Nov 26, 2025

UXnite @21TORR: AI-driven UX design in focus

How do we design digital products in an era where AI is evolving at speed – and user expectations along with it? That was the guiding question driving a full evening of discussion at this year's UXnite in Stuttgart. The event – initiated by MuseCase and Ergosign – has become a central gathering point for the regional UX community. In March, we had the honour of hosting the third edition of the year.

Early in the evening it was clear: attendees hadn't come for small talk – they came for real conversation. Designers, product thinkers and tech professionals spoke directly about project challenges, new ways of working and the influence of AI on everyday design practice. The atmosphere was constructive, open and shaped by the quality of the questions being asked.

The evening's clear theme: AI meets UX. We contributed two talks – one on inclusive design powered by AI, and one on how Lean UX helps us work better in an increasingly AI-shaped product world. Both perspectives ultimately converged on one central question:

How do we design digital experiences that genuinely help people – and make a tangible difference for businesses?

Man wearing a baseball cap and glasses speaks into a handheld microphone at an indoor event, two women listening in the blurred background.

A row of adults wearing name badges sitting in a room, attentively listening to a speaker during a meeting or presentation.

Smiling woman wearing a name badge shaking hands and talking with two people at a well-attended indoor networking event.

A bearded man wearing a baseball cap speaks into a microphone at a wooden lectern with a laptop, the audience seated in the foreground.

AI & Inclusive Design: breaking down barriers with artificial intelligence

'You only see barriers when you're affected by them yourself.' With this statement, Stefanie Braun, Senior UI Designer at 21TORR, opened her talk on inclusive design with AI. She showed just how complex the trade-offs between simplicity, accessibility and technical feasibility are in practice – and where AI is already enabling concrete improvements.

One example: Conversational Search. For some user groups it's a convenience feature – for people with motor impairments, it's an essential gateway to digital services.

The decisive shift, however, is structural: AI isn't just changing individual features – it's changing the model by which interfaces are built. Instead of static layouts, dynamic interfaces emerge that adapt to users in real time.

For designers, this means: not defining a final layout, but defining design spaces. Rules, parameters and logic determine what is variable and what stays constant.

The goal: systems that remain robust, accessible and flexible – products that adapt to their users, not the other way around.

Rear view of a seated audience looking at a projected slide titled 'Design for AI – what's new for us?'

Two women smiling and talking at an indoor event; one is wearing a name badge, a blurred man sitting in the background.

A young man in a light-coloured hoodie speaking and gesturing during a small-group discussion, two blurred listeners seated behind him.

Lean UX in the AI era: why lean processes matter more than ever

In the second talk, Jan Schlag, UX Architect and Design Thinker at 21TORR, put one question centre stage: how do we develop products when AI accelerates processes but also makes them less predictable?

Jan's diagnosis: classic product development often suffers from silos, long decision chains and too much documentation. More planning doesn't solve these problems. More learning does. He understands Lean UX not as a methods toolkit but as a mindset – one in which:

Collaboration is operational, not formal.
Assumptions are made visible and tested.
Documentation serves decisions and is not an end in itself.
Trust is a prerequisite for all of the above.

The advantage: teams that develop prototypes earlier, test them and involve stakeholders reduce risk and reach clarity faster.

Lean UX doesn't mean delivering faster. Lean UX means learning faster – together.

Four UX methods for hybrid AI products and agile teams

Hypothesis Canvas

Focus on assumptions and outcomes instead of features.

Rapid Prototyping Sessions

Thinking visually together – whether on paper or in Figma.

Stakeholder Reviews with Prototypes

Fewer slides, more product.

Shared User Test Reviews

Sharing insights rather than evaluating in isolation.

A man with a microphone speaking to a small audience in a modern room where speaker portraits are projected and a woman sits at a laptop.

Side view of a seated audience listening attentively; in the foreground a young man with a black beanie and a bag bearing the number '21'.

Stuttgart's UX community as a driving force

What made the evening stand out was the quality of the exchange. The openness to connect perspectives and question current developments critically showed once again how active and capable Stuttgart's UX community is.

Our thanks go to MuseCase and Ergosign for the continuous work behind UXnite – and to all participants for their engagement. We look forward to the next event and to continuing the conversation.

Good read? Let’s share!

LinkedIn X Email

People in casual clothing talking and eating pizza at an informal indoor networking and social event.

Two smiling young adults with bottled drinks and name badges at a casual indoor gathering.

Young women chatting and smiling at a casual indoor gathering; one of them in a striped jumper holds a bottle.

Man with glasses and a baseball cap wearing a navy blazer and a roll-neck jumper, arms folded in front of a drinks table at a social event.

Two people laughing at a social event – a woman in a black Adidas top holding a bottle, a man in a blue jacket talking beside her.

Two men talking at a casual gathering: a man in a white T-shirt with his arms folded and a man in a purple hoodie gesticulating, with other people blurred in the background.