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It’s the beginning of fall. And while summer might be the best time for camping around here. Fall is the tech season for camping. WhereCamping, BarCamping, Cre8Camping. And two of those camps overlap this weekend.
That’s right. You can either get your geogeeking bent on or your creative bent on this weekend. Thanks to WhereCampPDX and Cre8Camp. Read More
Cre8camp is a new unconference for creative types, inspired by the popular local tech unconference, BarCamp Portland.
It’s starting in the right place. And like many fledgling BarCamp and unconferences in the offing, Cre8camp Portland shows the potential to be the first of many regional events of a similar ilk.
Now this isn’t just a BarCamp for graphic designers. There are a few differences between BarCamp and Cre8camp, the most notable being:
One difference between the Cre8Camp concept and BarCamp is that the various Cre8Camps have an annual “mothership” event called Cre8Con (the Creative Conference). Our vision is that participants of various Cre8Camps in different metro areas will consider attending this annual gathering to engage with each other and with some world-class creative keynoters for some national level networking.
So, this is an unconference for “creatives.” What—exactly—is a creative, you ask? You tell me my friend.
Today, the traditional lines dividing “creatives” and “developers” is becoming exceedingly blurry. And I, for one, welcome that blurriness.
I mean, all of those folks are creative (and always have been). Because some of these folks whom you would traditionally throw in the realm of non-creatives—aside from being brilliant and creative developers—are also amazing photographers, knitters, designers, and writers.
Likewise, there are any number of drool-worthy graphic designers who have stepped into the realm of development. To finely craft their own CSS. Or churn out application code that would make traditional “developers” swoon.
Long story short, “creatives,” in my opinion, is a nonsensical moniker. The concept of creative is completely outdated. An unnecessary silo.
We’re all creative, people. All of us. (Well, except for me. I largely just regurgitate stuff I hear.)
Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even see that soapbox. I just happened to step up there.
But, that said, we have to start somewhere. If we are to dissolve the silos and start the conversations, we have to get people together. And I think this concept is a great first step.
How do I know? Because of things like this:
Cre8Camp Portland is an unconference for creatives. It is an ad-hoc gathering for participants to learn, network and share in an open environment with discussions, demos and interaction all led by the attendees.
Cre8camp maxes out at 60 participants. And last I checked, they were very close to hitting their cap.
I’m looking forward to hearing about this inagural event. And with folks like Bram Pitoyo, Amber Case, and Aaron Hockley—all creatives in their own right—in attendance, we’re sure to read, hear, and see a great deal of the event.
Enjoy. Lunch is on me.
For more information, visit the Cre8camp Portland wiki or Upcoming.