Nicola Hamilton
Captured by Pano Media
Spinning Multiple Plates
In this talk, Nicola Hamilton starts with a confession: she works a lot. A hilarious number of roles, projects, and responsibilities, and instead of treating that as something to fix, she uses it as a lens to talk about how creative careers actually move. Not in straight lines, but in layered paths that only make sense once you zoom out.
Nicola traces the early part of her career through editorial design, where she made a deliberate choice not to become a generalist just to appear employable. She built her portfolio around magazines, books, and newspapers, and followed that path through art departments, promotions, deadlines, awards, and all the invisible labour that comes with making work in publishing.
A small moment becomes a turning point: an email notification that sparks an unexpected wave of resentment. On paper, everything still works, but internally something has shifted. That reaction opens a deeper conversation about the boxes the industry creates, the identities we cling to, and what happens when a role stops fitting.
A detour into printmaking, done badly and joyfully, cracks things open. Making work without pressure leads to teaching, leadership at RGD, hosting Design Thinkers, and seeing firsthand that even the most established designers are still figuring things out. The talk lands with the opening of Issues Magazine Shop, a community-driven space built around print. Nicola’s takeaway is simple: specialization doesn’t have to be a genre. It can be values, communities, or the work you refuse to let go of.
nicolahamilton.ca
issuesmagshop.com
@nickydearest
