I had the opportunity in attending the first day of the 8th annual DesignThinkers conference, organized by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RGD). For me, this was all new territory. I had never been to anything like this before, but I am sure glad I had the chance to go. It was really neat to literally “rub-shoulders” with some of the greatest design minds in the world.

“You Are Here” was the theme of the conference

There were so many interesting topics covered, all dealing with relevant issues that matter. There were presentations on sustainability, marketing trends, global economics, special challenges for women, leadership, research-driven design, innovation, inspiration, and of course the end user. I was truly inspired and motivated by the opening speaker Stefan Sagmeister. It was really cool to see how one person can change the world with the language of design. His speech was great, funny, educational and motivational. I only wish I could emulate half of the things he talked about on here, but I know I would not do it justice. One thing is for sure, Stefan’s desire for great design has truly inspired me.

Another great lecture was from Garrick Ham, of the UK design consultancy Williams Murray Hamm. He talked about using design to create something different from the norm. Reinvention is used to create difference with a focus on what you want to say. It was also great to see some real projects that he had worked on following this method, where being brave payed off.

Other highlights from the conference’s first day were Abbott Miller’s discussion on the concept of designer as the author, Alex White’s message on selling every single message we design and Dale Hart’s lesson on sustainability. All the topics were wonderful and I came out of the conference with a fresh perspective on this crazy thing we all know and love called design.