2027 CONFERENCE THEME

Ambiguity as Opportunity

Reclaiming our agency in an era of uncertainty

Does your eye twitch a little when you hear the words “navigate ambiguity”? Us too. It’s a phrase that’s been abused a lot lately—used to justify toxic workplaces and changing goalposts.

But the ambiguity is real, and there’s no use pretending otherwise. Career paths, design processes, team structures—they’re all blurrier than ever.

When things feel uncertain, it’s normal to seek stability. We wax nostalgic for the last hiring boom. We crave clear tasks, polished briefs, and PRDs with no loose ends left in them. But however disorienting all this ambiguity is, hunkering down in the past won’t save us. Demanding certainty in our roles won’t either. In fact, they’ll make UX even easier to leave out—too outdated, too rigid, too difficult.

So at this year’s Throughline, we want to look at ambiguity differently. Not as a problem to solve or a phase to wait out—but as an opening for us to step into.

What would happen if we stopped fighting ambiguity—and started using it as an opportunity to…

Drive the work

We’re sick of being order-takers. We want a say in the strategy meeting. We want to do generative research, not just evaluative studies. So what if we stopped waiting for things to change—and decided to drive the work forward from right where we are?

Learn how to take the reins when requirements are vague or decision-making has stalled, show up with better ideas instead of just pushing back on bad ones, and transform your role from executing on tasks to leading the whole team to better outcomes.

Redefine the craft

New tools have always disrupted the design process—creating both new possibilities and new problems. So how do we hold onto what really matters without staying stuck in the past? What can AI do for UX—and what do we need to make sure it doesn’t take from us?

This year, we’ll be featuring hype-free talks about practical ways designers, researchers, and content folks are evolving their process—by using new tools to make their work better, not just faster.

collaborate in new ways

The lines on teams are blurring—from PMs vibe-coding features to designers pushing production-ready code. At worst, these shifts become turf wars, where we spend all our time fighting with our peers and trying to force them back into their lane.

But at best, these shifts are creating new, stronger teams—teams that collaborate openly, back each other up, and embrace everyone’s strengths. So we’ll be featuring talks from folks who are figuring out how to get there.

expand our futures

Problem-framing, dot-connecting, systems thinking: these have always been designers’ strengths—and the world needs them more than ever. So what if design’s next chapter includes bringing these skills beyond tech, beyond screens, and beyond traditional design roles?

Hear from people who are carving unconventional paths for their design careers—or even redefining what a “design career” can be: making pivots without worrying what their peers will think, trading “status” for satisfaction, or starting companies that value design from day one.

make our values real

We know design needs to serve business goals if it wants to be funded. But what do we do when those goals come in conflict with our values?

How do we draw lines about what we will and won’t build? How do we reckon with the harms and inequities of the products we create? When do we organize and fight back? When do we walk away? And what opportunities do we have to apply our design skills outside of capitalist systems—and use them to keep our neighbors safe, healthy, and supported? You’ll hear talks that tackle these tough questions, too.