Designyatra 2025: Day 2 blends nostalgia, music, and multi-sensory magic

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

06th September 2025, PANAJI, GOA: If Day 1 was about big ideas colliding, Day 2 of Designyatra 2025 was about layering them with memory, music and multi-sensory surprise. With over 950 delegates still buzzing, the conversations shifted between past, present and future. Proof that a design conference can be as playful as it is profound.

The morning kicked off with Paul Priestman (Creative Director and Chairman, PULI innovation), who laid out a vision for the future of transport and product design. His talk was both pragmatic and poetic, about designing systems that move people not just efficiently, but beautifully.

Then came the much-whispered “secret session” by Kay Khoo, Co-Founder of Designyatra. What unfolded was part history lesson, part comedy act, and part family reunion. With humour and nostalgia, Khoo pulled the curtain back on the journey of Designyatra, celebrating 20 years of a festival that has shaped Indian design culture.

From there, Chiara Luzzana (Sound Designer, Composer, Sound Artist) brought sound to centre stage. Blurring the lines between lecture and performance, she showed how everything, from a heartbeat to the hum of a city, can become music. Her live performance electrified the hall, reminding everyone that noise is just inspiration waiting to be reframed.

Lucy Hardcastle (Multidisciplinary Designer, Lucy Hardcastle Studio) followed with her signature blend of science, technology and sensuality. Her work through textures, movement and emotional resonance invited the audience to feel design, not just see it.

The day’s philosophical high point came from Tea Uglow (AI & Innovation Consultant, EP Australia), who explored the intersections of creativity, identity and digital uncertainty. Her talk was an invitation to embrace ambiguity and to see queerness, technology and design as overlapping spaces of possibility.

Closing the day, Aniruddh Mehta (Graphic Designer, Art Director, Founder, Studio Bigfat) delivered a two-part session that captured the spirit of a generation. First, he shared his design journey with irreverence and honesty. Then, joined by his partner Aaron Myles Perreira, he turned the hall into a pulsating floor with a live set that blurred the boundary between presentation and performance.

As the sun set, delegates fanned out across seven Sidequests or intimate workshops where curiosity and collaboration took over. From hands-on making to radical rethinking, these sessions reminded everyone that design thrives when it’s shared.

Day 3 promises to raise the tempo even higher, closing the conference with heavyweight talks and the much-anticipated Kyoorius Design Awards and Young Blood Awards Night. Expect a crescendo that celebrates not just the winners, but the culture of design itself.

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.