Github Universe 2019
About the project
GitHub Universe brought together a community of over 1,800 developers, executives and industry leaders from around the world, who are connected by code and turning ideas into innovations.
Held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the conference provided the opportunity for attendees to hear from industry experts and put a face to a username—connecting old and new collaborators to see what’s to come for GitHub’s newest products, features and programs.
With an emphasis on beautiful experiential elements, thoughtfully designed art installations and impeccably curated environments to inspire and empower their guests, the Universe experience infused an element of fun and creativity into the traditionally stale software conference environment.
Services Provided
- Campaign Management
- Creative Direction
- Public Relations
- Social Media
- Video Production
An LED-lit entry tunnel, representing real time pull request data from the GitHub platform, transported attendees into the new world that they would inhabit for the next two days. Each time a pull request occurred on the GitHub platform, a corresponding light would move through the tunnel, creating a live connection to the work being done by GitHub users, both at the conference and around the globe.
The general session stage also took inspiration from this concept, surrounding the content screens with LED-lit tubes, representing pull request data in real time.
Mona, GitHub’s beloved mascot and anthropomorphized octocat—a part cat, part octopus character, with five octopus-like arms—served both as ambassador and inspiration for areas of interaction. A large scale, sculpture garden version of her closet allowed conference-goers to pose with her famous accessories, exploded across the space.
At the center of the sculpture garden, and held by giant tentacles coming of out the ground, GitHub’s online octocat generator screens encouraged attendees to personalize their Mona-like avatar, representing themselves through the brand mascot. As an added bonus, the personalized octocats could be printed as stickers onsite and taken home, in addition to the digital version.
While Universe reimagines what a tech conference should look and feel like, it also redefines how onsite sponsors interact with consumers. Through bespoke sponsor areas that appear more like art installations than booth spaces, GitHub sponsors cultivate relationships with attendees through unique, educational and alluring interactions—and a genuine good time. By providing an environment for natural communication, both the attendee experience and sponsor results are able to thrive and ultimately exceed expectations.
GitHub has a passion for universal accessibility, ensuring that all attendees feel safe, connected and motivated, while attending Universe. This focus on accessibility was brought to life through parents and wellness rooms, quiet workspaces, areas dedicated to bringing people together, self learning, group learning, ADA compatibility, live closed captioning, gender neutral restrooms, catering to fit all dietary needs and more, through GitHub and Manifold’s unwavering dedication in their quest for accessible perfection on behalf of all Universe attendees.