Tune in to the DesignThinkers IG Live series

In the coming weeks, RGD President Nicola Hamilton will chat on Instagram Live with a few DesignThinkers speakers about their work and upcoming sessions at the conference.

All are invited to tune in to this series to learn, ask questions and get excited for our first in-person conference in Toronto since 2019.

Current Schedule

  • Thursday, September 15 at 4:00 p.m. ET

Jolene Delisle, Founder & Head of Creative at The Working Assembly

  • Thursday, September 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Eric Hu, Independent Creative Director & Typographer

  • Thursday, September 29 at 12:00 p.m. ET

Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, Co-Founders of Studio MinaLima

  • Thursday, October 6 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Patrick Thomas, Graphic Artist, Author & Educator

  • Thursday, October 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Morag Myerscough, Artist & Designer

Where to find us

The IG Live series is taking place on the RGD’s Instagram. Follow us to make sure you don’t miss any updates.

Nine #heyRGD winners will receive scholarships to DesignThinkers Toronto

This August and September, Student RGDs, Junior Affiliates and Provisional RGDs are invited to post their branding and packaging work on Instagram for the chance to win a scholarship to DesignThinkers Toronto.

$500 scholarships will be provided by industry sponsors Brightworks, Bruce Mau Design, Compass Creative, Davis, Fusion Design Group, Jacknife, Pound & Grain and Ove Brand Design (two scholarships). The scholarships will cover the winners’ expenses to attend the conference.

How to enter

1. Set your Instagram profile to public. Then, pick a piece of your branding or packaging work. It can be old work, new work or old work you’ve already posted.⁠
2. Hashtag it with #HeyRGD and #HeyRGDTO by editing your post or adding it to the caption/comments. You must use both hashtags.⁠
3. Provide a brief explanation of how you used the prompt in your work.⁠
4. The deadline to submit is September 30, 2022.

 

Winners will be selected by a Judge from each sponsoring company. Winners will be chosen based on the strength of their work and explanation of their choices and process.

Canada’s largest annual design conference, DesignThinkers is back in Toronto this October 27–28.

If you’re interested in sponsoring a scholarship, email Hilary at [email protected].

FAQs: Travel, accommodations, volunteering & more

Are there any discounts for plane or train fare?

We’ve lined up discounts for Air Canada, WestJet and Via Rail so you can save on getting to the conference. Find the discount codes and details here under Transportation.

Are there any discounts on accommodations?

We’ve lined up discounts at One King West Hotel and Holiday Inn Express so you can save on lodging while you’re staying in the city. Find the discount codes and details here under Accommodation.

Do you take volunteers?

We do take volunteers for DesignThinkers Toronto. We give priority to the Student RGD Members and Provisional RGD Members who volunteer with us on a regular basis on Committees. If you meet these requirements and are interested in volunteering, please email Zaria at [email protected].

How can I promote my business at the conference?

Our conference sponsors receive a variety of marketing opportunities, brand placements and a booth in our Designer Marketplace where they can connect directly with hundreds of attendees. There are also opportunities for sponsor involvement in conference sessions and additional programming such as roundtables, parties, networking events and more. To inquire about becoming a sponsor, please email Michelle at [email protected].

I can’t attend this year. Do you have dates for next year’s event?

DesignThinkers is coming back to Vancouver in 2023 on May 30 and 31 (mark your calendar!). To be notified when registration opens, sign up for our DesignThinkers newsletter. Don’t forget that RGD Members also receive access to all DesignThinkers recordings three months after the live event, so even if you can’t attend, you can still watch the sessions.

Will I be able to watch recordings of the presentations?

Yes, all presentations are recorded, and all tickets receive access to the recordings for three months after the event. Become an RGD member to receive indefinite access to the recordings and our extensive video library.

How do the combo tickets work with the Membership?

Combo tickets include RGD Affiliate Membership with a ticket to DesignThinkers. Once you purchase your Combo ticket, you will receive the regular conference confirmation email plus additional information on activating your Affiliate Membership.

I’ve registered. When will I receive information about attending the conference?

Registrants will receive a detailed email about attending DesignThinkers approximately one week before the event. The email includes how to log in to the event platform, how to view the session recordings and what to expect when you arrive at the venue if you are attending in-person. Please check your spam and junk folders to make sure you aren’t missing any important information from us.

Why Vancouver should be your next conference destination

“You’re gorgeous, baby, you’re sophisticated, you live well…Vancouver is Manhattan with mountains. It’s a liquid city, a tomorrow city, equal parts India, China, England, France and the Pacific Northwest. It’s the cool North American sibling.” — – The New York Times

1. It’s one of the top travel destinations in the world.

A study from Euromonitor International identified the top 100 cities around the world based on tourist numbers in 2021. Vancouver? It ranked 58 on the list, and was one of the top 10 most visited places in North America.

2. It feels like an urban oasis.

Vancouver truly offers the best of both worlds. With lots of museums, shops, restaurants and neighbourhoods, there’s no shortage of things to see and do. And, because of its position on the West Coast, you can do all of it while enjoying the breeze from the Pacific Ocean and the sight of the Rocky Mountains poking above the cityscape.

3. It’s home to some of Canada’s best food.

Love to eat? Vancouver is the spot for you! Hot spots include Kissa Tanto, acclaimed chef David Hawksworth’s Hawksworth, L’Abattoir, Boulevard, Cioppino’s, Nightingale and Botanist.

4. It’s a show-off in the spring.

U.S News says that spring is the ideal time to visit Vancouver. Because it’s off-season, you’ll find cheaper rates on accommodations and activities, and popular attractions won’t be inundated with tourists. The weather is gorgeous and mild during the spring in Vancouver, so if you’re coming from a cooler climate, you can say hi to nicer temperatures a bit earlier than you would back home.

We’d love to see you in Vancouver! Join us at DesignThinkers Vancouver this May 31 and June 1.

Image from Condé Nast Traveller / Tourism Vancouver

Tune in to our DesignThinkers Vancouver IG Live series

In the coming weeks, RGD President Nicola Hamilton will be chatting on Instagram Live with some of our DesignThinkers Vancouver speakers about their work and upcoming presentations at the Conference.

 

All are invited to tune in to this series to learn, ask questions and get excited for our first in-person DesignThinkers since 2019! Take a quick work break and plug in your headphones to hear from these design professionals from around the world.

 

Current Schedule

  • Thursday, April 28 @ 3:00 p.m. ET
    Tom Froese, Illustrator, Teacher, Speaker & Writer
  • Thursday, May 5 @ 3:00 p.m. ET
    Douglas Davis, Strategist, Author & Professor
  • Thursday, May 12 @ 3:00 p.m. ET
    Meghan Bowker, Design Director at COLLINS
  • Thursday, May 19 @ 3:00 p.m. ET
    Shaun Loftman, Executive Creative Director, CEEMEA at Landor & Fitch
  • Thursday, May 26 @ 3:00 p.m. ET
Sagi Haviv, Partner & Designer at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv

 

Where to find us

The IG Live series is taking place on the RGD’s Instagram, so make sure you’re following us to stay in the know!

We will be posting a Questions Box on Instagram Stories leading up to each interview, so drop any questions you have for our speakers there. 

Registration is open for DesignThinkers Vancouver. Join us in-person or online this May 31 to June 1.

2022 Design Educators Conference – Vancouver

The RGD invites design educators and researchers from across the country to apply to speak at our first Design Educators Conference to take place in Vancouver on June 2, at Emily Carr University.

The RGD invites design educators and researchers from across the country to apply to speak at our first Design Educators Conference to take place in Vancouver on June 2, at Emily Carr University.

Organized in collaboration with Emily Carr University of Art + Design, the 2022 conference theme is learning, re-learning, unlearning.

 

Speakers include:

 

Keynote: Terresa Moses, Creative Director at Blackbird Revolt

Talk: Centring Abolition in the Paradigm of Pedagogy

“The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.” –Bell Hooks
Academic institutions should fundamentally support higher learning that will create positive shifts in our ways of thinking, doing and being in our communities. However, because of the influence of white supremacy and colonialism, individuals who are situated in the academic space may not have the ability or support to shift pedagogy and curriculum towards justice-centered outcomes. Like many systems of violence that systematically oppress historically underrepresented, underserved and underinvested communities, the system of education needs to be radically dismantled to make way for abolitionist futures that centre freedom and liberation. In Terresa’s keynote, she will explore the concepts of identity, power, privilege and culture to develop pedagogical experiences that move toward an anti-racist, social-justice centred and abolitionist paradigm of pedagogy.

 

Daniel McCafferty, Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba

Talk: Design Pipelines

 

Lisa Boulton, Research Associate at ECUAD + BCIT

Talk: Participatory Design

 

Cameron Neat, Associate Professor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Talk: Knitting Networks While Sitting in Place

 

Aidan Rowe, Associate Professor, Design Studies at the University of Alberta

Talk: Shifting Design Education: From Outputs to Outcomes

 

Evan Long, Professor at Centennial College

Talk: Game Theory

 

Eric Lee, Assistant Professor at University of the Fraser Valley

Talk: Canadian Bank Notes: Retelling the History of Canada

 

Hope Akello and Eugenia Bertulis, Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Talk: Strategies For Bringing Code Literacy to Design Studio Classrooms

 

The conference will address new innovations in teaching and research practices, reflect on and question what we know about our own limitations as educators and researchers and offer critique about what it means to rethink our discipline as we navigate uncharted and vulnerable spaces.

The conference takes place June 2 at Emily Carr University, immediately after the RGD’s DesignThinkers Conference scheduled to take place at the Vancouver Playhouse on May 31 and June 1.
Registration is now open. Click here to register!

Tap into your competitive side with the DesignThinkers Scavenger Hunt

I Spy: Design Edition.

Ready for some in-person networking fun?

All about the roundtables at DesignThinkers Vancouver

Roundtable discussions are your chance to connect with other creatives in a small group setting and explore topics that are relevant and interesting to you. This is your opportunity to share your questions, offer your advice and listen thoughtfully to others who get it.

Attend DesignThinkers for free by completing your RGD Certification

“I'm so proud to be part of an organization that recognizes my professional experience as well as my demonstrated competence in design principles, research and theory. I want to keep challenging myself as a designer and further my education.” — Maria Passarelli RGD

If you’ve been on the fence about pursuing your RGD Certification, now is the time!

Complete the process by April 30 to receive a free (in-person or streaming) pass to DesignThinkers Vancouver.

If April 30 is too soon, complete by June 30 to receive free dues for the rest of 2022 and a free pass to DesignThinkers 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.” — 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.)

Silver Sponsors