This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Rachel Gogel. Rachel is an independent creative executive shaping the future of design at the intersection of brand, culture, and technology.After building multidisciplinary teams at places like GQ, The New York Times, Meta, and Godfrey Dadich, Rachel launched her own consultancy in 2020. Since then, she’s worked with everyone from tech giants like Airbnb and Dropbox to smaller purpose-driven, often women-founded ventures.In this episode, we talk about what it means to lead creatively—without being full-time. Rachel walks us through the rise of fractional leadership, how she designs her own career on her own terms, and why negotiating your worth is a skill every designer should learn. We explore the challenges of showing work that isn’t always visual, and the importance of making space for queer and marginalized voices in the industry.Whether you’re freelance-curious, burnt out on traditional career paths, or just looking to redefine what success means for you—Rachel’s story will leave you feeling empowered, clear-eyed, and ready to think differently. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.
--------
53:33
--------
53:33
Kemp Attwood
This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Kemp Attwood, partner at AREA 17. With a background in creative writing and new media design, Kemp has spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of design, strategy, and technology.He has helped shape AREA 17’s global vision—leading interdisciplinary teams across Paris and New York to deliver transformative work for clients like The New York Times, Google, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Canada.In this episode, we dive into how design is more than just craft—how it becomes a system for delivering real value. Kemp shares his thoughts on behavioral branding, the rise of hyper-personalized UI, what AI tools get right (and wrong), and why making is still one of the best ways to think.We also talk about long-term client relationships, running a distributed global team, and how 100+ office plants became part of the AREA 17 ecosystem.Whether you’re deep in digital design or simply curious about how strategy, brand, and interface collide, this one’s packed with thoughtful ideas, a few laughs, and a whole lot of wisdom. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.
--------
51:19
--------
51:19
Introducing Season Three of the DesignThinkers Podcast, Coming August 6th
We’re back with a third season of the DesignThinkers Podcast. DesignThinkers is Canada's largest graphic design conference. For twenty-five years, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers has been bringing together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity and the design process.This podcast is an extension of that mission. We’re here to talk about process, creativity and the business of design with past and present DesignThinkers speakers. Join me, Nicola Hamilton, for another season of candid conversation with design leaders from all over the world. This season, I have plans to catch up with founder of Hey Studio, Veronica Fuerte, Design Director at The New York Times for Kids, Debra Bishop, Founder of TEMPLO, Pali Palavathan; and fractional design leader Rachel Gogel, to name a few. Tune in on Wednesday, August 6 for our first episode. We’ll have a new episode for you every Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at @rgdcanada or visit us online at RGD.ca. And if you loved our previous seasons, please leave us a review. It really helps!And if you like what you hear, join us at DesignThinkers in Toronto, happening October 1 and 2. You can find all the details at designthinkers.com. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.
--------
1:18
--------
1:18
Adam JK on Embracing Imperfection
This is our last episode of the season—and what a high to go out on! Adam JK is a Toronto-born, Honolulu-based artist whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty, humour and a little bit of darkness. His books and journals, including Things Are What You Make of Them, have sold over a million copies in 20 languages worldwide. Obsessed with aphorisms and ephemera, Adam's work seeks to craft new reminders from familiar sources, offering his brand of "back-handed optimism" as a token of encouragement and camaraderie for other creative, emotional and deeply human people. Our conversation takes us to all kinds of places. We talk about big transitions that span our personal and professional lives. We talk about downswings in our lives and the ways the Internet has ruined the experience of making things. We talk about reclaiming a sense of purpose in our lives—and how we’ve accidentally learned a lot along the journey of making and doing things. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.
--------
39:34
--------
39:34
Eva Cremers on Finding Your Own Way
This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Eva Cremers. Eva might be a new name for our DesignThinkers audience! She’s a 3-D artist and animation director from The Netherlands. Eva blends her playful, graphic CGI style with her own graphic design sensibility to create charming, joyful worlds for a growing list of global clients including H&M, Meta, Amazon Music, Apple and Samsung. In this episode, Eva tells me how she sort of fell into 3-D animation as she familiarized herself with Cinema 4D in preparation for her first internship. She shares the ways her developing skill set actually gave her constraints for developing her signature style and how she still feels a sense of overwhelming joy when a cool, new project request lands in her inbox. We spend some time talking about Generative AI too. As an experiment, Eva trained a model on her own work. The results were hilariously mixed. Eva and I spent a bit of time catching up before we hit record, so we’re diving right into this conversation without any of the usual greetings. Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.
From the Association of Registered Graphic Designers, this is the DesignThinkers podcast. DesignThinkers is Canada's largest graphic design conference. Since the year 2000, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers has been bringing together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity and the design process live and on-stage. This podcast is an extension of that mission. We’re here to talk about process, creativity and the business of design with past and present DesignThinkers speakers. Join our host, Nicola Hamilton, for candid conversation with creative legends such as Erin Sarofsky, Michael Beirut, Paul Scher, Gail Anderson, Meg Lewis, Christopher Doyle, and so many more.Follow us on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit us online at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.
México