Design Minded

An event series in partnership with The Contemporary Austin

TCA’s iconic Moody Rooftop in the heart of downtown Austin is the perfect venue for this series, which brings together design-minded creatives for inspiring talks, film screenings, and community.

We are finalizing the 2026 season and expect to return this April.

2025 SERIES

NOVEMBER 12 | Film Screening: Helvetica | Helvetica (2007) is a cinematic exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day.

OCTOBER 15 | Joey Zeledón: Design is Trans | Joey Zeledón explored the transformative nature of design through the lens of their personal experience as a trans designer. Drawing from nearly two decades as an industrial designer, Joey showed us how design is a universal language for navigating change and expressing our authentic selves through life and all its transitions. Design can help us make sense of ourselves, no matter who we are or how we identify. The AIA Austin LGTBQIA+ Alliance was our community partner and facilitated a Q&A.

APRIL 16 | Design for All Panel Discussion | Design Minded brought together a panel of designers, architects, and urban planners to explore the concept of Design For All and how inclusivity, accessibility, and belonging are embedded in their practices. Moderated by Gerardo Gandy, AIA, Brand Experience Practice Leader at Gensler and project lead on Design Austin’s ATX Voices project, with panelists Kate Canales, Professor of Practice and founding leader of the School of Design and Creative Technologies (SDCT) at The University of Texas at Austin;  Raasin McIntosh, Founder, Raasin in the Sun; Vice President of Urban Activation at the Downtown Austin Alliance; Natale Stephens, AIA, Certified Healthcare Architect, Principal, and Regional Healthcare Director at Page, and Aaron Taylor, AIA, Associate, McKinney York Architects. WATCH THE VIDEO>>

MARCH 5 | Film Screening: PlayTime  | A film screening of PlayTime (1967) by Jacques Tati. The film is a gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedy about confusion in an age of high technology and the alienation of modern architecture. 

As Design Talks