Theme 1: Introduction
Summary
Bria opens the first day of the conference with an energetic introduction to theme one, centered on the craft of designing at scale in enterprise UX. She acknowledges the complexity of building and shipping products that serve millions of users across many geographies and diverse contexts. The sessions curated under this theme address real-world challenges such as modernizing legacy platforms, creating cohesive UX after mergers and acquisitions, and planning for accessibility and inclusivity. Cornelius Rushrew delivers the framing talk to set the tone for tackling large-scale design challenges, while Kenneth Bowles closes by discussing responsibility and ethics in design. Bria emphasizes the collaborative and iterative process behind the talks, ensuring practical, actionable guidance throughout the sessions.
Key Insights
-
•
Building at scale in enterprises requires balancing complexity across millions of users and dozens of geographies.
-
•
Craftsmanship is crucial even in large-scale enterprise UX projects.
-
•
Modernizing legacy platforms is a significant, common challenge in enterprise design.
-
•
Defining a cohesive user experience after mergers and acquisitions demands careful strategy.
-
•
Accessibility and inclusivity must be integral considerations from the start.
-
•
Conversations and iterative collaboration among speakers improve the relevance of presentations.
-
•
Each conference theme is designed as a mini-conference focused on a specific aspect of UX at scale.
-
•
Cornelius Rushrew’s framing talk sets foundational strategies for dealing with large-scale challenges.
-
•
Kenneth Bowles addresses ethics and responsibility as essential components of enterprise design.
-
•
Themes evolved from previous enterprise UX conferences show a maturation toward more holistic experience design.
Notable Quotes
"You have to build something, ship something, and make something especially when dealing with hundreds of thousands of objects."
"Designing at scale means handling millions of users and dozens of geographies with all their unique challenges."
"Craft is a pet issue for me; it remains central even in massive enterprise projects."
"We collaborate and iteratively build out these presentations as part of a continuing conversation."
"Modernizing legacy platforms while maintaining a cohesive UX is a major challenge enterprises face."
"Mergers and acquisitions require us to carefully avoid pitfalls when unifying user experiences."
"Accessibility and inclusivity are not afterthoughts; they must be baked into the design from the start."
"Cornelius Rushrew will set the stage and tone for how to tackle problems at scale."
"Kenneth Bowles will close with a focus on responsibility and ethics in enterprise UX."
"Each conference theme acts like a mini conference exploring a deep aspect of designing at scale."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"You can’t know a human honestly from the outside alone; you have to let their reality work on you."
Daniel GloydDesigning From the Inside Out: How Method Acting Can Inspire Design Research
February 12, 2026
"Eggs are the binder — humility and trauma-informed practices that keep relationships and research together."
Deirdre Hirschtritt Cesar Paredes Marie PerrotResearch is Only as Good as the Relationships You Build
November 17, 2022
"It was like arriving to your home after a long day and just right to rest but at the same time you know you could not wait to continue working."
Benjamin RealMaturity Models: A Core Tool for Creating a DesignOps Strategy
October 1, 2021
"Sometimes you need to view your career like an investor, where you invest your time for the kind of impact you want."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
"What is it like to be a new kid on an old block?"
Lada GorlenkoTheme 1: Intro
January 8, 2024
"C-FRE stands for curiosity, freedom, reframing, exploration, and engagement—the soft qualities we tend to overlook in play."
Feyikemi AkinwolemiwaPlay to innovate: How curiosity and experimentation transform UX
March 11, 2026
"There is no need to take notes. Our session notes, resources, videos, and slide decks will all be shared on the website."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
March 29, 2023
"Blurring user faces loses context and doesn’t address voice privacy, making it an inadequate solution."
Llewyn Paine[Demo] Deploying AI doppelgangers to de-identify user research recordings
June 5, 2024
"OKRs can sometimes suck the oxygen out of the room if they focus only on bottom-line results, missing process and experience."
Bria Alexander Benson Low Natalya Pemberton Stephanie GoldthorpeOKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
January 20, 2022
