defining the identity for a react native conference

background

Chain React is a React Native conference hosted by Infinite Red. It’s a single-track conference focused on bringing new ideas about React Native to the community.

As a small conference, the biggest impact is around helping to build up the community around React Native. It’s a small venue where you’re likely to meet and talk to attendees. The talks are focused around workflows and how to contribute to open source code.

I also worked on the designs for 2018 and 2019. Going into 2020, the goal was to update the design by creating brand that can be easily adapted to both print and digital, and grow over time.

defining the brand going forward

In previous years the designs for the conference were built around a themed illustration that could be reused for different mediums. While this had enough flexibility, it didn’t create any room to evolve, and felt repetitive at times having the same illustration used in multiple instances.

Taking a step back, I focused on recurring ideas around: opportunities created from a small, close-knit venue, the openness to all levels of knowledge, and a focus on what’s next with the technology. This led to a set of core values for the brand: building community, fostering opportunity, and pushing tech forward. The overall mission being to create a community through code, or in short, “Community through code.”

creating the imagery

Through multiple iterations, the final direction focused on creating movement to show the constant change in technology, and create a sense of community through connected pieces. The overall idea is to be able to mix all of the pieces into different layouts and create a mural-like aspect that showcases the community as well. The moveable parts that can grow over time and adapt to different mediums.

setting it up for the team

As the design lead, I created brand guidelines and direction for the marketing and design team. This helped to clarify the overall direction of the brand so that everything from tweets to print work would feel like the same brand. My role also includes reviewing and giving direction to a contracted intern for graphics, print, and copy suggestions.

leading the direction for designs

With another designer to focus on graphics and other digital assets, I could focus on bringing the brand together for the website. I led the designs and Webflow page for an announcement page, and eventually a full website.