Watch DesignThinkers presentations from Black industry leaders

The RGD shares 10 presentations from the RGD's Video Library by Black creatives who have spoken at DesignThinkers in recent years. 

These include Chief Design Officer at Stellantis, Ralph Gilles, who participated back in 2017 and will join us once again this November for DesignThinkers 2024 in Toronto.

Recordings of DesignThinkers presentations going back to 2011 are available for free to RGD Members. Non-Members will have access to these presentations until August 1.

Cey Adams

Talk: Departure – 40 Years of Art & Design

DesignThinkers 2023 Vancouver

In this talk, Cey chronicles his career of more than 40 years. Beginning in the early ‘80s in New York City as a subway graffiti writer, he described his time as the creative director for Def Jam Recordings, designing album covers and brand identities for Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LLCoolJ, Public Enemy and many more. He also highlighted work from (present day) brand partnerships with The Smithsonian, Levi’s, Mattel, Footlocker and Google.

Cey emerged from the downtown graffiti movement to exhibit alongside artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Currently working as a freelance Creative Director out of New York City, he served as Creative Director for Def Jam Recordings, where he co-founded the label’s in-house design firm, creating identities, album covers, logos and campaigns for Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G., Maroon 5, Jay-Z and more. He co-authored DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop and designed the book Def Jam Recordings: The First 25 Years of the Last Great Record Label.

Forest Young

Talk: Outside Inside

DesignThinkers 2023 in Toronto

Join Forest as he shares a unique perspective, moving from the agency world to in-house at Rivian—an early stage company. He reflects on significant projects from a new lens, and the unique opportunities of working inside at a transformational company.

Forest is former Global Head of Brand at Rivian, where he was responsible for the expression of the Rivian brand across its people, products and services. Previous to this, Forest was the Chief Creative Officer at Wolff Olins. Forest is a Senior Critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art, where he is also a distinguished MFA alumnus. He is a founding advisor for Miller-Knoll’s Diversity in Design collaborative. Forest’s work has been exhibited at MoMA, the ROM, the Royal College of Art and at numerous international biennials. He is a recipient of the Gold Design Lion at Cannes and the Art Directors Club Black Cube.

Maurice Cherry

Talk: 10 Years of Revision Path

DesignThinkers 2022 in Toronto

In this talk, Maurice, shares the story of Revision Path from the very beginning. He joined the DesignThinkers audience for the first time ever to share what it took to build and sustain a project of this scale. Maurice talked about what he had learned over the years, the ups and downs, and the previously unknown history. He also previewed what he had in store for the podcast's milestone 10th year.

Maurice is an award-winning Creative Producer, Designer and Podcaster known for founding Lunch, a multidisciplinary creative studio established in 2008. His renowned podcast, Revision Path™, highlights Black designers and digital creators globally and is part of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture's permanent collection. Maurice's impactful projects also include the Black Weblog Awards, 28 Days of the Web, and the design anthology RECOGNIZE. He received the 2018 Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary, was named one of GDUSA's "People to Watch in 2018," and featured in The Root 100 in 2018.

Angela Bains

Talk: I Never Knew Black People Could Design

DesignThinkers 2020 Virtual

In this talk, Angela goes deep and real into her design journey. Are you listening, questioning, inquiring or self-reflecting about the design industry and its struggle with diversity? If so, you will walk away from Angela's talk with a fuller understanding of this ongoing struggle.

With over 30 years of experience in the design industry, Angela is the Co-Founder and Strategic Director of TransformExp, an award-winning design firm with clients like BBC Television, BC Liquor Stores, Swatch Canada and The Ritz-Carlton. She has also spent many years designing for social change, including the Free Nelson Mandela Campaign and the first World Aid Day concert. As an Educator, Angela has been nominated for seven local and national teaching awards of excellence in Canada and has won Teaching Excellence Award at BCIT. She has also developed several creative industry career events with the British Columbia Institute of Technology Student Association and has organized events to participate in Vancouver Design Week, as well as, her very own BainsExtraBold UK TYPE TOUR 2018

David Nuff RGD

Talk: The Artful Designer: Creating for Commerce and Culture

DesignThinkers 2019
in Toronto

With one foot in both the art and design worlds, in this talk David shares his experiences from across the divide and through recent projects. 

Designer and Principal at Nuff, David designs brand identities, apps, interactive installations and murals. His commercial clients include the Royal Conservatory, Nestlé and the Museum of Jewish Montreal. His artistic practice has produced work for Ontario Place, Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Ontario Science Centre and Artist Project. He lives in Toronto with thirty-one houseplants.

Jessica Bellamy

Talk: Equity in Information & Experience Design

DesignThinkers 2019
in Toronto

In this talk, Jessica shares her experiences as a creative operating at the intersection of community organizing, information design, research and experience design. As she walks us through impact design case studies, you'll learn her six principles of conscious and responsible design, develop an understanding of data for equity and pick up the tools necessary to be successful in the social change sector.

Jessica is an award-winning international speaker, workshop facilitator, motion infographic designer and research analyst. She and her colleague Josh Poe are the founders of the Root Cause Research Center which is a grassroots-led institution that collects data, creates data visuals and trains impacted community Members in research and data storytelling. She has been featured in: Communication Arts, Thrive Global, Forbes, The Great Discontent, Creative Mornings, Project 1324 (Facebook mobile experience), Slack Blog, Create Magazine, The Dieline, Revision Path, etc. 

Ralph Gilles 

In Conversation with Scott Dadich

DesignThinkers 2017

Ralph offers insights into this unique world where design is paramount and shares his experiences designing some of the greatest automotive designs of our era.

As the global head of design at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Ralph Gilles oversees design for the company's iconic brands - Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram Trucks, Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Since joining Chrysler in 1992, he has served as Senior Vice President - Product Design and President and CEO - Motorsports, FCA - North America; President and CEO - SRT Brand; and President and CEO - Dodge brand for FCA US LLC. Ralph has been sketching cars since he was 7 years old. He draws design inspiration from pop culture and experiences from traveling the world. Ralph believes that ensuring a vehicle has a soul is the key to great design.

Ashleigh Axios

Talk: #ThanksObama

DesignThinkers 2016

Get a behind-the-scenes look at how innovative design and digital strategy happen in-house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Ashleigh showsand-tells how her small design team transformed daunting challenges into successful digital campaigns as part of the Obama administration. Hear her team tactics for tackling limited resources, overcoming impossibly quick timelines, experimenting while in the public spotlight, and not just taking criticism, but intentionally seeking it out. Have fun counting the animated GIFs while you collect all sorts of tips from the former White House creative director.

Ashleigh is an international speaker, strategic creative and an advocate for design's ability to break barriers and create positive social and cultural change. She is the Chief Experience Officer and a Partner at Coforma (formerly &Partners), a digital consultancy and design studio and a chair of the national board of directors for AIGA. In the past, Ashleigh served as the creative director and a digital strategist for the Obama White House, bridging two presidential terms in the Office of Digital Strategy. She was named one of GDUSA’s People to Watch, featured in Essence Magazine as one of the 29 most powerful black women in the Obama administration and received the DCFemTech Award for being a powerful woman designer.

Darhil Crooks


Talk: Print in the Digital Age 

DesignThinkers 2013 in Toronto

In this talk, Darhil discusses the process of redesigning the magazine as well as the challenges and opportunities for a media brand to design a sustainable business model that supports storytelling.

Darhil is the Creative Director at Apple Inc. Formerly Creative Director of The Atlantic, he oversaw the art direction of the magazine across print, online and on mobile and tablet devices. His work has graced the covers of some of the world’s most popular magazines, including Esquire, Ebony and The Source.