IDSA + the CritBuns Story

The story behind CritBuns can never be told enough. The IDSA (Industrial Designer's Society of America) thought so too, and invited me to speak at their 2007 MidEast conference in Cincinnati, OH. The conference was held at the University of Cincinnati's infamous DAAP building, designed by Peter Eisenman. The event catered to students and professionals in and around the Ohio region, and featured speakers from all over the country. Themed with "Big Brands, Big Ideas", I kicked off the festivities with a little brand and big idea - the notion of an independent designer taking their idea to market, and the role of the story in that process. I shared observations and insights acquired over the last 7 years, from prototyping to toolmaking, salesmanship to contracts, focusing on using your product's story to gain brand awareness.

Pecha Kucha talk

20 slides x 20 seconds. This is the format of Pecha Kucha, an informal gathering in San Francisco and other major cities around the world that bring together people making stuff happen, who want to talk about it. I presented in the second half of the evening, to a crowd of over 200 people packed tightly into 330 Ritch Street. CritBuns ruled the floor! The well prepared presentation (days of planning) ran like a well oiled machine, flowing from one slide to the next, hitting punchlines square in the jaw. The story was an animal, and I was its tamer.