Cusp Conference / Brand Strategy and Experience Design

The design of a conference about the design of everything.

A project of Multiple Inc., Cusp Conference is a conference about the design of everything.

 

For more than a decade, one project has drawn on virtually every facet of our abilities as strategic designers. Involving conceptual thinking, ideation, research and planning, naming, graphic design, web design and development, social media design and implementation, video production, event planning, project management, marketing, and experience design, that project has benefitted from the talents, efforts, and enthusiasm of every single member of our team.

 

And what an incredible ride it has been.

Arts and Culture

Strategy

Messaging

Naming

Identity

Campaigns

Print

Interactive

Motion

Environments

Photography

A collage of speakers and performers on stage at the Cusp Conference, with diverse presentations and dynamic poses, conveying passion and creativity.
Dark background with bold grey text saying "THE DESIGN OF EVERYTHING," partially overlapping smaller white text "cusp."

The idea.

The idea for a conference ‘about the design of everything’ was born, like so many ideas, from a combination of experiences and influences.

As designers — specifically as graphic designers in the 1990’s and very early 2000’s — we had attended and spoken at numerous graphic design-centric events. But with the emergence of new technologies and disciplines, we could see the design world opening up. The walls that separated graphic design from video design, experience design from interior design, and so on, were breaking down. We could feel that ‘design’, in a much broader sense, was starting to gain recognition as a driver of societal, technological, and entrepreneurial change, and we began to look beyond graphic design for new challenges and opportunities.

We continuously sought out inspiration, innovation and education, taking our staff members to conferences such as Ted and ideaCity, wonderful events that covered a massive range of subject matter. But when we searched unsuccessfully for an event that was more closely focused on design as a big idea, the opportunity to create such an event presented itself.

The challenge.

Cusp Conference began as a scribbled question in a black Moleskin notebook. Converting that scribble into an actual two-day gathering of 275 attendees and 25 presenters not once, but for ten consecutive years, has been a huge exercise in team-based design. And because all of the risk in the project was ours, Cusp has been a continuous reminder of the trust and faith our clients place in us. Key aspects of the project included:

Ideation

  • Concept development
  • Naming
  • Research
  • Planning

Brand Design / Communication

  • Identity
  • Positioning
  • Web design
  • Database design
  • Marketing communication
  • Event graphics / collateral
  • Video production

Experience Design

  • Speaker curation / management
  • Event planning
  • Event management / logistics
  • Event hosting

Marketing

  • Advertising
  • Social media
  • Email list building / campaigns
Three smartphones display a Cusp conference website. The first shows a speaker with a quote. The second displays a grid of past speakers. The third highlights a healthcare designer's talk.

The reward.

Cusp Conference was designed from scratch. Ideas were floated. Research was conducted. Concepts were tested. Risks were taken. Mistakes were made. And corrected. And then new mistakes were made. You get the idea.

Since that first scribbled question began to come to life more than 13+ years ago, Cusp has served as a learning lab. It has tested our abilities, provided us with countless teambuilding opportunities, offered us endless inspiration, connected us with thousands of like-minded people from all over the world, and resulted in us designing conferences and events for clients.

We believe we’ve stayed true to our original idea: to present design as a broad-reaching, essential part of the human experience, and to provide an inspiring, entertaining, surprising and attainable forum through which to experience it.

We’ve been honored to host more than 250 fantastically enthusiastic presenters from diverse industries, backgrounds, and areas of expertise. Every one of them—a space architect, a crime-fighting doctor, a submarine designer, a cartoonist, an atmospheric physicist, a theatrical director, a blind screenwriter, a neuroscientist, and on and on—has added to the growing recognition that design and design thinking are key to solving problems large and small. And our attendees, from high school kids to CEOs, have reminded us over and over that maybe this crazy experiment wasn’t so crazy after all.

We’re proud of what we’ve built, but prouder still that we just might have helped inspire someone to take their own scribbled idea and turn it into reality.

Reflection of a woman walking past a city storefront window displaying a poster about Cusp. The street outside is bright and bustling with vehicles.
A person holds a Cusp booklet and a green name badge with the background blurred.
Close-up of a black poster with "Welcome to Cusp." written in orange and white text promoting a design conference.
Three smartphones show the Cusp Conference 2016 website. Screens display event details, a speaker list, and a smiling woman, conveying a professional tone.
A collection of "Cusp" magazines with vivid covers, featuring art such as a silhouette, abstract shapes, and a superhero.
Three black t-shirts with white text on each. The shirts feature the Cusp logo in white and humorous phrases related to ocean, hip-hop music, and garbage.
Two tote bags with pop art designs and bold black handles. Each bag features dotted patterns, a mix of colors, and large white "cusp" logo.
A person stands at a podium on a dimly lit stage, delivering a presentation at a Cusp conference with a screen showing abstract designs. A grand piano is visible on the right.
A woman stands at a podium presenting at the Cusp Conference in front of a large screen displaying colorful, hand-drawn sketches and notes.
A man presents a cosmic timeline slide at the Cusp conference indicating the universe's expansion, featuring key milestones such as galaxy and planet formation.

Cusp isn’t a ‘how to design things’ conference. It’s eclectic by design, intended to provoke cross-pollination of ideas and generate new thinking.

A DJ performs live at the Cusp conference, focused on his laptop, while vibrant, colorful visual projections of a violinist and abstract patterns fill the background, creating an energetic atmosphere.
Woman in a yellow sweater speaks confidently on stage at the Cusp conference with a headset mic. She stands near a laptop covered in colorful stickers.
A man in a suit with a red tie speaks into a microphone on stag at the Cusp conference.

Over the course of two days, Cusp attendees enjoy 25+ inspiring and thought-provoking presentations by people who are passionate about designing a better future.

A speaker stands confidently on stage at the Cusp conference in front of a large screen displaying the text "How To Be Black," conveying a theme of empowerment and engagement.
Dancers energetically perform on stage at the Cusp conference under bright lights, with a large, vintage black-and-white photo of a lively dance scene projected behind them.
A speaker in a suit gestures on stage at the Cusp conference, accompanied by large, colorful brain scan images. The scene conveys a sense of scientific presentation and focus.
A man in a leafy costume and green hat speaks into a microphone. He stands among an amused audience in a brightly lit auditorium.
A speaker stands in front of a bold presentation slide at the Cusp conference reading, "Design CAN CHANGE the World" with crossed-out words. The tone is inspiring and thoughtful.

Cusp is about broad thinking. It’s about getting people out of the world they know and immersing them in a flood of ideas that ultimately help break down barriers and connect unknown dots. And it’s about finding ideas and relevance in unexpected places.

A collage of vibrant Cusp conference speaker images fills the screen, showcasing diverse presenters in dynamic poses. The tone is inspiring and energetic.
Three laptops display different Cusp conference web pages against a black background. Center: motivational quote, left: red grid of photos, right: video interface.
Three overlapping email blasts displaying content about the Cusp Conference. Each features images, text snippets, and buttons.
Three images depict Cusp conferencea. Left: Speaker on stage with a patterned background. Middle: Quote about conference value. Right: Engaged audience.
Social media posts from Cusp Conference feature diverse topics: Matthew Diffee on career design, Orsola de Castro on fashion sustainability, and Kel Smith on technology challenges.

Because all of the risk in the project is ours, Cusp has been a continuous reminder of the trust and faith our clients place in us.

A group of people stands on a dimly lit stage in discussion about the Cusp conference, surrounded by colorful blue and red curtains and patterned floor lighting.
Four men on a stage in a Cusp conference setting while behind them, a large screen displays vibrant dancers.
A diverse audience of men and women sit in theater seats, smiling and applauding at the Cusp Conference.