SydDT #114 was a celebration of a couple of milestones. Our 10th birthday… and 10,000 members!
We were lucky to have Steven Bai, Rianna Mo, Ian McArthur, Jessie Wen, and Jason Ho sharing their insights on leveraging transdisciplinary approaches to innovate living space technology to create human-centered, future-ready products around the world and with different cultures.
After Steven hosted a fireside chat he shared some of the awesome work they do at Sencity using interactive urban experiences to inspire positive change. Rianna then shared some of the design moments that have shaped her life.
A huge thanks to Steven for making the trip from Riyadh/NYC/China/Melbourne, Jessie up from Melbourne, Ian down from the Blue Mountains, and Jason dialling in from Macau. And thanks to Steven and Rianna for bringing the group together!
The awesome graphic recording this month was done by Sarah Heimeier. This initiative is a collaboration with Sh8peshifters and their Think Visual Morning Meetups community. SydDT is a friendly environment for people to practice their live graphic recording skills.
Thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a fun night. Couldn’t make it or just want to relive it? Watch it now.
Ricardo Ruffo and Juliana Proserpio from Echos Desirable Futures Lab very generously gave away two tickets to their Design Thinking & AI Bootcamp on 20 June in Sydney worth $850 each. Congrats to the two lucky winners: Berta Rincon and Renata Zanetti!
Thanks Ricardo and Juliana for being an awesome and generous part of our SydDT community.
A big thanks to Jeremy Thomas from Environmentarian who has also generously put together a video highlight reel of the night.
The event was brought to you by Thoughtworks, Sh8peshifters, and Dynamic4.
Over the past 10 years and 114 meetups, we’ve been lucky to have 196 great speakers with engaging stories and insights to share. They’ve been the catalyst for so much discussion that adds real value to the community. A massive thanks to you all!
A small team of us make SydDT happen every month. A big thanks to my fellow organisers… Lucas Mara, Kate Linton, and Kylie Mageropoulos. Also a shoutout to past members of the organising team Kingsley Jones, James Cooper, and Zoe Gibson for all of their work over the years!
Most importantly, thanks to the 10,062 members of the SydDT community. You’re the reason we do this every month.
Our next meetup is SydDT #115: Celebrating Indigenous Entrepreneurship & NAIDOC Week on Thursday, 12 July.
We’re collaborating with Stephen Rutter from First Nations Finance to bring together Lisa Sarago, Scott Allen, Tshinta Morris-Fernando, and Tim Moriarty, a group of awesome Indigenous changemakers who are designing better ways to protect Country, use technology for culture, and back the next generation of entrepreneurs.
This event is brought to you by ThinkPlace, First Nations Finance, Sh8peshifters, and Dynamic4. Grab your ticket now!
Meetup Announcement
Thursday, 12 June 2025 @ 6pm. Thoughtworks, Sydney
We’re lucky to have Steven Bai and Rianna Mo from Sencity sharing some of their stories of designing spatial interactions and hybrid experiences in living spaces.
We’ll also have three special guests sharing their insights on leveraging transdisciplinary approaches to innovate living space technology to create human-centered, future-ready products.
Short talks by Steven and Rianna will be followed by Steven hosting a fireside chat with three special guests: Dr Ian McArthur, Jessie Wen, and Jason Ho. These cross-disciplinary leaders from business, academia, and creative industries will explore how to future-proof design in the era of AI-driven experiences.
Sarah Heimeier will be doing the live graphic recording as part of our collaboration with Alan Chen and Diana Ayoub from Sh8peshifters and their Think Visual Meetup.
It’s going to be an exciting night.
We’ll also be celebrating a couple of milestones. Our 10th birthday… and 10,000 members! There might even be cake 😃
Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design thinking community.
Speakers
Steven Bai
CEO & Co-founder, Sencity
Steven Bai is a multi-award-winning designer and technologist who has spent his career exploring how urban life, spatial computing, and emotionally intelligent product design can inspire lasting behaviour change in everyday environments. As the co-founder and CEO of Sencity, he leads a global team dedicated to using AI and interactivity to add more meaning, delight, and connection to the spaces we live in.
Steven’s love for design sparked early. In high school in Hobart, Tasmania, he sold a self-made computer art puzzle game to a creative agency – a small moment that lit a lifelong fire. It showed him that design could be both playful and powerful: a tool for tinkering, but also a way to bring people together.
His early research into persuasive computing earned him the University Medal from the University of Sydney, and his projects have since drawn the attention of industries and cultural platforms worldwide, from New York Fashion Week and Vivid Sydney to UAE tourism, Belgian transportation, and global retail brands.
For Steven, it all comes down to this: good design isn’t just about solving problems – it’s about helping people feel more present, more human, and more alive in the spaces they inhabit.
Rianna Mo
Key Account Management Specialist & Product Evangelist, Sencity
Rianna is a strategic designer and storyteller who’s passionate about creating experiences that connect people, culture, and technology in meaningful ways. She graduated with an Industrial Design Degree from UNSW and Master of Design (Strategic Design and Design Innovation) from University of Sydney. She’s also been a SydDT regular since SydDT #87 in 2023.
At Sencity, Rianna gets to dive into projects that use AI to make urban spaces feel more human and exciting. She works alongside the amazing global team, learning from leaders and pitching in to grow our creative projects.
Her role is all about listening to users, to different cultures, to what makes a space feel alive, and blending those insights with practical ideas to build something that’s both heartfelt and forward-thinking.
In her spare time, she’s a keen home renovation enthusiast, exploring everything from designing spaces to choosing furniture and shaping the overall vibe. She’s always curious about how AI can assist us in creating home environments with good taste, not just efficiency. Still early in her journey, Rianna is eager to keep learning and helping design a world that brings people closer together.
Dr Ian McArthur
Associate Professor – Design, UNSW
Ian is an Associate Professor of Design at UNSW Art & Design, Sydney, and a hybrid practitioner specialising in experimental interdisciplinary practice, transcultural collaboration, sound art, participatory design processes, and education change.
He leads innovative projects exploring participatory urban media installations to enhance community health, engagement, and creative resilience through co-design, notably in Australia and China. Ian co-founded mad.lab, an experimental urban research platform in Chongqing.
His research has focused on speculative and spatial design investigating sympoietic relationships with AI to enable inclusive, pluriversal image-making and design, advancing collaborative futures between humans and AI.
Jessie Wen
Product Owner, Briick
Jessie blends creative thinking with data-driven strategy to help early-stage startups grow and adapt. With experience across MilkRun, YC-backed ventures, and proptech startups, she brings a sharp eye for turning insights into action.
Her background spans retail, FMCG, and luxury resale – where she runs a curated community that mixes analytics with creative brand storytelling. As a mum and multi-hyphenate thinker, Jessie is passionate about human-centered design, AI innovation, spatial experience, and building systems that are both beautiful and functional.
Jason Ho
Co-founder, BEYOND Expo & President, Macao Technology General Association
Jason is a dynamic entrepreneur catalysing transformative innovation across the globe by spearheading five globally impactful expo editions since 2021, fostering collaboration across diverse industries.
Jason currently holds the position of President at the Macao Technology General Association, while having previously served as a Council Member of the Economic Development Council of Macau SAR, actively propelling transformation and innovation with each stride.
Jason’s journey is imbued with a profound passion for nurturing tech collaboration throughout the world. He graduated from University of Southern California in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in business and a masters in construction management.
Event Sponsors
This event is brought to you by Thoughtworks, Sh8peshifters, and Dynamic4.
We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.
