Convergence

Convergence

Workshop or conference.
Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

converge_avatar_normalSo, I actually only attended one conference this year. Converge SC (yes, as in South Carolina).

“ConvergeSC is a web conference where designers, developers, business and marketing professionals can gain insight into all aspects of our industry from some of the best and brightest the Carolinas have to offer.”

I would love, love, love to attend more conferences throughout the year (An Event Apart and SXSW come to mind!) but it is usually just too much money (conference cost plus travel costs) and I’m not lucky enough to work at a job that will send me. Once I’m my own boss, I’ll send myself. So, back to Converge. It was a small conference (in Columbia, SC if I remember correctly) but I came home with tons of great info! I think the most important thing that stuck with me was the importance of telling a story. Sometimes we, as designers, get caught up in one message or even in small details and forget the importance of the story. Everyone loves a good story. For me, sometimes the problem is not knowing the product/service/history/etc. well enough to be able to tell the story and getting a client to “tell the/their story” isn’t always that easy. I’m still working on this idea and trying to incorporate it into new projects. It’s proving difficult, and I don’t think everything I work on will have a story, but I can at least try to find one and tell it.

This has been a Best of 2009 Blog Challenge moment.