BEND DESIGN 2023 SCHEDULE

Thursday, October 26

Keynote Speakers at the Tower Theatre

8:30am - 5:00pm

Cost: $175

Hear from a diverse group of thinkers and doers in a series of keynote talks offering real-world insights that transcend creative sectors. Featuring Chuck McBride, Pedro Ruíz, Cleo Barnett, Sami Chohan, Phoebe Anderson-Kline, Bernard Troyer, and Nishat Akhtar. This ticket includes access to the closing cocktail party at McMenamins. Tickets for workshops must be purchased separately. View the schedule to order tickets.

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9:30-10:15: Chuck McBride

Creativity Means Business.

Now, more than ever, creativity is in demand. It's become a required skill set to power businesses. It is integral to innovation, design and culture. The most successful companies will be the ones that successfully use their creativity as a distinctive asset. Chuck McBride, Founder and CCO of Cutwater and leader of iconic brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi’s, Ray Ban, will talk about the importance of creativity and how our work no longer just benefits from creativity but requires it.

10:15-11:00: Pedro Ruíz

Generative Artificial Intelligence Revolution: How Diffusion Models and Pre-Trained Transformers are Shaping the Future of Creative Expression

Gain a deeper understanding of the AI technology you're hearing all about. In this talk with Pedro Ruiz, a Human-Centered Designer and Deep Learning Engineer specializing in Generative Artificial Intelligence, will share the underlying technologies behind Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and GPT-4 so you can better leverage them to augment your work.

11:00-11:45: Cleo Barnett

Culture Wars: How One Organization is Using Open Source Artwork and Teaching Tools to Empower Communities, at Scale

In today's ever-expanding media landscape, the content we consume plays a pivotal role in shaping our perceptions and driving our actions. Cleo Barnett, Creative Director of Amplifier.org, will share techniques and strategies for building and deploying media hacks, alongside open source artwork and teaching tools, to foster critical thinking and nurture compassion, at scale. By leveraging the collective power of individuals and communities, human centered design can unleash a ripple effect of positive change that transcends the boundaries of any single project or initiative. Join us in exploring the transformative potential of media and design in creating a better world.

11:45-1:30: Lunch Break

1:30-2:15: Sami Chohan

The world is changing, and so can architectural education

Architectural education can either train architects to passively accept and join the extractive order of practice decided by investment, speculation, and profit, or it can inspire students to actively challenge the status quo and change the course of practice in direct service of our planet and all life on it. Knowingly or not, it can also exist between these extremes, constantly negotiating between conformity and resistance. In parts of the world where even resistance is vulnerable to commodification and consumption, it can also create an illusion of resistance to mask conformity. But in the face of growing inequities and injustices produced by centuries of colonial and neocolonial aggressions, there can be only one way forward, which is for architectural education to radically reinvent itself. This talk is another reminder of how the world is changing, and how architectural education can (overcome some of its internal and external constraints to) change with it.

2:15-3:00: Nishat Akhtar

Notating and Noticing, a Design Practice

Nishat Akhar, designer and creative leader at Portland-based agency, Instrument, will cover how observation is an essential tenant for design and creativity, citing examples, writings and methodologies to harness what you see into points of reference, inspiration and a point of view. Attendees will walk away with an understanding for how the simple act of noticing their surroundings can shape creative concepts, and influence their overall creative point of view.

3:00-3:45: Phoebe Anderson-Kline + Bernard Troyer

Building BLOCKS: Community Powered and Designed Solutions Towards Ending Homelessness

The BLOCK Project is a Seattle based initiative that weaves the cornerstones of community, sustainability and innovation together to address the now 8-year long declared crisis of homelessness in our region. With innovation, design, over 2,000 volunteers and a high rate of success in keeping people housed, Bernard Troyer and Phoebe Anderson-Kline share how the BLOCK Project has evolved to be the most affordable and sustainable community supported permanent housing solution on the market.

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Friday, October 27

Workshops, Downtown Bend

Workshops will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church and the Doubletree Hotel. Tickets for each workshop must be purchased separately.

Workshop tickets include access to the Closing Cocktail Party on Friday Evening.

5:30 - 7:30pm, McMenamins

After a day of inspiration, come celebrate the close of the Bend Design Week with food, drink and to mingle with new friends and exchange ideas.

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Kait Kenobi, The Weirdest Person in the Room

8:30-10:00, Trinity Episcopal Church, Brooks Hall

Cost: $25 ($20 for students)

The Weirdest Person in the Room

This workshop will be a quick dip into my professional story followed by exercises helping participants find and embrace their authenticity: How I went from generic ‘graphic designer’ to fulfilled and flourishing brand designer by embracing my authentic self; Clients now feel magnetized to me and my mission and I’ve never been happier. Participants will walk away with practical tools and insights to identify their own unique qualities and express them authentically in their branding, unlocking the power of self-expression to attract their ideal clients and achieve greater fulfillment in their work.

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Jason Sturgill, I Can't Draw (Let Me Show You How)

8:30-10:00, Trinity Episcopal Church, St Helen's Hall

Cost: $30 ($25 for students)

I CAN'T DRAW (LET ME SHOW YOU HOW)

At some point when you’re young, some people start to think they can’t draw. They go from the innocence and joy of using crayons to make a picture for their parents, to being self-conscious that they aren’t naturally gifted like that one kid in class and so that must mean they can’t draw. When in reality we all can draw, we have all the tools and skill that we need. During this workshop Jason will help find that ability you’ve had in you all along.

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Pedro Ruíz, Prompt Engineering for Creatives

8:30-12:00pm, Doubletree Hotel, Mt. Bachelor Room

NOTE: This is a half day workshop.

Cost: $55 ($50 for students)

Prompt Engineering for Creatives

Understanding how current generative models work and how to make them work for you. A.K.A: Prompt Architecture

Techniques to be covered:

-Exploratory Prompts

-Auto GPT (auto prompts)

-Output-Focused Prompts

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Isabelle Poirier, Sensory-telling: Designing Impactful Zines

10:30-12:00pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, Brooks Hall

Cost: $35 ($30 for students)

Sensory-telling: Designing Impactful Zines

This workshop reimagines the art of storytelling, merging design and the senses to create an immersive and transformative experience. Participants will receive a mystery design box (à la Master Chef) filled with carefully curated 'ingredients' for their zine-making adventure. Inside, they'll find a moodboard, with a mini creative brief to ignite their artistic inspiration. Equipped with creative materials such as collage elements, coloring tools, stickers, and press-on letters, participants will craft their own zines within a provided booklet.

But here's where things get exciting: Participants will be invited to go beyond the visual realm and add sensory elements to their zines. Tactile textures, captivating scents, and immersive QR codes leading to sounds and melodies will elevate their creations to new heights of depth and engagement. No longer confined to traditional artistic boundaries, this workshop empowers participants to break new ground in storytelling. By infusing their zines with sensory add-ons, they create an immersive experience that captivates both the eye and the soul of their readers.

Sensory-telling: Designing Impactful Zines explores the transformative power of sensory storytelling. Redefining possibilities and enabling visionary storytelling to revolutionize the art of narrative expression.

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Claude Leco, My Rapid Concept Development Process

10:30-12:00pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, St Helen's Hall

Cost: $25 ($20 for students)

My Rapid Concept Development Process

Claude Leco, footwear designer for Vans, has developed multiple new models for concept development. In this workshop, Claude will share his process for rapid concept development, focusing on form exploration in VR and refining in the digital space.

Come let your creativity fly. To participate in this session please come prepared with:

-Digital Tablet: iPad or other device to sketch on

-Sketching Application

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Eric Moore, Transforming Tough Talk: An NVC Workshop

1:30-3:30pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, Brooks Hall

Cost: $25 ($20 for students)

Transforming Tough Talk: An NVC Workshop

Ignite the power of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in "Transforming Tough Talk." Join this dynamic workshop designed to empower individuals in creative workplaces and professional settings. Through interactive exercises and immersive role-playing scenarios, you'll develop essential communication skills specific to the creative industry. Discover how NVC's four components - observation, feelings, needs, and requests - can enhance collaboration, resolve conflicts, and foster a harmonious work environment. Unlock the potential of NVC to effectively express yourself, build empathy, and cultivate thriving relationships within the creative realm. Step into a new era of communication and elevate your impact as a creative professional.

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Chuck McBride, How to Build a Creative Culture

1:30-3:00pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, St Helen's Hall

Cost: $25 ($20 for students)

How to Build a Creative Culture

Change isn't really what people want. But change is a constant. So maybe by accepting it, we can tune our thinking to be constantly adapting. To be constantly problem solving. To be constantly creative.

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Josué Rivas, The Power of Telling Your Own Story

1:30-3:00pm, Doubletree Hotel, Mt. Bachelor Room

Cost: $25 ($20 for students)

The Power of Telling Your Own Story

Images are meant to be made, not taken. In this guided photo session with Josue Rivas, collaborators will make a self-portrait to see themselves. Together, they will print the images and write a message to their future generations. Part visual storytelling, part ritual, they will collaborate to open the doors of self-reflection and ancestral remembering. Collaborators are encouraged to bring a photo of their ancestors.