Brisbane Designscape made its return to the river city on 4 November, with a day-long event at the 108 Wickham Street precinct in Fortitude Valley. Hosted by Offiscape and spearheaded by Jason Mark, the event provided ample opportunities for skills development and networking among Queensland’s design community.

This year’s theme, ‘reconnect,’ curated by Paul Fairweather, featured workshops, speaker presentations, and an afterparty sponsored by Luxxbox, all centred on the concepts of connection, interconnection, and reconnection. More than 15 local and international speakers comprising social justice activists, storytellers, architects, designers, neuroscientists and more signed on to share their insights and experiences.

Top highlights from the day’s program

The event kicked off at 9am with a series of workshops, including First Nations weaving hosted by design studio Blaklash with Sonja Carmichael, Leecee Carmichael, Kim Ah Sam and Ivy Minniecon. The workshop provided participants with a medium to explore the interwoven threads of tradition and creativity, forging new associations and connections within the practice of design.

Also popular and well attended was the urban sketching workshop, led by Peter Richards. Focused on building a community of on-location sketchers, the workshop posed questions about the role of an observer and the communicative nature of visual art.

Speaker sessions and rich knowledge sharing

Kicking off at 11am, speaker sessions were divided into three compelling themes: ‘Reconnecting with People,’ ‘Reconnecting with Place,’ and ‘Reconnecting with Passion and Purpose’. Each component featured prominent industry figures who shared their insights on collaboration, creativity, and connection in a contemporary design context.

Session one, ‘Reconnecting with People,’ welcomed Dr Mark Williams, Rebecca Caldwell, Neal Foard, Anita Hamilton and Alix Hamilton to provide captivating insights centred around the personal relationships between individuals in collaborative spaces. The diverse discussions explored themes of compassion, community, transparency and happiness.

Session two, ‘Reconnecting with Place’ saw Peter Richards, Cheryl Desha, Amanda Hayman and Brent O’Neill each offer their unique perspective on a variety of topics regarding the importance of place – spanning from forgotten spaces and Indigenous Australian designs to the role of visual art and psychology.

The final session, ‘Reconnecting with Passion and Purpose,’ turned the reflective analysis inward as experts Amanda Cole, Neil Wilson, Jason Bird, Alisa Newey and Rachel Barnard rose to the challenge of confronting the challenge of individual motivation. Delving into topics such as self-development, vulnerability, music, collaboration and justice, the session addressed some of the deepest aspects of the human condition to bring all-new understandings into the space of design.

The speaker sessions were complemented by the artistic brilliance of Gavin Blake, who scribed real-time illustrations which captured the essence of the presentations. Throughout the day, attendees had opportunities to network, engage in interactive activities, and participate in a Lego challenge guided by psychologists Alec Hamilton and Anita Hamilton. The Luxxbox afterparty provided a perfect conclusion to the day, offering food, drinks, live music, and DJ entertainment.

The event was made possible through the support of sponsors Offiscape, Luxxbox, Jonas Ihreborn, NPS Commercial Furniture, Blaklash, Sunshine & Sons, CMS Electracom, and Autex Acoustics.

Learn more with Offiscape.

Brisbane Designscape
brisbanedesignscape.com.au