As we began planning for our fourth annual In/Visible Talks design conference, we knew we’d need to reimagine the format to best serve our community in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Of course, the conference would be virtual. But the need for changes went much deeper than just transforming the venue.

Chaos reigned throughout 2020, as we faced not only a global pandemic, but also life-changing economic, political, and racial strife. The world as we knew it was filled with fear, grief, and anger—and it was ripe for reinvention. Looking to the future, we recognized that the role of the designer as activist, visionary, artist, bridge builder, creator, and steward would be more important than ever, and we saw an opportunity for all of us to lead as changemakers for good. With this in mind, Re:Design became our theme.

Playing off the heavy process part of redesigning anything, we developed a hand-drawn typeface mixed with modified fonts. We also added dingbats—created with Delve Fonts at our 2020 happy hour—and expanded our main brand icons into a more hand-drawn format. With green (representing growth and renewal) as the base, we filled our palette with happy colors as we built out the many digital assets we will use to amplify our messages and inspire our community throughout the year.