Fast Company Middle East’s Innovation by Design Summit will be the platform where industry leaders, visionaries, and creatives from diverse backgrounds converge.

Hosted on April 24, at the Doha Design District, the summit promises to be an inspiring showcase of creativity, blending art, architecture, design, and sustainability powered by innovation. 

The summit hosted in partnership with Msheireb Properties will feature panel discussions, workshops, and fireside chats designed to spark thought-provoking conversations led by exceptional design experts, entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers. This unique blend of perspectives promises to make it an influential design summit.

SUSTAINABILITY IN DESIGN

The Middle East faces many environmental challenges, including desertification, worsening air quality, and threats to its vital marine and coastal ecosystems. As the region grapples with these challenges, the upcoming summit places sustainability at the center of design discussions, focusing on aspects like circular design, biophilic design, and the adoption of sustainable materials. The panel discussions include Biophilic Design: A Design Movement Inspired by Nature; Can We Adopt Sustainable New-age Materials? and  Circular Design: Transforming Waste into Resources. Attendees will witness real-world examples that reshape how we move towards a more sustainable design economy.

TECHNOLOGY AND AI

Meanwhile, AI is rapidly integrating into every aspect of life as governments and businesses invest in AI development, aiming to diversify economies and optimize operations. The summit will delve into the complex relationship between design and technology and explore how emerging technologies transform the creative landscape and content creation in sessions such as Is Technology Empowering Creativity or Stifling it? and Mind the AI Gap: Deciphering Content and Business Realms featuring speakers Nayef Al-Ibrahim, Founding Partner and CEO of Ibtechar and Dr. Mario R. García, CEO and Founder of García Media.

INNOVATION AND DESIGN-THINKING

The summit will also expand its focus, venturing into the broader design thinking and innovation realm, digging into the effectiveness of design thinking as a problem-solving methodology and its potential as a tool for tackling the complex challenges facing individuals, organizations, and governments in today’s interconnected world and adapting global design principles to a regional context. Curated panels exploring the theme include Ideas by Design: Can Design Thinking Solve the Big Challenges? and Can the Middle Eastern Design Language Become Global? with speakers such as James Ludwig, Principal of Ludwig & Hamilton, Abdulrahman Al Muftah, Designer, Miguel Viana, CEO and Co-founder of UnlockBrands, and Sharifah Alhinai, Co-Founder of Khaleeji Art Museum.

The highly anticipated one-day summit brings together a star-studded lineup of speakers. Industry leaders like Andrea D’Antrassi (MAD Architects), Annabel Kassar (AKK Architects), and Arjan Pit (UnStudio) will join renowned architects, artists, and creative minds including, Faysal Tabbarah (American University of Sharjah), Miguel Viana (UnlockBrands), Nasser Abulhasan (AGi Architects) and Amrita Sethi (NFT artist), among many others.

Over 400 delegates, including business leaders, design experts, artists, and architects, will attend the summit, where they can expect a captivating design showcase highlighting innovative projects pushing the boundaries of design.

Attendance is only by invitation, which can be secured by registering here.

Delve deeper into the design-thinking process and global design trends, encompassing urban planning, biophilic design, immersive technologies, and more, at the Innovation By Design Summit, partnered with Msheireb Properties, in Doha on April 24. Attendance at the Innovation by Design Summit is by invitation only. Delegates can register here to receive their exclusive invite.