Schedule at a Glance | Friday, September 19, 2025
Full program details coming soon!
Take a look at our one-day virtual summit UXPALOOZA 2025 programming.
(Schedule subject to change; All times are in the eastern time zone)
TIME (ET)
AI & UX
UX CAREER GROWTH
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
OPENING REMARKS
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM
NOON – 12:50 PM
Upcoming session to be announced
12:50 PM – 1:30 PM
NETWORKING EVENT
1:30 PM – 2:20 PM
2:30 PM – 3:20 PM
Check back for more details
3:30 PM – 4:20 PM
KEYNOTE
4:20 PM – 4:30 PM
CLOSING REMARKS
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Program
Full program details coming soon!
(Schedule subject to change; All times are in the eastern time zone)
AI & UX SESSIONS
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
FROM FIGMA TO FUNCTION:
Using AI + MCP
to Convert Design Systems to Code
This hands-on session introduces designers to a practical, emerging workflow: converting design system components into functional code using AI-assisted tools and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). We’ll use Figma, Cursor (or Bolt), and AI pair programming to generate responsive components from real design tokens, patterns, and UX assets. You’ll walk through how MCP enables designers to provide context-rich instructions for AI, producing clean, reusable components that accelerate dev handoff and stakeholder prototyping. No engineering background required—just curiosity, familiarity with design systems, Figma, and a web browser to launch Cursor or Bolt.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Learn how to turn Figma design system components into working code using AI tools like Cursor and the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
- Understand how AI can assist in real-time code generation, prototyping, and developer handoff.
- Gain hands-on experience with prompts and workflows that bridge design and engineering.
- Leave with a reusable starter kit for integrating AI into your UX and design system process.
MICHAEL
NIX
Principal Designer
VCA Strategy
Michael is a 20 year design veteran, currently operating as a Principal Designer for his solo agency VCA Strategy. He’s held positions as senior design manager at Amazon Web Services, Oracle NetSuite, CVS Health (Aetna), in FinTech, and taught design at Northwestern University. While he knows some frontend code, he’s absolutely embracing vibe coding and the emergence of new AI tools like MCP. He lives in Colorado, loves biking with his partner and daughter, cooking, gaming, and snowboarding. Go Broncos.
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
DESIGNING WITH INTENT:
UX Strategies for an AI-Led Future
This session will explore how intent-driven design can elevate AI systems from merely functional to meaningfully intuitive by aligning with the why behind user behavior. As the AI landscape continues to shift, I’ll be incorporating the latest developments into the final version of the talk.
This session builds on a keynote I delivered earlier this year at the Kumbhathon Startup Festival (co-initiated with MIT Media Lab), where I spoke to a mix of founders and researchers on this very theme. The response there helped sharpen the narrative and I’m excited to evolve it further for UXPALOOZA.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Attendees will walk away with clearer strategies to design AI interfaces that feel smarter, more adaptive, and behaviorally aligned, especially in high-ambiguity contexts.
GURUSHA
RASKAR
UX Researcher & AI Strategist
Sage Spark AI
Gurusha Raskar is a Strategic AI and UX Leader renowned for delivering AI-powered, user-centered solutions that blend behavioral science, technical expertise, and business strategy. At Deloitte, she led over 250 projects for Fortune 500 companies, enhancing efficiencies and creating client-focused innovations. Her award-winning work in AI-driven healthcare at the MIT Pathcheck Hackathon aimed to impact over 345 million users. Gurusha has also contributed to Google’s Solve for X and led community initiatives like Akamai’s Adventure Catalyst. Passionate about mentoring women in STEM, she shares her insights through speaking and workshops, driving innovation and inclusivity in technology.
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
BEYOND CHATBOTS:
The Evolution of AI Design
The chat window is shrinking—and what’s replacing it reveals the future of AI interaction design. While most teams still focus on optimizing chatbot conversations, leading AI products have already evolved through dual-pane interfaces to infinite canvases and dynamic, self-modifying UIs.
This presentation traces the rapid evolution from 2022’s full-screen chat dominance to today’s orchestration interfaces, where users conduct AI agent teams rather than typing prompts. We’ll examine why chat is fading in prominence, explore emerging patterns like flowchart canvases and node-based workflows, and peek into the near future where interfaces generate and adapt themselves based on context. You’ll see live examples from tools like Cursor, Claude Artifacts, and Bench.io, understanding not just what’s changing, but why.
Most importantly, we’ll discuss what this means for UX professionals: moving from designing static screens to creating adaptive systems and orchestration experiences.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Understand the trajectory from chat-first to orchestration interfaces.
- Learn emerging UI patterns beyond dual-pane designs.
- Discover how to design for dynamic, self-modifying interfaces.
- Gain insights into UX for conducting multi-agent workflows.
- Leave with practical knowledge about where AI interfaces are headed and how to design for what's next.
SEAN
SAVAGE
Product Design Lead
AAA
Sean J. Savage is a father of two and an AI product design leader with 20 years of professional experience leading teams to success through user-centered product and service design, from New York City to Shanghai to San Francisco.
He’s worked for AAA, Intel, Frog Design, Adaptive Path, Jawbone, GE Digital, Vanguard, UCSF, and Stanford Medicine. He has a Master’s degree in Information Management & Systems from UC Berkeley.
His writing has been published in The Washington Post, Wired, and the Chicago Tribune. He occasionally writes very short autobiographies in the third person.
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
CO-CREATION OF UX & AI:
Challenges & Opportunities
Discussion Panel
JARED
HUKE
CEO
Daito Design
Jared Huke is the CEO of Daito Design and Lumara Vision Corporation, where he leads innovation at the intersection of enterprise UX, AI integration, and spatial computing. With over two decades of experience, Jared has spearheaded core business transformation projects for numerous Fortune 100 companies, particularly in the energy, logistics, and industrial sectors.
An alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, Jared also served as a lecturer at the university’s Center for Integrated Design, teaching courses like “Introduction to Design Thinking” to interdisciplinary students.
As the President and Founder of UXPA Netherlands, he has been instrumental in fostering professional development and accreditation for UX practitioners.
Based in Amsterdam, Jared continues to drive innovation while balancing his professional endeavors with personal passions, including ceramics and family life.
SARAH
THOMPSON
Director of
Behavioral Design
Live Neuron Labs
Sarah Thompson is a behavioral scientist and the Director of Behavioral Design at Live Neuron Labs, where she advises Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits like the American Heart Association on designing products, communications, and services that work with human behavior, not against it.
With a background in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s in Cognitive Semiotics, Sarah brings deep expertise in how people think, feel, and decide — and applies it to real-world challenges across healthcare, sustainability, financial wellbeing, education, and tech.
She regularly consults with organizations, trains teams, and speaks on how behavioral insights can elevate UX, CX, marketing, and AI experiences, especially in a fast-changing digital world.
JOHN
WHALEN
Lead, Psychological Insights & Innovation
Brilliant Experience
I lead Insights & Innovation at Brilliant Experience, where I help global brands understand the psychology behind their customers’ behaviors and bring successful products to market.
Initially skeptical about AI, my team and I conducted extensive “AI vs. Human Researchers” studies to pinpoint precisely where AI-enhanced research excels—and where human judgment remains irreplaceable. I became convinced that AI will transform how research will be done.
Now I regularly interview pioneering founders in the AI-for-UX space and leverage the latest AI tools to deliver rapid, scaled, global insights for top brands.
With a PhD from Johns Hopkins, I combine academic rigor with real-world experience and pragmatism to help you learn to harness cutting-edge AI tools and make AI your powerful partner.
UX CAREER GROWTH SESSIONS
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
FROM AI ANXIETY TO
CAREER ACCELERATION:
Your Career Transformation Blueprint
What if the biggest threat to your design career could actually become your greatest competitive advantage? While many professionals report feeling anxious about AI’s impact on their roles, forward-thinking designers are building the future of design by mastering AI-human collaboration. These designers aren’t just surviving the AI revolution—they’re leading it, commanding higher salaries, and becoming indispensable experts. Drawing from real success stories across global design communities, this session reveals the practical blueprint that transforms AI anxiety into career acceleration. Discover why AI-fluent design leaders are becoming the most valuable players in their organizations and how to become one of them.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- The AI-human collaboration framework that redefines the design process and your role from executor to strategic orchestrator of human-centered experiences.
- Tangible action plan to reframe your mental blockers and inner critics into a growth mindset and continuous development.
- Strategies for your professional brand to be an AI-fluent design leader, positioning yourself as the designer who bridges technology and human needs.
EUNJI
JEONG
Director of Strategy
Designed Connected
Eunji is a design leader, mentor, and community builder who helps organizations navigate the intersection of AI and human-centered design. As Director of Strategy at Designed Connected, she combines hands-on design leadership with business acumen to build scalable design processes and future-proof organizations for the AI era.
Through mentoring hundreds of designers across career stages, Eunji recognized the need for stronger professional community support, which led her to found Designed Minds, a global network that empowers design professionals to advance their careers and take ownership of their growth.
A sought-after voice on AI’s impact on design, Eunji writes and speaks about the transformation of the designer role and the opportunities for human creativity. Her passion for translating complex concepts into actionable strategies has helped design teams and businesses proactively embrace change and deliver meaningful solutions to real-world challenges.
12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
Upcoming session to be announced
1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
BEING HUMAN:
Soft Skills as a Superpower When Facing AI
This session gives a practical overview of the social, personal, and communicative soft skills for UX professionals, how these relate to the typical focus areas in UX and how we benefit from being human in times of AI.
Perhaps our future career opportunities lie not in learning tools or technologies, but in understanding and strategically applying our soft skills. Let’s discuss.
AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
- Knowledge about different soft skills in the context of human-centered design.
- The influence of soft skills on our work in the context of (generative) AI.
- How to recognize soft skills in yourself and your team and to identify development opportunities.
CLAUDIA
BRUCKSCHWAIGER
Managing Partner
swohlwahr
After founding an international startup, project experience in software design, digital strategy, and personnel service in a managerial position, Claudia now works on strategic digitization projects with startups, SMEs, and corporations as a managing partner of swohlwahr, a consultancy focusing on the human-centered organization. She is also a lecturer in interaction design at a vocational college in Salzburg, is co-author of the books, “Soft Skills for UX Professionals” and “User Experience Design und Sustainability,” and is vice president of the International Accreditation Program of UX Professionals (IAPUX).