Monday, October 26, 2026 · Graphic Design
International Assembly 2026 Brings Design Workshops, Poster Art and a Secret Stage to Glasgow
Noted by Tom May · 548 reads
Glasgow’s International Assembly runs 12–22 November, pairing talks with hands-on workshops, a student Live Project and a 190-work poster exhibition.
A festival built around making
International Assembly’s strongest idea is that design events can produce work as well as talk about it. The Glasgow festival returns from 12–22 November, with a programme spanning a conference, practical workshops, a student Live Project and an exhibition featuring 190 contemporary posters. For designers who want time away from the studio to learn by doing, that mix gives the event a clear point of view.
Run by INTL, the festival takes place at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and The Pyramid at Anderston. Its programme also adds two new draws for 2026: a Secret Stage with four guests whose names have not been disclosed, and the International Creative Awards at Rowallan Castle.
The event has grown to include a one-day conference, weekend workshops and a two-day project connecting students with industry. This year’s conference opens on Thursday 12 November and brings together people working across graphic design, branding, coding, animation, art and advertising.
Talks, workshops and an unknown line-up
The conference roster includes Bráulio Amado, COLLINS, Harriet Richardson, FISK, Shamma Buhazza, Vlad Boyko, Coding Systems, Eva Cremers, GF Smith and Readymag. More names are due to be announced. Project manager Mook Attanath says the organisers curate for range, hoping each attendee will find someone whose work or perspective connects with them.
On Saturday 14 November, the new Secret Stage brings four undisclosed guests together to share personal stories, insights and work. Keeping their identities under wraps gives the session a different kind of anticipation: attendees will arrive without the usual expectations attached to a published speaker list.
Hands-on sessions run across the weekend of 14–15 November, covering type, code, editorial, illustration, visual language, posters and traditional graphic design. Co-founder Beth Wilson describes the workshops and projects as a defining feature: participants leave having made new work, rather than only having listened to talks.
The sessions offer different ways into that process:
- Signopic, with Patryk Hardziej, explores traditional methods for making logos, symbols, marques and signs.
- Scavenged Narratives, with Vlad Boyko, asks participants to develop a visual language and make experimental posters.
- Flexible Visual Systems Design, with Coding Systems’ Tim Rodenbröker and Martin Lorenz, starts with an application built in Processing and explores generative visual work through technology, art and design.
- Daily Disk, with FISK, turns experimental editorial work into contributions to a collaborative newspaper, printed courtesy of Newspaper Club.
- Type Playground, with Shamma Buhazza, focuses on building a modular font from patterns, textures, grids and drawing.
- Alien Assembly, with Eva Cremers, guides participants through designing and illustrating a 3D character, from its personality and story to its finished form.
For working designers, the appeal is in the range of methods. A modular type exercise, a generative design application and a collaborative newspaper each give participants a specific format to test ideas within, while leaving room for individual outcomes.
A live brief and a castle ceremony
Students and recent graduates take part in the Live Project on 16–17 November. Over two days, design studios mentor participants as they work on a live competition brief. More than 22 work placements are available, and participants can present their work at the festival and compete for prizes.
On Monday 16 November, a panel discussion asks, “What the f_ck is happening in the Scottish design industry?” Its direct title points to a conversation about the state of the local sector, while making space for practitioners to compare perspectives.
The International Creative Awards move to Rowallan Castle on Friday 13 November. The evening combines traditional music, fine dining, handcrafted concrete trophies and a ceilidh. Readymag is also running Glasgow walking tours earlier that day, offering festival visitors a way to explore the city between programme events.
190 posters across the festival
The International Poster Exhibition runs throughout the event and gathers 190 contemporary works by more than 200 designers and creatives from around the world. It opens on Thursday 12 November with music, refreshments and the launch of the new International Poster Book, then closes with a goodbye gathering on Sunday 22 November. That extended run makes the exhibition an easy point of entry for visitors who can’t attend every scheduled event.
Key dates
- Thursday 12 November: Conference and poster exhibition opening
- Friday 13 November: Readymag walking tours, International Creative Awards and ceilidh
- Saturday 14 November: First workshop day and Secret Stage
- Sunday 15 November: Second workshop day
- Monday 16 November: First Live Project day and Scottish design industry panel
- Tuesday 17 November: Second Live Project day
- Sunday 22 November: Poster exhibition goodbye gathering
International Assembly co-founder James Gilchrist says the aim has always been to make “the dream event which we would want to attend.” The format backs that up: talks sit alongside shared making, student mentorship and an exhibition that stays open across the festival. If you’re planning a visit, start with the sessions that match your practice, then leave time to see the posters and meet the people making work across the programme.
