Design Management & Leadership MasterClass

Leading Design in a World Where Anyone Can Build

Luděk Černocký
Czech
We live in an era where the lines between design and development are blurring. Thanks to AI, we are all becoming "Product Builders," and practically anyone can build software. But what does this democratization of creation mean for the role of a leader?
In this session, we’ll look at how dynamics are shifting in B2B and SaaS teams and whether the old rules of leadership still apply. You’ll learn how to prepare your team for a world where just "designing well" isn't enough anymore you need to understand the entire product-building process.

Cross-functional leadership

Jan Valder
Czech
Cross-functional leadership is the ability to mobilize people within an organization who have different—or even no—motivations and often no reason to follow your lead. At the same time, design and research frequently operate on the edge of the system: without direct power, without a budget, and sometimes without a clearly defined mandate. Yet, they must initiate, coordinate, and occasionally rescue projects. This lecture will offer a framework for navigating influence, conflict, and decision-making in such environments, ensuring that collaboration is not just a coincidence, but a consciously managed process.

Building design & research culture

Romana Trusinová
Czech
Questions like "What problem are we solving, and for whom?" come naturally to those with a design mindset. But how can we ensure these questions are asked by the entire company—from product teams to the C-level? And more importantly, how can we empower them to answer effectively? This talk explores building a design and research culture within an organization. We will discuss where to start, how to navigate different levels of design maturity among teams and individuals, and how to gradually increase it until design thinking evolves from an individual skill into the natural way an organization tackles both small and large challenges.

Leading Design in a Recession

Czech
Design Leadership in a Time of Changing Rules | Milan Chvojka
What does leading a design team look like during a recession or crisis? What should you do when established orders collapse and the entire industry undergoes a transformation? Using examples from the agency environment, I will show how the designer's role changes in these moments, what a crisis reveals about team dynamics, and how our own mindset influences the outcome.

Czech
Is Design in Crisis? How to Adapt and Find New Growth Opportunities | Jakub Karlec
Economic instability, a saturated market, and the rapid rise of AI are putting both design and people under pressure. However, this also creates opportunities for growth. We live in a time where many designers struggle to find work, while companies are simultaneously desperate to hire for their design teams. Where is the problem? We will look at the economic, technological, and human dimensions of the current "design crisis" and outline the opportunities it brings. We will also compare the Czech and US markets and, based on 2FRESH's practical experience, show why it pays off to invest heavily in promoting the value of design.

Speculative Design Normalization

J. Paul Neeley
English

While there has been a huge amount of interest around futures practice in the past decade, many organizations still struggle to understand how these approaches create value in today's world. In this talk J. Paul will share an introduction to speculative design practice, how it can be applied to create meaningful impact for organizations, and discuss why he believes we have an ethical imperative to spend more time in the future.

neeleyworldwide.com – J. Paul’s primary studio and professional portfolio.
critical.design – A platform dedicated to critical design and its methodology.

Design & AI & Ethics

Katka Marková

Anotace

Odkaz

Future of UX

Michal Strnadel, Běla Beránková a Jitka Bartošová

Anotace

Odkaz