Internet Alchemy for Community Transformation ✨

Announcing the 2020 IFF’s Creative Concept

In The secret life of creatives at the intersection of human rights and technology, I shared how the 2020 Internet Freedom Festival’s creative concept was developed. Now it’s time for the big reveal!

“A festival is just densified internet.”

But first, here’s a little recap on Internet Alchemy:

The concept of Internet Alchemy was born using the world of alchemy as the source of inspiration and infusing it with the digital rights agenda.

Why do people come together at festivals? To create change.

That creation is oftentimes chaotic, unpredictable. We call Internet Alchemy the process of mixing the unexpected to collectively create the change we want.

Internet Alchemy is the catalyst for community transformation.

In Internet Alchemy terms, transformation is an ongoing cycle, not a goal. Digital rights groups are both products and makers of the internet; descendants and progenitors; cause and effect.

Internet Alchemy for the 2020 Internet Freedom Festival

And now, here’s the final set of Internet Alchemy designs. Feel free to download and share them with the world.

Key Visuals

These three images, “01.Creation”, 02.Gathering” and “03.Transformation”, are our windows into the universe of Internet Alchemy.

01.Creation — 02.Gathering — 03.Transformation

Details of the key visuals.

Internet Freedom Festival 2020 Announcement Posters

01.Creation Poster

02.Gathering Poster

03.Transformation Poster

01.Creation + 02.Gathering Poster Wall

02.Gathering + 03.Transformation Poster Wall

A Visual Voyage Through Internet Alchemy

I had the pleasure to work together with the amazing Sandro Rybak on this project. Together, we spent some months bringing Internet Alchemy to life. It’s not very often that you see how ideas make their way to the real world, but that’s exactly the goal of this two-part series. This was our journey.

Exploring the concept

I usually start developing a concept by focusing on the key visuals.

The first dive into Internet Alchemy focused on symbolism, replicating the layout of alchemical books.

Early Sketches

I suggested illustrating “a window into Internet Alchemy”. This was the starting lineup of sketches.

The first line up turned out a little too abstract. We needed more more recognizable characters to convey a sense of community. These five sketches were selected for further development.

Exploring Color

Picking the right colors was one the most difficult decisions. We went through 30–50 color combinations before making the final choice 🎨

Expanding the Universe

Once the key visuals were established, we started expanding the Internet Alchemy universe and blending it with the IFF brand.

Sketches and final versions of additional branding elements.

Want more?

Join us April 20–24 at the 2020 Internet Freedom Festival in Valencia to get some fresh Internet Alchemy merch!