Speaking
I give keynotes, develop talks, and moderate panels on how the technology we design shapes culture.
From classrooms to conference stages, industry panels to keynote addresses, I have developed talks on design craft, digital music, human creativity, Star Trek, lost fonts, and more.
Drawing on over 15 years of design experience across embedded hardware, audio software, and research in both academia and industry, my talks examine how we build things and how those things shape us.
Expect high energy, sharp insights, good-looking slides, and plenty of humour.
Selected Talks
Dork Patterns
The story of Little Character
Format
Conference presentation
The premise
Drawing on hardware engineering, typography, and vintage software archaeology, this talk traces the journey of recreating a lost vector font into the open-source release Little Character. It is a celebration of hyper-fixation, design archaeology, and why letting your inner dork lead the way is the ultimate driver of innovation.
The takeaways
Design Archaeology, Hardware/Software Interaction, Typography, Curiosity-Driven Innovation.
Presented at
Beyond Tellerrand (Berlin)
Our Ultra-Processed Interfaces
What music technology can learn from Doritos
Format
Conference presentation, keynote
The premise
Examining the homogenization of digital interfaces this talk draws a surprising parallel between commercial music tools and ultra-processed foods [01:46, 13:39]. It investigates how interface design can simulate culture, engineer artificial nostalgia, and prioritize consumption over deep creative expression, and offers a fresh framework for building tools that honor human culture rather than capitalistic patterns [15:03, 23:41].
Core themes
Interface Design, Music Technology R&D, Material Culture, Critical Design Thinking, Ultra-Processed Design Systems [01:46, 11:06, 22:34].
Presented at
Kilele Summit (Nairobi, Keynote); Goldsmiths University (London); Audio Developer Conference (Bristol)
Where No Design Has Gone Before
Lessons in musical instrument design from Star Trek
Format
Keynote, conference presentation
The premise
Exploring how the writers and prop designers of Star Trek: The Next Generation used musical instruments to symbolize culture, emotion, and humanity, this keynote flips standard engineering-first workflows on their head [02:45, 13:45]. By reverse-engineering and prototyping a prop instrument from TNG's first season (the unnamed "Aldean instrument"), the talk illustrates the power of designing for cultural narrative and emotional resonance rather than starting with technical factors [09:35, 13:04, 23:45].
Core themes
Reverse Engineering, Speculative & Sci-Fi Design, Physical Prototyping, Narrative & Cultural Artifacts, Speculative HMI [13:04, 19:37, 24:19].
Presented at
Audio Developer Conference (London, Keynote); Front Conference (Zurich, Keynote); Hackaday Europe (Berlin); New Interfaces for Musical Expression (Mexico City, Mexico)
How I learned to quit whining
and love the docs
Documentation as design practice
Format
Conference presentation
The premise
Grounded in a design philosophy that "design is a practice of care," this talk reframes documentation as a core design process rather than an afterthought [03:14, 09:22]. Using the complete documentation suite for the Gliss touch control module as a case study, it demonstrates how establishing strict nomenclature, intentional voice, and multimodality (PDFs, cheat sheets, and video manuals) directly refines customer-facing product design, reduces cognitive load, and builds lasting trust [00:47, 15:01, 18:49].
Core themes
Design as Care, Technical Documentation, Product Design Strategy, Multimodal Communication [03:14, 13:48, 23:28].
Presented at
Audio Developer Meetup (Berlin); Audio Developer Conference (Bristol)
What other people say
"Astrid turned a hunt for a lost font into a talk about curiosity, noticing things and following your inner dork. It was the perfect ending for Beyond Tellerrand. I watched the room while she was on stage: people leaned in, laughed and left with that look you get when a talk actually hit something. She’s sharp, warm and wonderful to work with."
— Marc Thiele, Beyond Tellerrand
"Astrid is a joy to work with! Her content is always on point and insightful, and delivered with humour and warmth. Astrid has spoken at ADC on several occasions and her talks are always highly rated."
— Sophie Carus, Audio Developer Conference
Bio
Short bio:
Astrid Bin is a designer and researcher working on the tools people make music and art with. She is Principal Designer at RoEx, was founding designer at Bela for nine years, and spent four years in music technology research at Ableton. She holds a PhD in Media and Arts Technology and delivers talks and keynotes on design, craft and music technology.
Long bio:
Astrid Bin is a designer and design researcher who works in the space between between people and creative technology. She is Principal Designer at RoEx, where she builds the design system and product workflows behind AI-assisted mixing and mastering tools. She is also a research fellow at the University of the Arts Berlin, designing wearable applications for audio control.
For nine years she was founding designer at Bela, leading design across eight hardware and software products, from physical design and packaging to the Bela IDE and product documentation. She also spent four years in music technology research at Ableton, designing speculative interfaces and conducting cultural research on electronic music culture.
She holds a PhD in Media and Arts Technology from Queen Mary University of London. Her keynotes, including at Kilele, the Audio Developer Conference, Front Conference and Beyond Tellerrand, examine how culture affects the the design of music technology, and how music technology in turn shapes us.
Book me
I'm passionate about design, creativity, craft, music technology, media, and the world at large. I love speaking at high-quality conferences that are diverse communities of like-minded people and events that share these values.
I can tailor one of my existing talks to your event, and I also always have new content under development. If you'd like me to speak, keynote, or moderate a panel at your event, I'd love to talk about it. Just email heyastrid (at) astridbin.com.