Did you know the term ‘UX design‘ is not a new one? The name was coined back in the early nineties by Donald Norman, who worked for Apple as a cognitive scientist!
He was rightfully interested in everything that encompassed a user’s experience with an Apple product—design, interface, graphics, physical interaction. As he was studying these many layers of communication, he coined the term ‘user experience,’ and a new industry was born.
Are you looking to delve even more into your career as a UX designer? Or are you selling a product and looking to learn more?
UX conferences are a great way to expand your knowledge, whether as a UX designer, product manager, or CEO of a company. The way your audience interacts with your product is of the utmost importance and could mean the difference between palpable success or massive failure.
Here are the eight best UX conferences to attend this year!
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak some of these UX conferences have been canceled, postponed or became a virtual event
1. UXInsight 2020
Start the new year at this 3-day international conference in Breda, The Netherlands. This year, the UXInsight 2020 theme is ‘Creativity in UX Research.’
Creativity is increasingly hard to manage with all the competition out there, but this conference allows you to get a leg up. Enjoy countless speakers, as well as workshops, to develop your hard and soft skills.
Update: Due to COVID-19 outbreak this UX conference was postponed from April 4-6, 2020 to September 14-16, 2020, at the Chassé Theater in Breda.
2. WebCon
From April 8-10, the University of Illinois is hosting WebCon—a three-day conference catering to web designers, web developers, content managers, social media marketers, and a variety of other web professionals.
This year, the conference is held at the I Hotel and Conference Center. Consider attending this event to broaden your range of web knowledge. Plus, it’s boasted as being genuinely affordable for businesses and individuals.
Update: This event was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak
3. IAC: Information Architecture Conference
This event is held at the Sheraton New Orleans from April 14-18, 2020.
Enjoy pre-conference workshops on April 14 and 15—but if you can’t extend your trip, you can still enjoy the main conference program from April 16-18.
The IAC features compelling talks from industry leaders, days of workshops, and everything themed around ‘Sense and Sense-Making.’
Update: This event became digital due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Dates remain the same.
4. From Business to Buttons Conference 2020
What are you doing on May 8? Perhaps you can consider attending this one-day event that’s hailed as Scandinavia’s premier user experience and service design conference.
From Business to Buttons is dedicated to providing inspiration and hands-on advice, as well as offering tips on generating business value through exceptional experiences. In other words, it’s precisely what every UX designer needs to know.
This event is held at the Cirkus in Djurgården, Stockholm.
Update: This event became digital due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Dates remain the same.
5. UX Salon 2020
From May 10-11, consider attending the UX Salon 2020 at the Hevel Modiin Cultural Hall in Israel. Hosting the event is Didi Medina, a full-time product consultant known for helping tech start-ups in San Francisco, New York, and Israel. He can teach UX designers how to mature their product design practices, making them accessible to everybody.
For two days of intense UX learning in Tel Aviv, check out the UX Salon.
Update: This event was postponed and new dates will be announced soon
6. User Experience Lisbon (UXLx)
From May 19-22, Lisbon is hosting a conference that covers four days of training and inspiration for UX pros.
Enjoy countless speakers that are the cream of the crop, hands-on learning that spans 80 hours of practical workshops, and more. UXLx provides the knowledge you can carry directly into your work.
This year, the event is held at the FIL Meeting Centre, which overlooks the Tagus river—one of Europe’s largest.
Update: This event became digital due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Dates remain the same.
7. UXR Conference
This conference from June 3-5 is considered the world’s best place to grow as a UX research.
The UXR Conference in Toronto, Canada, caters to researchers. They believe that research practitioners play a vital role in the design and UX process (because they do!). They aid in developing new technologies and new experiences, and cultivating that field of work is of utmost importance to the UXR creators.
If you attend this event, expect to hear from all sorts of talented researchers doing field-changing work—which provides not only inspiration but a wealth of knowledge.
Update: Due to COVID-19 outbreak this UX conference was postponed from June 4-6, 2020 to June 25-26, 2020, and transitioned to be a remote only event.
8. UX Strat
From June 29–July 1, enjoy this Strategic Design conference in Europe!
They provide carefully-curated workshops and events made to help attendees learn about strategic design methodologies and frameworks. Their speakers discuss how to develop product strategies, stay innovative, and structure teams for success. They also explore new and emerging technologies in the UX and design fields.
Enjoy the UX Strat while in Amsterdam.
9. World Usability Congress 2020
This UX conference is held from October 21-22 in Graz, Austria—also known as the city of design!
This year, the focus is on UX strategy and UX management. This theme is ideal for those who work in UX operations and went to set up their teams for success. The conference is celebrating its eighth year in 2020.
Expect to hear from over 40 highly-recognized speakers that cover a vast range of industries. Hear their unique UX challenges and how they overcame them. You can also collaborate with fellow attendees at their many multi-disciplinary workshops.
UX Conferences: Attend One, or Attend Them All
These are some of the best events of the year for UX designers, product managers, and CEOs. If you don’t care about your user’s experience, you can kiss success goodbye!
We hope you enjoy these UX conferences and all the knowledge they provide. Our site is full of more information that can help you better understand the many layers of the user experience.
Start by checking out this article on LinkedIn groups for UX designers. Then, you can swap info at the conferences and build your networking group.