About Data + AI Summit
Data + AI Summit is a yearly conference for professionals in data science, machine learning, and data engineering. Although the event is facilitated by Databricks, it’s more than just a user conference. It’s also a community event for anyone involved in the world of data and AI. The 2024 Data + AI Summit was held in the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where 14,000+ data professionals congregated over four days to learn, connect, and grow. The expo floor featured over 140 sponsor booths, and attendees had hundreds of sessions across a wide range of topics to choose from.
My Role
I led the creative execution for the 2024 conference, working with our internal design team at Databricks to define an all-new brand system for the event. Putting on a show of this size is a real team effort, combining expertise from our internal design and field marketing teams, as well as our event consultancy partners at Type A Events. I provided art direction to the fellows at Conifer Creative who helped us with the on-stage motion graphics. The event intro video was storyboarded by me and animated by our in-house motion designer Jeffrey Gardner.
I had a hands-on role across all areas of the brand execution, both on-site and digitally. From the event website to our OOH advertising and all the way through the in-person experience, we designed every touchpoint to feel like a cohesive part of the conference identity.
The Work
The 2024 Data + AI Summit identity was designed to evoke feelings of emergence and generative technology, without relying on AI-generated artwork. The primary graphic device used throughout the event was the simple shape blend. By blending shapes into the background, we aimed to create a sense that something was “coming out of the fog” into clear definition, symbolizing the emergence of AI into the mainstream. The identity needed to be flexible enough to work at very large sizes, and easy to work with so that extremely tight deadlines could still be met.
We used stark neon colors mixed with black and white to create high contrast color combinations that can’t be ignored. The layouts were governed by a simple gutterless grid with tight margins, and we picked Basier Circle Mono and Basier Circle by Atipo Type Foundry as the event identity fonts. The monospace typography integrated hints of code-inspired syntax through the use of underscores, slashes, pluses, asterisks, and more.
The identity was covered in BrandNew, the leading website for brand identity review and commentary.
We created brand guidelines for the event to guide the team's execution.
Our on-site experience featured branded elements across every available surface.
Outdoor advertising promoted the event across key locations in the Bay Area.
The event featured multiple supporting side events, including Data After Hours, the premiere databricks-hosted afterparty.
A dedicated executive experience recieved its own unique visual treatment.
Our on-stage production bold neon lighting to mimic the overal design language.
On-stage motion bright the visual identity to life.
