Thiago Xikota

What I bring to the stage

How AI is changing the design profession, and what to do to make it work for the people who design. Talk, workshop, panel, podcast or class. Based in Florianópolis, happy to travel, or remote.

Best Paper AwardCo-author of the winning paper · AIMEDIA 2026 · Nice, FranceBest Paper Award at AIMEDIA 2026: co-author of the winning paper. Explore the research

Next confirmed: DevFest Porto Alegre 2026, October 31See the schedule

Send an invitation by email
Thiago on a panel at TDC Floripa 2026, with two other speakers
Panel at TDC Floripa 2026 · Photo: TDC Florianópolis 2026

Where I have presented

What I did on stage in 2026, with the title of each session and a link to the official schedule or the recording.

Thiago running a workshop at TDC Floripa 2026, speaking into the microphone at the podium

Workshop

Do Figma ao código sem handoff: IA que lê seu design e gera componentes ao vivo

TDC Florianópolis 2026 · July 23, 2026 · 10h00 às 11h30

On stage with Bruno Bach Albornoz (The Weather Company)

See the official scheduleOpens in a new tab

Confirmed talks

  1. Toda lacuna vira uma decisão do modelo: como fugir do AI slop

    DevFest Porto Alegre 2026 · In person in Porto Alegre, Faculdade Dom Bosco

  2. 277 violações nos design systems do governo brasileiro: acessibilidade como gate, não como checklist

    Detach! 26 · In person in Fortaleza, Fábrica de Negócios

    See it on the event scheduleOpens in a new tab

  3. A IA desenha a média: como especificar a diferença

    Layers Conference 2026 · Online

How to invite me

Write me with as much context as you have: event or organization, date, venue or remote format, type of participation, topic, audience and conditions. I reply personally.

Send an invitation by emailthiagoxikota@gmail.com

Languages: Português e inglês

Topics I present

Structural convergence: what specification changes in AI-generated interfaces

In the published pilot (n=5 per group), interfaces generated without human mediation repeated the same hierarchy. I discuss the role of specification and the limits of that sample.

See the proof

From design to shipped product

Designers building product with AI agents, with judgment and human review. Current tools as the vehicle, principles as the subject.

Accessibility as an acceptance criterion

What I learned auditing public design systems (277 non-conformities in my thesis, top grade) and helping bring Wellhub product screens to WCAG 2.1 AA conformance (focus order, semantics, ARIA).

See the proof

The designer career in the AI era

The argument I am developing in the book Design na era da IA, in production with Casa do Código.

See the proof

Host of Pixel Init, 2021

Three nights, nine speakers, and me introducing every one of them. Pixel Init is the free online event run by Pixel, the computing student-run company at UFSC. I organized and hosted the third edition in July 2021: opened every night live and ran the questions coming in from the chat. All three broadcasts are still up, uncut, and they are right below.

Thiago smiling on air as host of Pixel Init, with the "Thiago da Pixel" name tag on the broadcast
On air, first day of Pixel Init
days live
3
speakers I introduced
9
on air
9h47
registered
1,000+

Where the speakers came from

  • Google logoWillian Lima
  • Nubank logoRenato Mota
  • SAP logoSofia Rieth
  • Santander logoValéria Melo
  • Rocketseat logoGabriel Sávio, Renato Mota
  • UFSC logoThais Bardini, Jônata Tyska, Lais Eing

Every mark here is the badge of a speaker who went on air with me. None of them is a sponsorship.

  1. Thiago on air next to speaker Thais Bardini, both smiling, during the first day broadcast

    Day 01

    July 5, 2021 · 3h45 of broadcast

    • Thais Bardini

      Criptografia: o que é, aplicações e futuro

    • Lais Eing

      A ascensão do UX/UI Design entre pessoas desenvolvedoras

    • Willian Lima

      Carreira na Google: a experiência de trabalhar em uma das maiores empresas de tecnologia do mundo

    Watch day 01
  2. Thiago hosting the second day of Pixel Init in a blue shirt, with the event brand on screen

    Day 02

    July 7, 2021 · 3h06 of broadcast

    • Valéria Melo

      Mulheres na Tecnologia

    • Gabriel Sávio

      Home office e programação: como manter a produtividade?

    • Sofia Rieth

      Como se destacar no mercado de tecnologia: competências do futuro e inserção profissional

    Watch day 02
  3. Thiago hosting the third day of Pixel Init in a purple shirt, with the event brand on screen

    Day 03

    July 9, 2021 · 2h54 of broadcast

    • Jônata Tyska

      Machine Learning: como fazer uma máquina aprender?

    • Mércia Maguerroski

      Desenvolvimento Mobile: Híbrido X Nativo

    • Renato Mota

      Desenvolvimento de aplicativos: por onde começar?

    Watch day 03

Stills from the official Pixel Init broadcasts on the event YouTube channel.

Stage and community

  • Chapter Lead of The AI Collective Florianópolis, the first chapter in the South of Brazil.

  • Volunteer organizer at IxDA Florianópolis.

  • Staff at Floripa Design Days 2026.

Thiago with arms crossed in front of the Floripa Design Days 2026 backdrop
Floripa Design Days 2026 staff

Bio for promotion

Thiago Xikota is a Forward Deployed Product Designer specializing in AI. A researcher at Lemme (UFSC), he co-authored the study on Specification Literacy and structural convergence that received the Best Paper Award at AIMEDIA 2026 in Nice, France. He is the author of Design na era da IA, in production at Casa do Código, Chapter Lead of The AI Collective Florianópolis and founder of Xikota Design, a digital product design and build studio.

Download stage photoDownload speaker photoDownload the Best Paper Award certificate (PDF)