DMI: Design Management Conference 2026

This month, DCA director Nick Mival, joined other global design leaders at the Design Management Institute’s European conference (DMC26).  Held at Philips’ Amsterdam headquarters, design leaders gathered to discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence in design leadership. Under the theme of leading innovation in the age of AI, the event explored how organisations can integrate AI into design processes without losing human empathy, ethics, and creativity. Speakers highlighted AI as both a tool for accelerating ideation and a strategic force reshaping products, services, and business models.

Presentations and discussions focused on practical applications, including agentic design, generative design, data-driven decision-making, and human/AI collaboration. A recurring theme was the need for designers to evolve their skillsets, combining systems thinking with technological literacy. Ethical considerations, such as bias, transparency and accountability, were also central, reinforcing the responsibility of design leaders in shaping AI outcomes.

In addition, over the two-day conference, it became clear that designers are perfectly positioned to create the human interface with AI to enable natural, efficient, hybrid human/AI workflows and ecosystems. 

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Design Management Institute (DMI) is the premier global (non-profit) organisation that connects, promotes, and elevates the role of design, design management and design innovation in business, culture and society. DMI “brings together innovators, educators, researchers, and leaders from every design discipline, every industry, and every corner of the planet to facilitate transformational organizational change and design driven innovation.” DMI is the largest community of design and innovation leaders across industries and across the globe.