Inbound 2021
Type: Event Design
Team: Designer, Writer, and Creative Director
We were tasked with developing a concept proposal for Hubspot’s Inbound conference in 2021, including the overall theme, visual identity, swag, collateral, and individual activations and installations within the event. The event, which has a reputation for being the “Burning Man of marketing conferences,” gave us extraordinary free-reign and a mandate to create something ambitious, provocative, and original.
While plans for the in-person event were ultimately postponed due to uncertainty surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it remains one of the most interesting and exciting projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on.
Shine On
The core of our concept was the idea of light, and the ways that individuals can change, bend, and reflect the world around them through their actions.
For the event itself, we proposed that each attendee receive a bracelet which acted their ticket and payment system, as well as a sort of chromatic fingerprint, which would react to (and in turn, influence) the numerous context-sensitive light installations and even the colors on other attendees bracelet. By using color as a form of wayfinding, interaction, and even live data visualization throughout every part of the event, each attendee would develop a unique, personal gradient throughout the conference based on who they interacted with and what events they participated in.
Light Your Path
Each individual would begin the event with a unique, randomly-assigned HEX color value. As they attended activations, interacted with other guests, and simply moved through the convention center, their RFID-equipped bracelet would dynamically interact with the lights around them, adding those colors to their own, and leaving traces of their own unique hue behind.
Personalized Data Journey
Throughout the event, each attendee would receive daily digests showing where they had been, who they had met, and what activities and events they might consider next—all told through the language of dynamic light and color.
Light the Way
Activations wouldn’t be limited to the grounds of the convention center. Partnerships with companies such as Lyft and the MBTA would allow us to carry the light out into the city, raising awareness for the event and acting as an informal wayfinding system for convention attendees staying around the Boston metro area.
While the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic shelved our ambitious designs for Inbound 2021, our team remains exceptionally proud of the experience we proposed. With any luck, one day we may get the chance to make the “Shine On” experience a reality, adapted and improved for a post-pandemic world.