Airbnb Design — Talks
The first season of Airbnb Design—Talks was all about boundaries. What does it mean to be inside or outside, or to belong safely in a community? We must look beyond the communities closest to us to design relevant, effective solutions for communities in transition or people in distress.
To better understand our relationship to community, we engaged with a dynamic group of boundary-breaking artists whose crafts vary from journalism and music to photography and fashion. With them, we gained invaluable insights on topics Airbnb cares deeply about, such as accessibility, immigration, representation, and reflecting identity.
Christine Sun Kim
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CAHow can sound be interpreted, if not by invisible wavelengths that enter our ears? If you ask Sound Artist Christine Sun Kim, sound can take form in visual, physical, and political art. By translating sound into charcoal drawings, experimental videos, and interactive performances, she reveals how noise travels and is reshaped. Her performance unpacked societal biases, drew connections between the hearing and deaf communities, and offered perspective on being deaf in America.
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Walé Oyéjidé
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CAClothing extends beyond the fabric we drape over ourselves each day—it represents culture, choice, and what we have to say. For Fashion Designer Walé Oyéjidé, clothing is a call to let people in. His talk expressed how blending indigenous identity, classical motifs, and continent-spanning fabrics, can subvert isolationism and border-building to celebrate rich heritages.
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Kiran Gandhi
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CAA champion of women’s equality, Drummer and Activist Kiran Gandhi enlists music as her means to elevate and celebrate the female voice. Not one for sticking to the status quo, she referred to her alma mater—Harvard Business School—as “the breeding ground of capitalist patriarchy”, and ran the London Marathon while freely bleeding to shed light on how people treat menstruation. In her talk and performance, she implored the crowd to own their voices, and discussed how creating spaces to speak freely fosters fluid and responsible innovation.
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Nelly Ben Hayoun
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CANelly Ben Hayoun is an Explorer and Artist who empowers people to become astronauts in their living rooms. Her mission? To bring chaos and disorder that support critical thinking and power shifts in the world of science and design. In her talk, she created space for debate and provocation around the sociological, political, and critical impact of new technologies in space exploration and beyond.
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David Allen
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CATattoos belong just as much to the artist as they do to those who wear them, even if the artist never sees their work again. This taught Tattoo Artist David Allen to appreciate the process just as much as the final product, and to build a strong, collaborative connection with his clients. In his talk, he talks about the transformative, healing power of tattoos, and his work with clients from a couple moving on from a miscarriage to women covering mastectomy scars.
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Lara Setrakian
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CADesign and journalism have something in common—the impact of bias in both industries can have a damaging effect on communities. Award-winning journalist and News Deeply CEO Lara Setrakian covers complicated subjects from the Arctic and refugees to Syria and water in the American West. In her talk, she shares how she and her team help readers gain nuanced understanding of complex topics, and how this helps us all design better solutions for communities we don’t understand.
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Kate DaughDrill
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CAArt comes in all forms and for Urban Farmer and Artist Kate Daughdrill, plants and food are her tools of choice. She uses living sculpture and shared meals as a means to connect with and serve her community through Detroit SOUP (which she co-founded) and Edible Hut. In her heartfelt share, she spoke about the growing role of civic responsibility through art, and how being open to authentic connection can shape the environments we live in and cultivate.
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Todd Saunders
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CACities have a way of leaving a mark on us and, for Neon Artist Todd Sanders, a spring break trip to Austin changed the course of his life. The neon lights brought memories of road trips in the family wagon—he decided then and there that’s what he wanted to do. In his talk, Todd explored the visual language of cities, the relationship between neon and urban revitalization cycles, and the medium’s ultimate evolution from signage to symbolism.
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Joshua Kissi
June 14, 2018 —San Francisco, CAGrowing up, Joshua Kissi noticed a common theme in advertising, entertainment, and media—no one looked like him. Co-founding companies from creative agency Street Etiquette to modern stock photography company TONL, Joshua channels his distinct perspective and captivating style to champion communities of color by depicting them truthfully. During this immersive evening, he waxed poetic on the everyday opportunities we all have to create beautiful, impactful stories that resonate with a diverse audience.
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