Day 01Tue · Nov 17
Opening night
Badge pickup, an opening panel that puts the mandate on the table, and the social where the room actually meets.
design✕ SummitSeventh EditionToronto, CANov 17–19, 2026On sale · US$699
A summit about the work
we never finished.
we never finished.
Design’sUnfinishedBusiness.
The promise was bigger than the screen.
Three focused days for senior design leaders ready to take another run at the mandate design never finished.
↓ContentsDLS 2026 — working dossier
01 — The lineup
First voices,announced.
5 confirmed so far. More voices and session details announced soon.
V
01Monzo
VuokkoSession details coming soon.C
02Shopify
CynthiaSession details coming soon.A
03Gusto
AmySession details coming soon.C
04TD
ChristianSession details coming soon.
05Humanism at Scale
Peter MerholzDesign Leadership DemystifiedConfirmed roster in progressCurrent speakers ↗
02 — The premise
We tried this before.We did not see it through.
There was a moment when design seemed ready to change more than interfaces. The iPhone reset expectations. Design thinking entered boardrooms. Experience design pushed beyond usability. The opportunity was real.
But over time, much of design was pulled back into production. More teams. More rituals. More screens. More delivery. The mandate got smaller.
2008 / The promiseShape products, services, organizations and value.
2012–2025 / The narrowingShip the visible layer. Faster.
Now / The openingMaking is easier. Judgment matters more.
AI is changing the conditions of production.
Speed does not answer
the harder questions.
What should be made? Who decides? What does quality mean now?
03 — The unfinished questions
Four pieces of unfinished business.
Not predictions. Not a victory lap. The live questions design leaders are working through now.
01Structure
Who gets to shape what comes next?
The New Organization.
Roles are blurring. Skills are moving forward. Everyone’s a “Builder” now. Design leaders can either inherit the new arrangement — or help set its terms.
02Scope
What belongs to design now?
The New Mandate.
The whole experience: product and marketing, service and support, brand and behavior. Customers don’t experience your org chart. They experience the coherence of everything you put in front of them.
03Method
How do you lead without being the hero?
Create the Conditions.
Set the constraints. Build the relationships. Hold the standards. Leadership at this scale means creating the conditions in which excellent work can happen.
04Standard
What must design refuse to lose?
Clarifying Quality.
When output gets faster, quality gets harder to hold. Define it. Assign responsibility for it. Make it the default — not the exception.
04 — Three days. One mandate.The argument
The argument
unfolds together.
Day 02Wed · Nov 18
Talks + roundtables
A full day of honest mainstage talks, followed by curated conversations under Chatham House Rule.
Day 03Thu · Nov 19
Sessions + closing
Hands-on sessions, lunch with the room, and the expansive half: the new organization, the whole experience, and quality.
Contact sheet / DLS ’25Shot in the room, not staged
How the room worksLess performance.
Less performance.
More participation.
Built for senior leaders who need more than inspiration.
Set the frame
Main-stage stories without the conference theatre.
Pressure-test it
Debate the parts that do not have clean answers.
Do the work
Apply the thinking to your own organization.
Go off record
8–12 peers. Curated. Chatham House Rule.
Build the trust
The conversations after the microphones are off.
05 — The room
The value is the room.
DLS is not a trade show. It is a working room for people leading design through the next shift — senior, practical and honest about the difficulty of the work. DesignX is North America’s most engaged design-leadership community.
VII
Annual editions
250+
Leaders / year
12+
Roundtables
100%
Practitioner-led
DLS 2025 felt less like a conference and more like a room full of sharp minds pushing each other to think deeper.”
Last year’s voicesDLS ’25 mainstage →
A room with receipts.
01Maggie Chen / Ada
02Ricardo Vasquez / Dropbox
03Meghan Logan / Thrivent
04Alison Gretz / Design by Design
05Ryan Rumsey / Chief Design Officer School
06Milena Tasic / Government of Canada
07Jenny Wen / Anthropic
+and the rest of the ’25 mainstage →06 — The venue
At TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto.
A cultural institution for a summit about what people see, feel, remember, and trust.
350 King St W · Toronto, Canada
07 — Access · on sale nowHalf of summit passes already claimed
Take another run
at the work.
US$699Full summit passEvery talk, workshop, roundtable & social.
Get your pass ↗Bringing the team? Groups of 6+ save 15% with code TEAMPASS →