In a world designed for rational choices, why do consumers consistently make decisions that defy logic? This talk will explore the powerful, often unseen, forces that shape consumer behaviour. Drawing on key insights from behavioural science, we will deconstruct the decision-making process to uncover the true drivers: the subtle interplay of emotions, context, and deeply ingrained cognitive biases.You’ll be introduced to a practical framework for analyzing and influencing behaviour, providing actionable strategies that can be applied to marketing, client experience and product design, leading to more effective engagement with consumers (while keeping it ethical!).

Big tech companies like Twitter and Meta are constantly experimenting: trying new variations of their UI, features, machine learning models, etc, to try to optimize against their goals. These experiments involve many people, experts in various fields, including the key role of Data Scientist. In this talk Nate will discuss how these projects are run - how companies decide what to test, how to test it, and how goals are decided - and how you can bring the essence of this experimentation and iteration to your own sites, apps, and projects without needing a team of software engineers and data scientists. Along the way he’ll share anecdotes from his over two decade-long career, which began in Saskatoon working for the likes of zu, Yardi, and VividWorks, to his more recent adventures getting fired by Elon Musk, and how the spirit of experimentation and data has been present at every stage and at every company. Doesn’t that sound amazing? It’s not. Nate’s inflated ego and mislead sense of self should serve as a lesson in humility and the need to stay grounded, otherwise one day a billionaire might crush all your dreams.

When the dance floor is empty, no one blames the lighting. They blame the DJ. DJs don’t just play songs - they orchestrate emotion, read rooms in real-time, and shape the energy of a crowd second by second. In this high-energy session, DMC world champion, DJ Vekked, kicks things off with a live performance that shows just how much is happening behind the turntables—technically, emotionally, and instinctively. Then, longtime amateur DJ and CX/UX leader Albert Jame breaks it all down. You’ll explore what DJing can teach us about experience design, branding, and business - like how to sequence momentum, remix in the moment, create flow states, and surprise and delight an audience. We’ll dive into the evolution of DJ culture and the surprisingly deep psychology of what makes people move, connect, and feel something. Whether you’re spinning records or designing experiences, the lesson is the same: the best experiences are built by those who can sense the room, respond in real time, and guide people on a journey they didn’t know they needed.

Watch. Listen. Learn. Design for a generation that thinks differently. In this unfiltered live lab, real kids and teens, our future users, will show us exactly how they use tech, AI, social platforms, gaming, and multitasking. Adults will observe, ask questions, and unpack the surprising gaps between design intentions and lived behaviors. Expect moments that shock you, amuse you, and open your mind to what todayʼs 15-20 year olds actually expect from their digital world.