Our ambition for 2026

A week-long experience that's broad, diverse, and different

Looking ahead

After a record-breaking 2025, with 785 attendees and just 8 percent attrition, we are entering 2026 with fresh energy and a clear direction.

Last year, we ran new event formats across product, design, and leadership. We tested what works at smaller scale, stayed close to our community, and delivered quality experiences with a lean, values-led approach. Those decisions paid off, and we are now ready to scale again with purpose.

In 2026, we return to our week-long festival format. Across five days, we will run open studios, meetups, workshops, and our flagship conference day. Our aim is to create a connected, thoughtful experience that serves people across disciplines and industries.

We are introducing two new additions to the 2026 program.

The first is the Outlook Awards—a national platform to recognise excellence across product, design, technology, and leadership. These awards are focused on meaningful impact, not just visibility. They are about celebrating the people and teams doing thoughtful, high-contribution work that moves their industries forward.

The second is Lunch Club—a new monthly series where teams open their doors to the community to share lessons, stories, and lived experience. It is designed to strengthen connections between events, and highlight the quieter work that often goes unseen.

We are also preparing to move to a new venue, and we're looking for a venue that's able to host our flagship conference day. We want this move to give us the space to welcome more people, raise the bar on delivery, and create a more polished experience for everyone involved.

The Outlook continues to grow as a platform for people who care about doing thoughtful, high-impact work. 

In 2026, we invite you to be part of what comes next.

Grant Show
Conference Director

Partners joining us for 2026
ANZ
Figma
Askable
RMIT
Optimal
Knowable Me
UserTesting
RUMR

Our focus for 2026

Exploring creativity, innovation, and humanities

Georgia Rust speaks with confidence at Product Outlook, holding a clicker and engaging the audience with a thoughtful expression.

Product

From early discovery to scaling strategies, product teams shape how people interact with technology every day. We explore how great product practice balances commercial outcomes with clarity, care, and creativity, especially in complex or high-pressure environments.

Dwayne Fernandes, wearing a space-themed flight suit, presenting passionately on stage at Accessibility & Inclusion 2025, gesturing with intensity.

Design

Design today is about more than execution. It’s about resonance, responsibility, and creating value across teams, systems, and society. We examine how design functions as a multiplier, elevating experience, sharpening outcomes, and driving long-term impact.

MC Monsalve presenting at a Design Outlook event, gesturing with one hand raised while holding a clicker in the other. She is wearing a black outfit with a statement gold necklace and a headset microphone, with a confident and poised expression. The backdrop features abstract blue shapes and modern architectural elements, enhancing the event’s contemporary ambiance.

Leadership

Whether formal or informal, leadership is about making space for others to do their best work. We spotlight the mindsets, methods, and behaviours that help people lead through uncertainty, and build cultures that are resilient, inclusive, and future-ready.

Attendance ambition for 2026

900+ conference delegates
5+ international presenters
3,000+ festival attendees
25+ festival events
250+ leadership delegates
150+ award entries
40+ lead forward enrolments

2026 Events

Bringing together design, product, and leadership through new and familiar formats

Presenter ambitions

An elevated stage, a sharper lens, and the strongest voices we’ve ever hosted. These are the people we'd love to host and will soon reach out to.

Tyson Yunkaporta

Tyson Yunkaporta

Senior Research Fellow, Deakin University

Monika Bielskyte

Monika Bielskyte

Futurist, Protopia Futures

Gao Guqi (高古奇)

Gao Guqi (高古奇)

Founder, FNJI

Kevin Hui

Kevin Hui

Co-Founder and Host, Archimarathon

Jenny Wen

Jenny Wen

Design Lead, Anthropic

Andrew Briese

Andrew Briese

Founder, Cooking the books

Anab Jain

Anab Jain

Co-Founder & Director, Superflux

Jessamie Yule

Jessamie Yule

Regenerative Designer

Dr. Timnit Gebru

Dr. Timnit Gebru

Founder, The Distributed AI Research Institute

Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier

Futurist, Philosopher, Artist, Technologist

Lilian Musyawa Kikuvi

Lilian Musyawa Kikuvi

Co-founder, Becoming Better

Harrison Wheeler

Harrison Wheeler

Founder, Technically Speaking

Three attendees at Design Outlook 2022 seated in the audience, smiling and capturing moments on their phones during a session.

Conference day

A full-day gathering of leading voices in product, design, and leadership. Hosted at our to-be-determined venue, this is our flagship event. It's focused, energising, and built for people shaping the future of work, systems, and ideas.

  • Keynotes and panels all day.
  • World-class venue and experience.
  • Designed for practitioners and leaders.
Guests mingle and smile at The Outlook pre-event gathering, enjoying drinks and conversation in front of a branded media wall.

Festival reimagined

The festival returns with a refreshed format and clearer identity. Spread across five days, it invites participation through open studios, meetups, and hands-on sessions that explore how people build, lead, and collaborate.

  • Open houses and meetups.
  • Skills-based sessions and workshops.
  • City-wide, low-barrier, and inclusive.
Mickey Rummery speaks confidently on stage at a DesignOutlook event, smiling and engaging the audience while holding a microphone.

Awards gala

A new national awards night that recognises meaningful, high-impact work across product, design, and leadership. The evening brings together finalists, peers, and friends for a celebration that feels generous and real.

  • National platform for recognition.
  • Focused on impact, not hype.
  • An honest, celebratory evening.
Attendees at Design Leadership 2025 share a lively, laughter-filled moment over lunch, gathered around a table in a buzzing, informal setting.

Lunch club

Lunch Club is a monthly, in-house event hosted by teams across Melbourne. It offers a relaxed way to share work, build connection, and learn from others over conversation and catering.

  • Hosted by local teams.
  • Intimate, informal, and focused.
  • Held monthly, city-wide.
Learn more about Lunch Club

Production team

The same team behind our 2025 program returns in 2026, bringing the same care, attention to detail, and production quality that helped make last year such a success.

Grant Show

Grant Show

Conference Director

Elaine Tan

Elaine Tan

Partner Experience

Mickey Rummery

Mickey Rummery

Design/Product Leadership

Trudi Boatwright

Trudi Boatwright

Content Director

Mindy Nam

Mindy Nam

Community engagement

Eliska Lam

Eliska Lam

Production Director

“It's been a pleasure working with you [...] It's incredible what you've been able to do with such a small team. The events are unique in their inclusivity and approach and you should be very proud. ”

Samantha Spackman Events and Marketing

Sponsorship tiers

Download our 2026 sponsorship pack

Laura Kostanski presenting on stage at Design Outlook 2025, Sofitel Melbourne, with slides on design disciplines and a packed seated audience.

Disclaimer: Forward looking statements

This page outlines our ambitious plans for our future, including several streams of content. So, please note that this is a forward-looking document and certain details may evolve as we approach each event, we are committed to delivering a minimum number of events and content streams as specified. 

We encourage you to consider this dynamic nature when partnering with us for the year.