Conference

DesignThinkers 2026 Vancouver

Vancouver May 26 to May 27, 2026

Vancouver May 26 to May 27, 2026

Location: Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, BC

The RGD’s annual DesignThinkers Conference returns to Vancouver on May 26 and 27, 2026.

The theme for DesignThinkers 2026 is "Out of Office." Stepping away from your desk allows for creative freedom. When we’re free to roam, we discover and document visuals with no agenda. Think festival posters, street signage, manhole covers, hand painted signs, shapes in clouds, graffiti, sidewalk art… Visualizing without signal, pressure or performance. There is a creative liberation that comes from being ‘offline’. A celebration of the wild, the unexpected and the thinkers who don’t fit the mould. DesignThinkers 2026 is a celebration of unconstrained creativity, strange, rule breaking and trusting your instincts.

The conference will be held in person at the Vancouver Playhouse, with an option to attend virtually where attendees can watch live-streamed sessions and connect with other participants online.

Confirmed speakers include Annie Atkins, Christopher Doyle, Elana Rudick RGD, Elizabeth Goodspeed, Emmi Salonen, Kenjiro Kirton, Laura Stein RGD, Nu Goteh, Peter Smart, Roman King and many more!

Registration opens early December 2025.