Day three of HDL 2018 in Boston was a blast!

Day 3 of HOW, the last full day of the conference was a busy day full of great sessions and invigoration keynotes! Check out some of our favorite takeaways from the day!

In the morning spark session “Find your Center”, Alex Center pumped everyone up for the day with a recap of how he became a Successful Graphic Designer. Center emphasized that his key to success was really caring, or “giving a f*ck”, as he put it.

During the morning keynote, “The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing”, Daniel Pink walked everyone through the scientific research showing that people experience peaks and troughs in their mood throughout the day, which directly impacts their performance. By understanding how our energy and mood changes throughout the day, we can optimize our creativity to do the right work at the right time of day.

In “So You’re a Manager Now”, Amy Schwartz reference the moral philosophy of T.M. Scanlon to show that being a design leader is about more than just managing workflows. Schwartz sets mutual respect as the north star to guide leaders in their interactions with clients, employees, and users.

In “Is your Label F#%$ing Trash?”, Ryder Ripps forced designers to ask themselves if their work is breaking barriers. He challenged his audience to push themselves to not settle for “ok” design, but to push everything they do for excellence.

During “Sustainable Packaging: Exploring Luxury in the Context of Tomorrow”, Isabelle Dahlborg Lidstrom spoke on the importance of managing relevant trends with creative innovation. As the world progresses further to meet new consumer demands, designers must seek out new ways to satisfy, while preserving the art and integrity of their work.

In “Feel the Burnout?”, Collin Whitehead discussed process design for the design process. His framed design work as falling into along two axes, from Purpose to Meaninglessness, and from Pain to Joy. When design work falls closer to the pain and meaninglessness ends of the spectrum designers become burnt out and uninspired.

In “How to Work in Advertising with a Clean(er?) Conscience, Jeff Greenspan left attendees with two key takeaways:

1.      The design is inherently political. Value your values and do not abandon them.

2.      Use your design skills to create a design that changes the world.

In “Personal Strategies for Creative Leadership”, Ande La Monica gave two pieces of advice for creative leaders:

1.      Work to eliminate any anxiety you have about your ability to lead so that you can be at your best as a leader.

2.      Front load your day to do your hardest work when you are freshest and most prepared for the challenges of leadership.

During the afternoon Spark session with Robin Colangelo, Colangelo left attendees with one important takeaway: When something exciting is happening at your firm, be sure to speak up and say “Not without me!”

In the afternoon keynote, “Data Humanism”, Giorgia Lupi made a compelling case for giving data visualization a human angle. She left the audience with an important, not on data: No one is interested in data for the sake of the data – the data is there to tell a story.

In “In-House Creative Teams: 3 Secrets to Doubling Your Output in Half the Time”, Owen Fuller outlined 3 principles to help creative teams work more efficiently:

1.      Alignment = Strength

2.      Clarity = Control

3.      Many Hands = Meaningful Work

In “Designing with Real Time Data”, Vicki Strull dispelled the myth that data is scary. Rather, she encouraged creatives to see data as empowering that can inform and improve the customer journey.

During “The Brand is Just the Beginning”, Scott Swartz encouraged creatives to focus on “building brands, not labels”. To illustrate the difference between brands and labels, Swartz provided several case studies, including Cat & jack, Goodfellow & Co., Universal Thread, and Opal House.

In “Never Settle”, Jacquelyn DeJesu recounted a creative’s attempt at true entrepreneurship. By throwing out today’s standards and best practices, DeJesu focused on a brand-first philosophy, showing that image and reputation are the core to truly carving out a place in the world.

In “Instagram Workshop”, Dorothea Bozicolona-Volpe talked about some best practices for businesses on Instagram, including:

–        Post consistently

–        Create and monitor hashtags

–        Don’t forget stories!

–        Put hashtags in your bio