In/Visible Talks 2020 represented the third successful year of the conference and the first year for which there was an overarching theme. The theme was meant to help drive the visual system for the conference, guide the messaging, and most importantly, provide a uniting goal for the speakers to craft their talk around.

It’s hard to say “twenty-twenty” without thinking about vision, and, when speaking about a design conference, “vision” comes into play in many different ways. This notion led to “seeing beyond the surface,” because the conference is focused on the creative process behind the work. The phrase was further refined to the more action-oriented “Go Beyond.”

For the visual expression of “Go Beyond,” we were interested in exploring something with depth and multiple surfaces. We wanted the ability to present typography in a nonlinear and dimensional way. After some experimentation, we landed on a collection of folded paper sculptures that would allow the viewer to see different shapes from various perspectives. We leveraged these paper sculptures as the base for a full system that included many different digital versions for use on the website, social media, collateral, video, and swag.

With help from our talented friends at California College of the Arts (CCA), we brought these sculptures to life in a major way inside of the event space. The stage backdrop became selfie-central during the conference and felt like the ultimate expression of this inspiring theme.