*UPDATE as of February 2026: Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately Aaron Draplin is no longer able to attend Cairns Crocodiles, but we hope to have him in 2027!
Buckle up, creatives. Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest, has secured one of the design world’s most recognisable and relentlessly energetic voices: Aaron Draplin, the US graphic designer, entrepreneur and author whose bold work and even bolder storytelling have earned him cult status across global creative circles.
Flying in from Portland in the US, Draplin will take the stage in May to share the tales, techniques and trademark grit that have built the Draplin Design Co. into a powerhouse. He’ll also be involved in Masterclasses Presented by News Australia—stay tuned for more on that!
From the mighty Pacific Northwest, Draplin has rolled up his sleeves and worked on projects for (and we’d take a deep breath) Nike, Tenacious D, Esquire, Fender Guitars, Patagonia, Target, Ford, Chris Stapleton, Coal Headwear, Union Binding Co., Wired, Dinosaur Jr, Timberline, Incase, Sub Pop Records, Marc Maron, Jack White, Jason Isbell, Nixon Watches, Bernie Sanders, Adobe, NASA/JPL, Timex and even the Obama Administration.
A prolific and unmissable speaker, Draplin is also the co-creator of the cult-favourite Field Notes memo books—now sold in more than 2,500 stores worldwide. His Skillshare classes reach students across the globe, and his bestselling book Pretty Much Everything is currently in its 14th printing. With a merch roster hovering around 400 products, Draplin continues to champion craftsmanship, quality and good old-fashioned elbow grease—values he credits to his parents.
Draplin joins an already stacked lineup of creative heavyweights, including:
- Paula Bloodworth, Co-Founder, Alien Baby with Idris Elba
- Jon Evans, Creator & Host, Uncensored CMO
- Adam Smith, Visual Director, The Chemical Brothers
- Amy Kean, Creative Sociologist & CEO/Creative Director, Good Shout
- Aseem Puri, Digital CEO, Unilever International
- David Ohana, Global Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, United Nations Foundation
- Lev Kroll, CEO, Nuanu Creative City
- Ida Ayu Astari Prada, Brand & Communications Director, Nuanu Creative City
- Rajeev Raja, Founder & Soundsmith, BrandMusiq
- Subhash Kamath, Ex-CEO BBH Mumbai; Brand Consultant, Trainer & Advisor
- Tigrest Grima, Fantasy Writer & #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
- Kedda Ghazarian, Head of Marketing, Bonds
- … and many more still to be announced.
Running 12–14 May 2026, Cairns Crocodiles Presented by Pinterest brings together leading thinkers, creators and provocateurs to celebrate creativity, culture and the power of ideas under the Queensland sun.
The three-day festival features:
Cairns Masterclass Presented by News Australia
Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo, spotlighting excellence and emerging talent across APAC
A bespoke program of Cairns Extra partner events and activations will also run before and after the stage content, such as breakfasts for the 10am kick off, lunch and learns and even a yacht party or two, giving attendees even more ways to connect, explore and celebrate. Stay tuned on how to register expression of interest in certain Cairns Extra events.
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