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Whitman Emorson signs on as Design Partner for 2024

  • News
  • Toronto
  • Vancouver

Joining the roster of esteemed firms who have developed branding for the DesignThinkers conferences, Whitman Emorson shares their design process, challenges, inspiration and more for the 2024 branding.

In its 25th year, the 2024 Conferences take place in-person with an option for online streaming in Vancouver on May 28-29 (registration opens Dec 2023) and in Toronto on Nov 7-8 (registration opens May 2024).

Why did you and your team want to take on the 2024 DesignThinkers branding as a project?
We took on the 2024 DesignThinkers branding project because of its significant impact on both the Canadian design community and our personal growth as individuals over the years. We are so lucky to have access to this kind of event so close to home and seeing all the studios who have contributed in the past is inspiring. Creating the conference identity also allows folks to get to know us at Whitman Emorson, our exceptionally talented team, our design philosophy and, of course, engage with the identity we’ve created! Plus, what a cool brief. It’s been freeing to step out of the parameters of our day-to-day and shake up our process to establish the visual identity for 2024.

What has been the most challenging aspect of coming up with the design/concept?
The most challenging part of this project/process has also been the most exciting! It’s a fairly open brief with fewer parameters than we’re used to (in this industry). Instinctually, as designers, we often thrive with structure, guardrails and restrictions. “Freedom within a framework” allows for play while being tethered — to explore, but not too far, to play, but within the sandbox. With the brief for 2024 DesignThinkers, we were challenged by the freedom of possibility and the endless ideas that come with it. Allowing ourselves to lean into a feeling of “anything is possible” was equally challenging as it was exciting.

We were also challenged knowing this visual identity would be viewed by our peers, both locally and internationally. Its reach and scale inspired us to create something that would resonate with the design community and the broader creative community, leading us to question: What is universally true? What will inspire and excite? What will be differentiated and how can we push our ideas/thinking/execution, all while having fun?

What is the source of inspiration for the concept? What research did you undertake?
Our source of inspiration for the concept stemmed from something that felt relevant to the design industry at large — the notion that embarking on any creative project can be initially daunting and overwhelming, often with uncertainty about where to begin, but ultimately, it is a fruitful and fulfilling journey.

Drawing from a range of influences, including surrealism, collages, graphic design tools and devices such as optical illusions, animation and textured layers, we were inspired by being immersed in the creative process ourselves. Our approach involved extensive visual research, employing tools like brainstorms, mind maps and mood boards. Ultimately, we aimed for the concept to capture and celebrate the dreamlike, unpredictable nature of the creative process, inviting attendees to enter into a world of endless discovery.

What has been your team’s design process to tackle this project?
We used this brief as an opportunity to shake things up and explore a new approach — nothing revolutionary but definitely different from our day-to-day. We briefed everyone on our team, including accounts, strategy and interns and conducted a studio-wide brainstorm. The session was inclusive and varied, yielding a wide range of themes and ideas! Designers were then paired up in teams, where each was responsible for coming up with creative directions and visual executions centred on a core idea or theme. We did quite a bit of research and narrowed in on three directions, two of which were shared with the RGD Design Committee. We were closely involved in the decision-making process and ultimately decided on, in our very humble opinion, an identity that we believe (and hope!) will resonate with attendees and speakers alike.

To learn more about sponsoring DesignThinkers, email Michelle Pereira Hampton, RGD’s Director of Communications & Development, at [email protected].

If you would like to submit a proposal to speak at the event, apply here.

General conference inquiries can be sent to Abdul Omar, RGD’s Programs Manager, at [email protected].

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Over 600 creatives come together in Vancouver

  • News
  • Vancouver

The attendees learned something new about themselves at the workshops, took inspiration from the stories of the speakers and indulged in some retail therapy at the designer marketplace — there was something for everyone on May 30–31 at the 24th annual DesignThinkers Conference in Vancouver. See conference highlights below.

The conference featured talks by Eleni BeveratouTheresa FitzgeraldDebbie MillmanPum LefebureLiza EnebeisCey AdamsAlex CenterThas Naseemuddeen and workshops by Laurie RosenwaldDominic Ayre RGDDominic PrevostTom FroeseDiana Varma RGD and Mustaali Raj.

Over the two days, attendees participated in roundtable discussions, a campus tour, book signings, sampled offerings from industry suppliers and artisans. Everyone also had an opportunity to engage with each other at a delegate party.

Below we share some takeaways from the presentations: 

“If you get an opportunity to work with someone you love and to do things you love, appreciate it in that moment. I say this because we’re all creatives — we’re difficult to deal with sometimes, we deal with people who are difficult to deal with sometimes — so to all the young ones, be in the moment. Because there is no such thing as the future. Now is the future. Enjoy it.” — Cey Adams, Visual Artist

“We are always looking to be perfect. But for me, the word ‘perfect’ is killing because it means it is almost the end of a project. What I love the most is doubt and I work with doubt all the time. It means that you’re not settled and you want to discover more. Opening up that door is very important for design. Not perfection.” Liza Enebeis, Creative Director & Partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®

“We live in uncertain times and it is hard to know what matters. We do have questions about tomorrow. To me, character matters. Every day we can make choices that allow us to shift and grow our awareness, to take better care of ourselves so that we can take better care of each other, growing resilience to adapt to whatever the changes bring is really important. Character matters and it is something you do even if no one is there.” — Theresa Fitzgerald, Ex-Vice President Brand Creative, Sesame Workshop

“When we talk about accessibility [in typography] there are three things to consider. First is legibility, which how fast we recognize a ‘c’ to an ‘o’ or an ‘e’ to an ‘a’. The second is readability — the typesetting, how lengthy the paragraph is, what are the colour combinations between text and background, etc. And lastly likeability, this cannot be measured but as humans we like different things and what we like does define accessibility.” — Eleni Beveratou, Creative Director, Dalton Maag

“Strict regulations can be a designer’s best friend. As designers, we thrive when we are given boundaries and limitations, otherwise we’d be artists. I have always thought of designers as artists who solve problems.” — Matt Webb, Senior Brand Manager (Craft), BZAM Cannabis

“I always tech my team to be a keen observer of emotions. Noticing emotions makes you a better designer. Seeing is one thing, but feeling gives you much deeper connection with the audience.” — Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Design Army

“Bringing form to feeling is about creating something tangible from a set of emotions or abstract ideas. In some instances, that tangible form and visual expression has the ability to transcend conventional language to form a deeper sense of connection with the viewer.” — Tom Hingston, Creative Director & Founder, Hingston Studio

Registration for DesignThinkers Toronto on November 2–3 (in-person and streaming) is now open. 

Register now!

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Catching up with our event photographer, Connie Tsang

  • News
  • Vancouver

Connie is a Vancouver-based photographer with 10+ years of experience as a full-time freelancer, specializing in events and photojournalism. Connie’s been the person behind the lens for many of our DesignThinkers conferences in Toronto. We caught up with her before she joins us for the first time in Vancouver.

What do you like most about event photography?

It keeps me on my toes, that’s for sure, so there’s rarely a dull moment. Being launched into new situations, where I can be a fly on the wall with groups of people leading me in various directions is really exciting. Most of all, I love natural interactions, and being able to step back and tell the story of a day is a really fun job.

What are your top three must-have items when you’re out on a shoot?

A lens cloth, lip balm, and a running mental map of where the closest water stations/washrooms are.

You’ve photographed DesignThinkers for a number of years (thank you!). What are you looking forward to about DesignThinkers Vancouver?

I’m so happy to be a part of the event again. This will be my first one in Vancouver, so I’m eager to experience the vibe over here! Over the years, I’ve seen some great speakers and met interesting attendees, so if it’s anything similar, I know I’ll have this to look forward to!

See more of Connie’s work on her website and Instagram.

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List: Vancouver workshop topics & schedule

  • News
  • Vancouver

Enhance your learning with hands-on workshops.

Click each workshop for the full description.

May 30

How to Make Mistakes on Purpose with Laurie Rosenwald

Mmm… Typography, I Love You with Dominic Ayre RGD

Drawing Is Important: Kickstart Your Daily Drawing Habit with Tom Froese

Presentation Primer Workshop with Dominic Prevost

May 31

How to Make Mistakes on Purpose with Laurie Rosenwald

Mmm… Typography, I Love You with Dominic Ayre RGD

Reconnecting Historic Narratives through Symbols with Mustaali Raj

Improv for Designers with Diana Varma RGD

Sign up for workshops when you register for the conference. If you’re already registered for the event, email info @ rgd.ca to find out how to sign up.

Pricing: $10–$20 CAD

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List: Vancouver roundtable topics & schedule

  • News
  • Vancouver

Connect with fellow attendees and discuss design and career-related topics.

May 30, 8:15 to 9:15 a.m.

1. Speaking the same language: Building brilliant working partnerships in cross-disciplinary teams
2. Passion projects: Making work for fun, because it’s fun to do
3. Challenges of working in a non-creative environment

4. The business of design: Aligning design practices with business mindsets

May 30, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

1. Building stronger design processes
2. The business of design: Aligning design practices with business mindsets
3. Overcoming creative burnout
4. Who isn’t at the table? Designing for diversity, equity & inclusion
5. Tell a stronger story: Strategies for effective communication and presentations

May 31, 8:15 to 9:15 a.m.

1. “Don’t you just make things pretty?”: Turning clients into design advocates
2. Me, myself and I: Succeeding as a solo practitioner
3. Good design is for everybody: Sharing accessibility tools, resources and processes
4. Work smarter, not harder: Strategies for creating great work, efficiently
5. The gentle art of feedback: How to give it and get it

May 31, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

1. Overcoming creative burnout
2. The power of failure: How setbacks have moved you forward
3. Futuristic fantasy to practical reality: Leveraging AI tools in the design process
4. Improving your leadership skills
5. The gentle art of feedback: How to give it and get it
6. Beautiful, creative + accessible: Strategies for accessible design

Sign up for roundtables when you register for the conference. If you’re already registered for the event, email info @ rgd.ca to find out how to sign up.

Pricing: $10 CAD

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20 questions with DesignThinkers speaker Alex Center

  • News
  • Vancouver

You’re going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Everyone’s story is unique.

- Alex Center

In this rapid-fire interview, RGD President Nicola Hamilton sits down with Alex Center to ask him 20 questions about design, working in the industry and everything in between. See more from Alex when he presents at DesignThinkers Vancouver this May 30–31.

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Dominic Prevost talks presenting with confidence while staying true to yourself

  • News
  • Vancouver

“Presenting is an acquired skill, and the only time most creatives get to practice it is in front of a client when the stakes are the highest.”

 

Group Creative Director and design educator Dominic Prevost has created award-winning, fully-integrated campaigns for some of the world’s most notable brands. In advance of his workshop at DesignThinkers Vancouver, we asked him a few questions about delivering presentations, why we fear it so much and the lesson he learned from one of the most memorable pitches of his career.

 

You’re delivering a workshop at the conference called, “Presentation Primer.” Without giving too much away, what can participants expect to learn in your session? 

I’m so excited to give this workshop, I wish I had the whole day to do it. Participants can expect a fast-paced, hands-on session where we’ll go through four unique exercises meant to level up their presentation skills while also staying true to themselves (meaning no one’s going to walk away from my workshop thinking they need to sound like a corporate robot to succeed).

Why do you find creative professionals often struggle with selling, or presenting, their ideas and expertise?  

In Design School, I’d spend hours labouring over kerning and sleepless nights photoshopping my comps within an inch of their lives, because that’s what my instructors cared about. Very little attention (or guidance) was given to the art of the presentation, setting up the insights, outlining the process and doubling down on why your creative solution is the right one for the client.

Not only that, but the creative process itself is very intimate. You’ll either work by yourself or with a small team of like-minded individuals until the idea is ready to be presented to the client. But when presentation time comes, simply describing what’s on the slide just won’t cut it.

Presenting – just like kerning, or copywriting, or Bezier-curving, or front-end developing, or retouching or concepting – is an acquired skill… and the only time most creatives get to practice it is in front of a client when the stakes are the highest! No wonder creatives feel like they’re not good at it. You have to work the muscle, starting with a different mindset.

As someone who’s worked on numerous award-winning projects for high-profile clients, is there a pitch you’ve executed that you’re particularly proud of? What made it special or memorable? 

My most memorable pitches always begin with a team of amazing people who are all committed to creating work we can be proud of, whether we win it or not. One such pitch was over a decade ago during my time at Sid Lee where we were pitching for the Diesel global account.

The process was intense and relentless. Multiple creative teams from both the Paris and Montreal offices came together to create a massive campaign that was funny, weird and forward-thinking (in an Instagram before Instagram kind of way).  We made it to the final round, gave it everything we had… and then months later, Anomaly released Diesel’s iconic ‘Be Stupid’ campaign, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes. So yeah, we may have lost the pitch, but we lost it to the best creative of the year.

I still look at the pitch deck from time to time because it was completely wild, because we almost pulled it off, and also because it brings back fond memories of late nights brainstorming with colleagues who are still dear friends more than a decade later.

You’ve worked in-house and in agencies all over the world. What do you love most about the creative industry in Vancouver?

I love Vancouver. It’s a super interesting city full of momentum and creative opportunities (cool tech startups, lifestyle companies, creative shops with global aspirations) with the same West Coast creative vibe as LA or SF, without the pretenses and a lot more bike lanes. 

What are you most looking forward to about coming to DesignThinkers Vancouver? 

I’m itching to connect with old friends and colleagues as well as meeting new like-minded creatives and leaders. I’m looking forward to being challenged, inspired and going “ooooohhhh” and “ahhhhhhhh.”

 

Dominic’s workshop takes place on May 30 at 3:15 p.m. Pre-register for this workshop when you register for the conference.

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Eight DesignThinkers Vancouver scholarships awarded to emerging designers

  • News
  • Vancouver

With the support of our sponsors, the RGD is awarding eight scholarships to emerging designers to attend DesignThinkers Vancouver this May 30–31.

Student RGDs, Junior Affiliates and Provisional RGDs were invited to submit their social good work for an opportunity to win a scholarship to the conference

Sponsors 123w, Hangar 18, Pendo, Pound & Grain, PS&Co, Rethink, Roodenburg Design and Will Creative each provided $500 for each winner to use to cover their costs to attend.

Below, we share their winning work. Click on each project to learn more about it.

Bella Sanchez Student RGD (awarded by Rethink)

Cali Martin Student RGD (awarded by Roodenburg Design)

Christina Tran Student RGD (awarded by PS&Co)

Ellie Kim Student RGD (awarded by Pendo)

Grace Abbey Provisional RGD (awarded by Pound & Grain)

Matteo Ferralasco Student RGD (awarded by 123w)

Melissa (Nhung) Pham Student RGD (awarded by Hangar 18)

Yas Fakhr Provisional RGD (awarded by Will Creative)

heyRGD project

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Design Educators Conference is coming to Vancouver on June 1

  • News
  • Vancouver

Design educators and researchers are invited to attend the Design Educators Conference at Capilano University on June 1.

Organized in collaboration with Capilano University, the 2023 conference theme is Question Tomorrow.

Whether it’s the democratization of tools, constantly-evolving technologies, A.I.-generated content or the uncompromising vision of a new world by younger generations – the world of design is in rapid flux. This leaves design educators challenged to prepare students for a future full of uncertainty.

This year’s Design Educator Conference will that address the future of design education. How can we create authentic, vibrant learning experiences for design students? How do we develop the skills they may need in the future? What can we embed into the curriculum to best prepare students?

Combined tickets are available if you’re interested in coming to both DesignThinkers Vancouver and the Educators Conference.

Registration is now open.

 

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What’s new for DesignThinkers 2023 in Vancouver

  • News
  • Vancouver

Roundtables

Engage in conversations, learn and grow through the experience of your peers during morning and lunch roundtable discussions on May 30 & 31. Sign-up when you register for the conference. Topics include:

  • Building stronger design processes
  • Overcoming creative burnout
  • Who isn’t at the table? Designing for diversity, equity & inclusion
  • The business of design: Aligning design practices with business mindsets
  • Champagne taste on a beer budget: Doing more with less
  • “Don’t you just make things pretty?”: Turning clients into design advocates
  • Imposter syndrome who? Gaining confidence in your skills and abilities
  • Me, myself and I: Succeeding as a solo practitioner
  • The gentle art of feedback: How to give it and get it
  • The power of failure: How setbacks have moved you forward

Marketplace and pop-up stores
Delegates can connect with exhibitors and see, feel, sample, test and consider the latest products and service offerings available to our industry in the Designer Marketplace. We will also be hosting a bunch of Canadian vendors and pop-up stores selling paper products, typographic goods, home products, ceramics, textiles and more.

Toronto-based Issues magazine shop that carries hard-to-find, independent magazines from around the world will also have a booth at the Designer Marketplace.

Local vendors interested in selling their products can email [email protected] to find out more.

Northeastern University Campus Tour & Lunch
Interested in learning more about how Northeastern University’s graduate programs can help you take the next step in your career? Their MS in Information Design and Data Visualization will strengthen your STEM skills and help you become a skilled collaborator in a dynamic and evolving interdisciplinary field. Sign-up for lunch and a campus tour (a short walk from the conference venue), taking place on May 31 (12-1 pm) while registering for the conference to take in the view of the Vancouver skyline and mountains and chat with their team.

Love a scavenger hunt? Let us know if you’d like to be to a part of one while registering for the conference! You are also welcome to attend the delegate party on May 30 at The Portside Pub for food, drink and conversations. Guest tickets are available for purchase.

View the full list of presentations and workshops here.

Design Educators Conference (Post-conference)
The 2023 conference will take place on June 1 at Capilano University. This year’s conference will that address the future of design education. How can we create authentic, vibrant learning experiences for design students? How do we develop the skills they may need in the future? What can we embed into the curriculum to best prepare students? Confirmed speakers include Debbie Millman and Marian Bantjes.

To get notified when registration opens, click here.

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