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I was honoured when Uppercase Magazine asked if I would like to attend RGD's annual Design Thinkers conference as their correspondent for the second year in a row. As the Roving Reporter, I was able to soak in 13 incredible presentations by some of the world's most influential designers, typographers and innovators. It was two days full of invaluable insights, and I am excited to share all the notes & wisdom that inspired me.
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DAY 1
1) Andrew Deitchmann
CEO & Co-founder, Mother NYC
"A Well-Designed Idea"
- "have fun and make a living – in that order"
- importance of convergence – keeping one's mind open
- leaders need new skillets
- ideas created by:
- detectors – through purposeful exploration
- alchemists – those who follow instincts
- *PUSH THINGS FURTHER*
- novelty is NOT sustainable
- always work with good people
- big ideas vs. rich ideas (rich is better)
- "pragmagical"
- on well-designed ideas:
- highest common denominator
- are culturally additive
- authentic
- flexible / iterative
- not intimidated by the big players
- *Make the complex simple & joyous!
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2) Todd Waterbury
Executive Creative Director & Senior VP of Marketing, Target
"Belief to Behaviour"
- language is what you believe
- 21st century literacy = coding
- diversity – best when one field of interest informs the other (and vice versa)
- "Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees." -Laurence Belcher
- use skills to unlock new potential
- discipline fuels the best creative thinking
- *de-familiarize the ordinary
- best ideas & experiences = the inevitable + the unexpected
- "One sees great things from the valley, only small things from the peak." -G.K. Chesterton
- best work rooted in empathy, broad thinking & making connections
- on Brand:
- belief --> behaviour
- clarity of beliefs
- the cumulative experience(s) of the client
- both powerful & fragile
- can be built, can be taken down
- important to monitor changes & adapt
- on Strategy:
- comes from sacrifices & hard choices
- rooted in courage, clarity & conviction
- ability to say yes to one and no to ten others
- *Choice is abundant, attention is scarce
- owned media vs. earned media:
- owned = topical & temporal
- earned = presence with purpose
- *ask yourself "What could it be?"
- 5 principles at Target "goods doing good":
- Emotional – open heart, open mind
- Useful – challenge complexity, simplify the everyday
- Democratic – intended for everyone
- Insightful – details just as important as bigger picture
- Purposeful – for the greater good
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3) Sibylle Hagmann
Founder, Kontour type foundry
"Intrinsic Character"
- interest in post-War Germany / GDR (German Democratic Republic) typography & typographers
- importance of context – the role environment plays
- TypoArt (foundry):
- influenced by this political / economic system
- culturally unique context
- limited materials of socialist system forced creatives to experiment (drawing, painting, calligraphy)
- had to comply with socialist party
- managed to preserve (and create) identity / cultural heritage
Founder, Draplin Design Co.
"Tall Tales from a Large Man"
- was told "you're not going to make a living in design"
- "defy the f*cking odds"
- interested in "creating things for regular people"
- still surprised he "got away with it..."
- "don't forget the power of your mouse finger" to help the community organizations
- on success Field Notes: "You can do this."
- design as trade, not trend
- "quit ripping off Dan Cassaro" – create something NEW!
- GET DIRTY!
- go junking – inspiration waits in a world of "dead things"
- on worrying: " Get cosmic." – think about the bigger picture and what's really important. At a universal scale, "we have no idea what's going on." Chill out.
"The Future of Typography"
- the best typography happens when craft meets intellect
- "The only thing I know about the future is that it's ahead of us." - ES
- typography has to live in different environments
- "Type is visible language" - ES
- learn, learn and keep learning
- anything is possible...
- in your design, give the same amount of attention to your typography as you do to your images – own every character
- software is not going to do the work for you
- priority: make it work (don't make it look cool)
- if you need help, ASK (before you finish) – know who knows
- *constraints are useful
- find magic in mess – use something old to make something new
- type should be type, lettering should be lettering
- always think "what's the BEST way to do this?" and then do it!
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6) Debbie Millman
President, Design Division, Sterling Brands, Design Matters podcast
"On Rejection, or How the Worst Moments of Your Life Can Turn Out to Be the Best"
- *get past your fears and work through the discomfort
- series of rejections, layoffs, setbacks, culminating in a slandering post on the Speak Up forum
- took lemons and made lemonade - ended up writing for the forum
- one closed door opens another – opportunity is everywhere
- every time designers get together, there is opportunity to grow
Partner, Pentagram
"All Design is Social"
Day 2 here.
#rgddt