This Creative Mornings talk was a vastly different experience from the last –– at least for me.
Perhaps because it was my second time attending, I felt comfortable enough to go on my own.
It's always a struggle to get out of bed that early in the morning, but it is absolutely worth it.
There always seems to be a large number of people exclaiming "it's my first time!" I have also observed many veterans who go around greeting past acquaintances or colleagues. Even when you aren't listening to the speaker, you're learning. Two girls befriended each other beside me. During their conversation, I acquired very useful knowledge applicable to my industry.
As a web developer explained how often she receives request for Wordpress websites, she answered my question of whether or not I need to learn web design in some capacity. The designer to whom she was speaking also mentioned that she builds HTML sites and works for an intimate (and reputable) design company.
Behrouz Hariri, who runs the lectures, opened up a "Town Hall" type platform for the audience. He made it possible for those seeking the opportunity to publicly declare they need employment (or need an employee) and other such announcements.
It is an incredibly easy environment for sparking conversation. If you're going to find a likeminded individual somewhere in this city, you're bound to do so at CM (Creative Mornings). The RGD laughed when I requested a mentor who had studied at my overseas university, which is allegedly world-renowned. At yesterday's CM, my lecture-neighbour was educated in the same foreign city as I and had studied at one of the sister colleges.
As a "retired" journalist and Graphic Designer, I was very intrigued to listen to Spencer Wynn, the Art Director for Toronto Star. The Star provides an environment supportive of wild creativity. Wynn stated that for any wacky ideas presented, they're "absolutely on board." His photographic ingenuity has taken him to exotic locations, and allowed him to orchestrate local risky endeavours. For example, some of his assignments included setting Bloor Street alight outside the ROM, and printing (and subsequently destroying) illegal money and a smoke grenade shoot with Porter Air.
To please typography enthusiasts he included some examples of experimental typography that had been printed in the Star. Prior to his role at TorStar, he worked at Toronto Life magazine.
Throughout his talk he threw ideas into the crowd and encouraged us through his energy and words to be proactive. When answering a query from an audience member about a prospective project, he even suggested specific companies to contact.
The rest of his talk centered on creating Blurb books, where he demonstrated his excitement at new technological possibilities (like embedded media in ebooks). He had a countless amount of his own projects to share with us, ranging from assembling other people's portfolios, to his own experiment with hipstamatic, and a hilarious surgeon's alphabet book. It begins with "A is for Accident," though he recommended we skip the "S is for Staples" spread.
The last slide in his presentation told us to "Have fun and Create!" Despite this call to action being specific to producing Blurb books, I repurposed it to a more general context. Now I'm feeling inspired.
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