Attend DesignThinkers Vancouver for free

January 29, 2024

Student RGDs, Provisional RGDs and Junior Affiliates are invited to apply to win free attendance to DesignThinkers Vancouver. 10 scholarship packages are available, each including a free ticket and $500 cash to help cover the costs to attend.

To apply, submit a 30-second to 1-minute video expressing your enthusiasm for DesignThinkers Vancouver and why you want to attend.

Assessment

Applicants will be assessed on their creativity and passion. Priority will be given to Members who reside 100 km or more away from the location of the conference.

You must be a current Student RGD, Provisional RGD or Junior Affiliate Member to be eligible.

Deadline

11:59 pm PST on Monday, April 8, 2024

Thank you

These scholarships are generously provided by 123w, Becoming Design Office, OK DAVE, Pendo, PSDDB (digital), Pound & Grain, Resonance, Rethink, Roodenburg Design and Will.

Interested in supporting young designers? If you are interested in sponsoring a scholarship, email [email protected].

Whitman Emorson signs on as Design Partner for 2024

November 15, 2023

← News

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].

Over 2300 creatives came together in Toronto

November 14, 2023

← News

While Paula Scher, at 75, declared that she is not done yet, Chris Do provided practical tools to master your next sales pitch — on November 2–3 the creative industry came together for our DesignThinkers Conference to celebrate everything design.

Hugs were exchanged, ideas shared and connections made — in what was our highest attendance ever; the energy was electrifying.

With an option to choose from three streams of talks, attendees also had opportunities to join studio tours and hand-on workshops, engage in conversations with peers on pertinent topics at the roundtable discussions, participate in speed networking and much more.

The conference also had the option for live streaming for those who preferred to attend from their home or office. All attendees have access to presentation recordings until the end of January, after which time they will be made available to RGD Members. You can still register to get access to the recordings on Pheedloop.

Pre-conference programming featured Accessibility Workshops by Meggan Van Harten RGD and Davide Dorigo Provisional RGD from Design de Plume, guided tours to leading creative studios in Toronto and a ceremony celebrating of the winners of the 2023 Branding Awards.

Day 1 of the Conference began with keynotes by Chris Do and Forest Young and featured talks by speakers who included Emmi Salonen, Farai Madzima, Noel Cottrell, Rejane Dal Bello, Renato Fernandez, Dalit Shalom, Paul Trani, concluding with delegates’ favourite talk by Paula Scher. Day 1 closed with a Party at Bier Markt, where delegates and speakers connected over delicious hors d’oeuvres, drinks and conversations.

Day 2 was packed with as much inspiration as the first with keynotes by Tina Roth Eisenberg and Eleni Beveratou and talks by Lauren Scully & Brian Studak, Min Lew, Catalina Estrada, Zipeng Zhu, Jay Demetillo, Dorothéa Bozicolona-Volpe, Krys Blackwood, Hajj Flemings, ending the day with a Keynote by Stefan Sagmeister. The day also featured a panel discussion on collaborative design workflows and a Never Have I Ever session with Stefan Sagmeister, Min Lew, Forest Young, Eleni Beveratou and Tina Roth Eisenberg hosted by Julian Brown RGD.

Delegates and speakers were invited to share thoughts on social media using the hashtag #rgdDT.

Registration for DesignThinkers 2024 Vancouver taking place on May 28-29 will open in December. Stay tuned!

Thank you for our volunteer photographers Nadia Otake Provisional RGD & Eric Forest RGD for day 1 and day 2 of the conference

Thank you also to Industry Partners: Adobe, Acumen (signage), Flash, Mohawk, Forge Media + Design (website) Porter (travel) and Sid Lee (branding); to Gold Sponsors Cella, CtrlPrint, Deloitte, Domtar, Monotype, Moveable, Rightsleeve, The Futur, York University School of Continuing Studies and Silver & Bronze Sponsors AZURE, Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dalton Maag, Issues Magazine Shop, Mitchell Sandham, StickerYou, Swipe Design and WeirFoulds LLP.

Over 600 creatives come together in Vancouver

June 15, 2023

← News

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 Beveratou, Theresa Fitzgerald, Debbie Millman, Pum Lefebure, Liza Enebeis, Cey Adams, Alex Center, Thas Naseemuddeen and workshops by Laurie Rosenwald, Dominic Ayre RGD, Dominic Prevost, Tom Froese, Diana 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.

Watch/rent DesignThinkers presentations by women design luminaries

March 07, 2023

← News

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the RGD has curated a list of leading female creatives who have delivered inspiring presentations at DesignThinkers over the years.

RGD Members can view the presentations for free in the Members-only section of our website.

Non-members are welcome to rent the presentations of their choice for 30 days from the list below at US$7 per talk.

Purchase here.

Become a Member today to get free access to these and 750+ other presentations from our conference, events, webinars and more. View a list of all presentations available in the RGD video archive.

Ellen Lupton

DTVAN 2018: Design for Sensory Experience

Designers in today’s cross-disciplinary, multimedia world create objects, images and brands that activate all the senses and reach people in emotionally fulfilling ways. In this presentation, Ellen shares ideas and inspiration from her two latest projects, Design Is Storytelling and The Senses: Design Beyond Vision.

Non-members: Rent here

Jessica Bellamy

DTTO 2018: Infographics for Social Change

Learn how to tell visual data stories to inspire policy change and mobilize information at the grassroots level. In this presentation, Jessica explores principles of conscious and responsible design from real-world infographic projects. You will leave with actionable tips and tricks for working with strategies for being an effective and equitable data storyteller, building a mindful and sensitive lens for data evaluation, data framing and message building techniques and more.

Non-members: Rent here

Sarah Hyndman

DTVAN 2019: Type Tasting

Sarah has spent six years creating experiments that explore type and perception and taking her pop-up typography lab to events. Her experiments range from profiling typeface personalities to altering the taste of a jellybean with a font. In this presentation, she talks about her experiments, gives insights into the process and explains how some of her failed experiments have taught her the most.

Non-Members: Rent here

Tina Roth Eisenberg

DTTO 2019: The Unexpected Power of Side Projects

If you’ve ever wondered whether keeping up with a hobby or passion project pays off in the end, Tina’s experience is proof that it can. In this presentation, Tina shares an inspiring look at her creative journey, from turning her personal visual archive into a popular design journal to founding various businesses.

Non-Members: Rent here

Grace Hwang

DT Virtual 2020: Creating Connection: the Power of Design to Bring People Together

In the era of COVID-19 and at a time when isolation and loneliness are two of the biggest contributors to declining health, what can design do to upend this trend? In this presentation, Grace brings her experience and insight from designing for health and well-being and her journey into mixed reality to share the possibilities for design to grow our sense of togetherness.

Non-Members: Rent here

Tina Smith

DT Virtual 2020: Type Driven
Tina Smith often describes her work as type-driven: work that uses type as hero, clearly communicating the essence of a brand or story. But she’s also driven to do typographic work on her own. What does it mean to be type driven, both professionally and personally? Reviewing a range of type-focused projects, in this presentation Tina shows how passion for type and exploration in personal projects manifested in brand identity and editorial work.

Non-Members: Rent here

Lisa Congdon

DT Virtual 2021: How Engaging With the Personal Can Lead to More Aligned Client Work

Lisa’s career has been built on making and sharing work aligned with her personal interests and values and then attracting a client and project list that is tightly connected with those interests and values. In this presentation, Lisa shares her story, explains how personal work can lead to meaningful client projects and offers advice for making and sharing work that can lead to a purpose- and joy-filled career.

Non-Members: Rent here

Jennifer Taback RGD

DT Virtual 2021: Designers as Tools of Reconciliation: Design and research through an Indigenous Lens

As an Indigenous designer and strategist, Jennifer discusses the role designers can play in reconciliation by examining the information they gather, how it is presented and the importance of creating authentic, informed visuals. In this presentation, she explains how to create the bridges required to effectively work in both worlds and how to blend available teachings and tools to create projects that amplify Indigenous voices.

Non-Members: Rent here

Jolene Delisle

DTTO 2021: How to Transition from a Side Business to a Full-Scale Practice

Jolene worked full-time while beginning to build her creative agency, The Working Assembly,… and even grossed over 1M in revenue while still operating it as a side hustle. In this presentation, Jolene shares the highs and lows of taking a fun freelance practice and scaling it to a full-time funded business.

Non-Members: Rent here

Elana Rudick RGD

DTTO 2022: Defying Self Perceptions to Design a Career You Love

You’re here at DesignThinkers. Woah! Feelings of excitement and nervous energy swirl. You’re inspired and trying to soak it all in. Now what? Where do you go from here? How do you break down self-imposed roadblocks to find your path, make your mark and enjoy a sustainable career? In this presentation, drawing from her own journey, through personal stories and interactive exercises, Elana challenges you to discover the next step on your design journey.

Non-Members: Rent here

The RGD unveils branding for DesignThinkers 2023 by Sid Lee

January 12, 2023

← News

Our theme for the 2023 Conference is ‘Question Tomorrow’ because the state of design is in rapid flux and there are many unanswered questions about its future.

- Michael Mavian Creative Director at Sid Lee

The theme and Sid Lee‘s design process to develop the identity for the DesignThinkers 2023 Conference speaks to the evolution of design with a playful sense of optimistic uncertainty.

“Our theme for the 2023 Conference is ‘Question Tomorrow’ because the state of design is in rapid flux and there are many unanswered questions about its future,” explains Michael Mavian, Creative Director at Sid Lee. “Our goal with the visual identity was to take a pluralistic point of view that referenced a variety of different design processes, tools, technologies and styles. We challenged ourselves to utilize an eclectic set of open-source materials, speaking to accessibility and the ever-increasing democratization of design tools at our disposal.”

DesignThinkers 2023 Branding – Graphic Elements

“Using a combination of open-source assets pushed us to really rethink our usual approach to creative projects and the ways we can bring our ideas to life. As we develop different applications, it’s interesting to see the many new questions and conversations our team continues to have through the process,” shares Michael.

The Sid Lee team’s favourite design detail is the liquid metal question mark. It’s the cornerstone of the DesignThinkers 2023 identity. Aside from looking really cool, it represents the ever-morphing landscape of design and the undefined formlessness of the future.

In addition to showcasing the design possibilities of open-source software and tools, through this theme and identity, the team at Sid Lee hopes to provoke questions and create rich conversations around the role of design in the future. They want participants to really think about design and the ways they can contribute to the field innovatively.

Question Tomorrow Animation

DesignThinkers offers amazing opportunities to apply the identity to a wide range of applications. We’re really excited about all the ways the visual system will show up and seeing the design elements in both static and in-motion forms, in digital and physical formats. As we continue to develop the work, we’re looking forward to adapting some of our learnings into future client work,” concludes Michael.

In its 24th year, DesignThinkers, Canada’s largest graphic design conference brings together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity, the design process and the future of design and design thinking. The Conference takes place in Vancouver from May 30-31 and in Toronto from November 2-3.

Registration for DesignThinkers 2023 Vancouver is now open!

December 13, 2022

← News

With the theme ‘Question Tomorrow’, our first DesignThinkers of 2023 takes place at the Vancouver Playhouse on May 30–31.

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 us all with endless questions about the future. Progress is only ever threatening those afraid to ask the right questions and embrace more than one answer. Join us for DesignThinkers 2023 in Vancouver to Question Tomorrow, and prepare for an ever-changing future.

The RGD’s 24th annual DesignThinkers Conference will be an in-person event, with an option to attend virtually through the event platform Pheedloop where you can watch live-streamed sessions and connect with other online attendees.

Confirmed speakers include:

Cey Adams, co-founder of Def Jam Records‘ in-house design dept
Alex Center, Founder at CENTER
Theresa Fitzgerald, VP Brand Creative at Sesame Workshop
Tom Froese, Illustrator, Teacher, Speaker & Writer
Tom Hingston, Creative Director & Founder, Hingston Studio
Debbie Millman, Host of Design Matters
Thas Naseemudeen, Chief Executive Officer at Omelet
Ola Volo, Mural Artist & Illustrator

In addition to informative and inspiring presentations, the conference also offers opportunities to connect and share knowledge with fellow delegates at themed roundtable discussions, network at the delegate party and in our marketplace. And new this year, a series of optional, hands-on, interactive workshops to re-invigorate your creativity and learn new skills.

Thinking about getting RGD Certified? Successfully complete RGD’s Certification Process by April 28, 2023 to receive a free pass to DesignThinkers Vancouver.

Sponsors:
Forge Media + Design, Web Development Partner
Sid Lee, Brand & Design Partner
Spicers, Paper Partner

To find out about becoming a DesignThinkers Sponsor, email [email protected].

Insights from DesignThinkers 2022 in Toronto

November 09, 2022

← News

All the ephemera of life, that we tend to ignore, is what graphic designers in film have to bring to life in order to help tell the story. Our job is to support the narrative with strong visuals so that you, as an audience, can 100% believe what you are seeing at any moment in the film.

- Miraphora Lima Co-Founder of Studio MinaLima

Below we share some takeaways from presentations and discussions over the two days of the RGD’s DesignThinkers Conference, held in Toronto on October 27–28, 2022.

Check out more on social media using the hashtag #rgdDT.

“Don’t be afraid to show up for yourself. Don’t be afraid to listen and celebrate that unique voice of yours. To speak with authority based on your own lived experiences and your own stories. But more than that, don’t be afraid to draw boundaries, slow down and recharge, because some of us are too busy speaking up for others that we forget to speak up for ourselves.” — Mel Sutjiadi RGD, Founder of ARToverMATTER

“There was this expectation that if you’re a young designer, you should challenge conventions but for me it was much more nuanced than just following a rule or breaking a rule. I had classmates that operated on each end of that spectrum and I felt like I operated in the middle and you could call that an inflection point — the moment in which you changed the direction.” — Eric Hu, Independent Creative Director & Typographer

“Whether it’s a song that becomes your anthem or power posing or breathing exercises — whatever it is, it’s great to find tools that work for you and help you out in situations that may otherwise make you feel like you’re out of control.” — Elana Rudick RGD, Founder & Creative Director of Design Is Yummy

“As designers, everything we produce, even the most sustainable products, have a negative impact on the planet, so the best thing to do is to reuse stuff especially in the world of food and beverage — reuse packaging and create strategies to encourage customers to do so.” — Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer & Senior VP at PepsiCo.

“Personal projects are a way for me to connect with myself. To understand how I tackle the creative process and all that happens in my mind when I’m doing or navigating all those ups and downs of a project” — Paloma Rincón Rodriguez, Visual Artist

“Social media profits are an alternative form of capitalism called surveillance capitalism. They have found a loophole where you don’t have to pay to use an app but you pay with your attention, time and data. And within the existing economic system, companies cannot do the right thing because they would lose enormous amounts of money. This is a change that will take years to take effect. But until we have policies and regulations that help technology work for us, we, as creators and people building the technology, can have an effect. We have to fix this at the root of the problem.” — Bethany Sonefeld, Design Manager, Duo Security

“Often when you’re working across different teams, the languages that folks use are different but everyone is saying the same thing. And so you can have brand designers in a room with developers and they’re saying the same thing but not understanding each other. I call this “Talking in Time Horizons”. A designer would talk to an engineer and the engineer would talk to a product manager. And they’re all right. It’s just a different Time Horizons. A designer might have an idea but that idea is a six-month down the road idea — a big idea. The engineers are talking about an idea for tomorrow. And they’re both right. It’s just the Time Horizon that is different.” — Gene Lee, Vice President at Autodesk

Over 1600 creatives came together for the DesignThinkers Conference in Toronto

November 03, 2022

← News

While Laurie Rosenwald held a “top secret” workshop on analog lettering, some speakers spilled the beans in the Never Have I Ever session — on October 27 and 28 creatives from across Canada attended the 23rd annual DesignThinkers Conference at the Meridian Hall in Toronto.

In addition to having the option to choose from four different streams of talks and workshops and engaging in honest conversations about the ever-changing world of visual communication, this year’s delegates were clearly thrilled to meet and connect with their peers in person after three years. The conference also had an option for online live screening for those who preferred to attend from their home or office.

All delegates have access to presentation recordings on the event platform, Pheedloop until the end of January, after which time they will be made available to all RGD Members in the Members-only section of the RGD website. You can still register here to get access to the recordings on Pheedloop.

As a precursor to the conference, on October 26, three guided tours to top creative studios in Toronto were held featuring King Ursa, Context Creative, Nurun, lg2, Jackman, Sid Lee, Vanderbrand, BLVD and Sovereign State.

DesignThinkers 2022 Day 1 Images

Day 1 of the Conference featured talks from Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, Eric Hu, Sara Wachter-Boettcher, Paloma Rincón Rodriguez, Kevin Hawkins, Elana Rudick RGD, Maurice Cherry and Mauro Procini, among others. Speakers discussed topics that included accessible design, creative AI, human side of innovation, telling stories through design, defying self perception and more. The day also featured panel discussions on building in-house team and in-house client management and workshops by Laurie Rosenwald on lettering and Robert Smith RGD on SWOT.

Day 1 finished with a Delegate Party at Bier Markt, where delegates and speakers were able to connect over some delicious hors d’oeuvres and drinks and have much-needed in-person conversations.

DesignThinkers Toronto photos

Day 2 was packed with just as much defiance and creativity. Morag Myerscough, Alex Center, Matteo Bologna, Teresa Moses, Gene Lee, Samuel Proulx, Christine Caruso and Lionel Gadoury RGD and many more took the stage to discuss topics such as embracing change, design with an abolitionist mindset, creative confidence, breaking free from familiar, defying boring and more. The day also featured a Never Have I Ever session with Matteo Bologna, Morag Myerscough, Jolene Delisle & Alex Center hosted by Julian Brown RGD and workshops on lettering by Ying Chang and improv for designers by Diana Varma RGD.

In addition to the regular conference sessions, delegates had the opportunity to get their books signed by MinaLima, Mauro Procini, Laurie Rosenwald, Sara Wachter-Boettcher, Silas Munro, Robert Smith RGD, connect with peers during breakfast and lunch at roundtable discussions and to see, feel, sample, test and consider the latest products and service offerings available to our industry in the Designer Marketplace. Dominic Ayre RGD also held a lunchtime typography workshop which was packed with attendees on both days.

Delegates and speakers were invited to share thoughts about the DesignThinkers Conference on social media using the hashtag #rgdDT.

Thank you for our volunteer photographers Andrew Terwissen RGD for day 1 and Maninder Singh RGD for day 2 of the conference.

The DesignThinkers 2022 website is now live

March 16, 2022

← News

We hope we've created such a seamless website experience that users won't even notice how simple their interactions on the website are while still easily discovering the speakers and sessions, finding information that helps them plan for the event and learning more about the RGD in general.

- David Han Director, Design Experience, Nurun

The RGD is pleased to launch our DesignThinkers 2022 website designed and developed in collaboration with DDB Canada and Nurun.

“We were excited to be involved with this year’s DesignThinkers for many reasons, the first of those being our deep respect for the RGD as one of Canada’s preeminent design organizations. 2022 is yet another year of new norms for all of us and we wanted to build a website that would drive conference engagement and ultimately help to bolster the RGD’s mission to raise the bar for the design profession as a whole,” offers David Han, Director, Design Experience, Nurun.

The branding by DDB Canada was the starting point to guide Nurun’s website development process. It was crucial that the Nurun team effectively translate the vision of the conference branding into the online experience in terms of design as well as messaging. They used an iterative design process beginning with insights into user needs and stakeholder vision, continuing to concept development, refining along the way until an optimized version was produced.

While the process was in line with a typical digital development lifecycle, the team had some learning opportunities in the form of feasibility assessments. From time to time, a planned feature would end up requiring more time invested than originally scoped. In those situations when they needed to re-evaluate and decide whether to deprioritize other less essential items or rethink the feature entirely, the iterative process worked flawlessly.

The theme for the 2022 conference, conceptualized and designed by DDB, is Defy.

“We love the boldness of the website and the elements of surprise and delight added by the animations. The theme and the branding gave us a lot of room for creativity. We have incorporated unexpected elements across the website to really embrace the ‘Defy’ personality. The use of iconography sprinkled throughout is one of our favourite touches,” explains Cassandra Bader, Client Partner, Nurun.

“We hope we’ve created such a seamless website experience that users won’t even notice how simple their interactions on the website are while still easily discovering the speakers and sessions, finding information that helps them plan for the event and learning more about the RGD in general. Ultimately, we hope that the website entices new attendees to sign up for the conference and benefit from all that DesignThinkers has to offer,” says David.

DesignThinkers is a two-day conference with presentations, conversations and social activities featuring visionaries on a range of topics including exploring branding, design process and design trends.

DesignThinkers 2022 takes place in person at the Vancouver Playhouse in Vancouver May 31 to June 1 and at Meridian Hall in Toronto on October 27 and 28. For other, there is also an option to participate virtually via streamed presentations, virtual networking sessions and other interactions taking place on our online platform.

Registration for Vancouver is now open. Super-advanced early bird rates end April 1. (Registration for Toronto will open in May.)

Attend DesignThinkers Vancouver for free

Assessment

Deadline

Thank you

Whitman Emorson signs on as Design Partner for 2024

Over 2300 creatives came together in Toronto

Over 600 creatives come together in Vancouver

Watch/rent DesignThinkers presentations by women design luminaries

DTVAN 2018: Design for Sensory Experience

DTTO 2018: Infographics for Social Change

DTVAN 2019: Type Tasting

DT Virtual 2020: Creating Connection: the Power of Design to Bring People Together

DT Virtual 2021: How Engaging With the Personal Can Lead to More Aligned Client Work

DT Virtual 2021: Designers as Tools of Reconciliation: Design and research through an Indigenous Lens

DTTO 2021: How to Transition from a Side Business to a Full-Scale Practice

DTTO 2022: Defying Self Perceptions to Design a Career You Love

The RGD unveils branding for DesignThinkers 2023 by Sid Lee

Our theme for the 2023 Conference is ‘Question Tomorrow’ because the state of design is in rapid flux and there are many unanswered questions about its future.

Registration for DesignThinkers 2023 Vancouver is now open!

Insights from DesignThinkers 2022 in Toronto

All the ephemera of life, that we tend to ignore, is what graphic designers in film have to bring to life in order to help tell the story. Our job is to support the narrative with strong visuals so that you, as an audience, can 100% believe what you are seeing at any moment in the film.

Over 1600 creatives came together for the DesignThinkers Conference in Toronto

The DesignThinkers 2022 website is now live

We hope we've created such a seamless website experience that users won't even notice how simple their interactions on the website are while still easily discovering the speakers and sessions, finding information that helps them plan for the event and learning more about the RGD in general.

DesignThinkers Newsletter