What's On

BDF Conference 2025 – Talks

Fri 13th Jun, 2025

Birmingham Town Hall

10:00am–6:00pm

From £50

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Speakers
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The Format
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Speakers

Malika Favre

Artist & Illustrator

Malika Favre is a French artist and illustrator based in Barcelona. Her bold, minimal style is a striking lesson in the use of positive/negative space and colour. Her work always springs from a strong narrative core and is intended to provoke the imagination – with a bit of humour, a touch of sexiness, and a re-imagination of the ordinary.

The governing principle in all of Malika’s work is ‘less is more.’

George Wu

Founder at Para Para

George Wu is a director and creative working in London. With a strong conceptual focus, her work spans across: film, installation, graphic design and events.

With experience in installations and workshops, commissions have included: Arnolfini, Barbican and Serpentine Galleries, and culminated in a solo show Human Error with former collective Household. Together they have showcased in Tokyo 100%, DMY Berlin and featured at Craft Punk by Design Miami/Fendi Milan.

She also founded and co-curates The Poundshop and Garage Sale, bi-annual design exhibitions, with past events created for Somerset House, ICA, Selfridges and the Science Museum. In 2013 they were awarded the HClub 100 Creative Entrepreneur award.

Merlin Crossingham

Creative Director at Aardman

BAFTA® award-winning director, Merlin Crossingham joined Aardman as an Animator in 1996 having completed a degree in Film and Photography at the Newport Film School.

He has since specialised in directing Wallace & Gromit at Aardman and in 2009 took on the role of Creative Director for Wallace & Gromit where Merlin directs all aspects of the brand from merchandise and live shows to commercials, short films and interactive experiences. In 2011 Merlin won a BAFTA® New Media award for Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention. Alongside his work on the Wallace & Gromit, Merlin has directed dozens of commercials for established brands such as BBC, Royal Mail, DFS, NPower, Joules, Serta and Chevron.
Merlin also directed and voiced the re-launch series of Aardman’s oldest stop motion character, Morph in 2014, the second series in October 2016 and was Series Director on a new longer format series, The Epic Adventures of Morph which launched on Sky Kids in November 2020.

Merlin is a member of BAFTA and has spoken at numerous animation and film festivals around the world.

TEMPLO

Anoushka Rodda & Pali Palavathanan

TEMPLO is a cause-led branding and communications agency committed to using the positive power of design for social change. Founded by Anoushka Rodda and Pali Palavathanan, TEMPLO works in close collaboration and in co-creation with our chosen clients. We deliver authentic, attention seeking and impactful communications. We create work that stands out and stands for something.

For more than a decade, TEMPLO has partnered with the United Nations, Climate Change Committee, British Council, Free Syria’s Disappeared, Amnesty International, the V&A and GF Smith, to tackle issues across climate change, human rights and community empowerment.

Bryony Gomez-Palacio & Armin Vit

UnderConsideration

Established in 2007, UnderConsideration is a graphic design firm generating their own projects, initiatives, and content — best known for their blog, Brand New, which has been in publication since 2006. Co-founded and run solely by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit — both of whom were born in Mexico City, both graphic designers, and both married to each other — UnderConsideration organizes and hosts the Brand New Conference (established in 2010) as well as First Round (established in 2018) and In-house In-focus In-person (established in 2025).

Cumulatively, they have curated a selection of more than 450 individual speakers and hosted more than 12,000 attendees since 2010. Currently based in Bloomington, IN, they work hard, they work fast, and they do the best they can.

Liza Enebeis

Partner & Creative Director at Studio Dumbar/DEPT®

Liza is Partner and Creative Director at Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, an award winning international agency with a Dutch heritage, specialising in visual branding, motion and sound.

Liza is directly involved with all main projects such as the Instagram motion identity, D&AD Creativity festival, brand refresh of the van Gogh Museum and co-initiator of DEMO – Design in Motion Festival.

In 2004 Liza co-founded and co-hosts Typeradio.org a podcast on type and design. As of 2018 she has been elected member into the prestigious design association AGI, Alliance Graphique Internationale. And since 2021 is part of the D&AD Board of trustees – the Design and Advertising Association in the UK.

Javier Jaén

Founder Javier Jaén Studio

Javier Jaén (Barcelona, 1983) studied graphic design and fine arts in Barcelona, New York and Budapest. His professional activity has focused on editorial illustration, book covers, audiovisual projects, advertising, cultural communication and creation of his own work. Translate stories and concepts into images using symbolic and playful language.

He has worked for The New York Times, New Yorker, Time, Washington Post, Harvard University, National Geographic, Greenpeace, Penguin Random House, Vueling, UNESCO, Camper, Banco Sabadell, Louis Vuitton, Netflix, Warner, Centro Botín, Centro Dramático Nacional , Zara, Microsoft, or El Deseo among others.

Kelli Anderson

Graphic Artist and Paper Engineer

Kelli Anderson is an artist, designer, animator, and tinkerer who pushes the limits of ordinary materials by seeking out possibilities hidden in plain view. Her books and projects have included This Book Is a Planetarium (which houses a tiny planetarium and other scientific contraptions), a book that transforms into a pinhole camera called This Book Is a Camera, and a working paper record. Intentionally lo-fi, she believes that humble materials can make the complexity and magic of our world accessible.

Chris Clarke

Editorial Creative Director at The Guardian

Chris Clarke, a London-based Creative Director, Graphic Artist, and Musician, is The Guardian’s global Editorial Creative Director, leading award-winning teams and shaping major editorial projects. Beyond his professional role, Chris produces typographic graphic art, collaborating on message-focused projects that balance understated craftsmanship with playful expression

The Format

BDF Conference will return in 2025, taking the best bits of the Birmingham Design Festival and condensing it into a smaller format that’s just as fun and accessible. You can expect a host of familiar faces and exceptional design talent to learn from this year in June.