Designyatra 2025: Day 1 kicks off with colour, culture and questions that matter

India’s Biggest Anti-Disciplinary Design Conference Attracts 950+ Delegates To Goa

05th September 2025, PANAJI, GOA: If there’s one thing Designyatra has mastered, it’s turning a conference into a cultural happening. Day 1 of Designyatra 2025 opened to a buzzing house of more than 950 delegates, all ready to test this year’s provocation: So What.

The anti-disciplinary conference began with Klaus Obermaier (Interdisciplinary Artist, Director & Composer), who set the stage with a rush of light, movement and digital trickery. His work blurred lines between human and machine, dance and code, leaving the audience with the sense that performance doesn’t just happen on a stage anymore, it happens inside us.

The mood then shifted into full bloom with Catalina Estrada (Illustrator & Pattern Designer, Catalina Estrada Studio). Known for her kaleidoscopic patterns and folklore-rich visuals, she spoke about illustration as an act of joy and resistance. Colour, she argued, isn’t just aesthetic, it’s emotional armour.

Bibi Seck (Co-Founder & Multidisciplinary Designer, Birsel + Seck) followed, grounding the conversation in the tactile. His talk explored design as a social tool, showing how humble chairs, containers and everyday objects can shape dignity and opportunity in developing communities.

The evening belonged to architecture. Sir David Adjaye OBE (Founder & Principal, Adjaye Associates), in conversation with Kay Khoo, reminded everyone that buildings are not mute. They hold memory, history and a nation’s story. His reflections pushed delegates to think beyond form and function, and to ask: what do our structures say about us?

Finally, the lights dimmed and Squidsoup’s Anthony Rowe and Hannah Brady closed the day with an atmospheric plunge into sound and light. Their large-scale interactive installations turned the hall into a shimmering cosmos, proving that wonder is still one of design’s most powerful tools.

If Day 1 was about setting the stage, Day 2 and 3 will widen the canvas. Expect Sidequests (intimate workshops), Breakfast Sessions, and Nightcap Conversations, formats designed to stretch imagination in unexpected directions

As always, Designyatra isn’t just about asking “why?”. It’s about living in the answers, and the doubts that follow. Or, as the theme reminds us: So What.

Designyatra 2025 is presented by Zee.

The conference features creative labs by Target, Pantone and Uniball and creative grounds by Tokushu Tokai Papers, Ark | Maxon and PaperMonday.

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

For live updates, follow @kyoorius on Instagram or visit the website at designyatra.com