23 design events to attend in 2023

1. Graphika Manila
   February 11 - 12, Manilla 🇵🇭
   Good for: Digital Designers, Motion Graphers, Animators and Illustrators
   Graphika is the creativity conference in the Philippines, hailed as one of the most influential events on design in Asia. With a mix of local talent and the world's best creative minds, every year Graphika brings a strong showcase of the contemporary visual world.

2. South by South West
   March 10 - 19, Austin 🇺🇸
   Good for: All types of creative people
   SXSW Interactive covers all aspects of design, from futuristic product design to design-thinking approaches that can be applied to numerous other disciplines, businesses, and organizations. This programming will examine how design informs our interactions, shapes our experiences, and plays a critical role in problem-solving.
   📌 March 8-16, 2024

3. OFFF Barcelona
   March 23-25, Barcelona 🇪🇸
   Good for: Digital Designers, Motion Graphers, Animators and Illustrators
   Born as a post-digital culture festival, now feeding the future through a 3-day design conference, workshops, and performances by the most relevant artists of our time. OFFF hosts innovative and international talents to share their insightful experiences. It’s one of the key meeting points for all talents around the world to unite and collaborate.
   📌 April 4-6, 2024

4. Post Design Tangle CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY
   April 14 - 15, Copenhagen 🇩🇰
   Good for: All types of creative people
   POST is a platform working to challenge the place of visual culture and communication in society while addressing the ethics of design, the politics of image-making, and the unknowns of our creative futures. In four chapters, the festival takes us deep into the theme of “entanglement,” where they will unravel the intersections, interconnections, and invisible strings that give shape to our visual and political surroundings. The third chapter, COMMUNITY, takes place April 14 - 15 in central Copenhagen, Denmark, bringing together six wildly inspiring designers and artists for two intense days of talking, listening and socializing. Programme TBC.
   📌 Chapter 4, Power. Helsinki, September 8-9, 2023

5. beyond tellerrand
   April 17-18, Dusseldorf 🇩🇪
   Good for: Designers, Developers, Type-designers
   beyond tellerrand brings you 2 days of code, creativity, inspiration and networking, plus side events around the core conference. The best part of beyond tellerrand are the nice people on stage and in the audience. You are guaranteed to have a fantastic time. This year, the documentary about host Marc Thiele will premiere at the event.
   📌 beyond tellerrand Berlin, Berlin, September 11-12, 2023

6. The Art Department
   April 20-21, Eindhoven 🇳🇱
   Good for: Motion Graphers, Animators and Illustrators
   The Art Department focuses on concept art and design for film, animation, and games. At The Art Department, you'll dive into the process of creation, and the festival spotlights the artists responsible for designing worlds, characters, and stories of some of the world's greatest productions. The Art Department is also in Berlin.
   📌 April 18-19, 2024

7. Dehache festival
   April 21-22, Querétaro 🇲🇽
   Good for: All types of creatives
   Dehache festival began as a project to gather friends, a small auditorium.
   22 years later the organization has reinvented itself, transforming it to the congress of Graphic Design "Dejando Huella" or "DeHache" to one of the most important events on creativity in Mexico.
   Promoting and celebrating the Hispanic and Latin American design.
   Querétaro "Creative City of Design" is the meeting point and we will be waiting for you on April 21st and 22nd, 2023

8. Mouvo
   April 21-22, Prague 🇨🇿
   Good for: Motion Graphers and Animators
   Mouvo, a combination of Mouches Volantes, is a two-day festival presenting motion design in all of its forms. The program shows the dynamic field of motion design, combining graphic design, animation, video, special effects, and new technologies. Mouvo focuses on the entertaining aspects of motion design. Games, TV shows, music videos, live performances, and also how to design by playing and having fun.
   📌 March 1-2, 2024

9. c/o pop convension
   April 27-28, Cologne 🇩🇪
   Good for: Sound Designers, Motion Graphers and Animators
   Once a year, the c/o pop festival transforms Cologne into an urban music mecca, bringing newcomers, star acts, or insider tips to Cologne's most beautiful stages. The c/o pop Convention 2023 in Cologne is the first industry gathering of the year for the music industry and cooperating industries such as digital business and media. In keynotes, panels and workshops, we take a practical look at the future of the music world. The conference is for everyone who wants to start the season with new contacts, ideas, and opportunities. This year c/o pop celebrates its 20th anniversary.

10. NEW 👉 Proof of conference
    May 11-13, Los Angels 🇺🇸
    Good for: All types of creatives
    A web3 celebration of art, culture, community, and technology.

11. NEW 👉 All flows
    May 12-13, Milton Keynes 🇬🇧
    Good for: Digital Designer, Developers, Motion graphers, and Animators
    All Flows is a new two-day, creative, digital, and technology conference. With speakers like Jennifer Estaris, Gavin Strange, Eva Cremers, and many others.

12. SmashingConf SF
    May 23-26, San Francisco 🇺🇸
    Good for: Digital Designers and Developers
    Friendly, inclusive event focused on front-end and UX but they also cover everything web. From accessibility and advanced CSS to JavaScript gems and web performance. This web conference in San Francisco features interactive sessions, case studies, and a dash of Tailwind, Next.js, and TypeScript.
    📌 SmashingConf Antwerp, October 9-12, 2023

13. DesignThinkers
    May 31 - June 1, Vancouver 🇨🇦
    Good for: Digital Designers, Design Thinkers, Brand Designers
    DesignThinkers, Canada's largest annual graphic design conference. DesignThinkers 2023 will take place in person in Vancouver with the theme of "Question Tomorrow." The design community will explore the many ways that design questions tomorrow. Whether it’s the democratization of tools, constantly evolving technologies, A.I. generated content, or the uncompromising vision of a new world by younger generations – the world of design is in rapid flux. This leaves us all with endless questions about the future. Progress is only ever threatening those afraid to ask the right questions and embrace more than one answer. Question. Tomorrow.

14. Five Talks Motion
    June 1, Arnhem 🇳🇱
    Good for: Digital Designers, Motion Graphers
    At Five Talks Motion, five leading speakers take you to the wonderful world of motion. June first will be the place for five dazzling talks on graphics in motion supported by a delicious lunch and a glitzy quiz. Let's slap on some Motion Lotion! Note that most talks will be in Dutch.

15. By Design Conference
    June 10-11, Bratislava 🇸🇰
    Good for: Digital Designers, Design Thinkers, Brand Designers
    This international multidisciplinary conference focused on design and business. By Design Conference brings together the world's most successful designers to share their personal experiences and pragmatic insights on how to put theory into action.

16. Do Wales
    July 11-14, Wales 🇬🇧
    Good for: All types of creative people
    The idea is simple. To gather together the world’s DOers, disruptors and changemakers, have them share their hearts and stories and encourage others to go and DO great things to.

17. The Conference
    August 29-30, Malmo 🇸🇪
    Good for: All types of creative people
    The Conference is a two-day conference where curious minds from all over the world meet to delve further into the promises and pitfalls of digital development and the human and machine relationship. Over two days The Conference explores the complexity of systems. The micro and macro of it all. Societal changes. Niche trends. Human behavior. Art and culture. The future and the past. Stuff like that. The sessions are carefully curated to help you connect the dots between the widespread topics. Speakers, programs, and side events will be announced continuously during Spring.

18. Forward Festival Berlin
    September 14-15, Berlin 🇩🇪
    Good for: All types of creative people
    This will be the third installment of Forward in Berlin, one of our user's favorites of 2022. A festival gathering around a conference with the best international and local personalities who provide insight and success stories. Accompanied by a saucerful of side events with workshops, live art, and networking sessions.

19. Brand New Conference
    September 21-22, Chicago 🇺🇸
    Good for: Brand Designers
    Brand New Conference is a two-day event on corporate and brand identity with some of today’s most active and influential practitioners from around the world.

20. Design Matters
    September 28-29, Copenhagen 🇩🇰
    Good for: Digital Designers, Front-end developers, Product Managers
    This Copenhagen-based event gathers a community of people passionate about digital design, technology, art, and our societies. The program of the event is expected to include many talks, workshops, and so much more!
    📌 Design Matters Lagos, Lagos, November 15-16, 2023
    📌 Design Matters Mexico, Mexico City, January 31-February 1, 2024

21. Hatch Conference
    October 5-6, Berlin 🇩🇪
    Good for: Digital Designers, Front-end developers, Product Managers
    Hatch Conference is a two-day event for for experienced UX & Product Designers, taking place in Berlin, Germany and streaming to the world. Featuring talks, workshops and masterclasses from international design leaders.

22. In Motion
    October 5-6, Rotterdam 🇳🇱
    Good for: Motion Graphers, Animators, and Illustrators
    Festival formally know as Blend. Expect a fest on cutting edge creativity, motion & design. A catwalk of all liquid, trending and new visual culture in one of the most forward looking and constantly reinventing itself cities in the Netherlands!
    📌 In Motion, London, September 8-9, 2023

23. Blanc!
    October 19-21, Barcelona 🇪🇸
    Good for: Graphic Designers, Digital Designers
    Blanc! is a design festival with a focus on emerging talent and recognition of the great masters and pioneers of design. But it's much more than conferences, masterclasses, product stands, and exhibitions. This three-day event also features a live rock band, other unique performances, and activities focusing on design and creativity; both emphasizing emerging talent and recognizing the great masters and pioneers of design.

BONUS
Naive Yearly
August 11, Copenhagen 🇩🇰
Room for the quiet, odd and poetic web. Naive Yearly gathers people who expand what the web is and can be: artists, designers, educators, developers, writers and organizers who avoid nostalgia and technological utopias but use the internet and open protocols to invite us to see the world anew in the present tense.

Quick tip on how to decide where to go.

When I attend a conference, I consider the speaker line-up, travel time, city, ticket price, the event’s track record, and don’t forget the attendee list. I also check if there are any interesting workshops or network events, before, during, or after the conference. A bonus for me is attending locally organized side events and exciting exhibitions or tourist attractions to visit.

Which conference are you attending?

If you plan to attend any of the mentioned conferences, and you have a question, send us an email or DM on Instagram @neonmoire. I am happy to help you.