Three boys sit with their backs to the camera watching a CTDN presentation being projected onto the classroom wall in front of them.

Three people sit around a table having an animated discussion. A large sheet of paper covered in multi-coloured pastel sticky notes is on the table in front of them.

Four people sit around a table having an animated discussion. A large sheet of paper covered in multi-coloured sticky notes is on the table in front of them.

Five people sit around a table in a conference room. They smile as one woman draws on a large sheet of paper in the middle of the table. Other tables and groups of people are visible in the background.

Matthew Wingfield presenting at a conference.

Five people sit around a table having a discussion. One woman writes on a large sheet of paper in the middle of the table.

What we do

Through online and in-person events, the Cape Town Design Nerds bring young people together to discuss – and design solutions to – challenging social, environmental, and political problems across disciplinary and geographic divides.

We develop our projects in partnership with activists, artists, academics, teachers, and other nongovernmental organisations. In doing so, we hope to build connections between students and community organisations, hold open spaces for inclusive dialogue and grounded collaboration, and foster students’ broader democratic engagement beyond the classroom.

We use design thinking methods to engage with complex questions in creative ways.

Design thinking provides us with a framework and set of tools for approaching, understanding, and developing solutions to complex problems. It is an iterative, collaborative, empathetic, and optimistic methodology that emphasises inclusivity and creativity. The Cape Town Design Nerds’ Design Jams and other events are spaces of fun, rapid idea generation that prioritise participants’ input and empowerment.