Events
Oluwabukola Falusi
Oct 9, 2026
When the Untitled Designers Conference (UDC) began in 2022, the idea was simple: create a space where designers could learn from one another, meet people who had gotten ahead in their careers, connect with companies and discover opportunities.
The first edition brought together more than 700 attendees. Since then, UDC has continued to grow. Attendance increased to more than 1,000 in 2023, more than 1,500 in 2024 and more than 3,000 in 2025, turning what started as a gathering for designers into a much larger community around design, technology and creativity.
Now, UDC returns for its 2026 edition with a different focus: what happens when we stop looking only at what people create and give closer attention to the people creating it?
That is the thinking behind this year's theme, Human by Design: Where Culture, Code & Creativity Meet.
From a Design Conference to a Growing Community
UDC's growth speaks to the demand for spaces where African creatives can learn and connect. Its early editions were focused on creating access. Access to experienced designers, peers, companies, resources and conversations that could help people understand what was possible with their careers.
As the community continues to grow, the definition of who belongs in that room keeps evolving.
The UDC 2026 conference is bringing together designers, developers, founders and creatives to show how closely and how well these paths intersect and work together.
A product designer might work alongside engineers and founders. A brand designer might influence how a technology company communicates. A creative director might shape the identity of a product used by thousands of people.
The boundaries between these roles are becoming less rigid, and UDC is building around that intersection.
UDC 2026 Is Putting the Human Behind the Work in Focus
The over 3000 people expected to attend this year’s edition is surprisingly the least interesting thing about it. Instead, it’s the decision to focus on the people behind the work.
UDC's 2026 programme is planned around conversations with designers, founders and product leaders who are still on the grind. Rather than telling finished, polished success stories without telling how hard it was to land their first gig or what it actually took to build a solid skillset. The conference says its talks will explore the realities behind the work: constraints, client pushback, unexpected solutions and the decisions that shaped the result we all see and admire today.
That approach matters because creative work doesn’t happen in perfect conditions. The result often makes the journey look smooth and straightforward. But the people who are walking the path know that the reality often involves compromises, failed ideas, difficult clients, technical limitations and decisions that are not visible in the final result.
UDC 2026 wants to make more of that process visible.
The People to Watch
The speaker lineup reflects the wider direction of the conference, bringing together people working across product, brand, technology and creative leadership.
Niyi Okeowo, Creative Director at Kuda, is one of the speakers bringing a product and brand perspective from within a major African fintech company.
Rue Douglas, Product Designer at Chowdeck, joins a group of speakers working directly on digital products used by consumers at scale, while Ted Oladele, Head of Product at Chowdeck, brings a product leadership perspective to the conversation.
The lineup also includes Bashiru Yusuf, founder of Pushé Studio, representing the perspective of a creative studio founder, and Terry Pouke, Head of Design at Quidax, whose work sits at the intersection of design, product and financial technology.
There is also Taiwofolu, co-founder of Eaxum, alongside creative leaders such as Tony Ameji of Tony&Co and Chima Ifeji, Creative Director at TS Academy.
Rather than one narrow definition of what a designer looks like, the lineup points to a broader ecosystem: people designing products, building studios, leading teams, shaping brands and working alongside technology.
More Than Talks on a Stage
If UDC were simply a series of talks, its value would largely depend on who the speakers are. But the 2026 programme is designed to allow participants to get practical knowledge.
The conference will include workshops and panels alongside the main-stage sessions, giving attendees opportunities to move from listening to actually working through ideas and tools.
There is also the Akatins 2026 design challenge, which will bring designers from different disciplines together around a single brief. Ten finalists will compete live at the conference, putting their work and decision-making in front of the audience.
For designers who are tired of consuming content without getting the chance to apply what they have learnt, this is an important part of the programme. The idea is to ensure everyone leaves with something more useful than notes.
Then There Is the Networking
Networking is one of those words that appears in almost every conference description, but it has a particular relevance to UDC because connection was part of the reason the conference was created in the first place.
The conference brings together designers at different stages of their careers, creative leaders, founders and people working in technology. That creates opportunities that may not happen through a presentation alone.
A conversation after a session could become a collaboration. A designer could meet someone hiring for a role they did not know existed. A founder could meet a creative who understands the problem they are trying to solve. Two designers could simply find peers dealing with challenges that look familiar.
For a community built around access, those interactions are not an extra feature. They are part of the point.
Who Is UDC 2026 For?
Contrary to what you think, Untitled Designers Conference (UDC 2026) is no longer only for traditional designers.
Product and brand designers will find sessions and workshops directly relevant to their work, but the programme also makes room for developers, founders, creative directors, studio owners and other people working at the intersection of creativity and technology.
For someone early in their career, the conference can offer exposure to people further ahead. For experienced designers, it can provide new perspectives and connections.
For founders and product teams, it offers access to people thinking deeply about how products and brands are built.
And for creatives simply trying to understand where the industry is heading, the wider mix of culture, code and creativity provides a useful view of where those worlds are increasingly meeting.
UDC 2026 Is Bigger, But Bigger Is Not the Whole Story
UDC's growth from a 700-person gathering in 2022 to a community that now reaches thousands is significant. But the more interesting question is what that growth allows the organisation to do.
The original need was clear: designers needed more access to mentorship, professional connections, opportunities and each other. Four editions later, UDC is bringing a much larger group of people into that conversation.
The UDC 2026 edition will take place on October 16 and 17 at Regal Hall in Ikeja, Lagos, with two days of talks, workshops, panels, networking and the live design challenge.
The scale has changed, the audience has expanded and the scope of work being discussed has become broader. But the actual purpose of this gathering hasn’t changed: put people doing meaningful work in the same room, give them something useful to learn, and create opportunities for them to find one another.
That may be what UDC has been building all along, not just a conference, but a place for the people building Africa's creative and digital future to meet.
UDC 2026 takes place on October 16 and 17 at Regal Hall in Lagos. For anyone looking to be part of that conversation, registration is still open.
