"Bruce Mau Design has participated in DesignThinkers in various ways for years. We love this event and think it’s a really important one for our community. The opportunity to be able to define the theme conceptually, visually and bring it to life across all the diverse applications is quite compelling," says Laura Stein RGD, Partner & Chief Creative Officer at Bruce Mau Design. 





The team at Bruce Mau Design started developing the concept and branding for the conference early last year at the onset of the pandemic. They, like most of us, had to adapt and restructure their processes to a new way of working. 




Laura explains, "At Bruce Mau Design we typically have a very collaborative and often physical process involving pin-up boards, post-its, mock-ups, etc. Going to an all-digital process was tough. How do we share work; how do we collaborate; how do we build on each other’s ideas and spark new ones? There was some initial trial and error, where we found that many or our online tools were very linear and ‘present-y’ which isn’t great for initial ideation. We found a tool that got closest to our in-person collaboration and actually offered benefits, such as looking at motion in the same space as static work. Even that initial exercise of searching for new tools, methods and knowing that other designers were also doing that, served as a starting point for the idea that we are all, by necessity, learning new things, rethinking old ways, ended up being the start of the 'DesignReThinkers' concept." 




Bruce Mau Design's 'DesignReThinkers' concept relies on a dynamic graphic and messaging system with strong anchors. There is a tension in the design between the inspiration it got from the physical world, with things like the sticker, and its purely digital execution. The 2021 conference being a virtual event, the branding will be focused on the motion and digital executions of the concept.

 

Talking about what the attendees can expect from this year's concept and design Laura offers, "The past year has been all about change and our ability to navigate through and address that change. It has affected everything from processes, tools and platforms to bigger questions around access, equity and purpose. It’s been a learning year for many of us and will continue to be, especially if we take time to reflect on our experiences and learn from each other. DesignThinkers 2021 is going to be the perfect event to do that."




The team at Bruce Mau Design created a teaser of the DesignThinkers 2021 branding:

 

 

 

Stay tuned for more details on the 2021 Conference.




If you are interested in sponsoring DesignThinkers 2021, email Michelle Pereira Hampton, Director of Communications & Development, at

 

Send general conference inquiries to Abdul Omar, Programs Coordinator at .