SydDT #106: State of the Design Nation with Ben Crothers & Rachel Zhang

RSVPs WILL OPEN SOON BUT NOT ON THIS PAGE. LINK COMING SOON

We're lucky to have Ben Crothers & Rachel Zhang sharing their reflections as a couple of the judges for the 2024 Good Design Awards. Since 2018, this has become an annual SydDT tradition and a time to reflect on the state of the design nation...

Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design community.

Good Design Australia has a proud history that dates back to 1958 and they're passionately committed to recognising, rewarding, and promoting the importance of design to business, industry, government and the general public... and the critical role it plays in creating a better, safer, and a more sustainable and prosperous future.

SPEAKERS
Ben Crothers
Principal Facilitator, Bright Pilots. Good Design Ambassador
Ben has been a designer since before Netscape ruled the www, and is currently a facilitator and design strategist at Bright Pilots (his online training and facilitation business), where he teaches teams of all sorts about design and facilitation methods, running strategic workshops, and generally helping teams get un-stuck. Previous to Bright Pilots, Ben was Principal Designer at Atlassian, a Design Director at Second Road (a strategic innovation consultancy), plus some assorted startups, agencies, and government departments.

Above all, Ben wants everyone to be just as good at the whiteboard as they are at the keyboard, to be better at thinking, communicating, and solving problems together visually. He's the author of a few books, including Presto Sketching: Simple Drawing for Brilliant Product Thinking and Design.

Rachel Zhang
Co-founder, The Elements Kit. Good Design Ambassador
Rach is the co-founder of The Elements Kit and a seasoned experience design leader with 15+ experience in some of Australia and UK’s foremost digital enterprises including Google, Telstra, Fjord, Accenture and AKQA.

She's co-founded and ran experience design agencies. Her focus is on profit-for-purpose projects that make a social impact, including the transformative re-design of the Parliament of Victoria digital experience.

As a design leader, she's passionate about creating safe spaces, cultivating a growth mindset, and challenging the idea of imposter syndrome as individuals' issue. Her passion extends to mentoring at Academy Xi and General Academy to help nurture the next generation of digital innovators.

Steve Packham
Chief Design Officer, Corporate Operations Group, Macquarie Group
Steve is the Chief Design Officer for the Corporate Operations Group at Macquarie and has worked in financial services for 15+ years across New York, London, and now Sydney.

He's an advocate for equipping people from all backgrounds and skillsets with everyday design skills. His passion for leveraging design practices across Macquarie has seen teams amplify their impact and elevated the role of design in digital experiences.

DESIGN CONNECTION
Design Connection #3 is another in our design megameetup series.

Design Connection is a collective of three Sydney design meetups... Ben Pecotich from Sydney Design Thinking (SydDT), Adam Faulkner from Enterprise UX (EUX), and Kevin Wilkins from Creative Customer Experience (CCX), with Susan Wolfe and Vera Chan being the backbone of Design Connection 😃

EVENT SPONSORS
This event is brought to you by Macquarie Group, Sh8peshifters, and Dynamic4.