Festival Day 1

Today was very different. It was the first day of the festival, and I'm so thankful that we got to begin on a relatively chill day so we could get a lay of the land. Everything here screams design and creativity. The signs and the typography and the colors and the logos...I was in heaven even just looking around. While most of my classmates were probably hunting for talks they wanted to attend or CEOs they wanted to thrust their business cards at, I was mesmerized by the aesthetic of the whole place. After all the fine art I got to see in New York, I was very grateful to finally get to see work that I really understand and respect: successful branding. The Festival itself has its own aesthetic: blue and yellow color scheme with illustrations by the same artist spread up and down every hall and blank wall space of the Palais. The entire design theme, from the drawings to the typography, screams creativity and fun. This is a place where people congregate to share ideas and party in a relaxed, but thought provoking environment. We attended a couple talks about Health Lions and I made a VR painting and rode a VR rollercoaster (thanks Samsung, I will be back). The main thing I got out of the first day was excitement and anticipation for all thats to come. This week is about to be amazing. In the afternoon when I got home, I dumped out my swag back and began ravaging through it looking at everything trying to get information to build an efficient schedule as well as taking notes on book design, typography, and print and paper choices (I'm a GD nerd, I know). I was probably more excited about the contents of the bag than anyone else on the trip. I did a bunch of research and began formulating an ambitious schedule for the rest of the week. I've decided that each day I'll pick a couple major talks I know I definitely want to attend, and leave the rest up to happenstance. The ones I'm committing to all tend to lean towards the more creative side of the business or are given by speakers or brands that I admire and relate to. I plan on getting an early start tomorrow to hear a talk from CEO of BrandOpus, Nir Wegrzyn about hyperreality in the world of advertising, art, and branding and artist Ori Gersht about how carefully curated content is stronger than explicit messaging. I feel like this talk will be especially relevant to me because it is combining art and advertising.

Tonight was pretty low key and everyone stayed in. I picked up take out with a couple of friends and sat and talked about the day and our expectations for the week and compared schedules. This trip is definitely a good way to make friends who not only have similar personalities but also share likeminded interests and ambitions. Pumped to wake up tomorrow and go back to the festival!