To describe Manal Elias as multitalented is an understatement. The 2024 Adobe MAX Creativity Award honoree for Mixed Media is an accomplished designer, filmmaker, photographer, and digital storyteller, but what truly sets Elias apart is the way she combines these skills to build captivating brand experiences that resonate with audiences on a deeply personal level.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the 360-degree campaign Elias developed for VidCon 2024, one of the world’s largest conventions for digital brands and content creators. Elias worked with a team of talented designers and agencies to create more than 1,000 assets for the conference using Adobe solutions. Those assets ranged from VidCon’s visual identity to character design, to social media ads, to billboards, to immersive experiences at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Most importantly, Elias helped VidCon create a space where 55,000 people could come together and celebrate their love for digital creativity and self-expression. “If I were to meet Beyoncé in real-life, I would collapse. Each of the influencers on stage at VidCon are as big as Beyoncé for their fans, who engage with them every day,” she says. “That love and passion shaped every aspect of my designs for the 2024 conference.”

Building a unique visual language

Elias was always drawn to the arts, but her career path as a creative was anything but linear. Born in Dubai years before the city became a cultural hub for the Emirates, her exposure to design came through television and from magazines she would encounter on trips abroad or that her family and friends would bring her from their travels.

“Magazines were my window into the rest of the world. They were like my social media,” Elias says. “I couldn’t wait for visitors from Beirut and France to bring me a new stack of inspiration to leaf through.”

The rise of the internet introduced Elias to web design and the work of digital creators from around the world. In addition to learning from these digital pioneers, Elias began to develop her graffiti and lettering skills, filling notebooks with sketches and collages of magazine clippings. “Scrapbooking allowed me to express myself in a way that wasn’t traditionally accessible to Arab kids of my generation. It was liberating,” she says.

When she reached college age, Elias initially wanted to become an interpreter and was accepted by the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut, one of Lebanon’s most reputable schools for political science. But Israel and Hezbollah went to war in 2006, soon after she arrived in the country, forcing Elias and her mother to flee to Syria and destroying her academic plans. The trauma of the experience made Elias reevaluate her priorities, return to Dubai, and pursue her true passion: graphic design.

Creating community through 360-degree experiences

Elias dove into her studies, developing skills in graphics, photography, and typography. Thirsty for more, she also got into branding and visual identify, which would become the focus of her early years as a creative professional in Dubai. But it was Elias’s move to Los Angeles to pursue a master’s degree in filmmaking that would lay the groundwork for her career as a master of mixed media storytelling.

Eleven years later, Elias has become the go-to designer for one of the most relevant and forward-thinking digital conferences in the world. “VidCon is a Mecca for people who want to make their name in content creation. It’s like Adobe MAX for designers,” she says. “I always knew they would be a dream client, and I am immensely proud of the work we do together.”

On a technical level, VidCon gave Elias a rare opportunity to develop integrated brand experiences for a uniquely receptive audience. From digital advertisements to merchandise and swag, to interactive experiences at VidCon itself, Elias’s output for the conference saw her apply every tool in her creative toolbox to engage with its digitally savvy fanbase.

Above all, Elias loved the sense of community VidCon creates for its fans. The conference is a beacon of self-expression for digital creators and a safe space for the countless LGBTQ2+ individuals they inspire each day.

“I never could have imagined being in a hall with hundreds of LGBTQ2+ kids waving flags that represent them and supporting creators who give them hope. It feels like a full-circle moment to be part of that experience.”

-Manal Elias, creative director