4/4 – 4/6
idsa northeast district conference
philadelphia, pa
After spending six months and hundreds of hours planning, we kicked out this conference with record attendance numbers and the sweetest (and best looking) speaker roster ever.
Things kicked off on Friday night with a righteous party at Dane Decor, then many after parties at locations I can’t recall. I do, however, recall a conversation with undisclosed parties on the topic of wiener piercings and airport metal detectors.
Saturday was the jam. The speakers were awesome, the weather was surprisingly awesome, and I heard that the student merit awards were awesome, but they happened at my optimal naptime.
Saturday night ended up being a bit of an adventure, and I learned the hard way that getting a cab home (or to the Sheraton) at 3am in Philly is no bueno. Then a friend of Jesse’s (who will remain nameless) uprooted a plant Super Mario-style and threw it from the 4th floor of the Sheraton to the ground floor where Aaron Penn and I were standing. Thankfully it fell directly between the two of us (see evidence above).
By Sunday I really needed a nap, but held it out through the final stretch, and saw some interesting portfolios and speakers. Nike’s Max Burton was a big hit with everyone from the night before (apparently he picked up a pretty hefty tab), and also gave a nice sneak peek at some Nike+ goods that make me wish I were a jogger.
4/11 – 4/13
idsa mideast district conference
columbus, oh
My first non-coastal regional IDSA experience ruled. Lextant threw a killer party for the opening reception, where we hosted a mini Pecha Kucha, ate grilled cheese sandwiches and gave tours of our space. IDSA’s communication guru Tim Adkins was there in full effect (entourage included), as was the organization’s new Executive Director and my nominee for Coolest Man Alive, Frank Tyneski.
On Saturday I slept in a little (for the first time in 2 weeks) and made it just in time to get blown away by Chris Rockwell’s articulate presentation on insight translation and his introduction to a design research workshop, which engaged designers by using research findings on design language to determine key style elements and their appropriate application on an object (in this case, a cell phone).
This guy from P&G (can’t remember his name – look it up, lazies!) gave a righteous talk on story-telling and how to mimic architecture from stories to develop experiences and communicate ideas. I hope he speaks at nationals.
Also worth mentioning was Joel Kashuba’s Reverend Shane McCray um, engagement (?) where he demonstrated the Power of Design through enthusiastic gestures and the wearing of a mullet wig. He’s also an ex-SCADdite. Booyah, RISD.
