The Next Interface: Learn how Google Gemini is rethinking how we design and build for AI

For decades, the graphical user interface (GUI) has defined the way we navigate the digital world. From the folders and files on our computer desktops to the buttons, menus, search bars and icons we tap on to order food, book a flight or scroll through a website, GUIs turned complex computer systems into something we could understand at a glance. Click here, open that, drag this, close the window – these familiar visual cues gave us a shared language for interacting with technology. And, over time, they became so embedded in everyday life that we barely notice them.

But the way we interact with technology is changing. AI can generate content, interpret context and respond differently depending on what we ask of it, rather than simply following a fixed sequence of commands. So, as software becomes less predictable and more responsive, what happens to the interface itself – and what does that mean for the designers building them?

That’s the question at the heart of The Next Interface, a new event from It’s Nice That and Google Gemini, coming to New York Live Arts on Thursday 17 September. Bringing together designers, creatives and technologists, the event will explore what the next generation of digital experiences could look and feel like – and what role designers will play in shaping them.

The event follows the launch of Neural Expressive, Gemini’s new design language for the AI era. Unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year, the system rethinks the Gemini experience, introducing fluid animation, vibrant colour, new typography and iconography, to communicate thinking, intelligence and dynamism. Rather than presenting every interaction as a static screen, Gemini can now respond with imagery, interactive timelines, video and dynamic graphics. But The Next Interface doesn’t just look at what AI can do, it’s also centred around asking what designers should do with it.

Throughout the afternoon, speakers from Gemini’s UX team will unpack the thinking behind Neural Expressive, digging into everything from its visual and creative direction to generative UI, AI agents and the processes behind building experiences for a technology that doesn’t behave predictably.

New York-based studio Human NYC will also take us behind the scenes of its practice. With more than a decade of experience working across branding, digital products and experiences, the studio will look at how the tools of design have changed over time – and what remains fundamentally human. Expect a candid look at how AI is being incorporated into a working studio, from creative development and client relationships to the everyday workflows that sit behind the finished work we see on our screens and in the physical world.

The conversation will also look beyond the tools themselves. As AI becomes better at generating possibilities, interpreting information and even taking action, designers are having to reconsider where human judgement sits within the process. What happens when the technology is no longer something we operate, but something we collaborate with? How do we design for systems that can adapt to their users? And if interfaces can become more fluid, responsive and personalised, how much should we be designing – and what might we leave open for the system, and the person using it?

The afternoon will bring together perspectives from across design and technology, with talks, conversations, demos and opportunities to meet other creatives working through these questions in real time. It’s a chance to get into the processes and ideas shaping the next generation of digital design.

The Next Interface from It’s Nice That and Google Gemini is free to attend and will take place at New York Live Arts in New York on Thursday 17 September from 2-6pm. Places are limited, so register now to join It’s Nice That and Google Gemini for an afternoon exploring what comes next.