Design Minded

Design Minded is an event series created in partnership with The Contemporary Austin. Join us on their downtown Moody Rooftop for inspiring film screenings, thought-provoking talks, and to meet other design-minded creatives.

OCTOBER 15, 2025
6:00-9:00PM
The Moody Rooftop at The Contemporary Austin
Joey Zeledón

This fall, the series continues on Wednesday, October 15 with a design talk by Joey Zeledón. Joey Zeledón (he/they/she) doesn’t just design things — they elevate them, helping products reach their higher purpose. An award-winning designer with nearly two decades of experience, Joey has collaborated with top industry names including HP, Steelcase, Smart Design, Continuum, and Clarks. Their work spans everyday objects to thoughtfully reimagined furniture, blending emotional depth with practicality — always with a focus on comfort, connection, and meaning. Joey is the author of “Design is Trans”, exploring design as a vehicle for self-discovery and for expressing the true identity of the objects we create, and “Touchy/Feely”, which champions emotional ergonomics by reminding us that great design isn’t just about how something looks or works, but about how it feels.

The AIA Austin LGTBQIA+ Alliance will join us for this event as our community partner and facilitate a Q&A following the talk. Meet the co-chairs Sarah Biesterveld and John Stenzel and learn about upcoming committee events.

SCHEDULE:
6P: Rooftop seating & bar opens
7P: Talk by Joey Zeledón
7:45P-8:15P: Q&A

Tickets include access to view the exhibitions on view, complimentary drinks, and admission to the rooftop event. Feel free to arrive early to view the galleries.

SPEAKER

Joey Zeledón

Joey Zeledón

https://www.joeyzeledon.com/

NOVEMBER 12, 2025
6:00-9:00PM
The Moody Rooftop at The Contemporary Austin
Film Screening: Helvetica

Join us on The Contemporary Austin’s Moody Rooftop for a design film screening. 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.

Interviewees in Helvetica include some of the most illustrious and innovative names in the design world, including Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, David Carson, Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Experimental Jetset, Michael C. Place, Norm, Alfred Hoffmann, Mike Parker, Bruno Steinert, Otmar Hoefer, Leslie Savan, Rick Poynor, and Lars Müller.

PREVIOUS EVENTS

APRIL 16, 2025 | Design Minded: Design for All Panel Discussion | 6:00-9:00pm The second event in the Design Minded series 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, 2025 | Design Minded: PlayTime | 6:00-9:00pm Staged on the Moody Rooftop at The Contemporary Austin, we hosted 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