The people on stage

Speaker Biography

Jessica has spent fifteen years as an art director for publishing and product brands, from magazine covers to app launches. Her studio helps teams find a visual voice that still feels human at scale. At Eventside she opens day one with a talk on designing products people remember.

Speaker Agenda

• Stop making pretty stuff: design with soulSun 20 Dec · 09:30 · Main stage
• Moodboards that survive the meetingMon 21 Dec · 14:00 · Studio A
• Art direction for product teamsTue 22 Dec · 10:00 · Studio B

Speaker Biography

Margaret writes and designs for the web, and has led content design at two fintech start-ups. Her newsletter on plain-language interfaces reaches 40,000 designers every month. She runs the content strategy workshop and shares the checklists her teams still use.

Speaker Agenda

• Interaction Design in the Era of Augmented IntelligenceSun 20 Dec · 11:00 · Studio A
• How does food shape our cities and who we are?Sun 20 Dec · 16:45 · Rooftop
• Workshop: Building a Content StrategyTue 22 Dec · 13:00 · Main stage

Speaker Biography

Hana is a product designer who has shipped mobile apps used by millions in Seoul and Toronto. Her work focuses on onboarding, accessibility and the small details that make software feel calm. She will walk through three redesigns, including the ones that did not work.

Speaker Agenda

• Mobile-first Product ThinkingSun 20 Dec · 11:00 · Studio B
• Design Systems that Scale with Your TeamMon 21 Dec · 09:00 · Main stage
• Data-Driven Design DecisionsWed 23 Dec · 09:30 · Main stage

Speaker Biography

Kenji leads a research team that tests ideas with real users every week, not once a quarter. Before that he studied cognitive science and ran field studies across Asia. His sessions show how to make research count, from storing findings to the first five minutes of a new product.

Speaker Agenda

• Research Ops: From Insight to ImpactMon 21 Dec · 14:00 · Main stage
• The Psychology of Great User OnboardingWed 23 Dec · 11:15 · Studio A

Speaker Biography

Robert founded a design consultancy that grew from three people to two hundred across four countries. He now advises founders on building teams where design has a seat at the table. Expect a frank talk on hiring, leading through change and saying no to the wrong clients.

Speaker Agenda

• Panel Discussion: Designing for BusinessSun 20 Dec · 08:00 · Main stage
• Leading Creative Teams Through ChangeMon 21 Dec · 10:30 · Studio B
• Hiring Your First DesignerWed 23 Dec · 13:30 · Studio A

Speaker Biography

Damian builds design systems for companies with dozens of product teams. He co-created an open-source component library used by more than 2,000 projects. On stage he joins the business panel, talks about voice interfaces and gives Monday’s evening keynote.

Speaker Agenda

• Panel Discussion: Designing for BusinessSun 20 Dec · 08:00 · Main stage
• The Revelation of Voice User Interface DesignSun 20 Dec · 13:30 · Main stage
• Evening Keynote: Designing with EmpathyMon 21 Dec · 17:00 · Rooftop

Speaker Biography

Michael designs interfaces for machine learning products, where the hardest part is explaining what the model does. He has worked on search, recommendations and data tools for research labs. At Eventside he shows how motion can explain a product, and hosts the fireside chat and the live Q&A.

Speaker Agenda

• Prototyping the Future: Motion & Micro-interactionsMon 21 Dec · 11:30 · Studio A
• Fireside Chat: Careers in Creative TechTue 22 Dec · 16:00 · Rooftop
• Live Q&A with the SpeakersWed 23 Dec · 14:30 · Main stage

Speaker Biography

Selena is editor in chief of a magazine about technology and culture, and has interviewed many of the people shaping the products we use. At Eventside she talks about brand storytelling and runs the Writing for Interfaces workshop. Her edits are known for being short, fair and hard to argue with.

Speaker Agenda

• Brand Storytelling in a Digital WorldTue 22 Dec · 10:45 · Studio A
• Writing for InterfacesWed 23 Dec · 11:15 · Studio B

Speaker Biography

Nijal leads design for a healthcare platform used in hospitals across Canada. The work sits between clinicians, engineers and regulators, so clarity is not optional. At Eventside she makes the case for accessibility by default and for research with people who are not already fans.

Speaker Agenda

• Accessible by Default: Inclusive Product DesignTue 22 Dec · 08:30 · Main stage
• Recruiting Beyond the Usual SuspectsTue 22 Dec · 14:30 · Studio A