Each year we're lucky enough to partner up with our favourite conferences around the world and this year we followed our Gold Coast friends at Typism on their road trip down to Australia's capital, Canberra to join the conference fun at DESIGN Canberra Festival. Our very own TDK Canberra City Host, Elizabeth Flora gives us the lowdown on this year's event and her favourite highlights and takeaways from each speaker.
This year’s Design Festival was fantastic! Canberra was buzzing with studio visits, talks, workshops and most importantly, the Typism conference. Held at the architectural-stunner Vibe Hotel, Typism featured 8 guest speakers whose creative paths inspired and ignited my own creative goals.
The day started with Kiel Tillman’s epic intro rap video. It did make me pause a bit, what will this Typism conference even be about? But then the speakers began. Kiel @kieltillman shared his story (Wu Tang, Disney etc.), Libby Reed @love.libbishared her university projects and her handmade calligraphy pens (stunning), Aurelie Maron @aureliemaron shared some stories about her freelance work, Matt Vergotis @mattvergotis made us all thirsty with his stories about his hand-drawn beer can designs, Zane Ruyssenaers @hand.type went looking for a design job in Dubai with only $200 in his pocket, David Sargent @davidsargent_ blew our mind with VR and distorting body-damaging ads, Ryan Bowles @ryanlbowles runs Create or Die – helping creatives be the best they can be in business, and Wayne Thompson @wayneatf shared his journey of designing the new ABC typeface.
Don’t worry, we had a break after every two speakers, otherwise our brains would have exploded with all their fantastic stories. It was during these breaks, that I spoke with the speakers, learning more about the Gold Coast’s creative side and how many of them are Typism regulars, strengthening the hand-lettering and design community.
Every speaker was passionate and welcoming, their stories reflected a lot of my own thoughts and inspiring me to explore more of my own creative side. I’m looking forward to the next Typism at the Gold Coast, an event that I recommend all TDK members to go!
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