We get it: it’s cold, raining, and you just want to stay inside for the next six months. But you know, in your heart of hearts, this only leads to misery. And if you can get to Glasgow this November, there’s an event that’s purpose-made to blow the cobwebs away and get your blood pumping again.
International Assembly, the design and creative festival run by INTL, returns to Britain’s third biggest city from 12–22 November, with events at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and The Pyramid at Anderston.
Over those 11 years, the organisers have packed in a tremendous amount, including a one-day conference, weekend workshops, and a two-day Live Project connecting students with industry. And that’s not all.
This year there’s an all-new Secret Stage with undisclosed guests (ooh!). Plus the International Creative Awards return, which this year will be presented in a medieval castle (double ooh!). Throughout the event, you’ll also have a chance to check out the International Poster Exhibition, which was my personal highlight of the 2025 event.
Not your average event
Yes, I was there in person last year to help judge its student competition. And so trust me when I tell you: this isn’t your standard sit-in-the-dark-and-take-notes design conference.
Yes, there are talks, of course, pretty darned good ones if 2025 was anything to go by. But a lot of the energy comes from people rolling up their sleeves and actually making things together. As co-founder James Gilchrist puts it: “Our goal has always been to create the dream event which we would want to attend.”
The conference kicks off on Thursday 12 November, bringing together thinkers, makers and innovators working across graphic design, branding, coding, animation, art and advertising.
This year’s line-up includes Bráulio Amado, COLLINS, Harriet Richardson, FISK, Shamma Buhazza, Vlad Boyko, Coding Systems, Eva Cremers, GF Smith and Readymag, with further names still to be announced.
Sounds like a random mix? That’s deliberate. “We have a bit of a formula for curation, so we hope there will be somebody who everyone can connect with deeply,” explains project manager Mook Attanath.
As for the brand-new Secret Stage, which opens for business on Saturday 14 November, four undisclosed special guests will share personal stories, insights and work. Who they are is anyone’s guess, which is a fun idea I’ve never seen at a design conference before.
Workshops and projects
Beyond the talking, there’s lots of doing. Workshops run over the weekend of 14–15 November and cover type design, coding, editorial, illustration, visual language, poster design, and traditional graphic design.
As co-founder Beth Wilson explains: “I think it’s one of the few festivals where there are not only audience-based events but intensive workshops and projects where you actually produce new work.”
Here’s what’s on offer:
- Signopic with Patryk Hardziej: learn the traditional techniques the old masters used to create logos, symbols, marques and signs.
- Scavenged Narratives with Vlad Boyko: develop your own visual language and create experimental posters.
- Flexible Visual Systems Design with Coding Systems (Tim Rodenbröker and Martin Lorenz): starting with an application built in Processing, discover how to combine tech, art and design to produce generative visual work.
- Daily Disk with FISK: produce your own experimental piece of editorial work and contribute to a collaborative newspaper, printed courtesy of Newspaper Club.
- Type Playground with Shamma Buhazza: create a custom modular font using patterns, textures, grids and drawing.
- Alien Assembly with Eva Cremers: design and illustrate your own 3D character, considering personality, emotion and story, then watch it come to life.
From contest to ceilidh
On 16–17 November, students and recent graduates take part in the Live Project: two days of mentorship from design studios while working on a live competition brief.
More than 22 work placements are on offer, along with the chance to present work at the festival and win prizes. Having judged last year’s entries, I can vouch that the standard of work is high and the opportunity is valuable.
On Monday 16 November, a panel discussion tackles a question many in the sector will recognise, with the blunt title: ‘What the f_ck is happening in the Scottish design industry?’. Nowt like getting straight to the point.
The International Creative Awards, meanwhile, get a bit of an upgrade this year. For the first time, winners and guests will gather at the medieval Rowallan Castle on Friday 13 November.
The evening will feature traditional music, fine dining, and the presentation of handcrafted concrete trophies to this year’s winners, plus a ceilidh, a traditional night of Scottish music and dancing. Oh, and if you’re new to the city, Readymag is also running walking tours of Glasgow earlier that day so you can get nicely acquainted with this fabulous place.
Finally, if you’re in Glasgow at any point during the event, I’d urge you to check out the International Poster Exhibition, which, as I said, runs throughout.
Featuring 190 contemporary works by more than 200 designers and creatives from around the world, the exhibition opens on Thursday 12 November with music, refreshments and the launch of the new International Poster Book. It closes with a goodbye gathering on Sunday 22 November.
What’s on when
With so much going on, it’s worth planning ahead. Here’s a quick summary of the main events:
- Thursday 12 November: Conference; International Poster Exhibition opening
- Friday 13 November: Glasgow Walking Tours x Readymag; awards ceremony; festival ceilidh
- Saturday 14 November: Weekend Workshops (day one); Secret Stage
- Sunday 15 November: Weekend Workshops (day two)
- Monday 16 November: Live Project (day one); Nitty Gritty panel discussion
- Tuesday 17 November: Live Project (day two)
- Sunday 22 November: Goodbye gathering at the International Poster Exhibition
I’ll leave the last word to James. “If you’re looking for a sense of community, a kick up the arse, an excuse to get out of the studio, a reminder of why you do what you do, then get yourself to International Assembly,” he says. “You’ll be welcome.”
