Every year, Throughline takes a day to look ahead, to share the state of the company, introduce the goals and priorities for the year ahead, and reveal the new strategic placemat. I developed the visual direction for the 2025 and 2026 SOTU experiences, creating distinct identities that gave each year its own energy and personality.
In 2025, I drew inspiration from a visit to Meow Wolf in Denver, channeling its gritty, cyberpunk, futuristic aesthetic into a visual world of dark fields, digital grids, neon color, and surreal forms. The result was intentionally immersive, giving the presentations an edge and creating a visual language that could keep evolving throughout an all-day event.
For 2026, I took a completely different approach, leaning into bold color, oversized typography, playful geometry, and graphic shapes. The brighter, more expressive system brought a sense of optimism and momentum to the experience.
Because SOTU is an all-day event, the visual system has to do more than establish a look. It needs to keep the audience engaged from the opening slide through the final session, while creating a sense of anticipation around what’s next. The goal is to build hype around the year ahead and leave the team energized about where Throughline is going.
