SESSION GUIDELINES

Are you a creative professional with a story to tell?

We’re inviting speakers to be part of Design Week Sacramento 2025, a two-day conference happening Friday, October 24 – Saturday, October 25.

We want to hear how you really get things done—from inspiration to iteration, breakthroughs to roadblocks. Our audience is eager to go behind the scenes and see the creative process in all its messy, brilliant glory. We're looking for designers and creatives to participate in one (or more) of the following formats:

Give a Presentation
Facilitate a Workshop
Showcase a Project
Lead a Discussion

Whether you're crafting brands, building experiences, or experimenting with new mediums, we want your insights. Scroll down to learn more about what we’re looking for and how to apply.

Teaching Sessions

Teaching sessions are 45-minute training sessions that teach attendees a principle or tactic and explain the what and why, provide a peek into the process/how, and offer concrete action steps. Attendees should walk away not just with a better understanding of the topic, but with the ability to do something with what they learned.

Workshops

Workshops are interactive, hands-on, and collaborative sessions that teach attendees specific skills, techniques, or ideas. Workshop facilitators begin by teaching so that attendees understand the topic and its context. They then guide attendees through an activity step-by-step to solidify the skill, technique, or idea taught, so they walk away having accomplished something. If you have a skill, technique, or idea to teach that could make a great workshop, submit your idea!

Lightning Talks

Lightning talks are 10-minute project showcases that describe a design project and take attendees behind the scenes to walk through the process that brought the project to life. Think 2.5 minutes to share the project and 7.5 minutes to share the process. Have a brand design, UI/UX design, or other design project you want to show off? Submit it!

Discussion Leaders

If you have expertise in or are passionate about a specific area of design, running a creative business, or working with clients, and want to talk about it with other designers and creatives, apply to be a Discussion Leader! Discussion leaders will be responsible for introducing a table topic a 5 minutes or less, then facilitating a discussion on the topic with everyone at your table by inviting them to share ideas and new perspectives or ask questions.