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 Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sustainability in Fashion
Pratt Manhattan Gallery opens an exhibition on Thursday, “Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion.” It purports to be the "first American exhibition to investigate the sustainable practices of American fashion designers, many of whom are based in New York City." The show runs through February 20, 2010; the opening reception is Thursday, November 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.
Posted by Bryn
Design School | Events
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:11:56 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Monday, November 16, 2009
Debbie Millman's Hosting a Party
AIGA president, affable radio host, branding guru (oh, and HOW author) Debbie Millman is hosting a bash next month to celebrate the publication of Look Both Ways (designed by Rodrigo Corral) and the filming of a television pilot for her show Design Matters, directed by Hillman Curtis and produced by the School of Visual Arts.
Saturday December 12
7:00-9:00 PM
School of Visual Arts Theater
333 West 23rd Street
New York City
Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Books | Design School
Monday, November 16, 2009 3:37:01 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Open House
Next week, the House Industries crew is descending on the Type Directors Club in New York City for two days of typographic goodness. Thursday, November 19, they're setting up a pop-up shop at TDC HQ, where you can purchase any number of House products (color us jealous), followed by an evening presentation, Letter as Image. Then on Friday, House's Ken Barber leads an all-day, hands-on type-making workshop. More details here.
Posted by Bryn
Events | Typography
Thursday, November 12, 2009 1:43:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Boost Your Business Savvy
Yeah, yeah, we know designers don't have business degrees. Which is why HOW helps you figure out the business side of design. Two upcoming DesignCasts (note our catchy new word for webinars) do just that. Sign up, sit at your desk, interact & learn.
Presenting Killer Proposals
Tuesday, November 10, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
presented by Ilise Benun
Ever sent a proposal off and ... just waited for a response? No more. You'll find out exactly what a proposal is and how you can use the
document, as well as the proposal process, to give your prospect the
information they need to make the right decision: to hire you!
Register now!
How to Survive as a Freelance Designer
Thursday, November 19, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m PT
presented by Jeff Fisher
Thriving as a creative freelancer is an act of balance: too much work vs. too little, too much client contact vs. not enough. Jeff will show you how to position your business to command respect from clients & prospects, how to make marketing an enjoyable part of your day-to-day, and how to work wherever you want: the coffee shop, the beach, a villa in Italy ...Register now—and get a FREE digital edition of HOW's Self-Promotion 2009 issue!
Posted by Bryn
Design Resources | Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:19:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 02, 2009
Big HOW Conference News!
We're really excited to announce some big news: We're teaming up three hot HOW events, all in Denver next June. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the HOW Design Conference, this will be the must-attend design event of the year.
The 2010 HOW Design Conference will be held June 6-9 at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. The Creative Freelancer Conference will be held June 5-6 and the In-HOWse Designer Conference will be June 6-8, also in Denver.
Designers who also freelance now have the option of attending THE business conference for solopreneurs as an add-on to the HOW Design Conference. In-house design managers can focus on topics like leadership, management and efficiency at the In-HOWse Designer Conference, while their staff members attend the HOW Conference for a big dose of creative inspiration at the very same time.
What’s in it for you?
• All the great sessions and speakers you’ve come to expect from HOW events
• Programs focused specifically for the Creative Freelancer Conference and the In-HOWse Designer Conference, plus lots of extras that have never before been part of those events
• An unmistakable energy that ignites when the design community comes together
• A once-a-year opportunity to network with other creative pros
• Unparalleled access to information and inspiration in the better-than-ever Design Resource Center and HOW Bookstore
• The biggest design party of the year, under one roof.
Put it on your calendar, add it to your budget and start your networking now. Trust me, this is THE design event you won’t want to miss.
Visit HOWconference.com, CreativeFreelancerConference.com or InHOWseConference.com to learn more about the events, and sign up for the free e-mail newsletter so you'll be among the first to know when speakers and sessions are announced in the coming weeks.
I hope you'll join me in Denver next June for a whole pile of design awesomeness.
Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine | Industry News
Monday, November 02, 2009 4:55:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, October 26, 2009
How to Get Published
If you've browsed the bookstore and seen design books like these ...
   
... you may have wondered how designers like Maggie Macnab, Joshua Chen, Jeff Fisher and Peleg Top managed to get their books published, or how you can get your work included in a design book like these.
Designer and veteran book author Peleg Top (his forthcoming "Designing for the Greater Good" joins his previous "Designers Guide to Marketing & Pricing" on shelves), is hosting a seminar to help designers get their work published. You'll learn how to submit your work to book editors for consideration in their projects, and also how to pitch your book ideas to publishers.
The session is Thursday, November 5 from 7:00 to 8:30 at the studio of Lime Twig Group in South Pasadena, CA. More info and registration here.
Posted by Bryn
Events | Industry News
Monday, October 26, 2009 3:22:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
National Design Week
Next week (beginning this Sunday, October 18), is National Design Week, as designated by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Design-related activities in cities across the U.S. have been ongoing for several weeks, leading up to next week's series of events, including:
• Free admission to Cooper-Hewitt
• A Teen Design Fair on Monday at The Times Center in NYC, with keynote speaker Tim Gunn
• A panel discussion among winners of this year's National Design Awards on Tuesday
• The ubiquitous after-party on Thursday.
More scoop here.
Events | Industry News
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:05:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Bay Area Designers, Take Note
HOW Job Bank partner Core77 is hosting a Creative Employment Confab next week, aimed at both job-seeking designers and hiring creative managers. It all starts at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21 at the Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco, and ends with a reception late in the day. Topics include the Subtle Art of the Creative Talent Search and, on the flipside, Creating and Online Presence Worth Hiring. More info here.
Events
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 6:09:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Live Webinar: Smart Salary Negotiation
Want a bigger paycheck? (Yeah -- us, too.) Turns out, ya gotta ask for a raise, especially in this tight economy when companies aren't exactly handing out dollars.
Hiring expert Megan Slabinski has all the ins and outs of salary negotiation in a live one-hour webinar, Recession-Proof Salary Negotiation Skills, on Thursday at 4pmET/1pmPT. Learn current salary trends in the design field, how to ask for a raise, and what kinds of non-monetary compensation you can negotiate for if money isn't an option.
Register now (you'll probably make back the $39).
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, October 12, 2009 3:39:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Money Talks
Learn how to maintain financial control throughout every freelance project with the Creative Freelancer Webcast Series: Controlling the Money Conversation with Clients.
Tonight's presentation:
Determining Your Client's Budget Before You Start
October 7
7:00 pm Eastern / 4:00 pm Pacific
If you don't want your clients to fall off their chairs from sticker shock, you must find out what numbers are in their heads before you spend a single minute writing a proposal. There is no "right" way to do this, but there are many methods you can try. This webcast will explore all the different ways to ask for (and get) a number from potential clients, so you can find the ones that fit your comfort level and preferred approach.Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:48:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Phoenix Design Week Update
Phoenix Design Week will have its inaugural event from October 21st-25th. The week will feature galleries during the week, showing local work of graphic, interactive and motion designers. Among the exhibits will be a display of client rejected logos, a paper sculpture showcase and a collaborative poster show with work from students from 4 different local design programs.
Friday night will kick off the weekend with the Typophile Film Fest at MadCap Theatres. The typography themed short film fest is only being shown in a few select cities, with Phoenix being lucky enough to be included in this exclusive list.
The weekend conference is being held at the Phoenix Convention Center in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The list of speakers includes the national president of the AIGA, Debbie Millman, Chaz Maviyane-Davies the "guerilla of graphic design", Eric Hillerns, Bobby Solomon, Bennet Peji and many others. The panels, presentations, workshops and roundtable discussions held during the weekend conference are meant to bring together the design community in an unprecedented way.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 5:27:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Freelancing Web Series
The Creative Freelancer Fall Webcast Series begins tomorrow with "Finding and Reaching the Right Prospects."
Talking to clients about money can be one of the hardest topics for
freelancers to tackle. But the process will go smoothly once you learn
to take control. The four upcoming Creative Freelancer webcasts address
every aspect of the money conversation, from targeting clients all the
way through closing the sale. Get the overall picture and a discounted
rate when you sign up for the four webcast package. Or target the
specific information you need most and sign up for each webcast
individually.
Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 4:26:18 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 21, 2009
Dirty Weekends
The Art Directors Club in NYC is hosting a series of three weekend workshops celebrating the joy and mess of creating.
Mark Making
Saturday, October 10, 2009
2:00-6:00 pm
@ADC Gallery
106 West 29th Street, NYC
Printmaking
Saturday, October 17, 2009
3D Construction
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Each Saturday afternoon workshop led by Steve Haslip, creator of the Dirty Weekends series, takes you back to the art of making. Mark Making will feature broom drawings, drawing, machines and calligraphy. Printmaking will feature potato printing and screen printing. 3D Construction will use paper, cardboard, found objects, images, and string. No materials are required for these workshops—just register in advance.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, September 21, 2009 1:53:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Same Language
Feel like you're speaking French when you talk with your clients and colleagues who AREN'T designers? Then today's live webinar is for you. Learn how to communicate with those folks, how to sell your ideas, how to gain respect.
Communication Strategies for Creatives: Connect with Your Clients & Co-workers Live Webcast Registration — today at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
Register now!
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:25:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
For the Love of Photoshop
Seems creatives can't get enough tips and tricks for using Photoshop. (Those Photoshop-related sessions are always SRO at the HOW Conference.) Even hard-core P'shop users always discover new shortcuts and nifty techniques.
The most expert experts convene for an all-out extravaganza at Photoshop World in Las Vegas in early October. Wanna join them? Download a free pass to Photoshop World Expo on October 2 and 3. Industry retailers and venders will be displaying there wares, and there are free training classes available. The event takes place at the Mandalay Bay, which ain't too shabby.
Get the free pass here.
Events | Industry News
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 7:49:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Mini-TED
Surely you've heard of TED: the technology/entertainment/design conference that's known for amazing presentations by really (really!) smart people. TED curator Chris Anderson this year announced that the nonprofit was licensing its name to small local events. Tod Martin, founder of Unboundary, an Atlanta-based design studio, took Anderson up on it, and TEDxAtlanta took place yesterday afternoon.
FOH Sam Harrison scored one of just 100 invitations and shared this report:
When Tod Martin, Unboundary CEO, attended the TED Conference this year, he was awed by the performance of Eric Lewis, a NYC musician who channels the raw emotion of alternative rock into take-no-prisoners jazz piano pieces.
To inspire Unboundary team members and clients, Martin decided to have Lewis perform at the firm’s Atlanta headquarters and began making arrangements for Lewis’s visit. But then came an announcement from Chris Anderson that TED would start licensing independently organized TEDx events, and Martin decided to expand his plans and host a TEDxAtlanta. The 100-person guest list included designers, artists, strategists, journalists, authors, chefs, food critics, business leaders, city and new urbanism developers, educators, investors, social capitalists, etc. He had a long waiting list of others wanting to attend.
Martin had no specific theme for the event (although talks leaned heavily toward sustainability); his goal was to bring together influential speakers and city residents to envision possibilities for Atlanta’s and America’s future.
There were nine participants/speakers (plus chef Shane Touhy, who served creative interpretations of grits during the late-afternoon wine tasting). As with the TED Conference, each speaker had an 18-minute slot to present his/her ideas. They included:
Musician Eric Lewis, who played various selections to open and close the event.
Ciannat Howett, sustainability director at Emory University, who shared her successful plan of building the USA’s greenest university
Dr. Richard Farson, author of “The Power of Design” and a psychologist and educator
Documentary filmmaker Justin de Leon, who previewed his newest documentary, “Give to Live”
By hosting this TEDx event, Martin further positioned Unboundary as an intelligent, creative, concerned organization. It was energizing just to be in the same space with 100 imaginative, influential people. And the speakers were top-notch—entertaining, inspiring, educational. In each of their 18-minute talks, they pointed out challenges we face, but, more importantly, offered visions, directions and solutions. A great afternoon of ideas, interaction and entertainment.
Below, from left: Justin de Leon, Greg Lindsay, Dr. Keith Eigel, Dr. Carl Hodges, Dr. Richard Farson.
Posted by Bryn
Events | Industry News
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 5:01:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Bootcamp
If you live in the NYC area, don't miss our business bootcamp that start tomorrow!
Running a Successful Design Business
New York, New York / New York Marriott Marquis
September 17, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and September 18, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Instructor: Daniel Schutzsmith
Fee: $495
Ideal for creative studio owners, freelancers, project managers and
business developers, this workshop will explore every aspect of running
a creative business. Daniel Schutzsmith will provide expert information
on everything from planning your business and defining your product to
financial and resource management and planning for the future.Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 3:08:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 14, 2009
2009 In-HOWse Designer Conference Report
Sarah and I arrived in D.C. Wednesday evening and hopped a Super Shuttle to the Rennaissance hotel, which turned out to be right around the corner from Chinatown and tons of amazing restaurants. Chinatown? I had no idea D.C. had one. If you’ve never explored this area before, I highly recommend it. If you get hungry, check out Matchbox, Nando’s or Zaytinya. And if it’s your birthday or anniversary, get a reservation at Zengo.
The pre-conference workshops started bright and early Thursday morning. Jeni Herberger explained why and how in-house teams should institute a charge-back system, while John Ranalletta shared how understanding different personality types (including our own) can greatly improve working relationships.
The conference kicked off with an inspiring opening keynote by Chris Pullman, who was vice president for design and branding for more than 30 years at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston.
A few key takeaways:
• The people who are successful as designers like to solve problems posed by other people. If you like to solve your own problem, you’re an artist.
• Don’t look at your coworkers as clients. Instead, approach them as partners.
• If you don’t market your services as the best available, you are sunk.
Next up was Dyana Valentine, a consultant of sorts (more of a super smart, inspiring leader) who walked us through an interesting worksheet where we identified our greatest strengths and weaknesses and then brainstormed in small groups to create a strategy that would address one of the weaknesses through one of the strengths. Even though her session was followed by The Creative Group-sponsored happy hour, many people stayed in their groups and kept solving each other’s problems.
Finally, everyone gathered in the lobby, networked and checked out the conference sponsors during the happy two hours.
Friday morning began with the wit and wisdom of Stanley Hainsworth, who’s worked in-house at Starbucks, Lego and Nike. Here are just a few gems from his presentation:
• It’s all about building relationships across the organization, which is very difficult, if not impossible, for an outside agency to do.
• Never show a concept you don’t want to execute, invariably, that’s the one they’ll pick.
• Create a visual brand book to help you communicate with your clients. It will become a common platform that you can all speak from to remove some of the subjectivity when reviewing design work.
Megan Slabinski, executive director of The Creative Group, was up next with a great presentation about managing people through times of change and uncertainty. Most people respond to change gradually and experience four stages of emotion when faced with a change: Denial, Resistance, Exploration and Acceptance. Everyone will spend a different amount of time in each stage. If you don’t know how the members of your team deal with change, check out The Change Style Indicator.
Then the tough choices began with concurrent afternoon sessions. Sarah attended Creative Leadership and Management with Michael Lejeune from Metro LA, while I sat in on Andy Epstein’s session Show Me the Money. Andy, who has a long career as an in-house manager explained how to prove your team’s worth to your company through sales tracking and industry benchmarking. If you ever have the chance to hear Andy speak, he’ll change the way you think about managing an in-house team.
Choice number 2 took Sarah to Jennifer Miller’s session about creating a tiering system to help you align people, processes and priorities, while I attended riCardo crespo’s energetic talk about how to present creative work to clients. riCardo, who is the global creative director at Mattel, shared some amazing stories about how learning to speak the language of your audience can help you persuade them that your design solution is the right one. (You can listen to an interview with him at Accidental Creative.
Saturday morning brought the whole group back together for a panel discussion. Attendees had submitted questions all day Friday and Sarah and I combed through them that night to come up with a good mix and order. In the morning, seven speakers took the stage while I peppered them with a huge variety of questions—from “How do you keep your designers creative within strict brand guidelines?” to “How would you bring unity to a team diverse in age, personality and experience?”
Delivering a great presentation is one thing, but all the speakers were also able to offer thoughtful advice about a range of topics on the spot. (Big thank you’s to riCardo, Andy, Stanley, Michael, Jennifer, Chris and Megan for sticking around to answer our questions!)
Finally, ad industry veteran and writer Sally Hogshead brought the conference to a smashing close with her take on how to create fascinating brands through archetypal triggers like lust, mystique, power, trust and more.
The challenge now is to keep up with all the great contacts we made in D.C. Check out the In-HOWse Conference group page on Facebook and, while it’s lightly trafficked right now, we could always revive the In-HOWse Conference Forum. Let’s keep this conversation going!Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, September 14, 2009 8:13:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
Boost Your Brains
Fall's all back-to-school and everything, and HOW has some upcoming learning opportunities that'll help boost your career.
We posted yesterday about the September 17 webinar (that's next Thursday) with in-house design guru Andy Epstein, Communication Strategies for Designers, and we're getting calls from designers interested in signing up! More info about Andy's excellent presentation and a registration link here.
Then, on Wednesday, September 23 we're starting a new webinar series, Controlling the Money Conversation with Ilise Benun -- a four-part series focused on getting you more comfortable talking with your clients about money and more confident in pricing your work. Get all the scoop on that series (and save if you sign up for all 4 sessions) here. Of course, you can choose any one individual session if that works best for you.
Coming up on Thursday, September 24, is a webcast sponsored by Getty, THE SIMPLE—Visual trends that cut through the clutter. Getty shares its proprietary visual research to unveil current cultural and design trends that can help shape your best work. More on that and registration (that one's FREE!) here.
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:41:17 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Doing Good
FOH Daniel Schutzsmith (who's hosting a HOW Design Business Bootcamp later this month, by the way), let us know of another event he's involved in: The Good Web conference, in NYC on September 25. It aims to bring together branding and marketing folks to share ideas and best practices on building awareness for the social causes they support. The impressive speaker lineup includes Dave Kingsbury, a cognitive anthropologist at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and Katherine McLane of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Learn more about The Good Web.
Events | Industry News
Thursday, September 10, 2009 6:19:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009 Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Phoenix Design Week
I love discovering hidden design scenes around the country. This event in Arizona will put a spotlight on the city of Phoenix.
Phoenix Design Week (October 21-25) is a celebration of the vibrant Phoenix design community for print, web, motion, and interactive designers. The week consists of exhibits, a film festival, and a multi-track conference, with keynote speakers, panels, and workshops. Additionally, we have confirmed some keynote speakers, including Debbie Millman, and we just confirmed Typophile Film Festival 5.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 5:21:57 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 03, 2009
'Twitterview' with Dyana Valentine
We asked the fantastic Dyana Valentine (meet her, and you'll understand the adjective) to do a live Q&A today on Twitter. Dyana is leading an interactive workshop/session at next week's InHOWse Designer Conference on networking and collaborating. You can catch the whole stream of questions, answers and comments from the audience on Twitterfall. Follow @HOWbrand on Twitter.
Here's a recap of our Q&A, in the 140-character Twitter style:
First, tell us a bit about yourself, in just 140 characters.
Tagline: I help self-starters learn to self-finish: one project at a time.
Translation: getting people excited and re-framing their struggles into strategies that make the world a better place!
Love your tagline. What mostly keeps self-starters from finishing? Lack of time/energy/focus/motivation?
Great ?, it's different for everyone, but often the mistaken thought that if a self-starter, we must also be self-finishers!
My dream: we'll change the way we "complain" about work & lives. Would b amazing if we shifted it 2 OKAY, what next? GameON.
Speaking from personal exp, sometimes lots of little frustrations pile up @ work. How 2 get past that to GameON?
I can dig gripe logjams.my 1st question is ALWAYS: are the frustrations getting in my way or will they serve the mission?
If they aren't: ditch them (with pride and aplomb); if they are serving: how can I make them fun and easy?
What are you working on right now that you’re really excited about?
On the edge of my seat for the inHOWse (no that isn't gratuitous!) next week; new collab game idea; radical revamps
Super cool clients: authors, fashion designer, creative director, venture capitalist--absolutely bounding out of bed daily!
We luv your identity … .@rdqlus_creative created it after you met at last year’s #CFConf, right?
Ohhh! @rdqlus_creative took me fr back-stage understudy 2 limelit DyVa; seriously--get RDQLUS today--& thank your lucky stars.
Give us a tip on how in-house designers can get better connected w/their creative peers.
Similar to conf. connecting: ask for what you want, give freely of what you can, ask superstars for meetings and follow up!
We also had some questions from the audience.
From groove5mith: What strategies do you use to help people 'self-finish'?
Translation: just the right combo of nosy, whip-cracky and practical prowess to bring out the best in my clients' work.
From thespitfiregirl: My business is really growing & i think i'd like to get a partner to share responsiblities & grow the biz. But HOW do i find them?
Find out what you really want in a collaborator: skills, values, style. Make a list. They will come.
From ealvarezgibson: How do you turn away a client without looking like a jerk?
Ahhh, good 1! You never look like a jerk if you are choosing to do what you do best--if u can't do it w/them, DON'T.
From lsvdesign: How do you keep from getting overwhelmed with a new idea/project? Esp. when you're short on time.
Break that sucker down. Map time available, chunk it up, match tasks to chunks. Ask for help if you need it.
From melanieo: How can one stay motivated daily when working on a long-term project?
Ohhh, those long projects can be doozies, huh? I am a fan of rewards, hot fudge, and also accountability partners.
From PassionJourney: How do you proceed when you feel completely overwhlemed?
Tough one--if truly completely overwhelmed--change of scenery. post it, pen, walk til you sweat--c what shakes loose.
Events | Thought Provoking
Thursday, September 03, 2009 8:35:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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What We've Learned
At the Creative Freelancer Conference in San Diego last week, hosts Ilise Benun, Peleg Top and I wrapped up the program by asking freelancers in the audience what they'd learned during those two days. Peleg recorded video and edited the clips together. Among my favorite "What I've learned" comments:
"It's a lonely occupation. I've had more conversation with my pets than I've had with people in certain weeks. It's great to know that there IS a network of people out there. This conference made me excited to be a freelancer."
"It's been a great experience coming two years in a row. I got to see how much I've grown and how much I've learned ... and how far I have to go."
"There's still work out there, and I think that's great, because I've been a little paranoid for the past six months or so. This gives me hope."
Events
Thursday, September 03, 2009 6:40:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 28, 2009
Web Design Bootcamp
If you've ever wanted to learn how to transfer your print design skills to the web, check out HOW's upcoming bootcamp: Moving From Print to Web. You can save $100 off registration through Monday, August 31. The instructor, Patrick McNeil, is also the author of the bestselling HOW book Web Designer's Idea Book.
Moving from Print to Web
Atlanta, Georgia /
Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University
September 29, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and
September 30, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Instructor: Patrick McNeil
Fee: $495
Save $100 when you register by August 31!
Patrick McNeil will explain how to get past initial roadblocks as you
move from print to web design, with in-depth information on both the
creative and technical aspects of digital design. You’ll learn how to
factor user experience into your design, how best to set up your files
and more – there’s even a group critique so you can get feedback on
your current interactive project.
Download the brochure (PDF).
Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, August 28, 2009 4:38:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Design Bootcamps: Coming Soon to a City Near You!
Back in the spring, when it became evident that some of the folks who wanted to come to the HOW Design Conference couldn't (thanks, economy!), we pondered ways to bring HOW to the masses. Hence, a brand-new series of events this fall: HOW Designers' Bootcamps.
Take four top HOW speakers/authors, send them to major design hubs, have them lead intensive, day-and-a-half workshops on topics important to designers -- you've got the new bootcamp series. The sessions are interactive, hands-on and practical.
Get more information on all the sessions and download brochures here.
Here's the lineup:
Running a Successful Design Business
Save $100 if you register by 8/18
September 17 & 18, New York City
Daniel Schutzsmith
Ideal for creative studio owners, freelancers, project managers and
business developers, this workshop will explore every aspect of running
a creative business.
Moving from Print to Web
September 29 & 30, Atlanta
Patrick McNeil
Get past initial roadblocks as you
move from print to web design, with in-depth information on both the
creative and technical aspects of digital design. Bring your laptop!!!
Marketing and Self-Promotion
October 20 & 21, Minneapolis
Jeff Fisher
Learn how to fine-tune your promotion skills for design business survival in any economy.
Building a Profitable Creative Business
October 26 & 27, Seattle
Emily Cohen
Get the skills and tools you need to run, manage and maintain a profitable and successful creative business.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 4:55:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 17, 2009
In-HOWse In D.C.
Sarah and I just got our plane tickets for the In-HOWse Conference in Washington, D.C. this September. If you're still thinking about joining us, the early bird deadline has been extended to August 21. Save $200 each for the first two attendees from the same company, plus the 3rd attendee registers for free.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, August 17, 2009 3:13:58 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, August 13, 2009 Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Freelancers: Join a Tribe!
Ivette Cortes, a Chicago-area designer, recently spoke with designer and business coach Peleg Top (co-founder with HOW of the Creative Freelancer Conference) about a "tribe" that she joined along with 8 other CFC attendees who met at last year's event for the first time. Cortes and the tribe have stayed in touch since then, helping each other with business issues. Here's a snip:
I noticed on the message board that one of the attendees had put up a note about organizing a group for dinner. After the session I met the group and we had such a great time that I took a cue from you, Peleg, and suggested that we form a tribe. There were nine of us who went out to dinner and by the end of the conference we had four more. Whenever we have work-related problems, someone shouts it out and most of the time one of us has had a similar issue and can give advice.
It's a great example of how creatives, especially freelancers, can tap a network of peers to share their advice and expertise. They collaborated on a name, Solo Mafioso, and are working on a logo. Awesome!!!
Listen here.
Design Resources | Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 1:41:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 10, 2009
Film Preview at CFC
If you're joining us for the Creative Freelancer Conference at the end of this month (and you should, if you're a creative freelancer), you'll get a sneak peek at an upcoming documentary called "Shine." This "big film about small business" is being produced by Biznik.com and is due out in 2010. The Biznik folks are bringing a preview screening to CFC in San Diego, with never-before-seen clips and outtakes. The film is co-directed by Dan McComb and Ben Medina -- it tells the unheralded stories of entrepreneurs struggling to build the businesses of their dreams (kinda like you, huh?).
Watch the trailers + read the press release here. And learn more about the rest of the Creative Freelancer Conference program.
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, August 10, 2009 7:07:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Designer, Promote Thyself!
Whether you're in business for yourself or for someone else, your success and career development as a designer depend on how well you package and promote Brand You. Learn from Jeff Fisher, the guy who's done that better than most, in this week's HOW webinar, "Packaging, Planning and Promoting Yourself." Join Jeff and ask questions during this live interactive event on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. PT. Register now!
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, August 10, 2009 4:02:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 07, 2009
A Cool Zine by Jolby
Check out a preview of this zine by Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols, the "designers, illustrators, cutters, staplers, sellers of the zine," Colby says.
Josh and Colby have a design/illustration studio called Jolby in Portland, OR. If you're in the area tonight, it's their opening reception of a zine
release and screen print show called "&1: Everyday Shenanigans."
You also can check out Jolby online (both the zine and the rest of the artwork will be online next week).
 Posted by Jessie
Designers | Events | Illustration
Friday, August 07, 2009 3:18:14 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009
HOW News This Week!
Lots of goings-on here at HOW HQ that you absolutely must know about!
• There's just two more days for you to submit your best interactive design work to this year's HOW Interactive Design Awards: B2B, consumer & self-promo websites, banners, motion design, games and more. Entry deadline is July 31, so get to it.
• Jessie posted yesterday about the early registration date for our In-HOWse Designer Conference, also July 31. Save $200 by signing up this week! Corporate creative managers, you can't miss this event -- you'll hear from in-house veterans Michael Lejeune, Stanley Hainesworth, Andy Epstein, Chris Pullman, riCardo Crespo and Jennifer Miller. (Together, they've worked for top-notch organizations: Mattel, Starbucks, LA County Metro, WGBH, CVS, Target, etc., etc.)
• Freelance designers, dig this: You can attend this year's Creative Freelance Conference in San Diego (August 26-28) for less than a grand. There's never been a better time to work on developing your freelance biz. Plus, we've added a payment plan and extended the Early-Bird discount to make it even easier for you to attend. Got a friend who freelances? Sweet! Refer a friend, and his/her registration is half off. (Then agree to split the discount.) Freelancers who attended last year raved about the conference--hear what they have to say.
• Design-firm principals/owners/leaders: This is THE year you should consider attending HOW's Mind Your Own Business Conference. As the economy picks up, you must be ideally positioned to take advantage of new clients and markets. Rethink how and why you run your business, working alongside other principals and speakers including Tim Williams, Emily Cohen, David Berman and Donna Karlin. Check out our MYOB group on LinkedIn.
• While you have your calendar open, be sure to put a star on September 1 -- that's the deadline to enter HOW's biggest competition, the International Design Awards. Find out more here.
Call for Entries | Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 3:37:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Get to In-HOWse
The end of July is almost here, which means you only have four more days to take advantage of the best In-HOWse Designer Conference early-bird deal.
This year we are offering a smashing rate. Sign up by July 31, and save $200. And, if it’s a group, the first two registrants from the same company save $200 each off the regular price—and the third person is free.
Click Here to check out 5 reasons why you should attend, including learn how to save the company money (your boss will love that one).
 Posted by Jessie
Events
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 3:04:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Write Off Your Conference Expenses
Yeah, we know that taxes aren't? (isn't?) the super-sexiest topic. But if you're a freelancer, managing your tax burden is paramount to your financial health.
So this is big: Self-employed creatives can deduct many of their expenses related to professional development. In a new blog post, June Walker, author of Self Employed Tax Solutions explains how. Here's a snippet:
As a freelancer in these tough economic times your vacation has
likely been put on hold. Any of your money that’s not going to living
necessities is probably going toward a work search rather than airfare
to an island destination.Well, here’s a way to get a change of scenery and acquire more tools
to expand your earning potential. Let Uncle Sam and his state taxing
cousins foot the bill for about one-third the cost of the Creative
Freelancer Conference in San Diego. Yes, that’s right, as a self-employed person, the cost of the conference is a complete business expense deduction.
Why are we telling you this? Well, because the early registration deadline for this year's Creative Freelancer Conference is tomorrow. All told, the pricetag for the whole CFC experience, including hotel and airfare, is less than $1,000. (Summer airfare to San Diego is a steal right now.) What are you waiting for? Register now! This is one business decision you won't regret.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:19:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Calling All Freelance Creatives
There's no two ways about it: you HAVE to join us for the second Creative Freelancer Conference in San Diego, August 26-28. Why? Here's a snapshot of what the designers/writers/photographers who attended last year say about their CFC experience:
Untitled from Creative Freelancer on Vimeo. I'll be there. Will you?
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 4:36:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Learn from the Best Biz Minds
We've just announced the speaker lineup for this year's Mind Your Own
Business conference in Scottsdale, October 1 through 4. You'll hear
from past MYOB favorites Donna Karlin and Tim Williams, plus new-to-MYOB
experts like Larry Melnick and David Berman.
We've also built in
working time so you'll have ample opportunity to work together or on
your own and begin applying what you learn directly to your firm. Plus,
you'll hear from your peers who've gone through the challenging process
of specializing their firms and thrived as a result.
Network with other
principals, share your challenges and successes -- and do it all in a
fantastic resort setting. (Discussion groups by the pool, anyone?)
There's never been a more crucial time for you to attend MYOB. Learn more and register today. And be sure to join the active MYOB group on LinkedIn to connect with other creative leaders.
Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 3:33:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 02, 2009
Web Design for Print Designers
So you're comfortable in the world of ink-on-paper. But your clients need campaigns that cross from print to digital media. How can you translate your print skills to web projects? Easy. Learn from a pro in HOW's next webinar, From Print to Web: Translating Your Skills to New Media and Markets. Join presenter Mark O'Brien in this live, interactive session on Thursday, July 9 at 4 p.m. ET. Register now!
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, July 02, 2009 5:33:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Almost Over
It's around 3:30 here in Austin and the last breakout session of the day is about to start. But there's plenty to do tonight including the portfolio review sponsored by The Creative Group and the big party sponsored by Neenah Paper.
Sorry about not live blogging the event, but I was too interested in listening to what the speakers were saying. Everything I've seen has been great!
Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, June 26, 2009 9:25:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Twitter Feedback
There's so much great feedback about the Conference on Twitter. Here are a few gems:
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amyhawk This
has been one of my favorite HOW Conferences to date. And two more days
left! Such an amazing group of people all in one place. #howconf
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victorglenn @JerriConrad my brain has exploded more than once today. great sessions, can't wait to share w/the olsenites. #howconf
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sethlilly AUSome day at the #HOWConf! Great sessions, new friends and cool social gatherings. Looking forward to tomorrow!
Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, June 26, 2009 10:57:02 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Easy iPhone Apps
I stopped by the HOW Conference Resource Center this morning to check out the ansca booth. This small tech company just announced their first product called Corona, which enables designers to "quickly develop and distribute highly optimized native iPhone Applications."
The company founders are Adobe vets who worked on Flash Lite and Flash Mobile so they know all about developing software for mobile devices. Now you can, too.Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:07:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Up Early In Austin
Dang it, I can't sleep. So I've been cruising the #HOWConf tag at Twitter and it seems like everyone is having a great time already. For example:
NeenahPaper What a great key note speaker....we are inspired now! #HOWconf 2009 is ready to rock!
sethlilly @HOWmag Congrats on a great first day. My first HOW Conference was Vegas 2006 and this is just as AUSome. #HOWConf
Jtrounce Awesome first day at #HOWconf. Got to meet and get a photo with Debbie Millman! One of the most inspirational and wonderfully nice people.Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:57:54 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A Hot Austin Night
The HOW staff got to explore a bit of Austin's beloved South Congress Ave. last night. We asked the cabbie to drop us off at Uncommon Objects, pretty much my favorite junktique store in the world. I found a great pair of horseshoe cuff links to go with the pink tuxedo shirt I brought to wear to the Keep Austin Weird closing party.
A couple of doors down at Maya Star, I found a pair of funky but totally functional sunglasses. My dog ate my last pair. I'll have to keep these safe.
After drooling over boots that none of us can afford, we found our way to dinner at Enoteca, a fantastic Italian bistro. Their arabbiata sauce is to die for. After, we walked down the street a bit and ended up sitting in the beer garden behind Botticelli's, another cute Italian place. The cocktails were cold and the live music was soothing (just a guy with a guitar and a great voice).
The pre-conference studio tours and workshops began this morning and the conference kicks off tonight with a keynote from Rob Walker, who writes the Consumed column for The New York Times Magazine, and a party in the Resource Center (sponsored by Mohawk).
Hope I'll see you there!Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 3:08:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Paper Specs
Just another reason to high tale it down to Austin this week for the HOW Conference: French Paper is giving away funky paper specs at their booth.
Every day we're dropping more fresh lines for designers than Kanye and our colors are richer than Fitty. Stop by the French booth and pick up your specs, they'll keep you cool in the hot Austin sun (and maybe help you catch some z's on the DL, if those slide shows go long!) Can't make it to the HOW Conference? Order French products, paper, and envelopes on-line at http://frenchpaper.com and we'll be throwing a pair of Paper Specs in with each order.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, June 22, 2009 8:24:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 19, 2009
Heading to the HOW Conference?
We're just two working days away from heading to Austin for this year's big HOW Design Conference, so I wanted to share some last-minute info and advice for anyone who's planning to join us (and I hope YOU are!):
• Beat the crowd at the registration desk and pick up your conference badge and materials starting at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, on the first floor of the Austin Convention Center. Registration is open throughout the event.
• Expect it to be blazin' hot outside and pretty cool inside the meeting space. Dress code ranges from business casual to T-shirts and jeans.
• We'll be tweeting and blogging live during the conference, so stay tuned here for scoop, and follow us on Twitter: @HOWmag. Join the HOW Conference Twibe, and tag your tweets #HOWConf.
• Looking for places to eat and things to do in Austin? There's no shortage of either, so start here.
What's more, there are lots of extra activities on the agenda (official and otherwise) next week, including:
• A lunch group for designers who work for churches and other religious organizations on Thursday
• A lunch group for designers who work in-house on Friday
• A gay bar crawl following the Friday night reception
• A bar crawl on Sixth Street on Tuesday night
• Fun stuff for folks who aren't into bar crawls
• The Designers Marketplace on Thursday evening
• Design History and Practice: Mano a Mano, a bracket-style tournament hosted by Armin Vit and Bryony Gomez-Palacio on Thursday night
See y'all in Austin. I'll have my boots on!
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, June 19, 2009 4:00:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Money Talk for Freelancers
On the Creative Freelancer Blog, I posted this week a brief Q&A with freelancer Steve Gordon, author of the newly published "100 Habits of Highly Successful Freelance Designers." Our topic? A tough one: money.
Steve noted that creative freelancers have so much trouble dealing with the financial end of their business because their personal and professional fortunes are so intertwined.
If you, too, have trouble talking about money with your clients, check out tonight's Creative Freelancer Webinar (7 p.m. ET), where Ilise Benun, one of our partners on the Creative Freelancer Conference, will help clear away the butterflies in your stomach that arise any time you talk about your fees. Register now--it'll be worth your investment, trust me.
Design Resources | Events
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 6:53:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 21, 2009
New HOW Conference Sessions Added
Perhaps you do a little freelance work on the side. Or maybe you envision a full-time career as a freelance designer but are unsure about some key business topics you'll need to succeed.
We've teamed up with longtime HOW partners Peleg Top and Ilise Benun to develop a mini-track at the HOW Design Conference just for freelancers or would-be freelancers. These brand-new sessions will all take place on Thursday, June 25. The Town Hall sessions will have a Q&A format, so bring any questions you have about pricing and promoting your work. Learn more about these freelance design sessions here.
- Money Talk: How to Talk to Your Clients About Fees
- Freelancer Town Hall: Pricing and Money with Peleg Top
- Do You Have What It Takes to be a Successful Freelancer?
- Freelancer Town Hall: Marketing and Self-Promotion with Ilise Benun
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:02:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Sneak Preview of Creative Freelancer Conference
Maybe you're thinking of attending the second Creative Freelancer Conference in San Diego from August 26 to 28. But maybe you're a bit on the fence. Ilise Benun, a longtime marketing advisor to creative freelancers and, along with Peleg Top, one of HOW's partners in this new event, offers a sneak preview of what you can expect to get out of your experience, along with interviews with attendees at last year's conference.
Ilise says: "We've planned two and a half days of hands-on learning and useful, time-saving resources with plenty of time to network with peers and with the speakers."
Check out the video, and start making plans to join us in San Diego.
Untitled from Creative Freelancer on Vimeo.
Posted by Bryn
Events
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 2:22:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Put Facebook to Work for You
... and Twitter, and LinkedIn, and ...
If you're using social networking, are you really USING it or just killing time? And if you're not a user, do you wonder what all the fuss is about? Join design-firm principal/branding guru/social media expert Tim Pederson in next week's live HOW webinar to learn all you need to know about: 5 Ways to Use Social Media to Grow Your (and Your Clients') Business. Spend an hour, and Tim will tell you how to put all those tweets, posts and profiles to work in building your client base. Register now!
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By The Numbers
To raise money for their scholarship fund, the Type Director's Club will be holding a silent auction of posters on June 11.
Numbers are mighty powerful. But they can also make our eyes can glaze
over–especially when the numbers are in the billions and trillions. To
liven things up, the TDC has invited a group of ultra-talented
designers (James Victore, Strange Attractors, Deb Bishop, Matteo
Bologna, and Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich to name a few) to create a
series of posters with numbers as their central theme.
via designworklifePosted by Megan
Events | Typography
Thursday, May 14, 2009 2:41:12 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 11, 2009
Test Your Knowledge of Design History
Friends of HOW Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit, newly moved to Austin, TX, are joining us at the HOW Conference as hosts of a new event designed to test how well you paid attention in art history.
They're celebrating the launch of their new book, "Graphic Design Referenced" with Design History and Practice: Mano-a-Mano -- a showdown pitting 16 worthy contestants who'll vie for a free registration to the 2010 HOW Conference. We haven't done anything like this before, but we're pretty certain it'll be great fun.
Go here for more information about the event, and sign up ... if you dare.
Posted by BrynEvents | HOW Magazine
Monday, May 11, 2009 9:19:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 04, 2009
For Freelancers
Creative Freelancer Conference co-host Ilise Benun has put together a panel discussion for her live webinar at 7 p.m. ET tonight—featuring straight talk and real answers from pros who are successfully freelancing now. The panelists cover a range of specialties and experiences—from writing to design to strategy—so no matter what type of freelancer you are, you're sure to get practical, real-world information you can use to build your own successful freelance career. You'll learn: - The attitudes and techniques required to get work right now
- The most viable industries and market sectors that are growing right now where you can find new clients
- The strongest and most effective marketing tools, including how to get work through Twitter
Get more info and register for this live, one-hour event.
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, May 04, 2009 3:27:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Reflex Blue Show
I had the pleasure of joining hosts Nate Voss and Donovan Beery (and our friend Steve Gordon) for their Reflex Blue Show podcast. Thanks, guys! 
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, April 30, 2009 7:10:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Aus-10-tayshus!
FOH Steve Gordon just sent over a link to preview the sweet, limited-edition T-shirt he's planning to produce for the HOW Conference. We're digging the typolicious design.  |
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11 Good Reasons
Presenting Our Top 11 Reasons Why You Should Register for the HOW Design Conference This Week (we couldn't stop at 10): 11. You'll have a chance to stockpile paper samples, stock photo catalogs and tons of other swag in the Resource Center. 10. Airfare to Austin is cheap from just about anywhere. 9. Closing party theme—Keep Austin Weird—is a great excuse to get your funk on. 8. New Designer's Marketplace is a good source for well-made gifts to take back to your colleagues. 7. This year's speaker lineup is especially good-looking. 6. You can totally customize the program to your personal interests. Like, maybe, this session: Freud, Sex and Graphic Design. 5. Mark Randall's closing session will totally fire you up for changing the world through your work. 4. You'll have a chance to meet the HOW staff and pitch to be in the magazine. 3. We have absolutely no idea what Marc English will do onstage, but we're pretty sure it'll be inspiring. 2. You'll be even smarter when you leave Austin, with your brain packed full of new info on branding, Flash, color, fonts, marketing, business, leadership, creativity and more. 1. You'll save 100 smackers if you register by midnight Friday.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 1:24:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 27, 2009
Create a Custom HOW Conference Program
HOW Conference veterans know that picking what sessions to attend can be both the easiest and the hardest thing about going: easy, because you can drop into any session you want, and hard, because with 50-ish sessions, there's a lot to choose from. So we're giving you a bit of help. In addition to the "tracks" of related sessions (Creativity, Business, Career, In-House, Tech & Production and Disciplines), we've developed a list of recommended sessions for designers of all stripes. Are you a freelance designer? Here's a lineup of presentations for you. A digital/interactive designer? Here you go. Easy, huh?
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, April 27, 2009 1:52:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 23, 2009
Panicked About Pricing?
Fretful about your fees? Relax. We'll have some answers and some aspirin to cure your pricing headaches in today's HOW webinar, when consultant Emily Cohen will walk you through four strategies and four best practices for setting, sticking to and discussing your design fees. It's this afternoon at 4 p.m. ET, so sign up now; just a few seats remain available.
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, April 23, 2009 1:30:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Making the Case for the Conference
Sure, YOU know how great the HOW conference experience can be—how it refuels your passion for your work, connects you with other designers, sharpens your business skills and boosts your design career. But as you're making a case to attend this year's event, your boss will want to know what's in it for the company. Why should it pay to send you? Ah—you knew we'd help you with that, right? Here's a strategy for convincing your boss to send you to HOW. For starters, see all the sessions that will help you help your company with key initiatives—branding, organizational communication, efficient project-management, sync'ing business with design, connecting with consumers. Then, consider all the software training available: Where else will you learn about Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, QuarkXPress, Flash and After Effects—from the best instructors in the business—in one place? Whoa—think about the Resource Center: talk about your one-stop shop for paper samples, vendor connections and info about new products and services that'll help your business work smarter. Finally, you can share your conference learnings with your colleagues. Here are some great ideas on how to do that. Still need help convincing your boss? Just copy and paste this text into an e-mail and hit Send. See you in Austin!
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 1:49:16 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Design Economic Summit
The stock market is up (mostly), economic stimulus money is hitting the street and people are getting tax rebates. Still, designers may be feeling uncertain about how the economy is affecting their work. You know you can count on HOW to help your design business and career thrive! So we've put together a special panel of design pros at the HOW Design Conference to address the economy head-on. They'll share what they're experiencing across the country, and take your questions and comments. You'll come away with a better handle on -- and hopefully more confidence in -- where design is heading these days. Yet another reason to register for the conference before the May 1 early registration deadline.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 1:41:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 20, 2009
Invite Friends to HOW, Score Some Goodies
For a limited time, you can get $100 toward any HOW product, including events, competition entry fees, magazines, books and webinars. All you have to do is convince a friend or colleague to register for the HOW Design Conference—there will be a place on the online registration form for them to give you credit. Get two friends to sign up and you'll get $200 worth of goodies. Three friends = $300 in HOW products. (Do you see where we're going with this?) If someone credits you with their registration, we'll send you an email with instructions for choosing your HOW goods. So get out there and spread the word to every designer in your address book. Here's an easy way to do it.
Events
Monday, April 20, 2009 1:59:36 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Gig for Gig Posters
Clif Stoltze tells us that the POSTGIG exhibit of rock show posters that he curated, is headed to Charlotte, NC, this week. Opening night is tomorrow, and the show runs through April 27 at the Green Rice Gallery. Check it out if you're in town. 
Events
Thursday, April 16, 2009 8:23:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
HOW Conference Party: Get Your Weird On
This just in from our conference colleagues down the hall: the Friday night party is all about Keeping Austin Weird. (Thanks to Neenah for again sponsoring the fun!) Judging by past parties, folks will be dressing to the nines in all kinds of crazy getups. (Remember the White Party in Orlando a couple of years ago?) If you're looking to funk-ify your wardrobe for the bash, here are a few vintage stores in Austin. Click the links for directions only—most sites don't have their inventory posted online. Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds
Hog Wild Texas VintageBlue Velvet VintageOf course, you can also venture to South Congress Avenue (just a few blocks from the conference headquarters) and pick up something fun and local. We especially like New Bohemia Retro Resale and of course Uncommon Objects. The real dilemma is: where to stop for lunch? You'll likely find the HOW gals in the parking lot of Torchys Tacos.
Events
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 3:12:17 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 13, 2009
Pricing Webinar Next Week!
These questions plague most designers: Am I charging enough for my work? Or too much? And how do I talk with my clients about my fees? If you're vexed by pricing, relax -- in next week's HOW webinar, consultant Emily Cohen will give you 4 strategies for setting, sticking to and talking about your fees. Get more scoop on the session here. Join us on Thursday, April 23 at 4:00 ET/1:00 PT for this one-hour, live session -- you'll be able to ask Emily questions about your own pricing dilemmas. Registration is now open -- sign up now, as space is limited and these sessions have been filling up quickly.
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, April 13, 2009 2:11:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Calling all Freelancers
If you're a creative solopreneur, you're probably seeking business guidance, inspiration and a kick in the pants to jump-start your marketing efforts. Good news: you can get all that -- from expert speakers who've been there -- at the second annual Creative Freelancer Conference presented by HOW and Marketing Mentor. We've just opened registration, so make your plans now to join us in San Diego, August 26 to 28. A few program highlights: • The exceptionally talented solopreneur Petrula Vrontikis will help you answer the question, "What does your freelance business want to be when it grows up?" • June Walker, a tax consultant who works with independent professionals, will share strategies for minimizing and simplifying your taxes • Communication guru and blogger extraordinaire Colleen Wainright will give you "astoundingly simple" strategies for making social media work as a free marketing tool • Plus, we've added in-depth post-conference workshops that will guide you in setting your pricing structure and developing a customized and targeted marketing plan you can start using right away. Check out the full program here. Really, there's no better time to invest a couple of intensive days in making your solo biz all it can be. 
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 7:50:57 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 03, 2009
HOW Conference Discount Extended
Good news! We've extended the HOW Conference Early-Bird deadline to May 1. The Conference is later than usual this year—at the end of June—so we want to make sure you have plenty of time to get registered before the $100 savings expire. (And Uncle Sam has plenty of time to send you that tax refund.) We've also opened up daily and individual session registration so you can build your program by targeting the information that's most important to you. Sign up for the whole Conference, individual days or particular sessions—you determine the program; you determine the rate! And last but not least, we've added a special panel session on Friday morning to specifically address the effects the economy's having on the design industry. The session will be driven by your questions and concerns—find out more here. 
Events
Friday, April 03, 2009 12:40:54 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, March 27, 2009
It's Like a Coupon in the Sunday Paper
Well, not exactly a coupon in the clip-it-out-and-save-a-buck-on-deodorant sort of way, but you can still score big savings off the full HOW Conference registration if you sign up by Wednesday, April. That's next week, so get crackin'!
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, March 27, 2009 2:03:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Recession-Proof Webinar Thursday
Tired of all the doom-and-gloom? Do something! In tomorrow's live webinar, Mary-Lynn Bellamy-Willms will help you find 5 smart things you can do NOW to make sure your design practice survives -- and even thrives -- in this tight economy. One hour + $69 = one smart investment in your firm. Register now.
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 2:05:40 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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A Green Conversation
AIGA Cincinnati (HOW's hometown) held its first Green Salon last evening, focused on packaging. Given the proliferation of consumer brands (P&G) and the design firms that serve them (LPK, Landor, FRCH, Interbrand, etc., etc.) in town, the subject was more than apropos. Marc Alt of AIGA's Center for Sustainable Design chaired a panel that included Tanya Blasko, a design manager at P&G, Aaron Keller of Capsule in Minneapolis, David Lemley of the eponymous Seattle design firm and Matthew Kennedy at Kennedy Creative in Cincinnati. The evening was intended as a dialog, not a presentation; it's not surprising that the event produced more questions than answers. All of the panelists acknowledged their passion for sustainable design issues, but none were experts in the technical aspects of materials and systems. Yet they all encouraged designers to educate not only themselves but their clients about the benefits (financial, social, environmental and otherwise) of creating sustainable products, packaging and communication. As Alt noted, "Design decisions are responsible for about 80% of [a product's] environmental impact." Alt described sustainable design as not simply a matter of spec'ing recycled paper--it starts with a bigger question: Should this project be done in the first place? Alt spotlighted the paradox in the designer's quest for sustainable practice: Sustainability has very little to do with picking Pantone colors and putting ink on paper; it's well beyond a designer's expertise. He cited William McDonough's "Cradle to Cradle" as required reading. For most designers, getting a client to think sustainably amounts to pushing a boulder uphill. I was a bit disappointed that the conversation didn't deal more directly with what individual designers and agencies can do within their walls to act more sustainably; walking the walk, if you will. Take, for example, Rizco Design and its commitment to ensure that every single project meets a standard of 70% sustainability (the firm has its own environmental scorecard). For Rizco, that effort starts at home, with everything from paperless paychecks to green cleaning products. Simple stuff--tackling such a huge problem starts with baby steps. Are you taking those first steps? While the discussion was a good start, clearly there's a ton of work to be done on this issue. Check AIGA for more green initiatives around the country. Posted by Bryn
Events
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 1:15:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Minneapolis Poster Sale
It's been 10 years since Dan and Michael of Aesthetic Apparatus first
signed, stamped and numbered the back of a concert poster that they
designed and screen printed. On Saturday, March 28th there will be an
event to commemorate this milestone. Starting at noon,
Aesthetic Apparatus will have it's annual $5 scratch and dent poster
sale as well as a silent auction of a number of their rare and hard to
find prints. At 7pm on that same day Aesthetic Apparatus will host a
party to celebrate it's first 10 years with drinks, food and music by
Awesome Snakes and The Deaths.  Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:33:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
Freelance Smart
If you’re ready to start freelancing but feel overwhelmed by the business aspect, this webinar
will give you the tools and preparation you need to “start smart.” If
you’ve already launched your freelancing career, you’ll learn how to
use these skills to take your freelancing to the next level.
1. First, Ilise will debunk the most common myths of working for
yourself, such as “You’ll have lots of free time” or “If you do good
work, clients will flock to your door” and especially “The business
side of freelancing is difficult, boring and not at all creative.”
2. Then she’ll focus on the 9 most important skills and
personality traits that you need in order to run a healthy and
successful freelancing practice. (Some of them might be surprising, but
don’t worry—if you don’t naturally have them, you can cultivate them!)
3. She’ll finish by revealing the 4 actual and realistic rewards of freelancing—this is the stuff that makes it all worth it. Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:54:04 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Spring Happenings in Design World
Spring is almost here, so it's time to update your calendar with design happenings/competition deadlines. I set up a few threads in the HOW Forum so you can get in sync with upcoming events. Plus, feel free to add more happenings related to designers in the Events section. Anyone can add an event for their local/national/international design community, or interesting museum exhibit, etc. We'll even check this section when compiling events/deadlines for HOW mag's LOOK section (fyi: we work in advance, so the earlier, the better for LOOK consideration). See upcoming Competition Deadlines
View Spring Events/Conferences/Exhibits
Posted by Jessie
Events
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 1:53:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, March 06, 2009
March HOW Webinar: Surviving the Economy
Mary-Lynn Bellamy-Willms of Suburbia Advertising is presenting HOW's March webinar, and her topic is uber timely: 5 Strategies to Recession-Proof Your Design Business. She'll help you get a handle on these key areas: 1. Positioning—how to define your firm’s expertise and, more important, tell your clients and prospects know about it
2. Marketing—this is the time to pour it on. Learn why it’s critical and how to do it without spending a lot of money.
3. Relationships—unlock the 3 keys to building successful relationships with your clients and your team.
4. Operations—learn how to be more efficient, streamlined and lean—and
love it. It’s a good philosophy to embrace in good times and in bad.
5. The Work—sync up your business and your creative work with a smart
process. Even if you don’t “officially” have a process, you probably
have a process—learn how to use yours to protect and grow your business.
More info here. Register here. Do it quickly; these have been selling out.
Events
Friday, March 06, 2009 6:45:58 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, February 23, 2009
Harness Those Killer Ideas
Just a little creative jolt, precisely when you need it: HOW is teaming up with Stefan Mumaw on a webinar this Thursday: 7 Killer Steps to Generating Big, Fat, Hairy Design Ideas. One hour could save your brain. Really. Details: Thursday, February 26 from 4 to 5 p.m. ET/ 1 to 2 p.m. PT. More info here. What you'll learn: • What ‘Creative Training’ can do to pump up your flabby ideator.
• How the biggest ideas hide behind the smallest questions.
• How laying on the floor can make ideas reach the roof.
• The benefits of assembling your own creative posse.
• How play can be work, and vice versa.
• How what you can reach right now may be all you need to trigger an idea torrent.
Go ahead and register now. Only a few seats are left!
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, February 23, 2009 4:55:19 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Lovin' Austin
In advance of the HOW Design Conference in Austin that's coming up in June, we're checking out the city's vibrant creative scene. First stop: the blog AllThingsAustinDesign.com, where Adrienne Breaux spotlights cool architecture, design, art events, landscaping, local crafts and more. Adrienne shares her fave things about her hometown over on the HOW Conference Blog. We're big fans! 
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, February 20, 2009 9:08:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, February 06, 2009
HOW Webinar: Wrangling Great Ideas
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, February 06, 2009 3:14:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 19, 2009
HOW Conference Registration Now Open!
Here's a bit of good news for a Monday: Registration for the 09 HOW Design Conference is now open! Visit HOWconference.com for the complete lineup of speakers, which includes the super-talented Michael Osborne, web-design visionary Cameron Moll, Austinites DJ Stout and Marc English (not presenting together, though I'd pay good money to see that), Photoshop guru Russell Brown, craftivist Kate Bingaman-Burt, Whole Foods in-housers Jill Hagelstein and Heather Kennedy, and the creative genii behind the Hoops & Yoyo phenomenon. As if that weren't enough (and by gosh, dontcha think it oughta be??) ... we're hosting a first-ever marketplace for attendees who design, make and sell their own goods. And of course, all the extras you've come to expect like Studio Tours and a rockin' closing party. Important linkage: • Register before April 1 for the best price (and check out all the new package deals) • Dig all the sessions• Check the Conference Blog for news and scoop • All about AustinSo, um, we're pretty excited. Join us, won't you?
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, January 19, 2009 1:28:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 07, 2009
A Little Spark
LA-area designers take note: your AIGA chapter is hosting SPARK, an evening of cheap drinks and networking (just the drinks are cheap, not the networking) from 7:00 to 10:00 on Thursday evening at The Fifth, 4821 Whitsett Avenue in Studio City. More info here. 
Events
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 2:24:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
6 Steps to Better Creative Concepts
By popular demand, "illustrative designer" Von Glitschka will present a one-hour webinar that'll help strengthen and streamline your creative process so you consistently produce great ideas. 6 Steps to Better Creative ConceptsWednesday, December 17, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT one hour, $49 Are you looking to develop breakthrough concepts for your design
projects? Does your creative process (or lack of one) leave you
struggling to come up with fresh ideas?
Join Von as he shares his 6-step
process for developing killer concepts. You’ll learn how a
systematic creative process can help you uncover new ideas, refine
those ideas and then lock in unique and original design solutions — all
before your hand even touches your computer keyboard. Von will share
real-world project examples from his extensive portfolio.
You’ll fortify your creative muscle with:
• The essential first step to starting any design project: the creative brief
• Strategies for research to fuel your best ideas
• Advice for doodling, drawing, sketching and scribbling multiple ideas
• Ways to narrow and refine your strongest concepts
• Tips for archiving your unused ideas — they’ll come in handy later Registration is now open, but hurry, as attendance is limited to just 100 people. Posted by Bryn
Events
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 6:11:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Behind The Logo
The Obama logo was a ubiquitous as it was successful, but who created the iconic mark that helped propel our President Elect into his new position? The AIGA/Philadelphia is hosting a lecture by the logo's designer, Sol Sender, on November 20. Sol Sender and his team at Sender LLC have turned the letter "O" in
Barack Obama's name into an iconic logo like the swoosh from the Nike.
The innovative approach toward branding the Obama campaign has helped
set it apart from what has come before. Obama's brand has sparked many
conversations about the importance of design in political campaigns.
When Michael Bierut from Pentagram was asked where Obama's brand stands
against the best commercial brand design, he answered "I think it's
just as good or better." Sol Sender will share his insight and his
experience of working on one of the most recognized political brands.
Register for this event ahead of time since it'll fill up fast. 
Posted by Megan
Designers | Events
Monday, November 17, 2008 8:33:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, November 06, 2008
Video: Business Advice for Staying Afloat in a Tough Economy
In October, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion featuring some of design's best-known business leaders, where they shared expertise and advice on how they've successfully marketed their design firms over the years. The panel, which included Peleg Top, Petrula Vrontikis, Steven Morris, John Travis and Michael Hodgson, was part of the AIGA/Orange County's Ultimate Promo Show. The AIGA folks have made video segments of the event available, so you can benefit from the business secrets the panel revealed. One hot topic: strategies these principals are undertaking in order to thrive as the U.S. economy tanks.
From Steven Morris: "We’re not going to change anything;
we’re just going to keep doing all the things that we do all the time.
I see it as an opportunity for growth."
From Petrula Vrontikis: "It’s kind
of like riding out the storm and using it as a bit of education." Check out the video (about 9 minutes) with more advice on how you can take advantage of the downturn.
Design Resources | Events
Thursday, November 06, 2008 8:05:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008
VOTE TODAY
 Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, November 04, 2008 1:33:55 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Safeguard Your Career in a Tough Economy
Let's face reality. Times are tough. The economy is
in the dumpster. Companies are downsizing and clients aren't spending
as much as they did. You need an edge to get ahead.
Here's the edge you need: Make Yourself Priceless, a HOW webinar presented by Jeni Herberger on Thursday, October 30. Register now and join the live interactive presentation at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on Thursday.
We're offering a $20 discount on this session; invest just $49 and an hour of your time, and you'll get information you need to better understand your clients' business, speak the language of your company and increase your value as a designer.
Register now! Use code desau21 when you register to receive the $20 discount.
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 4:00:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 24, 2008
You'll Have to Wait and See
Our kick-@ss panel of judges wrapped up their work a half-day early on Thursday evening, much to our immense gratitude. Our hugest thanks go to Stefan Bucher, Shannon Carter and Lisa Sanger for their keen eyes and strong backs. Stefan summed up their picks (more than 200 in all) thusly: "All the work used its format well and to the utmost." Right. Stay tuned for the April 2009 issue of HOW to see all the glorious designs. In the meantime, check out our gallery of past HOW award winners.
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, October 24, 2008 4:24:57 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 13, 2008
AIGA OC Rocks!
A huge thanks to the Orange County chapter of AIGA, which invited me to host a panel discussion about marketing and promotion on Friday evening as part of their annual Ultimate Promo Show. Everyone I met was terrific, and of course I loved presenting with my friends Peleg Top, Steven Morris, Petrula Vrontikis, Michael Hodgson and (new friend) John Travis. Plus, I got to meet in person several folks I "know" from the HOW Forum: Prax, Cal and Sheri. 
Events
Monday, October 13, 2008 5:45:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, October 10, 2008
Design Philadelphia
If you're going to be in the Philadelphia area in the next couple of weeks, don't miss out on Design Philadelphia. DesignPhiladelphia
spotlights all things design from architecture to interior design,
fashion to product design, textile to graphic design. Join us from
Thursday, October 16 through Wednesday, October 22 when boutiques,
galleries, design studios, cultural institutions, universities,
warehouses and city streets will reverberate with creative energy.DesignPhiladelphia champions emerging
talent reflective of Philadelphia's diverse design influences while
giving the established design leaders a great opportunity to show off.
For you, it’s a journey of exploration as you visit exhibitions,
workshops, tours, lectures, opening parties and product roll-outs that
inspire, engage, excite and delight. The theme for DesignPhiladelphia 2008 is
Down to Earth: Evolving Design in the 21st Century which recognizes and
gives voice to the enormity of the eco-culture initiatives taking place
locally, across the country and around the world.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, October 10, 2008 1:38:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 08, 2008
The In-HOWse Designer Conference Rocks Part 2
Peter Phillips headlined a busy Saturday with his ideas about how to earn respect and trust for your in-house group. One interesting and controversial idea was to remove the words “art” and/or “services” from the name of your department. After this general session, the group split and had a choice of two sessions. Moira Cullen, design director for the Coca-Cola Company explained how to communicate with clients using the language of business, while L.L. Bean’s Jim Hauptman drew some amusing parallels between in-house creatives and the animals in the Bronx Zoo. Part of his session explored the importance of creating the right physical environment for your team, whether that be something radical like dismantling the cube farm or something simple like moving the location of the regular Monday meeting. After lunch, creative consultant Jeni Herberger presented the first of a two-part session on instituting a charge-back system to establish an in-house group’s value to the company, while designer Patricia Belyea led her part of the group in an inspiring brainstorming session to show how to get the most and best ideas out of your team and clients. Then Jeni presented the second part of her session, while Peter Phillips explained in great detail how to create the perfect design brief. The HOW staff spent the evening sorting through all the great questions that attendees submitted for the Sunday morning speaker panel, where Peter Phillips, Patricia Belyea, Jeni Herberger, Jim Hauptman and Moira Cullen addressed questions like “How can I turn around low morale?” and “What is the best method for tracking designers’ time?” Finally, Sheila Campbell closed the conference with a inspiring session about achieving work/life balance, an issue many designer struggle with. Here’s a question to ask yourself: What are you really passionate about and what are you willing to abandon to have more time for it? Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, October 08, 2008 2:37:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Saturday, October 04, 2008
The In-HOWse Designer Conference Rocks
Bridgid and I are in San Francisco this weekend for the third annual In-HOWse Designer Conference. There are 540 in-house managers and designers with us and many of them bravely introduced themselves to the entire group in the Networking Workshop. Saturday is the big full day of the confrence, but Friday kicked off with a great opening session from Steven Morris and Erin Sarpa who took the group through a series of worksheets to help them determine what their ideal work situation is and how they can make changes to create it. Managers, take note, what your employees really want might not be what you think. Steven and Erin cited a large employee study that revealed some helpful information about what employees want from their companies. 1. Recognize the value I bring to the organization. (Hey, that's easy.) 2. Deliver on our promises to customers. (Shouldn't you be doing that anyway.) 3. Care about employees as much as customers. (Most companies could work on this.) 4. Provide a workplace that reflects respect for me and my coworkers. (Maybe it's time to rethink those beige cubicles.) 5. Have an active leadership that serves the company. (We'd all rather follow a strong, inspiring leader.) Posted by Megan
Events
Saturday, October 04, 2008 2:41:13 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 29, 2008
MYOB Day 3
Talk about brain overload. With 10 new speakers on this year's roster, there was a TON of great business information shared during MYOB. More recap: From Katherine Spencer Lee of The Creative Group on finding, hiring and keeping the best talent: • Never use a previous job description when hiring; challenge yourself to create a new one. Ask yourself, what has changed? And then develop a new job description based on your current needs. • Invest the most time in your best people, not your underperformers. Do this: On one side of a sheet of paper, list the staffers you spend the most time on. Flip the paper over and write the names of top contributors. Do both sides match? If not, you may need to reallocate your time. • Develop a set of 8 to 10 questions you ask everyone you interview. Each should have strategic significance. By asking the same questions every time, you can better compare applicants and avoid the "halo effect" -- that tendency we have to hire people who are like us. From Ed Fiander and Linda Rappaport of Gazelle Strategic Partners on strategic planning: • Use the Balanced Scorecard for planning your firm's growth • As we head into an uncertain economy, now is exactly the right moment to devote time to strategic planning work. • Everything -- staff development, business processes, customer relations, financial systems -- stems from your vision and strategy. Everything. From Darryl Salerno of Second Quadrant Solutions on presentations: • Learn to read your audience, using a formula that's loosely based on the DISC profile: Thinkers, Feelers, Intuitors, Sensors. • Avoid canned presentations (the dreaded "Dog and Pony Show") -- they're about you, not your client/client to be. Instead, probe their needs and talk about your capabilities as proof that you can meet those needs. • The first 30 to 90 seconds of your presentation are crucial; you need to engage your audience at the start. How? Ask a yes/no question; tell a joke; state a fact; make an emphatic statement; use a quote. • Practice every major presentation -- every time! Do it two ways: in real time, and dramatically condensed. By doing the latter, you'll see where the "meat" of your presentation lies, and you'll be prepared if the client suddenly tells you you have 30 minutes instead of 90. From Donna Karlin of A Better Perspective on leadership: • Pay attention. To your own hidden leadership qualities (those things the people around you respond to but that you may not consider leadership traits). To your own success. • Find the extraordinary in an ordinary day. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, September 29, 2008 2:16:31 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Saturday, September 27, 2008
MYOB Day 2
Where to start? There was too much information in play on the first full day of the MYOB Conference: selling, finance, staffing, relationships. I took pages of notes, and I'm not even an attendee -- all the principals in the room were scribbling. A few highlights from the sessions: From Darryl Salerno on building client relationships: • Networking is the primary sales activity for a design firm; you should spend 20% of your time on developing relationships • Don't pursue relationships purely for business ends, but rather because you're genuinely interested in connecting. Put something into the relationship, and the business results will come. • Each week: call 3-5 people you know, call 2-3 people you don't know; meet with 1-2 people you know and with 1-2 people you don't know • Prompted by Darryl's comments about the value of LinkedIn, I'll be creating an MYOB group on the networking site From Blair Enns on the sales function: • The selling cycle for a design firm involves 7 steps: Planning (positioning); Lead Generation; Qualifying (determining whether your client to be is in the early stage or late stage of buying); Nurturing (staying in front of your early-stage clients to be); Closing your late-stage clients to be; Diagnosing & Prescribing; Executing • In a small firm, the principal might do all those activities; in a larger firm, she can delegate some. But she can't delegate the Planning and Closing stages. • A design firm (of any size) should shoot for 10 clients ongoing, each contributing 10% of the firm's revenue. Every year, as 2-4 clients leave, the business-development function is geared toward replacing those 2-4 clients. Sounds simple, eh? • Set a "minimum level of engagement" -- that's the 10% of your firm's revenue -- and, get this: tell your prospects that's what you expect. The right clients will agree; the wrong ones will walk away from the table. From Rick Gould: • 30% profitability is achievable for design firms; most operate way below that. • The key is watching your finances and hitting benchmarks, like keeping compensation at or below 50%, rent at or below 7%, operating expenses at or below 10%, sales costs at or below 3%. • The goal is to build your firm's value so you can ultimately sell it. I'll do a final recap on Monday. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Saturday, September 27, 2008 1:00:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, September 26, 2008
MYOB Day 1
Blair Enns made a repeat appearance to kickoff MYOB last night, with a presentation that was as thought-provoking as his previous gigs. Specialization has been a constant theme at all MYOB conferences (learn more about that here) -- the idea that design firms that develop deep expertise in a particular market, discipline or category have huge advantages over firms that do all work for all clients. Enns definitely espouses that idea, and he talked about creating a positioning strategy. Positioning, he says, starts with your specialty -- expertise makes up 85% of your firm's identity. Then he talked about the role of personality, passion and ideology in crafting the last 15%, what he calls the "flavor" -- the tie-breaker element when a client is considering working with you. Enns noted that designers often pour too much passion into their work and thus burn out. Likewise, personality isn't a good foundation for your position, because, as Enns says, most firms have similar personalities (we're fun! we love our clients! we have dogs in the office!). Rather, ideology should be the generator of a firm's "flavor" -- a higher goal, a bigger philosophy, a flag in the sand that tells clients and employees what you believe in. It was very smart stuff that had people in deep conversation throughout the evening. More later on Day 2. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, September 26, 2008 12:52:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Minding Our Business
I'm in Austin this week and weekend for HOW's Mind Your Own Business Conference. With all due apologies to my colleagues, Megan and Bridgid, who are holding down the fort at HOW HQ, the conference venue, the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort, absolutely rawks. (They'll get theirs next week, though, when they head to San Francisco, which I adore, to host our in-house event.) The conference kicks off this evening, but in between collating paper and stuffing binders, I've had a chance to explore this place; it's like summer camp for grown ups. Archery, tennis, golf, kayaking, s'mores over the firepit in the evening. But for the really sweet bar, I could just as well be at Gnaw Bone Camp in Southern Indiana circa 1980. I still have my archery badge. We're all in store for two and a half hard-core days of focused business work, and that's the M.O. for MYOB. From the beginning, we've chosen resort-y locations for the event, knowing that design-firm principals rarely take vacations (though they should). So we've set MYOB up as a way for folks to take a vacation from their business even while they're working on it. First up tonight: The ever thought-provoking (and provocative) Blair Enns, back for a third perspective-shattering presentation at MYOB. I'll be posting tomorrow and Saturday with details on the sessions. Assuming I can get wireless out by the pool.  Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, September 25, 2008 6:50:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 22, 2008
Designer, Promote Thyself
HOW's been helping designers spread the word about their work for eons, practically since the magazine started in the late 80s. So we're happy to be a part of the AIGA Orange County Ultimate Promo Show & Expo. If you're in the OC, plan to attend this event, where you can take a look at winners from HOW's 2008 Promotion Design Awards, plus get expert advice on promoting your design business from a panel of veterans including Sean Adams and Petrula Vrontikis (hosted by yours truly). I'll have a few copies of HOW and some other goodies on hand to give away, as well. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, September 22, 2008 7:19:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Coming soon: Free Tech Webinar
September 30 is the date for a free technology webinar hosted by Quark and Microsoft and sponsored by HOW. You might think ... Microsoft? Giving a design webinar? Sure enough, a recent HOW reader survey noted that 37% of respondents use PCs or both Macs and PCs for their work. The two tech giants will talk about how well QuarkXPress 8 and Windows Vista play together. Sign up for the free session and you'll learn how to: • Move freely and easily through the QuarkXPress 8 interface • Use Vista’s search capabilities • Drag and drop your images in a QuarkXPress 8 layout • Use the new typography tools to create stylish text Register now!Posted by Bryn
Events
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 7:26:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008
In-House Designers: Making Connections
I'll admit my bias, but I really love the conferences that the HOW team hosts. Specifically, I love all the connections that happen: between the speakers and attendees, among attendees themselves (and also between our team and our audience). If you're an in-house designer, chances are good that you have few opportunities to make meaningful connections with other designers -- other right-brain types like you. Which is what next month's In-HOWse Designer Conference is all about. If you're thinking about going to San Francisco for this event, be sure to make your arrangements right away. The hotel discount we've secured will expire at midnight tomorrow (Wednesday). Learn more about that here. And if JetBlue flies into your hometown, you can score a 5% discount ( here). Still undecided? Here's why you should go.  
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, September 09, 2008 8:37:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 08, 2008
A Freelance Revolution
A week after the Creative Freelancer Conference wrapped, and we're still getting amazing stories from attendees who are rethinking the way they do business. You'll find a whole list of links to photos (including the one below by Nicholas Nawroth) and posts on the CFC Blog, but the story that rocked my world today came from freelance writer Sarah Daly, who wrote to say that she walked into a client meeting last week armed with renewed confidence in her work and her fees—and she landed a brand-new gig! Seriously, we can't make this stuff up. 
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, September 08, 2008 4:19:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008
CFC Yearbook
Chicago-based freelancer Ian Arsenault graciously volunteered last week to shoot Day 3 of the Creative Freelancer Conference. Good thing, because my average photo skills plus the hotel's wonky lighting meant my own snaps were less than stellar. Ian shared his pics, which you can find on his Facebook page (friend him first, if you haven't already). Speaker Lee Silber:  Speaker Jeff Fisher:  Three lovely attendees:  Three (lovely?) hosts:  Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, September 02, 2008 4:53:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 29, 2008
CFC: Day 3
OK, so this is my second attempt to post this review of the Creative Freelancer Conference; my first, done just after the event wrapped earlier today, ended badly when the hotel internet connection kicked me off and lost my work. Ah, technology. Regardless, it was a terrific event, and the first of what I'm sure will be an ongoing gathering of solo creative types. The thing that stood out today was Lee Silber's personal slideshow, which he created as a vision of his ideal life. It was made up of his own photos, found images, key words meaningful to him and a soundtrack; Lee keeps it on his iPhone and on his desktop computer as a regular reminder of what he's really working for (and toward). Lee's time-management seminar was great. The ever-generous Jeff Fisher wound things up with an overview of his experiences and advice on running a well-balanced freelance gig, gleaned from his 30 years on his own. I like to think that Jeff was freelancing when freelancing wasn't cool. If you are a freelancer, stay tuned to CreativeFreelancerConference.com and its companion blog, which we expect to become a community for people like you. The connections that were developed here in Chicago are too valuable to be lost, so we'll create a meeting spot online. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, August 29, 2008 11:08:18 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
More from CFC
I love the moment at an event like the Creative Freelancers Conference, when the people in the room look around and suddenly realize they're not alone. (It happened, too, at the In-HOWse Designer Conference, when all those corporate creatives, people who often are the only right brains in the room.) You recognize that there are lots and lots of people who have the same joys and challenges that you encounter in running your business. Cool. Today's agenda carries on the introductory lesson from last night, with a whole notebook full of nuts-and-bolts strategies and tactics on client relationships and marketing. Following the eagerly attended breakfast roundtable discussions this morning, Joan Gladstone kicked off with a conversation about how to make clients love you. She started by talking about why clients leave (they're frustrated by a lack of follow-through, communication, enthusiasm or chemistry with their creative-service firm). And then she offered 12 tips on keeping that flame burning brightly. Some of it sounds simple enough (i.e., under-promise and over-deliver). But when you think about what those old rules mean (i.e., don't agree, out of desperation or eagerness, to deadlines you can't meet), you realize how NOT simple it is. This morning's second session featured Colleen Wainright (my new idol) and Ilise Benun talking about how to build a marketing machine. They boiled this nebulous and intimidating concept (marketing) down to five must-have tools: a marketing-savvy website, e-mail marketing, networking, research calls (we don't call them cold calls anymore) and printed materials. They gave everyone a homework assignment: Come up with your 10-word blurb. Fill in the blanks: I work with ___________ and I help them ___________ .
The key is starting this phrase with the market or group you're targeting. As the speakers noted, marketing is all about your prospects, not about you. More later ... Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, August 28, 2008 7:21:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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CFC: Day 1 Rocked
During the opening Creative Freelancer Conference session on Wednesday afternoon, I noted that when Peleg Top, Ilise Benun, HOW conference director Sara Dumford and I met one year ago to discuss an event for freelancers, we thought we were on to something. Yesterday, I KNEW we were on to something. The 225+ people in the room were so eager for information, so energized by making connections, so encouraged that they aren't alone in their business joys and challenges. It's a great group. Our conference co-hosts started off with a session that spotlighted the myths and realities of being a successful (emphasis on that) solopreneur. They went through 8 essential elements of a freelance business, from client relationships to business policies to work/life balance, and offered one key takeaway for each. The session was essentially a preview of the marketing, pricing, client relationship and time-management sessions to come. Then, Dyana Valentine led a terrific workshop about creative collaboration. Collaboration? At a conference for freelancers? Of course: You may not have office-mates, but you certainly have collaborative efforts, with vendors, clients -- and, most important (as this conference is hammering home) with the myriad other freelance creatives with whom you can connect.  
Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, August 28, 2008 1:02:14 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Live from Chicago
HOW's brand-new Creative Freelancer Conference is just a few minutes from kicking off, and I'm almost giddy about this first-ever event! The opening keynote is at 4:00 ET; unfortunately since the hotel doesn't have wifi in the meeting rooms (boo!), my plans to live-blog the event won't be so "live" after all. But I'll post a few notes from the opening session later this evening, and chime in as I can in between tomorrow's jam-packed day of sessions. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 7:51:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 25, 2008
La Vida Freelance
Tomorrow, I'm off to Chicago's Hyatt Regency hotel for HOW's first-ever Creative Freelancer Conference, where I'll be mingling with 225+ independent-minded creative types. For the first time, I'll feel like an attendee at one of our conferences, as this one is geared not just toward designers but also to people like me: writers (and also illustrators, photographers and other creative pros). Like most creatives, I've had opportunity to do some freelancing, either between "real" jobs or on the side. So I'm quite interested in what the speakers have to say, and keen to network with other "solopreneurs." Assuming my schedule and internet access go as planned, I intend to do some live blogging from the event, so stay tuned Wednesday through Friday.
If you're joining us for this conference, you'll find me here:  Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, August 25, 2008 3:25:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Are You Going To San Francisco?
I just booked my flight to San Francisco for the In-HOWse Designer Conference in October. I'm looking forward to spending three days with talented designers and experts figuring out to make in-house life and work even better. Will I see you there?  Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 6:57:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Going to Austin
I'm a huge fan of Austin, so I'm super psyched that HOW's Mind Your Own Business conference is heading there this fall. If you run a design firm, you should make the trip, too (and sign up this week, as our $100-off discount registration offer ends Friday!). In addition to the amazing resort location for this year's MYOB, we've boosted the program with special sessions targeting large and small firms, and also focused breakout sessions led by veteran design-firm principals with advice to share. We're also encouraging principals to stay through Sunday (after the formal program ends Saturday night) to take advantage of optional working time, software user groups and more. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 2:19:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, August 05, 2008
7 Laws of Design
Armin Vit will be speaking in HOW's hometown on August 14 at the University of Cincinnati. Details here. “7 Laws of Design According to Armin Vit”
Armin has been designing for nearly a decade, and along the way he has learned seven key issues that have defined his work, temperament and glass-half-empty skepticism that he balances with glass-half-full sarcasm.
Depending on your outlook (the proverbial "glass") some, all, or none of these maxims Armin has learned might, or might not, apply to you:
- You are not that good.
- Two asses are better than one.
- 75% of your files are trash.
- Do the evolution.
- When in doubt: Repeat.
- Happy is as happy does.
- Be inspired, not perspired.
Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 4:03:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 21, 2008
Join Us This Week!
Looking to finesse your creative career? Seeking a better balance between the work that you enjoy and the life that you want? Join popular HOW Conference speaker Jeni Herberger as she presents a one-hour, interactive live webinar this week. Jeni's session last month drew rave reviews from participants, so you won't want to miss this week's presentation. Get more info about the series.In Jeni's Designing Your Reality session on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, you'll learn: • How to look at your life priorities to create your own reality
• How to recognize what you value the most
• How to find your self in your work life Even better, we're offering $20 off and a free HOW Career Guide to sweeten the pot. Register today! Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, July 21, 2008 4:27:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 14, 2008
For Your Design Business & Career
Think of this as Summer School for Creatives: HOW has two events coming soon that'll help shape your design career and boost your freelance business. Our brand-new Creative Freelancer Conference, August 27, 28 & 29 in Chicago, is all about getting the work you want from the clients you want at the price you want. Lots of solo creatives have already signed up, so you know the vibe will be great and the information valuable. Tomorrow, July 15, is the early-bird deadline, so register now and save some cash. Next week, get a handle on your design career with Jeni Herberger's webinar, Designing Your Reality. Jeni's June webinar drew rave reviews from participants, so her next sessions (July 24 and August 21) are definitely something you won't want to miss. We're offering a special discounted price plus a nifty freebie ( a free downloadable HOW Career Guide for Designers) if you sign up now.
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, July 14, 2008 2:57:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Another Reason to Wish You Were in Australia Right Now
So, of course, we all wish we were in Australia. But here’s another reason to add to that list: Starting next Wednesday, Melbourne and Victoria, Australia, will be presenting the State of Design festival “ Design for Everyone: Design is a verb.” The festival lasts from July 16 through July 24 and includes more than 45 design-related events. From the press release for the commendable event: DESIGN FOR EVERYONE offers designers a rare opportunity by providing a space for design in all its guises and allowing the public direct interaction. From free exhibitions to public talks, interactive experiences, installations, performances and iconic design statements, the possibilities of design will be open to everyone. The program represents and explores many current and important ideas such as sustainability, design in our everyday lives and the world class quality of Victorian design.
Highlight events include EAT, GREEN, DESIGN, a temporary restaurant that will serve as an incubator for sustainable thinking; PECHA KUCHA, an event for designers to meet, network and show their work to the public; TOTALLY OPEN, featuring open studios and TV installations showing the inner workings of 4 storeys of design practice in the city; BAVARIA: BAVERIUM: BAVARIED, a regional event in Castlemaine where ceramic based designs by Gretchen Hillhouse will be on exhibition, exploring the inner workings of a designers mind. The program also includes open days to exclusive trade shows at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton and Melbourne Exhibition Centre on Sunday July 20.
The State of Design festival also features The PREMIER’S DESIGN AWARDS, recognising design excellence in Victoria; DESIGN CAPITAL, Australia’s first multi-disciplinary design and business conference; and DESIGN:MADE:TRADE, the wholesale showcase for innovative and emerging design brands. Don’t miss the chance to explore the dynamic process of design creation.
The State of Design festival is a Victorian Government initiative to promote the state’s world-class design industry.
Events
Tuesday, July 08, 2008 6:18:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 07, 2008
In Case You Missed It
If you missed out on the HOW Design Conference (or if you missed a couple of key sessions), you can still catch it -- vicariously -- now that we've made session MP3s and handouts available. MP3s of regular sessions are $15; workshops are $19, and the whole shebang (that's 56 sessions) is $199. Handouts, on the other hand, are free. In-house designers especially were loving Andy Epstein's session, Visuals & Verbals; that presentation is among those now available.  Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, July 07, 2008 2:56:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 30, 2008
MYOB Love
Choosing my favorite among HOW's four design conference is sort of like choosing a favorite among your four children: I love them all in different ways. But if I had HAD to pick a very favorite, I'd pick our Mind Your Own Business Conference, the business event just for design-firm principals. Why? Partly because it's intimate and less overwhelming than the big HOW Conference. But mostly because IT WORKS. It makes a difference. Like for the firm we profiled in the magazine that saw a huge growth in profitability and a huge decline in the number of hours the principals worked—specifically after they implemented what they'd learned at MYOB. We've just launched the site for this year's MYOB Conference, September 27-29 in one of my favorite cities: Austin. ( Seriously, check out this sweet resort.) This year's program includes a bunch of new stuff, like sessions targeted for large or small firms, peer-to-peer learning sessions and an optional working day on Sunday where principals can work on their own, team up with a speaker or get hands-on training on time-management and billing tools. Learn about what's new, and sign up early to score a discount. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, June 30, 2008 8:31:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 26, 2008
2008 In-HOWse Designer Conference
The website for the 3rd annual In-HOWse Designer Conference just went live. I have to admit that it made my heart skip a beat because I'll be co-hosting the event with HOW's art director Bridgid McCarren. I guess I shouldn't worry too much because the last two years have been awesome. This year's speakers include Moira Cullen, design director for Coca-Cola and management guru Peter Philips. Check out the whole line-up here.  Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, June 26, 2008 2:25:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 23, 2008
Freedom Posters
The Wolfsonian–Florida International University announces Thoughts on Democracy, an exhibition of posters created by
sixty leading contemporary artists and designers invited by The
Wolfsonian to create a new graphic design inspired by American
illustrator Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” posters of 1943, which
were recently gifted to the museum by Leonard A. Lauder.
Here is one of a series of four posters designed by Chip Kidd.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, June 23, 2008 7:28:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Career Development Webinar This Week!
Do you aspire to own your own design firm? To lead an in-house creative team? To become the most fabulously valuable asset to your current employer? Learn how to chart the course of your design career with popular HOW speaker and career expert Jeni Herberger, in a one-hour live webinar on Thursday, June 19. Find out more about the event here. And when you register for the HOW Professional Development Webinar you can score $20 off (discount price = $49) by entering this code: desjn19.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 4:17:15 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 09, 2008
Design Around The World
So you can't make it to the Netherlands for the opening of the new design museum, you might be able to check out the new show at the AIGA National Design Center in New York City. EveryDay Design opens on Wednesday and continues through August 15. Everyday Design: Great Finds from Around the World was conceived by the AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design in order to support AIGA’s
mission of reaching out to the global community. By displaying items of
everyday use from diverse cultures this exhibition will encourage
visitors to make their own comparisons and be inspired by materials not
traditionally considered “designed” objects.
 Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, June 09, 2008 2:03:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 29, 2008
DMI Special for HOW Readers
The Design Management Institute is offering HOW readers a special summer deal on its seminars in June and July. Take advantage of the summer slowdown to learn the DNA of design and business success and take your design career to the next level. Visit the DMI's webpage for details on the offer, which runs through the end of June and is only available for first-time registrations. 
Events
Thursday, May 29, 2008 8:08:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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New HOW Webinars
 Back by popular demand, frequent HOW speaker Jeni Herberger is joining us to present a series of webinars this summer. If your design career could use a tune-up (especially if you're looking to make yourself indispensable in this uncertain economy), sign up for HOW's Professional Growth Webinar Series. Jeni will help you outline your career goals, successfully balance your work and
professional life, and develop the strategic-thinking skills you need
to get ahead in the design field—all in three one-hour webinar
sessions.
All sessions are archived, so you can register and view them any time.
(If you registered for the live event, you'll also have online access
to the webinar for 12 months afterward, so you can watch it again and
again as a refresher course.) Register now for the first session on Thursday, June 19.
About the presenterJeni draws on her 20 years in the creative field, including her experience running a creative staffing firm, Big Fish. Her engaging and informative presentation style has earned her big props at various HOW events. 
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, May 29, 2008 2:39:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Calling All Freelancers
So, you're running your own solo creative gig, and you love working for yourself. Awesome. But my bet is that you're finding it a bit more challenging than the romantic notion you had about freelancing before you started. (In my brief stint as a freelance writer, I hated the business-development side of things.) We've heard more than a few of you say you wished there was some way you could learn all the business and marketing stuff you need to know when you're on your own. That's what the new Creative Freelancer Conference is all about. HOW and Marketing Mentor are teaming up on this first-time event, August 27-29 in Chicago. We've just launched the conference website, where you'll find info on sessions and speakers (most of them seasoned freelancers themselves), plus some helpful resources and a blog. This conference isn't just for designers: if you know any freelance copywriters, illustrators or photographers, let them know about it, too. It'll be a place where designers can network with other creatives whose services they might need. Like HOW's very first conference for in-house designers 3 years ago, we expect this event to fill up fast. Interested? Learn more and register now.
Events | HOW Magazine
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 7:43:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Designer Sobriety
I was bummed that I had to miss Justin Ahrens' session at the HOW Conference, but super excited when he emailed us today to let us know he's posted the videos he collected for the session online. My personal favorite, is the designer Pash explaining what he loves about his job while dressed as a hotdog. You Gotta Love It! from Rule29 on Vimeo. Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 6:43:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wow
I can't believe it's over. Really. This time last week, we were all
in Boston, juiced up on caffeine and creative energy, and here we are
now back at our desks.
A huge thanks to all of you in the design community -- nearly
4,000 of you! -- who attended, making this the biggest HOW Conference
ever. It was such a blast being with ALL of you in Boston last week.
As I was digging through the mountain of email that came in
last week, one message from a conference attendee stood out: She sent
in a request for tips or advice for keeping that HOW vibe going strong
now that we're all back at work. So in lieu of a session-by-session
recap, I'll share some ideas for extending that creative energy in the
coming months.
• First, unpack. Remember all the paper samples, photo
catalogs and print brochures you picked up in the Resource Center --
the stuff you spent an hour in line waiting to ship home? Yeah, that.
Unbox everything, and place your conference binder on your desk beside
your Mac for more inspiration this week.
• Schedule a show-and-tell. Set a half-hour meeting
this week to share all the goodies you collected in the Resource Center
with your team. If you chatted with a vendor and got scoop on a new
product, be sure to pass that info along to your colleagues.
• Relive the experience. If you purchased the
registration package that included all the MP3s (from sessions whose
presenters gave us permission to audio-record), you're all set. If you
didn't, then check the conference website this week and purchase select
sessions you want. Schedule brown-bag lunch meetings with your team
once a week for the next several weeks, cue up the audio and get an
hour's worth of instant inspiration. A few of my fave sessions that
would make great post-conference listening:
Bill Strickland's inspiring keynote
Justin Ahrens' Designer Sobriety
Maggie Macnab's Decoding Design
Von Glitschka's awesome Illustrative Design
Erin Sarpa and Steven Morris' session, Lovin' Your Job
Joe Duffy's A Designed Life
• Make your own presentation. Last year, a design firm
here in Cincinnati scheduled a meeting where two designers who attended
HOW in Atlanta gave a casual presentation about all they'd seen and
learned. They put together a simple slideshow of photos and shared the
key ideas they brought home to the office.
• Do your homework. In their session, Lovin' Your Job,
Erin Sarpa and Steven Morris asked the audience to complete several
worksheets, and then gave everyone a homework assignment to work on
when they got back to the office. If you were in that session -- or
even if you weren't -- do these career-affirming exercises.
• Review your notes. While the information is still
fresh, go back through the notes you took in your conference binder.
Jot down new thoughts that come to mind, use a highlighter pen to mark
key ideas that you want to remember, fill out any worksheets or
checklists provided by the speakers. Make notes on handouts for
sessions you missed, too. Keep the binder as a resource you can refer
back to six months from now.
• Stay connected. If you
were in Steve Gordon's Networking Lunch, you heard his advice on this
topic: Don't let that stack of business cards you collected in Boston
lie in a pile on your desk. This week, send emails to people you met
and want to stay in touch with. Encourage a longer-term connection and
build your network.
Stay tuned this week for more post-conference goodness, including links to photo sets, other blogs and more.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 2:55:27 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Visual Textures
As part of Jim Krause's "Smashing Photography" pre-conference workshop, he had us tackle three assignments in and around the room we were meeting in. The first assignment was to capture visual textures, abstract images that can be used in backgrounds and layers of design work. One of the best ways to capture texture is to get really close to whatever you're shooting. Here are three of my images:  This is a close up of a curtain in the room.  This is ice floating in a clear pitcher on the speaker's table.  This is a super close up of a slinky. Posted by Megan
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 10:09:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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News Flash: Speak Up Blogs HOW
Turns out, Doug Bartow is doing a waaayyy better job of live blogging the conference than we are. (Hopefully, we can be forgiven; our time isn't exactly our own this week. Seriously. You should see my schedule.) Check out Speak Up for play-by-play details.
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 7:35:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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HOW Conference: Day 2
Another morning when I could use a clone, but since I'm not introducing a session I'm free to hop among the three openers this morning: Debbie Millman & Michael Bierut, Charles Anderson and Katherine McCoy. Debbie and Michael are engaged in a really neat conversation covering a lot of ground, from tips on personal hygiene (Michael's daughter advises singing "Happy Birthday" three times while washing your hands to be sure you're nice and clean) to selling your ideas. Michael offers three tips: Listen to clients, and they'll stop being freaked out by your mysterious creativity; understand the politics and power roles in the room during a meeting ("all you do is create the script for the little play they're acting out for each other"); adopt a "rope-a-dope" strategy (let the clients tire themselves out discussing one idea, then surprise them with a better one). In Hall D, Charles Anderson is showing a ton of his firm's terrific product designs, from his super cool stuff more than a decade ago for Paramout to his current CSA images. He shares a bit of wisdom from one of his manufacturing partners: If it smells, it sells. The reality of the marketplace means that gorgeously designed things will sell less than run-of-the-mill, cheaply produced goods. And here in Ballroom B, Katherine McCoy has invited us all into the Wayback Machine for a fantastic trip through the Swiss influence on design in 1960s and 70s America. Long live Helvetica! Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 3:14:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 19, 2008
HOW Conference: Day 1
Today's the day I wish I could be cloned: I really wanted to see all 3 general sessions this morning: John Bielenberg talking about his Project M, Robynne Raye and Michael Strassburger of Modern Dog and Joe Duffy. I introduced Joe and was glad I stayed through the whole session. He didn't just show case studies of his firm's amazing work, but he pulled back the curtain to share his creative process. He showed numerous examples of the visual collages his team puts together to inform every project. Joe uses this method for everything from his own family projects to his most notable client projects. 
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, May 19, 2008 4:46:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Live from the HOW Conference
As time permits, we'll be blogging live from the HOW Design Conference in Boston this week. First up, Sunday's workshops, Studio Tours and a rockin' opening keynote. Friend of HOW Steve Gordon hosted the networking lunch this year (see the HOW Conference blog for a preview of Steve's presentation). He gave a shout-out to yours truly:  Last night, I snapped a (dark) picture from the stage: 
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, May 19, 2008 4:33:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 16, 2008
I Want One!
I want one of these limited-edition (quantity: 500) offset-printed-and-debossed posters that Clif Stoltze and his team at his eponymous Boston design shop are going to be selling at the HOW Conference. Which I will frame and hang in my office next to the 2007 one by Methane Studios (bottom).  
Events
Friday, May 16, 2008 6:15:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Really. You Can Ask Him Anything
Really. Ask Michael Bierut whatever you want. Whatever. Boxers or
briefs, how he takes his coffee, what his favorite typefaces is ...
The terrific Debbie Millman, who's interviewing Michael live on
stage during one of Tuesday morning's general sessions at the HOW Design Conference, says she and
Michael are looking for audience questions in advance, and "the more
inventive, the better."
So if you're dying to pose a burning question to one of design's favorite minds, e-mail it to designmatters at sterlingbrands dot com.
Typography by Tina Roth Eisenberg of swissmiss
Events
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 9:51:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, May 12, 2008
Getting Started With Dreamweaver
Whether you're totally new to building websites, or migrating from GoLive or a previous version of Dreamweaver, a new one-day seminar called Getting Started with Dreamweaver and CS3 brings the entire workflow together—from design and prototyping through development and testing—using easy-to-understand examples from a designer’s point of view. The seminar begins May 29 in Los Angeles, then travels to New York City on June 4th, Washington D.C. on June 17th, Chicago on June 24th and Boston on June 26th.  Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, May 12, 2008 6:23:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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HOW Conference Project
Over on the HOW Forum, longtime member Fantômas has created a unique badge that'll help the forum gang identify each other in Boston. Cool. 
Events
Monday, May 12, 2008 2:30:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Smart Models
If I wasn't going to be on my to the HOW Conference on May 17th, I'd love to check out AGIA New York's SMART/MODELS event. Five design firms with very different business models will explain what works for them. Speaker include Jason Fried from 37signals, Matt Owens from Athletics, Joe Duffy and Eric Block from Duffy & Partners, Sylvia Harris from Sylvia Harris, LLC, and Douglas Riccardi from Memo Productions. 
Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, May 07, 2008 5:42:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 28, 2008
Save the Dates!
OK, so you know about the big HOW Design Conference, which is coming up in less than 3 weeks (gulp!) in Boston. As if that weren't enough, here are some other design events coming up that you should have on your calendar. Registration for all three events will open in May and June; visit the websites to get more info and to sign up for the free email newsletter so you'll be among the first to know when registration opens. • Mind Your Own Business Conference, September 25–28, Hyatt Lost Pines Resort, Austin, TX. Principals of design firms, small ad agencies, marcomm firms and PR shops are invited to join our top-notch group of business consultants for a retreat that will bolster your marketing and management skills and rejuvenate your business. This year's MYOB features a return engagement by popular speaker Blair Enns. Plus, you can plan to stay over Sunday (the conference ends Saturday night) for bonus sessions, software demos and a working day. • Back by popular demand, the In-HOWse Designer Conference lands this year in San Francisco, October 3–5. In two years, the event has seen explosive growth and is now the business and management conference for in-house design managers. Sign up early; the past two events have sold out quickly. and ... <drumroll please> • HOW is proud to announce a brand-new event: The Creative Freelancer Conference, August 27–29 in Chicago. Co-sponsored by Marketing Mentor, this event is specifically geared toward designers, illustrators, writers, photographers and other creative solopreneurs. 
Events
Monday, April 28, 2008 8:56:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
Special Event
Betcha didn't know that April 27 is World Graphics Day, as designated by Icograda (that's also the organization's birthday). A smattering of gallery exhibits and special design-related programs is scheduled around the globe. From Icograda: On this occasion, designers reflect and hope that our international
network can contribute to a greater understanding between people and
can help to build bridges where divides and inequities exist.
The organization is also sponsoring a poster contest; the image below is by Edgar Hernández Nieto, Ciudad Valles, SLP, Mexico. 
Events
Thursday, April 24, 2008 1:50:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 11, 2008
Save $50 on the HOW Conference
If you're considering attending the HOW Design Conference in Boston next month, here are two reasons why you'll want to jump on that today: • If you register by midnight tonight, you can still score 50 bucks off the registration price. • Space in the conference hotels and in goodies like the Studio Tours is filling up fast. Linkage: See who's attendingGet scoop on all things conference-relatedCheck out the fantastic speaker lineup (Charles Anderson, Debbie Millman, Michael Bierut, Julieanne Kost, Katherine McCoy, Joe Duffy, etc., etc., etc.) Find out about sessions, tours, workshops and more
Events | HOW Magazine
Friday, April 11, 2008 5:00:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Hot Shipoopi
Just because it's fun to type the word 'shipoopi' -- and because Mike and Robynne are FOH, here's a bit of Modern Dog info for the week: First, they're chatting with Debbie Millman on Design Matters this Friday. Then, they're doing a book release party/birthday celebration (Modern Dog is officially of drinking age now) in Seattle on April 23. Oh, and surely we've mentioned they're speaking at the HOW Conference in May, right? 
Events | Industry News
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:37:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
Another Y Perspective
Eric Karjaluoto just posted his own Y recap. As both a speaker and attendee, he offers some interesting insight into the event. As designers, it’s our responsibility to use materials well. Creating
ineffective design that is poorly suited for the medium is simply
wasteful. Let’s utilize our resources in the most effective fashion
possible. We can do this both personally and professionally, and it’s
easier than we are often led to believe.
Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, April 03, 2008 2:54:58 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008
2008 Y Conference Recap
Now that I’m back at home in Cincinnati (but still recovering from jetlag), here are my last highlights from this year’s Y Conference, which focused on how, as designers, we can be more aware with our work when it comes to the environment and world in general: - Brian Dougherty of Celery Design made the compelling point that our job as designers isn't to prevent costs—it's to provide value. That's what we're good at and often, to provide premium value, will often mean the exact opposite: spending more. We shouldn't be afraid of spending more, because the extra value is worth it—to the client, too.
- Eric Karajaluto was a speaker, and he created the website Design Can Change, which is full of resources to help you think about and make your design do good.
- Marc Alt from the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design brought up a good point: electrons aren't free—the answer to our wastefulness is not simply to take everything online. (That was in response to the fact that when we’re thinking about green design, we often pose paper as the villain when that isn’t the case; there are many elements to take into account and balance.)
- Susan Szenasy said that the idea of sustainability shouldn't be something that's tacked on to design, but should be an inherent aspect—it should be integrated into our design process from the very beginning, not an afterthought.
All in all, it was a great trip and really gave teeth to the green design movement—from something that we often think about and want to do, to something that we actually can do. See all my notes from the conference here.
Events
Wednesday, April 02, 2008 6:45:36 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Saturday, March 29, 2008
2008 Y Conference: Day 2
Often when you're talking about green design or sustainable design (or
whatever you choose to call it), it's often hard to come across
solutions that really make an impact and step beyond simply
switching the papers and inks you use. It's hard to drill down and do
more than merely scratch the surface of the issue.
But at this year's Y Conference, which focuses on how design can play a
part of this movement, they've actually been able to integrate that
idea down into many of the details of the conference--including my
favorite, which is a detail that you wouldn't otherwise notice: the
main banner backdrop for the conference sessions is made entirely from
used paper. What makes recycled paper worth mentioning? The fact that
the papers used are the planning notes that the conference committee
made as they planned this year's Conference. Look closely and you can
see brainstorms of logos for the event and logistics notes.  
That attention to detail--particularly when it is so well done that it
probably goes unnoticed--is what we are called to do and is what
today's sessions encouraged. Some highlights from today:
- Many of the speakers stressed that the key for designers to
embrace going green is the tool that inherently makes them a designer:
their ability to communicate. Even though they talked about the paper
choice and trash and waste in designers' day-to-day, they stressed the
great impact that can come by designers simply raising awareness. We
have the ability to take these statistics and educate the public about
them, and the power from that comes because those messages will
multiply as they reach the public.
- For instance, one speaker who's in the fashion industry shared a
simple approach that a clothing manufacturer took, which was to print
on their clothing labels the directive, "Think Climate: Wash at 30
degrees C." A simple change that gets people thinking.
- One of my favorite speakers today was Sue Redding, a designer and California College of the Arts professor, who talked about the idea of "Style Obsolescence"--basically the modern philosophy where we buy new even if the old version isn't worn out. She traced this idea back to Henry
Ford's Model T car where new lines of cars were introduced each year to
encourage people to keep purchasing, even if their current one is still
working--the new one is just trendier or different. At the time, that
concept was novel--Sue pointed out that people had to actually be
taught how to throw things away. But today that concept is so ingrained
that everything is designed as disposable and not to last. So, she
says, we must rethink the way style works. She gave various tips to do
this, one of which being the pragmatic but counter-cultural idea of
stretching the use of things out as long as possible. This is something
to be considered as a lifestyle change, whether in your own shopping
habits or in every design project you undertake.
- Along that vein of "Well then, what can we do?", other speakers
spoke up to note that paper is not the only villain to going green;
there are many alternate steps and elements to take into consideration.
However, reconsidering the way you use paper is a great starting point.
Speaker Eric Karjaluoto (who spearheaded Design Can Change) has since stopped doing so much print work at his firm, smashLAB and within their office, they reuse all their notes and sketch paper.
Events
Saturday, March 29, 2008 2:11:09 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, March 28, 2008
2008 Y Conference Begins
I arrived in San Diego this afternoon for the annual Y Conference, which I was also able to attend last year. This year, they were able to add another day to the conference, so it kicked off tonight with an opening keynote speaker. Unfortunately that speaker, Paul Hawken, wasn't able to make it because he became very sick. Instead, Metropolis editor-in-chief Susan Szenasy took up the torch and presented a session about green design. (The entire conference is dedicated to the subject of green and sustainable design.) Susan's presentation focused on some very inspiring, cutting-edge (albeit architecturally-focused) projects that are embracing and pushing the movement forward; projects like planting crops on rooftops in China or examples of schools and colleges where every architectural detail means something. Project after project, each was an innovative take on how to better our environmental--and living--situation through architecture. Which got me thinking: How can we, as designers, do things like this? How can we apply our talents in such ways? How can we raise that sort of awareness? That kind of kick-start thinking is the stuff keynotes are made of. And something tells me that this vein will run deep throughout the conference's next two days.  The giant Y sculpture greets attendees as they make their way into the Conference.  Susan Szenasy presents the keynote session at the Y Conference. Posted by Carmen
Events
Friday, March 28, 2008 11:58:57 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 24, 2008
A Little Birdy Told Us ...
... that the Early Bird registration deadline for this year's HOW Design Conference is Friday. C'mon, peeps! Sign up this week and save 80 bucks -- that ain't chicken scratch. </bad bird references>
Events | Industry News
Monday, March 24, 2008 2:11:21 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Upcoming Events: Now through early April
Prepare yourself: The next couple of weeks are jam-packed with design-related events and deadlines. Here's a list of what to mark on your calendar soon: March 27: School of Visual Arts is presenting a design criticism reading night, where speakers will “look at design through the murky lens of evil” March 27–29: AIGA San Diego Y Conference will be taking place and explore sustainable design March 27–29: UCDA Design Summit (in Denver) looks at issues facing creatives, both in and out of educational institutions March 28: Early Bird deadline to save $80 and register for the HOW Design Conference this year in Boston. (The Conference runs from May 18 to 21.) March 28: Graphex Awards Gala takes place in Vancouver to recognize outstanding Canadian design, hosted by Ze Frank Through March 31: MoMA’s “50 Years of Helvetica” exhibition presents posters, signage and other graphic materials that showcase the use of Helvetica March 31: Deadline to enter the Strathmore Letterhead ContestApril 1: Deadline for STEP magazine’s call for entries for Best of Web designs April 1: X-Rite’s “Color Control Freak” seminar will travel to Chicago and Atlanta April 3: The Art Directors Club has invited past Young Guns winners to participate in “The Undiscovered Letter,” where they will create the 27th letter of the Latin alphabet. Come see the finalists at the “Disclosure” show’s kick off. April 3–5: AIGA Jacksonville re:CHARGE 08 is dedicated to getting attendees inspired and recharged about design. Speakers include Debbie Millman, Ann Willoughby, Christopher Simmons and Stefan Bucher. April 3–5: DSVC Student Show & Conference takes place in Dallas, specifically for students and includes a job fair, so students can show their stuff to hiring studios. April 5-6: The 4th Annual Modern Phoenix Expo and Home Tour, through the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, features lectures on mid-century modern home design as well as self-guided walking tours through the area’s modernist tract homes and churches
Call for Entries | Events
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 6:24:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 17, 2008
Monster Launch Party
I was busy filling my brain at SXSW this weekend, so I missed the launch party for 100 Days of Monsters. Of course, Stefan blogged the whole thing and it looks like it was a blast. What could be better than getting your picture taken with a giant monster? 
Events
Monday, March 17, 2008 7:46:29 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Recovering from SXSW 2008
4 days of SXSW 2008 + 1 ICHC panel + 3 days in the Texas hill country + 1 visit to an Alpaca farm + a new digital camera + the first day back in the office =  Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, March 17, 2008 5:07:11 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008
SXSW 2008 ARG
ARG? Huh? Until yesterday, I didn't know that ARG means Alternate Reality Game, but now I do and I'm ready to play. ARGs are games that mix the real and virtual worlds together to create a rich experience. ARG expert Jane McGonigal explained how happiness is the new capital and that game designers are in a great position to deliver happiness-generating experiences to their audiences. I'd argue that lots of designers are in the position to deliver such experiences. Jane cited some findings from the new field of happiness studies to explain what really makes people happy: 1. Satisfying work to do 2. A sense of being good at something 3. Time spent with people we like 4. A change to be part of something bigger While it's obvious how these things can be delivered by games, they could also be delivered by a well-designed retail experience, for example. Do your design projects make their intended audiences happy? Maybe they should. Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 2:55:58 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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The Best Of SXSW 2008
While I enjoyed many of the sessions, the most valuable one was presented by Adaptive Path, a San Francisco-based user experience firm, about managing creatives. It was so good, I'm going to look into bringing them to a future HOW Conference. Bryan Mason and Sarah Nelson interviewed creative managers from other industries to discover how they manage their teams. They talked to chefs, stage-managers, conductors and more and distilled the lessons into 10 tips. What was really interesting was how many of the tips are employed by the HOW staff itself. I'll share a couple: Tip #2 Rotate Creative Leadership There's a lot to be said for empowering every member of a team by allowing them to take charge of a project. At HOW, we take turns planning the issues and writing the editor's letter. The planning process is still a collaboration, but one of us leads the way. It's proven very effective in giving us all a sense of ownership of the magazine. Tip #3 Know Your Roles Even though we have a rather flat hierarchy, we also each have specific areas of responsibility. That allows us to trust and rely on one another. We never have to worry that something will slip through the cracks. Tip #8 Leadership is a Service Whether she knows it not, this is exactly how Bryn manages the HOW staff. She engages the team as a facilitator rather than as a dictator. She gives us the space to do our best work, but is always there to support us when we need help. (Thanks, Bryn.) Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 2:42:56 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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The Secret of SXSW 2008
The Monday afternoon keynote blew me away. Frank Warren of PostSecret fame shared the story of how a small art project turned into a big website and a whole series of books.  Frank quoted Picasso saying, "There's an artist born in all of us." That's a theme that's run through the conference. Everyone has something to say and now, because of the internet, they have the means to say it. So if there's something you need to say, consider writing it on a postcard and sending out into the world. "Sometimes when we think we're keeping a secret, it's keeping us." Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 2:27:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 10, 2008
SXSW 2008 Web Award Winners
For a look at some of what the best of the web has to offer, check out the winners of the 11th Annual SXSW Web Awards: Activism
Green and Non-profit websites that are striving to make the world a better place.
World Without Oil
Amusement
Humor, memes, plus all the stuff that is too weird for words.
Elf Yourself
Art
From traditional photography to untraditional performances, this
category focuses on web-based collections of life, society and culture.
Viscosity
Blog
Sites that revolutionize the power of publishing by providing regularly updated content of a personal or professional nature.
Passive-Aggressive Notes
Business
Sites devoted to the promotional needs, functions and services of for-profit businesses.
Wikinvest
CSS
This category showcases sites that push the boundaries of CSS coding technology.
Ficlets
Classic
While the SXSW Web Awards focus on the best new internet
destinations, this category is devoted to sites that launched before
January 1, 2007.
Wired
Community
Sites and wikis that have quickly developed an extraordinarily
active multi-user community and an exceptional following of users who
assist with content development.
Flock
Educational Resource
From elementary school learning to advanced technology-related tips, these are sites that help you learn.
The Story of Stuff
Experimental
These are cutting-edge and trend-setting destinations that are pushing the envelope and challenging our perceptions of the web.
MetaNotes
Film/TV
Sites related to actors, television, films and the film industry, as well as destinations that offer streaming video content.
Animoto Productions
Games
The online destinations that help make your life a lot more fun.
Launchball
Mobile
Sites optimized for handheld and portable devices.
Mosio
Motion Graphics
Animations, cartoons, and other intriguing content built using applications such as Adobe/Macromedia Flash.
HL2
Music
Sites related to musicians, bands, and the music industry, as
well online radio and other destinations that offer streaming audio
content.
Minuit
Personal Portfolio
The portfolios, pet projects and personal collections of individuals who are displaying their work and passions online.
JLern Design
Student
This category is devoted exclusively to the student web
designers who are refreshing this industry with new talent and new
ideas.
Paper Critters
Technical Achievement
These are the sites that are re-inventing and re-defining the technical parameters of our online experience.
Twiddla!
People's Choice Award
The online public's favorite finalist from the competition.
Kongregate
Best of Show
The judges' favorite finalist from the competition.
Launchball
Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, March 10, 2008 3:43:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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SXSW 2008 Blows My Mind
One of the best panels I've seen so far was called "Make It So: Learning from SciFi Interfaces" presented by Chris Noessel and Nathan Shedroff. They've been watching a ton of science fiction movies and mapping the ways in which they've influenced the design of real things and the ways in which design has influenced science fiction. One of the big lessons I took away from the panel is the power and danger of anthropomorphism. Using human characteristics can aid learning and make people feel more comfortable, especially when it comes to new technology. The power is that even simple things like sound can anthropomorphize something. For example, in Star Wars, R2D2 is endearing because of the little sighs and bleeps he makes. Human-like behavior can allow be effective. The Amazon One-Click system is like a waiter who remembers what you like order. The danger of anthropomorphism is that it raises the expectations of the user as to the sophistication of the system and the user will be more disappointed if the functionality isn't not there. But what really blew my mind was the last session of the day called "LOLWUT? Why Do I Keep Coming Back to This Website?" presented by Ben Huh and Eric Nakagawa of icanhascheezburger.com. What in the world is I Can Has Cheezburger, you ask? It's a growing collection of funny pictures (mostly of cats) with silly captions.  What's so mind-blowing about that? This just-for-fun blog has become a real business with 9 employees and a growing fan base. The internets are a weird and wonderful place! Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, March 10, 2008 2:54:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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SXSW 2008
It was tough to get out of Cincinnati this weekend, but I made it to South by Southwest Interactive in one piece. From a blizzard to a balmy day in a matter of hours, Austin is a world away, especially during SXSW. Here, everyone is focused on the future and how creatives are going to shape it.  Designer Jim Coudal tried to define the essence of creativity in a semi-mathematical formula. His idea is that all acts of creativity start by making associations in the brain between a constant and a variable, the known and the unknown. As a simple example, he pointed to a game from his website called Booking Bands. Try to combine a book title with a band name into something funny. You have to start with a constant like “Of Mice and Men”, then run through all the bands you can think of until you come up with Men at Work and you get Of Mice and Men at Work. After you've made that association between the constant and the variable, if it's good, it will be amplified by passion, the energy to refine the idea and see it through to creation. The final step in the process is "Like" to the third power. Like as in metaphor, summary and aesthetic judgement. So this is Jim's creative process, but his larger point was that we each need to define our own process to help us put a real value on our work and know what to charge. If we don't have a process to work through, some ideas will be easy and some will be like pulling teeth (but try explaining to a client that your fee will be more because the brainstorming was hard!) By the time Saturday ended, I was exhausted from a day of travel and heavy thinking. But by Sunday morning, I was ready to go again. I gleaned one particularly valuable lesson from a session about presenting work to clients. When you’re showing them a final design or choice of designs, don’t try to solve problems on the spot. Instead, carefully record everyone’s worries, thoughts and suggestions. Take that back to the office with you and address all the issues, taking your time to find appropriate solutions. When you re-present the work, be sure to go over your list of issues and explain how you found a solution for each one. This kind of careful attention to detail will help prevent you from making promises to clients that end up compromising the design. 
Posted by Megan
Events
Monday, March 10, 2008 2:20:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Register for the Y Design Conference
 Just received an e-mail update from the Y Design Conference about space filling up for the event taking place later this month. HOW will be attending--hopefully we'll see you there!
Events
Monday, March 10, 2008 1:45:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, March 06, 2008
A Celebration of Color
A fascinating exhibit exploring color opens at MoMA this week. But don't worry if you can't make it to the show, the accompanying website captures the flavor of the show with a lovely, polychromatic interface designed by the MoMA team in cooperation with interactive firm Render Monkey. Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today takes as its point of departure the commercial color chart, an item that openly attests to the status of paint as mass-produced and standardized. Midway through the twentieth century, long-held convictions regarding the spiritual aspects and scientific properties of color gave way to an acceptance and embrace of color as a commercial product. At the same time, many artists rejected traditional artistic pedagogy about the relationships between colors and instead adopted aesthetic approaches that relied on chance, readymade sources, or arbitrary systems. The first major exhibition devoted to this pivotal transformation, Color Chart will feature some 90 works of art—including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, digital art, videos, and films—by 44 artists, primarily ranging in date from the 1950s to the present.
   Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, March 06, 2008 2:54:58 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Upcoming Events in March
Some of the can't-miss events that are taking place all over the country in the next couple weeks that you should know about: March 11: Deadline for entering Communication Art’s annual photography and illustration competitions March 11th, 13th, 18th: X-Rite’s “Color Control Freak” seminar will travel to Indianapolis, Houston, Nashville, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Miami March 13: AIGA Minnesota’s Design Show of Excellence highlights the region’s top works March 14: Deadline to enter any projects integrating experimental typography for a new book coming out from publisher PageOne this fall, “TYPOMOFO” March 21: Deadline to enter HOW’s Promotion Design Awards, where you can submit your best promotional efforts for a chance to win a trip to the 2009 HOW Design Conference.
Call for Entries | Events
Wednesday, March 05, 2008 4:51:48 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, February 22, 2008
Sahre Victore Wilker
Every once in a while, I wish I lived in NYC, like when I read that Paul Sahre, James Victore and Jan Wilker are hosting a week-long design workshop this summer from July 21–26. It's $900 but I bet it will be worth every penny. Even if you can't make it to the workshop, check out the site for its unusual navigation.  via SwissmissPosted by Megan
Events
Friday, February 22, 2008 3:21:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Upcoming Events: Now through early March
Some of the can't-miss events that are taking place all over the country in the next couple weeks: February 28: Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is presenting “Slide Slam! Designing Video Games” to take viewers behind-the-scenes of video game design
February 29: Deadline to enter any projects into Graphic Design USA’s American Inhouse Design Awards, exclusively for corporations, publishers, non-profits and other institutions March 3: Deadline to enter Print magazine’s Regional Design Annual, which serves as a comprehensive design profile of the U.S. March 4th and 6th: X-Rite’s “Color Control Freak” seminar will travel to Cincinnati, Portland, Denver and Charlotte March 7: Deadline to enter any book designs into AIGA’s annual 50 Books/50 Covers CompetitionMarch 7: Deadline to enter your favorite design work—from branding to packaging to information design—into 365: AIGA’s Annual Design Competition March 7–11: SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX, celebrating the creativity and passion behind the coolest new media technologies March 8: Word/Image Problem, a symposium at The New School, will celebrate cartoonist Rodolphe Topffer’s work, which integrated text into modern comic strips Posted by
Carmen
Events
Thursday, February 21, 2008 4:54:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Learn More About Letterpress
PaperSpecs is presenting a free webinar all about letterpress printing Tuesday, February 26 at 2 p.m. EST. Sponsored by Neenah Paper, the webinar features guest speaker Judith Berliner, owner and founder of Full Circle Press, who will also be conducting a session about letterpress at the HOW Design Conference in May. 
Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 2:41:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, January 25, 2008
SXSW 2008
I just booked my flight to Austin and registered for the South by Southwest Interactive Conference this March. I had an amazing time last year and this year is shaping up to be just as interesting. Confirmed sessions in the design track include: A General Theory of Creative Relativity (Jim Coudal)
Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Great Design Hurts (Michael Lopp)
Data as Art: Musical, Visual Web APIs (Peter Kirn)
Design Control in a Digital World: Getting It and Losing It (Khoi Vinh)
Design Eye 2008 (Keith Robinson)
Design is in the Details (Naz Hamid)
Designing for Freedom (Gina Bianchini)
Does Tomorrow's World Need Designers? (Tim Leberecht)
Everyone's A Design Critic (Jason Santa Maria)
From Frustration to Elation: Getting Emotional by Design (Dan Rubin)
Logos: Why They’re Irrelevant and Can Actually Hurt Your Business (Bryan Zmijewski)
Magic and Mental Models: Using Illusion to Simplify Designs (Jared M. Spool)
Make It So: Learning From SciFi Interfaces (Nathan Shedroff)
Meet The Architects (Molly Wright Steenson)
Social Design Strategies (Emily Chang)
Tools for Enchantment: 20 Ways to Woo Users (Kathy Sierra)
Wireframing in a Web 2.0 World (Richard Rutter)  Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, January 25, 2008 3:28:27 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
Upcoming Events for February
Or, more appropriately, this could be titled: “Why We Wish We Had a Jetpack (And All The Time In The World).” Here are some events to mark on your calendar during the month of February: February 1: I.D. Student Design Review call-for-entries deadline Starting February 2: “Documentary Fortnight Expanded: MoMA’s Annual Festival of Nonfiction Film” at MoMA in New York City February 3: New York Times art critic Holland Cotter lectures at The New School in New York City Starting February 5: “Jasper Johns: Gray” exhibit examines the artist’s use of the color gray at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City February 6-8: New Business Summit intended specifically for creatives in Nashville Starting February 8: “Emergency Room” exhibit at MoMA in New York City that provides a forum for local artists to showcase their thoughts on current affairs February 8-10: Interaction 08 conference for interactive designers of all types in Savannah, GA Starting February 11: “Not For Sale” exhibit at MoMA in New York City showcases unavailable works by the art market’s most sought-after talents February 11-13: Destination Design Management conference in San Francisco with sessions covering such topics as how to keep your passion for design alive, proving design’s ROI and the state of the design industry in 2008 February 15: Milton Glaser will be the keynote speaker at SVA-CUNY’s symposium on modern propaganda in “Where the Truth Lies” (New York City) Starting February 17: “Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love” exhibit surveys the artist's cut-paper silhouette work that depicts historical narratives at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis February 20: “ Thinking Inside the Box—How Design Innovation Comes From
Within," presented by InSource, the organization for in-house creatives, takes place in Madison, NJ Posted by
Carmen
Events
Thursday, January 24, 2008 7:19:14 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wicked Cool
We're absolutely lovin' the poster that Clifford Stoltze and his team in Boston have created for this year's HOW Conference. Keep an eye out in the March/April issue for a full-size pull out. 
Events | HOW Magazine
Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:11:24 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Crazy About Color
Pantone and the color experts at X-Rite Color Services today announced the 2008 release of the company’s popular seminar “ Color Control Freak”. With a completely revised curriculum, Color Control Freak 08 offers an in-depth understanding of color, its value in the design process, and techniques for proper reproduction. The seminar travels to 24 cities from March until May including stops in Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, New York and Seattle.  Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 5:33:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Design In China
This sounds like an amazing trip: AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design (AIGA XCD) together with Package and Design Magazine of China are leading a design expedition deep into the heart of China's flourishing design economy. The two-week event will include visits to great design firms and schools and a tour the Great Wall of China, pluse trips to cities such as Beijing, Tianjing, Xi'an, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. For more information visit xcd.aiga.org.  Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, January 10, 2008 2:09:27 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 03, 2008
Everything You Need to Know About the 08 HOW Conference
Our conference and new media colleagues worked overtime this holiday season to launch the website for this year's HOW Design Conference, May 18–21 in Boston. It's got all the info you need to plot your course for the conference, including a complete lineup of sessions, workshops, speakers, extra events and more. About half the speakers are new to the conference (including John Bielenberg, Kevin Farnham, Von Glitschka, David Schimmel and Maggie Macnab), and you'll also find a few old faves like Sam Harrison, Perula Vrontikis, the Modern Dog kids and Jeff Fisher. Whatever you're jonesin' for, we've got you covered: creative inspiration (don't miss Bill Strickland), business guidance (David Baker's the man), pricing strategies (hit the workshop with Peleg Top and Ilise Benun), advice for in-house designers (Michael Lejeune of L.A. Metro, which scored big in HOW's first annual In-HOWse Design Awards will be there). Go. Choose. Register. Count the days. See you in Boston! 
Events | Industry News
Thursday, January 03, 2008 10:19:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Emerging Design
In continuation of its effort to support emerging designers, the Los Angeles chapter of AIGA will be hosting EMERGE, an exhibition of student graphic design, from January 12 through February 6, 2008 at the Fine Arts Gallery at California State University in Los Angeles. Admission is free. 
Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, January 03, 2008 5:59:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Digital Printing Webinar
Learn to seperate the myths from the realities of digital printing in a free webinar on Monday, December 17 at 2 p.m. (Reservation is required.)  Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, December 14, 2007 2:17:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, December 06, 2007
Compostmodern
Events
Thursday, December 06, 2007 6:40:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Oh Bliss
Artists/designers Saelee Oh and Jill Bliss will be showing their collaborative illustrations at Giant Robot 2 in Los Angeles from December 8 through January 9. If you can't make it to the show, you can pick up a 2008 calendar of their work for just $15.    Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, December 04, 2007 2:09:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Green Paper
PaperSpecs is sponsoring a free webinar, Sustainability-Hands On, with guest speaker Brian Dougherty of Celery Design Collaborative. The event, which takes place on December 13, will provide practical information about spec'ing sustainable paper and other ideas to decrease the environmental impact of your designs. Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 6:43:27 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 19, 2007
Feed the Monster
Russel Quadros of AIGA Jacksonville recently sent us a little reminder about next spring's re:Charge08 conference in J'ville, April 3–5. HOW editor Sarah Whitman attended two years ago and had a blast. It's a great opportunity to, as they say, feed your creative monster. 
Events | Industry News
Monday, November 19, 2007 4:04:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Nickels & Dimes
Having spent most of yesterday compiling data from HOW's recent hourly-rate survey, I must have money on the brain. That, and the third HOW webinar, which is tomorrow (Thursday), is all about pricing—how to set your rates, how to stick to them and how to talk money with your clients and prospects. Sign up now for the hour-long online seminar What Should I Charge? Smart Pricing Strategies for Designers; you can watch it live or later.
Events | Industry News
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 8:36:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Serious Play
The Art Center College of Design just announced the lineup for its 2008 Conference, Serious Play, which will explore the essential role of play in business, the arts, science, storytelling, technology, etc. Speakers include Paula Scher, John Maeda, Michael Bierut and more.  Posted by Megan
Events
Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:41:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 05, 2007
More from MYOB
Picking up from this report, a bit more info from HOW's Mind Your Own Business Conference in San Diego, which wrapped up yesterday (November 4). The big highlight of Day 3 -- and of the conference overall -- was Deborah Dawton, CEO of London's Design Business Association. Our peers across the pond are beginning to get their collective heads around the massive challenge of measuring (really!) the bottom-line value of design. Like, in terms of goods sold, or dollars saved, or reputation enhanced, or effectiveness increased. Dawton didn't have all the answers, but she DID have all the questions: specifically, the questions designers must ask their clients in order to measure design's effectiveness and, in turn, to define their work's worth. She noted that "The businesses you work for aren't all that different from the businesses you work in" -- in other words, the very same business challenges a design firm faces (profitability, staffing, efficiency, differentiation) are the ones the client faces, just on a larger scale. So it's imperative for designers to understand their OWN businesses as well as their clients'. The first step to measuring design's value, she noted, is to determine the client's current business state before the project begins -- it's impossible to peg increased sales to a brochure design when you don't know what sales were before the brochure. And it's critical to then define, "How will we know if this project is successful?" and, finally, to get as much information from your client about business results. Afraid they won't give you that info? Ya gotta ask. After some late-night discussions and early morning roundtables, the conference wrapped up on Sunday with " Crucial Conversations," in which Ron McMillan outlined some tools to use when we're engaged in touch conversations where emotions, stakes and differences of opinion run high. Thanks to all the principals who participated this year!
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, November 05, 2007 9:44:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, November 03, 2007
Live from MYOB
Here in (now) sunny San Diego, we're with 300 design-firm principals who are super-focused on sessions geared toward improving their business success. It's a pretty intense group; people are deep in discussion in between sessions and during breakfast. One underpinning (and unintentional) theme of this year's MYOB conference is differentiating your firm with a unique, distinctive positioning. As an editor who sees a ton of capabilities packages from design firms of all stripes throughout the country, I'm continually amazed at how, well, the same all of them are. In fact, opening keynote speaker Tim Williams read positioning statements from real agencies, and the audience chuckled at how cliche and lame they all were. Clearly, designers need to turn the mirror on themselves and define their own brands. The same kind of discussion continued today, when Brent Hodgins started his presentation by acting out a typical pitch presentation, and again the audience laughed at how silly it all sounded. In what's become a tradition at MYOB, conference partner David Baker conducted a real-world, live business analysis with a principal who volunteered his firm as a case study. Fascinating.
Events | HOW Magazine
Saturday, November 03, 2007 12:11:09 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, November 02, 2007
Powerful Design
The Graphic Imperative is a select retrospective of forty years of international sociopolitical posters, 111 in all. Themes include dissent, liberation, racism, sexism, human rights, civil rights, environmental and health concerns, AIDS, war, literacy and tolerance, collectively providing a window to an age of great change. The exibit is on view at The Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles now, but you can see all the posters on The Graphic Imperative website.  Steff Geissbuhler, 1985 Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, November 02, 2007 6:58:08 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Observations on Design
After spending five days last week in the company of thousands of design projects, we came away with some broad observations about the scope of work. As judges Debbie Millman, John Foster and Nathan Hendricks paced among the tables of entries, scoring pens in hand, we asked them to keep track of what they saw. Generally, some of the trends we've seen repeatedly in recent years seem to be on the wane: tiny patterns, cute wildlife, palettes of brown matched with spring green or pale blue, prettiness. The work that rose to the top was a bit sharper, grittier. The handmade aesthetic is still strong, but it's rougher in a deliberate way. The judges noted that they could imagine a designer sketching an image on paper and then, instead of bringing that sketch into Illustrator for refinement, deciding that the sketch itself was appropriate for the project. No need to sand off the rough edges. As in all competitions, the judges bemoaned inconsistency: a dynamite book cover whose lackluster interior pages shot the project all to hell, good ideas poorly executed, great executions of crappy ideas, well-designed annual reports with rotten photography, huge budgets that allowed for reckless production values with no meaningful payoff. Foster especially noted challenges with printing and paper: "The printing gap has widened severely. It seems as if you either have a massive budget and you throw tons of bells and whistles at a piece, or folks are legging it out, digitally printing parts like a belly band or even running stuff off their color laser. On both counts I just caution to never let the printing get in the way of the design. If it's overly extravagant with no purpose other than to spend money it becomes a turnoff, and while I appreciate the ingenuity of using economical resources I hate to hold a piece in my hands and think it feels cheap and thrown-together.
"Paper choices are still amazing to me. I would say a tenth of the work turned me off the minute I felt the gross stock the designer had chosen. Get samples and 'touch' your work beforehand."
We'll publish the results of the trio's deliberation in HOW's March/April International Design Annual. Meanwhile, if you're looking for inspiration, check out the gallery of past HOW winners. 
Events | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 1:29:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, October 29, 2007
Passing Judgment
You'll (hopefully) forgive the lack of blog posting last week; we spent the entire week setting up and then managing the process of judging HOW's biggest annual design awards. It's a ton of work, and it involves thousands of numbered stickers, about 5,000 feet of white butcher paper, two cases of diet soda, a bagful of red Twizzlers and three colored pens. Among other things. The process is this: Take 100 eight-foot tables, laid end-to-end in a cavernous public-event space; roll out white paper over the tables, lay out entries by category, add stickers to label each entry, roll out white paper over the entries, repeat. Until you have maybe six layers of paper/stickers/entries. Like this:  From there, the judges, each with a colored pen, walk among the tables and enters a score of 0 to 3 for each entry. Entries that meet a minimum score make it into the awards annual. Sometimes, the judges feel free to add their own commentary as they go along:   We'll post more this week about the judging process and the judges' observations, so stay tuned ...
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, October 29, 2007 4:15:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, October 15, 2007
[NEXT] Last Week
I'm just back from the AIGA national design conference (themed 'Next') in Denver. I didn't have time was too much of a slacker to do daily blog posts from the event like our compadre Alissa Walker over on UnBeige, but I thought I'd do a quick post-conference, um, post.  So, let's get this out of the way: The AIGA national gathering and the HOW Design Conference are two very, very (very!) different things, for two very different audiences. My most recent AIGA experience was two years ago in Boston, and I felt this year's event was more structured, cohesive, organized (in Boston, it wasn't uncommon for general sessions to start 20+ minutes late). And Kurt Andersen was a more engaged and engaging moderator than the previous host, John Hockenberry. AIGA does well to weave its theme throughout the conference, and many general-session speakers discussed what's on the horizon. Overall, the sessions (as with most such events) were uneven, ranging from truly inspirational to entertaining to boorishly self-absorbed. One comment I overheard in the hallways (aside from, "Wow -- this is really different from the HOW conference") was that some of the general-session speakers would have been better in breakouts, and vice versa. The two top sessions, IMO, were pure inspiration: biologist and "Biomimicry" author Janine Benyus speaking about what designers of all stripes can learn from nature (or "life," as she called it), and Maira Kalman in a Q&A with the host, a delightful exchange that revealed Maira's charming and incisive way of looking at her world. I dashed off to catch my flight and missed Alex Steffen, founder of Worldchanging, whom I'd have liked to see. I'd have liked to hit more affinity sessions both days than I was able to (a clone would have been helpful). Several that I attended delivered some take-away information that benefited the audience; others were simply discussions on a topic. A few of them, both affinity and general sessions, were portfolio-presentation lovefests—an occasional criticism of HOW speakers, to be fair, but, in two instances that come to mind, more obnoxious here. But the absolute, very best part of the conference was Command X—an on-the-fly, reality-TV-style escapade hosted by the ubiquitous Michael Bierut. A group of seven young designers (chosen in advance) worked to tackle a series of design challenges, and each day two were eliminated until the winner was chosen. The last project (which the three finalists tackled at special workstations set up in the "Living Room") was to create a design (it could have been a poster, a website, an event, whatever) to prompt 18- to 24-year-olds to vote in 2008. Kelly Dorsey, Matthew Munoz and Nichelle Narcisi all developed great solutions, but Narcisi truly hit it out of the park: Her series of PDFs, which she explained that young people could download, print and plaster in dorm rooms and coffee shops, featured simple typography and killer copywriting. This girl's got it going on. All of the participants had such remarkable presentation and concepting skills, that they were truly the talk of the conference. As in years past, this AIGA national conference was a microcosm of the important-with-a-capital-I people, issues and ideas at the forefront of the design field. And in that regard, it was highly successful. I'm curious: Today, back at their desks and rifling through emails, fielding client calls and dealing with the day-to-day, how do attendees find their work or their practices changed by the event?
Events
Monday, October 15, 2007 4:49:57 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
Postcard from Camp: Part II
As I mentioned before, I wanted to share about the speakers I had a chance to see while at this year’s AIGA/Minnesota Design Camp®, which took place this past weekend. I had never seen any of the speakers, even though Joel Templin has spoken at the HOW Conference before and I’ve worked with Jakob Trollback on a story he wrote for us. Jason MunnThe first designer took the stage on Friday night and was Jason Munn of thesmallstakes.com. He creates some really awesome screenprinted posters for bands like Mates of State, the Shins, the Decemberists and Death Cab for Cutie. As if that weren't enough to hook you, Jason (who also teaches design classes a couple times a week) gave really good insights into his process and the concepting behind each poster he presented. He talked about how he mined the bands' songs or sounds for inspiration, or how he was able to incorporate any specifications they might have made. (One case being when the artist Josh Ritter requested that his home state of Idaho be included or reflected. The result? A piano in the shape of the potato state.) Most interesting was when he revealed the step-by-step process behind the 3-color Deerhoof poster he designed (below) from the sketchbook phase to the process of overlapping each individual screenprint. He also showed some non-music related work that he's done; even though he's most known for his band posters, he's also done book covers and magazine illustrations and some advertising/brand work.   Having only spoken at small AIGA events or school lectures, his session was easily my favorite of the weekend. It was a good up-and-coming look at a designer I wasn't too familiar with before, and he had really good behind-the-scenes insights and delved into the "whys" behind each of his projects. Considering many students were in attendance, I thought he hit the spot. Joel TemplinJoel Templin and his design work has been featured in HOW magazine many times, but mostly under his previous firm, Templin Brink Design. This spring, he branched off and cofounded Hatch Design. He was my second favorite speaker of the bunch, because, like Jason, he showcased a lot of inspiration and concepting process behind the projects he’s created. For instance, he talked about how he keeps a vast reference library and archive of what he considers “good design.” Most things (that he showed, at least) were all vintage ephemera—old packaging examples with muted color schemes and bold, clean typography. Then—my favorite part—he showed how those pieces of inspiration fueled his current projects. For example, when American Eagle asked them to create new hangtags for the store, the Hatch designers researched in their reference library to dig up old tags and sports tickets. When they were helping rebrand the Song airline, they referenced old Pan Am examples. Even for the identity that they created for this year’s Design Camp materials were inspired by old designs that they’d dug up in the archive; there was an old sci-fi poster of a butterfly beaming lasers from its eyes onto a bus that is referenced in the final Camp branding. He also showcased the work they did for Fuelosophy (a new Pepsico beverage), along with the many, many variations that they pitched, including the ones that didn’t get chosen. I always appreciate seeing rejected work. My only complaint was that he went short of the time he had allotted; it would have been interesting to see even more examples or showcases of how he works. 
Jakob TrollbackOf Trollback + Co. in New York, Jakob Trollback talked a lot about what inspires him, but didn’t really link that back to his work. I would have liked to have seen how or why those things fuel his work (a la Joel and Jason because, while I do think it can be inspiring, I think that digging deeper offers the most takeaway). However, the most interesting point of his presentation was when he started showing some of the projects they’ve worked on, because they were so impressively cutting-edge. For instance, he talked about designing/using LED screens in elevators that would change as the elevator moved up and down floors to make it look like the passengers are sinking underwater. Another example was making a lawn out of fiber-optic grass. Not all of these ideas were final projects; he too showcased rejected work. He also touched on how the classic, understated Penguin book covers have been influencing the motion work that he’s been doing. Carin GoldbergShe was the only female in the main designer line-up and, I have to admit, that I was very disappointed in her presentation. There was a loose theme of “truth” for the conference. The other presenters turned that into the truth behind the work they do. Carin, however, used it as an opportunity to talk about politics and religion and consumerism. Rather than be inspiring, it came off more as a pulpit and being talked down to. After about 30 minutes (and she read from a sheet the whole time), I had to get up and leave. I had been excited to hear her because she was another designer that I wasn’t familiar with and, plus, she’s the president of the AIGA/NY chapter. I did hear that some attendees really appreciated what she had to say, so I think it could be something of personal preference. WorkshopsIn addition to the 4 speakers, there were 8 workshops offered, and everyone got to attend 3. The first that I went to was a hands-on one about binding books with needle and thread. I’d never done that, so it was interesting to walk away with some tiny books that I’d created myself. It made it feel like elementary arts-and-crafts day again! The second that I went to was about making sure to take breaks to allow yourself to refuel. The speaker, Kirk Horsted, is a huge advocator of sabbaticals and really encouraged all in attendance to start working now to make it happen for you. It’s a dream everyone has, but that everyone puts off. He went around the room and asked what it is that holds most people back from doing these things? Most said “Money,” but “Work” was another common excuse. His insight: Most of the big decisions we make (for instance, who we marry, the career we pursue or the college we attend) aren’t based on money, but on personal desire. So why should we make taking a break be one? Of course, it doesn’t necessarily take a 3-month break for you to take time for yourself; he also encouraged anything such as a day to yourself or giving yourself an hour to tap back into yourself. The final workshop I attended was about sustainable design. The presenters are very devoted to the idea and were full of information and resources. They talked about the guiding principles that designers can use to guide their decisions when they’re creating design projects. These principles included everything from: What materials are you using? Are you breaking the chain of wastefulness or adding to it? Can these be reused biologically or technologically? Does this benefit the greater human good/need? They added that these questions are in addition to the already existing needs that designers have to be responding to, such as making a design that is affordable and attractive, etc. Sustainable design should accomplish those elements, too!
Events
Thursday, October 11, 2007 7:54:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A Postcard from Camp
As I mentioned yesterday, I just returned from Nisswa, MN where I attended AIGA/Minnesota’s annual Design Camp® from October 5-7. About a three-hour drive north of Minneapolis, Design Camp takes place in the woods on a lodge, where everyone stays in cabins, only a stone’s throw away from a big lake rimmed with a beach. This seclusion is what offers Design Camp much of its charm and, ultimately, its success. As I came to learn, Design Camp has been going strong since 1980—one of the founding members who started the chapter and the Camp was even in attendance. Which goes to show that Design Camp is one where attendees continue to return year after year—even as the age of many attendees continues to get younger (about 1/3 of the attendees were students, surprisingly). But, as an out-of-towner, I never felt left out, and I think that’s because of the nature of the Camp. All attendees (there were about 300 to 350 total) sit in the same main sessions together and all that stay on the lodging grounds eat every meal together, so you get to know familiar faces over the course of the Camp. There was a networking dinner the first evening that helped attendees mingle (although after a couple days of buffet-style eating there, I did get in the habit of feeling the need to eat dessert after every meal...). Plus, being set off in the woods, there are activities scheduled from 7am (whether it’s a morning run or a tasty buffet breakfast) until the lodge bar closes at 2am (which proceeds design trivia games or karaoke or roasting s’mores or listening to a bluegrass band—complete with a washboard). That was a welcome departure from most conferences that, come 5pm, send you on your own merry way to come up with something to do. Making it a good conference for designers to consider if they have to go solo. Also, important to any design event, the Camp’s materials were well designed and well branded. They were created by Ryan Meis, a designer at San Francisco’s Hatch, who also attended the Camp. (Fittingly, Hatch’s principal, Joel Templin, was a speaker.) Speaking of speakers, I'll update later about each session I attended. But for now, consider this a snapshot...
Design Resources | Events | Industry News
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 4:36:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Using Design For Good
I just wrapped up a weekend in the woods of Minnesota at Minneapolis/AIGA’s annual Design Camp (a detailed recap to come soon!), but first wanted to pass along word of a cool project that they’re organizing: “ Collapse and Recovery—the 35W Bridge Poster Project.” Many AIGA members remember being on the road at the very time that the 35W Bridge over the Mississippi River fell in Minneapolis. So, in response, the local chapter is asking designers across the country to put their skills to use and raise awareness of the tragedy by designing a poster that speaks to the bridge’s collapse. Poster designs are due October 29 and will be exhibited and auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting the Minnesota Helps—Bridge Disaster Fund. For more information and details about submitting, download an entry form. 
Call for Entries | Events | Industry News
Tuesday, October 09, 2007 2:22:31 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Three Designers
Yesterday, a press release arrived in the email box with the headline: Coudal-Fried-Segura. (Which read, oddly, like a menu item at Cracker Barrel: country-fried steak.) Anyhoo, the trio are speaking at the Seed conference in Chicago on October 29. 
Events
Tuesday, October 02, 2007 2:30:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
HOW's Online Seminars Start Tomorrow
Join us on September 27 for the first of HOW's Marketing & Pricing Webinar Series. You'll learn how to develop lucrative business relationships, value and price your work so you don't lose money, and create an ongoing stream of new prospects and clients willing to pay you what you're worth. Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 4:03:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The Way Camping Should Be
In about 2.5 weeks, I’m going to be heading out to Minneapolis to attend the Minneapolis/AIGA Design Camp from October 5 through 7. HOW editors have had the chance to attend in the past and only have had good things to say about the retreat to the backwoods of Nisswa, MN, so, with this being my first time heading out for the event, I'm pretty pumped. I’m especially looking forward to getting to finally getting to meet Jakob Trollback, who wrote a story for HOW earlier this year. Plus the schedule says that there will be karaoke (I’m content with the sidelines, thankyouverymuch) and s’mores and a bonfire. Yes, the title of this blog entry speaks for itself. If anyone else is headed out for the event, be sure to say hello! 
Events
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 3:33:52 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, September 14, 2007
Visual Treats
"Snack Isle," an exhibit of small works by 60 different artists, opens tonight at the Giant Robot Gallery in New York City. The show will be on view until October 17. 
Theo Ellsworth
Matthew Feyld
Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, September 14, 2007 1:48:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Design Shows
Designer and Illustrator John Foster of fuszion has work appearing in two upcoming shows. "How to Stay Sane in Graphic Design," a gallery exhibition of over 40 pieces by Foster, will be running for the entire month of September at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland. September 7th opens the show "Tables to Walls" at the Quick Gallery in Richmond, VA. Curated by Sterling Hundley and Robert Meganck, it features some of the top illustrators in the country. Included are John Foster, Gary Kelley, Anita Kunz, Patricia Martin-Nelson, Joe Morse, Tim O'Brien, Roberto Prada, Tifenn Python and Greg Swearingen. 
Posted by Megan
Events
Wednesday, September 05, 2007 4:10:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Speaking of Meetin' Up ...
I was just skimming the newly posted list of attendees at the In-HOWse Designer Conference coming up in about three weeks, and spotted designers from a bunch of primo companies, including: Coca-Cola Whole Foods PricewaterhouseCoopers Fossil Boston Market Hobby Lobby PetSmart Time Warner Plus, designers from a bunch of universities will be attending (like Texas Tech, UW-Madison and UC San Francisco), and creatives from a wide range of smaller companies and nonprofits. Should be a great group in Austin!
Events
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 6:06:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Meetin' Up
If you're a designer in Denver, Portland or Philly, take note: HOW Forum folks are arranging meet-ups in the coming weeks. Check out the Forum for dates & locations.
Events
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 4:31:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 10, 2007
Publix Speaking
InSource, the organization for in-house creatives, just announced it's fall event: “White Noise – How A Predominantly White Label Created So Much Noise For Publix And Its In-House Team.” This event features Tim Cox, Creative Services Director for Publix, and will be hosted at the Publix Super Markets Corporate Office in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday, October 12, 2007, from 8:30AM to 12:30PM. Posted by Megan
Events
Friday, August 10, 2007 2:19:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Mind Your Own Business—Early Bird Deadline
Posted by MeganI just got an email that the HOW Mind Your Own Business Conference early bird deadline is August 15. If you register before then, you can save $100 on this intimate gathering of design firm principals. MYOB is the perfect event to take a step back from your business and make sure it's headed for success. 
Events
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 8:08:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 30, 2007
All About Color
Posted by Megan
If you want to stay up on the latest color trends, The Color Association is hosting it's 6th annual symposium September 20th and 21st. Among other events is a great designer panel featuring Erik L'Heureux from architecture firm Perkins + Will; Ann Ljunberg, owner of Just Scandinavian boutique; Zoa Martinez of multimedia firm ZONA Design; Leni Schwendinger of Light Projects; and Richard Weissman from textile resource The Design Library. 
Events
Monday, July 30, 2007 5:45:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Looking Forward to Austin
Posted by Bryn
Megan and I spent some quality time together this morning, planning all the presentations and activities that we'll be leading at the In-HOWse Designer Conference coming up in September. Last year, one of the biggest benefits of the IHDC (as it's affectionately known around HOW HQ) was all the hallway conversation and casual networking among attendees. These corporate creatives seemed genuinely thrilled (relieved, maybe?) to know that they aren't alone—there are lots of other designers out there who also know the unique challenges of being one of the few (or perhaps the ONLY) right-brainers in a big company. So Megan and I are working on ways to help IHDC attendees make even more of those connections and have more of those conversations. We've got a few tricks up our sleeves. If you're an in-house design manager, you'll have to come to the conference in Austin to find out what's in store!
Events
Monday, July 30, 2007 4:53:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 05, 2007
Smiles, Everyone
Posted by Bryn
I was sorting through several hundred photos snapped by our camera guy at the conference a coupla weeks ago, and came across two I thought I'd share: they're the winners from HOW's design awards over the past year. From left: yours truly, HOW managing editor Sarah Whitman, International Design Awards winner Jochen Radeker of Strichpunkt, Promotion Design Awards winner Katherine Bridges from Peter Kruty Editions and Interactive Design Awards winner Carey Head of GS&P.  And three winners of TRTMSTATBGDSTAUHC: The Rick Tharp Memorial Scholarship That Assists the
Best Graphic Design Students to Attend an Upcoming HOW Conference. (You can read their winning essays by clicking the links.) From left: yours truly, Irina Ivanova, Priya Rajan and Solvita Marriott. 
Events
Thursday, July 05, 2007 9:22:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Cut & Paste
Posted by MeganPitting top emerging digital artists against one another in a live onstage battle sponsored by Adobe, the Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament is now accepting entries. Cities hosting the 2007 series include: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney.
For more information, please visit www.cutandpaste.com for entry and contest details. Entries will be accepted until July 17. Selected entries will be invited to a qualifying test round for an opportunity to be a tournament contestant. 
Events
Thursday, July 05, 2007 8:40:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 22, 2007
R U Addicted?
Posted by Bryn
Dave Gouveia and Chris Elkerton of 3 Dogz Creative posted a bunch of materials from their hi-freakin'-larious session at last week's HOW Conference, including interviews with some big-name designers (all of whom admit to having a problem) and their session handouts. Brilliant!
Events
Friday, June 22, 2007 8:14:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 14, 2007
Lessons From The Sessions
Posted by MeganThe main problem with an event as jam-packed as the HOW Conference is that you only have time to see a fraction of the speakers. But I must have picked well. Every session I went to was interesting, enlightening, hilarious or some combination of the three. Here are a few small lessons I picked up along the way. Karen Salmansohn: If you don't ask for something, you're not likely to get it. It really doesn't hurt to ask. Chip Kidd: Even the best designers face rejection and creative block. (Plus, he was shoot-milk-out-your-nose funny!) Sharon Werner: Sometimes it takes a while for a client to come around to your original good idea. Paying attention to the other products your packaging will live near can help you make your work stand out. Go to the store. Take surepptitious photos. Marc English: Authenticity is the way to make a brand really resonate with people. The only way to be a great designer is to be utterly yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. William Lidwell: If you can grab people at a subconscious level, you can influence them in powerful ways. Danny Gregory: To really see the world, you have to draw it. You don't have to be particularly good it at, you just have to make the effort. Matteo Bologna and Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich: You can use 15 typefaces in one project and still get stunningly gorgeous, elegant results. (Plus, these guys could go on tour with their comedy routine. They riffed off each other with knee-slapping results.) Sheila Campbell: When you work too much and stay plugged in all the time, you're not only robbing yourself of energy, you're cheating your employer and/or your clients of your most creative thinking. (I really have to get a tape of this for my designer husband to listen to!)
Events
Thursday, June 14, 2007 7:17:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Closing Keynote
Posted by MeganIt was with a mixture of sadness and relief that the 2007 HOW Conference came to an end Wednesday afternoon. Before the keynote speaker went on, Bryn presented awards to the Best of Show winners of HOW's International, Interactive and Promotion competitions:  Then she recognized the three student scholarship winners. Each of the students was a winner in the student category of one of HOW's competitions and then had to write an essay to receive the scholarship.  Finally, Bryn announced that the 2008 Conference would be in Boston after being surprised by a drum and fife core. 
Events
Thursday, June 14, 2007 4:15:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
More Type Costumes
 Mad Libs
Events
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 8:37:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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The Big Party
Posted by MeganThe Neenah Paper crew outdid themselves once again with the closing night party at the Georgia Aquarium.    And attendees got into the spirit of the Descenders Ball type theme with great costumes.  Bad Times and Good Times  The Font Pirate  L M N O P Events
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 8:35:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Resource Center Madness
Posted by MeganIs it just my imagination or is the Resource Center super packed this year. Here's a look at the crazy crowd:  And here's a look at a few of the awesome booths:  French Paper  Standard Deluxe  Neenah Paper And, last but not least, Lucky Oliver  
Events
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:35:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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A True HOW Fanatic
Posted by MeganBruce Schneider, HOW forum regular and member of the conference advisory board is showing true HOW pride with his custom, blinged-out belt buckle. 
Events
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:27:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 11, 2007
More from Atlanta
Posted by BrynMost of the time I'm at the HOW Conference, I really wish I could be in several places at once. There are three concurrent sessions that I'd really like to see, and I'm introducing a fourth. That kind of thing. So my strategy this year is to duck into as many as I can, even if it's for just a few minutes. A couple of memorable quotes I've jotted down in my notebook: From Karen Salmansohn, Sunday's opening keynote speaker: Focus on the fun, not the fear, when you're contemplating a big change. From design legend Deborah Sussman, describing her firm's environmental design work: "Our work is about finding the there there. From Sussman's co-presenter Miles Mazzie: "Every moment as a designer is an active moment; even a walk around the block can be a creative moment if your creative nerves are tingling." From Steve Gordon (you can find my interview with Steve on the HOW Conference Blog; see the February 2nd and 5th posts): "Designers are the coolest haters." He talked about how creatives are by nature rather stingy with information and techniques, but if we're more open to making trusting connections with our peers and committed to sharing information, our own work improves exponentially. OK, gotta run -- time to sneak into Josh Chen's session.
Events
Monday, June 11, 2007 7:51:14 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Networking Lunch
Posted by MeganCarmen Pease and I hosted the Networking Lunch, which meant speaking in front of more than 250 people. I was afraid that they wouldn't like us and give us dirty looks like this:
 But in reality, they were a friendly bunch and everyone seemed to have good time making friends and business contacts. 
Events
Monday, June 11, 2007 6:30:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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HOW Conference Day 1
Posted by MeganWe're here in Atlanta for the HOW Conference and thought we'd share a few images from the first day.  The lobby carpeting is dizzying!  So were the crowds of people at the resource center opening.  But the HOW team had fun making custom buttons for the attendees.  And the gospel choir at the opening keynote got us all on our feet.
Events
Monday, June 11, 2007 6:25:49 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Calling all in-house designers!!!
Posted by Bryn
When HOW launched the inaugural In-HOWse Designer Conference last fall, little did we know how hugely popular it would be: In just the first year, the event sold out, and there were twice again as many people on the waiting list. So, we're hosting it again in 2007. (We're so smart.) In fact, it'll be an annual event. If you're a manager, director or supervisor working in a corporate creative department, this event is for YOU. You'll get information on how to manage a staff, how to advocate for your team, how to develop processes, how to stay creative. And you get to go to one of the coolest cities, to boot: Austin. The In-HOWse Conference website launched yesterday; check out all the speakers, sessions and special events. (Plus: Visit the new In-HOWse Design Forum and chat with others in exactly the same boat.) You might say it's a real lifesaver. 
Events
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 3:09:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
life drawing + burlesque + anarchy = Dr. Sketchy
Posted by TriciaIn case you didn't see the write up about the book in HOW's April issue, Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book introduces a whole new way of life drawing. As founder Molly Crabapple says, "Why can't drawing naked people be sexy?" And the answer:
We combed New York to find the most beautiful burlesque dancers, the most bizarre circus freaks, and the most rippling hunks of man. Then, every other Saturday, we let you draw them for three hours. Interspersed with posing are ridiculous drawing contests (best left handed drawing? Best incorporation of a woodland animal?) where you can win booze or prizes.
The events have been ever so popular and are branching into other cities. Notably, there is an upcoming event in Atlanta, home to this year's HOW Design Conference.
Next up, Dr. Sketchy is doing an " Anti-Art Show" and calling for submissions. Have you got the skills to be one of the top 13? 
Call for Entries | Events
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 3:24:58 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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The Lowdown On Recycled Paper
Posted by MeganAfter receiving tremendous response to last month's announcement of PaperSpec's enhanced Recycled Papers service, today the online service provider announced a webinar series that will initially focus on helping the paper buying community understand what sustainability really means and how it affects our paper choices.
The topics covered in the first webinar will be:
Sustainability: What does it mean and how does it affect you and me?
Paper and Sustainability: Recycled versus virgin, pre- versus post-consumer fiber, and perceptions versus reality (i.e. does recycling paper really benefit the environment?)
Terminologies: ECF, TCF, PCF, the effect of bleaching (brightness) on the environment, the clarification of FSC versus FSI (the most common mix up), Green Seal, Green-e
Logo Usage: When can the recycled logo, FSC or any other certification logo be used on a printed piece
To attend the webinar, prospective attendees can register here.
Events
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 1:41:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
Student Design Show
Posted by Megan
Fresh Crop: Design Entrepreneurs
May 4 - 19, 2007
Reception: Tuesday, May 8, 6 - 8pm
School
of Visual Arts presents “Fresh Crop: Design Entrepreneurs,” an
exhibition of socially and environmentally aware products developed by
19 students graduating from the MFA Design Department,
also known as the Designer as Author program, at SVA. The projects on
view realize the potential of design in various forms—graphic, motion,
Web and 3D—to be both commercially viable and culturally significant. 
Events
Thursday, May 03, 2007 1:53:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Epiphanies with Drawing
Posted by
Carmen
So, back to the Y Conference I had the chance to attend about a week and a half ago. If you’ve never had the chance to check out this West-Coast event, one thing to say for it is that it’s a really great size for 1) getting to know people and 2) getting to experience everything that goes on. They keep the size at a couple hundred, and everyone watches every speaker together in one big lecture room. (The conference took place this year on the University of San Diego campus.) And another aspect of this bigger-isn’t-always-better mentality is that everyone participates in what’s called a “Thinkshop” on the second day of the conference. There are multiple sessions to choose from, and many imply a hands-on aspect that takes information into a DIY-atmosphere. There were Thinkshops about stamp design, collaborating with photographers and hand lettering. About a week before I headed out to San Diego, I got an email telling me I still needed to register for one of these Thinkshops. There were five to choose from, and I narrowed it down to Stefan Bucher’s “The Beauty of Multiples,” because I was familiar with and admired his work (he’s designed one of our covers and illustrated a fun, interactive worksheet/feature for us about discovering what you love and how to steer your career that way). Evidently, I didn’t read the description too closely, though. Because when I showed up, I discovered that I—with no drawing abilities beyond hearts and stars and swirly letters (I’m an editor, remember)—had selected the Thinkshop that required you not to draw just one item—but 100. Now, last year, you may remember that HOW’s August 2005 issue was themed “All About Design & Illustration.” Danny Gregory penned a feature about drawing in a journal everyday to energize your creativity. And he cautioned to not edit your drawing—to just draw. That was impetus enough for editors Bryn and Megan: On papers, one would sketch an impressive picture of her Starbucks cup or draw what someone in the room was wearing. Soon, doodles would fill the page. I, however, didn’t bite. So imagine me sitting in a room full of professional designers and being told, for the next two hours, to draw (what they, in the brochure, referred to as “zen drawing”). The thought crossed my mind to get up and leave. But then I wondered what I’d do instead, so I decided to give the old college try. I considered the things I typically doodle in meetings (because we all do it): Usually it consists of outlining headlines with puffy clouds and jagged lines. The most exciting it becomes is adding in flowers and leaves and maybe a unicorn (seriously). (Evidently, my drawing never really progressed past 6th doodling.) So I decided to start there, drawing what Stefan described looked like “an herb garden.” (I thought that was very nice of him to say.) At my table, the guy next to me was drawing a panoply of intricate hearts (which made me think of a Valentine’s Day mailer by Marian Bantjes). Across the table, one girl was drawing a slew of eyes and another girl 100 faces. Other people in the class were drawing gerbils and cupcake homes for them; all kinds of airplanes or jet fighters; and another drew 100 things she missed about home. Suffice it to say my “herb garden” was quickly paling in comparison. But then (because I couldn’t think of any more reiterations of leaves and flowers) I started to pay attention to my tablemates and the way they were working. I started to see how they weren’t merely drawing 100 things, but how they were using those 100 things to tell a single story—how they pulled them all together to form one narrative. For instance, I saw how the 100 hearts didn’t just stand alone, but how they fit together, one atop the other, in an intricate sort of dance. The 100 faces all melded together, as a collective sort of memory—a medley of moments in time. (Stefan’s posted images of everyone’s drawings on his blog.)  So, I started looking at my clusters of sprouts and fallen leaves and four-leaf clovers differently. I tried to figure out how to bring them all together and make them stand as one, not 100. I started weaving in huge, curly-cue ferns and flitting insects and oversized fronds that wrapped around the flora, and an idea that spoke to the wilderness and mystery that’s an essence of nature.  I still don’t consider myself prone to take up drawing as a regular hobby, but this experience gave me a new, realized perspective, and truly I think that’s what it’s all about. (These photos were taken by new conference pal Kirby Yau; you can see others from the Y Conference on his site).
Creativity | Events | HOW Magazine | Illustration
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 3:31:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 09, 2007
Hop To It!
Posted by Bryn
We interrupt regular programming with this news alert: The early-bird registration deadline for the HOW Design Conference is April 13 (that's this week!). So if you're eager to spend time with the likes of Chip Kidd, Hillman Curtis and Sharon Werner—and save some coin in the process—then sign up this week. Rumor has it, hotel rooms are going fast.
Events
Monday, April 09, 2007 2:20:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 06, 2007
The Force Is Around the Corner
Posted by
Carmen
Yesterday, while making our way to lunch, the HOW staff was walking through the parking lot when we spotted a street-corner mailbox that was dressed as...R2-D2. We were a little confused until I realized something. This past weekend, I was at the Y Conference put on by San Diego/AIGA. It was two days packed with speakers, one of whom was Terry McCaffrey, manager of the USPS stamp-development program. We’d featured Terry and the world behind stamp design in our April 2005 issue, but in his session, “Pushing the Envelope,” he gave an in-depth history of the different designs and the concepting and process that goes into creating them. He also gave a look to the future, which included this new revelation—that the Post Office will be debuting new stamps celebrating Star Wars 30th anniversary. I’ll give more updates about the rest of the conference soon; my luggage had gotten lost so that’s what spurred the delay. More recaps to come... 
Events | Just for Fun
Friday, April 06, 2007 3:00:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 05, 2007
Mannequin!
Posted by Megan
Mannequins designed by twenty-five artists from the Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta (SCAD) are infiltrating the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) with an innovative new art exhibition that transforms the exhibition space into impressions of modern urban living. The exhibition recycles mannequins from the art installation that was used to promote the groundbreaking for eon at Lindbergh, Atlanta’s newest eco-friendly, green living community on November 9, 2006. As a green community, eon at Lindbergh thought it important to repurpose the materials for its campaign to “ Bring Lindbergh to Life,” and to enrich the community further, they are selecting one winner to receive a $2,000 scholarship to use toward their SCAD tuition and an additional $2,000 to donate to their favorite Atlanta arts-oriented charity. The mannequin art will be on display at MODA April 5-19. Art enthusiasts can come view the mannequin exhibition and vote for their favorite piece. The “People’s Choice” winner receives a $500 SCAD scholarship. 
Events
Thursday, April 05, 2007 8:27:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, March 29, 2007
Design Philadelphia
Posted by Megan
From April 12 through 22, DesignPhiladelphia will celebrate design with activities all around the city including studio tours, gallery openings, exhibitions, book signings, workshops and parties all about product design, architecture, fashion, landscape architecture, urban planning, textile design and graphic design. 
Events
Thursday, March 29, 2007 5:48:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
California Dreamin'
Posted by
Carmen
Tomorrow morning I’ll be boarding a plane for the AIGA Y Conference, which means leaving (currently) gray-skied Cincinnati for that of San Diego. I got an email today with the final line-up and am looking forward to the two days packed with sessions led by names like Stefan Sagmeister and Mirko Ilic but also including creatives from Starbucks and the U.S. Postal Service. I’m looking forward to all that variety, plus getting to hang out with all the designers that will be attending the sold-out conference. If you’re heading there, too, make sure to say hi! 
Events
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 8:39:54 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Blowing Bubbles
Posted by Bryn
On Saturday, design student Anthony DeFranco is conducting a massive public-art project for his School of Visual Arts thesis: He's issued an invitation for all of New York City to come to Union Square to blow bubbles. Bubbles! DeFranco is giving out 400 bottles of bubblestuff so that people of all stripes can collectively, spherically, magically celebrate spring. How cool is that?
Events
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 12:39:01 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 19, 2007
Who Draws New York?
Posted by MeganWednesday, March 21, 6:30 pm In a program moderated by Steven Heller, Senior Art Director of The New York Times, artists Bascove, R.O. Blechman, Maira Kalman, Rick Meyerowitz, and Edward Sorel will discuss the challenges and joys of capturing New York City on paper. The exhibition galleries will be open before and after the program. Last chance to view A City on Paper: Saul Steinberg's New York. Exhibition closes Sunday, March 25.  American Illustration + American Photography1140 Broadway, 4 Fl. NYC 10001
Events
Monday, March 19, 2007 1:56:10 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Austin's Magnificent 7
Posted by TriciaAIGA/Austin presents its seventh Design Ranch this spring. As a former attendee, I highly recommend the event. The line between speakers and attendeees blurs completely when you are out of cell phone range and learning about pinhole photography. Hands-on sessions will be led by the likes of Stefan G. Bucher, Tim Hale, Michael Osborne, Petrula Vrontikis, and the folks from Yee-Haw! 
Events
Monday, March 19, 2007 1:52:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, March 15, 2007
The $6,000 Conference
Posted by MeganWho would pay $6,000 to attend a four-day conference? Apparently, about 1,000 of the smartest, most interesting people in the world if that conference is TED. TED is the technology, entertainment and design conference, which gives 50 speakers 18 minutes each to present to an audience of their peers. But, if like most of us, you didn't make it to this year's event, you can still see highlights on the web. David Pogue, the New York Times tech writer, has just posted a brief conference review and promises to add more over the next few days.
Events
Thursday, March 15, 2007 8:29:17 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Coolest Thing I Saw At SXSW
Posted by MeganBoth Phil Torrone from MAKE magazine and Brewster Kahle from The Internet Archive had actual samples of the $100 laptop from the One Laptop Per Child project. The goal of OLPC is to literally put an inexpensive computer into the hands of all the world's children. How cool is that?!!
Events
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 8:50:05 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Even More SXSW
Posted by Megan 
From the sound of her posts, Alissa over at Unbeige hit a bunch of the SXSW events that I missed. It's cool to get her perspective on the event. One thing I have to disagree with her about, though, is the GOOD Magazine party. While their suscriber-only party may have been a little nontraditional for SXSW, they made it super easy to get a sub and enjoy the free booze and tunes. For $20 at the door you got a full-year of a great magazine, whatever you cared to drink from a heavy-handed bartender, a cute little Moleskine notebook and the option to donate the entire price of the subscription to one of 12 nonprofits of your choice. I went with bourbon and Coke and the World Wildlife Fund. The cost of entry didn't seem to deter too many people, since Uncle Flirty's filled up pretty quickly.
Events
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 7:26:55 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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SXSW Part 2
Posted by MeganAfter a bumpy plane-ride yesterday, I made it into the office this morning only a little worse for wear. While I'm happy to be back, I'm bummed that I didn't get to stay for the last day of SXSW Interactive.
I missed Will Wright's keynote presentation yesterday, but I did get a chance to meet with three women from EA and try out the Spore creature editor. If you're not a hardcore gamer, you probably haven't caught wind of Spore yet, but it's the most anticipated video game of the 21st century. Here's how the Spore website describes the game: From the mind of Will Wright, the creator of The Sims, comes SPORE, an
epic journey that takes you from the origin and evolution of life
through the development of civilization and technology and eventually
all the way into the deepest reaches of outer space.  This is a creature created by one of the Spore designers. But the whole point of the game is that the players are the ones who will be designing the creatures and worlds. To do this, the game designers have developed sophisticated 3D animation tools that are super easy to use.  But the real secret sauce of the game is that while each user will play alone, the content created by other players will be shared, leading to a game that is constantly growing and changing over time. How cool is that?!
Events
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 3:23:44 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 12, 2007
SXSW Part 1
Posted by MeganI wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to go to the SXSW Interactive Conference this year. I was afraid it would be attended by programmers and that the sessions would all be over my head. But after two days packed with keynotes, breakout panels and tons of parties, I've been pleasantly surprised. If your work touches any aspect of interactive design from blogs and websites to DVDs and games, you'll find something here to inspire you. The number of attendees who consider themselves designers is huge, too. At the beginning of the opening keynote on Saturday, speaker Kathy Sierra asked for a show of hands and more than half the room fit in the designer category. Later that day, I went to a fascinating panel discussion called High Class and Low Class Web Design that explored the issue of respect between designers and their audiences and why some "ugly," or at least undesigned sites, are still popular. The panel included a print designer, the magazine art director for World Wrestling Entertainment, who admitted that his job was way more fun than other more traditional magazines that he'd worked for in the past. On Sunday, Jim Coudal and Brendan Dawes gave a standing-room-only audience a self-esteem boost with their session Making Your Short Attention Span Pay Big Dividends. My favorite quote from Jim was "From the outside it looks like we're screwing around everyday and letting ourselves get distracted by shiny objects and we are screwing around all day and letting ourselves get distracted by shiny objects." But he went on to explain how exploring their whims and crazy ideas had to led to successful side-projects like Jewelboxing, as well as attracted great client work. Later that day, I went to check out the trade show. The SXSW Film conference is also going on and half the floor was taken up by film-industry booths. But when I stopped by the Studio SX booth, where they film interviews with speakers and attendees, there sat Paul Rudd talking about an indie movie he just finished!  There's lots more to tell, but I have to get ready for a meeting with some people from EA Games and prepare for my own half-hour on Studio SX.
Events
Monday, March 12, 2007 4:22:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, March 01, 2007
More Ways to Kill Time
Posted by Bryn
We've launched a brand-new HOW Design Conference Forum, where attendees past and present (and anyone who's interested in or curious about the event) can make connections, post comments and chat. Plus, we'll use the Forum to make important announcements about this year's HOW Conference, including hotel information, sell-out sessions and (most important) the theme for the closing party. Gather 'round the watercooler.
Events
Thursday, March 01, 2007 3:34:50 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
On The Spot
Posted by MeganAs a part of the Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series, SVA alumnus Drew Hodges
(BFA 1984 Graphic Design) will speak on Tuesday, March 13 at 7pm about his work as the founder and
CEO of SpotCo, New York's innovative full-service advertising agency
for the theatrical industry. 
Events
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 3:41:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
We Heart Methane
Posted by Bryn
After seeing their terrific screen-printed posters in HOW’s annual design competitions for years, and upon learning they’re located near Atlanta, we knew we wanted to collaborate with the boys of Methane Studios on a conference-related project. They’ve designed a killer Southern-themed poster—you’ll find it tipped into the March/April issue of HOW, now on newsstands. Better yet, they’re going to produce a limited-edition, screen-printed version for sale at the conference. Gotta grab one to frame for the walls of HOW HQ. 
Events
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 9:02:01 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Super Opening
Events
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 2:26:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Going Once, Going Twice
Posted by MeganBoth East and West coast designers will soon have the opportunity to add some original art to their collections.
The San Francisco AIGA is hosting an art auction on February 8 to benefit two nonprofit organizations, Heart to Heart and Joey's Corner.  Then in New York City, The Cooper Union is holding a live auction of student art on February 23. (Call 646-942-2740 for more information.)
Events
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 2:03:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, January 26, 2007
Sneak Preview of the HOW Conference
Posted by
BrynJust posted: A short video that offers up a sample of what's to come at the HOW Conference in Atlanta. Peachy. 
Events
Friday, January 26, 2007 3:47:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 22, 2007
Here a Blog, There a Blog
Posted by
BrynIn case you just can't get enough of HOW (um, yeah), our conference blog just launched today.
Events
Monday, January 22, 2007 6:54:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, January 09, 2007
That's a Peach, Hon
Posted by
BrynOnly 152 days yet to go ... and the 2007 HOW Design Conference site launched today. (I want to know who was the first to register just seconds after the site went live. Seriously.) IMO it's our best program yet, and we're all psyched to be back in the creative hotbed of Atlanta. Hooray! 
Events
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 6:33:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Ghosts vs. Robots
Posted by MeganBrian Flynn, half of the creative duo Hybrid (featured in HOW's December issue), is having a gallery show in Portland at Compound. The opening is Dec. 7 from 7-10 p.m.
Events
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 3:15:11 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, December 01, 2006
peace goes pop
Posted by Tricia
I have a couple of brothers that live in Knoxville, TN and over the course of many visits I've learned that Knoxville has quite a talented pool of designers. Yee Haw Industries, Robin Easter Design and the University of Tennessee have all graced the pages of our magazine. So a few weeks back when an acquaintance asked if I would judge their "Peace on Earth" Card Competition I did so gladly. The top 50 will be on display at the gallery opening tonight. The top 4 designs were by Jesse Wagner, Hilary Williams, Maritza Gualy and Sarah Lowe. Their cards will be available for sale tonight with the proceeds benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank and the local chapter of AIGA. Wish I could be there. Happy Holidays, y'all.
Here's my favorite:
Events
Friday, December 01, 2006 10:05:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Speaking of Conferences ...
Posted by
BrynLooks like 2007 is shaping up to be ultra busy, what with three (count 'em: three!) HOW conferences next year. The recent sell-out success of the In-HOWse Designer Conference prompted us to hold that event again next year (instead of waiting until 2008, as originally planned). So, for all you in-house designers, here's the scoop: Mark your calendars for September 9–11 and join us in Austin at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake. Program-wise, we've invited a couple of high-profile folks for the opening and closing keynotes, and you'll also hear from the best in-house leaders and the business consultants who work with them. We're also building in more networking and peer-to-peer learning, like this:  
Events
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 2:43:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thinking Ahead. WAY Ahead.
Posted by
BrynIf you caught the December editor's note in the magazine, you'll know that the HOW staff (at least several of us) are die-hard foodies. Most staff meetings begin with, or devolve into, discussions about recipes and restaurants. For our team, one of the many highlights of the HOW conference is hitting a local restaurant for a nice dinner out the night before the conference starts. It's no surprise that we're already sniffing out great spots in Atlanta, even tho the conference isn't until June. But when Hank Richardson (one of the nicest guys you'll meet and the prez of Portfolio Center) did a blog post about Atlanta restaurants yesterday ... well, we just started salivating. I'd better bump up my M&E budget for the conference!
Events
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:44:40 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Saturday, November 18, 2006
cut and paste
Posted by Triciaas heard on Weekend AmericaGraphic designers in San Franciso are sharpening their skills for the Cut and Paste Digital Design Competition. Eight contestants design for their lives onstage Iron Chef style tonight at 10p.m. with an after party until 4a.m. and J.Boogie for entertainment. The work will be judged by such stars as Scott Dadich (Creative Director, Wired Magazine), Patricia Evangelista (Principal/Creative Director, Character), Jason Munn (Founder, The Small Stakes), Tim Alexander (Visual Effects Supervisor, Industrial Light and Magic), Stan Zienka (Design Director, Attik San Francisco). Prizes include MacBooks, Wacom Tablets and Puma bikes and are awarded to a few lucky audience members, too. Good luck to all.
Events
Saturday, November 18, 2006 8:56:34 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, November 09, 2006
In-House Event
Posted by Megan
InSource is proud to present Jeni Herberger, our featured speaker for a morning presentation entitled "The Business of In-House Design."
Jeni is a nationally-recognized speaker and corporate trainer who
inspires managers of creative services to build teams that are business
savvy and offers practical strategies on "doing business better." If
you missed her lively presentation at the HOW Design Conference in Las
Vegas last June, here's an opportunity to meet her in New Jersey! "The Business of In-house Design" will be held on Thursday, November 16,
2006, at Wyeth headquarters, Five Gerald Farms, Madison, New Jersey from 8:30 AM
to 12:30 PM. Cost: $95 per person. (Herberger is a popular past HOW Conference speaker.)
Events
Thursday, November 09, 2006 2:02:57 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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