Adobe Summit 2025 / Identity & Experience
Adobe Summit's visual identity had grown cluttered and disconnected from the RED brand system we'd just launched. Corporate Marketing's direction was blunt: lean into Project RED; this new design system is clean and pure, while our event design systems can get cluttered and crowded. I was tasked with making Summit 2025's identity feel big, exciting, and future-looking, built around less is more.
I led a competitive agency review, evaluating concepts from Unusual.la, Petrol, and Ozon, and selected Unusual's "Imagine" concept, a blank-canvas metaphor for infinite creative possibility. I directed development of the Summit 2025 Visual Expression Guidelines around four pillars (Building-Grids, Performance-Prismatics, People-Light, and Innovation-Energy), extending the system from brand marks and typography into physical event experiences: the main booth, the Executive Forum Lounge, and a commissioned Lighthouse light installation.
For the Bash (Summit's closing-night celebration of bands, food, drinks, and fun), my team and I, Derik Green and Chris Bartoldus, pushed the system further. We were among the first to use Firefly Boards for graphics at this scale, using it as a creative tool to take the look further and give the Bash its own exciting spin, distinct from the rest of Summit.
The finalized guidelines shipped as a full production toolkit to Adobe's event agencies, delivering one cohesive identity across digital, print, and experiential touchpoints at one of Adobe's largest annual events.
Credits
John Caponi / Senior Creative Director / Creative lead and design team manager
Derik Green / Art Director / Adobe
Chris Bartoldus / Designer / Adobe
Stephen Schmidt / Production Design / Adobe
Unusual.la / Design Agency / Event Expression
