I have been to conferences, or what I thought were conferences. These were women in business or structured finance conferences where you were there solely to mingle and the free coffee was necessary to keep you awake between the coffee breaks.
For anyone outside of graphic design, a conference on typography sounds incredibly strange. One friend even asked me if day one was about serifs and day two was about sans. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect either. I was here for inspiration and if I wasn’t inspired, I’d hit Alcatraz and an early flight.
The theme of the conference was Rhythm, and whoever organized the playlist for the hold music had a great Itunes library - a varied play list including Miami Sound Machine and Frank Sinatra.
The conference opened to a full house with introductions by the organizers. The host, although German, had a surprisingly ironic and haughty sense of humor.
The first speaker was Maria Popova who chose to discuss the rhythm/routine of her life. I was particularly drawn to anyone who could stand in front of a theater of 600 people wearing a peplum top and fingerless bright yellow gloves. The talk was quick and to the point. The main takeaway - “no routine guarantees success, but having one leads to it.”
But then Rene Knip (“pink backwards”) took the stage. A somewhat goofy Dutch man with a charming stance and presence who showed us photos of his farm and his family and his boats. And then he took us on a trip of environmental typography. Street signs photos turned into a game of scrabble, potato cuttings turned into an entire font. His work was not necessarily about legibility, but about mood, about humor. He exemplified someone who brings joy to their work and as a result beauty.
Gemma O’Brien, aka Mrs Eaves, took over the stage to a round of hearty applause. Although quite young, she is quite accomplished, and her hand lettering is stunning. She also treats her work (and her life) with a sense of humor. She focused on crafting authenticity - as one’s eyes are the window to the soul, one’s handwriting is a form of true sincerity. Her puke bag puns which she set as a challenge to herself on every flight were amazingly beautiful and endearing.
Luna Maurer discussed collaborative and conditional design. It was like crowd sourcing for design and it blew me away. Despite a series of explicit rules, the resulting work was beautiful, logical, and carefree.
Lisa Congdon opened day two. She spoke about embracing the abyss - stepping out of your comfort zone. Although she became an illustrator late in her career, her line drawings are magnificent. She choses to give herself a challenge a day - to force herself outside of herself. Lisa spoke about the combination of a the taste of success and the fear of vulnerability. How she wanted to be perfect and unlock her creative genius before showing it to the world. Sheryl Sandberg would have been aghast - although I was incredibly inspired. I signed on to take her online drawing classes immediately.
George Zisiadis discussed art through electronics and his playful reimagining of the world. He uses design “to subvert the things [he} doesn’t enjoy” and creates something imaginative, interactive and utterly playful. He also gives himself daily challenges and wasn’t afraid to fail, as long as he was laughing.
The final speaker was Aaron Draplin. He was a stocky, true blooded American - trucker hat, truck, loud music and a hearty laugh. Despite appearances, he was incredibly knowledgeable and inspiring. His message was about going for it and getting away with it.
I wasn’t sure what an ah-ha moment was. I wasn’t expecting to laugh or cry or be amazed. I had read the reviews. I had read the bios of the speakers. I wasn’t expecting all of the emotions. All of the passion. I was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be exposed to the world of design with such zeal. I was amazed. I was inspired.
As they said, do you what you love and it shows.
