29 January 2026 (6pm GMT)
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Sarah Manning (Spaceagency) explored how architecture and cities act as living interfaces – connecting us to meaning, story, culture, and human connection. Moving beyond screens and digital journeys, their work focusses on the cognitive aspects of navigation: the signs we read; the elements we touch; and the subtle cues that shape behaviour.
The talk gave the opportunity to discover how strategic design can make environments more legible and meaningful, and how public spaces are evolving into hybrid realms where physical, digital, and narrative layers converge.
Through a selection of key projects, Sarah shared insights into the future of wayfinding, placemaking, and experiential design, showing how cities can become richer, more human-centred spaces of interaction and identity.
About the speaker
Sarah Manning is a founding partner of the design and research practice, Spaceagency, which specialises in experience design and wayfinding. She leads the company’s strategic planning work and has delivered complex, multi-stakeholder projects for major international companies and cities. Her
professional experience comprises a wide range of international commissions which integrate information design, architecture and urbanism. Sarah began her career in user interface design in the Silicon Valley
and then in New York City as Art Director in a 3D media agency blending virtual space with interactive formats. There she also worked at the United Nations Headquarters designing travelling exhibitions that promoted the mission of the United Nation. She has held positions as Associate Director for the strategic design consultancy Space Syntax, Unit Master at the Bartlett School of Architecture Master of Urban Design course, and as a founding Trustee of Architecture for Humanity UK. Sarah is a joint author of The Spaceagency Guide to Wayfinding, and her work has been exhibited and published widely.