DesignThinkers 2024
Another year, another awesome DesignThinkers conference in Toronto.
This annual design con is easily my favourite professional development opportunity. As an in-house designer, it can be so hard to pull yourself away from the brand standards you’re used to working within. But that doesn’t mean it’s not important to do every once in a while.
Brand standards are great. They ensure cohesive language and style and design across every platform. I’m a fan of working within a good set of brand standards. But what can end up happening is that your team may just fall into a rhythm of “what we do” and “what works for us” without considering how things can change. Growing and developing and innovating within the brand standards that make your brand your brand isn’t just smart, it’s necessary.
DesignThinkers gives me the best opportunity to step away from my desk, and get inspired by the most innovative people in my industry for two days.
On Day One, I sat in on some pretty great sessions.
💡 How I Got Here and What I’ve Learnt with Mr. Bingo
✍️ Designing in Character with Annie Atkins
⚠️ No Risk, No Story with Radim Malinic
🎨 Don’t Let Design Get in the Way of a Good Brand Story with Shaun Loftman
📚 Designing Stories that Matter to Your Audience with Nicola Ryan
I find that in years past, I would take general notes about what each speaker was saying. I’d take down quotes, or good design advice.
After Day One of DesignThinkers 2024, I’d soon realize that my notes would be more about my own job. A speaker would say something, and I’d fall down a rabbit hole of my own ideas. How could I use that nugget of information to innovate in my role and take our digital brand to the next level?
A little glimpse into the Freeform note I was keeping throughout the day…
Some of these squiggles might be notes about the speaker’s talk, but most of my notes this year were doodles and ideas sparked by the speakers.
When Day Two rolled around, I was feeling particularly innovative and ready to take on the day.
Some of my favourite Day Two session included:
🤖 My Year With AI with Robert Wong
🏳️🌈 Design Your Process with Aries Moross
📖 The Universe is Made of Stories with Paddy Harrington
⚡ Designing What Doesn’t Exist… Yet with Talia Cotton
And again — another day, another long and chaotic Freeform document full of notes that had very little to do with the speakers’ specifics, but had a lot to do with how they were inspiring me to think outside the box for my job’s brand.
I have to note how much I appreciated the range of diverse speakers at this conference. Whether it was where a person was from, how they identified, or what aspect of design they specialized in — everyone had their own very unique perspective, and it really helped me take as much out of this conference as possible.
Thank you, RGD DesignThinkers for putting on another great conference. And thank you to the individuals I connected with online surrounding this event. I already can’t wait until next year!
