IEEE - IMS

MAKING WAVES

For one week each year, the global RF and microwave community comes together to share breakthrough research, unveil new technologies, and shape the future of the industry. Thousands of engineers, researchers, educators, students, and technology leaders converge for the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS), the flagship event of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTTS). For many, attending IMS isn't simply another conference. It's the annual gathering of their professional community.

IMS also encompasses a family of complementary technical conferences and events, including RFIC, RFSS, RFTT, and ARFTG. Together, these programs create an experience that balances world-class technical education with one of the industry's premier exhibition halls, making IMS both a destination for cutting-edge knowledge and a catalyst for collaboration, innovation, and business growth.

Recognizing the need for a brand that reflected IMS's global leadership, IEEE engaged W|W to reimagine the event's identity from the ground up. The collaboration began with a comprehensive discovery process that included stakeholder interviews, the Brand UnWorkshop, a marketing communications audit, and a competitive review to better understand the aspirations of attendees, exhibitors, volunteers, and organizers.

ELEVATING AN IDENTITY

The insights that emerged from research & discovery inspired the design of a flexible brand system that elevated the IMS parent brand while bringing greater clarity to its family of sub-symposia. From there, W|W extended the strategy across every major touchpoint, including a comprehensive visual identity system and brand guidelines, integrated branding for IMS 2026 in Boston and IMS 2027 in San Antonio, the strategy, UX, and design of the IMS website, and the event's native mobile app. The result is a cohesive brand experience that reinforces IMS's position as the world's premier gathering for the RF and microwave community while providing a scalable framework that will support the symposium for years to come.

ANNUAL LOCALIZATION

With the industry's premier event now equipped with an identity commensurate with the industry's premier event, W|W created a flexible system that allows every host city and every touchpoint to feel fresh while remaining unmistakably IMS.  Housed inside an iconic map-point shape, each year's event branding has space to let its local personality shine, with a set of design parameters that ensure brand integrity and consistency of deployment. W|W designed the integrated event branding for IMS 2026 in Boston, where the overall new identity system was unveiled, and for IMS 2027 in San Antonio.  Built to support expression, the identity system gives attendees, exhibitors, and volunteers a brand they're excited to share... creating proud ambassadors. 

SUB-SYMPOSIA

As a technical conference, the IMS sub-symposia are hosted in parallel with the overall event.  W|W helped IMS streamline the naming conventions for the sub-symposia, RFIC, RFSA, and RFTT to simplify the ecosystem. Leveraging a clear hierarchy makes a complex family of conferences feel intuitive. All of the sub-symposia logomarks are created from the same graphic DNA and use the same font and typography, but each was assigned a primary color that helps distinguish them for attendees in programming and wayfinding. 

WEBSITE TO BUILD ANTICIPATION

For many attendees, the IMS experience begins with the website. With the new brand established, W|W reimagined the IMS website to better reflect the energy and prestige of the world's leading RF and microwave symposium. Strategy and UX work focused on transforming the site from a content repository into an intuitive event experience, helping prospective, first-time, and returning attendees quickly understand what IMS is, navigate its family of sub-symposia, and access the information they need with confidence. A clearer content hierarchy, more engaging storytelling, and thoughtfully prioritized calls-to-action created a digital experience that better mirrors the excitement of attending IMS. 

The website was designed to support the annual localized branding, where efficient swapping of the year's event logo/badge, colors, and graphic elements & backgrounds quickly transforms the digital experience and begins to build excitement for the next IMS. W|W supported Handmade Interactive, a Pasadena-based company and longstanding collaborator of IMS, as they developed the custom site in Drupal. 

NATIVE APP FOR REAL-TIME NEEDS

While the native app leveraged the visual language and design system established for the IMS website, its user experience was intentionally reimagined around the needs of attendees during the event itself. W|W developed a streamlined mobile experience that prioritized utility over exploration, placing schedules, maps, personalized agendas, and other essential tools at users' fingertips. Together, the website and app formed a complementary digital ecosystem: the website helping prospective attendees discover, plan, and prepare for IMS, while the app became an indispensable companion throughout the conference experience. For the app development, W|W worked with IMS's designated partner, Handmade Interactive,  with the app being available via iOS and Android.