With every passing week digital design seemed to be losing its way; misguided thinking, obsession over tooling, and increasing uncertainty about its future. New Adventures seemed like a positive way to respond, and a certain sense of inevitability developed. Eventually, I turned to my wife, Geri, and said, “Let’s do it!”

Yep, Nottingham's world-class web and product design conference will return, featuring leading speakers, in-depth workshops, and community events. With bold ideas and essential guidance, we think it's an invaluable event for anyone working in digital product design.

Speakers include Ethan Marcotte (responsive web design), Clare Sutcliffe MBE (Code Club), and Brendan Dawes (data artist). We've workshops from Jeremy Keith (progressive web apps), Harry Roberts (front-end performance), and Emma Boulton (discovery research).

As ever, the fringe features fun and games, tech meetups, and a friendly after-party at Nottingham Contemporary. As previous attendees will attest, our events foster a real sense of community where new professional and personal friendships form. We're building on our existing commitment to greater diversity and inclusivity in tech with new ideas and initiatives, and whether you're outgoing or a little shy, you're sure to feel welcome.

So, let's reconvene, recalibrate, and re-energise digital design. Let's talk about designing smarter and explore ways to navigate a shifting landscape. Let's consider labour and ethics, education and inclusivity, the disappearance of weirdness and fun.

Let’s face up to our tools; to frameworks, and automation: what value do they offer, and how will they alter the way digital experiences form? Will you be essential or expendable? Did design sleep in while everyone else got busy defining a new rulebook for our industry?

Let’s come together again, as a community, and make sense of this rapidly changing industry. Let’s get serious, and let’s have some fun. See you in January!