​In a world where our phones can so easily consume our attention, what role should digital products play in supporting the lives we actually want to live? This talk explores Bridging Worlds: Designing Digital Apps for Physical Experiences — how thoughtful design can move beyond screen time and instead help us connect more deeply with the real world.

​From cultivating presence in meditation at Headspace, to discovering and navigating the outdoors with AllTrails, to finding community in galleries and exhibitions through Artwrld, Will Simon will share how apps can be designed as tools for lived experience rather than distractions from it. Through stories and design lessons from these projects, Will will explore how products can guide, enhance, and extend physical experiences - whether in nature, art, or daily life - while ensuring that the phone never gets in the way of the moment itself.