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In this issue:

The DesignUp Passes open for sale soon—starting with the Student, Super-Early-Birds and Premium Passes. What’s changed? What hasn’t, and why? + The Call-For-Speakers closes soon, and we have some handy hints…

First things first—The DesignUp Passes.

We open on Tuesday May 06, 7pm IST - that’s 05-06-07 (if you like numbers all lined up in a row).

So, what’s going live?

• The much-awaited Super Early Bird Passes (very limited, and the most discounted) — the price of which, despite inflation & rising costs, remains exactly the same as 2024!

• The exclusive, all-access Premium Passes, for those who want everything (Workshops/Masterclasses) bundled into one. This year we have added benefits of a Premium Conference Kit and Priority Seating, right up front, priority access to any other events we may schedule closer to the date.

• The super subsidized Student Pass (for full-time students only) — now at ₹2000 lower than last year, and one of the lowest prices ever!

• Check the inclusions and conditions, set a reminder, mark the date, and pick which pass you’re planning to buy, at: 25.designup.io/#passes

All this, and then the best part — in line with this year’s theme of The Design Currency as a sustainability enabler, for every ticket you purchase, a part of it goes to People for Animals (PfA) Wildlife Hospital in Bengaluru 💙

DesignUp25 Call-for-Speakers closes May 5th, Monday! Here’s what we’re seeing in the flood of proposals—some trends to steal, others to ditch. Dive in before the clock ticks out...

We’ve been swamped with submissions for DesignUp Conference and there are stories in these stats! If you’ve already thrown your hat in, massive kudos. If you’re still polishing your pitch, read on—this might just be your cheat code to nailing it. We’re ruthless content curators (self-confessed nitpickers), constantly rethinking what makes the cut.

These patterns are a mirror to the zeitgeist of Design-in-Tech today. (Note: “more” below means more compared to past years, not a sweeping majority thankfully).

The breakdown:

1) Theme? What Theme? Yes, this year, DesignUp has a theme. Some of you nailed it, crafting pitches kerned to perfection. Others? Well, let’s just say the theme got ghosted. Copy-pasting proposals is super tempting (we get it, speaker circuit’s a grind), but a quick tweak to align with our focus could turn a “meh” into a “must-see.”

2) Talking the Talk, Minus the Walk More folks are pitching topics they’ve never touched—like sustainability! With zero creds or battle scars to show for it. It’s all theory, no soul. Where are the gritty stories, the hard-won lessons, the epic fails-turned-wins?

3) AI, We See You More submissions scream “ChatGPT wrote me!” and not in a good way. They lack heart, feeling like a robot’s lecture rather than your unique journey. We can spot it a mile away—especially when it doesn’t match your career vibe. Dig deep, own your narrative, promptly ditch the prompt!

4) Make Us Guess!? Some pitches are cryptic one-liner for every question, expecting us to decode why the answers matter. “Trust me, it’s cool” isn’t a strategy. BTW, these aren’t test runs—they’re real submissions, complete with Linkedin links + polished profile pics, yet they seem to pre-bake a rejection.

5) More Noise, Less Signal Submissions are through the roof this year, but so is the fluff. Not off-the-charts fluff, but enough to make our curation crew sweat. Sifting through the noise to find the signals? That’s our cardio for 2025.

What gets our vote? Relevance and Personal Touch.

Relevance: Is it a fit for DesignUp’s savvy crowd? (No Design 101, please—they’ve graduated.) Does it speak to 2025, our theme, the times we’re in, or the future we’re building for the next decade?

Personal: Is it your story? A triumph, a flop, a raw insight? Something you’ve lived, loved, struggled through, and survived to share?

That’s it. No fluff, just real. Is that you?
Submit via https://lnkd.in/gkzF4QrX

🤔
Also, think Story Arc

_{A clear structure: context, conflict and resolution with a takeaway at the end! Preferably a visual framework that the audience can take a picture of or remember. Keep it personal: The most important thing is that it should be a personal, anecdotal and emotive take on anything where Design's value was proven. Stories of vulnerability or failure as a practitioner are welcome. Don’t go bookish!}

Says Shiva who, with me, Rasagy and others speak to a lot of potential speakers.
Let’s make DesignUp 2025 a stage worth stealing. 

Stay curious, stay inspired…

Jay

Repeating it once more :)

1. Call for speakers is open, active and buzzing - until May 05, Monday

2. DesignUp limited passes open up for sale - on May 06, Tuesday 7pm IST