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Kansas City sits at the crossroads—geographically, culturally, and creatively. In 2026, SEGD brings its annual Conference Experience to this dynamic Midwestern hub to explore how place, community, and imagination shape experiential design.
This year’s theme, Meet Me in the Middle, is an invitation to explore convergence: where client vision meets user need, where culture meets place, where technology meets humanity, and where great ideas become meaningful experiences. Hosted in the heart of the country, the conference brings together designers, strategists, artists, and changemakers to explore how design creates connection across disciplines, communities, and increasingly complex worlds.
From iconic fountains and historic boulevards to revitalized arts districts, cultural corridors, and world-class sports venues, Kansas City offers a living laboratory for experience-led design.
$217/night (plus tax and fees). Available through September 29, 2026, or while inventory lasts. If you need to call the hotel directly, please dial 816.421-6800.
Founder, Plus and Greater Than, SEGD Past President
Why Attend
As experience designers, we have always lived in the middle. Between client vision and user need. Between the built environment and the human spirit. Between the world as it is and the world as it should be.
Cybelle Jones, CEO
The spaces we create shape how people move, gather, learn, remember, and belong. They help strangers find their way, communities see themselves, and institutions tell stories that matter. In a time of growing complexity and division, the work of connecting people to place—and to one another—has never been more important.
The 2026 SEGD Conference Experience is an invitation to explore that responsibility together.
Through inspiring keynotes, hands-on workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, and honest conversations with leaders across design, culture, technology, and the built environment, we’ll examine some of the defining questions facing our profession:
How do we balance client vision, community voice, and user need without losing any of them?
When does place shape design, and when does design shape place?
How do we create experiences that don’t just inform, but foster belonging, understanding, and lasting impact?
What role can experience design play in bridging the divides that define our world today?
Join the global community of designers of experiences in Kansas City—the geographic heart of the country—to discover new ideas, strengthen your practice, and reconnect with the people shaping the future of our field.
5:00–7:00 PM | Dinner on Your Own / Chapter Chair Dinner Chapter Chair Dinner Location: Truman Pre-registration required.
7:00–9:30 PM | President’s Welcome Reception and Auction for Excellence Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Presented by AVI-SPL (XTG)
NEXPO is open 7:30 AM–5:00 PM. Exhibit activity pauses during main-stage Conference sessions.
7:30–8:30 AM | Registration / NEXPO Breakfast / EXP NEXPO Tour / PPG Meet-up NEXPO Breakfast: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom EXP NEXPO Tour: Bar M PPG Meet-up: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
8:30–8:45 AM | Welcome: Day 2, Conference Experience Kansas City Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
8:45–9:15 AM | Designing for Human Instinct Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
Jonathan Mugmon, Principal, Populous (Activate Studio)
9:15–10:00 AM | Light as Material, Human Experience as Purpose: A Human-Centered Philosophy of Lighting Design Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
François Roupinian, IALD, President, Lightemotion
10:00–10:30 AM | NEXPO Networking Break / Book Signings Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Sponsored by Vestaboard
10:30–11:15 AM | Filming Democracy: Media Storytelling at the Obama Presidential Center Museum Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
Valerie Chin, Media Producer, Batwin + Robin Productions
Megan Gargagliano, Producer, Batwin + Robin Productions
Sara Pasch, Director of Integrated Media, Obama Foundation
Aki Carpenter, Global Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Ralph Appelbaum Associates
11:15 AM–12:00 PM | Negotiating the Middle: A Conversation with Jonna Mendez Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
Jonna Mendez, Former CIA Chief of Disguise
12:00–1:00 PM | NEXPO Lunch / Chapter Chair Meet-up Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Sponsored by SNA Displays
1:00–2:30 PM | EXP Mentor Meet-up Bar M
1:00–1:30 PM | NEXPO Talk: What the Data Tells Us: Inside the 2026 SEGD Employment + Salary Report East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom
Cybelle Jones, CEO, SEGD
Kelly Kolar, Founder, Kolar Design
1:30–2:00 PM | NEXPO Talk: Governed AI: Experiences That Engineer Themselves East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Presented by Mad Systems
Maris Ensing, Founder and Chief Architect, Mad Systems
Abby Honor, Partner, Lorem Ipsum Corp
2:30–3:00 PM | NEXPO Networking Break / EXP Mentor Meet-ups NEXPO Networking Break: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom EXP Mentor Meet-ups: Bar M
3:00–4:00 PM | EXP Mentor Meet-ups Bar M
3:00–3:30 PM | NEXPO Talk: Signs of Things to Come: Experiments at the Edge of Wayfinding East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Presented by Modulex
Lauren Kelly, CTO, Wayfindit/Mustard Square
3:30–4:00 PM | NEXPO Talk: Make the Technology Disappear: Moving Beyond “Put a Screen on It” East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Presented by Peregrine OKB
P. Michael Anderson, Principal Architect, Connected Experiences, Forte
Tristan Valencia, Founder + Principal, Thought Process
4:00–5:00 PM | NEXPO Reception Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Sponsored by Gable
5:00–6:30 PM | Global Design Awards Ceremony Location: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Ballroom Presented by DCL
Abby Honor, Partner, Lorem Ipsum Corp
6:30–8:00 PM | Global Design Awards Reception Location: Barney Allis Historic Lobby Presented by DCL
NEXPO is open 7:30 AM–5:00 PM. Exhibit activity pauses during main-stage Conference sessions.
7:30–8:30 AM | Registration / EXP Lounge Registration: East Tower, Imperial Colonial Pre-function EXP Lounge: Bar M
8:30–8:45 AM | Welcome: Day 3, Conference Experience Kansas City Location: Prohibition Hall
8:45–9:30 AM | Education Panel Location: Prohibition Hall
Joell Angel-Chumbley, MFA, SEGD, Experience Design Lead, City of Cincinnati, DOTE, Architecture and Urban Design
Lisa Maione, Associate Professor, Kansas City Art Institute
Jeremy Shellhorn, Associate Professor of Design, University of Kansas
Neeta Verma, Researcher / Designer / Educator
9:30–10:00 AM | 2026 SEGD Achievement Awards Location: Prohibition Hall
Traci Sym, Founding Principal, Plus And Greater Than
10:00–10:35 AM | SEGD Achievement Awards Celebration Cheers to the award winners with a mimosa or Bloody Mary!
10:35 AM–12:00 PM | SEGD Fellow Presentations Location: Prohibition Hall Presented by Pentagram
Jonathan Jackson, Creative Director/Partner, WSDIA | WeShouldDoItAll
Donna Lawrence, Owner/Creative Director, Donna Lawrence Productions
Despina Macris, Founder/Director, dotdash
Mark Ross, Founder, dotdash
12:00–1:30 PM | Lunch on Your Own / EXP Lunch EXP Lunch Location: Populous Pre-registration required.
1:30–2:00 PM | Built to Gather: How Kansas City Became the Sports Architecture Capital of the World Location: Prohibition Hall
Tom Waggoner, AIA, Architect and Author, T WAGGONER DESIGN + CONSULTING
2:00–2:45 PM | Making Space for Tension: Signage and Wayfinding at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Location: Prohibition Hall
Taylor Loutsis, Founder, Studio Loutsis
Paula Neston, Cultural Practice Executive, Dimensional Innovations
2:45–3:15 PM | Networking Break
3:15–3:45 PM | Designing in the Gap: Creativity, AI, and a Sustainable Future Location: Prohibition Hall
Paul Skinner, Creative Director, Tellart
3:45–4:45 PM | The Creative Power of Uncertainty Location: Prohibition Hall
Lucy Holmes, Owner, Holmes Studio
4:45–5:00 PM | Conference Experience Wrap Up
5:30–7:00 PM | Kansas City Closing Party Sponsored by DLP, Electrosonic, Nanolumens, Pixera National WWI Museum & Memorial 2 Memorial Dr,Kansas City, MO 64108
