Design Groups Sydney
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SydDT #131: Lead Change That Matters with Ben Pecotich
Thu, Oct 15, 7:00 AMJoin us for the launch of my Ben Pecotich's new book Lead Change That Matters: Design the Conditions for Momentum! Your ticket includes all the usual SydDT goodness… plus a set of limited-edition Lead Change That Matters cards that we’ll use on the night to catalyse conversation and help you choose your own journey. You’ll also get a special launch discount on Ben's new book. 300+ people shared their experiences, goals, frustrations, and hopes through the research behind the book – including so many of you from the SydDT community. Lead Change That Matters is a call to action. It says the work matters, the people involved matter, and what we choose to do next matters. This session is for you if you’re: * Leading change you’re accountable for but can’t really control * Navigating complexity with increasing ambiguity and uncertainty * Caring for everyone’s wellbeing but dodging your own burnout * Firefighting the tactical when you want to lead the strategic change that matters At the heart of the book is a tension that ran through the research. Leaders are expected to juggle more as the work becomes faster, more complex, and more scrutinised… but the conditions around them haven’t kept pace with what’s being demanded. We want people to collaborate, adapt, take the initiative, and deliver meaningful results. What are we doing to make that possible? The premise is that leading change well is about designing the conditions for people to do meaningful work together – bringing purpose and performance together to build momentum and deliver results that matter. We’ll explore these themes together… with a focus on how we design the conditions for momentum, so we can lead change that matters. Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design thinking community. New members are welcome! **SPEAKER** **[Ben Pecotich](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpecotich/)** **Design & Innovation Director/Founder, [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com). Author of Lead Change That Matters: Design the Conditions for Momentum** Ben's a designer, adviser, and founder of Dynamic4. He works alongside leaders and their teams on their most complex challenges across strategy, design, and tech. For 30+ years, Ben's led, designed, and delivered strategic change in financial services in Australia, NZ, Asia, the UK, and Europe – and co-founded 20+ startups and social enterprises across health and fitness, fintech, events, and community building. He founded Dynamic4 in 2001. Ben takes a human-centred design and living systems approach to helping clients design, build, and launch ideas that customers and teams love, make money, and do great things for people and our planet while increasing wellbeing. Everything he does is about accelerating the transition to more regenerative ways of living and doing business, creating the conditions for people and communities to be happier and live on a healthier planet. Ben's the author of Solve Problems That Matter and his new book Lead Change That Matters: Design the Conditions for Momentum is launching now. He's also the co-founder of Sydney Design Thinking. **EVENT SPONSORS** This event is brought to you by [Thoughtworks](https://www.thoughtworks.com/), [Shapeshifters](https://www.shapeshifterscreative.com.au/), and [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com/). We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.
SydDT #132: State of the Design Nation with Ben Crothers & Min Kong
Thu, Nov 19, 7:00 AMWe’re lucky to have Ben Crothers and Min Kong sharing their reflections as a couple of the judges for the 2026 Good Design Awards. This has been a SydDT tradition since 2018 and a time to reflect on the state of the design nation… full of interesting observations, insights, and trends. [Good Design Australia](https://good-design.org/) has a proud history that dates back to 1958 and they’re passionately committed to recognising, rewarding, and promoting the importance of design to business, industry, government and the general public… and the critical role it plays in creating a better, safer, and a more sustainable and prosperous future. Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design thinking community. New members are welcome! **SPEAKERS** **[Ben Crothers](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencrothers/)** **Principal Facilitator, [Bright Pilots](https://brightpilots.com/). Good Design Ambassador** Ben has been a designer since before Netscape ruled the www, and is currently a facilitator and design strategist at Bright Pilots (his online training and facilitation business), where he teaches teams of all sorts about design and facilitation methods, running strategic workshops, and generally helping teams get un-stuck. Previous to Bright Pilots, Ben was Principal Designer at Atlassian, a Design Director at Second Road (a strategic innovation consultancy), plus some assorted startups, agencies, and government departments. Above all, Ben wants everyone to be just as good at the whiteboard as they are at the keyboard, to be better at thinking, communicating, and solving problems together visually. He’s the author of a few books, including Presto Sketching: Simple Drawing for Brilliant Product Thinking and Design. **[Min Kong](https://www.linkedin.com/in/minkong/)** **Associate Design Director, [Caon Design Office](https://caondesignoffice.com/). Good Design Ambassador** Min is a strategic designer with nearly two decades of experience shaping physical products, services, and environments across aviation, transport infrastructure, healthcare and consumer sectors. Her approach brings together strategic thinking, experience design, and industrial design expertise to uncover opportunities for innovation and improvement and translate complex business and customer needs into high-quality, tangible experiences with real-world impact. At Caon Design Office, Min currently leads customer experience design across major Qantas Airways aircraft programs, including the flagship Project Sunrise A350 fleet. Min’s work has been recognised through multiple design awards, including the Australian Good Design Awards and Red Dot Design Award. An active member of the design community, Min taught industrial design at UNSW for over a decade and has served on multiple design award juries. **EVENT SPONSORS** This event is brought to you by [Thoughtworks](https://www.thoughtworks.com/), [Shapeshifters](https://www.shapeshifterscreative.com.au/), [Bright Pilots](https://brightpilots.com/), and [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com/). We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.
SydDT #133/Design Connection #8: EOY Design Megameetup
Thu, Nov 26, 7:00 AMFor our final SydDT for 2026, we’ll be reflecting on and celebrating the year that’s been. A good chance to connect with the community and welcome plenty of new people. New friends and old. We’re doing this one as Design Connection #8… another in our design megameetup series with our friends from the CCX and EUX meetups. This continues our tradition of EOY megameetups since 2018. Come join us for some fun conversations with interesting people in and around the design community. This will sell out fast… be quick 😃 More details soon... **DESIGN CONNECTION** Design Connection #8 is another in our design megameetup series. **Design Connection** is a collective of three Sydney design meetups… [Ben Pecotich](https://linktr.ee/benpecotich) from [Sydney Design Thinking (SydDT)](http://syddt.org/), [Adam Faulkner](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfaulkner) from [Enterprise UX (EUX)](https://www.meetup.com/enterprise-ux-sydney/), and [Kevin Wilkins](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjohnwilkins) from [Creative Customer Experience (CCX)](https://www.meetup.com/sydney-creative-customer-experience-ccx/), with [Susan Wolfe](https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanjwolfe) and [Vera Chan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/verawatychan) being the backbone of Design Connection 😃 We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.cc
Young Desi New Connections
Thu, Oct 8, 6:45 AMMeet interesting Desi people in Sydney without the awkwardness of a formal dating event. Chai, food, Bollywood, games, travel, culture and good conversation. We’re building a relaxed social community for Indian/South Asian students, professionals and young adults around Parramatta and Western Sydney. Come solo or bring a friend. No networking pitch. No forced speed dating. Just good people and interesting things to do.
How I AI: Show & Tell
Wed, Oct 14, 6:00 AMCurious about how others are using AI in their learning and design work and to build performance in their roles & companies? Come along for an evening of practical examples, shared experiments and conversation. Four fantastic speakers will show how they’re using AI, sharing ideas and insights you can take back to your own practice. You'll see practical examples, and have time for Q&A after each speaker. Whether you’re already experimenting or wondering where to start, join fellow L&D professionals to explore what’s possible, ask questions and swap experiences. **Meet the speakers** * **[Samantha Ferguson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjferg/)** — A passionate learning leader (who's a designer at heart) with experience across a wide range of roles and industries in learning. sharing insights on how AI is being used to design quality learning for a range of clients. * **[Shawna Murray](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawna-murray-02638283/)** — A forward-thinking Learning & Leadership leader, sharing how she's putting AI into practice meaningfully, to build organisational capability. * **[Travers Owers](https://www.linkedin.com/in/traversowers/)** — A leader in what's possible in learning technology, data & reporting sharing how AI can completely change and improve the way you work. * **[Stanley Yip](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleyyip/)** —Is the Manager Learning Innovation & Workforce Programs at the Independent Schools NSW, a not-for-profit member organisation. His current role includes designing and delivering teacher professional learning, innovations such as AI, and teacher workforce strategy. His background is in teaching, learning design, and multimedia. He is currently part-way through a PhD on metacognition, the brain, and AI showing how has AI changed our role as learning designers? Stanley will be sharing how AI is used in his team of learning designers and their toolset, skillset, and mindset. There’ll also be time to catch up with familiar faces and meet others in the learning community before & after the talk. We'll also likely head to a local pub to continue the conversation post 7pm. **Agenda** 5pm - 530pm: Register, mingle, have a snack 530pm - 630pm: Hear from our speakers 630pm - 7pm: Mingle, share ideas 7pm onwards: Wander to a nearby pub to keep the ideas flowing. **When and where** Wednesday 14 October 2026 5:00pm–7:00pm Kindly hosted by our friends at **Hays** Level 14, Chifley Tower 2 Chifley Square, Sydney CBD **Tickets and RSVP** Tickets are **$10 per person**, so we can have some light refreshments (and ensure we're not hangry!) We look forward to seeing you there!
Sydney HUG Meetup @ Netflix Animation
Thu, Oct 15, 7:30 AMOur October 2026 SydHUG is brought to you via a collaboration between the Sydney Houdini User Group, Netflix Animation Studios & the ACM SIGGRAPH Sydney Chapter. We look forward to welcoming attendees from across our communities! \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **PRESENTATIONS** More details coming soon. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **SCHEDULE** 6.30pm: Doors open, networking 7.00 to 8:30pm: Presentations **1.** **Presenters:** Anna Molamphy and James Hardy **Title:** Making a Point - Procedural Modelling Workflows **Description:** Discover how NAS leverages instancing in Houdini to streamline asset and environment creation. We’ll showcase our procedural modelling tools and the backend pipeline that empowers artists to craft and assemble complex worlds efficiently **2\. Presenters:** Eric Chan and Julian Davidson **Title:** What’s the Point in Point Instancing? **Description:** A closer look at point instancers - what they are, why we use them, and the challenges they create for downstream departments. We'll walk through the Houdini workflow we designed for FX to make them less painful to work with. 8:30 to 10:00pm: Networking and refreshments \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **ACCESS & ENTRY** \- We have a maximum capacity limit for this SydHUG\, so please register early to avoid disappointment\! \- Attendees will receive a NDA\, sent to your email via Envoy before arrival\. Please complete this **before** arrival on the day, and allow 10 minutes to sign in and collect your name tag at Reception upon arrival. \- Attendees will also receive an email in the leadup to the event with specific access details \(entry gate etc\.\.\)\, to ensure smooth entry to the event\. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **PRIZES AND GIVEAWAYS** SideFX has Houdini Indie licences up for grabs. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
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