Design Thinking is more than just a buzzword—it’s a powerful methodology that fosters creativity, drives innovation, and transforms how teams collaborate and problem-solve. Despite its benefits, many organizations struggle to implement it effectively. Some see it as unnecessary, while others only scratch the surface—cherry-picking the fun parts without understanding the full framework.

Stephen Gates, Founder and Executive Creative Director at IDEO, explains why Design Thinking works, where teams go wrong, and how to apply it effectively. This keynote will break down the fundamentals of Design Thinking, why it’s a game-changer for businesses, and the common pitfalls that prevent teams from fully realizing its potential.

We’ll explore how Design Thinking:

• Brings teams together and builds alignment across disciplines
• Creates structure in the creative process without stifling innovation
• Empowers designers by making them the strategic center of problem-solving
• Transforms how teams think, not just how they behave
• Acts as a Trojan Horse for real change, influencing company culture beyond individual projects

Whether you’re new to Design Thinking or trying to overcome skepticism in your team, this session will provide the practical tools and mindset shifts necessary to make it work for your organization.

Join Amy Balliett, a sought-after thought leader on visual strategy and AI, for an insightful session that explores the transformative potential of AI in marketing and design. In this session, Amy will delve into the vast ecosystem of AI tools and services, empowering you to leverage cutting-edge technologies to enhance your marketing strategies.

Whether you're a marketer looking to improve your skill set or a designer seeking to expand your service offerings, this presentation will provide valuable insights and practical applications.

Amy will guide you through the world of AI content writing solutions, AI agents, AI content marketing, visual content generation, and more. Discover how these technologies can streamline your workflow, enhance your creativity, and deliver compelling content that resonates with your audience.

Topics include:

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the AI marketing landscape and its potential to revolutionize your strategies.
• Learn how to leverage AI tools to create high-quality, engaging content that captures attention and drives results.
• Explore innovative ways to integrate AI into your design and marketing processes, enabling you to produce impactful marketing materials.

Adobe Express and Canva are two powerful web-based design tools. They are similar but not exactly the same. How do you know which one is right for you? This hands-on session will walk you through both platforms, highlighting their strengths, unique features, and ideal use cases. Whether you need quick social media graphics, branded templates, or collaborative design tools, you'll see firsthand how each tool fits different workflows. By the end of the session, you'll have the insights to confidently choose the best tool for your creative needs. No bias, just the facts.

Topics include:

• Understand the strengths of each tool
• Compare cost, features, and customizability
• See both tools in action
• Make an informed choice

Leverage the professional design tools you already know and love to create social media content. Streamline your workflow with Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Learn when and why to use each tool for its strengths, how to export with the right settings, repurpose designs across multiple platforms, and manage assets efficiently. Plus, discover time-saving automation techniques to boost productivity. Whether you’re creating posts, banners, or stories, these expert tips will help you design smarter and faster.

• Know When to Use Each App – Understand the strengths of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign for different social media design needs.
• Seamlessly Work Between Applications – Learn how to use CC Libraries, Smart Objects, and linked assets to speed up collaboration.
• Become an Export Expert – Learn the best formats, compression settings, and resolution tips for social media platforms.
• Repurpose Designs Efficiently – Adapt your graphics across multiple sizes and formats without starting from scratch.
• Automate and Batch Process – Save time with Photoshop Actions, Illustrator Variables, and other automation tricks.

Do you want to create marketing emails that not only look great but also deliver real results? Whether you're new to email design or looking to refine your skills, this session will guide you from the fundamentals to more advanced strategies. You'll learn how to design visually engaging, high-converting emails while collaborating effectively with marketers to achieve business goals.

We will begin with the essential components of effective email design, including brand consistency and layout principles. Next, we'll explore best practices for crafting emails that drive conversions, such as event registrations, content downloads, and customer engagement. Finally, we will discuss email optimization, workflows, and how to measure success using key performance metrics and testing strategies. 

Topics Include:

• Core email design elements that balance brand consistency with creative freedom
• Best practices for conversion-focused emails—driving action through design
• Effective collaboration with marketers and understanding ownership
• Workflows and templates to streamline your email design process
• Key email metrics, industry benchmarks, and strategies for testing success
• Moving beyond aesthetics—designing with strategy and results in mind

In a world drowning in digital overload, print is your secret weapon – tangible, trusted, and impossible to ignore. This session covers how print builds secure connections, creates emotional engagement, drives customers online, and strengthens loyalty in ways digital media alone can’t. Get ready for serious PRINTSPIRATION and fresh ideas that will have you rethinking what’s possible with print!

You'll learn:

• How print opens doors to inboxes and mailboxes.
• How to identify ‘holes’ in the marketing mix for print to shine.
• How to tactfully use print to support digital marketing and communications.
• How to measure results that matter.

When the marketing team calls for a new social graphic, webpage, or brochure, designers too often feel like order-takers, stuck in endless iterations. In this session, we'll explore how to break free from simply executing requests by uncovering the true underlying needs behind them. Drawing on decades of research into human decision-making and common communication pitfalls, you'll learn practical techniques for having more strategic, insightful conversations with your stakeholders—ensuring your work not only meets but exceeds organizational goals.

Topics include:

• How to distinguish between a want/request and a true need
• How to conduct a collaborative conversation that will lead to the discovery of underlying needs
• How to identify and mitigate challenges to successful Stakeholder Whispering
  

Today’s creative teams manage a large amount of information and assets while moving at a fast pace. They are asked to master more formats, move more quickly, and often, do it in a remote or hybrid format. So how does a small team, juggling a multitude of projects with numerous moving parts, stay aligned? With caution and a good plan.

Join creative director and brand strategist Prescott Perez-Fox to learn a host of techniques and tools that small branding, design, and marketing teams can use to stay unified and organized. We'll examine file organization, file versions, collaborative ideation, research, and all-purpose communication. We’ll also explore ideas for managing brand logos, icons, photos, fonts, and colors via CC Libraries.

Everyone — from art directors to project managers to marketing strategists — will pick up a little something to take back to the team to reduce headaches, streamline the workflow, and keep everyone in the loop.

Topics Include:

• Asset management best practices
• File version control
• Collaborative workflows

Figma is more than a design tool—it’s a platform that empowers marketing designers to collaborate and execute effectively. In this session, learn to leverage Figma’s capabilities to create beautiful, purposeful, and scalable marketing assets.

We’ll dive into how Figma supports design thinking methodologies, allowing you to gather feedback, and iterate with speed. Learn how to apply audience-first strategies to ensure every asset connects with intention. We’ll also explore building a unified design system that enables brand consistency while supporting agile marketing demands.

Key takeaways:

• Navigate Figma’s interface confidently, leveraging your Adobe background
• Apply strategic design systems to create scalable, on-brand marketing assets
• Organize files and components for efficiency, consistency, and collaboration
• Use Figma’s real-time features to streamline feedback and approvals across teams
• Embrace an audience-first mindset to guide impactful, user-centered design decisions

Bridge the Design + Marketing gap with Adobe Express! In this fun and in-depth session, you'll see both sides of the process: First as a professional designer crafting flexible, on-brand materials; and then as a marketing content creator customizing and publishing with ease.

We all know professional design starts with InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop. Now, see how to transition these designs into Adobe Express for your team collaboration.

Whether you're a designer looking to streamline handoffs or a marketing pro wanting to maximize Adobe Express, this session will show you how to bridge the gap and boost productivity.

Topics include:

• Real-world workflows to improve collaboration between design and marketing teams.
• Learn how to bring InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop files into Adobe Express
• Discover best practices for creating reusable templates and assets for Express.
• See how Express empowers non-designers to edit and publish with brand consistency.

Think you know Adobe's tools? Think again! Beneath the surface of Adobe’s apps are powerful, often-overlooked tools that can revolutionize your design process. Discover hidden gems like Adobe Bridge for seamless file organization, CC Libraries for effortless asset management, and Share for Review to streamline feedback and collaboration. We’ll also explore Adobe Color and Stock to supercharge your creativity. Whether you’re a designer, marketer, or creative professional, these tools will save you time and elevate your work.

Topics include:

• Supercharge Your Organization: Learn how to efficiently manage your assets with Adobe Bridge and CC Libraries.
• Streamline Collaboration: Discover how Share for Review makes gathering feedback easier than ever.
• Boost Your Creativity: Explore tools like Adobe Color for fresh and consistent design inspiration.
• Save Time with Ready-Made Solutions: Utilize Adobe Stock templates to create stunning designs in minutes.
• Work Smarter, Not Harder: Unlock powerful features hidden in plain sight to maximize efficiency across Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and more.

Ready to make your designs pop to life? In this session, you’ll learn how to use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Dimension to create eye-catching 3D scenes. We’ll start with simple shapes and letterforms, add depth with 3D extrusions, and apply realistic Substance materials—all right inside Illustrator! Then, we’ll take those 3D objects into Adobe Dimension and Photoshop (through the Substance 3D Viewer beta) for scene-building, rendering, and compositing.

By the end, you'll feel empowered and excited to create dynamic 3D designs of your own, using tools you already know and love.

Topics include:

• Gain a functional understanding of the various 3D tooling Adobe has available across Creative Cloud and the Substance 3D collection. 
• Make use of Adobe Illustrator to design simple (yet effective) 3D models using 2D tools and workflows.
• Perform more detailed staging and lighting of such models within Adobe Dimension (alternatively, Substance 3D Stager).
• Render your 3D content to Photoshop design files for further manipulation. 
• Explore Substance 3D Viewer beta and Photoshop integrations for hybrid 2D/3D compositions.