Bringing #TheFutureByDesign to the present

Speakers gave short, Twitter-like, micro-presentations, providing to-the-point talks that really encapsulated what design and the future meant to them.

Speakers included Dave Duarte, CEO of Treeshake and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, who said that "the future is unpredictable, but there are things we can do today to adapt for it." He implored attendees to always see the light side of advertising and quoted David Ogilvy, who famously said: "Keep your thinking funny, the best ideas come as jokes."

Other speakers included Oresti Patricios, CEO of Ornico (publisher of #TheFutureByDesign), who used Red Bull as an example of a brand that really pushes the boundaries as to how far one use branding, such as the stratosphere with Felix Baumgartner's epic jump from space.

Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, from the Cape Town City Partnership, spoke about sustainable development in the Cape, and Elaine Rumboll, MD of the The Creative Leadership, got us to stand up and use "play" as an important part of our creativity. She resonated with Duarte's point of having fun when being creative.

Pushing all points of design, two spoken-word poets let us in to their world and looking at what the future holds for them. Kyla Philander shared an insightful and heartfelt poem that had the room bewildered and completely silent. Lebz Skywalker talked us through his experience as a spoken-word poet, saying he's going to be one that all other poets will hate, as he believes the scene should move from the underground avenues and become commercial in order for it to really make an impact on society.

Mandy de Waal was the last speaker of the night, saying how important design is for the future. She's the founding editor of #TheFutureByDesign magazine, as well as editor of OpenlyCurious and consulting editor to MarkLives.com.

#TheFutureByDesign is a new magazine about brand intelligence, and looks to sustainable development and creative ideas to build a better tomorrow. For more on the magazine, and to download a copy, click here.