What is the 7-eleven experience?

The 7-Eleven Experience is an annual internal trade show that brings together vendors, franchisees, and team members to preview new products, programs, and brand initiatives. I contributed design and art direction across environmental graphics, activations, and digital touch-points to create an immersive, on-brand experience.

**Making the Awesome Branding**

Nailing Down the Logo

The event branding was built around the internal motto “Activate Awesome” with an early directive to incorporate neon. We quickly discovered that neon in print lacked the impact of real light installations—and dramatically increased costs. To solve this, we reimagined neon as a color system, applying a bold palette across both print and digital to unify the experience.

We assigned existing brand colors to represent the different Big Bets modules and pulled in Slurpee’s signature neon hues to anchor the overall event identity. To balance such a vibrant palette, I leaned into a brutalist-inspired design language—structured grids and simplified shape motifs kept layouts striking but not overwhelming.

To ensure cohesion across the large team, I developed comprehensive brand guidelines. These included mockups for registration, education walls, and other key applications, giving designers clear direction and consistency across the entire event.

BRAND GUIDELINES

Building the Experience

WAYFINDING

We wanted wayfinding that felt bold and unforgettable. Pulling directly from the brand guidelines, the grid and shape motifs became architectural elements, woven into arches and directional signs throughout the space. Digital displays kept maps and daily event details fresh, while escalator wraps carried attendees to breakout rooms with the line “Taking Convenience to the Next Level.” It remains some of my favorite copy I’ve written to date.

BIG BETS CENTER

The “Big Bets Center” played off Las Vegas flair, but its purpose was practical—a dedicated hub for franchisees and attendees to explore smarter ways of running their stores. The space was built around nine modules, each representing a key piece of the c-store experience: proprietary beverages, vault, marketing, private brands, digital services, fresh foods, center of store, retailer initiatives, and cigarettes & tobacco.

With a tight turnaround, I began by designing the look for the Digital Services pod, working from white model renders and internal team decks. Once approved, this design language became the foundation for all nine modules, with color and shape motifs shifting to help attendees easily orient themselves. The system received overwhelmingly positive feedback and has since been adopted for future 7-Eleven Experiences.

Show information is handed off to me in a PowerPoint or Word document, along with the module dimensions. From there, I create the flat designs.

Flat designs based on white model are then sent to the copy write on our team.

Final printed module on display. We adjusted the original green to achieve the best result with the fabric used for the trade show walls.

This insanely large undertaking was made possible due to my amazing team!
Manager: Anne Frey
Sr Designer: Kayla Smith
Designer: Gabriella Johnson
Copy Writer: James McAlister