Web Directions Conffab
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With free and paid levels, keep up to date with all that's happening in our industry at your own pace.
Product Design & development in an age of Agents and AI
Next may be a new event from us, but its DNA goes back to our earliest days.
Imagine a super concentrated day of our most engaging keynotes and talks with a specific focus. Opportunities to connect meaningfully with others who get excited about this stuff as much as you do.
That's Next which will help you chart what's next in product, design and strategy.
Here's what we're bringing you in person (and streaming) in 2025. With more online at Conffab.
Next was new in 2024, but its DNA is as old as Web Directions.
Get a sense of what you can expect from the program from our 2024 lineup.
Each year, Next brings together leading designers, product professionals, and expert voices to explore a critical topic shaping our digital world. This year, we're focussing on the transformative impact of AI, large language models, and intelligent agents on product design and development.
How are current products evolving in response to AI-driven innovation? What new categories of digital experiences will emerge? And how can you best position yourself to succeed in this new landscape?
If you design, develop, or deliver digital products, Next will be your most valuable investment this year.
Here's what we've lined up for you so far
We’re at the beginning of a major platform shift. Artificial intelligence is enabling a new kind of computer that upends the entire stack — from how we design interfaces, to how we build and distribute software, to what we even mean by an “app.”
In this session, we’ll explore how AI clients will displace the web and traditional apps, and why it’s urgent that this platform develops in the open. We’ll discuss emerging protocols, and consider what it means to create and publish for an ecosystem that’s still taking shape.
Digital products rarely fall apart all at once. More often, they slowly drift away from what users need, becoming cluttered, unresponsive and driven by the wrong metrics. Tim Hardaker names this slow decay for what it is and shows how to stop it in its tracks. With examples from his work leading ABC’s digital platforms, Tim shares how to reconnect product strategy with real audience needs. Expect sharp insights, practical methods, and a compelling case for always-on listening.
AI is transforming everything — from how we communicate to how we manage tasks in both our personal and professional lives. It holds incredible potential to support independence and improve access.
However, AI can also unintentionally reinforce ableism. When trained on biased data, AI systems risk producing unfair outcomes. Tools that assume 'typical' behaviours or ways of interacting often create experiences that can exclude. As AI adoption accelerates at an unprecedented pace, thoughtful and responsible innovation has never been more critical.
This session dives into how we can embed ethics and equity at the core of AI-driven product design. We’ll explore common pitfalls seen in today’s AI applications and share practical, actionable strategies to build more inclusive and fair products.
While opportunities expand as every company becomes an AI company, so do the risks. While more and more builders and users are becoming aware that AI should be built responsibly, there is still confusion about what, exactly, that means. Join Aubrey Blanche, a global leader in organizational ethics and responsible AI, for a tactical session on how to operationlize your team's commitment to using AI in a way that drives positive impact and mitigates the risk of harm. You'll leave the session with actionable tools you can implement today, to make a better world tomorrow.
In this thought-provoking session, Kevin Wilkins and Thomas Shillingford examine the evolution of design systems over the past decade and explore a critical question: Will AI and emerging methodologies like sentient design lead to the collapse of traditional design systems as we know them?
Drawing from their combined experience as a design systems leads across multiple enterprises, they offer unique insights into how the relationship between design systems and AI is reshaping our approach to design thinking.
What You'll Gain
Every product competes on features, but the ones that break out compete on identity. People don’t just ask
what can this do for me? - they ask what does this say about me? From iPhones to CrossFit memberships, we buy tools that double as badges, status signals, and shortcuts to belonging.
This talk explores the difference between feature-driven products that fade into the noise and identity-driven products that command loyalty, culture, and evangelism.
What happens when a product manager with zero software engineering experience decides to build a complete application? William Kirkwood did exactly that, using AI-powered tools like Cursor to create Luck—a fully production-ready application—within a single year.
William will share his journey from product concept to deployed software, revealing which AI development tools actually deliver, how his product management background proved surprisingly valuable, and the practical techniques he used to navigate technical decisions without traditional engineering expertise.
You'll learn:
Whether you're a product manager seeking more autonomy, a designer wanting to prototype beyond mockups, or simply curious if AI can really democratize software development, this talk shows what's possible and gives you a practical roadmap.
Perfect for product managers, designers, and other non-engineers looking to expand their capabilities with AI-assisted development.
TBF
What if your next customer isn’t human? In a world increasingly run by AI, machines are rapidly becoming independent economic actors, making buying decisions without human intervention. In her provocative talk, "Machines Are Customers Too," Katja Forbes challenges businesses to radically rethink their approach to customer experience. She unveils how traditional customer journeys, trust-building, and engagement strategies must evolve to accommodate AI-driven agents and autonomous systems as genuine customers. Leveraging her award-winning expertise in CX innovation, Katja delivers a compelling vision of the near future: one where the customer is code, and loyalty is algorithmic. This bold session isn’t just speculative. Katja provides actionable frameworks and a clear roadmap, empowering leaders to adapt, innovate, and harness this shift as a powerful engine for growth. Prepare to rethink everything you know about your customers. The future is here…machines are buying.
Attend Next by itself, or add our Developer Summit to the mix, making it 3 fantastic days of learning,
To make your budget go as far as possible, we have special pricing as follows. Choose your ticket type to see the associated price and the savings you can make.
Self-Funded is anyone paying their own way, regardless of who your employer might be. junior is someone in a junior or early-career role. edu is for anyone at an educational institution, could be an educator, but could be in another role. NFP is for anyone working at a not-for-profit. And Agency is for anyone working in an agency.
In-person conferences and workshops are fully catered (morning and afternoon tea and lunch) including any dietary requrements. Our conferences feature amazing coffee (and more). Next also features a closing reception.
Streaming passes include access to the conference livestream on our very own platform Conffab, includiing live captioning and chat, access to the stream on demand after the event and to the conference videos when they become available.
We know it's valuable to attend, to learn from our experts, and make connections in the industry. So, to make our events as affordable as possible, we have special pricing for a range of attendees.
Want to keep up to date with news about Web Directions Next? Let us know below and we'll email you as things develop.
Not everyone is ready, or able to get back to in-person events. Others find online conferences provide greater accessibility. So we'll be streaming Dev Summit, on our very own streaming platform Conffab.
Drawing on our lessons of hosting over a dozen online conferences in recent years, streaming attendees will get live captions, and be able interact with in-person attendees, ask speakers questions, and feel a close as possible without being at the venue.
Keen to connect with those in the industry shaping its direction? Then Next is for you.
We work closely with our partners and their technologies to deliver world leading online conferences. Contact us totalk about how we can help you be even more awesome.
With free and paid levels, keep up to date with all that's happening in our industry at your own pace.
John Allsopp has been working on the Web for nearly 30 years. He's been responsible for innovative developer tools such as Style Master and X-Ray, and his ideas formed the foundation for Typekit, now Adobe Fonts, and the entire concept of Responsive Web Design. He's spoken at numerous conferences around the World and delivered dozens of workshops in that time as well.
His writing includes several books, including Developing With Web Standards and countless articles and tutorials in print and online publications.
His "A Dao of Web Design" published in 2000 is cited by Ethan Marcotte as a key influence in the development of Responsive Web Design, who's acclaimed article in 2010 begins by quoting John in detail, and by Jeremy Keith as "a manifesto for anyone working on the Web".
John brings his deep knowledge of and passion for the web and all things digital to every aspect of Web Directions.
Co-founded and now run by John Allsopp, Web Directions has for nearly 2 decades years brought together leading developers, engineers, visual, IxD, UX and product designers, Art and Creative Directors, product managers indeed everyone involved in producing web and digital products to learn from one another, and the World's leading experts across this vast field.
We spend our lives thinking about what comes next, keeping up with trends in technology, practices and processes, and filtering the hype, to make sure you don't miss trends that matter, and don't waste time on hype that doesn't.
We promise attending one of our events will leave you significantly better versed in the challenges you face day to day, and in solutions for addressing them.
For over a decade, we've worked hard to create inclusive, fun, inspring and safe events for the Web Industry.
As part of our commitment to these values, we've adopted a code of conduct for all involved: ourselves, our speakers, our partners and our audience.
If you have any concern or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.