Designyatra 2025 opens in Goa with art, design and culture

New Delhi: Day 1 of Designyatra 2025 brought together more than 950 delegates for India’s largest anti-disciplinary design conference, exploring this year’s central question: So What.

The event opened with Klaus Obermaier, interdisciplinary artist, director and composer, who presented a performance blending light, movement and digital elements. His work blurred the boundaries between human and machine, and dance and code, prompting the audience to consider that performance can happen inside us, not just on stage.

Catalina Estrada, illustrator and pattern designer at Catalina Estrada Studio, spoke next, highlighting the emotional and cultural power of colour. She described illustration as “an act of joy and resistance” and said, “Colour, she argued, isn’t just aesthetic, it’s emotional armour.”

Bibi Seck, co-founder and multidisciplinary designer at Birsel + Seck, focused on design as a social tool, showing how everyday objects like chairs and containers can influence dignity and opportunity in developing communities.

Architecture was the focus later in the day, with David Adjaye OBE in conversation with Kay Khoo. He reminded delegates that buildings are not mute, saying they “hold memory, history and a nation’s story,” encouraging reflection on what structures communicate about society.

The evening concluded with Anthony Rowe and Hannah Brady of Squidsoup, whose interactive sound and light installations transformed the hall into a dynamic, immersive environment, demonstrating the enduring power of wonder in design.

Organisers said Day 2 and 3 will expand the conference with Sidequests (intimate workshops), Breakfast Sessions and Nightcap Conversations, formats intended to stretch imagination in unexpected ways.

Designyatra 2025 is hosted at Taj Cidade de Goa, Horizon, with creative experiences powered by The Product Lab.