Minds of Design

Immerse yourself in thought-provoking presentations, gain insights from industry leaders and participate in lively Q&A sessions.

Location: Thinkingbox 602 West Hastings Street #200 Vancouver, BC 

Presentations:

Title: Signs of Decolonization

Presented by Susan Mavor, Principal, Lost & Found Design

Susan is the principal of Lost & Found Design, a studio which focuses on wayfinding, exhibition design, and reconciliation. Projects include collaborations up and down the west coast, at parks, campuses, and cities from Lima, Peru to Juneau, Alaska. Lost & Found is currently working on interpretive design and wayfinding for the Royal BC Museum’s Collections and Research Building, UBC, BCIT, Metro Vancouver and several multifaceted property developments across Canada. From her roots in theatre design, followed by book, stamp and brand design, Susan is a design practitioner and scholar who truly likes working with large committees to create consensus and enthusiasm around shared ideas. In her role as a project leader, Susan is working on shaping design process to reveal and possibly dismantle Canada’s colonial relationship to Indigenous communities. After almost thirty years of museum and graphic design work supporting Indigenous groups, she’s learned to practice active listening and has developed radical and reciprocal ways of design collaboration. She has been a juror for national competitions in graphic design, advertising and photography and has been invited to speak internationally on topics such as Storytelling in the Landscape and Branded Environments. Susan is currently engaged in PhD research at Simon Fraser University looking at design projects and processes as non-traditional educational environments for reconciliation.

Title: Confessions from a burnt-out creative: A cautionary tale

Presented by Jessica Luch, Creative Director, Thinkingbox

Jessica's experience in art direction, graphic design and photography informs her eclectic approach to her work. She is able to draw on many artistic disciplines and areas of deep interest to create distinct, meaningful work for brands large and small.

Title: Creativity is Chaos

Presented by Zia Somjee, Founder of ZAK
Zia is a designer, creative strategist, and one of the co-founders of ZAK – a full service creative agency in Vancouver specialized in brand development and visual identity. Over the last 6 years, ZAK has helped clients big and small strengthen their brand voice through strategy, visual identity, and a multi-disciplinary approach to design.