L'Alliance New York is located a stone’s throw from Central Park in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Housed in a beautiful and historic building, it hosts an extensive range of cultural events and will welcome us once again for an unforgettable experience during this conference.

Location

Our friends at Weichie have planned a very special get-together, join them for Beers & Bytes – a laid-back evening of drinks and networking in the heart of NYC! Taking place the night before the Awwwards Conference in the iconic New York Times Building, this is a great opportunity to connect with fellow developers, designers, and tech enthusiasts. Enjoy complimentary drinks, casual conversations, and kickstart your conference experience! Space is limited, so <a href="https://lu.ma/wg1cn8jw" target="_blank" class="!text-blue">RSVP now to secure your spot.</a>

Beers & Bytes

As part of our conference experience, we're thrilled to offer two exclusive guided tours to explore New York's unique artistic history - each at a special rate just for attendees! The full cost of each two-hour tour is $26.50 per person, but we’re covering 50% of the fee. That means you only pay $13.25 to join! Tours are available on Wednesday, December 4, and Saturday, December 7, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Each tour has limited space for 20 participants, so we invite you to secure your spot! 
 Midtown Manhattan tour centered around Art Deco 
 Step into the heart of 20th-century New York with this walking tour through Midtown Manhattan. Discover architectural gems and iconic landmarks from the Art Deco era, along with insights into Beaux-Arts and International Style influences. Our expert guide will take you through the rich history of Art Deco’s rise, exploring the styles and stories behind these architectural masterpieces. 
 <a href="https://forms.gle/rbzAFgXsk5sCYvHHA" target="_blank" class="!text-blue">Sign up here to show your interest in the Midtown Art Deco Tour!</a>
 
 Lower East Side Street Art Tour 
 Explore New York’s vibrant street art scene in the Lower East Side, a neighborhood with a rich cultural legacy. This tour dives into the history of street art and murals, examining how the art form has evolved and how it’s curated in the urban landscape today. Experience the creativity that defines this community and learn about the artists who bring these streets to life. 
 <a href="https://forms.gle/K8Dexi4Gaigth5TFA" target="_blank" class="!text-blue">Sign up here to show your interest in the Lower East Side Street Art Tour!</a>

Walking Tours


                        "The Big Apple" will serve as the perfect environment for forging lasting connections and meaningful relationships. Take advantage of the networking opportunities planned throughout the conference, providing spaces to exchange ideas, insights, and experiences with like-minded professionals from around the globe. Embrace the chance to collaborate, learn from others, and broaden your professional network.
                    

Networking

While we all value the enriching conference sessions and the knowledge gained from each talk, many of us are eager to unwind and connect after the conference. Join us both days for casual drinks and enjoy expanding your professional circles in a relaxed networking environment!

Unofficial Drinks

The immersive events that will enhance your conference experience.


                Talks, networking, activities, and parties. Learn from global influential leaders, connect with like-minded peers, and shape the future of the digital industry.
            

An intimate get-together tailored for Design Leaders, UX/UI Designers, and Digital Creatives in “The Big Apple” to discuss the current state of digital design and the future of our creative community. Let's delve into insightful conversations exploring AI's integration with design methodologies, essential UX/UI tools, case studies and emerging technologies. Together, we'll navigate the complexities and potentials of AI, shaping the future of design with honesty, integrity, and a shared passion for innovation.

Talks, networking, activities, and parties. Learn from global influential leaders, connect with like-minded peers, and shape the future of the digital industry.

An intimate get-together tailored for Design Leaders, UX/UI Designers, and Digital Creatives in “The Big Apple” to discuss the current state of digital design and the future of our creative community. Let's delve into insightful conversations exploring AI's integration with design methodologies, essential UX/UI tools, case studies and emerging technologies. Together, we'll navigate the complexities and potentials of AI, shaping the future of design with honesty, integrity, and a shared passion for innovation.

Check out the best moments from past conferences

Meet the creatives behind the best projects on the web right now.

Special thanks to our amazing partners for their support!

An Inspiring Experience

In this talk Studio Freight presents their findings and advice for building trust with clients and designing outcomes to align with the studio vision.

You can’t build trust with a hammer

Studio Freight

Patrick Torres

In an era of AI-generated imagery and algorithm-driven design, it’s hard not to imagine a dystopian future for creatives. I’ve spent the last year with clenched buttcheeks bombarded with headlines of robots coming for our jobs, the alarming proliferation of new tools (and required upskilling), and a looming existential question of what it even means to be a creative. 
 In this talk, I’ll share how I harnessed that fear and anxiety in a productive and meaningful way, merging my creative process with machine learning, getting out of my burnout, and reframing generative AI to be a collaborator and not *the enemy*.

How I learned to stop worrying & love the AI overlords

Google

Mick Champayne

More details coming soon!

Porto Rocha

Felipe Rocha

We will explore how to balance the needs of advertisers and users, align business objectives with user-centered design, and resolve internal team tensions. Learn how design can creatively find solutions that satisfy all stakeholders and foster collaboration to achieve greater outcomes in digital product design. Audience key takeaways: Learn to identify, understand, and approach opposing goals in digital design projects more effectively. Discover the power and benefits of including design in the early stages of goal alignment and strategy setting. Understand the value of collaboration in design processes and how to leverage diverse perspectives to resolve conflicts. Take away practical tips that you can apply in your projects to promote alignment, even when goals conflict.

Designing for Competing Goals

The New York Times

Ziyun Liang

In this talk, we will address the line between design and development. We will explore the unique role of designers who also code, combining the aesthetic eye of a creative with the technical skill of a developer. By leveraging both design thinking and coding, driving innovation, and improving collaboration between design and engineering immersive experience.

Designers Who Code: Bridging Creativity and Technology

Independent

Victor Costa

In recent years at Locomotive, we embarked on a transformative journey to completely rebrand our agency after a decade of the same look. (Yes, that train track logo...) We knew it was time for a fresh take on our digital presence, so we dove headfirst into reinventing our visual identity. 
 Rebranding yourself is always a wild ride—balancing bold ideas with constant self-critique is no easy feat. To keep our ideas fresh and our brand sharp, we teamed up with trusted friends to create an identity that truly reflects our growth and where we stand today. 
 In this talk, I’ll take you behind the scenes of crafting this unique brand and designing a website that embodies our team’s creativity. From rejected concepts to the deep reflections that shaped our final visuals, I’ll walk you through the journey from day one to day 600 of this fun, yet sometimes challenging, transformation.

Rebranding Yourself is Easy (Said No One Ever)

Locomotive

Dust Leblanc

A better way to create and do business 
 When the internet was new it was a Wild West of opportunity, creative expression, and freedom. Over time, we have built standards, systems, KPIs, and algorithms into seemingly everything in our quest for optimization and performance. As a byproduct, we have lost some of the soul that made us all fall in love with this tool. 
 There's no need to put the genie back in the bottle, we need to embrace change and the evolution of our industry; but do so in a way that allows for experimentation, passion, and learning, all while accounting for goals and growth. Let's explore and create with childlike passion and discover how an "early internet mindset" can amplify your business or product and energize your audience.

Wild & Whimsy: The Early Internet Mindset

Rogue Studio

Britton Stipetic

Navigating the process, bottlenecks, and challenges of the digital craft.

Scrambled eggs and design

Bürocratik

Adriano Esteves

Leo Porto

Join Pablo Stanley, founder of Musho & Lummi—AI design tools—as he explores the impact of the Dunning-Kruger Effect on his journey as a designer and entrepreneur. Discover how initial ingenuity can spark adventurous innovation in the dynamic world of design and AI!

The Dunning-Kruger Effect in Design

Musho & Lummi

Pablo Stanley

“The Cursor of”, delves into the transformative power of mixed reality and its impact on web design, highlighting how human taste and skills are essential in harnessing these technologies. This talk offers an in-depth exploration of MR, AR, and VR, and their applications in UI design, 3D design, WebGL/WebGPU development, and spatial computing. 
 Experience a live demo with the Apple Vision Pro, showcasing immersive examples of manipulating website elements and environments in real-time. Discover how MR and spatial computing are revolutionizing user experiences and paving the way for spatial websites. Gain insights and tools to harness MR in your web design projects, preparing you for the future of spatial digital art.

"The Cursor of Mixed Reality," the rise of the talk trilogy

Niccolò Miranda

In our increasingly digital and AI-driven world, our creative advantage lies in the bridging of disciplines and experiences. Our journey from agencies, to in-house, to starting Times Two has exposed us to the chasm of silos and disconnects one could encounter throughout a creative process. We will dive into how we welcome creative tension, celebrate a brand’s ego (while yes, being self-aware), and stay the course for a unified outward expression. After all, the story rules all, but only if we’re all telling the same one.

The Story Should Reign: How bridging disciplines creates unified experiences.

Times Two

Keene Niemack

Marco Coppeto


                        Generative AI has opened the door to creating instantaneous output in multiple forms: video, sound, text and imagery. By leveraging this new technology, designers can craft products that evoke emotions and resonate on a deeper level. Join Trista Yard, Group Creative Director at Huge, as she explores techniques for designing sensory experiences using AI tools.
                    

Designing for the Senses: Digital Experiences in the Age of AI

Huge

Trista Yard


                        In today’s ever-changing world, AI brings both opportunities and challenges for visual artists. In this talk, we’ll delve into the heart of our craft. Through my two art projects, halfof8.com and fuji.halfof8.com, both awarded recently as SOTD, I’ll share how creativity drives me and how it can impact us all.
                        1. We’ll start by understanding the essence of Half of a Journal and then peek behind the scenes to see how it’s made. 2. Without making grand claims, I’ll also discuss how this project influenced me. 3. Lastly, we will look behind the scenes at the Half of Mt Fuji project and my attempt to use AI for the sake of automation.

                        My aim isn’t just to share my journey but to spark that same creative fire in each of you.
                    

Crafted Art Projects: Exploring the Purpose of Artistic Expression in the Age of AI.

Half of 8, JetBrains

Anton Sokolov

Demetre Arges

Although many Designers, Developers and Project Managers would rather put headphones on and work undisturbed, the nature of agency work involves closely collaborating with clients. And, let’s face it, navigating these relationships steadfastly and harmoniously is the key to success. In this talk, Marc-André and Romain will explore these everyday relationships, covering key client personas and offering battle-tested creative approaches that will make everyone happy (yes, it’s possible).

It's not you, it's us: Understanding client personas and how to work with them

Romain Prache

Marc-André Dandurand

Ryan will introduce Motiff's custom-trained LLM in the UI domain and how specific AI capabilities are helping Motiff develop new AI features. These features include using AI to revolutionize design system practices and directly generate UI. Motiff, launched in GA this June, aims to reshape professional UI tools with AI. This talk is for designers interested in AI and eager to learn about the significant changes AI can bring to UI design.

Train our own LLM to power AI design features

Motiff

Ryan Zhang

In this presentation, Firdosh will explore how Fantasy—a global product and digital experiences company —embraced generative AI to reshape its processes and client offerings in just 10 months. He'll dive into the steps Fantasy took—from initial exploration to launching AI-driven products—and share key strategies for rapid innovation and adaptation. Action: Consider how generative AI can drive transformation within your organization.

Embracing Gen-AI

Fantasy

Firdosh Tangri

This talk focuses on the challenges and strategies for thriving as a creative entrepreneur in a market saturated with agencies and studios—where standing out is more complex than ever. With the rapid rise of AI as an additional disruptor, the dynamics of competition have fundamentally shifted. Drawing from my experience building a design studio here in New York, I’ll dive into how I’ve navigated this landscape, what it takes to differentiate and succeed, and how AI is reshaping the rules of the game. To deepen the narrative, I’ve also conducted interviews with fellow design studio founders, offering a broader perspective on how we can adapt, seize new opportunities, and retain the human essence that keeps our work meaningful and impactful.

Leading DigitalTransformation18 Speakers