Shaping Island AI Summit product vision and driving impactful digital growth

Jun - Sept 2024, Product Designer, Internship

Impact
Spearheaded designs and content used to generate 2x forecasted revenue and 3x forecasted attendee count, securing notable sponsors and speakers like the CEO of The Atlantic, CMO of Cerebras, and COO of Lambda Labs.

My Roles
Web Design
Visual Design
Brand Design
UX/UI Design
Project Management

Tools
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite
Squarespace
Google Suite
Bubble.io

Team
Krystal Li
Steph C. (Brand Design)
Kayla Y. (Research)
Pratik M. (Research)

Project Overview

ISL.AI is a startup based in Atlanta, Georgia dedicated to building connections among impact innovators, investors, and responsible AI advocates. Their flagship event, the Island AI Summit, gathers thought leaders and investors to shape the future of AI for the planet and humanity.

Today’s leaders recognize the importance of guiding AI's evolution with a foundation in human values and ethics. Thus, ISL.AI aimed to create an impactful and collaborative environment for attendees to connect, share insights, and navigate the ethical complexities of AI's future.

As this was the inaugural Island AI summit, the challenge was to elevate event visibility and develop a compelling brand identity that would resonate with thought leaders in AI, setting the foundation for an impactful and successful summit.

Deliverables

Website, Program Book, Guest Book, Brand Guidelines, 15+ presentation and pitch decks, social content strategy, 20+ social media posts

Building an Identity

01. Presentation Decks

To execute an event of this scale, ISL.AI required a strong brand identity and compelling pitch materials. I worked closely with the co-founders to develop a fundraising deck along with 15+ targeted decks for potential sponsors, speakers, and attendees, clearly articulating ISL.AI’s value proposition and the summit’s vision for AI's positive impact on humanity. This helped to ensure goal alignment with sponsors and participants.

⤷

  • Generating 2x forecasted revenue

  • Secured Notable Speakers: CEO of The Atlantic, CMO of Cerebras, COO of Lambda Labs, etc.

  • 3x forecasted attendee count

Increasing Visibility

02. Website

Previously, the ISL.AI website functioned solely as a registration form, offering no context about the event. To better communicate the vision for the Island AI Summit, I transformed the site by showcasing the summit’s goals through engaging visuals and impactful language.

This removes ambiguity for users arriving through indirect channels like social media, allowing them to instantly grasp ISL.AI’s vision and the summit’s purpose.

Increased website visits by 22% to over 1k visits per month

⤷

03. Social Media

These days, people spend longer on social media than checking their emails. We needed to reach potential attendees and strengthen our brand online. To build excitement and attract both guests and sponsors, I created a social media strategy and schedule to generate buzz about the summit and responsible AI.

Using insights from our current attendees, I created 20+ posts with interesting data visualizations and summit information, ensuring a strong lead-up to the event.

  • Grew social media engagement by 68%

  • Reached over 5k impressions on LinkedIn

⤷

Designing for Experiences

As the summit approached, it became clear that designing for potential attendees versus actual guests posed unique challenges. We had to consider that guests would be navigating an unfamiliar location, often on the move and engaged in activities, so our designs needed to support these users in their dynamic experiences.

04. Program Book

People appreciate knowing what to expect and having easy access to information. Recognizing this need, we developed a mobile program book to deliver essential details to enhance navigation, such as schedules, speaker bios, and locations. Considering ISL.AI’s commitment to an authentic summit atmosphere, we opted for a mobile format not only for convenience, but to keep hands free for conversation and team exercises.

Attendees noted how effortlessly they could find the important info they needed throughout the summit!

⤷

05. Guest Book

Understanding the importance of knowing who’s in the room and identifying potential collaborators, we designed a guestbook to showcase the full spectrum of talent and expertise, forming a visual network of innovators and leaders. By allowing attendees to quickly identify and connect with fellow visionaries, this guestbook became a powerful catalyst for meaningful interactions, embodying the summit’s spirit of bringing people together to create impactful change.

  • Conducted research and synthesized key insights on 200+ founders

  • Crafted a 100+ page company deck synthesizing founder and company information

⤷

Reflections

As someone new to designing for large-scale experiences, my time at ISL.AI was such a fun experience that pushed me to think beyond the typical user journey. Knowing that we were working towards the Island AI Summit, where every attendee was guaranteed to engage with our designs, I was challenged to create interactions that were effortless to navigate but also high impact.

Working with ISL.AI taught me how to craft experiences that reflect company values and priorities while delivering immediate, memorable moments for users. Through leading the research team and collaborating with cross-functional teams, I learned how even subtle design choices can embody a company's ethos and empower a guest through their experience.

I’m incredibly grateful to the ISL.AI team for their guidance and support throughout my internship, helping me develop a deeper understanding of how to design with intention and impact!