Designing Possible Futures: SEGD Unveils 2025 Conference Program in San Francisco
November 13–15, 2025 | San Francisco Marriott Marquis
Washington, D.C.—The Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) is proud to unveil the theme and full program details for the 2025 SEGD Conference Experience San Francisco, taking place November 13–15, 2025. Hosted at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, the event invites the global design community to co-create possible futures—through bold ideas, shared agency, and immersive experiences.
The theme—Designing Possible Futures—invites participants to explore how experience design can serve as a practice of care, equity, adaptability, and collective authorship. Set in a city known for its layered history, radical experimentation, and cultural tension, the conference challenges attendees to design futures that are not only beautiful and functional—but also just, connected, and deeply human.
“We are living through a moment that demands more from design—more listening, more care, and more courage,” said Cybelle Jones, CEO of SEGD. “Designing possible futures means holding complexity, designing with presence, and approaching our work as an evolving, relational practice—not a fixed outcome.”
A Program Rooted in Presence, Possibility, and Practice
With over 20 featured speakers and sessions curated around the intersection of culture, equity, technology, and play, this year’s conference explores urgent, open-ended questions:
- What does it mean to design for the public good—not just for public consumption?
- How can design drive transformation without erasing identity, history, or place?
- How do we design with friction—embracing tension, failure, and contradiction as part of meaningful progress?
- And how do we create work that people don’t just see—but feel, remember, and carry with them?
A Powerful Lineup of Voices from Across the Design Ecosystem
The 2025 speaker lineup features interdisciplinary leaders from organizations pushing boundaries across sectors:
- Adam Brodsley & Eric Heiman, Volume Inc.
- Llisa Demetrios & Lauren Smith, Eames Institute
- Gamynne Guillotte, Chief Education & Community Engagement Officer, SFMOMA
- Rodrigo Isasi, Partner & Managing Director, Empathy
- Quinlin Messenger, Founder & Director, JUST Design
- Bradley “GMUNK” Munkowitz, Digital Artist and Director
- Michaela Pihl Olsen, Partner, Urgent.Agency
- Jamie Shaw, Partner, LMNL Studio
- Karishma Sheth, Creative Product Lead, Experiences, Airbnb
- Forest Stearns, Draw Everywhere Studios / Google Quantum AI
- Shoshana Wasserman, Deputy Director / Co-Curator, First Americans Museum
Together, these presenters bring global perspectives and local insights to the conversations shaping how we design possible futures. Their work reflects a commitment to truth-telling, relationship-building, and deeper cultural inquiry—challenging us to design with care, complexity, and accountability.
Meet the 2025 SEGD Conference Co-Chairs
The conference is guided by three dynamic leaders from San Francisco’s design scene, each bringing a unique lens to the program:
Alexander Jeongco, Marketing Manager at Clearstory and Co-Chair of SEGD San Francisco. Alex brings a multidisciplinary approach to wayfinding and placemaking rooted in equity and narrative.
Jenn Livermore, Lead Senior Designer at SFMOMA, where she leads exhibition design and institutional storytelling grounded in community and craft.
Harrison Watkins, Experiential Creative Production Lead for Airbnb Experiences, shaping immersive programming that connects people to place through wonder and intention.
Their curatorial approach emphasizes community, layered histories, and relational design—ensuring a conference that holds space for complexity and feels as alive as the city it’s hosted in.
Design Immersions Across the City
Attendees will also get hands-on inspiration through a series of SEGD-curated design tours that celebrate San Francisco’s rich creative ecosystem. From a pre-conference visit to the Eames Institute on Wednesday, November 12, to behind-the-scenes access at Exploratorium, Salesforce Park, and the Letterform Archive, these tours offer deep dives into the intersection of history, innovation, and craft. Additional experiences include a visit to the iconic Arion Press, a Mission District Murals Tour, a city electric bike tour, a digital experience walking tour, and an insider’s look at SFMOMA.
These immersive outings are a chance to see design in action—where disparity and experimentation coexist—and to experience how design can build relational, possible futures grounded in presence and care.
Signature SEGD Moments
The 2025 SEGD Conference is designed not only to inspire—but to connect and co-create. Thursday evening kicks off with our President’s Reception and Annual Auction for Excellence, supporting the next generation of designers. On Friday night, we celebrate the year’s most innovative work with the SEGD Global Design Awards Ceremony and Reception. Saturday morning features the 2025 Achievement Awards and a mimosa toast, followed by a powerful discussion with our incoming SEGD Fellows as part of the Voices of Experience documentary series.
Be sure to stay through Saturday for our closing keynote and interactive sessions—a participatory finale that centers joy, reflection, and shared authorship.
Throughout the event, attendees will find networking opportunities, NEXPO booths and talks, and professional development bootcamps. Emerging experiential professionals (EXP) will have access to dedicated programming, including portfolio reviews and one-on-one connections with seasoned practitioners. The experience wraps with our Saturday night closing party, bringing the community together to celebrate, recharge, and imagine what’s next—together.
Who Should Attend?
This conference is for anyone shaping how people experience place—designers, strategists, and storytellers, as well as business leaders, developers, and directors who hire or collaborate with creative teams. Whether you’re shaping cultural spaces, building brands, designing cities, or crafting digital experiences—this is your invitation to design possible futures through relationship, presence, and practice.
Registration
Register now using this direct link for the 2025 SEGD Conference in San Francisco. Current rates apply through August 22, 2025, with discounts for members, students, and nonprofit professionals.
SEGD has reserved a block of rooms at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, our conference venue, for US $229 plus tax and fees per night. This rate is in effect through October 21, 2025 for available inventory; after that date, unsold rooms will be released. Reserve the special rate using the online link. If you need to call the hotel directly, please dial 415.896.1600.
Our Partners
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsors, Color-ad Signs & Exhibits and Nanolumens for making this event possible! And thank you to all of our event sponsors: CREO Industrial Arts, Daktronics, DCL (Design Communications Ltd.), Direct Embed, Kolar Design, MGAC, MOSS, NovaPolymers, Peregrine OKB, RSM, SNA, Tangram, and Thought Process.
Lastly, thank you to our official event narrative and brand design partner, Room for Magic; our value measurement partner, Immersion Neuroscience; and the producer of our Voices of Experience film series, Lorem Ipsum Corp.
About SEGD
SEGD (Society for Experiential Graphic Design) is a multidisciplinary global community of professionals who design experiences that connect people to place. From public information systems and exhibitions to branded environments and immersive media, SEGD supports practitioners through education, inspiration, and community—advancing design as a relational, iterative, and justice-oriented practice.
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2025 SEGD Conference Experience San Francisco
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