Upcoming Web Design and Development Conferences in 2010

• By Louis Lazaris
• September 9th, 2010
• Business, Conferences, Workflow
• 69 Comments

At the end of last year, we published a comprehensive list of web design and development conferences that might be of interest to Smashing Magazine’s diverse readership. Many readers commented and added links to other conferences and events that weren’t listed, some of which were added to the post. Using the contents of that list along with some other sources, we’ve compiled a list of web design and development-related conferences and events that will be taking place in the next six to eight months.

As always, there is no way for us to be able to include every possible event here, but we’ll be glad to update the list if you provide a comment to an upcoming event that you feel would be of interest to graphic designers or web developers.

While the previous roundup was organized by category, this one lists the events in chronological order starting with the earliest. Jump to an appropriate month using the links below:

• September 2010 Events
• October 2010 Events
• November – December 2010 Events
• Early 2011 Events

September 2010 Events

FITC Mobile 2010
FITC Mobile covers all aspects of mobile content development — with presentations, demonstrations, and panel discussions. Covering iPhone/iPad, Android, Flash 10.1, Windows Mobile, HTML5, Unity, Marketing, Usability, and other relevant topics in the mobile world.

When: September 16-18, 2010
Where: Toronto, ON, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

An Event Apart D.C.
“From the makers of A List Apart, An Event Apart is an intensely educational two-day conference for passionate practitioners of standards-based web design. If you care about code as well as content, usability as well as design, An Event Apart is the conference you’ve been waiting for.”

When: September 16-18, 2010
Where: Washington, D.C., USA at the Washington Hilton

London Design Festival
“The London Design Festival is a nine-day celebration of design in the world’s creative capital. The Festival is a platform for the widest spectrum of design disciplines, brought together as a unique and accessible programme.”

When: September 18-26, 2010
Where: London, UK at a number of different venues across the city

MOBILE 2.0
“The MOBILE 2.0 Conference is a two-day event focusing on new Mobile Applications and Services, Mobile Ecosystems, and Disruptive Mobile Innovation presented by the Mobile 2.0 Organizing Committee. For Mobile Developers we have designed an entire day for you to hear about the latest developer tools and monetization techniques.”

When: September 20-21, 2010
Where: Silicon Valley, CA, USA at the Grand Hyatt & the Microsoft Silicon Valley Conference Center

Design For Mobile 2010
“Design For Mobile (D4M) is a multi-faceted conference aimed at engaging the mobile community in a shared discussion about the future of mobile and ‘the mobile now.’ This is a conference focused on strategy and tactics for user research, product definition, usability testing, interaction and design. D4M is comprised of both preliminary and advanced workshops that flank three full days of speakers and interactive sessions.”

When: September 20-24, 2010
Where: Evanston, IL, U.S.A at The Hilton Orrington

Web Directions USA
“CSS3, HTML5, Geolocation, mobile web — we’re seeing an explosion of innovation in design and development unlike at almost any other time in the web’s history. To keep you ahead of the curve, Web Directions USA features leading web practitioners, bringing you the freshest technologies, techniques and know-how.”

When: September 21-25, 2010
Where: Atlanta, Georgia, USA at the Loews Atlanta Hotel

National Association of Government Webmasters Conference
“The NAGW National Conference is the premier conference that focuses on local, state and regional government web professionals. Local, regional, state and federal government web professionals join their peers at the conference for two and a half days of education, training and networking in a relaxed professional environment.”

When: September 22-24, 2010
Where: St. Louis, MO, USA at the Millennium Hotel

European Information Architecture Summit
“A summit for anyone concerned with the design of navigation, organization, labeling, and search systems that help people find and manage information more successfully.”

When: September 23-25, 2010
Where: Paris, France at Les Salons de l’Aveyron

Flash on the Beach
“Don’t think that Flash on the Beach is only about Flash. Sure appearing at FOTB in the past we have had the usual suspects — Flash, Flex, AIR, and then some. Open Frameworks, Processing, AJAX, Photoshop, After Effects, Art, Design, Illustration, Animation, Sound and many more. Whether you are a tech-head or a creative, if you are a decision maker or a team manager, if you are in need of a fix of creative inspiration, or want to know the latest how-to’s, Flash on the Beach is where you’ll get it.”

When: September 26-29, 2010
Where: Brighton, UK at the Brighton Dome

BlackBerry® Developer Conference
“The BlackBerry® Developer Conference is a premier showcase for what can be done with BlackBerry apps, attended by thousands of the world’s most enthusiastic developers, BlackBerry experts, and Research In Motion® (RIM®) partners. It’s the place to get technical, code-driven information that can be applied to projects; the place where new tools and technologies can be experienced for the first time; the place for getting your questions answered, or finding the inspiration to go further with mobile applications than you ever imagined possible.”

When: September 27-30, 2010
Where: San Francisco, CA, USA at the Marriot Marquis

The ExpressionEngine and CodeIgniter Conference
“At the ExpressionEngine & CodeIgniter Conference you can meet the experts, be inspired and break new boundaries! This event brings you presentations and workshops from your favorite EE & CI speakers. Both beginners and experienced users will benefit from a variety of topics and sessions: discover how your favourite content management system and PHP framework can bend even further!”

When: September 29 – October 1, 2010
Where: Leiden, The Netherleands at De Stadsgehoorzaal theatre

Forward – Phoenix Design Week 2010
“The beauty of Phoenix Design Week is that it enables us to put Phoenix design on a pedestal. Throughout Design Week, there are many ways this is being executed, but one of the coolest ways we manifest this goal is by giving you options to showcase your own creative prowess.”

When: September 29 – October 3, 2010
Where: Phoenix, AZ, USA at the Phoenix Convention Center plus other locations

IDEA Conference
“IDEA2010 is a design conference tailored for you. This year’s unique mix of traditional presentations with structured activity time assures that you’ll get high-level concepts from big thinkers, and the space to apply them with peers.”

When: September 30 – October 2, 2010
Where: Philadelphia, PA, USA at the Independence Seaport Museum

Additional September 2010 Events

• WebExpo Prague 2010 (Prague, September 23-25)
• Accessiblity Summit (Online, September 30)

October 2010 Events

A Better World by Design Conference
“A Better World by Design is a three-day internationally acclaimed conference in Providence, RI that connects students, professionals, and individuals from a variety of disciplines in order to build a global community of socially conscious and passionate innovators. Presenters share engaging stories, workshops teach creative skills, and discussions reframe perspectives.”

When: October 1-3, 2010
Where: Providence, RI, U.S.A at Brown University & RISD Campuses

Future of Web Apps
“The Future of Web Apps is a conference for web developers and entrepreneurs. You’ll learn about cutting-edge tech and exciting new ideas.”

When: October 4-6, 2010
Where: London, UK at The Brewery

Fronteers
“Founded in 2007, Fronteers is the non-profit trade organization of Dutch front-end developers. Its goals include the professionalisation of our trade, (improved) recognition of the front-end discipline, and improving the position of Dutch front-end developers in their company and the web design/development world in general.”

When: October 5-8, 2010
Where: Amsterdam at Pathé Tuschinski theatre

DesignPhiladelphia
“Through its events and programming, DesignPhiladelphia showcases the role that design has played historically in Philadelphia, and celebrates the city’s contemporary significance as a center for creative advancement. Through the breadth of our events, DesignPhiladelphia unites the creative disciplines – from architecture to interior design, fashion to product design, multi-media to graphic design.”

When: October 7-17, 2010
Where: Philadelphia, PA, USA at various locations

5D|10 The Future of Immersive Design Conference
“5D | The Future of Immersive Design is the visionary, international conference for all designers, practitioners and students working in the fields of narrative media.”

When: October 8-9, 2010
Where: Long Beach, CA, USA at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center

International PHP Conference
“With its mixture of topics the International PHP Conference provides an ideal resource for all professionals and their successful daily routine within the whole PHP spectrum. Insights into current Web 2.0 technologies, Security, Best Practices for tools and components, Enterprise know-how, databases, architectures and more are presented at the International PHP Conference 2009.”

When: October 11-13, 2010
Where: Mainz, Germany at the Rheingoldhalle

Web Directions South
“Featuring leading web practitioners from across the world, bringing you the freshest technologies, techniques and know-how in web design and development, along with numerous networking and social opportunities. If you work on the web, Web Directions South is the industry event of the year.”

When: October 12-16, 2010
Where: Sydney, Australia at the Sydney Convention and Exhi bition Centre

AIGA Gain
“The premier biennial event for business and design leaders. Attendees will learn how industry leaders addressed business challenges through design—and how they reinvented their businesses, their strategies and even themselves. We’ll hear business, design and thought leaders share their innovative approaches to generating greater return on investment, fostering emotional connections and providing positive brand experiences for customers.”

When: October 14-16, 2010
Where: New York City, NY, USA at The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers

Voices That Matter iPhone Developers Conference
“You’ll acquire skills for mastering iOS development from leading authors and experts during a weekend of strong educational sessions. Our speakers are eager to share their knowledge, answer your questions and address your application needs. You’ll participate in interactive discussions that provide the perfect environment for an unbiased and effective learning experience. This engaging two-day conference features how-to sessions covering the latest, most intriguing news in application development for the iPhone and iPad.”

When: October 16-17, 2010
Where: Philadelphia, PA, USA at The Hub Cira Centre

jQuery Conference
“The annual conference of jQuery users and developers. There will be talks on jQuery, jQuery UI, plugins, complex application development, and more — all from the top jQuery developers. Speakers include John Resig, Paul Irish, Karl Swedberg, Doug Neiner, and more.”

When: October 16-17, 2010
Where: Boston, MA, U.S.A at the Hilton at Boston Logan Airport

Web Design World
“These are interesting times: a combination of technical innovation, audience growth, and crummy economy. As a web designer, you can’t escape any of the three. But you can learn how to keep up with the innovation, take advantage of the growth, and survive the downturn. That’s where we come in. We take our mantra — provide practical, no-fluff, how-to — very seriously. If you’ve joined us before, you know that. If you haven’t, please check us out.”

When: October 18-20, 2010
Where: Las Vegas, NV, USA at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino

Do-It-Yourself Usability Testing: The Workshop
“The workshop will include: A complete explanation of how I recommend doing testing (Hint: very simple, very fast, and very cheap); Two live usability tests on attendees’ sites, so you can see the whole process in detail; A chance to practice conducting a test on your own site; Advice on how to interpret your findings and decide what changes to make; Plenty of time to answer your questions about testing or any other aspect of usability.”

When: October 20, 2010
Where: Washington, DC, U.S.A

Front-Trends Conference
“This is a gathering for front-end lovers and professionals to discover the current trends and tools to build a professional career out of innovative front-end development.”

When: October 21-22, 2010
Where: Warsaw, Poland at the Centrum konferencyjno – kongresowe

Brooklyn Beta
“Brooklyn Beta is a collaboration between Analog and Fictive Kin. Our goal for the conference is to inspire you to ‘make your own stuff.’ We’d love to see what the Web would be like if all you talented web people started using your magical abilities to bring your own ideas to life. To help, we’ve put together a conference aimed at turning inspiration into action with talented folks from every web field attending. We want to get all the people who can turn an idea into reality in one place and see what happens.”

When: October 21-22, 2010
Where: Brooklyn, NY, USA at the Invisible Dog

ExpressionEngineCamp
“ExpressionEngine Camp is a collaborative all-day workshop about ExpressionEngine on October 22nd. Learn best practices or share tips about creating web sites with EE.”

When: October 22, 2010
Where: Denver, Colorado, Casselman’s Event Venue

Adobe MAX 2010
“MAX 2010 is an amazing opportunity to learn new skills, explore emerging technologies, and connect with thousands of other industry leaders, Adobe products users, and Adobe teams. The conference offers hundreds of informative sessions and hands-on labs for designers, developers, and decision-makers, and there are countless networking opportunities, from organized events to casual conversations in hallways between sessions.”

When: October 23-27, 2010
Where: Los Angeles, CA, USA at the Los Angeles Convention Center & the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE

FITC Unconference @ MAX 2010
“FITC brings together thousands of forward-thinking designers, developers, and business decision makers that are shaping the future of our industry. The Unconference is a way for attendees to convene in a casual setting to share ideas as well as host their own discussion groups. This year FITC has once again been chosen as one of the organizations to run one of the Unconference areas.”

When: October 25-27, 2010
Where: Los Angeles, CA, USA at the Los Angeles Convention Center

View Conference 2010
“VIEW Conference is the premiere international event in Italy on Computer Graphics, Interactive Techniques, Digital Cinema, 3D Animation, Gaming and VFX. VIEW 2010 will continue to focus on exploring the increasingly fluid boundary between real and digital worlds. Through lectures, meetings, tributes, exhibits, screenings and demo presentations VIEW will reveal the new digital frontier sweeping from cinema to architecture, from automotive design to advertisement, from medicine to videogames.”

When: October 26-29, 2010
Where: Turin, Italy, at the Conference center Torino Incontra

Web Developers Conference
“The goal of the Web Developers Conference was to get students engaged with the world of the web and what this beautiful industry offers as well as meeting professionals and making important contacts that could lead to placements and even graduate positions.”

When: October 27, 2010
Where: Bristol, U.K at the UWE Exhibition & Conference Centre.

Microsoft PDC10
“The PDC isn’t just about content and sessions — it’s an opportunity for you to get hands-on access to the latest technologies, have your questions answered by the people who conceived and built the technologies and plan the features and architecture to support your business goals. If you’re a developer, architect or technology leader involved in making strategic technology decisions for your company or organization, you can’t afford to miss the PDC.”

When: October 28-29, 2010
Where: Seattle, WA, USA at the Microsoft Campus

Usability Week 2010
“Many conferences offer cavernous exhibit halls, brief seminars on second-hand discoveries, and a sense of anonymity that can be truly alienating. Usability Week takes a different approach. In place of scattered, shallow talks, Usability Week offers up to 6 days of deep learning as international experts lead full-day tutorials on topics such as: Fundamental guidelines for Web usability; Applying information architecture (IA) principles; Writing for the Web; Application design; Integrating social features on mainstream websites; The human mind (how your users think).”

When: Various dates in October and December.
Where: San Francisco, U.S.A; Copenhagen, Denmark; Edinburgh, UK; Las Vegas, USA

Additional October Events

• TYPO3 Conference (Germany, September 30 – October 2)
• Day of DotNetNuke® (Chicago, USA, October 2)
• Paris Web 2010 (France, October 14-16)
• PNW Drupal Summit (Vancouver, Canada, October 2-3)

November – December 2010 Events

An Event Apart San Diego
“From the makers of A List Apart, An Event Apart is an intensely educational two-day conference for passionate practitioners of standards-based web design. If you care about code as well as content, usability as well as design, An Event Apart is the conference you’ve been waiting for.”

When: November 1-2, 2010
Where: San Diego, CA, U.S.A at the Westin Gas Lamp Quarter

How to Web 2010 Conference
“Learn to build better web apps and businesses.”

When: November 3-4, 2010
Where: Bucharest, Romania at Hotel Intercontinental

FITC Edmonton 2010
“Back for its second year, FITC Edmonton promises to be jam-packed with presentations, demonstrations, and panel discussions. With some of the most interesting and engaging presenters from around the world, FITC Edmonton will be two days and nights that will leave you inspired, energized and awed!”

When: November 6-7, 2010
Where: Edmonton, AB, Canada at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

edUi Conference
“A learning opportunity for web professionals serving institutions of learning. Through a rare speaker lineup, including top innovators and industry peers, we provide inspiration, tools, and techniques to help web professionals serving colleges, universities, museums, libraries, and other institutions of learning address the challenges they share improving the experience of their users online. edUi 2010 offers something for every member of your web team, with sessions on usability, design, programming, rich media, strategy, social media, and more.”

When: November 8-9, 2010
Where: Charlottesville, VA, USA at the Omni Hotel

User Interface Conference
“UI15 is an intense, inspiring 3-day event, masterfully crafted to bring out the best in today’s UX professionals. We’ve assembled an all-star team of design experts to share their latest techniques in interaction design, content strategy, design thinking, and visual communication.”

When: November 8-10, 2010
Where: Boston, MA, U.S.A at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel

Build Conference
“The hand-crafted web design conference. Build is a small, yet perfectly formed, boutique design conference where interesting, talented web practitioners from all over the world come to share ideas, techniques and inspiration. Some are on stage; some are in the audience. For the second year running, we’ve created the conference we really want to go to. We think you might like it.”

When: November 8-12, 2010
Where: Belfast, Ireland at Waterfront Studio

RubyConf 2010
“RubyConf is the official International Ruby Conference. Founded in 2001, RubyConf has provided an annual venue for the ever-growing Ruby community to meet face to face to share, collaborate, and socialize.”

When: November 11-13, 2010
Where: New Orleans, LA, USA at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside

Full Frontal JavaScript Conference
“Full Frontal is a conference held in Brighton UK, for the front end developers with JavaScript skills ranging from beginner to advanced. If you’ve dabbled with JavaScript in the past and wanted to learn more about how the language works and what makes it tick, then this conference is for you.”

When: November 12, 2010
Where: Brighton, UK at the historic Duke of York’s Picturehouse

Future of Web Design
“The Future of Web Design is coming back to New York in 2010. The newly revitalised event has evolved into a beautiful three full days of essential web learning. A full day conference followed by 2 solid days of in depth workshops, all taught by the best in the industry.”

When: November 15-17, 2010
Where: New York City, NY, USA at New World Stages

Semantic Web Summit East
“How can you create value that will put you ahead of the competition? The Semantic Web Summit, formerly the Web 3.0 Conference, features innovators across industries examining the potential of the semantic web, and how it can transform the way you do business. This won’t be a day and a half of technical jargon — this event is about improving efficiencies in marketing and information management for a positive bottom line effect.”

When: November 16-17, 2010
Where: Boston, MA, USA at the Hynes Convention Center

Design City Graphic Design Expo
“Stay on top of your industry! Visit Design City and see the latest graphic design tools, services, and products from the world’s largest vendors. You’ll see and test software that you’ve been wanting to try, you’ll meet the people that you talk to on the phone every day, and you’ll be wowed by some of the latest technology created for your profession.”

When: November 20-22, 2010
Where: Toronto, ON, Canada, at the Direct Energy Centre

The Rich Web Experience
“RWX 2010 will cover the hot areas of interest in the web space today: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Ajax Libraries, Semantic Web, iPhone, Android, Flex, GWT, NodeJS, Security, and more. RWX 2010 will feature 6 parallel tracks with over 15 speakers and 60 plus technical sessions/workshops. At RWX 2010 you will interact with industry experts, project leads, authors, and top developers.”

When: November 30 – December 3, 2010
Where: Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA at The Westin Beach Resort

Additional November Events

• WordCamp Netherlands (Netherlands, November 6)
• Design for Conversion (New York City, November 18)
• DevConnections (Las Vegas, USA, November 1-4)
• IndieConf (North Carolina, USA, November 13)
• YUI Conference (California, USA, November 8-10)

Early 2011 Events

New Adventures in Web Design Conference
“This event will be sympathetic to existing and new challenges and opportunities faced by front-end web folks in their day-to-day work and beyond. That said, the content will be beneficial to a broad audience, and a number of attendees and guests represent agencies, organisations, and businesses across varied roles. Ultimately, this event is organised by designers, for designers.”

When: January 20, 2011
Where: Nottingham, UK at the Albert Hall

Interaction Eleven
“The IxDA Interaction conference is the premiere annual event for interaction designers, with content and activities relevant to practitioners, managers, educators, and students. Now in its fourth year, the Interaction conference has hosted leading speakers from consultancies, agencies, corporations, and universities around the world.”

When: February 9-12, 2011
Where: Boulder, Colorado, USA

International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces
“IUI 2011 is the annual meeting of the intelligent interfaces community and serves as the principal international forum for reporting outstanding research and development on intelligent user interfaces.”

When: February 13-16, 2011
Where: Palo Alto, CA, USA at the Sheraton Palo Alto with workshops at nearby Stanford University

Information Architecture Summit
“The Information Architecture Summit is the premier gathering place for information architects and other user experience professionals. It’s grown from a special interest group’s efforts to define an emerging field, to a rich and expanding community of practice, shaping and informing multiple disciplines. You don’t have to be an information architect or user experience professional to enjoy the Summit. You simply have to love the art and science of structuring information.”

When: March 30 – April 3, 2011
Where: Denver, CO, USA

SXSW Interactive 2011
“SXSW Interactive features five days of presentations from professionals in emerging technology, networking events hosted by industry leaders, and a lineup of special programs showcasing new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer.”

When: March 11-15, 2010
Where: Austin, Texas, USA

Related Links

• Conference Roundup
  Very useful web application inspired by the original roundup here on Smashing Magazine.
• Web Conferences Roundup: Events From Around the Globe

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