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Talks

Global Design Forum takes place at the V&A, the official London Design Festival hub, from Saturday 15 - Sunday 23 September 2018.    Enjoy more of the talks programme and keynote sessions with our special offer on tickets with three sessions for the price of two:

  • Individual sessions: £10

  • Keynote sessions: £15

  • Daily pass: attend all talks in a day for £30

Book Tickets

Saturday 15 September 2018
Graphic Design
Graphic Design: Saturday

13:30 - 14:15 15 September 2018

Design to Change the World

How can design keep you safe, show you the way, break down prejudices and make a traumatic time just a little bit brighter? Three short and sharp pitches exploring transformative design ideas with wide reaching impact on the world we live in.
Graphic Design: Saturday

14:30 - 15:30 15 September 2018

Analog to Digital Problem Solving

Want to understand how is future thinking technology changing the discourse of graphic design?
Graphic Design: Saturday

14:45 - 15:30 15 September 2018

Graphics That Engage

In a shifting creative landscape, what is the secret to designing graphics that engage online, in print and in the real world? As audiences continue to assert their own creativity, do designers need to adapt to start a new dialogue with the communities they design for?
Graphic Design: Saturday

16:00 - 17:00 15 September 2018

KEYNOTE: How The Hell Did We Get Here

Marina Willer, Partner at Pentagram, and Kate Moross, discuss their professional journeys to date.
Sunday 16 September 2018
Graphic Design
Graphic Design: Sunday

13:30 - 14:15 16 September 2018

Gaming, Graphics and Building Better Cities

How can emergent technologies seen in gaming and experiential media help solve real-world issues and build better cities? How can designers working at the intersection of urbanism, graphics and technology create immersive worlds for storytelling across multiple platforms?
Graphic Design: Sunday

14:45 - 15:30 16 September 2018

Graphics, Politics and Protest

What influence does design have on politics and what influence does politics have on design? How can designers and creatives give voice to marginalised groups and are new mediums and platforms changing the balance of the conversation?
Graphic Design: Sunday

16:00 - 17:00 16 September 2018

KEYNOTE: Beyond Graphic Design

Specialising in spatial linguistics and 3D communication, Sascha Lobe has worked with global brands like Adidas and Hugo Boss, and architects such as Daniel Libeskind and David Chipperfield. "In my work, there are no borderlands between graphic design and architecture,” says Lobe.
Monday 17 September 2018
Disrupters supported by frog
Disrupters

12:15 - 13:00 17 September 2018

Design and Strategy for a Future in Flux

How can design teams and organisations apply agile design methodologies to navigate the uncertainty inherent in building unprecedented products, services and lines of business? ETHAN IMBODEN VP Creative and Head of Venture Design, frog
Disrupters

13:30 - 14:15 17 September 2018

Ideas to Change the World: Opening Up Design

Four pioneering ideas that are opening up design from the inside out. 1. Petra Janssen, Founder, Social Label 2. Leon Lakowski, industrial designer and creator of ALL IN 3. Kara Pecknold, Creative Director, Collective Action Toolkit 4. Chair: Grace Gould, Founder, School of Digital Age
Disrupters

14:45 - 15:30 17 September 2018

Material Disruption

How can material use and production be reimagined to become genuinely sustainable and what role can designers play in changing attitudes towards sustainability and consumption both in and outside of the industry.
Disrupters

16:00 - 17:00 17 September 2018

KEYNOTE: Breaking The Boundaries

Where are the boundaries between art, branding and design and does it matter? How can partnerships between brands, artists and designers be creatively and commercially fruitful? How can a full service design approach enhance the creative process?
Tuesday 18 September 2018
Experience supported by McKinsey Design
Experiences

12:15 - 13:00 18 September 2018

The Business Value of Design

Demonstrating the business value of design has been notoriously difficult, until now. A world-first study of 300 companies over five years points at the dozen design actions a leader can take to improve business performance. BEN SHEPPARD Partner, McKinsey Design
Experiences

13:30 - 14:15 18 September 2018

Delivering Retail Experiences

How can design deliver experiential retail that embraces smart technology both online and offline. What is the key to delivering a customer experience that is environmentally thoughtful, impactful and embodies the brand? 
Experiences

14:45 - 15:30 18 September 2018

Next Generation UX Design

How can convergent design transform customer experience across a suite of products? What measures can be employed to demonstrate the positive impact of well-executed UX design?
Experiences

16:00 - 17:00 18 September 2018

KEYNOTE: Designing an Experience: Physical and Digital

Jessica Brillhart is an American immersive director, writer, and theorist, known for her pioneering techniques in virtual reality filmmaking. In conversation with the V&A’s Victoria Broackes, she discusses how designers can explore the tensions between physical and virtual worlds.
Wednesday 19 September 2018
Sensory Design supported by Enovate
Sensory Design

12:15 - 13:00 19 September 2018

Designing for Emotion

How can designers respond to the crucial challenges of environmental and social sustainability while also delivering delight?
Sensory Design

13:30 - 14:15 19 September 2018

Designing For The Senses

How can designers create subconscious comfort and immersive experiences by focusing on the aspects of design that cannot be seen and designing for all senses? Three leading innovators in the diverse fields of culinary art, new musical formats and sensual aesthetics explore the possibilities.
Sensory Design

14:45 - 15:30 19 September 2018

Science and the Senses

Can designers better understand the communities and individuals they design for by employing scientific research? What impact could this have on design outcomes and processes? By understanding the psychology behind human interactions and perceptions can designers provide a more sensorily experience?
Sensory Design

16:00 - 17:00 19 September 2018

KEYNOTE: Design For The Soul

Ilse Crawford is a designer, academic and creative director with a simple mission to put human needs and desires at the centre of all that she does. She recently worked with Massimo Bottura on his Food for Soul project which recognises the importance of well-designed environments to social cohesion.
Thursday 20 September 2018
Housing Futures
Housing Futures

13:30 - 14:15 20 September 2018

Ten Futures For Social Housing: PART 1

This day of discussion and debate will consider possible futures for social housing. The demolition of Robin Hood Gardens, and of other estates across London, prompts a number of urgent questions: is state-run social housing dead? What are the alternatives to the demolition of council estates?
Housing Futures

14:45 - 15:30 20 September 2018

Ten Futures For Social Housing: PART 2

This day of discussion and debate will consider possible futures for social housing. The current demolition of Robin Hood Gardens, and of numerous other estates across London, prompts a number of urgent questions: is state-run social housing dead?
Housing Futures

16:00 - 17:00 20 September 2018

KEYNOTE: The Hundred Mile City And Other Stories

Described by The Independent as one of the UK’s leading urbanists, Peter Barber has proposed an ambitious solution to the housing crisis: a belt of high-density, low- rise homes surrounding London, joined up by an orbital monorail, that he calls the ‘Hundred Mile City’.
Friday 21 September 2018
Values
Values

14:45 - 15:30 21 September 2018

The Value of Design: Futureproofing The Role of the Designer

How can designers equip themselves to meet the changing expectations placed on them, secure their place in conversations that matter, not be pigeonholed and communicate their value to clients, and the public? Architect Sadie Morgan and Robert Brunner, Apple, discuss design advocacy.
Values

16:00 - 17:00 21 September 2018

Designing Out Single Use Plastics

What happens when one of the world's largest software companies engages UK citizens and challenges its team and global clients to find solutions to plastic pollution and waste? London Design Festival provides the first public platform for this ground-breaking design-led technology project.
Values

17:15 - 18:15 21 September 2018

KEYNOTE: Freespace Manifesto, Grafton Architects

Grafton Architects will discuss the ideas behind their theme and manifesto of Freespace as presented at La Biennale di Venezia and the values that shape their work.