DesignMeets Recap: Cafe Talks Series - The Future of the Design Practice

A full house gathered at Ethica Coffee Roasters for the second in the DesignMeets Café Talks series.

Moderated by Michael Dila, the conversation featured three creative leaders—Helen Kerr, Tina Santiago Keenan, and Dominic Ayre—whose design paths have spanned industrial design, immersive experiences, UX, brand systems, and beyond.

Each panelist began with stories of how they got into design, and it wasn’t a straight line. Helen studied environmental science before stumbling into graphic design, then circled back to industrial design and eventually shifted her focus to sustainability and futures work. Tina started as a curious, entrepreneurial eight-year-old and moved through psychology, documentary film, UX, and immersive escape room design. Dominic’s journey began with graffiti and hip hop in England, which led him to graphic design and eventually to co-owning a creative agency.

These origin stories revealed a theme: design practice is something that evolves, shaped more by curiosity, side hustles, and the desire to make things than by a pre-determined track.

Event Takeaways

• Design as Practice, Not Discipline – Exploring design beyond rigid categories to reflect personal, lived experience.
• Fear as a Creative Signal – Using fear not as a barrier but as a prompt for growth and direction.
• Learning Through Doing – Valuing hands-on experiences and real-world engagement as essential to developing design intuition.
• Designing with and for People – Honouring dignity, listening deeply, and building systems that respond to human needs.
• Taste, Uniqueness, and Differentiation – Encouraging designers to cultivate their own voice to differentiate themselves in a field of sameness.

Read the full summary on DesignMeets.ca

About DesignMeets

Proudly sponsored by Pivot Design Group, founded by Ian Chalmers, DesignMeets is a series of social events where the design community can connect, collaborate, and share ideas. Join us at a DesignMeets event to network, learn, and be inspired.
 

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