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January 14, 2026 · 4 min read

A first look at the 2026 program

By Austin Design Collective

The 2026 program is taking shape, and the shape is deliberate. Three days, two stages, and a single throughline: design that ships. The Main Stage carries the talks and panels; the Workshop Studio runs the hands-on sessions. You should be able to move between them without ever feeling like you are missing the thing you came for.

A day for each audience

Day one leans into leadership and direction, with sessions on building influence when the org moves faster than the process and on earning a seat at the table. Day two is about craft and the new tools, from AI in the real product workflow to design systems and research that survives a roadmap. Day three belongs to founders and the long game.

That structure is a suggestion, not a fence. A practitioner will find plenty on day one, and a founder should not skip the systems sessions. The point of putting three audiences in one room is the overlap.

Plan around the Workshop Studio

The Workshop Studio sessions are capped at forty seats and tend to fill fast. If a hands-on session is the reason you are coming, build your day around it and arrive early. Everything else, the Main Stage talks included, is easier to catch on the recording afterward.

Don’t miss it

Reading about it is one thing.

Three days, two stages, and the people building what comes next. Grab a pass before early bird closes.

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