In-person vs online design conferences: comparing the experience

One of the best things you might do for your career is attending conferences. Industry trends, new skills, and connections inside the design community — a bunch of opportunities for everyone.

Since many events had to move online, how do you feel about the conferences in 2020?

I found 7 main points that changed my experience this year.

Traveling

Nielsen Norman Group Conferences 2020

The conference Year 2020 — Pro: You don’t have to travel. Con: You don’t have to travel.

Visiting a new country? Going back to your favorite city? Or combining your vacation with the conference days to spare on the tickets? This year such opportunities aren’t on the table.

While before many designers were traveling internationally to attend the conferences, for the last months, due to the lockdowns, many of them don’t leave their beds to join the speakers.

However, the advantage of the situation is that now you could easily visit conferences in different parts of the world, where you might need a visa or a 13-hours flight.

Timezones

Timetable comparison by Smashing Conference

While jetlag isn’t a blessing, working the whole day and staying up till 2 am to watch the conference dries you out even more.

Yes, we all are working in front of the screens, but being honest, how much time could you stay focused during the calls or online meetings? For me, during a 7-hour online conference, I could barely remember the last 2 hours, even if I had some breaks in between.

Make sure to rest to be able to absorb the new information.

Setting

Chris Callaghan (UX & Optimisation Director at McCann Manchester) is enjoying the conferences and house renovation in spring and autumn 2020

Before the conference setting was up to the event organizers. They had to rent a space, set the sound, and provide snacks. Now many things are up to you.

Since the lockdown came unexpectedly, not everyone had/has a comfortable place to enjoy a conference. While it might be nice to rest on a couch with your pet, you still need a reliable internet connection, desktop/laptop/ headphones, no distraction from loud kids or drilling neighbors, tasty lunch, and regular coffee refills.

Multitasking

Left: Image from Unsplash | Right: Multitasking results from a research by NN/g

It’s tempting to update some mockups, answer the emails, or check your work chat. Multitasking is a thing, right? Not really. Multitasking is a constant task switching and works only if the tasks are using different resources (Example: Listening to a podcast while jogging is possible. But listening to a lecture while answering emails won’t work).

While you’re distracted with the other tab on your screen, you don’t perceive the information from the speaker. And if the speaker is good, you don’t want to miss the point.

Mind that not all the conferences share the video or presentations afterward, so it’s useful to make the notes.

Swag

Some conference swag that I found in my drawer

Desktop or phone wallpaper is a new norm now. Forget those pins, notebooks, T-shirts, posters, and other nice conference reminders.

As a bonus, it might be easier to get a presentation link from the speakers you liked.

Networking

Early 2020: FITC Conference Pub quiz in Amsterdam

Boost LinkedIn connections, join a bunch of new Slack channels. Been there, done that.

Unfortunately, simply adding people to your contacts without any communication, doesn’t profit you at all. Don’t forget to engage with these people: be active on Slack and in your feed, join one-on-one rooms at the conferences, and so on.

When I was at the online NN/g Conferences in spring 2020, most of the people didn’t join the calls for the coffee breaks or random one-on-one rooms. I managed to chit chat only with one guy in a break-out room, and he didn’t have a stable Internet connection, so half of the time we didn’t hear each other.

Early this ear I listened to a talk by Justin Maller, Chief Creative Officer at DeviantArt. He was talking a lot about the importance of the right networking as a way to make a friendship. A beer with some acquaintance eventually led him to get the big freelance projects and fancy position in LA.

So don’t be afraid to talk to other designers either online or offline!

Pricing

Examples of the conferences that moved online: SofaConf, Config Europe, Distributed 2020

I feel like there are more free conferences this year. And other events either reduced the prices or provided some other bonuses like free days, bundle tickets for this and the next years, and so on.

Take your chance and get the best of the situation!