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DesignUp 2026 recap: ten takeaways and all 21 talks
The ten
By day
A to Z
Ten things
worth keeping
Pick one to light up the talks it came from.
01
Takeaway 1:
Judgement is the scarce thing
02
Takeaway 2:
Write decisions down and own them
03
Takeaway 3:
Ask who authored it and who it leaves out
04
Takeaway 4:
A number is an interface
05
Takeaway 5:
Imperfection and locality now signal the human
06
Takeaway 6:
Expression needs a system under it
07
Takeaway 7:
Follow the insight to the outcome
08
Takeaway 8:
Small, self-built, local products can move a city
09
Takeaway 9:
Go sideways before you go up
10
Takeaway 10:
Don’t do it alone
Two days at
DesignUp 2026
By day
A to Z
Judgement
5
talks
Taste
5
talks
Rules & numbers
5
talks
City
3
talks
Next chapter
3
talks
1
Day 1
Sat 3 Oct · 11 talks
10:15
George Aye
Designing a New Social Contract
. Theme: Rules & numbers
10:45
Jyothish VM
When Design Becomes Governance: How a Product Designer Built Civic Accountability for 12M People
. Theme: City
11:30
Tey Bannerman
The Crossroads of AI and Design
. Theme: Judgement
12:00
Soumya Bhowmick
Designing Prosperity: Why Sustainomics Is a Design Problem
. Theme: Rules & numbers
12:15
Justin Maguire
What AI Changes About How We Design for Customers
. Theme: Judgement
2:20
Mehr Chatterjee & Aditya Dutta
Wham! The Improper Approach to Motion Design
. Theme: Taste
2:50
Nikhil Ravichandar
Interrupting the Algorithm: a print-only magazine to LURU
. Theme: City
3:05
Kriti Monga
Taste: Creative Authorship in Publication Design
. Theme: Taste
3:20
Faris Mohammed
Build Around and Find Out: A Designer’s First Real Product
. Theme: City
4:15
Oded Klimer & Mukul Bisht
What Is the Superpower You Need to Have a Job Tomorrow?
. Theme: Judgement
4:40
Vaibhav Kumaresh
Micro Shorts to Bermudas: My stories for my people.
. Theme: Taste
2
Day 2
Sun 4 Oct · 10 talks
10:10
Kara Pernice
UX and Disruption Déjà Vu
. Theme: Judgement
10:40
Jay Demetillo
Taste Can’t Be Prompted: Zero to One. Not Zero to Done.
. Theme: Judgement
11:30
Oliver Weidlich
Beyond the Flat Rectangle: what happens when our computers understand the world around us?
. Theme: Next chapter
12:00
Rajeev Raja
Why a musical identity is a must-have for the digital age
. Theme: Taste
12:25
Barry Fiske
Your Career as a Novel
. Theme: Next chapter
2:00
Rukmini S
Seeing India through Data
. Theme: Rules & numbers
2:30
Prakash Sharma
Billion and a half dreams
. Theme: Rules & numbers
2:45
Meru Vashisht
From Insight to Responsibility
. Theme: Rules & numbers
3:30
Alysha Naples
Designing for the Body That’s Actually in the Room
. Theme: Next chapter
3:45
Kimya Gandhi
Type, Truth and Tortellini
. Theme: Taste
an attendee’s notes, by Vidsan attendee’s notes, by Vids