20 Of The Best Design Conferences To Attend in 2020

We so often hear from UX Academy graduates that networking was the number one reason they were able to land a job.

Whether you already have a job you love as a UX designer, or you’re just starting to consider a career in UX design, heading to a UX design conference in 2020 could be exactly what you need.

Check out this list of the top 20 UX design conferences to attend in 2020. We’ll be updating this list as more details are announced!

#1: Interaction20

When: February 2–7, 2020
Where: Milan, Italy 🇮🇹

Interaction 20 is a 3-day conference featuring 80 talks, 21 workshops, and awards in 6 categories. This year, the theme is “A New Dawn,” which will explore the meaning and evolution of designing almost anything for anywhere. 

Added Bonuses:

• Access to the Leonardo exhibition at the opening party in the Science Museum of Milan.
• Design Community Dinners in iconic restaurants throughout the weekend.
• Studio Tours to explore some of the most interesting design studios in Milan.
• Closing party at Studio Novanta—a gloriously post-industrial warehouse.

#2: South by Southwest (SXSW) Design Conference

When: March 13–22 2020
Where: Austin, Texas, United States 🇺🇸

SXSW is an annual week-long conglomeration of festivals and conferences that has taken place since 1987. It’s huge. The Design track covers all sorts of things from futuristic product design to design-thinking approaches. This year’s programming will examine how design informs our interactions, shapes our experiences, and plays a critical role in problem-solving.

Added Bonuses:

• Entry to the 2020 Place by Design contest, in which contestants present their scalable solutions for improving our shared landscape.
• Access to SXSW’s suite of networking tools–SXSW GO Mobile App, SXSW Social, and the SXSW Schedule.
• Check out the SXSW Music, Film, or Comedy festivals happening simultaneously. 

#3: UX Copenhagen

When: March 30–31, 2020
Where: Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰

UX Copenhagen is a 2-day conference filled with content from 20+ speakers, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities. This year’s theme is “Influence & Designing for Good,” which will cover topics like DesignOps, privilege, tech for social good, futures thinking, ethical OS, designing against domestic violence, and even rocket science.

Added Bonuses:

• Time spent in the “happiest, healthiest city in the world,” Copenhagen.
• A specific focus on designing for good, with sessions like “Design Heroes: Design for Good in Action”

#4: The UX Conference

When: March 2–3, 2020
Where: London, United Kingdom 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The UX Conference is an intimate 2-day experience featuring 14 speakers and 300 guests ranging from fellow junior to senior UX, UI, visual and content designers. The talks will all happen on day 1 and the hands-on workshops on day 2. 

Added Bonuses:

• The conference will run at London's historic Tobacco Dock.
• Truly hands-on workshops on Crafting a Design Language System, Prototyping UI, Content Design, and A/B Testing.
• Networking opportunities with designers from OpenTable, Toptal, Transport for London, and more. 

 

#5: WebCon

When: April 8–10, 2020
Where: University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States) 🇺🇸

Added Bonuses:

• Being at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign puts you in the same hallways as 23 Pulitzer Prize winners, 23 Nobel Laureates, the inventors of YouTube, PayPal and a long list of game-changing innovators.
• This conference is very affordable: tickets are only $50–$200.

#6: An Event Apart 

When: April 13–15, 2020
Where: Washington DC, United States 🇺🇸

An Event Apart is a web design conference for UX & front-end experts. Over three days you’ll discuss design, code, and content for interaction designers and developers. This conference in Washington DC is the start of a series of An Event Apart conferences to run in 2020 in cities like Seattle, Boston, Minneapolis, Orlando, and San Francisco.

Added Bonuses: Your Three-Day Pass includes admission to the three-day Washington D.C. conference, breakfast and lunch on all three days, access to all social events, and schwag.

#7: IAC: Information Architecture Conference

When: April 14–18, 2020
Where: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States 🇺🇸

The IAC is where information architects, UX designers, content strategists, and other design practitioners meet. The theme of this year’s event is “Sense and Sense-making.” In New Orleans, you will interrogate and celebrate the huge variety of ways that we can sense, think and be in the world. 

Added Bonuses:

• Mixers and activities aimed at the more creative, social side of attendees
• Special first-timers dinners, where you can meet fellow first-timers and experienced IAC attendees (karaoke, game night, yoga)

#8: UX Burlington: 20/20 Hindsight

When: May 1, 2020
Where: Burlington, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸

This year’s UX Burlington conference theme is 20/20 Hindsight. You’ll hear from UX practitioners who can share what they’ve learned from their own user experience mistakes. This one-day only conference has two tracks and is, both, intimate and affordable. 

Added Bonuses:

• Located at The Film House at Lake and College at Main Street Landing, an environmentally and socially conscious mixed-use space.
• Held in Burlington, Vermont, a celebrated, vibrant, small city located on the eastern shoreline of Lake Champlain.

#9 Pixel Up!

When: May 4–6, 2020
Where: Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦

Pixel Up! is a conference by designers for designers. 

Added Bonuses:

• Networking opportunities with creatives at Mailchimp, Asana, Shopify, Facebook, and more.
• Diverse group of speakers including authors, local and international designers, as well as rising stars.
• Held at the strikingly beautiful Cavalli Wine and Stud Farm, 40 minutes outside of Cape Town.

#10: How Design Live

When: May 4–7, 2020
Where: Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸

HOW Design Live is a conference and expo for any kind of creative professional. HOW can help to fuel your creativity, develop key skills your job requires, explore products and technologies, and create vital connections in the industry.

Added Bonuses:

• Connect online before the conference to make new friends and plan meet-ups.
• Socialize during the conference, organizing pub crawls, morning walk/run sessions, lunch outings and more. 

#11: User Experience Lisbon

When: May 19–22, 2020
Where: Lisbon, Portugal

UXLx is a premier User Experience Conference with over 80 hours of intensive workshops and inspirational talks. 

Added Bonuses:

• At the FIL Meeting Centre, a great venue overlooking the beautiful river Tagus (one of the largest in Europe).
• In the newly renovated Lisbon Eastern Business District, surrounded by great bars, restaurants and coffee shops by the river.
• Ideal central location, great transportation, and nearby shopping.

#12: #UXR Conference

When: June 3–5, 2020
Where: Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦

Join 1,200+ members of The UXR Collective to celebrate world class research content from global leaders. Featuring speakers from companies like Airbnb, Postmates, Spotify, Zapier, Bitly, and so many more. 

Added Bonuses:

• Five independently run workshops facilitated by some of the world’s most capable research leaders and specialists.
• An online community for research practitioners to ask questions, share jobs, and connect

#13: Design + Diversity

When: July 30–August 1, 2020
Where: St. Louis, Missouri, United States 🇺🇸

Head to St. Louis for the 5 year celebration of the Design + Diversity Conference—the conference which inspires, celebrates and promotes not only diversity in design, but the diversity of design. Each year the conference focuses on the themes of:Social Justice, Designing Diversity, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

#14: Seattle Interactive

When: October 20–22, 2020
Where: Seattle, Washington, United States 🇺🇸

SIC is a celebration of the incredible work happening at the intersection of technology, creativity and industry. This conference spotlights innovation in experience, design, and strategy. With 80 sessions and workshops, 2,000+ attendees, and endless ideas, it’s sure to leave you feeling smarter.

 

#15: Web Summit

When: November 2–5, 2020
Where: Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹

Forbes has said we run “the best technology conference on the planet.” Web Summit brings together people and companies redefining the global tech industry. 

 

#16: Convey UX

When: March 3–5, 2020
Where: Seattle, Washington, United States 🇺🇸

ConveyUX is a premier user experience conference on the West Coast. The 2020 conference in Seattle features 65 sessions from 50 UX leaders across three full days. Speakers will take the stage from companies like Facebook, IDEO, Verizon, Adobe, and of course, Microsoft.

Added Bonuses:

• The Project Showcase is a unique opportunity to hear about the details of actual projects from the people who designed and implemented them.
• ConveyUX is a home-grown Seattle event, produced by Blink UX. This is the one event that UX professionals can count on to bring a yearly stream of great content to the Puget Sound area.
• Seattle is a hotbed of design and development, making it a great place to make contacts in the UX field.

#17: Creative South

When: April 2–4, 2020
Where: Columbus, Georgia, United States 🇺🇸

Creative South is a weekend of creative thinking, collaboration, and exploration. Attendees enjoy workshops and talks focused on process and experience, with the overall goal being to connect you to folks in the industry and the design community. It's also a whole lot of fun.

#18: From Business to Buttons

When: May 8, 2020
Where: Stockholm, Sweden 🇸🇪

From Business to Buttons (FBTB) is Scandinavia’s premier User Experience and Service Design conference, held every year in Stockholm, Sweden. It is the meeting place for everyone who wants inspiration, and hands-on advice, on how to generate business value by creating great experiences.

Added Bonuses:

• A design sprint bootcamp with the literal inventor of the design sprint.
• A truly amazing lineup of speakers and workshop facilitators. 

#19: Camp Digital 

When: May 13, 2020
Where: Manchester, England, United Kingdom 🇬🇧

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.

#20: UX London

When: May 27–29, 2020
Where: London, England, United Kingdom 🇬🇧

“We bring engaging industry leaders from around the world to present a combination of inspirational talks and lively, hands-on workshops.”

Added Bonuses: Designed by the architects behind the Turbine Hall and Beijing Olympic Stadium, the RIBA Award-winning Trinity Laban is the perfect setting for three days of pure UX inspiration.

Thinking about switching to a career in design in 2020? Check out our UX Academy program and grab your free syllabus.