In 2021, a group of grassroots designers got together to put on an event to help bring IBM designers around the globe together. Thus, the IBM Spark Design Festival was created to bring designers from all parts of IBM, the world, and every design discipline together for three days of community, creativity, and connections.

The branding committee wanted the brand to convey the feedback they received from the design community — to communicate a sense of energy, innovation, connection, inclusion, engagement, and inspiration. They also wanted the branding to be unique to the event, while using IBM Design Language, communicate without needing explanation, provoke conversation, show love for design, and be fun.

To achieve this, the committee made the following design decisions and carried these through all assets:

• We used global language, and a human-centered, conversational tone in all content, not corporate or technical jargon.

• We brought an inclusive visual identity to the festival by utilizing simple graphic “spark” elements with human illustrations to create a sense of empowerment and ownership of their spark.

• We prioritized consistency.

The final designs is focused on visuals that show how each person is empowered to hold their spark in their own way.