Planning is underway to bring Pecha Kucha Night to Charlotte! Named after the Japanese phrase for “the sound of conversations”, this fun and dynamic event series gives creative-types an opportunity to get up on stage and present a quick slideshow on the topic of their choice. A strict format of 20 slides for 20 seconds each keeps things moving along quickly and provides a framework that can inspire very creative presentations.
The first planning meeting was held this past Wednesday, and several teams have been created to address the various logistical challenges – venue, content, technology, communication – and bring the first event to life. Some early info (subject to change): First event to be held in early September, no cover charge, looking for venue with 100 – 200 people capacity.
How to stay in the loop:
Point8 will be creating a section on their site to house local Pecha Kucha Night info, but for now, you can:
Sign up to receive updates via the form on their general contact page. (Let them know you are interested in Pecha Kucha.)
Get involved with the planning by using the same contact form and ask to be put on the “PKN Team list”.
More:
To see some examples of Pecha Kucha presentations, do a search on YouTube or Slideshare, and you’ll find a lot. And, of couse, via the global PKN site, you can find stuff from all over.
Here’s a Pecha Kucha I did about Pecha Kucha itself, and the way constraints can cultivate creativity.
The Charlotte Creative Catalysts group (which I don’t think I’ve even written about on here yet… shame!) has a Twitter account, and is occasionally blurting out interesting links and info, fyi.
Charlotte, NC – June 30, 2008 – The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) wants to hear from you as library leaders make plans for the future. If you have ideas about how the public library can better serve you in 2010 and beyond, please attend one of several public focus groups that will be held at library locations throughout the county.
While a state of general well-being is considered by some to be a negative in the production of great art, I disagree. One has to think of deriving and giving the maximum good in every human life in the here and now.
Much has changed in the Charlotte area since our first in-depth report
Thirteen years ago, we took a careful look at this exuberant growth region of America, interviewing scores of leaders from Mecklenburg and its surrounding counties. The series of articles we then wrote, published in the Observer and several other newspapers around the bi-state region over a month of Sundays, challenged leaders and citizens here to take charge of their future, to “democratize development,” to bring the public in on key decisions about how the entire region grows.
…Now, at the invitation of the Knight Foundation, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and The Charlotte Observer, we’re back.
A link to the 1995 Peirce Report (big PDF - scanned pages from The Observer)
can be found on the UNCC Urban Institute’s website
A large number of designers set themselves up for failure by trying to push the creative envelope. It’s not that the notion is inherently wrong; it’s just that it doesn’t provide anything firm to rail against. Ingenuity as a designer is best tapped when we are asked to resolve some kind of challenge.
More good advice includes rapid iteration, escaping the “expert” mindset, setting the bar high, stealing and just starting.
Major publishers are adding some functionality to e-books that their “low-tech” paper counterparts have have from the beginning: portability.
The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and cellphones — and conceivably share them with others.
Although to many, designers as CEOs, may sound like a crazy idea. I believe designers could do very well as top executives. Designers have a unique set of skills that combined with traditional management knowledge could create a new kind of leader, more in tune with today’s needs. Why? Because they know how to explore possibilities, connect the dots, simplify complex information down to a relevant summary and remind of us of context and humanity. They know how to work closely with engineers, marketers and outside manufacturing contractors. Rather than being simple stylists, they’re leading innovators in the use of new materials and production processes.
Damn straight. Now, who out there is looking for a bright young CEO…?
