Quick Summary / TLDR
➡️ Problem: LinkedIn’s UED team needed skilled design support to manage overlapping executive presentations, brand graphics, and product launches under tight timelines.
➡️ Role: I led creative direction and presentation design for executive keynotes and brand visuals.
➡️ Solution: Delivered dynamic decks with motion and animation, expanded illustration and icon libraries, and helped set new presentation and brand design standards across the team.
➡️ Impact: Earned trust and positive feedback from executives, strengthened team credibility, and helped UED maintain consistency and polish during a demanding production cycle.
Keep reading to see how it all came together.
Intro / Background
LinkedIn’s User Experience Design (UED) team supports a wide range of initiatives from product design and launches to internal tools. The team also owns all high-level presentations for executives, including C-level and VP keynotes.
Their approach to presentations mirrors how they design products: Storytelling-driven, centered on clarity, and built to inspire confidence and alignment across audiences.
During a period of overlapping launches and keynotes, the team needed extra help. I was brought in to support executive presentations while contributing to other UED initiatives that required fast, high-quality design.
This case study explores one key question:
How can design bring clarity, persuasion, and consistency to executive storytelling, even under tight timelines?
How can design bring clarity, persuasion, and consistency to executive storytelling, even under tight timelines?
The Problem
At LinkedIn, presentations are not just slides — they’re a core part of leadership communication. Executives use them to launch products, share vision, and rally teams. But when multiple events happen at once, even large teams can become stretched thin.
Executive decks also carry higher expectations. Every detail reflects on the brand. The challenge was to produce clean, confident, high-stakes presentations quickly, while staying aligned with LinkedIn’s evolving design system.
The key challenges and pain points were:
❌ Overflow demand: The UED team couldn’t keep pace with simultaneous launches, summits, and executive keynotes.
❌ High stakes: Presentations needed to impress senior leaders and global audiences without errors.
❌ Brand consistency: Decks had to align with the updated design system and maintain a unified voice.
❌ Compressed timelines: Events moved fast, leaving little time for iteration or polish.
❌ High stakes: Presentations needed to impress senior leaders and global audiences without errors.
❌ Brand consistency: Decks had to align with the updated design system and maintain a unified voice.
❌ Compressed timelines: Events moved fast, leaving little time for iteration or polish.
My Role
➡ Designed executive-level presentations for product launches, summits, and internal keynotes
➡ Partnered with executives and C-level leaders on storytelling and content flow
➡ Expanded the illustration and icon libraries to support broader UED projects
➡ Helped improve consistency across presentations, events, and internal tools
➡ Adapted to high-volume, short-turnaround work while maintaining quality
➡ Tools used: Word, Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint, Teams
➡ Partnered with executives and C-level leaders on storytelling and content flow
➡ Expanded the illustration and icon libraries to support broader UED projects
➡ Helped improve consistency across presentations, events, and internal tools
➡ Adapted to high-volume, short-turnaround work while maintaining quality
➡ Tools used: Word, Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint, Teams
Extended contributions beyond presentations at LinkedIn spanned motion design, illustration, iconography, infographics, and internal web app UI audit and strategy.
For executive keynotes, I leaned into animation and motion effects to elevate the storytelling. This example is from Christina Hall’s (SVP, Global Talent) keynote, where smooth transitions and dynamic pacing kept the audience engaged throughout.
This presentation was created for LinkedIn’s Engineering Leadership Summit (ELS) in Bangalore, India. It ran longer than the Global Leadership Summit keynote but used similar design principles. It relies on an even heavier focus on motion and animation to captivate a large live audience.
Challenges + Learnings
Working directly with executives brought both excitement and pressure. Every presentation had to feel polished and persuasive, often with little time for review. Staying calm, organized, and flexible was key.
Another challenge was context switching. I was often pulled into different projects — from data visualizations to internal design assets — which meant shifting gears quickly while keeping a consistent visual language.
A third challenge was the timing of LinkedIn’s new brand system. It had just launched when I joined, so many brand rules were still being defined. Questions like “What does a section divider look like?” or “How should we apply motion?” were still being figured out.
With few examples to follow, I helped create a presentation design kit and visual patterns that the team could reuse. It was a chance to shape new standards instead of just following them. This experience reinforced how adaptable and proactive you need to be when working with new systems in real time.
Impact + Results
✅ Delivered multiple executive presentations for major launches and events under tight timelines
✅ Elevated storytelling and clarity in leadership communications
✅ Expanded LinkedIn’s illustration and icon resources for future reuse
✅ Strengthened consistency across decks, events, and internal tools
✅ Earned strong feedback from executives and the UED team for quality and speed
✅ Elevated storytelling and clarity in leadership communications
✅ Expanded LinkedIn’s illustration and icon resources for future reuse
✅ Strengthened consistency across decks, events, and internal tools
✅ Earned strong feedback from executives and the UED team for quality and speed
Interested? Let’s connect.
