Speaking

Andy is a regular speaker at international conferences like SXSW, IxDA, Fronteers, Awwwards and The Next Web.

Watch some of the most popular talks from Andy's back catalogue, explore what new topics he's working on, find out where you can see him speak, or invite him to speak at your next event.

Conference Speaking

Andy loves sharing his knowledge and experience of design at industry conferences and events.

Workshop facilitation

Andy enjoys running workshops on topics like design leadership, design thinking and product innovation.

Event Curation

Andy is an experienced event curator and host, and can help you make your next event a huge success.

On most objective measures, the design industry is thriving. Our skills are in high demand, our salaries are rising, and companies can’t fill roles fast enough. Design leadership has come of age, we’re seeing companies invest in team development, and more and more designers are earning that hallowed “seat at the table”. So why, when I talk to designers, do so many of them feel burnt out and despondent; like all their hard work and effort has been for nothing. It’s as though the design industry is going through some sort of mid-life crisis.

Upcoming Talks

Designs Midlife Crisis

The Business Value of Design

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Design Team

Classic Talks

The Accidental (Design) Leader

In a quest to understand what makes a great leader, and help his friends in newly minted leadership positions, Andy started the Leading Design conference and Slack community last year. Over the past 18 months, Andy has interviewed dozens of prominent leaders and listened in on hundreds of Slack conversations about the art and craft of leadership.

In this session, Andy recounts his journey into leadership, shares his successes and failures, and the important lessons he’s learned on the way. The result is a talk packed full of design leadership heuristics suitable for anybody who is a leader, wants to be a leader, or has a leader.

Building a World Class Design Team

With technology becoming a commodity, the last time Andy spoke at The Next Web, he explained how user experience was the next competitive battleground. Jump forward a couple of years and every start-up worth their series B has been investing in design; whether that’s hiring superstar designers, commissioning world-leading consultancies, or buying entire design studios. But how do you find the best talent and – more importantly – how do you keep them? In this masterclass session, Andy outlines the nine things you need to do to foster a healthy design culture, find the right talent, and build a world-class design team.

I For One Welcome Our New Robot Overlords

The world of Artificial Intellegence and Robotics is set to change the technological landscape over the coming years. In this talk Andy takes the audience through the rich history of robotics and A.I. from early automata to the latest cutting-edge research. Using past industrial revolutions and the world of science fiction as a lens, Andy looks at some of the moral, ethical, and societal challenges that face us and explores how we can create a more human-centered vision of the future.

Design as a Competitive Advantage

Design is rapidly becoming the hot new business trend, as companies large and small realise the benefits design can bring to their bottom line. However it’s not quite as simple as hiring a bunch of designers and expecting them to thrive. Bringing design into your organisation requires understanding, effort, and a commitment to change. In this talk Andy explains how you can take full advantage of the opportunities design has to offer before your competitors do the same.

Andy has spoken at conferences around the world, including:

Other topics of interest

Creative Leadership

Design Fiction

Product Innovation

Startup Success

Andy’s speaker bio & images

Andy is a Design Leader turned investor, advisor and coach. He's a partner at Seedcamp, one of the top ranked seed funds in Europe. He's currently writing "The Growth Equation" to help startups land their first million in revenue and reach Product Market Fit.

A product person at heart, Andy previously founded Clearleft (the first UX agency in the UK), Leading Design and UX London. He's a founding member of the Adobe Design Circle and has appeared on both the Wired 100 and BIMA 100 lists. Andy once worked as a shark diver and recently qualified as a pilot.

Andy is a well known design founder, start-up advisor and coach (so feel free to drop him a line if you need some advice). He’s also a prolific speaker, and loves sharing his experience at events like SXSW, Awwwards and The Next Web. Andy is probably best known for his early work in Web Standards (CSS Mastery briefly outsold Harry Potter) and for pioneering the field of User Experience Design in Europe. As the Managing Director and co-founder of Clearleft, Andy curated the dConstruct, UX London and Leading Design conferences, as well as launching Silverback and Fontdeck. A lifelong community advocate, Andy founded an online network of over 2,000 heads, directors and VPs of Design. Closer to home he also launched the Brighton Digital Festival, a city-wide celebration of digital art and culture. A huge believer in the transformational power of design, Andy is a founding member of the Adobe Design Circle, hosted events across Europe for the Design Leadership Forum, and recently joined Seedcamp as their first Design Specialist in Rotation. Thanks to the impact Andy has had on our industry, he’s appeared on both the Wired 100 and BIMA 100 lists, as well as wining agency of the year on several occasions. Never happier than when he's diving some remote tropical atoll, Andy is a PADI dive instructor and retired shark wrangler, and is currently learning to fly.

As a well-known agency founder and design leader, Andy helps companies like Virgin Holidays, John Lewis and Penguin Random House with issues of customer experience, product strategy, and digital transformation.

Andy’s role at Clearleft was to set strategy and vision, promote the value of design, and help their clients realise their digital potential. Andy was very active in the day-to-day running of the company, managing the leadership team, setting company culture, and looking after the happiness and wellbeing of 30+ staff.

Andy is a designer at heart, having spent over 20 years in the field. He loves using his knowledge of design, technology, and human behaviour to influence product strategy. As such, Andy is in his element when working alongside board members and their management teams.

In his early career Andy helped pioneer the field of Web Standards through his work, his blog (one of the highest trafficked in the UK at the time), and the publication of his best-selling book; CSS Mastery. Later, Andy helped popularise the field of UX design, setting up the UK's first dedicated UX agency, along with its first and arguably best UX conference.

When he's not running the company or managing our creative output, Andy can be found sharing his wealth of knowledge at conferences around the world like SXSW, An Event Apart and The Next Web. He also curates the UX London and Leading Design conferences. In 2011, Andy co-founded the Brighton Digital Festival, a citywide celebration of digital culture attracting 40,000 visitors and over 190 events. He currently runs an online community of over 1,500 Heads, Directors and VPs of Design, and is a founding member of Adobe's Design Circle. These are just some of the reasons his company has won Netmag Agency of the Year on several occasions, and he's appeared on both the Wired 100 and BIMA 100 lists.

Never happier than when he's diving some remote tropical atoll, Andy is a qualified PADI dive instructor and retired shark wrangler. With a degree in Aeronautical engineering, Andy is currently learning to fly.