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Conference Talks

Watch the full talks from Design Indaba's world-renowned 24-year Conference in this archive of videos going back to 2006.

From our archives: Michael Bierut on how to think like a designer
Conference Talks • Design Indaba Conference 2015 • Duration 00:39:15
Michael Bierut runs us through some of his major projects and the thought processes behind them: a rare opportunity to get into his award-winning mind.
  • 00:07:35
    Kathryn Fleming on designing future species
    Design Thinking / Interaction Design
    RCA graduate Kathryn Fleming imagines using the endless potential of biology to create future species with unusual characteristics.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Italian design duo Studio Formafantasma use talking and collaborating as core tools in its design process. 00:30:54
    Studio Formafantasma on words as a tool for design
    Craft / Design Thinking / Product Design
    Italian design duo Studio Formafantasma use talking and collaborating as core tools in its design process.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Rosita Missoni takes to the Design Indaba stage. 00:24:00
    Rosita Missoni on a life dedicated to fashion
    Fashion & Jewellery Design
    Fashion and business icon Rosita Missoni talks about the love for her family as the driving force behind her success.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Santiago Cirugeda is known as the rebel architect. 00:33:12
    Santiago Cirugeda on self-construction
    Architecture & Interiors / Design Activism
    Spanish architect Santiago Cirugeda talks architectural activism and self-construction.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • New York-based graphic designer Emily Oberman has been working on the title credits for Saturday Night Live for the last 20 years 00:36:42
    Emily Oberman on 20 years of design and redesign
    Graphic Design & Illustration
    New York-based graphic designer Emily Oberman has been working on the title credits for Saturday Night Live for the last 20 years.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Doremy Diatta on how objects affect our emotions 00:07:22
    Doremy Diatta on how objects affect our emotions
    Design Thinking
    Design Indaba Global Design Graduate Doremy Diatta talks about how objects are intrinsically linked to our emotions.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Omar Victor Diop on the tradition of portraiture in Senegal 00:14:12
    Omar Victor Diop on the tradition of portraiture in Senegal
    African Design / Art & Photography
    Senegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop is reviving the tradition of studio photography in Senegal, and recreating portraits of historical African leaders.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Ackeem Ngwenya designs for the rural people of Africa. 00:06:09
    Ackeem Ngwenya on design for rural Africa
    African Design / Product Design
    Designer and recent graduate Ackeem Ngwenya says scarcity in Africa is a blank canvas for designers.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Stanley Hainsworth on two decades of building distinct brands at Design Indaba Conference 2015. 00:37:05
    Stanley Hainsworth on two decades of building distinct brands
    Design Thinking
    In a talk peppered with audience laughter, Stanley Hainsworth shares his wisdom on branding the cultural icons of our time.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Tia Blassingame at Design Indaba Conference 2015 00:08:44
    The texture of racism & slavery in the United States – a talk by Tia Blassingame
    Design Activism / Product Design
    "I made a headscarf that talks about the accumulation of wealth through slavery, as the black body as gold but also seeming worthless."
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Joe Public 00:38:18
    Pepe Marais and Xolisa Dyeshana on how purpose drives creativity and change
    Creative Economy
    Pepe Marais and Xolisa Dyeshana unpack the belief system that’s behind their award-winning ad agency, Joe Public.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Burning Man’s founder Larry Harvey describes how the festival of arts is driven by a strange combination of jeopardy and awe 00:25:20
    The late Larry Harvey on the creation of Burning Man Festival
    Art & Photography / Creative Economy
    It's Burning Man this week. The festival's 2018 iteration takes place between 25 August and 3 September. We look back at the founder's Design Indaba Talk.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Tyler Pratt at Design Indaba Conference 2015 00:05:25
    Tyler Pratt on designing simple things to solve everyday needs
    Industrial Design / Product Design
    Carleton University industrial design graduate Tyler Pratt makes simple, elegant products that solve everyday needs.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Sindiso Khumalo 00:11:19
    Sindiso Khumalo on the love affair with her ancestry in her textiles
    Fashion & Jewellery Design
    The fashion designer draws from her Zulu inheritance in the design of her contemporary fashion collections.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Selly Raby Kane on otherworldly fashion in Dakar 00:19:16
    Selly Raby Kane on otherworldly fashion in Dakar
    African Design / Design Thinking / Fashion & Jewellery Design
    Senegalese fashion designer Selly Raby Kane is going beyond regular aesthetics and redefining the creative energy in Dakar.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • The Workers is a London-based digital design studio that challenges expectations of what is possible in the digital realm 00:33:19
    The Workers on the power of digital interactions
    Interaction Design
    The Workers is a London-based digital design studio that challenges expectations of what is possible in the digital realm.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Stefano Giovannoni Design Indaba 00:33:52
    Stefano Giovannoni on how design is an expression of historical events
    Industrial Design / Product Design
    The maestro of industrial design draws a parallel between product design and major cultural and economic movements.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Dan Wieden at Design Indaba 2015. 00:28:57
    Dan Wieden on why Wieden+Kennedy will never sell out
    Creative Economy
    The co-founder of Wieden+Kennedy says the secret of its success lies in its creative culture of chaos.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • 00:37:41
    Roy Choi on moving on from losing his job to starting a street food revolution
    Design Thinking / Food Design
    “We started [outside nightclubs] at midnight, serving this taco which tasted like the city.”
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Shubhankar Ray at Design Indaba 2015 00:34:41
    Shubhankar Ray on how brands can survive in the 21st century
    Creative Economy / Fashion & Jewellery Design
    Content is king but no one explains why quite like Shubhankar Ray, who re-engineered the brands of Camper, Levis and G-Star.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • William Kentridge on peripheral thinking at Design Indaba 2015 00:52:54
    William Kentridge on peripheral thinking
    African Design / Art & Photography / Film & Animation
    South Africa’s foremost artist demonstrates how productive procrastination is at the heart of his creative process.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Dutch designer Hella Jongerius urged the design community to search for greater ideals in design. 00:39:53
    Hella Jongerius: I am a design pastor
    Design Activism / Design Thinking / Industrial Design
    The Dutch designer outlines six guiding principles for designers to embrace in order to regain a holistic approach to their work.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015
  • Kyla Philander at Design Indaba Conference 2014. 00:05:42
    Kyla Philander on using empathy as a design tool
    Art & Photography / Film & Animation / Music & Sound Design
    This South African storyteller, musician and videographer looks to creativity as a positive outlet for violence, hurt and low self-esteem.
    Design Indaba Conference 2014
  • The Danish Delegation at Design Indaba Conference 2014. 00:54:02
    More than a chair
    Design Activism / Design Thinking / Product Design
    A Danish delegation spoke at Design Indaba Conference 2014 on designing "like you give a damn".
    Design Indaba Conference 2014
  • 00:07:35
    Kathryn Fleming on designing future species
    Design Thinking / Interaction Design
    RCA graduate Kathryn Fleming imagines using the endless potential of biology to create future species with unusual characteristics.
    Design Indaba Conference 2015

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