How to Create Virtual Events That Design Communities Want to Attend

Let’s be honest—the virtual design event landscape has become a sea of sameness. Another webinar with the same speakers saying the same things. Another awkward software demo session watching someone struggling with sharing their screen, wondering when they can politely leave. Another portfolio review that feels like speed dating with even less romance.

As someone who’s organized, attended, and occasionally dozed through countless design events, I’ve developed some strong opinions on what actually works. More importantly, I’ve discovered formulas for creating events that designers genuinely want to attend—even when they have to put on real pants to do so.

Why Most Virtual Design Events Fail (And How to Make Yours Better)

The fundamental problem with most virtual design events is that they’re either:

1. Too generic (“Design Trends 2025”)

2. Too tactical without context (“27 Figma Shortcuts That Will Change Your Life”)

3. Too future-focused without practical application (“How AI Will Transform Everything About Everything”)

Meanwhile, designers are drowning in Slack notifications, project deadlines, and existential dread about whether their job will still exist in five years. They don’t need another hour-long session that could have been an email.

What they so desperately need are events that hit the sweet spot between current relevance, practical application, and forward-thinking perspective. Here’s how to create those.

Topic Formula #1: The Cultural Intersection Method

The most compelling event topics exist at the intersection of:

• What’s happening in broader culture/relevant now

• What’s changing in the design practice

• What designers need for career advancement

When you find topics that touch all three areas, you’ve struck gold.

Formula: [Cultural Shift] + [Design Practice] + [Career Implication]

Examples:

• “Micro-Storytelling in the Short Attention Economy: Creating Impactful Animations That Position You as a Narrative Efficiency Expert”

• “Cultural Appropriation Awareness: Designing Respectful Global Identities That Showcase Your Cross-Cultural Expertise”

• “Measuring Your Marketing Impact: Connecting Design Solutions to Business Metrics to Elevate Your Role”

Topic Formula #2: The Skills Evolution Framework

Hot skills in design don’t emerge from nowhere—they evolve from existing capabilities that adapt to new contexts. Track this evolution to identify compelling topics.

Formula: From [Established Skill] to [Emerging Skill]: Navigating the Transition

Examples:

• “From Design Systems to Design Ecosystems: Building Infrastructure for Multi-Experience Products”

• "From Client Approval Chaos to Structured Feedback Frameworks: Building Visual Decision Systems That Streamline Revisions and Elevate Creative Discussions"

• “From Visual Design to Experience Orchestration: Crafting Multi-Sensory Digital Moments”

Topic Formula #3: The Tension Resolution Approach

The most interesting conversations in design happen around unresolved tensions. Identify these tension points and build events that explore them thoughtfully.

Formula: [Value A] vs. [Value B]: Finding Balance in [Context]

Examples:

• “Efficiency vs. Delight: Designing Processes That Respect Both Business and User Needs”

• “Personalization vs. Privacy: Ethical Frameworks for Data-Informed Design”

• “Consistency vs. Innovation: When to Follow the System and When to Break It”

What Designers Actually Care About Right Now

Let’s get specific about what’s actually captivating designers’ attention in 2025. These are the topics showing up in my feeds, dominating conference conversations, and appearing in late-night Slack rants.

Skills That Matter (And Not Just Look Good on LinkedIn)

1. AI Orchestration: Not just prompt writing, but creating systems that coordinate multiple AI tools in coherent design workflows.

2. Business Model Translation: The ability to connect design decisions directly to business outcomes and articulate that value to stakeholders.

3. Multi-Modal Interface Design: Creating seamless experiences across voice, touch, gesture, and emerging interaction models.

4. Design Operations at Scale: Systematizing design practices across complex organizations while maintaining creative excellence.

5. Ethical Framework Implementation: Moving beyond theoretical ethics into practical application of responsible design principles.

Instead of generic “learn AI” sessions, create events that tackle questions like: “AI-Enhanced Brand Guardrails: Building Style Guides That Help You Control Generative Tools Rather Than The Other Way Around.”

Influential Voices Worth Amplifying

The most interesting design conversations aren’t happening with the same conference circuit regulars. Look for voices like:

1. Cross-Industry Innovators: Designers bringing methods from gaming, architecture, or behavioral economics into digital design.

2. Ethical Practice Pioneers: Those developing actionable frameworks for responsible design, not just theoretical discussions.

3. Business-Creative Translators: People who excel at bridging the perpetual gap between creative and business perspectives.

4. Global Perspective Bringers: Designers working outside the standard tech hubs, bringing fresh cultural viewpoints.

5. Next-Generation Talent: Newer designers unencumbered by “we’ve always done it this way” thinking.

Instead of the standard “fireside chat with famous designer,” try “Unexpected Design Influences: How Three Mid-Career Designers from Different Industries Solved the Same Problem.”

And for the love of creativity itself, mix up your speaker roster! Nothing deflates an audience faster than a parade of homogeneous perspectives from people who all shop at the same stores, share common life experiences, and probably read the exact same books. Different voices create better conversations—and they make your event look like it was organized sometime after 1962. Diversity, baby.

What Conference Whispers Tell Us

When designers gather in breakout rooms or at the snack tables during conference coffee breaks, they’re not talking about the presentations—they’re discussing their real challenges:

1. Career Navigation Uncertainty: “Should I specialize further or diversify my skills?”

2. AI Adaptation Anxiety: “How do I stay relevant when tools can do parts of my job?”

3. Client/Stakeholder Communication: “How do I ask for meaningful feedback instead of ‘make the logo bigger’?”

4. Sustainable Practice: “How do I do meaningful work without burning out?”

5. Community Building: “How do I find my people in an increasingly distributed world?”

Create events that address these elephant-in-the-room concerns, not just the public-facing professional questions.

Virtual Formats That Don’t Make People Think About Checking Their Email

Now that we’ve covered compelling topics, let’s talk formats because how your event is structured will deliver the topic entertainingly and engagingly (form follows function). Standard webinars and panels rarely take advantage of what digital environments do well (hint, hint: engagement tools like the chat bar are pure community-building gold).

Format #1: Design Duets

Two designers tackle the same brief, either live, working with tools or in story form through their creative process, narrating their thinking and comparing approaches.

• Why It Works: It shows multiple approaches to the same problem, makes tacit knowledge explicit, and creates genuine “I didn’t know you could do that” moments.

• Example: “Typography Face-Off: Two Designers Transform the Same Content with Different Typographic Approaches”

Format #2: Hot Seat Portfolio Reviews

Volunteer participants receive focused, constructive feedback on their portfolio from expert reviewers and peer participants in a structured format.

• Why It Works: It creates high-value, specific feedback while teaching everyone about portfolio presentation. The slight tension of real critique keeps everyone engaged. (I used this format for the Creative Jam LIVE finale sessions for Adobe.)

• Example: “20-Minute Portfolio Transformations: Watch Senior Hiring Managers Rethink Real Designer Presentations”

Format #3: Case Study Deconstruction

Deep-dive analysis of successful projects with the creators, highlighting the honest discussion of challenges, failures, and pivots that led to the final result.

• Why It Works: It reveals the messy truth behind polished case studies, helping participants see that great work isn’t born perfect.

• Example: “Behind the Redesign: The Three Failed Approaches Before the Successful Launch”

The “Why” Makes It All Matter

Beneath all the skills, trends, and career concerns lies the question that keeps thoughtful designers up at night: Why does this work matter?

The most compelling design events don’t just address how to do things better—they reconnect participants with the deeper purpose of design:

1. Human Impact: How our work affects people’s daily lives, emotions, and well-being

2. Cultural Contribution: How design shapes and reflects cultural values and behaviors

3. Problem Solving: How design thinking creates solutions to meaningful problems

4. Future Shaping: How today’s design decisions influence tomorrow’s possibilities

5. Community Building: How design can create connection in an increasingly fragmented world

A powerful closing segment for a virtual design event might be ‘community takeaways’ — where participants share in the chat their most valuable insight and how they’ll apply it in their work. Having everyone contribute in a shared space creates a collective resource of practical applications while giving participants a moment to cement their learning. The host can highlight a few standout responses, creating a satisfying sense of communal experience before closing.

Less Future, More Now

The most valuable design events aren’t about some distant future of the field—they’re about helping designers navigate the complex present with greater skill, confidence, and purpose.

So retire “The Future of Design Thinking” from your event calendar. Instead, create gatherings that address what designers are thinking about right now, in formats that take full advantage of virtual environments, with topics that intersect cultural relevance, practical skills, and meaningful purpose.

Your attendees will thank you by actually paying attention—and maybe even sticking around for those post-event survey questions instead of sprinting for the virtual exit.

What virtual design events have you found genuinely valuable? What topics would make you clear your calendar to attend? Share your thoughts in the comments!

What do you think of this article? 👍 or 👎 or 😳? Log in to comment!