Orla Bennett
Design director · Kinship
Orla works on public-service products where clarity, trust and language carry as much weight as interface craft. She will open the conference with a talk about building confidence without oversimplifying.
The conference, rewritten.
Northlight Letters is an intimate gathering about making useful digital products—through research, language, systems and the judgment that holds them together.
Three-day field passTalks, workshops and all shared meals
£584Studio day passFriday talks and evening show
£242Community bursarySupported seats for independents
ApplyDinner tableSaturday long-table supper
£68The speakers
Four people to start the conversation slowly.
Dev Malik
Founder · Quiet Ledger
Dev has spent a decade building software for small organisations. His session looks at the practical decisions that let a focused product remain focused as the company around it grows.
Lina Moreau
Research lead · Common Thread
Lina studies how teams listen under pressure. She will share field methods that capture useful evidence without turning customers into data points or research into theatre.
Benji Okoro
Independent engineer
Benji makes small local-first tools for community groups. His talk follows one product from paper notebook to dependable service, including the wrong turns that clarified the eventual shape.
The show
A live evening of motion, sound and experiments hosted by the studio floor.
Joana Singh
Artist · North Window
Joana creates performance tools that turn small gestures into layered sound. Her new piece is built for the room and will be performed once, after Friday's talks.
Guy Emmett
Director · Folded Signal
Guy makes documentary games about infrastructure and memory. He joins Joana for a live conversation about the useful friction between systems and stories.
Feature letters
Four deeper sessions with room for notes and questions.
Michael Lowe
Partner · Small Hours
Michael argues that consistent products are built by consistent conversations. His case study follows a multi-year design system through three major organisational changes.
Jean MacDonald
Founder · Paper Girl
Jean has recently left a long-running studio to begin again. This honest account covers the financial, emotional and creative decisions behind choosing a deliberately smaller practice.
Linda Franco
Co-founder · Machina
Linda builds interfaces for civic technology. Her feature letter examines how language, accessibility and policy collide in the same small form field.
Jennifer Brook
Independent designer
Jennifer returns with a working session on critique: how to ask for it, how to make it specific and how to keep personal taste from obscuring the question the work must answer.
The dinner
A shared table made possible by the neighbourhood kitchen.
Jules Gardiner
Founder · Hearthline
Jules runs a small restaurant built around seasonal produce and one long table. Saturday's menu is designed to invite passing plates, long stories and a proper pause before the final day.
The setting
Northlight Letters takes place at Lantern House, a converted print workshop beside Bristol's harbour. The main room opens to a walled garden, with smaller studios for workshops and a kitchen built for the shared table.
Everything is within one building: talks, meals, quiet corners and the evening show. Come by foot, bus or ferry and stay for the shape of the whole day.
The schedule
Three different days, each with its own pace. Arrival and the studio show on Thursday; talks and dinner on Friday; workshops and closing letters on Saturday.
Thursday · June 4
ArrivalRegistration3:30–5:00 pm
Welcome studio5:30–7:00 pm
The show8:00–9:30 pm
Friday · June 5
LettersOpening speakers9:30–11:45 am
Feature letters1:30–5:15 pm
Long-table dinner7:30 pm
Saturday · June 6
PracticeStudio workshops9:30 am–12:30 pm
Field sessions2:00–4:30 pm
Closing letters5:00 pm
The mailing list
If you would like to hear when supported seats open or the next edition is announced, leave a note below.
The sponsors
Independent supporters who make the bursary and shared table possible.
PressroomNew CurrentSquare FieldSoftwork
The links
Useful details for planning your visit.