Design Layers - Free Online Conference by Readymag

At Readymag they always sought to strike a balance—between ethics and ambitions, creativity and structure, freedom and restraint.

At Design Layers online conference, they welcome design companies, industry visionaries, and creators to share their journeys and perhaps uncover new paths forward.

The conference is on October 10th, and will feature talks from 5 industry leaders: Yah-Leng Yu (Foreign Policy), Verònica Fuerte (Hey Studio), Abb-d Taiyo (Driftime), Cat How (How&How), Samar Maakaroun (Pentagram).

This free, 4-hour online event, seeks to recognize potential trade-offs and support designers in developing their practice according to their personal beliefs and values without sacrificing their creative spark.

Line-up:

• Cat How, How&How — "The Neverending Story"
• ABB-D Taiyo, Driftime — "The Hard Sell of People versus Equals Profit"
• Yah-Leng Yu, Foreign Policy Design — "Navigating the Global Design Landscape: Balancing Standards and Sensibilities"
• Samar Maakaroun, Pentagram — "Type & Culture"
• Verònica Fuerte, Hey Studio — "Designing for the Now and the Forever"
• Q&A with Diana Kasay, Readymag CEO

Talks

• Balance business goals with sheer aesthetics
• Explore how personal morals delimit business values
• Check your design practices against your ethics
• Get familiar with Readymag’s creative toolbox

Date & Time:
October 10, 2024
15:00 UTC, 17:00 PM CEST

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Register for free here!

Verònica Fuerte 

Before founding her own studio, HEY STUDIO, in 2007, she worked on various design projects, specializing in branding, illustration, and art direction.

Hey quickly gained recognition for its unique style characterized by vibrant colors and bold combinations. Under Fuerte’s leadership, the studio has collaborated with major brands and local businesses, delivering visually striking solutions across media.

Verònica Fuerte’s dedication to the craft and her unique creativity have made her a significant figure in contemporary design. She continues to push boundaries, merging playful elements with sophisticated aesthetics in timeless visual narratives.

Yah Leng Yu

The Founding Partner and Creative Director of Foreign Policy Design, a creative bureau based in Singapore, and the first Singaporean woman member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale

She has initiated and launched community projects and events like The Swap Show, Design Pasar, Design Diplomacy, and Foreign Policy Summer School.
Yah-Leng Yu also co-created the official museum store Gallery & Co at the National Gallery Singapore.

Yah-Leng Yu’s works have been recognized and honored by numerous awards, accolades, and publications, including D&AD, ADC, TDC, and Tokyo TDC. Yu is the current President of The Design Society Singapore and has been on The Tatler 300 List by Singapore Tatler from 2017 to 2020.

Abb-d Taiyo

After working in the creative field for over 20 years, Abb-d Taiyo became a Creative Director for one of the world’s largest independent marketing agencies but realized that design had a larger role to play. This desire to pursue meaningfulness led to him co-founding the digital agency Driftime® in 2016 alongside his wife, Sara Taiyo.

Driftime® approaches social, environmental, and economic challenges through strategy, digital design, and storytelling.

Alongside Driftime®, Abb-d Taiyo co-founded
and is co-leading Design Declares!, a movement bringing together designers, design studios, agencies, and institutions to declare a climate and ecological emergency.

Cat How

The Founder, CEO, and Executive Creative Director of How&How—a global branding agency with offices in London and LA. A former journalist and design critic, Cat set up How&How in 2020 to create brands that enrich lives and liberate ideas the world deserves.

Cat has set up a pro-bono climate initiative called GetSet, a female leadership mentorship program called GetEven, and is a mentor for D&AD Shift and Women in Tech. She has judged multiple design awards; and has spoken about entrepreneurship, equality, and design at conferences and summits around the world.

Samar Maakroun

Across a career spanning over 20 years,
Samar has used typography and language
as tools for navigating, understanding, and reflecting on the world. She has delivered transformative projects worldwide, including Apple’s first entry into the Arab world and destination brands such as Dubai
and Sharjah.

As a Partner at the multi-disciplinary, independently owned design studio Pentagram, she brings together arts, culture, technology, and education.

Register for free here!

Readymag is a browser-based design tool that helps create websites, landing pages and all kinds of online publications without coding. It offers advanced animations and interactions, 5,000+ free fonts with complete control over typography, plus teamwork and analytics. All this with no layout limitations, complete creative freedom and a flexible set of templates for a quick start.