NewsOct 09, 2025

Over 1900 creatives come together for DesignThinkers 2025 in Toronto

The joy of creating and learning was at an all time high on October 1 and 2 at the RGD’s 26th annual DesignThinkers Conference in Toronto. Designer Rob Lowe danced and sang on stage to his original "New Shapes"; Meg Lewis kicked off the talk with a spin and Pali Palavathanan came bearing goodies for attendees.

Based on the theme Shift Shapers, designed by creative agency The Garden, this year's conference featured engaging presentations, hands-on workshops, experience-based discussions, exhibitors, immersive activations and opportunities for attendees to connect and share knowledge.

Attendees had the option to choose talks and workshops across four streams. For those who preferred to participate virtually, we offered an option for live online streaming of our two presentation streams. All attendees have access to presentation recordings for the next three months. After that, the recordings will be available to RGD Members in our Video Library.

On the eve of the conference, the RGD and OneMethod co-hosted a soirée celebrating the launch of the third issue of Homemade Magazine and welcoming speakers, designers and delegates to this year's Conference.

The first day of the conference began with Meg Lewis on the power of play in unlocking your best ideas and featured talks by speakers who included Rachel Gogel on claiming agency over your career, Stephen Gates on creative bravery, Kemp Atwood on building lasting brands in the age of AI, Rob Lowe on why need depth in design more than ever and Sun Yi on micro-story telling for social media. Attendees also had an option to attend workshops by Eleni Beveratou on type licensing, Andrea Rodriguez RGD on freestyle illustration, Diana Varma RGD on making friends with failure and Dominic Ayre RGD on creating a typographic magazine. The day closed with a keynote by Costa Rica-based PUPILA's founders on turning their creative dreams into reality.

We wrapped up with a party at Bier Markt where delegates and speakers connected over hors d'oeuvres, drinks and countless inspiring conversations.

Day 2 opened with a talk by Kate Dawkins on designing for live experiences, followed by presentations by Verònica Fuerte on evolving without losing your voice, Pentagram's Samar Maakaroun on drawing as a tool for thought, BMD's Laura Stein RGD on how big ideas drive great design, Ash Phillips & Miro LaFlaga on navigating disruptions in design industry, Adobe's Dee Miller on designing products that empower and NYT's Deb Bishop on changing perceptions. Workshops were presented by Robert Smith RGD on reflecting and reframing your approach to self-promotion, Paul Twa Associate RGD on designing mid-century letters, Meg Lewis on building a career that's true to you. Concluding the conference, Pali Palavathanan outlined how his lived experiences informed his creative approach.

In addition to talks and workshops, attendees also had the chance to participate in rock-paper-scissors icebreakers, morning and lunchtime roundtable discussions and attend talks by our Paper Partner, Domtar, on why print marketing still to inspires and on the importance of upskilling for creatives by Cella. The conference also gave attendees an opportunity to connect with industry suppliers and creative exhibitors in our marketplace and get their books signed by speakers.

This year's conference also featured a photo booth by Blissful Moments and an art pop-up experience hosted by Cantoo City where attendees to take a few minutes away from screens to pause, breathe and let creativity take the lead.

Mark your calendars! DesignThinkers 2026 will take place in Vancouver on May 26–27, with registration opening in early December. And in Toronto is tentatively scheduled for October 27–28, with registration opening spring next year. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive updates on the 2026 conference.

Thank you to our photographers, Helen Chung, Alan Joson RGD & Armando Ascrove RGD. And to your videographers Papr Mache.

Thank you also to our Industry Partners for the event: The Garden (Design Partner), Elite Digital (Web Development Partner), Akran Marketing (Merchandise Partner), Domtar (Paper Partner), Flash Reproductions (Print Partner), Minoh (Signage Partner), Porter (Airline Partner), MUBI (Entertainment Partner)

Gold Sponsors: Cella, Genumark, Mitchell Press, Moveable, Pangram Pangram Foundry, Night Owl Nation

Silver & Bronze Sponsors: Adobe, Area 17, AZURE, Blissful Moments Creative, Hemlock, Issues Magazine Shop, Mitchell Sandham, Papr Mache, PRINT, SCAD, Swipe, WeirFoulds LLP, Ace Branding Company