By: Featured
The d.school’s Public House: Shaping the Intersection of Technology and Humanity
March 3 & 4
Welcome to The Public House—a dynamic, immersive experience brought to SXSW by the Stanford d.school and Siegel Family Endowment. At the nexus of community pub and hub, our lounge space transforms casual conversation into bold design exploration, where innovators, creators, and changemakers gather to chart the future.
At The Public House, you’ll find:
Interactive Games: Dive into design challenges like Algorithm Alley and Mystery Machine Night: A Mystery from the Future each crafted to spark imagination, collaboration, and future-forward thinking.
The Commitment Booth: Step into a confessional-style space to declare your boldest idea or pledge to shape the future of our digital, social, and physical environments.
Creative Bar: Pull up a stool for rapid-fire ideation sessions led by d.school Creative Coaches, where you’ll tackle real-world challenges and walk away with actionable insights.
Riff-Powered Reflections: Use Riff to amplify your learning—enhancing discussions and prompting deeper reflection long after the session ends.
Let Your Voice Be Heard: Collaborate on crafting “headlines from tomorrow” that imagine new possibilities for emerging technologies and societal design.
This is more than just a lounge—it’s a collaborative space to think big, build connections, and leave inspired to lead with ethical responsibility and bold imagination. Whether you’re sipping a coffee or brainstorming with fellow visionaries, The Public House for the Future is your SXSW destination for creativity, community, and courage.
Grab a drink, take a seat, and let’s design what’s next—together.
March 5
The Public House Party: Innovators Unite for the Future
Get ready for a party where bold ideas, connections, and incredible music collide! This isn't your typical party—it's a party with a purpose, brought to you by the Stanford d.school and Siegel Family. Connect with fellow innovators, and forge meaningful relationships with colleagues who share your passion for change. Step inside our confessional-style space to declare your boldest idea or pledge to shape the future of our digital, social, and physical worlds. Join us for an evening of music, inspiration, and a toast to the future versions that will spark the next wave of innovation. Be there to celebrate, connect, and reimagine what’s possible!
March 8-9
12:00–1:30 pm, 2:00–5:00 pm
The Public House: Shaping the Intersection of Technology and Humanity will be a dynamic, two-day experience within the Tech We Want House, sponsored by Siegel Family Endowment and the Omidyar Network at SXSW Interactive.
Designed as an open, drop-in space, the Public House invites attendees to engage on their own schedule. Visitors can explore our interactive exhibits and engage in creative connections experiences which bring people together to build visions of the future, build their emerging technology skills, tackle design challenges, and design pathways for taking action at home.
Our activations include:
Creative Bar: Bring Us Your Problems -- Pull up a seat at the bar, sip a coffee, and connect with the d.school’s Creative Coaches, your go-to guides for rethinking challenges and uncovering fresh solutions. Whether you’re tackling your toughest design problem, collaborating on a personalized action plan, or diving into spontaneous brainstorming, this is your space to tap into expert advice, expand your thinking, and build meaningful connections with fellow innovators. You’ll leave equipped with valuable assets, including d.school books, toolkits, posters, and resources from Siegel Family Endowment grantees. You’ll also gain access to recent d.school publications like the Library of K12 Futures, design guides, and magazines on emerging technologies. It’s a perfect mix of inspiration, tools, and community to fuel your creativity!
Mystery Machine Mingle: A Mystery from the Future -- Step into the future with this cutting-edge platform that transforms a classic mystery into an immersive, forward-thinking experience. Engage with virtual characters in custom-generated futuristic scenarios, to weave tales in real-time through interactive interviews and dynamic problem-solving.
Manifesto Madness: Craft Your Future! -- Discover what drives you in this reflective workshop designed to uncover your core values. Through guided exercises, you’ll explore how values shape your actions, influence your decisions, and motivate your purpose.
Algorithm Alley: Designing the Future -- Get ready to play, think, and design using the d.school’s I Love Algorithms Board Game Kit, participants will explore machine learning concepts like clustering, classification, and reinforcement learning.
Riff: Reflect Forward -- In order to take bold action it’s imperative that we take a moment to reflect on our values and the impact we wish to create. Riff -- a member of the d.school bottery designed to support meaningful reflection -- is at hand to enhance your experience and help you shape the future.
d.school and partner sessions at SXSW
School Reframe: Reinvigorate Your Work with Creative Hustle
March 3, 3:30 – 5:00pm CT
A hands-on workshop featuring a framework developed by the Center for Applied Learning and Community Impact in collaboration with authors of the d.school guide Creative Hustle, Olatunde Sobomehin and sam seidel.
https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP147934
Behind the Wheel: Youth Driving Tech and Media
March 4, 2:30pm CT
Join our partners at the Siegel Family Endowment for this panel on how we can turn young people from passive consumers into empowered creators of tech and media.
Build-a-Bot Workshop: Make Your Own AI to Make Sense of AI
March 6, 11:00am – 12:30pm CT
Build a chatbot alongside designers and engineers from Stanford, including the d.school’s Laura McBain.
https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP151689
Future of Learning: Top Takeaways from SXSW EDU 2025
March 7, 2:30 – 3:30pm CT
This deep dive featuring the d.school’s sam seidel features the latest trends at the intersection of futurism, education, and technology coming out of SXSW EDU.
https://schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP1147835
Design and Innovation Meet Up
March 10, 10:00 – 11:00am CT
Join d.school authors in person at this meetup of our first book club.
https://schedule.sxsw.com/2025/events/PP1148122
Reading: Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future
March 11, 11:30am – 12:30pm CT
Come here Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley, the authors of latest d.school book Assembling Tomorrow, share their words and work.
Photos credit Chloe Bertrand