Why attend a design conference or summit in 2023?

One aspect that has always made our tech-centred industry so unique is how rapidly it ebbs and flows, releases new developments, and how standards and expectations change in relative short cycles. This has never been more pronounced than in the last 12 months where we are seeing regular company “purges” resulting in a rising uncertainty across the industry. However, adopting the ‘glass-is-half-full’ mindset, there are great opportunities amongst uncertainty and therefore, in this article, we'll explore a few reasons why conferences provide an excellent platform to harvest future gains. Buckle up!

Benefit Your Future Career

First things first, attending a design conference is an investment in your future career. As the industry evolves, it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, methodologies, and new technologies. Conferences offer workshops, masterclasses, and talks that provide insights and practical knowledge that you can takeaway and apply directly to your day-to-day work. Trust us, your colleagues, clients, and managers will you love for this.

What’s better still, these sessions are run by real experts who have walked-the-walk. Those who have successfully passed through the ring of fire, made the mistakes, and can share with you best practices on how to avoid them yourself! Consider this pressing the fast-forward button on your learning in a way that is tangible and brings measurable results.

Be involved in the community

A second aspect that makes our wonderful industry is so unique is our vibrant and tight-knit community. You will be forgiven if you aren’t a design Twitter addict (we all know that can be exhausting) however, design conferences offer excellent opportunities to discover design ‘personalities’ and thought-leaders who lead the discussion with extra spicy hot takes across a broad spectrum of design topics. As well as this, conferences offer a chance to make new connections that are as similarly motivated and ambitious as you are and through that magical combination who knows what exciting idea that could spark!

At HATCH Conference in particular, we aim to create a relaxed environment where people can make genuine connections that can lead to new job opportunities, collaborations, or even friendships with current and future leaders in design.

Find your next dream job

It’s important to remember that it’s not only designers who are invited to the party… Many companies attend conferences to showcase their products, services, and workflows in order to attract creative talent. Conferences talks and workshops give a behind-the-scenes peek into how some of the most exciting and fast-growing companies operate. These could be companies that you know well, heard in passing or even those that you never heard of before but perhaps the next secret gem that needs a standout candidate to take their design capabilities to the next level.

Transition into the world of design leadership

Conferences, such as HATCH Conference, provide attendees with valuable insights into leadership and management skills, team building, and other important skills necessary for leading a design team. It is safe to say, that by-and-large, the qualities required for successful do not come naturally to many ‘veteran’ designers. However, by attending sessions focused on leadership, you can learn from other design leaders and gain insights into what it takes to be a successful design leader easing the bumpy transition from individual contributor to team leadership role.

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As we said at the beginning, attending a conference is an important investment in your future career as a designer. Conferences provide an ultimate melting pot of learning, discovery, relevance, opportunity, ideas and connections that you can benefit from and implement instantly providing real and long-lasting positive impact on your career.

With this in mind, we hope you will join us at HATCH Conference this year.