UX Beers Antwerp February @Ariad

Welcome to our February UX Beers in Antwerp!
This time, we will host our event on Tuesday the 24th of February with Ariad at Plein Magazijn in Antwerp.
Ariad and Creative Skills sponsor our events.
📺 Follow the event online? We stream live via Youtube

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### UX TALKS

Talk 1: Align or Fail: When Brand Meets UX
Mario Restrepo, Creative Director

Every interaction shape perception and tells a brand story, whether intended or not.
In this talk, we explore why UX is the space where brand promises are either proven or broken, and why, in the age of AI, alignment between brand and user experience has become a strategic imperative.
Drawing on real-world examples, this talk reframes UX designers as brand storytellers, and UX deciders and stakeholders as guardians of trust. It also introduces an AI-driven Brand Sentiment Analysis workflow, showing how teams can translate user signals into actionable insights, and design experiences that don’t just function, but reinforce how a brand is felt, remembered, and believed.

Talk 2: The UX evolution: thriving in the age of intelligent systems
David Grunewald, Founder of Pluginto.ai , AI-Strategist

AI is fundamentally changing how UX professionals work, but it's amplifying our capabilities, not replacing them.
This 45-minute session explores what's actually happening in 2026. You'll see real implementations from banking, healthcare, and other sectors: proactive systems that anticipate needs, conversational interfaces that adapt to individual patterns, and hyper-personalisation at scale.
We'll examine four trends reshaping UX practice and, more importantly, what they mean for your daily work. What's being automated? What's gaining value? And what are the five essential skills that set you apart in an AI-augmented world?
You'll leave with clarity on how to evolve your practice and confidence that your human expertise remains your competitive advantage.
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### SCHEDULE
18:00 - Doors open. Drinks & snacks
19.00 - 19.15 - Introduction to UX Belgium Meetup, announcements
19.15 - 19:45 - Talk #1
19:45 -20:15 - BREAK
20:15 - 20:45 - Talk #2
20:45 - 21:30 - Socialize

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### SLACK CHANNEL
We have our own UX Belgium slack channel.
Come join us and say hi!
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### YOUTUBE CHANNEL
All our livestreams and talks are recorded and available on our UX Belgium youtube channel.

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### ABOUT UX BELGIUM
UX Belgium is a growing community of User Experience (UX) professionals in and around Belgium.
Look for these types of events:

UX Beers
Periodically, we gather at a different agency or venue to drink beers, network and listen to speakers on various themes in the world of UX and digital design.
UX Antwerp: Each last Tuesday of the month
UX Brussels: Each second Tuesday of the month, 4x per year
UX Hasselt: 4x per year

UX Workshops
Now and then we organize events to dive deeper into specific skills and techniques in UX. These are smaller, hands-on workshops designed to boost your UX toolbox.
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The UX Belgium Meetup Team