Workday DevCon 2025
As Creative Lead, I directed the end-to-end lifecycle of Workday’s annual developer conference at Resorts World. Following a major brand refresh, I was responsible for translating the new corporate identity into a bespoke experience for a community of 4,000+ innovators.
I led the creative workstream from initial strategy through onsite execution, building the look and feel, crafting the attendee journey, and deploying a digital-first signage strategy. My focus was on honoring the new brand while creating a tailored environment where developers felt the event was built specifically for them.
Look and Feel
My goal was to "create for creators" by building a visual system that felt both sophisticated and technical. I established the primary event identity and then developed two distinct extensions to define the different energies of the week: one for the "DevCon After Dark: Birthday Bash" and another for the high-intensity Hackathon. To create a cohesive yet varied environment, I leaned into Workday’s "nighttime" brand colorway, utilizing a sleek "dark mode" palette and custom illustrations that felt native to the developer world.
I also prioritized a digital-first signage strategy over traditional printed materials. By designing for an array of digital surfaces, I was able to transform the atmosphere of Resorts World instantaneously, creating massive, high-impact brand takeover moments that felt immersive and modern. This approach allowed for real-time content flexibility and directly supported Workday’s sustainability goals by significantly reducing the event's physical footprint.
Mara, your work on DevCon has me in awe. Not just the deliverables (flawless), but your strategic thinking and leadership are top-notch. Thank you for your partnership in making this a gorgeous event that I'm positive will resonate with our audience.
Hackathon
The Hackathon is the most anticipated "event-within-the-event," requiring a shift in energy from a standard conference to a 24-hour creative lab. To achieve this, I designed a specialized brand extension that allowed for a total environmental transformation overnight. By swapping digital screen content, reskinning lightboxes, and rebranding the keynote, I ensured the space felt entirely new and purpose-built for the community's most intense period of work.
To make the environment feel grounded and authentic, I created a custom illustration set that mirrored the developer’s actual workflow. These designs featured app-building motifs, laptops running Workday’s specific code-building platform, and 24-hour clocks to emphasize the sprint nature of the event. Every graphic was a deliberate nod to the developer's craft, ensuring the space felt like their own personal studio rather than a corporate ballroom.
Mara's creativity and partnership have been invaluable in ensuring that our immersive experiences at DevCon look fantastic and deliver a high-quality feel. Her responsiveness and collaborative spirit have made our partnership a true highlight, and her ability to see the big picture has been crucial in creating a fantastic journey for our attendees.
