Question Tomorrow: 4 Things Designers Should Be Thinking About
By Mandy Mayela, Jr. Graphic Designer
This Fall, I had the pleasure of attending the 42nd annual DesignThinkers Toronto, Canada’s largest graphic design conference, bringing together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity, ‘design’ thinking and the future of design.
Whether it’s the democratization of tools, the constant evolution of technology, AI-powered design or the steadfast vision of a new world by younger generations — the world of design is changing rapidly and as designers at Agnostic, we are constantly adapting our processes and ways of thinking.
Here’s how DesignThinkers Toronto themes are influencing our work:
1. Design should never be an afterthought
In the world of marketing, design is not just a "nice-to-have". It’s a critical element of a campaign, which can make or break its success. A strong campaign will not only ensure the brand is clearly visible and eye-catching, but it will also visually communicate the program’s purpose in a way that connects with the consumer. As a result, designers should always be involved in the initial planning process, and not in a plan’s final stages, so they can help contribute to a campaign’s success.
2. Don’t underestimate the importance of connection and collaboration
There is a misconception that design projects are, for the most part, completed independently from the rest of the team. However, many of the talks, such as I’m Not Done Yet by Paula Scher, stressed the importance of collaboration and connecting with other designers. Not only does collaboration allow for more creative brainstorming and improve the overall quality of ideas by giving designers a chance to hear different perspectives. It can also help with efficiencies through enabling effective decision-making and more comprehensive problem-solving.
3. Design with diversity in mind
Designers should always be aware of how much impact our work can have on society. As such, the design community should be at the forefront of incorporating diversity in our work. No matter the project that comes our way, whether it be a small formatting task to ideating graphics behind a major campaign, one of the key factors in our designs should be diversity. As designers, we should always strive to incorporate diverse representation in our work while remembering that quality should not be sacrificed for that representation to transpire, encouraging powerful, inclusive design.
4. Finally, AI is our friend, not our enemy
Now is the time for designers to embrace AI, as it’s not going anywhere, anytime soon! One speaker in particular, Renato Fernandez, explains in his talk Designing Tomorrow: The Intersection of Advertising, Graphic Design and Innovation that although generative AI has opened doors for so many creative spaces such as music, film and art, it can never replace the empathy and experience that can only be delivered by humans. Some ways that designers can prepare for this evolution include:
Replace fear with curiosity;
Understanding that technology leads to opportunity;
Recognize that there are no experts, we’re all learning how to integrate AI in our work one day at a time.
It’s important to remember that progress is only threatening to those who are afraid to ask the right questions and embrace more than one answer!
The two days spent at DesignThinkers have impacted my approach to work and having access to this type of knowledge sharing reminds me that there are so many pathways to ‘design thinking’. More importantly, it also reminded me of how fortunate I am to be able to create for a living and that embracing change will help you reach new heights you’d never thought possible.
