Why I believe in creatives more than ever.
D&AD President’s Lecture
May 2026
Public Speaking
Talia Cotton’s talks don’t just inform—they transform the way people see design, technology, and sometimes themselves.
Since 2023, she has spoken in more than 25 countries, addressing audiences at global conferences, corporate boardrooms, and universities, always with a balance of candor, rigor, and humor. Her talks explore the future of design and creative innovation, showing how technology and computation can expand the boundaries of branding and communication. Whether unpacking the practical uses of code or envisioning the next horizon of design, Talia’s goal is the same: to leave audiences with both inspiration and a sense of possibility.
Snippets
Where there is unknown, there is opportunity.
D&AD President’s Lecture
May 2026
The modern designer surrenders to factors that are out of their control.
Typographics 2025
Summer 2025
The work that stands out is the work that goes off the computer
Typographics 2025
June 2025
Sometimes you have to make people uncomfortable to make something new.
RGD Toronto
November 2024
The client is always right and the designer is always right, but what they’re right about is different.
Front and Center Podcast
May 2025
Don’t say the C word!
Nicer Tuesdays
November 2024
The logo is no longer always the brand.
Canva Create
2024
Lead with the art, and the tool will follow.
Canva Create
2024
Don't force yourself to be fearless.
Untold Podcast
September 2025
Why I believe in creatives more than ever.
D&AD President’s Lecture
May 2026
Where there is unknown, there is opportunity.
D&AD President’s Lecture
May 2026
The modern designer surrenders to factors that are out of their control.
Typographics 2025
Summer 2025
The work that stands out is the work that goes off the computer
Typographics 2025
June 2025
Sometimes you have to make people uncomfortable to make something new.
RGD Toronto
November 2024
The client is always right and the designer is always right, but what they’re right about is different.
Front and Center Podcast
May 2025
Don’t say the C word!
Nicer Tuesdays
November 2024
The logo is no longer always the brand.
Canva Create
2024
Lead with the art, and the tool will follow.
Canva Create
2024
Don't force yourself to be fearless.
Untold Podcast
September 2025
Why I believe in creatives more than ever.
D&AD President’s Lecture
May 2026
Where there is unknown, there is opportunity.
D&AD President’s Lecture
May 2026
The modern designer surrenders to factors that are out of their control.
Typographics 2025
Summer 2025
The work that stands out is the work that goes off the computer
Typographics 2025
June 2025
Sometimes you have to make people uncomfortable to make something new.
RGD Toronto
November 2024
The client is always right and the designer is always right, but what they’re right about is different.
Front and Center Podcast
May 2025
Don’t say the C word!
Nicer Tuesdays
November 2024
The logo is no longer always the brand.
Canva Create
2024
Lead with the art, and the tool will follow.
Canva Create
2024
Don't force yourself to be fearless.
Untold Podcast
September 2025
Upcoming & Recent Talks
Last updated 06.14.2026A more accurate reflection of upcoming talks can be found at cotton.design/news
OFFF Montréal
TBA
September 2026
Montréal, QC
Sloss Tech
TBA
June 2026
Birmingham, AL
Slingshot AI for NY Tech Week
Panel with Andrew Hulin and Joey Augustyn
June 2026
New York, NY
Interface Québec
Creativity Will Never Be Replaced
June 2026
Québec City, QB
D&AD Festival: President’s Lecture
Creativity Will Never Be Replaced
May 2026
London, UK
First Round (Under Consideration)
Presenting Everything Is Waves
May 2026
New York, NY
FITC
The Rebirth of Craft
April 2026
Toronto, ON
National Student Show (Keynote)
Designing (in) the Unknown
April 2026
Dallas, TX
Yale MFA by way of Pentagram
Designing (in) the Unknown
April 2026
New York, NY
Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Designing the Future
March 2026
Philadelphia, PA
INTL Festival
Creating Change
November 2025
Glasgow, Scotland
Typographics
TBA
June 2025
New York, NY
City & Regional Magazine Association
On AI Ethics
June 2025
Denver, CO
Fast Company Middle East
TBA
May 2025
Doha, Qatar
École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL)
Background, Philosophy, Methodology, Epilogue
April 2025
Lausanne, Switzerland
MICA
GD MFA Spring Lecture Series
April 2025
Baltimore, MD
Paradiso Festival
Untitled
March 2025
Mérida, Mexico
Nicer Tuesdays
On coding, creativity, and becoming your own boss
November 2024
New York, NY
Pratt Institute
Guest Lecture
November 2024
Brooklyn, NY
RGD DesignThinkers Toronto
Designing What Doesn’t Exist... Yet
November 2024
Toronto, ON
Kikk Festival
Designing What Doesn’t Exist... Yet
October 2024
Namur, Belgium
Basquerville
We Are Clearly the Most Amazing, Capable People in the Entire World The End Go Home (Closing Keynote)
October 2024
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Behind the Scenes by COLLINS & Molly
This Will Be Boring
October 2024
New York, NY
Screen to Screen at Wix Playground
Panel with Rich Tu, Hezi Jacob
July 2024
New York, NY
Bump Festival
On Newness
June 2024
Kortrijk, Belgium
Canva Create
”Branding at Scale” (Panel led by Mark Wilson, Fast Company)
May 2024
Los Ángeles, CA
FITC Toronto
Outdoing Ourselves
April 2024
Toronto, CA
Latin American Design Festival (Closing Keynote)
Designing What Doesn’t Exist... Yet
April 2024
Lima, Peru
OFFF Barcelona
Designing What Doesn’t Exist... Yet
April 2024
Barcelona, Spain
D&AD APAC
On Making Meaning Through Code
January 2024
China (Virtual)
Wix Playground
Why I Code
January 2024
Tel Aviv (Virtual)
ACU Art & Design
Coding: A Design Philosophy
December 2023
Abilene, TX (Virtual)
Geneva University of Art and Design
Designing with Code in 20 Minutes
November 2023
Geneva (Virtual)
TYPE01 Launch at The One Club for Creativity
Overcoming
November 2023
New York, NY
Parsons MPS Communication Design
What Does It All Mean?
November 2023
New York, NY
MIT Media Lab
Future Sketches Lunch Lecture Series: “The role computation plays in my (various) online typography works, and my recent foundation of design agency Cotton”
September 2023
Cambridge, MA (Virtual)
Carnegie Mellon University Design Lecture Series
Brick Walls
March 2023
Pittsburgh, PA
UIC School of Art & Design
"Embrace the Impossible”, and Other Lessons in Coding
March 2023
Chicago, IL
Mason Gross School of Design (Rutgers University)
A Love Story
February 2023
New Brunswick, NJ
Lightricks
Digital Interface as Brand Expression
January 2023
Virtual
The New York Times
Talia Times Three (Start/End/In-between)
December 2022
New York, NY
Mother Design
Motherloving Code!
December 2022
New York, NY
University of Pennsylvania
Design Senior Seminar: Meet a Designer
December 2022
Virtual
UH Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts
I Hate Technology: A Talk
November 2022
Houston, TX
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Talia Cotton and the Incessant Quest for Meaning in Technology
October 2022
Provdence, RI
InScript Experimental Type Festival (TDC)
Coding Typography: A Taxonomy
October 2022
Virtual
Brillo Festival (for illo.tv)
Dearest, Darlingest, Most Wonderful Technology: My Evolving Relationship
October 2022
Turin, Italy
Buzzfeed News
Why I Code
October 2022
New York, NY
OFFF Tel Aviv
Designing With Code
September 2022
Tel Aviv, Israel
F+F School of Art and Design Zurich: Jan Steinbach’s ‘Design for Screens’ class
Why I Code (Abridged)
September 2022
Zurich, Switzerland (Virtual)
Wix Playground Academy (Tel Aviv Outpost)
What Coding Can Do/What Coding Can’t Do
July 2022
Tel Aviv, Israel (Virtual)
EditorX / Dribbble Webinar “Digital design in 2022: How to grow as a creator”
How I became a designer/coder & other common questions I wish I knew the answers to not so very long ago but instead had to figure them out myself because desiging with code literally wasn’t a thing: A Quick Talk
July 2022
Virtual
AIGA Porfolio Development Studio
My Portfolio, What I Do, How I Got Here
July 2022
Virtual
Future London Academy: Future of Branding Week
What Coding Can Do/What Coding Can’t Do
June 2022
London, UK
Wix Playground Academy (NYC Outpost)
What Code Can Do / What Code Can't Do
June 2022
New York, NY
Design Museum Week
The most important coding lesson I’ve ever learned (and the runners up)
April 2022
Virtual
Prophet Visiting Designer Talks
The 8 Methodologies of Algorithmic Design (Abridged)
April 2022
Virtual
Google Visual Design Summit
Why We Do What We Do
November 2021
Virtual
Parsons Communication Design Lecture Series
Why We Do What We Do (Let’s Pretend Design Didn’t Matter)
October 2021
Virtual
Verizon Adfellows Internal Introduction
Hello
June 2021
Virtual
AIGA ModMag Conference 2018
On the Print/Digital Crossover
June 2018
New York, NY