Making a developer conference feel worth attending
GitHub Universe : 2026
GitHub Universe needed more than a refreshed event website. It needed a public-facing experience that could build demand, communicate the value of attending, and make GitHub’s flagship developer conference feel worth showing up for.
I led design across the 2026 Universe web experience, transforming the site from a utility-first event page into a richer branded destination built around anticipation, storytelling, and momentum.
In a world where AI can summarize dates, pricing, speakers, and logistics instantly, the site needed to offer something more valuable than information. It needed to create desire.
The design leaned into the parts of Universe that a summary cannot capture: the energy of the room, the scale of the community, the live product moments, and the feeling of being part of what developers are building next.
The site needed to communicate the energy, community, product moments, and in-person value of Universe and not just list dates and logistics.
Guide attendees
Registration and session planning needed to feel clearer, more branded, and less like out-of-the-box vendor software.
Scale the system
The system needed to be reusable, stable, and practical enough to reduce reinvention across future event cycles.
Before
The event site primarily answered practical questions.
After
For the 2026 direction, I injected a lot more editorial storytelling, video, imagery, and stronger hierarchy to communicate why Universe is worth attending. The digital experience became part of the in-person experience itself. It became a place to build anticipation before attendees arrived.
Homepage
Creating energy and establish the event story.
Pricing
Helping users understand pass options and move toward registration with confidence.
We needed to support multiple jobs without feeling like a collection of unrelated pages. Each section had a clear role in the attendee decision journey.
Speakers
Making the programming feel credible, human, and exciting.
Agenda
Supporting exploration and showing the depth of the event.
2025 Highlights
Using video and imagery to communicate the atmosphere of being there.
Testimonials
Build efficacy and human trust.
Building for the full event lifecycle
Last year, we approached the site as a flexible system of reusable sections and page patterns. This decision made it easier for the team to adapt the experience across phases while keeping the brand cohesive.
Alongside the core web experience, I explored future-facing concepts for how Universe could become a stronger bridge between GitHub’s brand, product, and community.
A repo as a ritual
How might Universe help attendees start something, not just attend something? How might AI help attendees find sessions, build agendas, and connect event content to their goals?
My role
Led the public web experience across multiple phases, from early concepts through stakeholder reviews, prototyping, and handoff.
Content strategy
Reframed the site from logistics-first to story-first, using editorial layouts, video, and imagery to make the event feel worth attending.
Visual system
Translated the Universe brand into flexible web patterns that could support key pages, campaign moments, and future content needs.
System thinking
Reused modules from prior year that could support the event lifecycle without requiring the team to reinvent the site every year.
GitHub & ATWM
Kelly Quesnel
Managers
Aja Ingraffia / Natalie Harris
Engineering
Simon Luthi
Matthew Ruivo
Charlotte Stiles
Misaki Nakano
Brand
Marcus Bakke
Eleena Bakrie
Kelly Carpenter
Copywriting
Lexi Lietzke
Project Management
Lisa Adang