TAKEAWAY: It’s the HOW Design Live 2013 in San Francisco this week and I join the line up of speakers today. Here’s an idea of the rich program and takeaways from my session.
HOW Design Live 2013
These designers come from almost every walk of publication design—many with deep roots in print, others barely getting started who can’t remember life without Google, but all interested in what makes for good design, whether on a page or a smartphone screen, or a tablet. And, yes, they also are interested in what looks good on the printed page of a newspaper or magazine.
It’s all part of the HOW Design Live 2013 conference in San Francisco this week, where branding, package design, and special sessions for “creative freelancers” (aren’t they all supposed to be creative?) and design managers, are all part of the offerings.
I am honored to be part of this rich program, although it is frustrating not to be able to attend so many good sessions,since several run during the same time blocks. The session range in scope from A Laboratory Workshop for Nitro-Charging Your Idea Output to How Your Sketchbook Can Open Your Mind, Boost Your Creativity & Rock Your World.
And how about perhaps the most timely session: Pencil to Pixel: Making the Transition from Print to Interactive.
There are also the more therapeutic sessions, such as Saying “No” Never Felt So Good: How the House of Blues Design Team Improved Their Ability to Deliver.
My own session is titled Storytelling in the Age of the Tablet and I will outline some of the lessons we have learned since the first iPads made their entrance in 2010, along with what is current.
Some takeaways:
Be open to change because it will facilitate the process of learning, adapting and, eventually, enjoying what you discover about your own abilities and talents.
Learn the essentials of creating and designing for each of the four platforms in the media quartet: smartphone, online, print and tablet.
While smartphones, online and tablet constitute an ecosystem through which information is communicated, don’t forget that print still plays a key role.
The best way to keep learning and to be updated in all things related to design in the digital era is definitely to make it a point each day to study the work of others. This is mandatory, and quite fun.
