Iconic Publishing Brands in Digital Spaces with Nicola Ryan of Condé Nast

We’re having conversations with magazine-makers— big and small, new and seasoned, independent and commercial—from all over the world, who are sharing what they do and how they do it. This year’s line up includes folks making magazines for kids, art and culture, as well as luxury lifestyle magazines, and a massive global publisher who covers all of this and more. There’s something for everyone in these 4 episodes.

This episode features Nicola Ryan, Vice President of Product Design at Condé Nast.

In this conversation, you’ll hear about Nicola’s career path into her current role at Condé Nast. Nicola shares how she thinks about designing for scale across so many publishing brands, including a toolkit that has drastically reduced the time it takes to reimagine visual design changes for brands like Wired and Architectural Digest, including how she helps brands balance consistent processes and experimentation. You’ll hear the specific ways Nicola and her team are thinking about and thoughtfully integrating AI in their creative workflow. We talk about boredom, critique, and the importance of trust building as a creative leader.

This episode was recorded as part of a guest lecture series in DG 8111 Digital Publishing in the Master of Digital Media Program in Spring 2026 at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.

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