The Design Futures Symposium returns for its second edition, an interdisciplinary event curated by the Design Futures Programme at the Royal College of Art.

This year’s theme, “Between Past, Present and Futures,” explores how design operates across time, drawing from cultural memory, responding to urgent challenges, and envisioning alternative futures shaped by technology, ethics, and planetary concerns.

Bringing together leading voices from industry, academia, and speculative practice, the symposium is a platform for critical dialogue and creative foresight. It challenges traditional boundaries between research and application, spotlighting design as a tool for systemic change.

In the afternoon, the Final Year Design Futures Exhibition will open in the Studio Building (RCA Battersea Campus). Attendees are invited to explore the work and speak directly with the designers, who will be present to share their ideas, processes, and provocations, concluding a full day immersed in the futures of design.

This isn’t just a symposium, it’s a signal of where design is heading. Be part of the conversation. Be part of the future.

Location: Online

Agenda:
09:30 - Registration for in-person participants
10:00 – 10:10 - Welcome & Introduction 
10:10 – 10:40 - Signal of the Year – A fast-paced intro to this year’s core research themes
10:40 – 11:25 - Speaker Talks – Four powerful perspectives bridging ancestral knowledge, tech ethics, sustainability and futures forecasting
11:25 – 11:55 - Panel Discussion – An open conversation about responsibility, ambition and vision in design
11:55 – 12:15 - Future Teller – A live speculative provocation from our Design Futures cohort
12:15 – 12:45 - Manifesto & Yearbook – Students share their dreams, their provocations, and what a “dream career” looks like today
12:45 – 13:00 - Signal Announcement + Closing Words
13:00 onward - Walkthrough of the Design Futures Exhibition + Networking

Featured Speakers

Yaa Addae - Design researcher and speculative designer reimagining Afro-futures and intergenerational storytelling. Yaa brings a perspective rooted in ancestral wisdom, healing practices, and cultural continuity — challenging Western narratives of design and progress.

Lex Fefegha - Creative technologist working at the intersection of AI, ethics, and identity. Lex questions who builds the technologies of tomorrow and why — inviting us to envision more inclusive, just, and human-centered futures.

Andy Marsden - Design Lead for the UK’s Sustainable Future Mission, with deep experience in corporate innovation, sustainability strategy, and decarbonising housing. Andy offers a grounded, systems-level view of the urgent present.

Anna Gerber - Founder of HUWD, exploring the role of predictive technologies and spirituality in the age of artificial intelligence. Anna invites us to imagine futures beyond efficiency — where intuition, ritual, and meaning guide technological development.