Geoff Thibeau

Having joined AIGA two weeks ago, I wanted to see what sort of events were nearby and affordable. And thanks to Nate Voss and Donovan Beery’s podcast, I was introduced to Think Tank, which is presented and hosted by the Nashville AIGA chapter. So when I found out that Think Tank ’08 was in one week, I made phone calls. I guess I originally planned to go by myself, since I doubted any students at Tech were AIGA members. And the idea of bringing the entire UG2 group was just impossible and slightly insane because of the time restraints.

I gathered up three other designer-classmates (non-AIGA), and we set forth on our eight-hour journey to Nashville. Arriving at midnight, we had no trouble falling asleep in the sub-par hotel located in a questionable neighborhood. Let’s just say that I think two other guests were staying in the three building complex, and there was a football game that weekend.

We were spoiled by Ryan’s dad’s car, though, because it had GPS Navigation; and, like noobs, we’d often venture to a destination, trusting in the way-finder, without actually knowing where we were going. A quick text to Google for the address of the conference got us back on track.

Arriving thirty minutes early had its advantages. We scored second-row seating (first row, we assumed at the time, was reserved for important people). And we had first dibs on the breakfast buffet and sponsor freebies.

Michael Janda, of Jandaco, had an amazing presentation with twenty-four wisdom nuggets. “It’s all about relationships, [...] quality, [...] productivity, [... and] pressure.” Michael also shared quotes from The Starbucks Experience, How to Win Friends And Influencing People, Good to Great, and The E Myth. Mr. Janda also explained that “Graphic design is sometimes about polishing turds,” which I think every designer can relate to. Sometimes that client has the dream of a rainbow with gradients, drop shadows, and typography set in Comic Sans. Even through three rounds of fabulous branding options, the client’s heart throbs for the turd. And it’s our job to polish it, to make it be the best turd ever; One Turd To Rule Them All, And One Turd to Bind Them. You make damn sure Comic Sans has solid kerning.

Co-owner of House Industries, Rich Roat gave a lengthy, but extremely enthusiastic, educational, and interesting talk on the history and success of House Industries. Grounded in typography, HI keeps its roots in hand-drawn lettering and translates their passion into technological advances on the computer with OpenType.

Armin Vit, author and mastermind behind several design blogs, including UnderConsideration, Speak Up, Quipsologies, Brand New, and The Design Encyclopedia, studied design in Mexico City in the ’90s. After living in Atlanta, Chicago, and New York, Armin left the stressful and demanding life of a designer-as-employee after having his daughter, Maya, and started his own company with his wife, Bryony. Being the youngest speaker at the event, Armin immediately connected with me with references to Idiocracy and his ever-present humor throughout the presentation.

Seymour Chwast, co-founder of Pushpin, is highly decorated in design awards and has influenced two generations of designers through his illustrations and publications, The Push Pin Graphic and The Nose . With a healthy portfolio, Seymour walked through the history of his design career and his award-winning publications. Seymour is an accomplished man and legendary figure in the design culture; don’t be fooled by his humbleness.

After the presentations had ended and goodies were distributed to the raffle winners, I had the opportunity to speak with Armin. His tip for student designers who want professionals to view their portfolios is the following:

“I hate when students email me a link to their portfolio without any other text. You should write something that will interest me; tell me about yourself, or what you want me to look at. Don’t just say ‘Hi,’ or ‘I’m a designer and so are you. Cool, huh?’ Don’t do that.”

And as every gathering of creatives should, an afterparty was held at a local bar called the Greenhouse. Upon arriving, it was obvious which building was the location, because it was a house painted in a grassy green. Cheese-ball. But that’s the gift shop. The bar is located behind that building and is actually a greenhouse, for plants and booze. Awesome-ball.

Scoping out some prey from my seat at the bar, I definitely wanted to talk to the chapter president and thank her for putting on the event. But it appeared that everyone had the exact same idea, so she was definitely chattin’ it up with other peeps for most of the night. Throughout the day, though, I had noticed a Nashville member popping in and out of rooms with a camera, obviously taking pictures for the website. I stopped her as she passed to strike up some conversation with a local designer. Lynda Hodge, perpetual thinker, unconventional creator, and graphic designer, was super cool and her boyfriend was awesome, too. I ended up calling her the next day for a restaurant suggestion as my group was strolling downtown, completely clueless and out-of-place. And if she’s reading this, Bailey’s had awesome food; thanks! The pictures should be posted within the week, so I’ll provide a link whenever that’s available.

I conversed with some Nashville students next, and we joked about previous jobs or assignments, with a few font jokes here and there. Total geekdom, and I loved it. So shout-outs to Joe, Forrest, Taylor, and the other girl (name escapes me; apologies). Keep up the enthusiasm, and keep in touch.

As the night neared an end, I finally got to thank the Nashville co-president, Emily Pulis, for the event and all the fun that went along with it. We ended up having a super long, super awesome, super dorky, super hilarious, super super conversation. I mentioned Nate and Donovan, and how Donovan convinced me to attend the event; which then led to me mentioning that I was on the show, and she freaked that I was “the Logoworks guy.” Albeit a title I hope to outgrow in the coming years. Her boyfriend was a riot as well. Nice people.

Needless to say, I slept well.

Twice during the trip I called Hatch Show Print, begging them to let my friends and I in the store after hours, and twice I was denied. No hard feelings though; just wish we could’ve scored some sweet posters while we were there.

Looking forward to Think Tank 2010, and I encourage everyone to attend.