First Impressions: what stood out right away?

Inji: I noticed the title “Shift Shapers” for Design Thinkers 2025, and the message and meaning behind. By continuing to morph and adapt, we challenge convention, break barriers and shift perspectives.

Natasha: We saw Meg both here in Toronto and in Vancouver. In Vancouver during the bit of their talk about living a life with whimsy, someone ran up onto the stage. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of my row and couldn’t surprise the Toronto audience with following that person’s lead. 

Brent: It’s always a great vibe at the conference. Everyone is excited to be surrounded by likeminded creative people. It felt even more so this year. It feels like a creative person escape from the “real world” for a few days.

Sarah: AI is still a hot topic, I noticed right off the bat that there were many themes about how to bring the human element back‚ what we can do that AI simply can’t. Connecting back to fun, play and confidence.

Elmira: “You can’t change someone’s mind but you can change their own mind when you make them say I never thought of it that way”. This was probably my favourite quote from this year’s DT!

Big Ideas: what made you think differently?

Inji: Speaker Pali Palavathanan made a strong impression with his focus on personal causes and using design as a powerful tool for engagement. It was inspiring to see how design can create change in impactful ways. 

Natasha: Laura Stein talked about the importance of visiting the environment you’re designing for. Although this is not always be feasible for each project it does highlight the importance of researching not only who you’re designing for but the physical space that the design lives in. 

Brent: As much as the “hot topic” continues to be AI, there was a a lot of talk about the mental health aspect of being a creative; that we’re not alone, we all share a lot of the same challenges (imposter syndrome, burnout, etc.).

Sarah: During Stephen Gate’s talk, he highlighted “confidence is why stupid people are successful”. We often get in our own way, chasing perfection, and shying away from bold ideas.

Elmira: There was a talk that reminded me how fun it actually is to explore insanely simple ideas that could be really effective if we lived in the future.

Creative Sparks: what inspired you?

Inji: Speaker Chris Clarke really stood out with his talk “Making Play, Work.” It was super inspiring and fun, how he and his team brought traditional mediums like magazine cutouts and paper collage into their process for big campaigns. I’d love to experiment with some of those elements.

Natasha: Zia and Kristian had a really fun approach to their slides; they gave us a tour through their process with the visuals acting as if we we’re touring different computer apps. Not only did it keep the presentation visually interesting but this unique approach to a talk made you want to create other new ways to showcase your work and ideas.  

Brent: I took notice of more stories about how the speaker/designer broke into the field/had their first big success. My favourite was a designer that rebranded a frozen yogurt chain as one of their first big projects. And then went on to rebrand a sex toy company and its products. Our industry is one of the few where something like that can happen. 

Sarah: I like the concept of the “Creative OS”. Not in terms of software that we use, but the skills, personalities and process the HUMAN team has behind all the creative work.

Elmira:  I’ve learned about guided questions we should ask ourselves when developing ideas, and it really stuck with me. I want to keep these in mind going forward: 

Q1. Is this safe or is this meaningful? 
Q2. Am I protecting the idea or protecting myself? 
Q3. Does this make the brand louder or braver?

The People Part: who or what made an impression?

Inji: The design firm, Pupila really stood out. They were unfiltered, funny, and refreshingly real. They showed up wearing costumes to add to their storytelling and showing their personality. 

Natasha: Sarah and I had the pleasure of speaking to Meg after their talk, we may have gone off on a few tangents that ended at how much Meg would enjoy Mr. Dressup. 

Brent: The people are my favourite part of the conference. As I get older, this has become my priority, catching up with designers and firm owners that I’ve met through my involvement in the RGD over the years. It’s always amazing to meet people in person that I’ve only communicated with virtually.

Sarah: DesignThinkers always feels like a reunion. It’s fun to see people I went to school with, get a chance to chat with some of the speakers, and—above all—spend time with the Fusion team. There’s such a positive energy of community buzzing at the event, I love it.

Elmira: The talk “Turning Science Fiction into Reality” made me think about how far we can go when we design for futures that don’t exist yet. We don’t need to be scientists to imagine what’s next. There is no limit to creativity!

Moments That Stuck: big or small.

Inji: Was visiting and experiencing Design Thinkers as a new member of the Fusion team, was super memorable.

Natasha: Elmira sitting on the opposite side of the section because it was warmer than the seats we had originally grabbed and me buying a sweater mid second day to be more cozy.  

Brent: It had been so busy leading up to the conference, that I took a break the first day, missing the first session of the first day to order room service breakfast and watch tv in my robe.

Sarah: Classic: we ALWAYS sit in the same spot.
Hilarious: Elmira sitting all alone away from “our spot” cuz it was warmer over there.
Delicious: we enjoyed SO many lovely meals, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

Elmira: The photo booth was fun this year!

The Fusion Connection: what ties back to us?

Inji: Takeaway, is collaboration, enjoying the process and sometimes the unexpected approach can be the one that clients like and go for! 

Natasha: That as the world gets more and more automated, the thing that makes us truly unique is who we are and how we work as a team. As long as we remember that, we’ll be able to take on any challenge. 

Brent: “Risk & Trust” were mentioned by one of the speakers, two key factors in developing great creative. I think the trust element we are pretty good at internally, but we need to take more risks in our work. And trust that risks always pay off down the road, even if it’s only in added experience.

Sarah: This year is special since Fusion turned 30. Listening to speakers talk about confidence, and the people behind the work, has added to my OWN confidence in myself and the team. We have a lot we can bring to the table, and that’s pretty empowering.

Elmira: I’d like to be braver in how I build and bring ideas to life. Instead of choosing the safest way, I want to explore smarter website experiences.

Just for Fun: because we can’t help ourselves.

Inji: Enjoying time together at team lunches and dinners! 

Natasha: The thing that sticks out is how hard Sarah laughed at finding me on the last morning eating chocolate cake for breakfast because the whole team insisted I take it home. 

Brent: I love our tradition of the team dinner on the first night of the conference, after attending the Delegate Party. We’ve been very fortunate to try some great restaurants both in Toronto and Vancouver.

Sarah: After the conference, some of us went for drinks and got a chance to chat with some of the speakers. Went down a rabbit hole with Meg Lewis, introducing them to Canadian children’s programing from the 1990s‚ polkaroo!

Elmira: OMG! The DT theme colour was cobalt blue, my favourite! So of course I had to wear bright blue eyeshadow to match! : )