Hi guys,
We’re very excited to share a new episode of Talks on Creativity with David Sedgwick - the founder of Studio DBD, an independent design studio based in Manchester. For over two decades, he has shaped the city’s creative identity through branding projects, exhibitions, and collaborations that celebrate people as much as design itself.
In this talk, David Sedgwick explores how human connection sits at the heart of both his work and life, emphasizing the importance of slowing down, staying close to people, and finding balance between creativity and everyday living. He opens up about curating exhibitions between Manchester and Barcelona, the lessons that shaped him, and the need to stay grounded amid the rapidly shifting landscape of design in the age of technology.
Most recently, at La Mercè Festival 2025 in Barcelona, Sedgwick curated a cross-city exhibition for Manchester’s guest-city partnership. He paired emerging designers from Manchester and Barcelona on large-format cubes to create a visual “love letter to their city,” shown in a daylight photography studio—an energetic, one-day showcase that drew hundreds.
Crucially, this chapter wasn’t part of a master plan. About a year earlier he’d received an email from the Manchester council—“your name keeps coming up on Google whenever we type in Barcelona and Manchester”—inviting him to contribute to La Mercè. “I may as well give it one more, one more go,” he decided.
That invitation rests on a longer story. Sedgwick first fell for Barcelona on a college art trip, noticing kinships with Manchester—industrial heritage, working-class culture, and the energy of a non-capital city carving its own identity. In 2013 he launched BCNMCR after a spontaneous promise to exhibit Barcelona studios in Manchester, flying over teams like Lo Siento, Hey Studio, Mucho, and Mayúscula, and keeping tickets affordable to make the event accessible.
The following year he scaled up with sponsorship, and in 2023 marked the 10-year anniversary with a limited book of 60 Barcelona creatives—350 copies featuring a Senyera-inspired tally-mark cover—before thinking the story had reached its end. Then came the council’s email, and the bridge reopened. Although the project revived his long-standing connection between the two cities, Sedgwick admitted he’s unsure whether to continue the Barcelona–Manchester series further.
For now, he feels he’s “exhausted the connection” but doesn’t rule out future collaborations that link Manchester with other creative cities, keeping the spirit of exchange alive.
At first, collaboration in his designs didn’t play the central role it does today. This shift didn’t happen overnight — it grew from years of experience, trial, and reflection. Sedgwick recalls where he started: a one-man approach to design shaped by youthful determination and a desire for control. Early in his career, he admits he tried to handle everything himself — learning software, crafting every detail, and believing that good design came from individual control. Over time, through projects and lessons learned, he realized that the most fulfilling and effective work happens when others are part of the process.
Though he runs a small independent studio, Sedgwick emphasizes co-creation — with both collaborators and clients. Over the years, he has learned to invite other voices into his process: photographers, illustrators, web developers, and most importantly, clients themselves. He now regularly brings in freelancers and specialists, trusting their skills and perspectives to strengthen the outcome.
He also speaks about how his relationship with clients has shifted from a one-way delivery model to an ongoing dialogue. He once thought clients “didn’t understand design,” but now sees them as partners with valuable insight. By involving them earlier, showing drafts, and sharing small ideas along the way, he finds projects flow more smoothly and produce better results. “If you bring someone along on the journey, then you get better work out of it,” he says.
This mindset extends beyond creative teams — it’s about cultivating empathy, patience, and respect. Collaboration, for Sedgwick, isn’t just a working method; it’s a philosophy that reminds him design is a shared experience. What once felt like a need to control every detail has become a practice of letting go — trusting relationships and valuing dialogue as much as design itself.
Continue reading the story on our website & watch the full episode on our YouTube channel ✨
