Conferences can be a great way to get to know more about a specific field and meet professionals from said field. There are many reasons why attending design conferences might benefit your career.
Inspiration is one of the big ones. As designers when we look for inspiration we often end up using the same resources. If you are looking for some fresh ideas, then design conferences might be a great way to get a few.
A chance to learn from people that work on other disciplines within the industry. Conferences are an easy way to learn about a specific topic that you might not have the time to research about otherwise.
Networking is also a main reason to attend conferences. Not only to interact with the speakers of said conference but to network with fellow designers that will be a part of the public as well.
Keeping up with trends is a key attitude a designer must have. The design world keeps changing, especially in the digital world were tools and the way of working keeps shifting. Knowing what is going on in the design world will help you better understand the needs of your customers. This does not mean you must follow every trend that comes up. However, it’s worth keeping a look out so your design work and process never becomes outdated.
Knowing where design is heading is another key take away that conferences offer. Attending conferences might help understand what is happening in the design world and anticipate what trends will be popular in the future.
A break from your routine can be very beneficial for you and your work. Conferences offer an efficient and productive way to do this.
In this post I’d like to point out a list of conferences taking place in the UK. If you notice there is a UK based conference missing, please feel free to email us at hello@frutostudio.co.uk
New Adventures — Nottingham
‘Don’t miss Nottingham’s world-renowned, future-focused digital design conference. Our fifth event will explore speculative and critical design, radical inclusivity, climate, sustainability, and much more.’
Date: 22nd and 23rd of January 2020
Mind the product — Manchester
‘MTP Engage Manchester is for passionate product people of all levels of experience; from those interested in getting into product, to veterans of the discipline, the conference offers insight for all and a chance to take a step back and immerse yourself in product learning for two days.’
Date: 6th and 7th of February 2020
Front End North — Sheffield
‘A welcoming one-track, one-day conference for developers and designers who work on the web.’
Date: 7th of February 2020
The UX Conference — London
‘Design conference that’s not about buzzwords, but collaboration between designers’
Date: 2nd and 3rd of March 2020
Service Design in Gov — Edinburgh
‘The original international community event for anyone involved in designing and commissioning public services.’
Date: 4th, 5th and 6th of March 2020
Deliver Conference — Manchester
‘A conference for people delivering digital products or projects who want to learn, share, lead and be part of something bigger.’
Date: 12th and 13th of March 2020
Future London Academy
‘An immersive programme for creative entrepreneurs, innovation directors and business owners — introducing you to London’s most innovative businesses and uncovering the latest approaches to design thinking and innovation.’
Date: 16–20th of March 2020
UX Healthcare — London
‘With UX Healthcare we aim to make a difference, because better design is needed in the healthcare industry. From clinicians, healthcare insurances to hospital equipment manufacturers — our goal is to help healthcare across the world to implement the best user experiences possible.’
Date: 22nd, 23rd and 24th of April 2020
Camp Digital — Manchester
‘Camp Digital is an inspirational conference that brings together the digital, design and UX communities for a series of seminars exploring the latest thinking in our industry.’
Date: 13th of May 2020
Ecom Design Summit — London
‘The eCommerce Design Summit pulls together the world’s most innovative eCommerce platforms, to discuss Product Design, UX and Strategy. Our ambition is to create dialogue across the eCommerce community, which emphasises the importance of customer-centricity within the product development lifecycle.’
Date: 20th and 21st of May 2020
UX London
‘UX London is a unique three-day event combining inspirational talks with in-depth workshops presented by some of the industry’s biggest names.’
Date: 27th and 29th of May 2020
DesignOps Global Conference — Manchester
‘The DesignOps Global Conference is for design leaders, researchers, developers, practitioners, product managers, service innovators and business leaders that are defining the way we design and develop new products and services.’
Date: 28th, 29th and 30th of May 2020
UX Scotland
‘UX Scotland is the conference for the UX, service design and digital communities welcoming national and international participants to Scotland’
Date: 10th, 11th and 12th of June 2020
Collaborate Bristol
‘Collaborate Bristol is The South West’s leading UX, Ai and Design conference. The conference returns for the eighth year running, aimed at encouraging sharing, learning and networking within the digital community.’
Date: 12th of June 2020
User Research London
‘User Research London is a UX conference by researchers for user researchers’
Date: 26th of June 2020 and workshops will be held on Thursday 25th of June 2020
UX Bristol
‘UXBristol returns for its ten anniversary, once again bringing together leading practitioners from the fields of user experience, usability and information architecture.’
Date: 17th of July 2020
dConstruct — Brighton
‘For ten years dConstruct paved the way for innovative and forward-thinking speakers to help us imagine our digital future.’
Date: 11th of September 2020
Mind the product — London
‘Every year we bring together product leaders from around the world to explore the intersection of design, technology, and business, inspiring you to build better products.’
Date: 1st and 2nd of October 2020
Canvas conference — Birmingham
‘A single day digital product and experience conference sharing the insider stories from people solving real customer problems.’
Date: 8th of October 2020
UX Brighton
‘Join us for our 10th conference where people from product management, ux, research and design will gather to discover what we have to learn from one another. Learn new approaches and glean fresh insights that will bring solid benefits for you, your colleagues and your clients.’
Date: 6th of November 2020
Hopefully this list will give you an idea of what UK based conferences are out there for 2020 and inspire you to attend some, one or many of these events.
Conferences can be a great way to get to know more about a specific field and meet professionals from said field. There are many reasons why attending design conferences might benefit your career.
