Over 2,000 creatives come together for DesignThinkers 2026 in Toronto
Creatives from across Canada and beyond stepped away from their desks on October 20 and 21 for the RGD’s 27th annual DesignThinkers Conference in Toronto.
One of the sweetest moments came at the start, when Nicola Hamilton RGD, the RGD’s Past President and DesignThinkers MC, introduced Meghan D’Mello RGD, the RGD’s current President, on stage and they greeted each other with a hug. The two also closed the conference together. Other highlights included Adam J. Kurtz’s usual lively, engaging talk, Lauren Wong Lee and Gabby Lord of Super Keen handing out branded water bottles to attendees and attendee feedback identifying Barrington Reeves as a favourite keynote, with many people also appreciating how he credited his team.
Based on the theme “Out of Office,” developed by Brand Partner Daughter Creative, this year’s conference celebrated unconstrained creativity, rule-breaking and trusting your instincts. The conference featured presentations, hands-on workshops, skills-based workshops, interactive sessions and roundtables at Meridian Hall and St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
This year’s program included a few new elements. Attendees could choose from five streams themed as Create, Engage, Innovate, Inspire and Learn, and day one featured the Branding Awards Ceremony, celebrating the 2026 RGD Branding Awards winners.
For those who preferred to participate virtually, we offered live streaming of the Inspire and Innovate streams. These streams were recorded, and all attendees have access to the recordings for three months. RGD Members will have indefinite access to the recordings after the three months, in addition to DesignThinkers presentation recordings going back to 2011.
Ahead of the conference, studio tours gave attendees a look inside Toronto’s creative spaces. Over two days, attendees heard from keynote speakers, joined talks and hands-on workshops and took part in roundtables across the five streams. Browse the full speaker lineup and schedule to see everything on the program.
We wrapped up the first day with a delegate party at CRAFT Beer Market, where attendees and speakers connected over drinks and conversation.
In addition to talks and workshops, attendees took part in morning icebreakers, roundtable discussions and speed mentoring. Virtual community meet-ups brought together 2SLGBTQIA+ designers, municipal designers, solo designers, firm owners and BIPOC designers. Jay Wall RGD led See the Streets!, and attendees got their books signed by speakers. They could also pause and doodle at the Doodle Square by Cantoo City.
Guillermo Flores Pacheco brought Mexican candies to share during his workshop and later posted a short animation on Instagram featuring everyone’s work.
In attendees’ own words
We asked attendees what they liked best about DesignThinkers 2026. Survey responses are shared anonymously.
“Being inspired, feeling like I’ve come home to people who get me, feeling so welcome.”
“The big wave of creative oxygen. Feeling the passion of the artist for their art. Getting my inspiration supercharged.”
“Always the best work days of the year. It reminds me why I do what I do and makes me want to make again. Thank you!!”
“The five different streams of content allowing you to really customize your own conference experience!”
“The pacing was much more gracious than in the past. No sessions too early, breaks weren’t too short, didn’t feel as much like a race against time like years past where there were so many sessions jam-packed in a day.”
“I really enjoy the speakers that show process work. And seeing work from all around the world. There was a lot of themes around advocacy/activism, and I was also really inspired by that. The RGD Branding Awards was also a great way to see work by the attendees! The branding and the intro video was great too.”
“Guillermo Flores Pacheco, Temi Coker, Barrington Reeves, Goldie Chan and Adam J. Kurtz all brought heart, vulnerability and energizing work.”
“Adam J. Kurtz and Temi were my favourite speakers because of how they shared personal experiences and inspirations. They weren’t selling anything; they went through their process and were encouraging.”
“Edel Rodriguez was so moving! What a story and what a great presentation—it had design, politics and passion. Very timely and inspiring.”
“ROUNDTABLES, loved the roundtables, I could have just done roundtables on different topics the whole time. It was one part education, one part networking and two parts therapy.”
“The sheer magnitude! The amount of speakers, the different stages, the organization! Usually, big events don’t translate well to a virtual setting, but DesignThinkers really thought of it all! The video and audio quality was fantastic, the filming made sure I felt present in the hall.”
“It was an incredible conference, and one of my favourite events of the year! Congrats to the team and thanks for all your hard work. From a delegate perspective, it was seamless!”
Attendees share their DesignThinkers moments on social media
Mark your calendars! Our DesignThinkers Conferences in 2027 will take place in Vancouver on May 4 and 5 and in Toronto on October 21 and 22, both with options for live streaming. Caserne is our design partner. Subscribe to our e-newsletters to receive updates on the 2027 conferences and other RGD programming.
Thank you to our photographer, David Pike Photography. View photos from DesignThinkers 2026.
Thank you also to our Industry Partners for the event: Daughter Creative (Design Partner), Domtar (Paper Partner), Flash Reproductions (Print Partner), Forge Media (Web Partner), Minoh (Signage Partner) and Porter (Airline Partner).
Platinum Sponsors: Adobe and Function Point
Gold Sponsors: Aquent, Cella, Moveable, Paul Jen Communications and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
Silver Sponsors: belairdirect, Conference Media, David Pike Photography, FSC Canada, Hemlock Printers, Manic Type, The Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Toronto and WeirFoulds
Media and Community Partners: ADCC, AIGA, Applied Arts, Graphic Artists Guild, IDC, Issues Magazine Shop, PRINT, Slanted, strategy and swipe design | books + objects
