Design Madison
www.designmadison.com
2007/08 Season
11/01/07: DM Kickoff Party
Well, we couldn't stay away forever could we? It's that time again for us to awaken from the slumber of the off-season and kickoff the Design Madison 2007/08 season!
We've been working diligently on securing another great season's worth of speakers for you to enjoy. Who you ask? Well, come to the DM Season Kickoff Party for drinks, food and of course the season lineup announcement to find out.
Get there on time to partake in the following drink specials:
1/2 off all top shelf Irish and Scotch whiskeys (normal price of $7 and up per 2 oz serving), All wines $5 per glass, 20 oz pint of Guinness and a shot of Bushmill's Irish Whiskey for 6
The event is free to DM members and non-members alike. Bring a friend, because we have a DM related announcement that might interest them as well!
11/15/07: Vault49 [Jonathan Keyon & John Glasgow]
Vault49 is a NYC-based design shop that produces photography and illustration to reinforce branding for big names like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and MasterCard while also creating fiercely independent photography and richly layered illustration for the music industry, fashion, and editorial features. Jonathan and John’s work has received national and international acclaim over the past 5 years. They are a dynamic pair of speakers that are sure to inspire.
12/13/07: DM Holiday Party
Tis the season to be jolly.
Today's the day to treat yourself. Stay up late and order two porcelain dancing monkeys from the home shopping network. You'll have to wait another year before you're licensed to behave with such reckless abandon again.
If you'd rather forgo the monkeys, maybe a holiday DM party could serve as your outlet for such mismatched behavior. Probably a wiser investment, as we're certain to take up less shelf space.
Join your fellow whiz kids for a party that doesn’t involve a Christmas sweater or an awkward encounter under the mistletoe.
Come to Brocach Irish Pub, December 13, 2007, for a free event, plenty of Guinness (at the cash bar), and professional banter (that will quickly devolve to debauchery, if you truly have the holiday spirit).
No speaker this time; just relaxed, unstructured fun. Our special guests for the night are our friends at Ad2 Madison - don't miss the chance to network (i.e. party) with them. And bring a friend – as they say, the more, the merrier. And if they’re in a giving mood, you might get a drink out of them. Be at 7 W. Main St. at 5:30 p.m. sharp to fit the most possible celebrating all in one night.
It's a time for giving, getting and imbibing, so bring a canned good or non-perishable food item and knock out all three at once! Your donation goes to the Second Harvest Foodbank Food Drive and in return, you get $1 voucher off your next drink! Bring two or more items and get up to $2 off!
Come early and get the drink special while it lasts. We're only serving up 300 of these vouchers when we're out you're out of luck.
01/17/08: Factor Design [Jeff Zwerner]
Factor Design facilitates the art of doing business. We know, 'cause it says so on their website.
With a client list which includes our most favorite company of all time, Apple, and enough awards to make you want to scroll, you're going to be hard pressed to come up with an excuse to miss this event.
Prior to founding Factor Design, Jeff was Senior Art Director of consumer packaging at Apple Computer, Inc. At Apple he was responsible for innovating new methods of launching products and extending the brand in the U.S., European, and Asian markets.
He has received numerous National and International awards from the Type Directors Club (New York), American Center for Design, Graphis, Communication Arts Magazine, Print Magazine, and How Magazine among others. His work and the work of Factor Design has been published in leading international magazines in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Jeff has lectured about his work and the role of design in business throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe. In 2003, Zwerner was among a select group of senior-level design professionals invited to work with faculty at Harvard Business School in the AIGA’s "Business Perspectives for Design Leaders" program. The biennial gathering is tailored for design executives routinely charged with developing strategic design responses to complex client challenges, whether that experience involves communication, functional or strategic design.
02/28/08: The DM Student Workshop
Opportunity is knocking on your door.
As the clock winds down on your school career reality is busting through the door and snapping you with a wet towel. Soon you'll graduate and the doors will bust open wide. Perhaps you'll be a famous print designer. Maybe you'll make fonts that make the whole world sing. You could even be an interactive guru with a penchant for coding. The world's your oyster! But how do you prepare for life's great buffet and not get shellfish poisoning?
The answer is simple. The Design Madison Student Workshop is designed to give you the tools to embark on a career in the design industry. Chock full of advice, insight, and useful information about how to present yourself and your work. They'll also be four guest speakers covering today's hot industry topics
Here is your chance to have a professional look at your portfolio in a no-risk, non-competitive environment. You can practice your interview skills and get honest feedback about your portfolio and resume.
Why you should attend? You will receive thoughtful, constructive, one-on-one evaluation of your work by an array of design professionals—art directors, media producers, photographers, educators, and creatives—from the Madison area.
This is a great way to turbo-charge your self-brand, network and polish your skills before taking that next big leap!
This event is FREE to all Design Madison members. Non-members pay just $5 to participate.
03/20/08: Grand Jeté [Howard Nourmand]
Please note the venue change.
What do Rorschach ink blots, a troubled youth, and the title sequence for the film "The Dog Problem" all have in common? Well they all make up key points in the life of designer Howard Nourmand.
Howard Nourmand founded his company, Grand Jeté, in 2003. He specializes in motion design, animation, graphics and live-action production for commercials, music videos and films. His clients include ad agencies, artists, musicians and filmmakers such as Cypress Hill, Melissa Etheridge, Naughty by Nature, TATU, and Lisa Marie Presley, and he has worked with industry leaders like Imaginary Forces, Fuel, Tomorrow’s Brightest Minds, and Motion Theory.
Nourmand has conceptualized "experience design" for hotels, restaurants and fashion boutiques including the Bellagio, Boulevard3 and Lucky Strike Lanes. In addition, he has collaborated with such industry legends as the late Robert Abel (best known for his special effects in "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Tron") and Richard Greenberg (title designer for both "Superman" and "Alien").
Whether your weapon of choice is Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro, or a combination of all, you're in for a wild ride of a presentation, with one of the most interesting and engaging presenters straight from Los Angeles, CA. It's definitely one night that will leave you inspired, energized and awed.
04/17/08: Turnstyle [Steve Watson]
Have you ever looked at your steaming hot cup of Starbucks and thought, "I just don't know what I would do without you. Don't ever leave me."
That could be the caffeine withdrawal talking, but most likely it's the result of an emotional connection with the Starbucks brand – and Turnstyle was the cupid between you and your Ecuadorian fair trade obsession.
This small shop proves that big things indeed come in small packages. With an extensive list of clients that includes Reebok, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Washington Mutual and Fat Bastard Wine, Turnstyle's multi-talented designers have been the David to the Goliath challenge of brand and product identities, Web and interactive design, retail and packaging design, and editorial and promotional materials for companies of all sizes.
Based in Seattle, WA, Turnstyle are the go-to experts to create a relationship between consumers and products. Using innovative design and super-fresh ideas, they can make baby food fit for the hippest hipsters' offspring and Microsoft Office slick enough for Mac-ophtyes. More than upping the cool factor, Turnstyle can an inanimate object and makes it feel like your BFF. Trust us, they're the reason your coffee co-dependency is so specific – why Juan Valdez isn't good enough for you.
Let Steve Watson, Turnstyle's principal and creative director, inspire you with tales of how emotional connections are made and cemented through their air-tight link between design and brand.
05/22/08: WYLD Stallyons [Richard May]
Don't break out the Aqua Net and tight jeans just yet. Design Madison hasn't gone '80s hair band on you. Instead we've looked across the pond for this month's inspiration and our very first international speaker. Richard May, managing director of Wyld Stallyons, the animation geniuses, design rock stars and creative spellers based in London, will discuss this one-of-a-kind studio's smashing success.
Modern and avant-garde, but always with a big wink, Wyld Stallyons uses the team's collective wit and wickedly vivid imaginations to spice up MTV's Top 10 @ 10, produce visual effects for music videos by the Ravonettes and Dutch indie rockers Lily Electric and bring doodle-master Jon Burgerman's illustrations to life.
Their work ranges from the facetiously macabre (see their short film "The Doll" for the lingerie boutique Lascivious) to playfully psychedelic – which are concepts appreciated on a global scale, just like a good power ballad. Come hear the inside story of Wyld Stallyons, and remember your eyeliner – you need to look your Brett Michaels best in front of their Def Leppard glam.
And what better way to welcome our guests than with a master mixer, Madison's own DJ Nick Nice? www.nicknice. podomatic.com
Head to the Barrymore early to shake off the workday and get revved up with a private performance for one of the most exciting nights in Design Madison history. You'd be barmy not to come!**
** Don't miss it!
06/02/08: Season Ending Party
The 2007-2008 Design Madison season has been a wild ride, but it's time to hop off the virtual Tilt-a-Whirl. From the bad-ass stylings of Vault 49 to the off-beat genius of Design Madison's first international speaker, Wyld Stallyons, we're sure your head is spinning - in the good way.
Come down from your adrenaline high and join us for the grand finale at one of Madison's finest (and certainly tallest) restaurants, Fresco, on the rooftop of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.Celebrate what a mind-blowing year it's been - the best speakers yet, a big-name DJ and of course, the coolest members on the planet.
Reward yourself for your dedication with amazing views of the city and the kind of gourmet cuisine you would never attempt to make yourself. Fresco is one of the big players in the local and sustainable trend; in fact, you could call their chefs designers in their own right, what with all the confits, reductions and beurre blanc they create from foods just delivered off the farm. The bar crafts a damn fine martini, too. It's a Monday night you will not forget.
Flock to 227 State Street at 6 p.m. to wrap up the year al fresco-style: fresh food, fresh air and a chance to refresh before hopping into a new season that's sure to take your creative senses upside-down and sideways.