Schedule
UX South Africa
ONLINE
22 – 23 July 2025
- 22 July 2025: Online
- 23 July 2025: Online
09:00 - 09:05
Welcome Message Day 1
09:05 - 09:40
Topic TBC
Abstract TBC
Ahmad AlHuwwari | CX - UX Senior Consultant
09:40 - 09:50
Post Talk Q&A
09:50 - 10:15
Topic TBC
Jason Hobbs | Director of Strategy & Design
10:15 - 10:25
Post Talk Q&A
10:35 - 11:00
Break
11:00 - 11:25
Softening the Edges: The Quiet Power Behind Great UX
In a world obsessed with speed, AI and automation, we risk losing the small moments that make technology feel safe, kind and human. This talk explores Soft UX, the quiet craft of designing for trust, dignity and emotion, especially in emerging markets like South Africa. From navigating stakeholder pressure to designing without a formal UX team, we unpack practical ways anyone can soften the edges of digital experiences and why, in an automated future, feeling may be UX’s greatest frontier.
Salama Said | UX/UI Designer
11:25 - 11:35
Post Talk Q&A
11:35 - 12:00
Burnout by Design: The cognitive and emotional weight of UX by Kris Smirnova
How does burnout manifest in UX roles? Root causes in UX roles. Trends and upcoming challenges. Coping mechanisms and prevention, cross-disciplinary insights
Kris Smirnova | User & Customer Experience Researcher
12:00 - 12:10
Post Talk Q&A
12:10 - 12:40
Faster, Scalable UX: Simple Lean Methods We Use at Takealot.com
At South Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Takealot.com, Lean UX is how we move fast and design with purpose. In this talk, Calvin Pedzai shares how his team applies Lean UX principles to rapidly test ideas, align cross-functional teams, and deliver user-centred solutions at scale. You’ll get practical insights into lightweight research methods, quick validation loops, and data-informed design—along with real-world examples from Takealot’s product workflows. Whether you're in a startup or large organisation, this session will help you embed Lean UX into your process without sacrificing quality or speed.
Calvin-Pedzai | Head of Experience Design
12:40 - 13:00
Post Talk Q&A
13:00
End of Day 1 Talks
09:00 - 09:05
Welcome Message Day 2
09:05 - 09:40
The importance of UX Management
Unlock the secrets to creating exceptional user experiences with my talk, "The Importance of UX Management." Whether you're a designer, manager, or stakeholder, discover how effective UX management drives innovation, improves team collaboration, and ensures user satisfaction. Key learnings Learn the 4 key skills of a great manager Discover how to improve your management skills Discover how the measure Experience right
Hannes Robier | President
09:40 - 09:50
Post Talk Q&A
09:50 - 10:15
The AI Customer Whisperer: 5 Ways to quickly understand your customer
Talk Overview:
Learn to instantly analyze reviews/feedback for insights, create data-driven personas from real conversations, map user journeys (yours + competitors), and extract customer intelligence from Reddit/search data using free AI tools. Walk away with practical techniques to gather comprehensive customer understanding in hours, not weeks. Perfect for UXers wanting to do more research faster without big budgets or technical skills. Get actionable insights that drive real UX decisions.
You'll Learn:
- Voice of customer distillation using AI
- Persona creation from actual user data
- Journey analysis techniques
- Reddit/search intelligence gathering
- Quick research methods for immediate impact
- Strategic thinking meets practical execution - amplify your research capabilities today.
Brendan McNulty | Growth Product Manager at Yoco
10:15 - 10:25
Post Talk Q&A
10:35 - 11:00
Break
11:00 - 11:25
The UX of Graffiti
Graffiti is seen as a vile, anti-social art form that operates on the fringe of society. The graffiti experience seems to leave a bitter aftertaste in the general populace mouths. I plan to demonstrate how I changed this experience with the help of graphic design, real life events and mural production. Turning something that is usually upsets people into something that uplifts communities, from the graffiti community to the regular civilian. Untilising its attention grabbing nature and channeling into vehicle for good.
Quasiem Gamiet | Illustrator, Graphic Creator, Creative Director
11:25 - 11:35
Post Talk Q&A
11:35 - 12:00
UX Career Pivots: Returning after a gap and not stopping again
Helpful for : Very powerful and empowering for moms, career changers, or anyone breaking into UX later in life.
Talking Points:
· My journey from HR to UX after a 7-year break
· Imposter syndrome and building confidence through projects
· How to build credibility and momentum without a traditional path
Learning by Doing: How Startups Shaped My UX Mindset
Helpful for : Self-taught designers and those working in resource-limited settings will relate.
Talking Points:
· The power of constraints - learning without design teams or design systems
· How startups forced me to become a better problem-solver
· Lessons learned from working cross-functionally (business, engineering, founders)
Mamta Singh Sengar | UX/UI Designer
12:00 - 12:10