To kick things off, we took in the Denver Chart Art Festival that was held downtown in Larimer Square. The artists were great, and there was such a variety of styles that ranged from fine art and portraits, to anime and abstract. You can check out the winners here.
After checking out the chalk art festival, we headed to the Highlands for some lunch with some of my old friends. Immediately following our nice relaxing lunch, my friends and I proceeded to almost kill James. How do you ask? By making him ride a 30 lb. bike up a 30 degree incline, in 100 degree heat, nearly a mile up from sea level.
Conference Time
We saw several speakers over the course of the three days. Some we saw together, and others we split up to get the most out of our time. There were a couple of sessions that really stood out to us. Monday we parted ways. James came out of his brainstorming session stoked to try out some new crazy creative ideas back at the office, and I left my Women on Top session fired up and wanting to achieve world domination. Tuesday we saw a really great talk about selling your ideas, and how to really appeal to the client at hand and get your projects sold. Check out IdeaSelling by Sam Harrison and read it for yourself.
We were reminded about what makes our inspiration unique and how our past influences our style as designers, how to be collaborative with other team members, project management and more brainstorm techniques. Most importantly, we learned to find mentors and FAIL OFTEN. We also learned that one vendor’s photobooth was way too fun!
Along the way, we even fit in some to kick back, relax, and party with some fellow creatives. Monday night we networked and enjoyed some free drinks at the Shutterstock party. Tuesday night, we all donned white and set out to party and network at Neenah Paper’s White Party. While some were decked out more than others (check out the crazy costume sandwich I’m in below), everyone had a great time, with great food and GREAT music.
Post Conference
After the conference wrapped up, on Wednesday we headed out to the Rocky Mountains for a little sightseeing, as well as added inspiration. This was James’ first time seeing the glorious peaks, and excitedly exclaimed, “They look just like they do on the Coors light cans!“ As a seasoned veteran of this terrain, I guided us to a little town called Silver Plume to catch a train ride and see the old west - old school style. For lunch, we ventured back down to Georgetown and sat among the old buildings built by minors, wondering what life must have been like back in the day.
Our last stop was Red Rocks Amphitheater. Unbeknown to us, Sting was set to play a private concert that night that A&E was filming. While most of the theatre was roped off and secured from tourists, we managed to find a little spot to get close to the venue. We wished we had known earlier, because we definitely would have brought blankets and food and camped out until show time.
We had a great time at the HOW Design Conference. I personally left feeling refreshed, revitalized and ready to kick some a**! To check out more about the conference you can visit the site. Hope to see you out next year!
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