iF Design Trend Conference 2026: The future of design – a dialogue between human creativity and AI

As creative processes become increasingly faster and more automated, the role of design is constantly evolving. This current phase is characterized by exploration: AI is being integrated and tested everywhere, across product classes. Companies, design teams, and end users alike are examining where AI can add real value. The ability to navigate between technological possibility, cultural reality, and ecological necessity is now considered a core competency in design.

At the one-day conference, international experts will provide exciting insights into how human creativity and artificial intelligence can optimally interact, and how consciousness and decoupling can contribute to individuality and attitude beyond that which is algorithmically reinforced.

Conference speakers include designer and AI expert, Branko Lukic (Cognitive Architecture, San Jose, California), who will talk about the perfect flaw and how imperfections become gold; graphic designer Borja Martinez Pérez (LO SIENTO, Barcelona, Spain), who will shed light on the importance of analog creativity in the digital age with his “Hand Thinking” approach, and artist duo Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat from Studio Daily tous les jours in Montreal, Canada, who focus on design for collaborative experiences in public spaces. The program is complemented by digital artist Robert Hodgin (Rare Volume, Brooklyn, New York), who explores the role of creativity in an era of increasing automation.

Lisa Gralnek, Managing Director of iF Design USA, will lead the program. Uwe Cremering, CEO of iF International Forum Design GmbH, will give the official welcome address. In addition to the presentations, the conference offers the international design community opportunities for social exchange and professional networking.

The conference traditionally takes place the day after the very special iF DESIGN AWARD NIGHT and marks the start of discussions on the future of design. All participants will receive a digital copy of the iF Design Trend Report 2026, which analyzes key developments and social trends in design, and will be released the same day as the conference event.

The event begins at 10:00 a.m. and will be held in English. Tickets are available for €149, including lunch.

With the iF Design Trend Conference 2026, iF Design is once again creating a platform for inspiration, learning, and discussion – and showing how design can contribute to actively shaping a better future for all.