2011 NEW YEARS WISHES.

Be brave.

Life is full of scary things. And it’s full of scary things over and over again. 
Never stop trying and never stop cheering yourself on. Be courageous and 
good things will happen.

It’s going to be alright.

Don’t stress so much. Go with the flow and life is much easier to get through. 
Others around you will appreciate this attitude in you as well.

Shine.

Know what you’re good at, and have fun doing it. Explore every outlet and every 
possibility. You never know where life will lead you- so find out!

Don’t give up.

Sometimes, it’s going to be hard. Keep moving forward, and know that 
times will change.

Be happy.

No matter what you do, make sure it makes you happy.

It was an absolute dream trip to get to go to New York this November and go to the Brand New Design Conference. So many inspiring designers spoke: Paula Scher, Michael Bierut, Michael Johnson, Michael Lejeune, Christian Helms, Tom Dorrestejin, Connie Birdsall, Jordan Crane, Karl Heiselman, and Erik Spiekermann.

I took a lot of notes, and tried to write down as many quotes as I could. Thought I’d finally post them.

Here are some of my favorite note/quote clippings:

“You can fake your way through almost anything. If you do it three times, you’re an expert.” - Paula Scher

“It’s good to be scared. It makes you rise to the occasion.” - Paula Scher.

“Set up a place to work how you want to work.” - Michael Beirut.

“Even the smallest project can be interesting if you redefine it.” - Christian Helms

Good design makes sense. It answers a question. It caters to a need.

To make good design you need good clients. And good partners.

With the right resources, you can do anything.
    - know your resources
    - not just business

Don’t do what’s expected, do what makes sense.

Type is powerful. Color is relevant. If you can master both you’ve already come so far.

Diagnose the problem rather than waste time with amorphous statements about brand missions. Get to work and make great work.

The longer you do it, the quicker you will know what will work.

Know your font, know your context.

Don’t constrain yourself to boundaries, see what happens.

Pull from history.

Put what you love into your work. If it has logic it will be effective. If it has heart it will be memorable- every time.

Have fun.

Hi Everybody!

So the Pecha Kucha videos are up—

Believe it or not I do know how to operate a basic flipcam, our presenters were just so fun, I didn’t want to watch them through a tiny screen all night. Hence the fidgeting.

Thanks so much to everyone that came out, and our four INCREDIBLE presenters- Jim Ward, Patrick Carter, Katie Kurycki, and Tony Allegretti.

Also my co-coordinators, Tiffany Manning and Justice Kragiel (who was a great MC!)

Here’s to another 10 Pecha-Kug-Kugs!

Sometimes, you have to dive in; even if you don’t know what you’re diving in to.

Life is nothing but curve ball after curve ball.

Regret is the worst feeling.

If someone is in trouble, help them.

It’s not where you start, it’s where you’re going.

Life is long and this is temporary.

Stand up to bullies.

10 minutes of planning will save you an hour of work.

If you want to hate somebody, you’ll hate them. If you want to forgive them, you’ll forgive them.

You’re going to mess up. Over and over and over again.

Keep moving forward.

(I should write corny coffee mug quotes, yah??)

This past Tuesday, four talented presenters braved the stage for the third Pecha Kucha to be held at the 5 Points Theatre. Pecha Kucha 9 wrapped yet another success, with designers, artists, and historians in attendance to hear Wayne Wood, Magda Goncalves, David Montgomery, and Scott Simmons speak.

 
Due to an unexpected cancellation, Pecha Kucha 9 unveiled a new feature that night: The Improv Pecha Kucha presentation.

 
Magda Goncalves was up first, with her story of how she came to meet husband, Daniel Goncalves (photographer for EU Jax Newspaper). She regaled the crowd with the adventures they’ve had together. Everything from their many travels to their many weddings kept the crowd in stitches.

 
Wayne Wood came next with his presentation on the eclectic history of Jacksonville. Showcasing black and white featurettes from the 1800’s, he entertained us with fascinating stories of the architectural wonders we never knew about our city. For example, a mansion the owner didn’t have the heart to tear down, so he built a shopping plaza right in the front of it.

 
David Montgomery wowed the crowd with his moving art— stop-motion animation of natural objects created with artful use of a flatbed scanner danced across the screen. He explained his love for collecting shells, flowers, anything by the beach, and the interesting stories that have come from doing so (such as people warning him not to eat the poisonous flowers).

 
Scott Simmons wrapped up the line-up with his theatric explanation of how not to approach your doctor. Ideally, he explained, you get 15 minutes with your doctor per visit. And regrettably, most waste that with their laundry list of imaginary complaints or believe they have one 17-syllables-long. Not to discourage patients, he clarified, there’s just a right way to go about it.

 
Next was the experimental improv presentation. 4 volunteers were called on stage to try their shot at forming a cohesive presentation with 5 completely random slides. Justice, Luis, Maddie, and Rachel all gave spectacular performances. With slides ranging from futuristic toilets, adult babies, subway scenes, and microscopic bacteria, the volunteer speakers performed beautifully!

 
Thank you to everyone that participated in Pecha Kucha 9!

 
And thank you, as always to the guys at the 5 Points Theater, who are always our lifesavers behind the scenes. Also thanks to the AIGA for its continued support, and thanks to all of you for coming out and making this a seriously fun event!

 
See you next time!

Last night featured five talented presenters at Pecha Kucha’s big sequel at the 5 Points Theater. Mario Peralta, Ron Hubbard, Lizz Farhat, Leigh Ann Sullivan, and Ben Agata headlined the docket as pecha-kucha-ees filled the theater for drinks, music, and good times.

Mario Peralta began the night with his presentation, “Playing by the Rules”, in which he explained some rules that he finds are common sense. He talked about ones that we break every day, such as the five second rule for food dropping, the fifteen minute rule for bosses being late, and that we all must be 10% more intelligent than the technology we use.

Ron Hubbard was up next with his presentation, “Yeah, I Read Comics” — he went on to say, “But I don’t live in my mom’s basement, I do have a job, and yes, I have kissed a girl.” . He showed beautiful and captivating artwork of America’s favorite super heroes while explaining that they were just like all of us— just with retractable claws and capes.

Lizz Farhat entertained the audience with her presentation, “The Pursuit of Hobbyness”, as she spoke about her nomadic hobby tendencies. While she may have a habit of never finishing anything, what came of her brief experiments with playing the drums, selling art, bike riding, and gardening is a wide variety of stories and experiences.

Leigh Ann Sullivan was up next with her presentation, “The New American Family” in which she spoke about her children, and how she had always grown up with the knowledge of the nuclear family. This inspired her to explore other alternatives, such as non-traditional families in America like gay parents, and interracial families. She has two years to cover 50 states for her thesis, and so far the photos are beautiful!

Ben Agata wrapped up the night with his presentation, “Banana Boy Productions: Super Official Launch Party”. And even with some technical difficulties from the projector, he made his message clear- he was the top banana of this production. Ben pitched to us the new products of his App store, which apparently included 99% flashlight related apps and 1% “other”. Such examples included a tip calculator that could show you how to tip like a German tourist.

With live acoustic music from the talented JD filling the lobby, and good times with good people, it is safe to say that the sequel to Pecha Kucha is a successful wrap. Stay tuned for the exciting addition to this series in May!

Image by Luis Casillas

There I revealed it. The big secret of how to say the little event happened 15 hours ago and is still putting a smile on my face. Pecha Kucha came back last night for the first time in 7 months, and in a very big way.

What was always a collective event, filled with insightful presentations, good times, and good people, was able to expand to the next level at its new venue. With the help of Peter Mosely and Jack Shad from the 5 Points Theater, Pecha Kucha Night has truly become a NIGHT, complete with a pre-show happy hour, and after-show entertainment.

Pecha Kucha 7 featured 5 talented local speakers:

Tiffany Manning kicked off the night with her presentation entitled “The Girl Next Door”, in which she told the story of how a girl on a subway with pink hair began the world of inspirational, feminine, and powerful photography we know her for today.

With Luis Casillas’ “How to Have 26 Hours of Fun in One Day”, the audience heard about his favorite restaurants, bars, and hang-outs, and even learned some exciting new facts about their town they may have never known before.

After Florence Haridan took the stage, we all left with a bit of a new perspective on life. Her PK was entitled, “Hope and Help”, which was inspired by her recent brush with death and how it changed her life— for the better!

Corey Grusden also gave an inspirational presentation with “Failure to Succeed”, where he recounted the times in his career in which he might have fallen short, but gained much more from it. His insights on building a business were very blunt- the most helpful kind!

Carl Smith wrapped up the night with “From Mess to Success, Getting My Kids to Keep Their Rooms Clean”. He explained the many colorful tactics he has used to get his two little girls to do their chores— these include mythical video games and customizable charts.

The night ended with live music from the local band, Waightstill Avery, whose indy/folk music filled the air while the Pecha Kucha-ies mingled. With a final headcount of 96 people in attendance, it is considered our most successful PK Night yet.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this incredible event possible: Tiffany Manning, who both helped organize the event AND gave a smashing presentation! Justice Kragiel, who pushed us all to get this project going from the very beginning, and all of the support we got from the JaxAIGA, UrbanJacksonville, The Florida Times Union, and of course, the great people at the 5Points Theater.

Thank you guys, for letting me be a part of something so wonderful.

See you at the next Pecha Kucha in March!

GREAT photo by Daniel Goncalves at Fotobia.com