DesignUp

Europe

Community, Connections & Conversations that matter

Buy PASSES

Design at Crossroads
The DesignUp 2026 Theme

“Mind
Blowing”

Jürgen Spangal
Former Global CDO
Atlassian

“The Gold standard
of Design
Conferences”

Akshay Kothari
Cofounder, Notion

“Beating heart
of Design”

Niklas Mortensen
Chief Design Officer
DesignIt

“Organization,
curation, and quality
were amazing”

Josh Clark
Founder, BigMedium

“Tickled the brain,
soul & intellect”

Arin Bhowmick
Chief Design Officer
SAP

“The Conference
with a heart”

Amy Huang
National Univ
of Singapore

“Rare to see this kind
of care & love in an event”

Ben Sauer
Author,
Speaker,
Coach, Advisor

“The Conference to
watch in 2026”

Katja Forbes
CX Leader
StanChart Bank

“Mind
Blowing”

Jürgen Spangal
Former Global CDO
Atlassian

“The Gold standard
of Design
Conferences”

Akshay Kothari
Cofounder, Notion

“Beating heart
of Design”

Niklas Mortensen
Chief Design Officer
DesignIt

“Organization,
curation, and quality
were amazing”

Josh Clark
Founder, BigMedium

“Tickled the brain,
soul & intellect”

Arin Bhowmick
Chief Design Officer
SAP

“The Conference
with a heart”

Amy Huang
National Univ
of Singapore

“Rare to see this kind
of care & love in an event”

Ben Sauer
Author,
Speaker,
Coach, Advisor

“The Conference to
watch in 2026”

Katja Forbes
CX Leader
StanChart Bank

“Mind
Blowing”

Jürgen Spangal
Former Global CDO
Atlassian

“The Gold standard
of Design
Conferences”

Akshay Kothari
Cofounder, Notion

“Beating heart
of Design”

Niklas Mortensen
Chief Design Officer
DesignIt

“Organization,
curation, and quality
were amazing”

Josh Clark
Founder, BigMedium

“Tickled the brain,
soul & intellect”

Arin Bhowmick
Chief Design Officer
SAP

“The Conference
with a heart”

Amy Huang
National Univ
of Singapore

“Rare to see this kind
of care & love in an event”

Ben Sauer
Author,
Speaker,
Coach, Advisor

“The Conference to
watch in 2026”

Katja Forbes
CX Leader
StanChart Bank

“Mind
Blowing”

Jürgen Spangal
Former Global CDO
Atlassian

“The Gold standard
of Design
Conferences”

Akshay Kothari
Cofounder, Notion

“Beating heart
of Design”

Niklas Mortensen
Chief Design Officer
DesignIt

“Organization,
curation, and quality
were amazing”

Josh Clark
Founder, BigMedium

“Tickled the brain,
soul & intellect”

Arin Bhowmick
Chief Design Officer
SAP

“The Conference
with a heart”

Amy Huang
National Univ
of Singapore

“Rare to see this kind
of care & love in an event”

Ben Sauer
Author,
Speaker,
Coach, Advisor

“The Conference to
watch in 2026”

Katja Forbes
CX Leader
StanChart Bank

PAST DesignUP sponsors

Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo
Logo

WEST meets EAST

DesignUp Europe brings together senior design leaders crafting for diverse audiences in an increasingly connected world. It’s for those
with global ambitions—creating experiences that reach people across cultures, languages, and dreams in milliseconds.

DESIGN meets the WORLD

CEOs, privacy lawyers, product heads, film directors, authors, policy makers: at DesignUp, disciplines collide.
It’s a rare mix of perspectives that makes ideas sharper, broader, and more real.

PRACTICE meets FUTURES

We’re not limited to tools, to tactics or to craft. We also explore how designers grow into leaders, adapt to change, and shape the future of work and policy, influence society and culture. Makes for an eclectic curation!

SCREENS meets SYSTEM

DesignUp goes beyond pixels, interfaces, and UX silos. We dive into the zeitgeist: policy, geopolitics, AI ethics, wearables, dark patterns, storytelling and so much more. It’s expansive, interconnecting, and mind-expanding.

Save

the Dates

Berlin 2026

23

Thu, April 23

Workshops, excursions

& tours (to be announced)

24

Fri, April 24

Conference Day 01
+ Networking Drinks

25

Sat, April 25

Conference Day 02
+ Happy Hours

Who’s Speaking At
DesignUp Europe?

Payal </br>Arora

Payal
Arora

Digital Anthropologist, Author | Professor
Utrecht University, Rotterdam

Payal Arora is a Professor at Utrecht University and founder of the Inclusive AI Lab.

She is an acclaimed digital anthropologist, with two decades of user-experiences in the Global South. She is an award-winning author of several books including “The Next Billion Users(Harvard) and ‘From Pessimism to Promise’ (MIT)

She has been listed in the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics 2025 and won the 2025 Women in AI Benelux Award for her work on Diversifying AI. Forbes called her the ‘next billion champion’ and the ‘right kind of person to reform tech.’

200+ international media outlets have covered her work including the Financial Times, Wired, and The Economist.

She has consulted for the public and the private sector including UNHCR, Spotify, KPMG, Adobe, IDEO, Google, and GE and sits on several boards including for UN EGOV, and LIRNE-Asia.

She has given 350+ keynotes and invited talks in 85 countries for events such as Copenhagen Tech Festival, re:publica, and COP26, and TEDx talks on the future of the internet and innovation.

She is a Harvard and Columbia University, and Rockefeller Bellagio Resident Fellow alumni, and currently lives in Amsterdam.
LinkedIn Instagram
Lauren </br>Celenza

Lauren
Celenza

Adobe | Google Maps | Code for America
Writer, Tech without losing your soul

From enhancing Google Maps and generating over $90 million in tax refunds in the US, to championing global land restoration — Lauren Celenza has turned complex systems into stories that move people and money. Her work at Google, Adobe, Code for America, and The World Resources Institute has made invisible things visible. 

She now writes Tech Without Losing Your Soul, a sharp, personal newsletter on tech’s influence on daily life, burnout, and our evolving relationship with AI. 


At DesignUp 2025, Lauren speaks to designers caught in the AI churn—those wondering where their value lies when machines can generate faster than we can think.
LinkedIn Instagram
Janaki </br>Kumar

Janaki
Kumar

Chief Design Officer, Global Banking,
JP Morgan Chase

Janaki Kumar has spent her career shaping design at the heart of complex systems—enterprise tech, global banking, and beyond.

As Chief Design Officer for Global Banking at JPMorgan Chase, she leads design across one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Previously, she built SAP’s Design and Co-Innovation Center, co-authored Gamification at Work, and racked up 20+ patents. Whether teaching at Stanford or speaking at TEDx, Janaki brings a sharp lens to design’s evolving role in business and society.



As creativity becomes less scarce, designers must shift from output to orchestration—and evolve from crafts people to catalysts in this new economy of intelligence.
LinkedIn
Catalina </br>Estrada

Catalina
Estrada

Illustrator | Pattern Designer |
Changemaker

Catalina Estrada’s work travels far—from collaborations with brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and UNICEF to public art campaigns across Latin America. But what sets her apart isn’t scale—it’s intention.



Rooted in Colombia and based in Barcelona, she uses illustration and pattern design to carry voices that are often left out: Indigenous communities in the Amazon, women affected by gender violence in Mexico, children learning through poetry in remote classrooms. Her visuals aren’t just beautiful—they’re bridges.


At DesignUp 2025, Catalina shares how design, even at its quietest, can create visibility, restore dignity, and reconnect us to the people and places that systems often overlook.
LinkedIn Instagram
Anijo </br>Mathew

Anijo
Mathew

Dean, Institute of Design (ID)
at Illinois Tech Chicago

Anijo Mathew is Dean and Professor at the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech in Chicago. His research evaluates new models of innovation enabled by technology and media convergence through the lenses of design-driven leadership and entrepreneurship. He works with global organizations to adapt and change strategic responses to transforming technologies.   

Anijo is the founder and board member of Vamonde, a Chicago storytelling app operating worldwide and named by Built in Chicago as one of six Chicago startups shaping the future of virtual reality.  

Anijo holds a PhD in Design Computing from The Open University in the United Kingdom, a Master in Design Studies from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a professional Bachelor of Architecture from Birla Institute of Technology Mesra in Ranchi, India. He has taught at Harvard University’s School of Business, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business. Anijo served as Head of Department of Art and Design at the College of
LinkedIn Instagram
Katja </br>Forbes

Katja
Forbes

CX Design Leader, StanChart |
Author: Machine Customers

Katja Forbes is a fearless CX innovator and award-winning leader who consistently challenges the boundaries of customer experience and AI. 



Named one of Westpac/AFR’s “100 Women of Influence” and ranked among CX Network’s Top 20 CX Leaders in AI and Financial Services, she boldly transforms traditional corporate cultures into dynamic, client-centric powerhouses.

As an Executive Director at a Global Financial Services firm, Katja expertly blends human-centered design with cutting-edge technology, establishing her organisation as a global thought leader.

An outspoken advocate for women in leadership, her compelling voice, sharp insights, and magnetic on-camera presence make her an industry standout.
LinkedIn Instagram
Ben </br>Sauer

Ben
Sauer

Speaker, Advisor, Coach,
Author: Death by Screens

Ben Sauer is a product and design leader, author, and speaker. He worked at Clearleft and Babylon Health, and advised organisations like the BBC, Pearson, Tesco, and TCS in how to raise their product game.

His most recent book is Death by Screens: how to present high-stakes digital design work and live to tell the tale, and he’s trained designers around the world in methods from the book.

Teams at Amazon and the BBC have used his methods of conversation design, and through O’Reilly, he’s trained folks at NASA.

On the web bensauer.net
LinkedIn Instagram
Daniel</br> Burka

Daniel
Burka

Co-Founder, Hard Problems | Formerly Google Ventures, Resolve to Save Lives

Daniel Burka is a product manager and designer who focuses on solving complex global health problems in simple ways. He is the co-founder of Hard Problems — a not-for-profit that helps technologists to apply their skills to real problems like climate change and public health.



Daniel is also the founder of the open source project, Simple (simple.org). Simple is used by thousands of hospitals in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia to manage over 6 million patients with hypertension and diabetes.



In 2021, Daniel founded the open source project Healthicons.org to provide free icons to healthcare projects around the world.



Previously, Daniel worked in Silicon Valley. He was a design partner at Google Ventures for 5 years and helped write the book Sprint. He was early at several startups including Digg, Pownce, Milk (sold to Google), and Tiny Speck (became Slack). He co-founded the Canadian design agency silverorange, which is now over 25 years old.
LinkedIn Instagram

Announcing more speakers soon…

Save
YourSpot

Your pass to a community, connections,
conversations that matter and a Conference!

Super
Early Bird

  • Full-access to Conference, April 24-25
  • Talks, Keynotes, Panels, Unconferences
  • Conference kit, Lunches, Tea/coffee & snacks
  • Access to Networking Drinks & Happy Hours
  • 10% Discount for 5 or more passes
  • Workshop/Tours/Excursion passes sold separately
  • Does not cover travel or stay
€ 399 Inclusive of
19% VAT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

The Early
Bird Pass

  • Full-access to Conference, April 24-25
  • Talks, Keynotes, Panels, Unconferences
  • Conference kit, Lunches, Tea/coffee & snacks
  • Access to Networking Drinks & Happy Hours
  • 10% Discount for 5 or more passes
  • Workshop/Tours/Excursion passes sold separately
  • Does not cover travel or stay
€ 499 Inclusive of
19% VAT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

// SOLD OUT

The Conf
Pass

  • Full-access to Conference, April 24-25
  • Talks, Keynotes, Panels, Unconferences
  • Conference kit, Lunches, Tea/coffee & snacks
  • Access to Networking Drinks & Happy Hours
  • 10% Discount for 5 or more passes
  • Workshop/Tours/Excursion passes sold separately
  • Does not cover travel or stay
€ 599 Inclusive of
19% VAT
BUY NOW

At the
Door Pass

  • Full-access to Conference, April 24-25
  • Talks, Keynotes, Panels, Unconferences
  • Conference kit, Lunches, Tea/coffee & snacks
  • Access to Networking Drinks & Happy Hours
  • 10% Discount for 5 or more passes
  • Workshop/Tours/Excursion passes sold separately
  • Does not cover travel or stay
€ 799 Inclusive of
19% VAT
OPENS MAR 30

Who’s
Spoken At
DesignUp?

Don
Norman

Author & Prof, UCSD | 
Co-Founder and Board Member, Neilsen Norman (NN/g) Group

Julie
Zhuo

Co-Founder, Sundial | Ex VP of Product, Facebook

Fonz
Morris

FNZMS | Formerly Growth Design Leader at Netflix & Coursera

Stefan
Sagmeister

Founder, Designer at Sagmeister Inc. | Formerly Sagmeister & Walsh

Andy
Budd

Executive Coach, Venture Partner, Seedcamp | Formerly Founder/MD Clearleft

Karin
Fong

Emmy Award Winning Title Designer | Director, Imaginary Forces

Giles
Colborne

Managing Director, Made Simple | Former CEO CX Partners | Author, Simple & Usable

Ruchika J
Mitchell

Head of UX Aston Martin | Formerly Jaguar Land Rover, Dyson, Tata Motors

Khoi
Vinh

Senior Director of Product Design, Adobe | Formerly Design Director at New York Times, Etsy

Alex
Skougs

Head of Design (Content & Discovery) at Canva | Formerly Atlassian

Jon
Kolko

Co-Founder and Partner, Narrative | Formerly Frog Design, Modernist Studio

Natasha
Jen

Parnter, Pentagram, NYC

Dave
Malouf

Design Ops Leader | Design Director, Walmart

Devi Lockwood

Ideas Editor, TIME | Author 1001 Voices on Climate | Editor, Rest of The World

Jan
Chipchase

Researcher, Ethnographer, Expedition Leader | Founder Studio Radiodurans, Tokyo

Suresh
Eriyat

Award winning Animator, 2 x Annecy Crystal | Founder, Director Studio Eeksaurus

Josh

Clark

Founder, Big Medium | Author, Speaker, Advisor Rosenfeld Media

Pablo

Stanley

Designer, Vercel | Formerly Founder Lummi, Advisory Board at Canva

2026
Decade of
DesignUp

Watch our 2025 Film
DesignUp 2025 Recap Film
DesignUp25 Day 1
DesignUp 2025 

Conf Day 01
DesignUp25 Day 2
DesignUp 2025

Conf Day 02
DesignUp 2025 Wall of Love
Watch our 2024 Film
DesignUp 2024 Recap Film

Brewing Beer Then,
Brewing Inspiration
Now: Kindl Berlin Is Our
2026 DesignUp Stage

The Kindl Centre for Contemporary Art in Neukölln is no ordinary venue. Once a sprawling red-brick brewery with giant copper kettles and soaring boiler halls, it’s now a 5,500 m² space reimagined for contemporary art and events.

Raw yet refined, industrial yet inspiring – Kindl mirrors DesignUp’s spirit of transformation, collaboration between man and machine, and cross-pollination. In 2026, these vast halls will become the stage where design meets systems, ideas meet contradictions, and West meet East. Kindl is an accessible venue!