11 years ago today we had our first Sydney Design Thinking meetup.
Tonight we host our sold-out 127th!
Over the past 11 years our community has grown to over 10,000 members and we’re one of the biggest design thinking communities globally.
SydDT is a place where people come together to learn, share, experiment, and explore how design can help us solve problems that matter.
I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who makes SydDT what it is…
Thanks to the SydDT Community
Every event is a mix… some people who’ve been here since 2015, some who come every month, first-timers, some who drop in every now and then, some who bring friends, some who ask questions, some who keep coming back, and some who come for a topic that matters to them or a speaker, a conversation, or a person they want to meet.
All of that counts.
There’s no single way to engage with the SydDT community, and every member brings something valuable. Themselves. Their lived experience, perspectives, scepticism, openness, here just for the network, or here just for the content.
I value all of these ways of engaging and more.
As new people come along, I consistently hear how they feel welcomed and included, about the value they get from the great speakers generously sharing their experience… and of course how much fun they had.
I’ve made so many lifelong friends through SydDT and other Sydney design communities that predated us.
Thanks to Our Speakers & Graphic Recorders
Our focus is on sharing experiences that create fresh perspectives from a diverse range of design and business practices, industries, contexts, and roles… to learn, share, and get exposed to what’s possible.
We have a specific focus on how design thinking is being used as a human-centred design and living systems approach to innovation and solving complex problems… that help create great outcomes for people, our planet, and business.
Diverse representation has always been important to us. Of the 244 speakers and graphic recorders we’ve had over 11 years, 53% are female or non-binary.
Our speakers and graphic recorders have been the catalyst for so much discussion that adds real value to the community. A massive thanks to you all!
Thanks to Our Sponsors & Collaborators
Without the support of our sponsors and collaborators we don’t get to do this every month. They’re a critical and much appreciated part of the SydDT ecosystem.
We’ve been very lucky to have the support of Thoughtworks, Atlassian, and a bunch of others over the years. We’re grateful for the internal champions and companies who actively invest in the design community.
Thanks to our Design Connection friends who we collaborate with regularly… Adam Faulkner from Enterprise UX (EUX), Kevin Wilkins from Creative Customer Experience (CCX), Susan Wolfe, and Vera Chan.
Then there’s the Australia Design Thinking (AusDT)… our collective of place-based design communities in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Byron, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Hobart – and online. More to come.
A huge thanks for all you do… and continue to do 😃
Finally thanks to my fellow organisers… a small team of us make SydDT happen every month. A big thanks to 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!
So… thanks. And game on! Come join us.
