Exploring ‘process’ and historical influences at Birmingham Design Festival

Birmingham Design Festival draws designers, artists and creative thinkers from around the world. As designers, we’re always looking for our next source of inspiration – so we ventured out of the studio for the day to join the conversation.

This year’s event focused on ‘Process’, and in true festival format had over 100 talks on different areas of the industry from graphic and digital to product and illustration.

There were two talks that particularly captured our attention and sparked interesting discussions…

Dan Silverstone: “Failure Is Not An Option”

Dan Silverstone kicked off the day with “Failure Is Not An Option”, in which he tackled the subject of failure with very relatable content and (a lot) of humour.

Dan specialises in animation and motion graphics, taking influence from his environment alongside one of his passions: video games. Now working as a freelance designer, he’s worked with a range of renowned brands such as Gousto, Nike and Square Enix.

He began by challenging traditional views on failure; arguing that it isn’t always a setback, but rather an essential part of the creative journey. He shared a range of anecdotes which resonated with most of us in the room - and it was reassuring to hear that even the most successful designers experience failure.

Dan shared stories on how his workflow often encountered surprises and setbacks, which is entirely relatable in our industry. He also discussed the working environment and how important it is to have a positive workspace as this significantly affects creative output. One of the standout aspects of his talk was the use of humour to address more serious topics such as self-doubt and setbacks – which resonated with some of our own experiences. The overarching message was about the necessity of perseverance in the face of failure. He encouraged us to embrace our setbacks and use them as learning opportunities rather than as failures.

Elizabeth Goodspeed: “Everything Old Is New Again”

Elizabeth Goodspeed is well-known within the industry for her unique approach of blending history and modernity. She’s collaborated with many recognised design studios including Pentagram and Interbrand along with working directly with clients such as HBO and Google. She currently works as the editor-at-large for ‘It’s Nice That’ so is constantly keeping up-to-date with evolutions within the industry.

Elizabeth’s primary focus was to showcase how looking into the past for inspiration can bring a new approach to our modern creations. This is something we’ve always been interested in within our design team, but it can be difficult to know where to start.

Through a series of case studies, Elizabeth showed how old design motifs from public archives were revived and repurposed. She advocated for looking beyond the usual digital sources and exploring historical archives and vintage ephemera as a source of inspiration, and as a way to enhance contemporary creative projects.

By showing a range of her own works including ‘PublicWise’, Elizabeth illustrated how vintage design elements can be reimagined in a fresh, contemporary way. ‘The New Antiquarians’ particularly stood out to us as it highlighted how contemporary designers and collectors are redefining the relationship between the past and the present in their work. Elizabeth has used archived material to create the cover, accents and borders within the book which enhances the user experience and brings the old into the new again.

The next chapter

Both Dan and Elizabeth’s talks provided us with valuable insights and have inspired us to approach our work with refreshed excitement. We left the festival with a deeper understanding of how the past can inspire and inform the future, and how failure is only a stepping stone on the way to success.

Bring on BDF 2025!