Creative Groups Sydney

Brunch Catch-Up ☕ (Creative Gals in the Eastern Suburbs)

Kicking off our first meetup with a relaxed brunch! Come along to get to know other creative WOMEN in the eastern suburbs over good coffee and food. No agenda, just good conversation — come along and leave with some new faces. Café location to be confirmed shortly, keep an eye on this listing. At the moment I have a free account, so spots are limited to 10.

Shorts Off - Video Creators Play Session

**Monthly play session for content creators! Come mingle with your fellow creatives, team up, and having a blast making short videos.** **Event rundown:** **3:00pm Creatives mingle (light refreshments)** **3:30pm Session begins! A theme is introduced.** **Guests pitch ideas, vote, and form teams.** **4:00pm Teams write, shoot & edit an under-1-minute video.** **6:30pm Screening! And more mingling.** **Whether you're a pro or just love creating, come join the fun. Bring your gear (optional), meet new people, and make something awesome.** **Check out www.shortsoff.com for more info.** **You read this full description, here is a $5 off promo code as thank you!** **Promo: HIGHFIVE** **https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/shorts-off-video-creators-play-session-tickets-1998168559952?aff=oddtdtcreator** ******************* **Questions? hello@shortsoff.com**

Painting Creative Art Experience

**Painting Creative Art Experience** Join us for a fun and relaxing in-person workshop where you'll explore the power of painting to unlock your creativity and promote healing. No experience needed—just bring your open mind and let your imagination flow! Step into a calm, welcoming space where you can slow down, breathe, and reconnect with yourself through colour and creative expression. This is a gentle, guided painting experience designed to support emotional release, relaxation, and creative flow—no art experience needed. You don’t need to be “good at art.” You just need to come as you are. Through intuitive painting and reflective creative exercises, you’ll be invited to explore your inner world in a safe and supportive environment. This is a space to let go of pressure, quiet the mind, and reconnect with your natural creativity. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, creatively blocked, or simply needing time to rest and reset, this workshop offers a pause from everyday life and a return to yourself. You’ll be gently guided by **Louisa Chan**, an artist and art therapist who integrates creativity, emotional wellbeing, and healing practices into her work. Expect a relaxed, nurturing atmosphere, soft guidance, and a sense of freedom to express what words often cannot. **In this workshop you will:** * Explore painting as a tool for emotional expression and release * Experience a calm, supportive creative space * Reconnect with your imagination and inner world * Let go of perfection and create freely * Leave feeling more grounded, lighter, and creatively refreshed No experience needed. All materials are provided. Come as you are—leave with colour, calm, and something meaningful you created from within.

Coffee & Collage

#### **Coffee & Collage is a relaxed 1.5-hour self-guided analogue collage experience designed to help you slow down, reconnect with your creativity and enjoy some time away from the digital world.** **[Book your spot](https://www.theinspiredwithin.com/shop/p/coffee-collage)** Surrounded by vintage chairs, shelves of second-hand books and the warm atmosphere Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore is known for, the session is designed to get your creative flow happening, without rules. Intentionally small so you can feel comfortable coming on your own, meet new people and simply enjoy being present. Only 6 spots per session. $25 - All materials included

Networking Drinks #31

Join us once again at **The Art Syndicate**, a unique wine bar and gallery nestled in Surry Hills for a relaxed evening blending local drinks and meaningful conversations which should be perfect for a cold winter night. 🍷 **Event info:** ✅ Come discover some amazing NSW wine, beer and spirits. ✅ Expand your network of designers & make connections that last. ✅ No formal talks or speeches - just great conversations in a relaxed, friendly environment. *Check out my reviews on this page to see what others are saying!* **Venue information:**
 You'll find us at this art gallery & wine bar in Surry Hills. They exclusively offer a curated selection of NSW-based wine, beer and spirits! There is even art for sale! **Check them out on socials:** https://www.instagram.com/theartsyndicate.com.au/ **How to find us:**
 We are on Bourke Street, a short walk from Oxford Street or Central Station. **Join our What'sApp group:**
 Since Meetup has removed the event chat feature, [please join this WhatsApp group](https://tinyurl.com/uxad2026) for the latest event updates! Cheers, Josh

Lara Meacock/Edgar Anzaldua

Our CCX Sydney September event features two awesome designers and speakers: Lara Meacock from CBA on a AI themed Systems designing back and Edgar Anzaldua Moreno from Compare Club on the complimentary talk You loved your Craft, Now you prompt. Will be applying a $10.00 cover charge to cover Food and drinks and on this occasion will be kindly hosted again by our new friends at Lorikeet. Details below on the venue location (Surry Hills) **IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THIS SESSION!** **An Important detail is that due to gaining entry to Lorikeet we will need any CCX Member planning to attend this session to supply us with their First and Last name in advance of attending.** On this occasion we will not be able to accept Members who do not supply these details. Many thanks CCX Sydney. **About Lara's talk** **Systems designing back - when systems start thinking with us.** AI is rapidly changing how digital products are designed and built - but the most interesting shift isn’t simply that we can work faster. It’s what happens when the systems, rules and decisions designers create can increasingly be interpreted and executed by AI. In this talk, Lara explores the evolving relationship between design systems, AI and the role of the designer. Drawing on real-world experiments in AI-enabled design and delivery, she’ll look at what happens when design systems become more than libraries of components and start acting as the infrastructure AI uses to create. As execution becomes increasingly automated, the designer’s role begins to shift too - away from being the person producing every outcome, and towards defining the systems, constraints, judgement and quality standards that shape what gets produced. **About Lara** Lara Meacock is a Principal Product Designer at Commonwealth Bank, working across product design, systems and emerging AI-enabled ways of working. Across her career, she has worked at the intersection of product, design and technology, helping teams turn complex problems into digital experiences that are useful, intuitive and built to scale. Her practice combines a strong product lens with systems thinking, exploring how the decisions, patterns and foundations behind an experience can enable better outcomes for both customers and the teams building them. More recently, Lara has been exploring what generative AI means for the future of product design: how we design with it, how it changes the way products are created, and how the role of the designer evolves as the systems around us become increasingly capable. **About Edgar's talk** **You Loved Your Craft. Now You Prompt.** You picked design because you loved designing. Now you prompt. More comes back, faster, and it looks fine, so you ship it. Something about that mechanism feels off, and you can't name it. So you sit with that feeling. It isn't nostalgia. Let's talk about what it is. The uncomfortable part is that the better the output gets, the less often you scrutinise it. And something gets lost. Designers weren't the first ones to experience that loss, and we can learn from others. This talk is about how you keep using AI without losing what makes you good at design. It's about getting your mojo back. Ending with something you have that the machine doesn't, besides a heart. **About Edgar** Edgar Anzaldúa-Moreno is a design leader, researcher, and engineer with more than two decades of experience working across technology, product design, strategy, and organisational change. His career has spanned startups, consultancies, and large organisations, including leadership roles at KPMG, Canon, CarsGuide, Compare Club and Sweat. He describes his practice as that of a designgineer — combining research, strategy, design, and engineering to solve complex product and organisational problems. His work includes published research, a US patent, award-winning digital products, and the development of research-led design teams and practices. Edgar is currently exploring how artificial intelligence is changing the nature of design work and leadership. He is writing Leading Design after AI: From Operator to Orchestrator, a book about what happens when AI makes production increasingly cheap, while judgment, critical thinking, and the ability to frame the right problems become more valuable. Therefore don't miss out on this awesome pairing of two creativity and AI themed talks that will certainly asks as many questions of our audience as well as our presenters!

Design Like a Pro: A One-Day Canva Workshop in Sydney

**Overview** Master Canva to create professional, on-brand social media designs with hands-on practice in templates, branding, media, and content planning. **Ready to secure your spot? 🎯 Register now and complete your payment securely via Stripe Checkout!** [Click Here](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq00jgyK46OgOcgCE2oE44) **Program Details** **Duration**: 1 Full Day (8 Hours) **Delivery Mode**: Classroom (In-Person) **Language**: English **Credits**: 8 PDUs / Training Hours **Certification**: Course Completion Certificate **Refreshments**: Lunch, Snacks, and beverages will be provided during the session **Every Confident Designer Has a Day One. This Could Be Yours.** For general enquiries or booking your slot, contact us at: [info@mangates.com](info@mangates.com) +61 (0) 2 80155605 **Course Overview:** **The Design Gap No One Talks About** Their feed looked fine. Not bad, just forgettable. Every post used the same template, the same stock photo style, the same font picked at random months ago. Nothing looked broken, it just never quite looked like theirs. That's the gap most people hit long before they ever open a design tool properly. Not a lack of creativity, just a lack of the right skills to translate an idea into something that actually looks professional. **The Moment Design Stops Feeling Like Guesswork** Picture this: someone opens Canva, pulls up a template, and instead of leaving it as-is, adjusts the colors to match their brand, swaps the font, repositions the text, and exports a post that finally looks intentional. That's not talent. That's a skill, and it's exactly what this one-day workshop is built to teach. **How the Day Unfolds** * **Module 1: Getting Started with Canva** — They explore Canva's interface and workspace, and start recognizing the right formats for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. * **Module 2: Essential Design Principles** — They practice layout, spacing, and alignment, and start noticing why some designs feel balanced and others feel off. * **Module 3: Templates, Branding & Customization** — Through a role-play, they learn how to select and personalize templates, layering in brand colors, fonts, and logos.\ * **Module 4: Creative Social Media Graphics** — A case study pushes them to design posts for real engagement, using effects, transparency, and story formats. * **Module 5: Using Images, Icons & Media Tools** — A simulation has them working with stock photos, icons, and overlays until the visuals feel sharp and intentional. * **Module 6: Editing, Resizing & Content Variations** — A group brainstorm surfaces quick techniques for resizing and repurposing one design across multiple platforms. * **Module 7: Exporting & Publishing Designs** — By the end of the day, they aren't just experimenting, they're exporting polished designs and building an actual content calendar. **What Changes By the End** Attendees leave able to: * Understand Canva's interface and essential tools * Use design principles for professional visuals * Customize templates for brand identity * Create platform-specific social media graphics * Work confidently with media, icons, and effects * Resize and repurpose content for different platforms * Export and publish polished, high-quality designs **Who Finds Themselves Here** * Social media beginners * Entrepreneurs and small business owners * Marketing and communication teams * Students and freelancers * Content creators and influencers * Anyone wanting to design without advanced software **Real Practice, Not Passive Listening** Every attendee works hands-on with real design projects, live, in the room. The scenario above isn't hypothetical, it reflects exactly what happens to most people who walk in without a design background and walk out designing with confidence. **Bring This to Your Organization** Picture an entire marketing team producing consistent, on-brand visuals without waiting on a designer for every post. This workshop is available as a customized in-house session, on-site or virtual, with group pricing for teams ready to build that capability together. 📧 Contact us today to schedule a customized in-house session: [corporate@mangates.com](mailto:corporate@mangates.com) **©2026 Mangates Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd. This content is protected by copyright law. Copy or Reproduction without permission is prohibited.** **FAQs** **1\. Do I need any prior design experience to attend?** No, this workshop is built specifically for beginners with no design background at all. **2\. Do I need to install any software before the session?** No, Canva works directly in your browser, and the workshop will guide you through account setup if needed. **3\. Will I actually create real designs\, or is this mostly a demo?** You'll create real designs throughout the day, working hands-on with templates, branding elements, and export formats. **4\. Can I use this for my own business or brand\, not just generic templates?** Yes, Module 3 focuses specifically on customizing templates with your own brand colors, fonts, and logos. **5\. What if I need designs for multiple platforms\, not just Instagram?** Module 1 covers formats for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and Module 6 teaches you to resize one design across all of them. **6\. Does the course cover video content\, or just static images?** Yes, Module 5 covers working with videos alongside stock photos, icons, and illustrations. **7\. Will I learn how to use Canva's AI tools?** Yes, Module 6 introduces Canva's AI tools for quick adjustments and content variations. **8\. I run social media for my company\, will this help with content planning\, not just design?** Yes, Module 7 covers preparing content calendars using Canva folders, alongside exporting and publishing your designs. **9\. Can this course be customized for our marketing team specifically?** Yes, group sessions can be tailored to your organization and delivered on-site or virtually, with group pricing available. **10\. What do I actually walk away with at the end of the day?** Practical skills across Canva's full toolkit, templates, branding, media, resizing, and exporting, plus a Course Completion Certificate.

Online Photography - The letter P

SydDT #130: The Hidden Performance Skills of Great Designers

Designers spend years learning how to shape products, services, and experiences. But some of the most important design work happens live, in the room: * facilitating conversations * navigating uncertainty * building trust * uncovering perspectives * creating energy * driving alignment * helping people feel safe enough to contribute honestly Great facilitators don’t just run workshops, they shape emotion, attention, participation, atmosphere, and human connection in real time. In this Sydney Design Thinking Meetup, we’ll explore what designers can learn from experts who work at the extreme edge of live human experience design. Joining us will be: [Pamela Pilawa](https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-pilawa-27096baa/) A Sydney-based performer blending clowning, physical theatre, storytelling, and teaching across cultures and languages. [Pamela’s work ](https://pamelapilawa.com/)explores presence, emotional authenticity, courage, vulnerability, improvisation, and audience connection. Pamela will share perspectives from the world of clowning and performance — including: * how to stay present under uncertainty * responding authentically in the moment * reading audience energy * embracing failure and imperfection * building trust and connection quickly * why vulnerability can be a leadership strength Because sometimes the difference between a good workshop and a transformative one isn’t the methodology. It’s the human presence in the room. [Wai Yin Vicente Kwok](https://www.linkedin.com/in/wai-yin-vicente-kwok/) Creative Director and Founder of [Wai Yin Designs](https://www.waiyindesigns.com/), with more than 20 years of international experience across theatre, film, immersive events, entertainment, and experiential activations — including large-scale themed experiences at Universal Studios Singapore. Wai Yin will explore how environment, atmosphere, spatial design, and intentional setup influence participation, behaviour, emotion, and outcomes. Drawing from theatre, live entertainment, and immersive experience design, she’ll share how: * environments shape interaction * atmosphere influences engagement * physical space changes collaboration dynamics * intentional staging can reinforce purpose * experiences can be orchestrated to support desired outcomes Because workshops, co-design sessions, and facilitation environments are experiences too. And like any experience, they can be intentionally designed. Together, we’ll explore: * facilitation as performance * the role of presence in leadership and design * designing environments for participation * improvisation and adaptability * balancing structure with emergence * how designers can become more effective facilitators of human interaction This session isn’t about becoming performers. It’s about learning from experts whose craft depends on understanding people in real time.... **EVENT SPONSORS** This event is brought to you by [Thoughtworks](https://www.thoughtworks.com/), [Shapeshifters](https://www.shapeshifterscreative.com.au/), The Growth Habit, and [Dynamic4](https://dynamic4.com). We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.

Afternoon Networking Drinks #32

👋 UX Designers of Sydney! Welcome to our second **Saturday Afternoon** event! Since it went so well last time, i thought it would be fun to try another event on a Saturday afternoon. If anyone is left at around 7pm - we could go for dinner nearby too! **Event highlights:** ✅ **Japanese themed bar:** Come try some amazing Japanese beer and whisky! ✅ **Networking opportunities:** Expand your network of designers and make connections that last. ✅ **Relaxed, friendly vibe:** No formal talks or speeches - just great conversations in a relaxed environment. **Venue information:** * This month you will find us at an awesome Japanese sports bar in the leafy suburb of Crows Nest, right near the metro station! Check them out on socials: https://www.instagram.com/ichirosbar/ **How to find us:** Find the building entrance and head straight up to the second floor - we will have a Meetup Sign on our table! **Join our What'sApp group:**
 Since Meetup has removed the event chat feature, [please join this WhatsApp group](https://tinyurl.com/uxad2026) for the latest event updates! Cheers, Josh (Organiser) Liam (Co-host)

VAN CLEEF SPRING BLOOMS

Beer and Pixels - Monthly

Beer and Pixels is back as usual, on the second Tuesday of the month. At the Off Broadway Hotel. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- Got a game, demo or prototype you need people to playtest? Bring it along! Just provide a computer and input device, or a copy of the boardgame or card game you wish to show off, if you are a physical game dev :) Don't have a game to show? No worries! Just come on down, grab a beverage of your choice and play the games on display. See you there! PS: We have a Google Calendar of all Sydney events: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=dXNpcGNlZzRzdGhrZGE5cnF0bDUwMHJlMDhAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ PPS: If you are driving, parking is free after 6pm at the Broadway Shopping Centre. https://www.broadwaysydney.com.au/visit/parking [#BeerAndPixels](https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/beerandpixels?__eep__=6&__cft__%5B0%5D=AZXA1_Gs4GRAZsh55FxkF-C6TQs0cL7M-55eLC0PY3jSLiQIvmXsZYz39rKYw0ltJ6skKgSCCcFoA99W-7NeyX-WKj_Pb3uUHqNtK-RaC0IrJA&__tn__=q)