing brand elements. The use of their signature blue as a secondary color maintained brand consistency. AOSSM was also very interested in figuring out how the conference location (Washington D.C. in 2023) could fit into the website’s architecture.
We unveiled a conference website that not only represented AOSSM’s identity but also celebrated the event’s location. We included imagery focused on teamwork and iconic D.C. landmarks, offering a unique and memorable online experience. It was so well received, we were able to use it as a framework for their 2024 Annual Meeting branding.
For 2024, AOSSM wanted to build out a design system that was a bit more abstract and generally less dependent on literal landmarks or buildings. The new design system aimed to feature more of the conference location’s landscape. They also wanted to move away from the blue fade style that had been a heavily used element in the past, focusing on imagery of athletes and surgeons.
Mighty Citizen’s collaboration with AOSSM resulted in a visually cohesive and strategically streamlined digital presence. From conference branding to main website redesigns, our partnership exemplifies the power of thoughtful design in conveying brand prestige and excellence.
Interested in working with us? Get in touch—we’d love to talk about your project.
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