In our third year of partnership, Tool worked alongside LinkedIn to imagine and execute their largest annual event, Talent Connect Summit 2025. Set against the vibrant backdrop of the Marriott Marquis by the Marina, this year’s focus, Turn Your Vision Into Reality, invited 1500 Talent Leaders from across the globe to move from inspiration to action, transforming bold ideas into tangible impact.
CREATIVE LEAD EXPERTISE
Tool worked as the lead creative partner, designing all aspects of the Summit by taking a graphical thematic VisID from LinkedIn and then extrapolating that into experiential design. The main visual component to this year’s event theme was the LinkedIn search bar, which encouraged guests to imagine the possibilities of the platform.
We brought this element into the physical space through thoughtful architectural and interactive design — from the main stage to breakout sessions and immersive brand activations. With the conversation again heavily focused on the impact and capabilities of AI, we used materials and lighting elements to imbue warmth and a human touch to the event design.
STRATEGIC SPACE PLANNING
Every event of this scale takes meticulous planning to ensure all stakeholders’ needs are considered. We begin design with an extensive space planning exercise, where we plot the user journey of our various attendee profiles across detailed floor plans. During this phase, we also develop a graphical signage system and wayfinding plan that makes best use of our venue, ultimately ensuring our attendees move through the space intuitively and with ease.
VISIONARY STAGE DESIGN
We set the tone for the conference with an approachable and elegant Main Stage design. Using the search bar as a framing element, we used a combination of curved lines, warm woods and fabrics as well as LED effects to create a backdrop that felt both dynamic and refined. By using a new colorway in our palette for each day of the conference, we kept the space feeling fresh and exciting for our attendees.
In addition to the in person Summit, thousands join virtually via the All Access Studio broadcast. This year, we brought this virtual stage out into the open, encouraging our Summit attendees to participate in the conversations happening online, bridging the gap between the two audiences and creating a connection to the in person experience for our virtual guests.
Tool designed this broadcast studio as a visual compliment to the Main Stage, creating an open and inviting footprint that put LinkedIn’s thought leadership center stage at the Summit. The All Access Studio also featured a content capture area for guests to create in the moment content that they could post back to their LinkedIn feed, engaging their community about their experience with key topics of the moment.
Breakout stages, showcased similar forms and textures, showing the adaptability of the design language for a smaller more intimate format – connecting guests in small panel discussions and hands on workshops.
SPOTLIGHTING AI SOLUTIONS
In a defining touchpoint of the Summit, we designed and produced the InBar, an interactive lounge focusing on the AI solutions that promise to bring any Talent Vision to life. We turned an existing lounge within the hotel into a seamlessly branded space, marrying architectural elements with fabricated builds. The main purpose of the InBar was to provide an upleveled demo experience of LinkedIn’s latest AI powered products, and Tool produced and managed the space over the 3 days of the conference.
Through a modular design approach, we created various ways for guests to experience a demo, whether that was through custom built individual kiosks, 1 on 1 genius bar style stations, and large group demo presentations.
We also integrated playful interactive elements throughout the footprint, creating connection points amongst attendees as they tread into the potentially overwhelming landscape of AI.
THEN & NEXT: A Y2K TRIBUTE TO CAP THE SUMMIT
It’s not all work at TCS, and Tool knows how to throw a good party. We worked with our partners to create a memorable closing celebration, using a playful and pop culture relevant nod to Y2K. Mixing throwback visuals with future forward thinking, through motion graphics behind a 90s band, a Real World style confessional booth, and synchronized swimmers - we used the parallels of this time in history to give guests a send off worthy of the AI shift into a whole new era of work.
Talent Connect Summit 2025 was a huge success, with each year even better than the last. Our team tackled the massive task of designing a space that aims to do it all; working with various internal stakeholder priorities and coordinating with a number of external partners. From spectacle to deep connecting moments, we brought our production expertise forward to create an elegantly approachable backdrop for LinkedIn’s biggest messaging moment yet.
