DesignHive 2026

Apptware Presents

Post hype AI

Event Date

Feb 7, 2026 - Saturday

10:30 AM onwards

Location

The Initiative and Mission

Designed for Dialogue

DesignHive is an initiative by Apptware Design Studio, created as an open space for designers, founders, and product leaders. It brings people together through conversations, meetups, workshops, and collaborative sessions grounded in real work and lived experience.

Our mission is to create room for thoughtful exchange. To understand industry shifts as they unfold, question assumptions, and explore how design, technology, and decision-making evolve in practice not in theory.

The Topic - 2026

Post Hype AI

The excitement around artificial intelligence has begun to settle. What remains is not spectacle, but responsibility as AI moves from announcements into everyday use, from promise into presence.

Designing for AI-ML now shifts from amplification to alignment with people, context, and consequence. It asks where AI truly adds value and where restraint is the more thoughtful choice.

Post-Hype AI treats intelligence as a quiet, intentional layer that supports human judgment, earns trust over time, and is shaped by real-world complexity.

UNCOVER INSIGHTS, IDEAS AND INNOVATION

Focus areas

Mindset Shift

This session helps you move past AI hype and fear, and into clarity. You’ll learn where AI truly adds value, where human judgment matters most, and how designers can lead by thinking, not just using tools.

Workshop Session

In this workshop, participants will work through a real design challenge and experience two very different ways of thinking. The focus isn’t speed or output — it’s awareness. You’ll notice where ideas flow easily, where friction appears, and where judgment really matters. By the end, you won’t just know the difference

Designing for AI

As AI shifts from responding to acting, designers are no longer just shaping screens — they’re shaping behavior. This session explores how design adapts when systems begin to think, decide, and learn.

SPEAKERS

More Voices from the Industry

Anil Reddy

Designing Beyond the Buzz: Judgment, Empathy, and Real AI

Anil Reddy is an artist at heart and a designer by soul. As the Founder and Design Director of Lollypop.Design, he built a global, research-driven studio from a two-person garage into a 240-member team creating work used by millions worldwide. After his exit, his journey led him to Happy Pet, India’s first pet-tech company, where technology, data, empathy, and AI come together to solve real problems. Anil brings a rare mix of design depth, entrepreneurial courage, and human sensitivity to every conversation.

Harsha Pai

Agentic AI and Design-Led Engineering Systems

Harsha Pai is a technologist who believes clarity is the most underrated design skill. As Co-Founder and India Board Director at Aithon Solutions, his work spans engineering leadership, enterprise architecture, and large-scale digital transformation. Today, he operates at the intersection of strategy, engineering, and Agentic AI, focusing on systems that act with intent, not urgency. Harsha brings a grounded perspective on how thoughtful judgment shapes resilient, future-ready technology.

Harish Rohokale

Designing Scalable AI Systems with Human Oversight

Harish Rohokale is the Founder of Apptware and a firm believer that the best technology does not shout, it holds. What began as a small team solving hard problems with care has grown into a global organisation shaped by trust, values, and long-term thinking. Working at the intersection of AI, design, and engineering, Harish focuses on building systems that scale without losing their human core. His leadership style centres on clarity, responsibility, and meaningful impact.

Deepashree

Designing with Responsibility

Deepashree is the Head of Design at Apptware and a strong advocate for thoughtful design in fast-moving times. Her journey spans product design, design culture building, and mentoring early-career designers and engineers. For her, design is less about outputs and more about judgment, context, and responsibility. At Apptware, she works at the intersection of design and AI, focused on building systems and teams that slow down just enough to think clearly.

Anil Reddy

Designing Beyond the Buzz: Judgment, Empathy, and Real AI

THE PEOPLE

Our Audience

Product Designers

Blending creativity & problem-solving to craft purposeful and intuitive experiences.

Founders & Product Owners

Visionaries turning ideas into impactful ventures, driving strategy and innovation.

UI/ UX Design

Designing user journeys, and ensuring product resilience.

Business Owners & Leaders

Decision-makers nurturing growth and guiding teams through innovation.

Product Designers

Blending creativity & problem-solving to craft purposeful and intuitive experiences.

Founders & Product Owners

Visionaries turning ideas into impactful ventures, driving strategy and innovation.

UI/ UX Design

Designing user journeys, and ensuring product resilience.

Business Owners & Leaders

Decision-makers nurturing growth and guiding teams through innovation.

JOIN US

An invitation to sit together

Some conversations are better had in person. With fewer slides, fewer certainties, and more honesty. DesignHive ’26 is an invitation to sit together, share what you’re seeing in your work, and learn from perspectives different from your own.

Come as you are.
Leave with new questions.

Key Takeaways

What’s in it for You?

Design Hive is for designers who want clarity, not noise. You will gain practical frameworks to design with AI, sharper judgment on where it truly adds value, and real insights from experienced design and technology leaders.

What you'll experience: