Contrary Con IV
concept development
Every year, the team at ISL would host a bitchin’ day conference to inspire local creatives and bring in speakers we respected from near and far. This annual event, lovingly known as Contrary Con, was an opportunity for the ISL creative team to flex their branding and design muscles without client constraints, all while welcoming the local community into our badass space in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Let’s Take a Dive…
For Contrary Con IV, I developed the concept behind the fourth installment of this event titled The Dimensional Deep End, which challenged participants to question their own reality and explore new perspectives. This underlying theme went on to inspire branding, interactive design, and even informed the speakers we selected and the prompts that guided their talks.
The concept manifested in design through the use of impossible objects and alternating perspectives.
ManiFestO
We look at the world through binary goggles, existing only within the limitations of that which we are able to perceive. But just because we can’t perceive it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The moment we add dimension, our worlds burst open, our minds expand, and what was once binary becomes infinite. Contrary Con IV will explore a world beyond zeroes and ones, seeing what happens when we factor in new perspective and take a dive off the Dimensional Deep End.
…ofF the Dimensional Deep End
My wildly talented team fully ran with the concept, bringing multi-dimensionality to life in every aspect imaginable, from mind-bending graphic design to easter eggs woven into digital interactions. Everything crafted for Contrary Con IV was done so with the intention to leave audiences curious and inspired. Based on sold-out attendance and recognition as CSS Winner’s Site of the Day, one could argue that intention was met.
team
Event Director: Mike O’Brien
Creative Director: Dan Rader
Lead Designer: Maggie Chambers
Front End Dev: Marissa Halpert
Video Editor: Nathan Colby
Motion Graphics: Peter Broomfield