Join The Design Effect on 10 March 2026

Join the Design Business Association (DBA) in London for a day that will bring the pioneering minds of the industry together to learn, share, and think differently.

Uncovering design’s role in a changing world – talks, debates, case studies and dinner discussions that will shift and shape your thinking. A day that asks you to look deeper.
Tuesday 10 March | Iconic Central London Venue | 13:30-22:30

First speakers announced:

• Mauro Porcini, in his first European speaking engagement since joining Samsung as President & Chief Design Officer
• Dr Patricia Moore, esteemed leader in the movement of Universal Design and winner of the 2022 World Design Medal
• Aporva Baxi, Executive Creative Director and Co-Founder of global brand agency DixonBaxi
• Mark Van Iterson, industrial design engineer and former Global Design Director at The Heineken Company
• Kathleen Brandenburg, Harvard Professor and Co-Founder of global design and innovation consultancy IA Collaborative.
• Stephanie Verschoor, MD – User Experience Design and Digital Solutions at NatWest Group.
• Simon Threadkell, Group Marketing Director, Brand Design and Customer Experience at Tesco
• Dr Christina N Harrington, Research Scientist, Google Research – Technology, AI, Society, and Culture Team, and Affiliate Faculty, Human-Computer Interaction, Institute School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University.
• More to be announced.

If the past five years have transformed what business and society need from design, the coming years are only going to demand more.

Technological, environmental and economic forces press hard on the creative thinking our industry is tasked with leading.

How do we identify the routes through the biggest challenges our businesses face? How do we design solutions that benefit rather than hinder our communities? And how do we apply creative leadership and expertise in a world with an evolving relationship to the place and role of human creativity.

Design leaders are responsible for helping corporations and consumers say yes to the brilliant ideas designers create – ideas that are often outside what we thought the parameters were. So how do leaders ensure design truly makes impact, creates genuine innovation and transforms results – financial and societal – in the face of all this.

Join the Design Business Association (DBA) at The Design Effect for a day that will bring the pioneering minds of the industry together to learn, share, and think differently. We’ll also be celebrating this year’s cohort of DBA Design Effectiveness Award winners, and the creative and business ingenuity that makes our industry shine.

Tickets include food and drink throughout the afternoon and evening, plus access to all sessions and networking.

Book Your Place Today: www.dba.org.uk/events_and_training/the-design-effect-2026/