Nine things I learnt from Reasons to… conference
Reasons to… is a conference dedicated to bringing the very best creatives, from any and every discipline, together to inspire, inform and educate.
I’ve seen it take over Brighton at the start of September every year; this year was the first time I actually dared to venture inside. Not only that, I was on stage …only for 3 minutes mind. I was accepted to talk as part of the Elevator Pitch sessions where newbies are allowed to apply for a slot to share ideas, projects and prototypes to the Reasons to… audience. Needless to say, as someone who doesn’t typically get labelled as a “creative”, both the conference and speaking experience were educational — here are my highlights:
There’s a LinkedIn for creatives
The Dots is a site/community that lets anyone put up projects and work as case studies and attribute the different contributors and roles. It’s a great platform for showcasing work and it helps people promote their work and bring people closer to their dream jobs.
Here’s an example of how a project page can look.
You can do amazing things with paper
Hattie Newman was definitely my favourite speaker of the conference. She almost exclusively works with paper constructing animals, maps and buildings all by hand.
Just because something looks digital doesn’t mean it is
I feel guilty admitting this, but there were several moments at the conference I was looking at work, which I assumed was digital. When I realised they weren’t it was as mix of jaw dropping fascination and guilt that I hadn’t appreciated it properly before (e.g. Hattie Newman’s work). From now on I’ll be spending more time finding out how pieces are made.
Someone has made a cocktail dress that makes cocktails
Anouk Wipprecht combines the latest in science and technology to make outfits that augment the interactions we have with ourselves and our surroundings. Each of her dresses behaves differently and draws out different behaviours from its audience. My personal favourite was the cocktail dress, one version of which made guests play truth or dare in order to receive their drink:
Innovation in the letterpress
p98a is an experimental letterpress workshop in Berlin, founded by Erik Spiekermann and collaborators. I’m still fascinated by this and trying to get my head around how letterpresses work (and how I can expense a workshop in Berlin) — for now though I wanted to highlight how old the letterpress is (Johannes Gutenberg is credited with the development in the western hemisphere, in about 1440) and that p98a a glowing example of innovation, combining old and new technologies.
Fun fact: Erik Spiekermann’s book/magazine Paper was also the inspiration behind the aesthetics of our latest book.
I was a fan of Noma Bar before I knew who he was
Take a few minutes to browse through his work, you’ll probably recognise some pieces and find some new favourites: https://www.outline-editions.co.uk/collections/noma-bar
He also illustrates Chineasy a new way to play/learn Chinese.
Side projects keep you happy
A common theme throughout the event, but brought out particularly well by Elliot J Stocks. Elliot discussed the importance of doing work you love and making time for it, as in actual working time, not just the odd half hour on the train home. By following his passion for music making he’s begun to publish his own techno digitally and on vinyl. And it’s pretty good:
You can superimpose your face onto a lot of things
Jon Bergerman held the first ‘be inspired’ talk of the event — an evening slot at 8pm, dangerously close to when people were being tempted by the pub. He pulled it off though, sharing some of the latest ways he’s being letting out some of his creativity, mainly doodling and sticking his own selfie on other people and creatures:
Cyborgs exist
Neil Harbisson is a cyborg. Officially. No really, he has an antenna which allows him to see colour (he’s colourblind) and it is recognised as a body part on his British passport (although he did need a doctor’s note to clear it).
As I said those are the highlights, my mind is still contracting after 3 days of being expanded.
I think my elevator pitch went well too, we shall see — the audience gets to vote on their favourite three pitch speakers who are then invited back to tell their story in full next time (fingers crossed). It was honour to be allowed on stage and share a glimpse of our work with the Respafit team developing digital apps for teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis. A huge thank you to the Reasons to… team for putting on a great conference and putting us through speaker bootcamp — Andy, Chris, Amy, Richie, Justine and John.
Needless to say I’d recommend going to the next Reasons to… conference, either in London or Brighton.
