Graphic Design Evetns and Conferences 2012 UK

GilmoreVisuals

Active Member
Initial topic:

Initially the question of this thread was 'What graphic and print design events or conferences are available in the UK?' Since the creation of this thread there has been an increasing amount of interest towards organising a graphic design conference specifically in the UK.

Where we're at now:

We have had numerous people contact us showing interest in helping to organise the event with us, furthermore, a number of people and organisation that we have contacted have also been highly interested. We were recently contacted by HOW Design, a large US Design event management company and community, who have communicated to us that they wish to transfer and organise their US based event model to the UK.

Future plans:

With momentum picking up and support building we are now in the position to help organise a major UK print design conference. What we are doing now is trying to gather the thoughts and opinions of other graphic designers to help us better understand what people would want from such an event.

How you can help:

If you would like to contribute in any way please contact us by the following details. We would love to hear your opinions on the matter and anything else you would like to mention.

Alex Gilmore - [email protected]
Sean Lee-Amies [email protected]
 
Initially I was very interested in attending some events, but we couldn't find much around.

We're now in a much stronger position to see this through and it would be great if other people could get involved. It doesn't matter at what stage of your career you're in whether you've literally just started your company or have been trading for 20 years. This is an event for designers at every level, and as such we would be incredibly grateful if you would get in contact with us to share your opinions and ideas with us in order to make this an incredible event.
 
Yeah, me too... I thought graphic design would have been more 'popular' than other types of designs, I guess thats just a wrong impression I have.
 
Sure, I don't see why not ^^

'Sponsored by Design Forums, with a special thanks to Squiddy and Alex for thinking of this we present you the first graphic design conference in the UK!' eheh ^^

Actually, kidding aside I was reading this article a few days ago and actually thought the exact same thing you suggested :p
 
D&AD have loads of events going on all the time. You need to be quick to get tickets for some things though.

Look for local networking events too. There's some informal ones set up by creatives in Manchester that you can literally just turn up to and introduce yourself. I can't remember the exact name of the night but I think it's something that happens in other cities too.
 
Assuming I've managed to navigate to the correct site; fitc.ca, their events are in Toronto, Tokyo and Amsterdam... too far and too expensive for me :p

I can just imagine me and Gilmore (Alex?) at our very own DF sponsored 'event'. Us standing there, "I'm sure someone will turn up soon..." :D
 
I can't tell from their website exactly what they're classifying as 'Creative Design' but the concept of this conference looks good (and cheaper than heading to Tokyo!) icdc2012.org.uk
 
Yeah Squiddy, that would work- but in any case, we need to look at the positives; if we have only 3 or 4 more person join us it would increase the total numbers by 150 - 200%, which is quite good I think! ;) (and yes, its Alex)

Thanks doricdesign for the link! It definitely seems like something I could attend and plan well in advance! Appreciate it!
 
Hey guys. So I mentioned this to Alex on my blog (Doric Design) earlier but in my last role, the majority of my work was in event management. I'd be very keen to see if setting up a UK based graphic design for print conference would be of interest to people. There's a BIG gap in the market here and I'm sensing a desire, at least on this forum, for something like this. I reckon grants would be available and we could get sponsorship (might even make some money!!). If people are keen to get involved, maybe we should look into this a bit?

From my experience it'd be relatively expensive and the numbers wouldn't be huge the first year but building a reputation is important and all those involved would need to really work our contacts. Keen??
 
Thanks for the link Paul, just found a couple of informal meet-ups which look good and not to far from where I live- will look into it!

As I said your blog Jenna, it does personally interest me, with maybe something a little different to the informal meet-ups (seeing as they are already some going on). In any case we would need to see what others thought about it, and getting different people involved if it were to successful, and if you have some event management skills that would also be handy.

Squiddy, you still in? :p
 
I think it's a good idea and I agree there's a lack of these type of events especially in the UK.

I think what might be a better approach to this situation would be to find similar communities like DF and approach them with this idea. That way we're going to read a much larger group of people and you never know, one person from a different group may have the resources or contacts to get this kind of thing going with very little effort.
 
Thanks for that link Paul!

Yes we'd need engagement from communities or even professional bodies - these people tend to have the 'oomf' behind them to make these things go with a bang rather than just have 10 very enthusiastic people in a huge room! I think that we should be doing this (approaching other communities and professional bodies) under the auspices of DF rather than as individuals as it gives us more impact. Is Greg the best person in DF to contact about this? If so, I'm happy to get in touch with him or would someone else rather do this?

Jen
 
Your Google searching kind of says it all really, doesn't it?! I'll get in touch with Greg and see what he thinks (or if he has any inside knowledge as to why this doesn't already exist). I'll try to get the word out about the thread you've created.
 
There are a number of smaller meet ups and organised events. The best comparable thing I can think of is the Mi Network for marketing professionals. Good luck with it.
 
There are plenty of events around. They vary in their location, subject and speakers. Good luck organising one because you'll need it!

I'm not really sure what kind of event topic you're after, but I doubt there will be an event marketed as a 'General Design Conference'.
 
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