What makes you valuable as an IC designer won’t make you valuable as a Head of Design – and that’s terrifying. Alex Skougarevskaya has climbed from individual contributor at Atlassian to Head of Design at Canva, experiencing firsthand how leadership currency transforms at each altitude. This talk reveals the exchange rates of design leadership and the uncomfortable gaps between them – where your old skills lose value before new ones kick in. Through pivotal moments from her career, Alex shows what actually changes as you step up, what you must unlearn, and how to recognize when you’re ready. You’ll leave with a clear map for where you are now and what’s waiting above.

Early in his career he tried to fit the mold of an ideal designer. No fancy degree. No global exposure. Just a small-town kid with big dreams, a failed startup, and a stubborn love for design. Aashish Solanki’s story is one of doubt, rejection, and resilience. From rooms where he felt invisible to moments that nearly broke his confidence, he found power not in perfection, but in persistence. This talk isn’t about overnight success—it’s about the slow craft of becoming. Aashish shares the practices and mindset shifts that helped him build NetBramha Studio and himself along the way. Don’t miss this if you’ve ever felt like an outsider designing your way in.

What if the web we dreamed of—open, inclusive, human—has become something else? David asks what it means to design not just for efficiency or engagement, but for empathy. Inspired by MLK’s call to move from a “thing-oriented” to a “person-oriented” society, this talk challenges the very foundation of digital design. From the way we measure engagement to the algorithms that shape our lives, David exposes how design decisions reinforce power—and how Indigenous principles of balance, reciprocity, and respect can help us imagine better systems. Don’t miss this if you believe the web can still care.

In a world racing toward AI, Khushboo Agrawal and her team went the other way—back to people. Working with rural Indian communities at Karya, they discovered that assumptions about literacy, language, and technology often exclude millions. This talk shares how usability and trust emerge not from perfect pixels but from co-creation—using printed prompts, comics, and colloquial words that make sense to real users. It’s a story about designing with, not for, and about what happens when empathy replaces assumption. Don’t miss this if you want to see how design for the next billion begins with listening to the first million.

Design education is having an identity crisis and Amit Patel is here to name it.

As thousands pivot into UX from design, code, and architecture, many arrive without the mindset shift needed to thrive. The result? A growing mismatch between eager newcomers and teams hiring only the experienced. Add in failing academic models and fading mentorship—and you’ve got a generation of passionate but directionless designers.

Amit cuts through the chaos to reveal a framework for finding focus: one that helps learners, educators, and employers build capability with clarity and intention.

In an age where AI is raising the bar forstructured thinking, this talk is both a mirror and a map—for anyone navigating design’s uncertain future.

What does “currency” look like in the year 2050? Is it still made of notes and coins? Purely digital? Tattooed, sung, or sensed? Does currency mean money, or something more — trust, emotion, reputation, energy, attention? Our winners let their imagination run wild and free. And this is their chance to present the vision of a future set in 2050

New technology sparks excitement—and anxiety. As AI reshapes design, how do we ensure trust keeps pace with innovation? Archana Thiagarajan, VP of Experience Design at Adobe, shares lessons from the frontlines of building enterprise products that affect millions. This talk explores how trust—between users, systems, and teams—has become the defining metric of good design. Through real examples, she reveals how to balance speed with care, and how transparency can turn adoption into confidence. Don’t miss this if you’re navigating the promises and pitfalls of designing in the age of AI.

This panel brings together senior designers who’ve turned creativity into currency—leaders who’ve built thriving ventures, grown audiences, and shaped their own paths without massive teams or budgets. Together, they’ll unpack how to craft a personal brand, reach the right audience, and turn creative energy into sustainable wealth-making for their ventures.
Expect real stories, practical frameworks, and candid conversations about the risks, rewards, and realities of building a creative business today.

Design is facing a currency crisis.

We create immense value—transforming products, systems, and lives—yet struggle to articulate that worth in the language that wins trust, funding, and influence. As AI redefines creative output and economics tighten their grip, the design industry finds itself at a crucial inflection point: how do we prove the value we intuitively know we bring?

Niklas takes on this challenge head-on. His talk decodes the economics of design—bridging creativity and capital through a practical framework that helps designers translate their impact into metrics that matter. It’s a call to move from inspiration to accountability, from aesthetics to outcomes.

Because if design is to shape strategy, it must first speak its language.

In a world fractured by inequality, Catalina Estrada uses beauty as a bridge. From public art campaigns against gender violence in Mexico to poetic classrooms deep in the Amazon, her work shows how illustration and pattern can give voice to the unheard. This talk reveals how empathy transforms design from decoration to dialogue—from portfolios to purpose. With stories of collaboration, courage, and color, Catalina reminds us that design’s truest power lies in care. Don’t miss this if you believe beauty can build belonging—and that design can speak softly, but powerfully, for those who need it most.