One day to rethink everything you've accepted as true about AI, UX, and innovation.

An Innovation Conference Exploring AI, UX, and Technology Across Past, Present, and What Comes Next

Less hype. More signal. Real impact on how we work, think, and build in an AI-driven world

Secure Your Spot Now $249

Be Part of the Dialogue.

May 21, 2026 | Institute of Design

Join us in Chicago for candid conversations shaping the future of AI, innovation, and leadership.

🗓️ Thursday, May 21st, 2026 | 🕐 9 AM - 5 PM

📍Institute of Design at Illinois Tech
3137 S Federal St, Chicago, IL 60616

19 Speakers

11 Industries

15 Partners

1 Unforgettable Day

Agenda at a Glance

From the lessons of the past to the decisions defining tomorrow — a full day of keynotes, creative debates, lightning talks, and immersive sessions across Tech, AI, UX, and Design.

See the Full Agenda

Every great day needs a powerful start

Back to the Future: Where Eras Converge

Nivan opens with a keynote that bridges where innovation has been and where it is going next.

Morning: The Past

The ideas, missteps, and breakthroughs that laid the foundation for how we innovate today.

• Opening keynote on what the industry got right, wrong, and what still matters
• Creative Duel: Scale vs. Craft
• Innovation Portal: Tools and patterns that shaped the field
• Discussions around the foundational decisions that defined how we build today

Midday: The Present

Current decisions that shape products, platforms, and human experience.

• Lightning talk on decisions shaping today's product ecosystems
• Creative Duel: Human Judgment vs. AI Assistance
• Innovation Portal: Real-time product and design decisions
• Interactive workshop on identifying meaningful signals in complex systems

Afternoon: The Future

Where innovation, design, and intelligence are headed next.

• Lightning talk on what we're designing toward in an AI-driven world
• Creative Duel: Personalization vs. Privacy
• Innovation Portal: The future of cities, healthcare, and AI systems
• Conversations on building meaningful breakthroughs and long-term innovation strategy

Inside the Nivan Experience

Creative Duel

Two opposing perspectives on real tensions in design and AI, head to head.

Innovation Portals

Condensed insights that cut through the noise and get straight to what matters.

Time Capsule

Capture what you believe right now and revisit it when the next shift arrives.

Message to Future

Write a note to your future self. We'll transform and deliver it back to you later.

View the Full Lineup

Our Sponsors & Partners

Live from Nivan

See Nivan Come to Life

Follow us on Instagram at @nivan.live for exclusive updates.

Personalization and privacy are no longer separate conversations.

Sarah Wallace previews the Personalization vs. Privacy Creative Duel at Nivan.

5.21.2026 | Chicago

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#NivanLive #Nivan2026

Matthew Alverson at IA Collaborative is one of the people quietly shaping what agentic experiences will look like on the web.

So of course he was not going to settle for the AI generated persona we made for him. He took it and built a fully AI generated video.

This is the caliber of speaker walking onto the Nivan stage on Thursday. 19 of them. 11 industries. The Past, The Present, and The Future of innovation, all in one day at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech.#nivan2026 #nivanlive

In 3 days, time collapses.

The Past, The Present, and The Future fold into a single room at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech on May 21.

Morning takes us back to where ideas began. Midday holds us in what is being built right now. Afternoon pulls us forward into what is still being imagined.

If you have been waiting for the right room to walk into, this is it.

3 days until the whole arc lives inside a single Thursday.

http://www.nivan.live
#NivanLive #Nivan2026

Innovation doesn’t wait. Neither should you. 5 days left.

#Nivan2026 #Nivanlive

Ashley Craig from AnswerLab is asking the question we need to hear right now.

More data than ever. But are we actually getting closer to our customers?

She’s bringing that provocation to the Nivan stage on May 21.

6 days left.

#nivanlive #nivan2026

At Nivan 2026, we’re asking attendees to write a note to their future self — a snapshot of where you stand right now, what you believe, and what you’re building toward.

You’ll have the whole day to do it. We’ll take care of the rest.

7 more days until Nivan. You don’t want to miss it.

#nivanlive #nivan2026

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