Like any garden, accessibility needs tools and expert tending, and AudioEye's approach is rooted in both.
CSUN is the world's largest assistive technology conference, drawing over 5,000 researchers and industry leaders each year. In 2026, AudioEye made its debut as a platinum sponsor, its most visible presence at the conference yet.
AudioEye's software pairs automated fixes with accessibility experts who manually test and resolve what automation can't, a layed approach unlike either of the market's two dominant categories: automation-only overlays or consultant-only audits.
But because AudioEye uses automation at all, they continue to get grouped with overlays and dismissed as a surface-level fix, a misconception that undercut its actual position as a category leader.
I landed on Tend to Thrive as the reframe, built around companion planting, growing different plants together so each makes the other stronger, a direct parallel to how AudioEye's automation and human expertise work together rather than in competition.
From there, the visual system came together as a team effort, anchored by the typeface Turnip, whose organic imperfections and sharp letterforms made a linocut illustration style the natural fit. We built an original library of modular vegetable illustrations and carried the concept across banners, decks, print collateral, stickers, landing pages, and motion assets.
I led brand strategy and messaging for the campaign, positioning the sponsorship as a reframe AudioEye needed rather than another marketing footprint, and worked closely with Allyson Konz, the design lead, and the rest of the team to carry that positioning through the full visual system.
AudioEye's first hosted session at CSUN was the most widely attended of the conference, and attendees directly cited the Tend to Thrive concept as what finally clarified AudioEye's difference from overlays, the only accessibility solution at the conference with a fully developed campaign theme.
The CSUN Board recognized AudioEye for an outstanding sponsorship suite, and AudioEye's CEO affirmed that the goal had been perception shift over lead generation, a benchmark the campaign met.
One small piece of collateral ended up doing an outsized amount of that work:
"We're currently at CSUN, and I can't tell you how many conversations I have had about the 'Overlay, Underdeliver' sticker. It's been the easiest lead-in to conversations that have helped change perception around AudioEye."
— Monterey Thompson, VP of Product, AudioEye
TEAM
Brand Director | Sojin Rank |
Accessibility Evangelist | Alisa Smith |
VP of Communications | Mike Barton |
Design Lead | |
UI/UX Design | |
Motion Design |