HOW Design
HOW Design operates a portfolio of annual creative professional conferences and digital content platforms, including its flagship HOW Design Live event and specialized summits for women leaders, freelancers, and packaging designers. Owned by Emerald X, LLC and serving designers, creative directors, and marketing professionals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersPalm Coast, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What HOW Design does
HOW Design is a 35-year-old events and media brand serving the creative professional community, founded in 1985 as a print magazine and now operating as a portfolio of in-person conferences and digital content. The flagship product is HOW Design Live, an annual three-day conference (held in Denver, CO in 2024) combining keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, and networking events including an Opening Night Reception, Happy Hour, and Closing Party. The portfolio has been extended into specialized sub-events: HOW Women Lead (a one-day summit for female creative leaders), HOW Design Creative Leadership, HOW Design Creative Freelance, and the DIELINE Conference (packaging design focus). The digital surface, branded HOW Design Online, encompasses Blog, Newsletter, HOW-To resources, Digital Sessions (live and on-demand online conference content with Q&A), Video Vault (on-demand access to past five years of top-rated sessions), and Creative Summits, providing year-round engagement beyond the annual physical event.
The underlying technology is not proprietary software; HOW Design operates a physical/digital hybrid event model with no public API, SDK, or integration layer disclosed. Customer acquisition is community-driven, leveraging social media (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), an email newsletter, content marketing, and promotional partnerships with media outlets including Paper Specs, Dieline, Graphic Artists Guild, IHAF, Marketing Mentors, and PRINT Magazine. The go-to-market is event-driven and multi-channel, with separate motions for individual attendee registration (including a 'Convince Your Boss' corporate conversion page) and B2B sponsor/exhibitor sales.
Revenue is generated through two principal streams: conference registration fees (one-time license model for individual, group, and corporate attendance) and sponsorship/exhibition fees from corporate partners including Sylvamo, Cella, Neenah, Hallmark, RealThread, XYZ Type, Darden, and Clampitt. Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is owned by Emerald X, LLC, a diversified events and B2B media group; HOW Design itself lists 1-10 employees and is headquartered in Palm Coast, United States. The company announced the postponement of its 2025 flagship event to 'better align with the evolving industry landscape,' and its operating status remains 'operating' under the parent brand.
HOW Design firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HOW Design
- Legal name
- Emerald X, LLC
- Website
- https://howdesign.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- HOW Design operates a portfolio of annual creative professional conferences and digital content platforms, including its flagship HOW Design Live event and specialized summits for women leaders, freelancers, and packaging designers. Owned by Emerald X, LLC and serving designers, creative directors, and marketing professionals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HOW Design industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Conferences & Events
- akta.pro primary industry
- Design Colleges (Graphic, Industrial, UX/UI, Interior) (EDAHAJAB)
Keywords
Where HOW Design is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palm Coast
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
HOW Design business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Conference Registration Fees: HOW Design Live generates primary revenue through attendee registration fees for its annual multi-day conferences including the main 3-day event, one-day summits like HOW Women Lead, and specialized creative summits. Pricing tiers likely exist for individual, group, and corporate registrations.
- Sponsorship & Exhibition: Corporate sponsors pay for booth space, promotional visibility, and branding opportunities at the conference. The site lists sponsors including Sylvamo, Cella, Neenah, Hallmark, RealThread, XYZ Type, Darden, and Clampitt. Promotional partners include Paper Specs, Dieline, GraphicArtistGuild, IHAF, and Marketing Mentors.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Conference Registration |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
HOW Design product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HOW Design operates HOW Design Live, a 3-day annual conference for creative professionals held in Denver, CO, along with specialized one-day summits (HOW Women Lead, Creative Leadership, Creative Freelance, DIELINE Conference) targeting specific segments of the design community. The company also delivers digital content through HOW Design Online, including Video Vault (on-demand past sessions), Digital Sessions (live and on-demand online content), a blog, newsletter, and how-to resources.
Product overview
HOW Design operates a portfolio of creative professional conferences and digital content platforms. The flagship product is HOW Design Live, a 3-day annual conference held in Denver, CO (September 23-25, 2024) featuring keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, and networking events. Supporting this core offering are specialized summits: HOW Women Lead (one-day women's leadership summit), HOW Design Creative Leadership, HOW Design Creative Freelance, and the DIELINE Conference (packaging design focus). The digital extension, HOW Design Online, provides remote engagement through Video Vault (on-demand sessions from past 5 years), Digital Sessions (live and on-demand conference content), Blog, Newsletter, HOW-To resources, and Creative Summits. Founded in 1985 as a print magazine, the brand has evolved to serve the creative community for over 35 years.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 95%+ satisfaction reported through testimonials - attendees consistently describe high value for creativity, motivation, and professional development
Companies that use HOW Design
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
HOW Design technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
HOW Design partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- SylvamominorCorporate sponsor for HOW Design Live 2024. Sylvamo is a paper and pulp company serving as a conference sponsor with branding visibility.
- CellaminorCreative staffing and consulting firm sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024.
- NeenahminorPaper and specialty materials company sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024 with multiple logo placements.
- HallmarkminorGreeting card and entertainment company sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024.
- RealThreadminorApparel decoration and design company sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024.
- XYZ TypeminorType foundry sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024.
- Darden StudiominorType design studio sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024.
- ClampittminorPaper and packaging company sponsoring HOW Design Live 2024.
- Paper SpecsminorPromotional partner and media sponsor for HOW Design Live 2024, providing cross-promotion to design community.
- DielineminorPromotional partner and media sponsor for HOW Design Live 2024, promoting the DIELINE Conference track.
- Graphic Artists GuildminorPromotional partner for HOW Design Live 2024, providing cross-promotion to guild members.
- IHAFminorPromotional partner for HOW Design Live 2024, representing in-house design agencies and creative teams.
- Marketing MentorsminorPromotional partner for HOW Design Live 2024.
- PRINT MagazineminorPromotional partner and media sponsor for HOW Design Live 2024, providing cross-promotion to print and design community.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
HOW Design competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Creative Mornings: Monthly free design talks hosted in cities worldwide, serving the same creative professional community as HOW. Comparable community-driven model focused on inspiration and connection for working creatives.
- Smashing Conference: Web design and UX conference run by Smashing Magazine, targeting web designers, front-end developers, and UX professionals. Comparable niche community-building model with a multi-city European and US footprint.
- Dribbble: Online design community platform hosting events, meetups, and resources for graphic and digital designers. Comparable community-building and professional development orientation toward the same target audience.
- An Event Apart: Long-running web design and UX conference for design professionals and developers. Comparable premium positioning, similar in-person format, and overlapping audience with HOW Design Live's web and digital designer attendees.
- AIGA: The oldest and largest US professional association for design, hosting events, conferences, and programming targeted at graphic designers and creative professionals. Closely comparable to HOW in audience and mission around design community-building.
- CreativePro Week: Annual conference for creative professionals using Adobe tools (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop). Direct competitor for the creative professional attendee pool with a similar workshop and breakout session format.
- Webflow Conference: Webflow's annual user conference bringing together designers and no-code developers. Comparable in-person conference format and overlapping audience with HOW's web and UX designer attendees.
Broad incumbents
- Figma Config: Figma's annual user conference for product designers and design teams. Competes for the design professional attention budget with HOW Design Live and represents the broader shift toward tool-vendor-led design events.
- Adobe MAX: Adobe's flagship annual creative conference drawing tens of thousands of creative professionals. Competes directly with HOW Design Live for the same designer and creative director audience, but operates at significantly larger scale as part of Adobe's broader ecosystem play.
- 99U by Behance (Adobe): Adobe's creative professional community and conference platform (now under Behance) focused on creative careers and inspiration. Directly competes for the creative professional audience and operates under a much larger parent ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HOW Design social profiles
Digital presenceHOW Design financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HOW Design leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
HOW Design funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HOW Design M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HOW Design
What does HOW Design do?
HOW Design operates HOW Design Live, a 3-day annual conference for creative professionals held in Denver, CO, along with specialized one-day summits (HOW Women Lead, Creative Leadership, Creative Freelance, DIELINE Conference) targeting specific segments of the design community. The company also delivers digital content through HOW Design Online, including Video Vault (on-demand past sessions), Digital Sessions (live and on-demand online content), a blog, newsletter, and how-to resources.
Is HOW Design a public or private company?
HOW Design is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was HOW Design founded?
HOW Design was founded in 1985. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is HOW Design based?
HOW Design is headquartered in Palm Coast, United States, in the North America region.
How does HOW Design make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Conference Registration Fees are the primary driver. The others are sponsorship & Exhibition.
Who are HOW Design's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Creative Mornings, Smashing Conference, Dribbble, An Event Apart, AIGA, CreativePro Week and Webflow Conference. Broad incumbents are Figma Config, Adobe MAX and 99U by Behance (Adobe).
Does HOW Design have an API?
No public API is recorded for HOW Design.
What industry is HOW Design in?
HOW Design's product category is Professional Conferences & Events. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAJAB, Design Colleges (Graphic, Industrial, UX/UI, Interior).