It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Happy New Year from Resound!
What was your most memorable moment in 2014?
We know what ours was …
Speakers
We’re always amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of our Phoenix creative community. The sessions were often entertaining and always informative.
Mike (creative director) enjoyed Bobby Martin & Jennifer Kinow’s “Logo is the most important thing. No, the system is the most important thing” session. “Being a brand designer, the tension between the logo and the system in brand identity design really hit home with me.” Another of Mike’s favorites was Jared Spool’s talk on the anatomy of design. “It was incredibly insightful. His breakdown of different styles of design methodology was super helpful.”
Josh Higgins won the day for Christian (design intern). “His story was great, going from touring in a band to poster designer, campaign graphic designer, and now Facebook. It proves you can touch on many types of design in your career as long as you keep an open mind, stay humble and work hard.”
We don’t just listen to the speakers with mics, either. It’s amazing how much talent and skill fills one room at PHX Design week, and it’s an awesome place to build relationships. According to David (founder and client strategist), “Being a relationship guy, I really look forward to reconnecting with everyone in the community, including many former co workers and people I haven’t seen in months if not years.”
Surprises
Being the only first-timer, Kayla (marketing intern) was surprised by the community. She told us, “I was honestly surprised by the friendliness and collaboration in design! I just assumed that in an atmosphere of competitors, there would be less camaraderie and connection. It was more like one, big design family than a bunch of different companies.” She added, “This was my first time at PHXDW, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m very new to the design community, and it was so neat to have a place where everyone cares about the same things, and where we celebrate art, creativity, and innovation. That’s what I’ll be looking forward to next year.”
As fun as the weekend in downtown Phoenix was, some of the real fun happened “off campus.” Mike told us, “The Pixels of Fury illustration contest was pretty dope! Some great work and tons of fun hanging out with designers for a night.”
Significance
We asked Christian what he took away from PHX Design week. “Be nice to people and remember it is okay to ask for help. This is really a life lesson, but with design work sometimes we become stubborn and protective of our own ideas and capabilities. That is a hard road for designers and it is limiting.”
We asked David the same question, and his answer summed up the whole week:
“I left with reminders that:
- There are times to create awesome work just for the love of the craft
- There are times to create awesome work as a gift offering to those in need
- It’s always time to ‘over-deliver’ for our paying clients by providing more awesome work than what they were expecting”
Well, you know what Resound is psyched about for next year. What’s something you’re looking forward to in 2015?
