In January 2014, John Maeda and John Donahoe (CEO of eBay) sparked the Activate Design Initiative at eBay. Last Fall, they hosted the first public expression of the initiative by gathering hundreds of eBay designers and renowned speakers to the NYC Product & Design Summit, at Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

I was fortunate enough to be on the core team of organizers, and lead the art direction and design for the event. This included a brand identity, a responsive microsite, and the design of a tablet-based photo booth that animated portraits of attendees through particle systems, projected onto the walls of the event.

Our main goal was to establish and strengthen our design community and to elevate the role of design at eBay. We invited Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator of the Department of Architecture & Design at MoMA) and Sebastian Errazuriz (celebrated designer, activist, and artist) to give keynotes talks, and Questlove to seal the day with fantastic tunes. We also including shorter sessions from leaders of the design groups through eBay.

The incredible work of Dustin Yellin (Had to