The next Likemind Vancouver event will be held at 8am on Friday, July 16th and hosted by Starbucks Coffee at 977 Mainland Street (at Nelson) in Yaletown, Vancouver (Click here for directions).

Free coffee and snacks will be generously provided to those who come early, so come join a group of like-minded creative professionals and start your day with some good conversation over a cup of good coffee.

Remember to confirm your RSVP on the Facebook group page, invite a friend, and bring your travel mug. See you there!

PS – If you bring your camera along, please upload your shots and share them with the 70 other Likemind groups in cities around the world!

Matt recently wrote a great article about why he was excited about the upcoming Icograda Design Week Vancouver 2010 conference.

This week Icograda released this animated promo video about the theme of Design Currency created by Rethink, Giant Ant Media, Todd Smith Design and Wave Productions—all studios in Vancouver, BC.

The coolest thing for me is that the video is old school flipbook animation, not computer trickery. The production team literally printed and photographed 2,180 custom bills to create the effect. Here are some behind the scenes photos showing how they did it.

Pretty cool work guys—well done!

The Olympic Games would not exist without sponsors, that’s a fact. They bring the millions, they make it happen. But since early January, Burrard Skytrain station has turned into a giant ad for McDonalds and I hate it. Really, it is everywhere: platforms, corridors, walls, floors… It is so tacky and I don’t like being brainwashed! I guess I could stop at Granville station for a change, but there it’s all about Coke…

I believe there is always room for every person to grow, personally and professionally. But as an Art Director (and father of a two year old) my ‘spare’ time for a conference is very limited. I have been in this industry for 15 years and without sounding arrogant, I know a lot about this industry. If I am going to take five days to attend a conference it better be something significant that will make a positive difference for my career. I also want to see speakers who are funny, intelligent and poignant. I have no interest seeing presentations that are nothing more than monotone portfolio overviews with little or no relevance to the conference theme.

So, why should I get excited about Icograda’s Design Week Vancouver being hosted by GDC in April of this year?

Well, there is the fact that it is hosted in the convention centre in my beautiful hometown of Vancouver. An international conference on my doorstep of this calibre (which would normally involve air-flight and hotels adding extra expense) is a wonderful opportunity, I would be a fool not to attend for this reason alone.

I enjoyed watching this presentation recently given by GDC President, Rod Roodenburg, where he said “we don’t have the answers but we have ideas, and so do you. Lets create the value of design together”. That one statement alone inspires me to want to attend this conference. Going to a conference to truly participate and contribute on a global level sounds refreshing.

I am hooked by the theme ‘Design Currency: Defining the Value of Design’. Working in a service-based industry we often bump up against the value of design. How do you put a dollar value to a service for a client? What impact will the completed design work have on your clients business? What parameters does the client use to judge that impact and how does that translate into value for them or their clientele? Also, in a world where you can buy a logo for next to nothing on certain ‘generic logo’ sites, or use a myriad of crowd sourcing sites, how do we educate a client on the value of strategic design and the process behind it?

The conference is an international event organized by Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations), the world body for professional communication design. The conference will host speakers who are all world-class design experts from countries around the globe (Canada, US, France, Denmark, Hong Kong, and India to mention just a few).

I believe many creative designers are multi-disciplined in their thinking but lack the skills to implement these ideas. Personally I am a wanna be architect, interior designer and car designer but unfortunately my buildings would probably collapse and my cars would never start. That being said, I am excited that the speakers at the conference will be from varying disciplines of design with experts from the fields of architecture, industrial design, branding, strategy, and interactive design.

At the same time as the conference there will also be a trade fair where you will get to meet lots of industry suppliers and network with top management from leading design agencies, design media, design students and design educators. Additionally, there will be lots of wonderful printed samples for our greedy design fingers to flip through, admire, critique (“I can’t believe they used that typeface” or “look at that leading”), and to smell the wonders of printed ink (slight personal obsession).

On the Friday the day will be divided into workshops and an education symposium. Thursday night the conference will host the Graphex 2010 awards gala, celebrating and acknowledging the best of Canadian design over the past two years. I attended the 2008 awards gala and was impressed by the whole night (the MC Ze Frank was a hoot, this year it is Debbie Millman). It was an opportunity to connect with my design colleagues and meet admired designers from studios across Canada. Did I mention the cocktail reception and three course plated dinner?

The world has many currencies but the GDC and Icograda felt there was one missing—a ‘design currency’. One that could transcend different economies but could still represent monetary value on a balance sheet. Hence the ‘Design Dollar’ icon used as the conference logo mark. I am intrigued by the logo for the conference. There is a logo for the conference, how cool is that? It has me instantly ask questions. What is this currency? Where is it used? How is it used? What is the value? What is the Canadian Dollar and Design Dollar exchange rate? It acts as a vehicle to start asking questions drawing you in and enrolling you into the topic of the conference. Rather than the conference title set in just Helvetica (as many conference often do), strategy and thought have been put into not just the logo but into other promotional materials and brand elements. I am excited to see the full extent of which this graphic theme will be incorporated throughout the conference and trade fair. I have seen people at local design events recently wearing Design Currency promotional t-shirts that states ‘This shirt is worth 150 Design Dollars’. Inviting people to engage in dialogue about the value of design, actively promoting the conference but more so the topic of the conference. It is truly a great PR campaign.

One of the conference events that I am most keen to attend is the ‘Dinner With a Side of Design”, April 25, 26 & 28. A long table series at Irish Heather (great beer and food) combining local leaders and designers in collaborative conversations focused around the complex themes of sustainability, culture and economics. i have never heard of such an opportunity where my thoughts and ideas would have an actual impact on our city.

I’ve heard that speakers have been encouraged to avoid portfolio presentations in favour of theme-focussed dialogue and that there will be panel discussions and break-out groups. Collectively (speakers and the attendees) will come to conclusions together to include the following: What is the true value of design? How can graphic designers contribute to positive change in the world? What is the impact and value that your design has on the bottom line socially, environmentally, economically and culturally?

By attending this conference I believe the global perspectives learned, relationships made, practical lessons learned will benefit my career (and yours) not only for the next short while but continuously long term.

I encourage you to join me and register online by visiting the design week website www.designweekvancouver.ca.

Happy New Year! The first Likemind event of 2010 is scheduled for 8am, January 15th and will be hosted by W2 Community Arts at the W2 Culture + Media House at 112 West Hastings Street (the Perel building across the street from the fancy new Woodwards building).

Coffee and treats are being provided by Salt Spring Coffee this month, so come join a group of like-minded creative professionals and start your day with some good conversation and a cup of quality, fair trade and organically grown coffee.

Remember to confirm your RSVP on the Facebook group page, invite a friend, and bring your travel mug. See you there!

PS – Can some of you remember to bring a camera and take some updated shots we can share with the nearly 70 other Likemind groups around the world?

We just finished a new identity and marketing campaign for a development project called District South Main for our client Amacon. The first teaser advertisements just hit the streets and the initial website has launched and is now accepting early registration. Check out www.southmaindistrict.com to learn more.

Likemind has come a long way since its inception and profile in the New York Times. With about 250 members in Vancouver, our “chapter” has become one of the most active, with a lively Facebook Group, Flickr page and Twitter feed. There are no fees, no rules, no agendas, no speakers, no barrier to participation—just good people meeting for good conversations over good coffee.

The only thing missing is YOU.

Likemind Vancouver happens at 8am on the 3rd Friday of each month, with the next gathering on August 21st at Workspace Café at 21 Water Street in Gastown. So bring your travel mug and be prepared to enjoy a FREE cup coffee while enjoying casual conversation with creative professionals just like you from a myriad of backgrounds and industries.

Please spread the word and come join us for a coffee!

Thanks to Dane and the team at Workspace for the continued support.

Icograda has formally announced Design Week 2010 to be hosted by GDC in Vancouver with official event profile information on their website.

Likemind is gaining momentum in Vancouver, with over 200 members on its Facebook Group. Events the each 3rd Friday of each month, with the next gathering on June 19th at Elysian Coffee’s new location at 590 West Broadway, between Cambie and Ash. Bring your travel mug and be prepared to taste some of the finest coffee being brewed in Vancouver while enjoying casual conversation with likeminded professionals from a myriad of backgrounds and industries. If you miss the event, you can check out photos on Flickr and follow the conversation on Twitter.

Please spread the word and come join us for a coffee!

There’s an old saying about 15 minutes of fame—that “all publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right.” Well maybe my appearance this week on ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning was the closest thing to my 15 minutes, but they mispronounced my first name (Mike?) and got my title wrong, listing me as an “industrial designer” as opposed to a designer from Industrial Brand. Oh well, at least I looked like a badass in my photo with flames in the background (flames to light my spliff with perhaps?). I hope fame doesn’t change me.