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

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.

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.

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.

Victor Szeto RGD, Creative Director at Green Living Enterprises, first attended DesignThinkers 16 years ago. With many conferences under his belt, Victor shares about his favourite talks over the years and what you should keep in mind if you’re attending your first conference.

You’ve been attending DesignThinkers for 16 years now! Where were you in your career when you first started attending?

I want to say that my first DesignThinkers would’ve been while attending design school at York/Sheridan, but I still have my old notebooks and it only dates back to 2006. I know I skipped a year or two attending, so maybe I was still in school or shortly after I graduated? In any case, it was fun to look back at all the themes throughout the years and all the effort into changing it up every time.

The design industry and the profession has changed a lot in the last decade and a half. How have you seen these changes reflected over the years at the conference?

The most noticeable difference for me is the range of micro-design disciplines the industry entails. Some of them are technically/software-based, but the ones I follow most are changes in the impact that design has on social change, behaviour and the planet. Given how politics have also gone bonkers over the last decade, I’ve noticed how design and politics have been intertwined more than ever. Going to design school, it never occurred to me how design could be a form of activism, but I see how it gets weaved in more and more over the years and I think it’s important that we recognize the significance of the work we do.

Do you have a favourite memory/speaker/session from DesignThinkers?

My favourite occurrences are when I have no preconceived notions of the speaker or session, and I leave feeling inspired and activated. A few that stood out for me in no particular order:

• Nancy Duarte from 2008 (changed my opinion about Powerpoint!)
• Jake and Pum Lefebure of Design Army from 2012
• Andrew Zolty of BREAKFAST from 2014
• Albert Shum of Microsoft from 2016
• Jessica Bellamy of GRIDS from 2018
• The various sessions where I got to introduce and/or interact with the speakers between 2019-2021

What keeps you coming back year after year?

It’s too easy to live and work in your bubble, whether you’re conscious of it or not. DesignThinkers is a tangible way to break out of it. For me, it’s like a forced break from the daily work grind without it counting towards vacation days, I’m listening to industry experts who I may not have otherwise met or heard of, and I get to geek out on specific topics with my people that I don’t typically get to geek out on in the office! The other big reason I keep coming back is to be inspired by speakers who are passionate about their projects and how it affects and shapes the world we’re living in.

What would you say to someone considering attending for the first time?

It’s easy and understandable to become overwhelmed by the volume of choices and sessions. Doing a little background research on the topics and speakers will help make decisions easier, but also go with an open mind and a have-fun attitude. Some of the best sessions I’ve been to were completely random selections where I had no expectations at all.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s conference?

The last two years were a wonder in accessibility as everything went virtual, the content was spread out over two weeks and geography wasn’t a barrier. This time, I’m looking forward to concentrating all of that back to two days, and connecting with the people who I was only able to see on screen in real life!

John Baljkas (top left) is a Professor at Conestoga College. For years, John has attended DesignThinkers Toronto with his students. Below, John shares about why he finds the conference so valuable for himself as an educator and the emerging designers he teaches.

You’ve been attending DesignThinkers for over 10 years! Where were you in your career when you first started attending? 

I attended DesignThinkers for the first time when working in design studios in Toronto. At the time, I was two years into my career and was inspired and motivated to learn more about design practices, and specific speakers, their work and have new perspectives and approaches for my own design practice. There were gap years in attending the conference, but for the past 10+ years as a full-time faculty member, the value of DesignThinkers for myself and students is invaluable for defining future careers.   

How do you find DesignThinkers inspires or informs your work as an educator?

The presenters at DesignThinkers often show a balance of design skills and empathy in their projects. As an educator, this is inspiring and informs and expands our collective understanding of design practices in relation to other disciplines and communities. I’ve seen many talks that discuss design in relation to creative goals, business, accessibility, sustainability, cultural artifacts, social justice and technology. The curation of speakers from different parts of the design community offers different perspectives on the roles designers have in businesses, communities, and education.

Do you have a favourite memory/speaker/session from DesignThinkers?

I’ve had a lot of ‘aha’ moments over the past decade. For me, the great part of the conference is the ability to see a speaker’s talk and then talk to them after their presentation or contact them after the conference. It’s also a great time to meet up with former colleagues!

What keeps you coming back year after year?

I keep coming back to DesignThinkers for the speakers and sense of community built by the conference. There’s such a great energy in the theatre during the in-person/live talks. Personally, I enjoy hearing peoples’ perspectives on design and seeing their work.

What would you say to another design educator considering attending for the first time?

As design practices are continually changing, DesignThinkers and associated events are extremely relevant to maintaining a current [and up-to-date] curriculum. Students attending the conference, studio tours and social events get excited about the design field, their work, and inspired to pursue new paths in design they may not have considered before.

If you could sum up the experience of attending DesignThinkers in one word, what would it be?

Relevant.

Lauralee Sheehan is a design thinker and digital addict, but above all, an artist. In advance of her session at DesignThinkers Toronto, we asked her a few questions about her talk, switching careers and how you can stay grounded when the rate of change in the industry gets overwhelming.

You worked in the music industry for a number of years before moving into design. What prompted the switch?

I was realizing that experience design was something we were doing in the band. Digital and design were becoming a huge part of band life in 2015ish (digital posters, vid’s, web assets, social media, etc) and that opened up a lot of doors. Coming from an extremely creative and wild industry like music, I had an edge in how I thought about digital experience design and the concepting that goes along with it. AND … I needed a break from music. Sometimes you have to break up with your passion to rediscover and reimagine it for yourself.

Your talk is titled, “Design and Create Like an Indie Band, Circa 2008.” Without giving too much away, what can attendees expect from your talk?

Around 2012, the music industry was drastically changing with major digital disruptions. It maybe started with Napster back in the day and then MySpace, etc. I think musicians had to think about their art in a whole new way, and that meant from process to format to sustainability to intent. The digital and design space seems to be going through something similar now, with online content and consumption blowing up, as well as the impact of design communication. There are a lot of lessons to think about when being on the producing side, so I will give away some of my key lessons that helped me weather major disruption in music and keep my art process agile and responsive.

A common criticism of our hyper-digital world is that our connection on a human level gets lost. Do you agree? How can designers create in a way that’s human-centered yet digitally compelling?

This is a great, big question. And one that I think about a lot, having a digital company. Digital is great, but it’s not great for everything, always. Kind of like in film, I’m always trying to figure out how to “break the fourth wall” in our digital builds and design systems/visual communication. My team is really fantastic about what the experience will be for the user, and we think about how to layer in and embed connection, even in an asynchronous experience. It’s not easy and especially now, there is a lot of digital fatigue, but I always look at digital design as a way to augment and support IRL connection.

What would you say to someone who’s feeling overwhelmed about the amount of change and adaptation the industry is asking of us?

Keep your creative vision close to your heart and mind always. Through massive change, you can easily forget about your unique design style and perspective. Use your vision as a bit of an anchor, but also as a point of iteration. Maybe there are things you can try that you didn’t think about before that don’t take away from your design perspective but maybe, in fact, add more to that perspective and push you out of your comfort zone.

What are you looking forward to about coming to DesignThinkers in Toronto?

Everything! But mostly being in the room with people who really, really <3 design. There’s a buzz that happens when you gather to think about things, big and little, and DesignThinkers Toronto is always such a classy and thought-provoking space to do so!

Catch Lauralee’s talk on October 27 at 11:00 a.m.

Roundtables are your chance to connect with other creatives in a small group setting. Led by senior design professionals, roundtables are being hosted on both conferences days from 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Bring your questions, offer advice and participate in conversations that will leave you feeling engaged and energized.

Here’s just a sample of the topics on this year’s schedule:

• Work smarter, not harder: Strategies for creating great work, efficiently
• Me, myself and I: Succeeding as a solo practitioner
• Good design is for everybody: Sharing accessibility tools, resources and processes
• Challenges of working in a non-creative environment
• Passion projects: Making work for fun, because it’s fun to do
• In-house brand management
• “Don’t you just make things pretty?”: Turning clients into design advocates
• Imposter syndrome who? Gaining confidence in your skills and abilities
• Champagne taste on a beer budget: Doing more with less

Mitch Goldstein is a designer, artist, author and educator based in upstate New York. In advance of his session at DesignThinkers Toronto, we asked him a few questions about his talk, making the most of imposter syndrome and what’s inspiring him lately.

Your DesignThinkers talk is titled, “I Have No Idea What I’m Doing.” Without giving too much away, what can attendees expect from your session? 

Mostly what I want people to learn from my sessions is this: expertise is overrated, and you can exploit your own amatuer-ness, lack of knowledge, and newness at stuff to try things you normally would not. Leaning into this is a gift that should not be wasted!

You advocate for finding joy in imposter syndrome. Have you always felt this way? 

It took me a while to realize that what we call ‘imposter syndrome’ is really just ‘being human’ — everyone I have ever admired admits to feeling like that sometimes, so I think it is simply part of the human condition; and when we can use this feeling to our advantage, that’s when it becomes useful and fun.

Emerging designers often feel imposter syndrome the most. How does your mindset about curiosity and managing self-doubt inform your work as an educator?

Endlessly and always. As an educator, part of my job is to be actively curious. Realizing that not knowing exactly how to do something is not necessarily a good reason to not try it is a game changer. This is especially important for new designers — if you only did exactly what you know how to do… you would not get to do much!

Speaking of being curious, what’s piquing your interest lately?

I have been focusing mostly on my MFA thesis in Furniture Design, which I should (hopefully) finish this Spring — what I am looking at is manifesting life’s chaos, complexity, and unpredictability in visual art.

What are you most looking forward to about coming to DesignThinkers in Toronto?

I have not been to an in-person conference in almost 4 years! It will be amazing to see a bunch of people, all interested in similar things, all together for 2 days — I am very much looking forward to seeing people.

Catch Mitch’s talk on October 28 at 2:15 p.m. ET.