DesignThinkers Podcast

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Stephen Gates—global design leader, keynote speaker, and host of The Crazy One podcast.Stephen’s career has spanned more than 20 years leading creative teams at companies like Apple, Citi, InVision, and McCann, where he’s built award-winning work across branding, product design, and customer experience. Known for his candid, no-nonsense approach to leadership and creativity, Stephen now works with organizations and teams around the world—helping them unlock better ideas, build stronger cultures, and navigate the complex realities of design at scale.In this episode, we get into what it really means to lead as a designer, how to break out of safe thinking, and why creativity and business have to speak the same language. Stephen shares hard-won lessons on building trust with executives, the traps teams fall into when chasing innovation, and the mindset shifts that can make the difference between a good career and a great one.Whether you’re a design leader, an ambitious creative, or just curious about what it takes to make work that matters—this conversation is equal parts practical, inspiring, and refreshingly honest. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Verònica Fuerte. Verònica is the founder and creative director of Hey Studio in Barcelona.Since launching the studio in 2007, Verònica has built one of the most recognizable and beloved visual identities in contemporary design: known for bold color, geometric forms, and a relentlessly optimistic aesthetic. Hey’s work has spanned everything from brand systems and editorial design to public art and exhibitions, with clients like Apple, The New York Times, Monocle, and the city of Barcelona itself.In this episode, Veronica shares how she built Hey from the ground up, starting as a solo designer with no clients, to now running a globally admired studio that’s remained intentionally small, collaborative, and independent. We talk about the importance of creative intuition, the realities of studio life, how to keep personal work at the center of your practice, and why she never wanted Hey to feel like an agency.We also touch on making space for women in leadership, building visibility as a Spanish design studio on the international stage, and why sometimes the simplest ideas are the strongest.If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to run a studio with heart and vision—this episode is for you. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Rachel Gogel. Rachel is an independent creative executive shaping the future of design at the intersection of brand, culture, and technology.After building multidisciplinary teams at places like GQ, The New York Times, Meta, and Godfrey Dadich, Rachel launched her own consultancy in 2020. Since then, she’s worked with everyone from tech giants like Airbnb and Dropbox to smaller purpose-driven, often women-founded ventures.In this episode, we talk about what it means to lead creatively—without being full-time. Rachel walks us through the rise of fractional leadership, how she designs her own career on her own terms, and why negotiating your worth is a skill every designer should learn. We explore the challenges of showing work that isn’t always visual, and the importance of making space for queer and marginalized voices in the industry.Whether you’re freelance-curious, burnt out on traditional career paths, or just looking to redefine what success means for you—Rachel’s story will leave you feeling empowered, clear-eyed, and ready to think differently. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Kemp Attwood, partner at AREA 17. With a background in creative writing and new media design, Kemp has spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of design, strategy, and technology.He has helped shape AREA 17’s global vision—leading interdisciplinary teams across Paris and New York to deliver transformative work for clients like The New York Times, Google, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Canada.In this episode, we dive into how design is more than just craft—how it becomes a system for delivering real value. Kemp shares his thoughts on behavioral branding, the rise of hyper-personalized UI, what AI tools get right (and wrong), and why making is still one of the best ways to think.We also talk about long-term client relationships, running a distributed global team, and how 100+ office plants became part of the AREA 17 ecosystem.Whether you’re deep in digital design or simply curious about how strategy, brand, and interface collide, this one’s packed with thoughtful ideas, a few laughs, and a whole lot of wisdom. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

We’re back with a third season of the DesignThinkers Podcast. DesignThinkers is Canada's largest graphic design conference. For twenty-five years, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers has been bringing together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity and the design process.This podcast is an extension of that mission. We’re here to talk about process, creativity and the business of design with past and present DesignThinkers speakers. Join me, Nicola Hamilton, for another season of candid conversation with design leaders from all over the world. This season, I have plans to catch up with founder of Hey Studio, Veronica Fuerte, Design Director at The New York Times for Kids, Debra Bishop, Founder of TEMPLO, Pali Palavathan; and fractional design leader Rachel Gogel, to name a few. Tune in on Wednesday, August 6 for our first episode. We’ll have a new episode for you every Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at @rgdcanada or visit us online at RGD.ca. And if you loved our previous seasons, please leave us a review. It really helps!And if you like what you hear, join us at DesignThinkers in Toronto, happening October 1 and 2. You can find all the details at designthinkers.com. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This is our last episode of the season—and what a high to go out on! Adam JK is a Toronto-born, Honolulu-based artist whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty, humour and a little bit of darkness. His books and journals, including Things Are What You Make of Them, have sold over a million copies in 20 languages worldwide. Obsessed with aphorisms and ephemera, Adam's work seeks to craft new reminders from familiar sources, offering his brand of "back-handed optimism" as a token of encouragement and camaraderie for other creative, emotional and deeply human people. Our conversation takes us to all kinds of places. We talk about big transitions that span our personal and professional lives. We talk about downswings in our lives and the ways the Internet has ruined the experience of making things. We talk about reclaiming a sense of purpose in our lives—and how we’ve accidentally learned a lot along the journey of making and doing things. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Eva Cremers. Eva might be a new name for our DesignThinkers audience! She’s a 3-D artist and animation director from The Netherlands. Eva blends her playful, graphic CGI style with her own graphic design sensibility to create charming, joyful worlds for a growing list of global clients including H&M, Meta, Amazon Music, Apple and Samsung. In this episode, Eva tells me how she sort of fell into 3-D animation as she familiarized herself with Cinema 4D in preparation for her first internship. She shares the ways her developing skill set actually gave her constraints for developing her signature style and how she still feels a sense of overwhelming joy when a cool, new project request lands in her inbox. We spend some time talking about Generative AI too. As an experiment, Eva trained a model on her own work. The results were hilariously mixed. Eva and I spent a bit of time catching up before we hit record, so we’re diving right into this conversation without any of the usual greetings. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you, our DesignThinkers audience to Vincent Wanga. Vince is new to the DesignThinkers universe. He’ll be joining us on stage in Vancouver next month to talk about creative audacity. Vince is one of those multi-hyphenates—In this episode, we joke that “I do a lot of things” is our shared tagline. He runs a couple of different businesses and has his hands in a myriad of projects. For the purposes of our conversation, Vince is a design leader, a serial entrepreneur and brand consultant. As former VP and head of creative for one of the fastest-growing technology start-ups in North America, he oversaw corporate brand strategy and creative during a period of unprecedented growth. He was with the company from before their Series A to their achievement of a $1 billion “unicorn” valuation. But what Vince is most passionate about right now is creative leadership. In this episode, we dive into his career trajectory. We talk about overcoming adversity, the delusional optimism that he’s gained from those tough experiences and how valuable that delusion can be for entrepreneurs. We also talk about what it means to become a good creative leader and how those leaders should be thinking about new technologies like AI. Enjoy this one! Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Catalina Estrada. Catalina is a Colombian illustrator now based in Barcelona. She reinterprets Latin American folklore and expertly documents the natural world in her stunning, and extremely colourful, artwork and patterns. Catalina has worked for major brands like Disney, Netflix and Coca-Cola but she’s also done heaps of self-initiated work for a host of global causes. In this episode we talk about her transition from design into illustration—a story that’s full of childlike curiosity and moments of kismet—and the ways her signature style has evolved over the years. My favourite bit is near the end, where Catalina talks about the value of active patience for creative people. She’s not the kind of patience where you sit on the couch quietly, but instead the kind of patience where you diligently do the work until something magic unfolds.  Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

This week’s guest is illustrator, art director and fine artist Carson Ting. Carson kicked off his career in Toronto before moving across the country for a dream job at Rethink. Today, Carson is best known as an artist and founder of Chairman Ting. He’s a bit of a legend in Vancouver, where his murals are plentiful and on occasion span entire city blocks. I’m catching up with Carson on the heels of a career reset. While Chairman Ting isn’t going anywhere, he’s doubling down on his fine art practice. We talk about his transition from advertising to fine art, his distaste for client feedback, and how much he loves the kind of procrastination that manifests as play. Plus, I ask him about the role bunnies have played in his life and work—something he’ll be talking more about in his DesignThinkers workshop, titled “Great designers don’t just create; they leave a mark”. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.