DesignUp Festival, Bangalore, 12th -16th, November

When and where is it on?

The festival is on from the 12-16th in Bangalore. The first three days consist of tours and masterclasses around the city. The last two days consist of a conference that is held in The Lalit Ashok.

How many years has it been going?

It will be four years this year.

What was the inspiration to start it?

While working with Venture Capitalists, I realised how deeply fragmented Design awareness in India was. I also understood what design could do for tech led businesses, social enterprises and startups in India. All this was in huge contrast to when I was working with multinationals like Adobe. As more and more Indian companies embraced design and brought design function inhouse, the need to sell design, find role models as well as examples of good design has been ever growing. The inspiration stems from a need for a strong community that can learn from each other and also learn to leverage on the value and possibilities of design across their own organisations.

What exciting things can people look forward to?

I think that we have quite an engaging program set in place for this year. In addition to the exciting range of speakers at the conference, we also have a 3-day program where we go around the city of Bangalore exploring everything from Microbreweries to one-on-one meets with design teams of big tech success stories like MakeMyTrip. We’re also hosting masterclasses with some of the big names in Design Thinking and AI.

What opportunities are on offer for those attending?

At one level it is about learning, finding tips and tricks, hacks and philosophies to take back and apply in their own work and life. At another it is about finding a tribe where people can share, find answers, and unburden. It is also about understanding where the trends in the industry are blowing; what new opportunities, skill-sets and tools are in demand. We constantly hear stories of how people have been inspired to switch careers and learn something new via DesignUp. Then, there’s the aspect of networking: of making new connections as well as meeting old friends.

Who will be speaking?

Well, we have a broad range of speakers from entrepreneurs to senior researchers to design thinkers. Among them, I could highlight Jon Kolko, who’s the founder of the Austin Design Centre, Payal Arora, who is an author and lecturer at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Simone Rebaudengo who’s a teacher, filmmaker, and founder of Automato.farm Shanghai, and Alysha Naples who is the CEO of TinDrum an organization working with virtual reality.

What tips would you give to people attending to get the most out of it?
A- It’s an extensive event with multiple talks, panels, keynotes, workshops, so I would advise people to plan a schedule ahead of their visit. It’s also advisable to stay close to the venue (if not at the venue) since commute in Bangalore can be a pain. Additionally, people should take some time to check the stores, exhibits and displays at this year’s festival. Use this event to meet friends and check out Bangalore – there are a bunch of things happening here, all the time. Don’t miss the food and breweries – Bangalore is famous for the variety and it’s craft beers (and coffee.)

How can people book tickets / when does it usually sell out?

Tickets for the workshops, masterclasses and the 2-day conference can be bought on the DesignUp website. The super early bird and the early bird tickets have already sold out. We’ve got an overwhelming response for this edition of the festival.

Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked?

How do we, as DesignUp balance multiple perspectives? We try to balance both N-S, E-W perspectives. What you hear and see here is going to be very different from conferences in the US, Europe or across the West. The richness of Eastern cultures and their way of solving problems is unique to DesignUp. Expect to find stories from Myanmar’s Sesame farmers or Indonesia’s Bike Delivery System or India’s next Billion. We have stories not just from the Microsoft’s and Googles of the world, but smaller teams, new startups solving some unique problems at scale.

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