The best UX and design conferences in 2017
A complete guide for designers who are looking for events and conferences to attend this year, or who are simply planning their next trip around the world.
A great way of learning more about User Experience and getting in touch with professionals who share the same passion as you is to attend UX Conferences and UX Events happening every year around the globe.
The events listed below are the ones our team at uxdesign.cc have been to or would like to attend in the near future. Make sure you charge your smartphone, bring some business cards in your pocket and consider including one of these design events before or after your next trip.
Interaction 17
February 3–8, New York, NY, United States ✈
“Interaction 17 will explore how the environment shapes interaction and how we, as designers, should respond.
The nature of interaction is changing in both product and practice. As digital interactions expand beyond the screen to encompass the objects, places, and services we use every day, we need to ask how we as designers affect the world around us, and how it affects us.
Our investigation will range from simple visual affordances, to newly physical interfaces; from the culture and process of the organizations where we design, to the social, political or economic forces that shape those organizations, and therefore our work. We will ask how we can work responsibly in these contexts, and perhaps more powerfully: how we can design spaces, perspectives, and processes that allow design itself to flourish?”
World Information Architecture Day 2017
February 18, 65 locations ✈
“World Information Architecture Day is a one-day annual celebration hosted by the Information Architecture Institute and held in dozens of locations across the globe.
We are a community of like-minded professionals and enthusiasts who share the common goal of practicing, learning, teaching and shaping the future of information architecture. We share our thoughts, ideas, and work within an open and welcoming environment. The content created as a result of our celebration is available to everyone and we invite conversation around the work we are doing.”
Convey UX 2017
February 28 — March 2, Seattle, United States ✈
“The Emerald City is bursting at the seams with all the high-tech development. Companies big and small are opening offices here and the user experience scene is exploding. If you haven’t been to Seattle before, this is a great time to get introduced. It might rain a bit in February but the temperatures are always mild. ConveyUX is a great opportunity for local and visitors to get together and enjoy the city while we hash about UX.”
UX Australia, Design Research 2017
March 9, Sydney, Australia ✈
“Design Research 2017 will be a single day event that takes a deep dive into all things related to research for design work. We are collecting ideas for the program until early December and anticipate it will include coverage of the following and more:
- Recruiting for research, particularly how to find specific or specialist participants
- Research methods — not just standard methods, but interesting uses of core methods, combining methods and creating new ones
- Analysing research outcomes
- Communicating research findings to other people
- Taking research right through to design
- Communicating the value of design research and differentiating it from other kinds of research
The conference focused on the Australian service design community, with presentations by local speakers and opportunities to share experiences with each other.”
iA Summit 2017
March 22–26, Vancouver, Canada ✈
“Information Architects have always recognized the essential role of the user. To be successful, IA must work for people. But as artificial intelligence and machine learning increase in power and prevalence, how can we ensure that technology serves human needs, and not the other way around?
This year’s theme, Designing for Humans will bring multi-faceted discussions to the Summit around topics such as human-centered design, ethics in technology, and how to reconcile the presence of artificial intelligence with the real needs and experiences of people.”
An Event Apart
- April 3–5, Seattle, United States ✈
- May 15–17, Boston, United States ✈
- July 10–12, Washington DC, United States ✈
- August 28–30, Chicago, United States ✈
- October 30–November 1, San Francisco, United States ✈
- December 11–13, Denver, United States ✈
“An Event Apart (AEA) attendees are UX professionals, developers, and designers — including interaction designers, graphic designers, and UI designers. Project managers, writer/editors, marketers, strategists, and even site owners and clients attend. This wide spectrum of roles speaks to the uniquely comprehensive and multi-disciplinary nature of this single-track event.
AEA attendees, like other conference attendees, want to improve job skills and make new community and business connections in an intense and fun environment. But unlike the typical conference goer, AEA attendees have that gleam in their eye that comes from the belief that through advocacy and hard work, they can make a meaningful difference.”
UX Immersion: Interactions
May 1–3, Portland, OR, United States ✈
“New Practices and Techniques Meet Theory and Expertise at UX Immersion: Interactions.
A conference unlike any other. Get clear-cut direction on specific actions and specific skills. Learn breakthrough methods you’ll apply immediately.
Move beyond inspiration and immerse yourself. Six industry leaders teach master-grade workshops on groundbreaking interaction design skills you won’t find anywhere else.”
UXLX: User Experience Lisbon 2017
May 23–26, Lisbon, Portugal ✈
“UXLx is a premier User Experience Conference, and our speaker lineup is really the cream of the crop in the industry worldwide. You’ll not only be inspired by their 10 thought provoking talks but you’ll have the opportunity to learn one on one in their 20 practical workshops.
Having attendees from around 40 different countries, it’s also a great way to meet like-minded peeps from all over the world! We host meetups and social events every day so you can make new connections and further advance your career.
Set in beautiful sunny Lisbon, Portugal, UXLx will offer a great range of side-activities, all designed to immerse you in the Portuguese culture: Music, Food and People. Set apart a few days before or after the conference to explore the city and discover centuries of history around you. There’s loads to do and you can even catch a few rays of sunshine in one of our glorious beaches.”
UX London 2017
May 24–25, London, United Kingdom ✈
“We bring engaging industry leaders from around the world to present a combination of inspirational talks and lively, hands-on workshops.
Each day of the conference focusses on a specific area of UX. Our flexible ticket structure lets you immerse yourself in the whole event, or just the days most relevant to you.”
UX Scotland 2017
June 7–9, Edinburgh, Scotland
“UX Scotland is a hands-on, practical UX & design conference that allows participants to connect and learn from their peers and leaders in the industry.
Returning for its 5th year, UX Scotland 2017 is the UX & design conference that allows participants to connect and learn from their peers and leaders in the industry.
You’ll leave with new ideas and skills to improve your user experiences, an increased professional network, and memories of many useful conversations.”
UX Strat 2017
June 15–16, Amsterdam, Netherlands ✈
“UX STRAT events are carefully curated for experienced UX / CX / Product / Service Design professionals who:
- Have a desire to grow professionally from a tactical level to a strategic level
- Want to hear how leaders within the experience design field innovate, conduct design research, analyze complex data, structure their teams, and sell their ideas and vision to executives
- Want to network with peers who are equally experienced”
Design & Content 2017
July 17–19, Vancouver, Canada
“Designers and content strategists team up. Hear from industry leaders about crafting experiences and telling stories that shape the future of the web. A day of workshops, two days of talks, and thoughtful extras in one of the most beautiful cities, Vancouver, BC, Canada.”
UX Week 2017
August 29 — September 01, San Francisco, CA, United States ✈
“Design professionals from all over the world gather for four days of community, inspiration and skills building. Now in its 15th year, UX Week delivers new tools you can put to use immediately.”
Organized by Adaptive Path.
Interact 2017
September 25–29, Mumbai, India ✈
“The 16th IFIP TC.13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction — INTERACT 2017 will be held from September 25–29, 2017 in Mumbai, India.
INTERACT conferences are an important platform for researchers and practitioners in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) to showcase their work. Over the years, the conferences have attracted researchers from several countries and cultures. Being held for the first time in India in 2017, the conference will come a step closer to more than half of the world’s population.
INTERACT is among the world’s top conferences in Human-Computer Interaction. Starting with the first conference in 1990, this conference series has been organised under the aegis of the Technical Committee 13 on Human-Computer Interaction of the UNESCO International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). This committee aims at developing the science and technology of the interaction between humans and computing devices.”
EuroIA 2017
September 28–30, Stockholm, Sweden ✈
“The EuroIA summit is Europe’s leading Information Architecture (IA) and User Experience (UX) conference. It is a unique event that brings together veteran Information Architects, experts from diverse fields practising IA, and newcomers to the practice of IA and UX design. It showcases best practices and real-world results, along with the methods used to get there. It is organised every year in September, in a different European city. EuroIA 2017, in Stockholm, will be the 13th edition.”
Interaction South America 2017
November, Florianópolis, Brazil ✈
“Design has become a path to build bridges that connect stakeholders, providing effective and delightful experiences to users and clients. Donald Norman (2013), for instance, talks about bridging execution and evaluation: they work when real, validated problems are tackled and business value is generated.
Considering the evolution in the local tech and innovation community and businesses in Florianópolis, IxDA proposes a central theme for Interaction South America 2017, which will be held in the city this November: “Connecting through the islands: Design, innovation and entrepreneurship”. This iteration of Latin America’s most important interaction design event is organized by IxDA volunteers.”
Events about creativity and technology
SXSW Interactive
More than a week of music, film and creativity in one single event • Keynotes, workshops and showcases about cutting-edges technologies and ideas • UXers: keep updated on trends for the year
✈ Location: Austin, TX, United States
99u
Two days of talks from creative visionaries • Focused on idea execution rather than idea generation • UXers: if you dream big, listen from successful people how to become one by doing it
✈ Location: New York, NY, United States
Emerge Conference
Two days of conference about world’s challenges and transformational change • For university students and young professionals • UXers: for the young designers who are willing to change the world
✈ Location: Oxford, UK
Smashing Conf
2 days of talks and workshops on how designers and coders “work and play” • topics from atomic design to career insights • UXers: challenges at work that we share with our fellows designers and coders
✈ Location: San Francisco, CA, United States
Internet of Things Events
Papers, demos and workshops about the new frontiers of the Internet • Cutting-edge researches aiming to change the interaction between humans and objects • UXers: learn about upcoming challenges for designing interaction beyond mobile-tablet-browser
✈ Location: multiple cities
Service Design Network Events
2 days of conference for students and professionals • International speakers and cases • UXers: for those who want to design user experiences holistically
✈ Location: multiple cities
OFFF
International design festival • Space to exchange products, projects and ideas • UXers: for those who are interested in visual design and art
✈ Location: Barcelona, Spain
The Feast
A conference about innovation to solve the world’s challenges with big names and big ambition • Talks, workshops, hands-on activities and a global dinner party • UXers: you can join the proposed challenges without leaving your hometown
✈ Location: multiple cities
Get together with local UX groups
IxDA
IxDA intends to improve the human condition by advancing the discipline of Interaction Design. IxDA has multiple groups around the globe that organize local events and leverage local knowledge sharing.
UXPA
The User Experience Professionals Association supports people who research, design, and evaluate the user experience of products and services.
Meetup
A great hub to search for local UX events around your area, or even to create your own. Plenty of UX groups that meet regularly in major cities around the world.
UX Book Club
The UX Book Club seeks to enhance the abilities and knowledge of user experience professionals, while building a passionate local community. 100+ local book clubs in many different cities.
Follow events in your area
The links below are updated regularly and display local UX events filtered by city, topic, price and other criteria. Great tool for searching for events in a specific location and date. Make sure you save these links on your bookmarks too :)
- The IA Institute Calendar
- The Interaction Design Foundation Calendar
- Lanyrd, the Social Conference Directory
- Find UX Events
This list was created by Fabricio Teixeira and Caio Braga. There’s another, more complete list here, including events that haven’t been announced for 2017. We hope you find it helpful and share it with your UX friends ❤.
Any conference missing from the list? Leave a response below.
