ISEA2026 Dubai
The website for the 31st International Symposium on Electronic and Emerging Art, held across Dubai.
| Client | ISEA International |
|---|---|
| What we built | Symposium website |
| Platform | WordPress |
| My role | Head of UX cum Project Manager |
| Live site | isea2026.isea-international.org |
The brief
ISEA is the world's longest-running symposium on electronic and emerging art, and its 2026 edition comes to Dubai from 6 to 15 November under the theme ELYAH: Constellating Place, Data & Identity.
The site has to speak to two very different audiences at once: academics submitting to the online programme, and visitors who want to know what is on, where, and when.
Built with
UX lead & PM I led UX and ran delivery for a symposium site that had to open before its programme was final.
What I did
- Ran discovery with ISEA International and the Dubai hosts, and separated the two audiences: academics and visitors.
- Designed the information architecture around two front doors, the online academic programme and the live artistic programme.
- Led the visual direction: a dark starfield built on the ELYAH theme.
- Planned delivery in phases, so registration could open before the full programme was final.
- Ran QA and acceptance testing on desktop and phone before each phase went live.
The impact
- 31stedition of the longest-running symposium of its kind
- 10days of exhibitions, talks and performances across Dubai
- 2programmes, academic and artistic, each with its own route
- +60%early registrations against target
The call I made
Open registration early
The full programme would not be ready for months, but people needed to register now. We launched with registration and the core story first, then added venues and sessions as they were confirmed, without redesigning a page.
What shipped
- Two clear routes in: the online academic programme and the live artistic programme
- Registration for the symposium
- Landmark venues across Dubai, each with its own story
- A countdown and key dates on the first screen
- A dark, starfield look that carries the ELYAH theme
On screen
