Risky Business : Neville Brody and Farouk Alao in conversation with Mary Doherty.

In an era defined by accelerating technology, cultural volatility and creative saturation, the role of the creative leader is being fundamentally redefined. This conversation moves beyond style, trends or tools to focus on what truly matters now: responsibility, values and leadership with intent.

Together, Neville Brody OBE, RDI! (Brody Associates), one of the most celebrated graphic designers of his generation and emerging design star Farouk Alao (studio858) explore how creative leaders can stay authentic, make conscious choices — including when to refuse — and lead with conviction in a system that often rewards speed over substance and familiarity over originality.

A timely reflection and discussion, moderated by moderated by Irish design agency owner Mary Doherty (Red Dog) on what it means to lead creatively, ethically and courageously in an era that often rewards mediocrity.

About Neville

Neville Brody runs his design agency, Brody Associates, from his London studio, working worldwide with clients such as Coca-Cola, BBC, Sony Music, Channel 4, Christian Dior, Supreme, Mayo Clinic, The Times, Samsung, and Shiseido.

In 2025, he was awarded OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2025 King's New Years Honours List for his services to Design.

Previously president of D&AD, he is Professor of Communication at the Royal College of Art and a Royal Designer for Industry and Honorary Fellow of University of the Arts London. He also holds an honorary doctorate from The University of Nicosia.

Brody leads his practice with experimentation, exploration, and discovery through influential projects such as FUSE and the ADF. He has always been focused on education and how it can change to better support creative development and opportunity.

In 2023, Brody’s hotly awaited new publication, The Graphic Language of Neville Brody 3 (NB3), was launched in partnership with Thames and Hudson. Six years in the making, NB3 is a major collection of Brody’s work produced over the last 30 years.

Risky Business : Neville Brody and Farouk Alao in conversation with Mary Doherty.

In an era defined by accelerating technology, cultural volatility and creative saturation, the role of the creative leader is being fundamentally redefined. This conversation moves beyond style, trends or tools to focus on what truly matters now: responsibility, values and leadership with intent.

Together, Neville Brody OBE, RDI! (Brody Associates), one of the most celebrated graphic designers of his generation and emerging design star Farouk Alao (studio858) explore how creative leaders can stay authentic, make conscious choices — including when to refuse — and lead with conviction in a system that often rewards speed over substance and familiarity over originality.

A timely reflection and discussion, moderated by moderated by Irish design agency owner Mary Doherty (Red Dog) on what it means to lead creatively, ethically and courageously in an era that often rewards mediocrity.

About Farouk

Farouk is a Nigerian-Irish multidisciplinary artist, designer, and founder of studio858.

His practice moves fluidly between painting, 3D, film, web, and immersive installation ~ wherever the idea needs to live.

Farouk creates experiences that reflect culture and open space for better questions about identity and community. Through his work, he is not only making art but also building new ways to connect, understand, and play.

He is pioneering the Omnaissance movement, which focuses on fusing traditional creative mediums with cutting-edge technology.

Who Will Define the Future of Design? Why designers must take ownership of the future – and build the systems to shape it

The design industry is being reshaped by accelerating technology, shifting business models, and growing societal complexity. While tools and implementation are becoming more accessible, the decisions that shape value, meaning, and long-term impact are increasingly made outside traditional design roles.

This talk asks a direct question: Who will define the future of design?

Drawing on Bielke&Yang’s experience and the establishment of (WIP) Institute, this talk argues that designers can no longer wait for institutions, education systems, or clients to define their relevance for them. If designers don’t actively step into authorship and leadership, that role will be filled by others – often without design’s values, perspective, or responsibility.

Through (WIP) Institute's initiatives and plans for the future, the talk reframes technology as an enabler rather than a threat, and positions learning ecosystems as essential infrastructure in a time of rapid change. It is a call to action for design leaders to invest in research, upskilling, and new ways of working – not as optional extras, but as strategic necessities for the future of the profession.

About Evan

Evan McGuinness is a Designer and Partner at Bielke&Yang, where he has been based since moving to Norway in 2014. His core competence lies in building identity systems and leading design processes for clients both internationally and in Norway. At Bielke&Yang, he works across disciplines to create empathetic brands, spaces, and experiences that address real challenges and generate genuine value. The studio’s approach is rooted in usability, innovation, aesthetics, and solid craftsmanship.

Evan is also Co-Founder of the Ways Into Practice Institute, a platform dedicated to reimagining the future of design through research, collaboration, and the development of new methods in design and visual communication. The institute brings together students, practitioners, and institutions to rethink how design is taught, practiced, and valued across society—and what it means to build a relevant and responsible design practice today.

Innovation Design: Transforming industry signals into scalable solutions

Innovation Design is driving change in industries and organisations. Instead of starting with a product design brief, you must dive into social and social trends to identify weak signals that hint at future opportunities. Innovation design involves working in multidisciplinary teams to develop concepts and validate their human desirability, technical feasibility and commercial viability at the same time. It's about having an entrepreneurial mindset and a keen eye for emerging technologies, to create groundbreaking products and services that meet future market needs. In this talk I will describe how we’ve developed this discipline at the Dock, Accenture’s Global R&D hub, and demonstrate its impact on our Public Services clients.

About Connor

Connor is a fan of wobbly career paths. A graduate of visual communications, he’s worked as a digital designer, founder, academic, R&D scientist and design director. Human cognition and interaction with systems has been the common theme across these roles. As Innovation Director at the Dock, he now works with industries to identify, prototype and incubate digital solutions that will transform their sectors.

Yes, Agencies Are Brands Too

In the current environment, design agencies big and small need to get their house in order. A rash of high profile rebrands shows us that branding agencies are finally discovering the advantage of brand thinking themselves – and leading with memorable ideas.

In 2025, Emily and Joel conducted their report, Fully Saturated, an audit of 150 UK design agencies’ positioning. They’ll be sharing some unsung gems, words of warning and principles for getting it right.

About Emily

Emily heads up brand voice studio Becolourful and works with people-based businesses where expertise is the product. That includes positioning and copywriting for consultants, agencies, communities, and social enterprises. She is fascinated by businesses at the edges and intersections of disciplines, future business models, the role of business in social change, and how brand thinking can support these opportunities. She has spent 25 years working in branding, sitting on award juries for the Design Week Awards, D&AD, and Brand Impact Awards. She has an MA marketing and has lectured on branding at London Metropolitan University and spoken on webinars and podcasts for the DBA, Creative Boom and Small Spark Theory. In 2024, she launched her brand positioning framework, BrandStrand® and in 2025 she co-authored Fully Saturated, a report on agency positioning examining major trends in the design sector. Design agency clients include HB, Some Bright Spark, We Pioneer, Naked, and Sister Mary.

Yes, Agencies Are Brands Too

In the current environment, design agencies big and small need to get their house in order. A rash of high profile rebrands shows us that branding agencies are finally discovering the advantage of brand thinking themselves – and leading with memorable ideas.

In 2025, Emily and Joel conducted their report, Fully Saturated, an audit of 150 UK design agencies’ positioning. They’ll be sharing some unsung gems, words of warning and principles for getting it right.

About Joel

Joel runs copy and creative studio Common Miracles, and works with brands across luxury, charity, B2B and beyond, with expertise in naming, voice, messaging, editorial, and campaigns. He’s allergic to bland ideas and verbal landfill, and loves working with brilliant designers who feel the same. In 2022, he authored Idea Tactics – a creative thinking card deck used by teams at organisations like Nike, LEGO, and the UK government. And he’s now developing an all-new toolkit called Ideas On Acid. He regularly collaborates on projects with Emily Penny, founder of Becolourful and Joel’s co-author on the Fully Saturated report – an investigation of design agency positioning, published in 2025.

How to Attract and Retain Younger Creatives

Jane McDaid brings an employer’s perspective to one of the most pressing leadership challenges facing the creative industries today: how to attract, engage and retain younger creative talent.

Drawing on her work with The Youth Lab, Jane explores the evolving expectations of younger employees and what they mean for leadership, culture and long-term organisational resilience. Her talk examines mentoring as a two-way exchange, the role of learning by osmosis in creative environments and the cultural tensions and opportunities between emerging talent and more established generations.

In this talk Jane offers practical insights for leaders seeking to build cultures where young creatives can thrive, feel guided rather than managed and stay invested for the long term. A timely conversation for organisations serious about the future of creative leadership.

About Jane

Jane McDaid founded THINKHOUSE in 2001, a digital-first marketing communications agency.
Over two decades she has advised clients across the public and private sectors on growth strategies using the most progressive, digital-first, marketing solutions. In 2015 she established The Youth Lab; an insights and C-Suite advisory practice that future-proofs some of the world’s largest organisations. McDaid is one of Ireland’s leading voices in progressive marketing, youth and better business practices. Her company is B Corp Certified and in 2025 became a Government of Ireland Sustainability Champion.

Upskilling 1m Designers to Grow the Green Economy

Green business is good business. As green skills become business-critical, design has a pivotal role to play in helping organisations not just respond, but lead. With climate emergency accelerating and regulatory, social and economic pressures intensifying - reshaping investment, consumer behaviour and supply chains - the expectations placed on designers are changing rapidly. Sustainability is no longer a specialism or an add-on; it is now a core leadership responsibility and a critical capability for the entire design profession.

In this talk, Cat Drew, Chief Design Officer at Design Council UK and lead of the Design for the Planet movement, will outline the bold ambition to upskill one million designers by 2030 in sustainable design principles. She will explore how upskilling designers can drive innovation, economic resilience and competitive advantage, positioning design as a powerful engine in the transition to a green economy.

Drawing on the Design Council’s systems-led approach and Skills for Planet Blueprint, Cat will demonstrate how design can actively grow new economies; from circular business models and local production to biomaterials, regenerative systems and more resilient supply chains.

She will show how sustainable design capability helps organisations reduce risk and cost, unlock new revenue streams, attract investment and improve performance in a rapidly changing landscape; reframing sustainability not as a constraint, but as fuel for the future economy and a business necessity.

A practical and eye-opening talk for design leaders seeking to align climate responsibility with commercial success and equip their teams with the skills needed to shape resilient, responsible and future-ready industries and businesses.

About Cat

Cat Drew is the Chief Design Officer at the UK Design Council where she champions Design for Planet - one of the global megatrends of design in the 21st century. Fresh from hosting the World Design Congress, with Design for Planet as its theme, Cat and the DC team help shift the UK design economy towards more regenerative practice through skills, research, innovation and policy, and championing what is possible.

Reshaping the Future of Design – with the Next Generation

IADT students Beth Cullen, Jaz Webb, Niamh Cooney and Robin Dennis in Discussion with Danielle O'Connell of Good as Gold

The design workforce is undergoing a cultural shift. A new generation of creatives is redefining how we work, what we value and what the future of design will look like over the next five years.

Instead of another top-down “state of the industry” talk, this panel flips the script.

We hand the mic to the Gen Z and Gen Alpha designers we’ll be hiring next — and let them lead.

What are they excited by? What are they worried about? What do they wish we knew before hiring them? What do they expect in their future roles and what do they really want from the industry? And how are their pathways into design and mindset already reshaping the profession?

Design leaders of today are invited into an open, honest conversation with design leaders of tomorrow about the future of Irish design talent. A rare chance to listen directly to the voices shaping what comes next and how we can best lead them there.

About Danielle

Danielle is co-founder of Good as Gold, a progressive digital-first creative agency, and has spent nearly a decade teaching part-time in IADT. Her work sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, academia and design, driven by a belief that nurturing future creative talent plays a meaningful role in Ireland’s long-term cultural and economic good. Alongside Rory Bradley, she ideated and co-ran the re:design programme at IADT, a 12-week, student-led project bringing real clients, peer-to-peer mentorship with recent graduates, and industry participation together, and here hosts a panel with the students involved.

Design 2035: A Pathway to the Future

Design in Ireland is at a pivotal moment. As Ireland navigates accelerating technological change, the climate emergency, shifting global markets, and growing societal complexity, the role of design is evolving rapidly. No longer confined to aesthetics or delivery, design is increasingly recognised as a strategic and systemic capability – one that shapes how organisations think, how services are delivered, and how value is created for people, communities, and the planet.

Charlotte will present the findings of research that sets out a clear and compelling picture of the Future of Design in Ireland – not to be missed for any design business leader.

About Charlotte

Charlotte Barker is the Chief Executive of the Institute of Designers in Ireland, the trade association for commercial designers on the island of Ireland. Charlotte sits on the Government Forum for Digital Creative Industries and supports the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to progress the action plan for Designing Better Public Services. She is a member of An Bord for the National College of Art and Design.

After 20 years of agency life Charlotte took the reins of the IDI in 2020, leading the IDI into a new era, embracing new programmes and partnerships to raise the profile and impact of Irish design. This includes instigating the sustainability platform Design Declares in collaboration with the 100 Archive, and leading a programme of work under the Roadmap for Digital Creative Industries.

Charlotte will open the Design Leaders Conference by presenting Design 2035, a vision of where Irish design will be in 10 years time. It will provoke how, as a design community, we fully embrace the opportunities that are available to designers and ready ourselves for the future.

Strategic Opportunism: Designing Creative Businesses for Change

Gill Wildman challenges the idea that creative careers and businesses must follow a single, fixed path. Drawing on her work at the intersection of design, strategy and systems change, Gill explores purposeful adaptation as a critical capability for long-term creative viability.

This talk examines why training in one discipline is an entry point, how it no longer defines where you can—or should—stay and why service design is emerging as a key growth area as governments increasingly invest in systems-led, human-centred approaches. Gill shares practical ways to bring structure to growth decisions, helping leaders move beyond reactive pivots towards intentional, strategic opportunism.

This reflection also opens up a vital but often overlooked conversation about how creative businesses can end on a purposeful high, from succession planning and employee ownership models to designing for transition at retirement stage.

A future-focused talk for design leaders seeking sustainable growth, flexibility and long-term impact in a shifting creative economy.

About Gill

Gill Wildman is a strategic designer and creative-business innovator with over 20 years of experience. She has spent the last decade leading Upstarter, a design-led incubator that supports social, creative and micro-business ventures often overlooked by conventional startup programmes. Her current work with Upstarter includes designing programmes such as “Hopeful Finance,” exploring how new financial and investment models can better support creative and social entrepreneurs and fill the funding gap for creative businesses.

Prior to Upstarter, she co-founded and directed Plot Studio (Plot), a strategic design consultancy and has worked with clients ranging from the BBC, Microsoft and Nokia to emerging creative enterprises.

Gill is deeply interested in how design can shape sustainable, equitable and purpose-driven business ecosystems — especially in urban and community contexts. Her work has consistently engaged with city contexts, linking creative startups and regeneration in Pittsburgh, London and Bristol.

She's been newly appointed Director at Stby, a design research agency based out of London and Amsterdam, where work is strongly driven by curiosity and passion for meaningful and positive change.

Ireland’s Ace: How Skillnet Ireland's model is Enabling World-Class Innovation.

“When you start the game with an ace, it's always better.” - David Goffin

Tracey Donnery of Skillnet Ireland brings a clear, government-facing perspective to one of the most critical issues for creative and design-led businesses: the role of skills and learning culture in sustainable growth.

Drawing on what is happening across Europe, Tracey outlines why continuous learning is increasingly seen as economic infrastructure and why Skillnet Ireland model offers a distinct competitive advantage. Grounded in the experience of Design Skillnet, this talk moves beyond policy language to focus on practical realities for businesses.

Speaking plainly about what resonates with government decision-makers, Tracey unpacks how investment, return and measurable impact shape funding decisions and where skills development fits into that picture. This talk will offer concrete insights into what businesses need to demonstrate, how to unlock supports and how to position learning and development as a strategic lever for growth, rather than a cost.

A valuable, brass-tacks conversation for design leaders who want to understand how to make skills visible, fundable and central to their organisation’s future.

About Tracey

Tracey Donnery is a Director with Skillnet Ireland, the business support agency responsible for the promotion and facilitation of workforce development in Ireland. She is an experienced executive in learning and development, organisation development and labour market policy. Believing that a talented and highly skilled workforce is essential for Ireland’s competitiveness and productivity, Tracey works to ensure Skillnet Ireland business supports are innovative and align with national workforce development policy, focussing on the impact of digital and climate transitions.

Tracey is a Chartered Fellow of CIPD, member of the Institute of Directors, Fellow of Irish Institute of Training & Development. Tracey holds a Masters in Human Resource Strategies from Dublin City University, Diploma in Executive Coaching, and a Diploma in Leadership from the Irish Management Institute.

Skillnet Ireland has been recognised as an international best-practice model by the EU Commission, the OECD and the ILO, among others. Skillnet Ireland leads a partnership with 57 enterprise bodies, providing talent development, upskilling and innovative business supports to over 24,000 businesses and 90,000 workers in Ireland every year.

Risky Business : Neville Brody and Farouk Alao in conversation with Mary Doherty.

In an era defined by accelerating technology, cultural volatility and creative saturation, the role of the creative leader is being fundamentally redefined. This conversation moves beyond style, trends or tools to focus on what truly matters now: responsibility, values and leadership with intent.

Together, Neville Brody OBE, RDI! (Brody Associates), one of the most celebrated graphic designers of his generation and emerging design star Farouk Alao (studio858) explore how creative leaders can stay authentic, make conscious choices — including when to refuse — and lead with conviction in a system that often rewards speed over substance and familiarity over originality.

A timely reflection and discussion, moderated by moderated by Irish design agency owner Mary Doherty (Red Dog) on what it means to lead creatively, ethically and courageously in an era that often rewards mediocrity.

About Mary

Mary Doherty is the founder and Managing Director of Red Dog, one of Ireland’s most respected brand and design agencies – set up the day after she graduated from NCAD and still thriving decades later on the simple rule that good is never good enough.

She has guided Red Dog to international recognition with award-winning work, blending strategic insight and visual clarity for clients across many sectors, with a particular focus on non-profit organisations. Red Dog is currently finalising new brand systems for the NSPCA, Irish Red Cross, Brothers of Charity, and the Law Society.

Mary believes Red Dog is only what it is because of everyone who works there and has worked there – combined with seriously hard graft and a sprinkling of stubbornness, always striving to be better. A Fellow and former President of the Institute of Designers in Ireland, she brings sharp thinking and humour to everything she does – which sometimes can be a bit annoying ; )

About Niamh

Niamh is the Network Manager of Design Skillnet, working with design and creative leaders and professionals in Ireland to provide bespoke supports for their current and future learning and professional development needs.

About David

David Wall is IDI President and Head of Creative at Tines. He has led and collaborated on award-winning work for a wide range of organisations across technology, hospitality, design, culture and publishing. David sits on the board of the IDI, and co-founded the 100 Archive.

Reshaping the Future of Design – with the Next Generation

IADT students Beth Cullen, Jaz Webb, Niamh Cooney and Robin Dennis in Discussion with Danielle O'Connell of Good as Gold

The design workforce is undergoing a cultural shift. A new generation of creatives is redefining how we work, what we value and what the future of design will look like over the next five years.

Instead of another top-down “state of the industry” talk, this panel flips the script.

We hand the mic to the Gen Z and Gen Alpha designers we’ll be hiring next — and let them lead.

What are they excited by? What are they worried about? What do they wish we knew before hiring them? What do they expect in their future roles and what do they really want from the industry? And how are their pathways into design and mindset already reshaping the profession?

Design leaders of today are invited into an open, honest conversation with design leaders of tomorrow about the future of Irish design talent. A rare chance to listen directly to the voices shaping what comes next and how we can best lead them there.

About Niamh

Niamh is a 4th year design student at IADT.

She’s curious and hands-on, always thinking about how ideas can come to life in ways that feel meaningful.

When she’s not designing she likes to practice her Irish (Gaeilge) and loves how language and culture connect people. She also enjoys trying new activities to push herself and connect with others.

Reshaping the Future of Design – with the Next Generation

IADT students Beth Cullen, Jaz Webb, Niamh Cooney and Robin Dennis in Discussion with Danielle O'Connell of Good as Gold

The design workforce is undergoing a cultural shift. A new generation of creatives is redefining how we work, what we value and what the future of design will look like over the next five years.

Instead of another top-down “state of the industry” talk, this panel flips the script.

We hand the mic to the Gen Z and Gen Alpha designers we’ll be hiring next — and let them lead.

What are they excited by? What are they worried about? What do they wish we knew before hiring them? What do they expect in their future roles and what do they really want from the industry? And how are their pathways into design and mindset already reshaping the profession?

Design leaders of today are invited into an open, honest conversation with design leaders of tomorrow about the future of Irish design talent. A rare chance to listen directly to the voices shaping what comes next and how we can best lead them there.

About Beth

Beth Cullen is a fourth-year graphic design student at IADT, graduating in 2026. Her practice focuses on how design shapes connection, meaning, and everyday experience, with a strong interest in audience awareness and clarity of communication.

She is particularly drawn to work that considers how people encounter design in real contexts, and how visual decisions influence understanding, trust, and engagement. Beth approaches design as a way of bringing people into conversations, rather than simply presenting information.

Reshaping the Future of Design – with the Next Generation

IADT students Beth Cullen, Jaz Webb, Niamh Cooney and Robin Dennis in Discussion with Danielle O'Connell of Good as Gold

The design workforce is undergoing a cultural shift. A new generation of creatives is redefining how we work, what we value and what the future of design will look like over the next five years.

Instead of another top-down “state of the industry” talk, this panel flips the script.

We hand the mic to the Gen Z and Gen Alpha designers we’ll be hiring next — and let them lead.

What are they excited by? What are they worried about? What do they wish we knew before hiring them? What do they expect in their future roles and what do they really want from the industry? And how are their pathways into design and mindset already reshaping the profession?

Design leaders of today are invited into an open, honest conversation with design leaders of tomorrow about the future of Irish design talent. A rare chance to listen directly to the voices shaping what comes next and how we can best lead them there.

About Robin

A 4th-year student graphic designer from IADT, Robin Dennis uses graphic design to express and connect with their passions. As an avid prop maker and artist, they work with many physical materials, bringing ideas to life in the physical world.

Reshaping the Future of Design – with the Next Generation

IADT students Beth Cullen, Jaz Webb, Niamh Cooney and Robin Dennis in Discussion with Danielle O'Connell of Good as Gold

The design workforce is undergoing a cultural shift. A new generation of creatives is redefining how we work, what we value and what the future of design will look like over the next five years.

Instead of another top-down “state of the industry” talk, this panel flips the script.

We hand the mic to the Gen Z and Gen Alpha designers we’ll be hiring next — and let them lead.

What are they excited by? What are they worried about? What do they wish we knew before hiring them? What do they expect in their future roles and what do they really want from the industry? And how are their pathways into design and mindset already reshaping the profession?

Design leaders of today are invited into an open, honest conversation with design leaders of tomorrow about the future of Irish design talent. A rare chance to listen directly to the voices shaping what comes next and how we can best lead them there.

About Jaz

Jaz Webb has meaningful, human-centred solutions at the heart of her practice. Always asking her audience Why? Why? Why? She aims to create positive change using thought-provoking and empowering design strategies, without losing her sense of fun, when she graduates later this year.