When Webflow set out to overhaul its user conference, the design-forward brand aimed to execute a dynamic, art-driven experience that mirrored the energy of this year’s event objective—to demonstrate the evolution of web design in the age of AI. So with a “play” theme to run with and a venue that served as a blank canvas, the company rewrote its script and delivered a whimsical in-person affair at Spring Studios in New York from Sept. 17-18, while simultaneously engaging 30,000-plus attendees online.
For a closer look at the strategy and success behind Webflow Conf 2025, we sat down with Alyson Strickler-Vazquez, head of strategic events at Webflow, who was tasked with reimagining the event in just 12 weeks’ time. (Agency: Trademark Events)
A PLAYFUL THEME
From the biggest to the tiniest details, elements of play were woven throughout Webflow Conf 2025. Like the marching band wearing conference-branded varsity jackets that battled with the dj during the general session as attendees munched on homemade Pop-Tart-style pastries, or the clubhouse setting modeled after Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.” There was also a childhood dessert-themed spread, including sweets that mimicked Twinkies and Ho Hos.
Even swag items served as playful, keepable keepsakes. Webflow partnered with Topologie to offer a bag-making activity that allowed attendees to personalize a bag with charms, straps and other accessories.
But it was the finale experience that drove the concept all the way home. With mega-influencer @dudewithsign leading the way, Webflow unleashed a parade down Canal Street featuring members of the Brooklyn United Music & Arts marching band performing, custom company flags flying and hundreds of attendees carrying heart-shaped, Webflow-blue balloons with QR codes that linked to the brand’s newest website, which launched the week of the show.
“Our purpose behind the play was that in the world of AI, play is really the way that you have a head start. Those of us who are willing to play have that edge going into this,” says Strickler-Vazquez.
NYC AS A ‘SUB-CHARACTER’
With the Big Apple as its backdrop, Webflow designed the event to evoke some of the city’s most iconic elements, from parking a custom-branded yellow taxi in front of the venue, to the circle motif splashed throughout the footprint, mimicking the circles used to represent New York’s subway lines. “It was important to understand that no matter what we did, being in New York, it had to be its own sub-character,” she says.
Strickler-Vazquez also wanted attendees to have the opportunity to “live like a local” while on-site. So for breakfast on the final day of the conference, Webflow brought in local food trucks that offered up items like bagels with schmear and fresh crepes.
And then there was the vintage newspaper stand installation. Twelve antique New York City newspaper racks, all filled with the fictional Webflow Times and adorned with distressed stickers, were placed in front of a bespoke wheatpaste mural.
AN EVOLVING ARTWORK
The event had several art-driven touchpoints, but chief among them was a live, evolving artwork located on the roof of Spring Studios. Throughout the conference, the graffiti-style mural by renowned street artist Ricardo Gonzalez evolved in alignment with the event’s programming themes—and it was all layered over Webflow-branded newsprint. (Nearby, attendees could add their own artwork or messaging to a giant “W” logo.)
“It was trying to tell the story of how you can evolve as a creative,” Strickler-Vazquez explains. “So every day, he would paint over it with a different color and start over. So we had this beautiful piece of artwork, but it was so layered with all of our thoughts.”
Art was also incorporated outside of the event venue—Webflow rented out the Banksy Museum for a day and let attendees loose.
ATTENDEE APPRECIATION
For Strickler-Vazquez, making attendees feel like they’re valued and that their time is well spent at the event is a top priority. To that end, she created an attendee playbook that ensured the audience had information on when and where everything took place, right down to full menu listing for meals.
Webflow also hosted its own version of an Apple Genius Bar on the expo floor, dished out logoed lattes, offered networking moments facilitated by the event app and brought in Hypno and its photography technology, which made event photos live and shareable almost instantly. Plus, for the first time, the brand presented a small pre-general-session experience that included trivia and prizes.
VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT
Webflow didn’t forget its virtual audience, either. The company hosted community parties all over the globe during the show, and shipped New York-themed items to those locations.
“We shipped to well over 25 countries. We did inside-out, branded bucket hats that were super cool for them, and custom pens and things like that, so they could show [off] something fun and colorful online, and they felt like they were a part of what was happening in New York,” Strickler-Vazquez says.
Looking ahead to 2026, Webflow has plans to increase the size of the show to accommodate the growing number of users who want to attend IRL (there was a sizeable waiting list to get into Webflow Conf 2025 in person).
“We’ve heard our people, we’ve heard the community, and we want to make everybody feel like they can attend,” says Strickler-Vazquez. “There’s a real hunger for us to expand this. People understand the energy that comes behind it. They’re eager to see not only what Webflow is doing, but the community in action, and that’s something that we feel called to give them.”
Photo credit: LL Productions
