Matt Dawson wants you to look a little closer at that Instagram app icon.
“A lot of people might not realize it, but you see icons every day when you open up your iPhone. Somebody put a whole lot of thought into that button that you are pushing,” he says.
Dawson is the founder of Crop, Baton Rouge’s first graphic design conference. This month, the conference will bring local and national designers into one room to share stories and trade ideas.
Kyle Adams, a Texas-based icon designer, will explain how to distill an idea into a small but universally recognizable icon.
But icon design won’t be the only subject at the conference. Keynote speaker Aaron Draplin was the first person Dawson approached about the event. The Portland-based designer has worked with Nike, the Obama administration and Patagonia.
“He’s arguably the biggest designer in America right now,” Dawson says. “He’s just a really fantastic speaker and motivator, and his story is so genuine … I mean, he works with these really, really high-profile people, but he also does stuff for the little guy.”
Brian Steely, an Atlanta-based designer who’s worked with music festivals, breweries and bands such as My Morning Jacket, Mumford & Sons, The Decemberists and Phish, will share his perspective on working with artists. Amy and Jen Hood, Newport Beach-based owners of Hoodzpah Design Co., are also bringing their business savvy to the conference.
“[That] is valuable for people to hear,” Dawson says, “because as designers, I think that’s one thing that they don’t teach you at school: You’ve got to charge people; you’ve got to value yourself for other people to value you.”
Conference attendees might recognize the work of speaker Ashlee Jones, who’s done hand lettering for restaurants in New Orleans including Barcadia, Tableau and Dat Dog.
In addition to the six national speakers, there will be a day dedicated to workshops taught by local and regional designers.
Winston Scully relocated from Baton Rouge to San Francisco in late December after earning a coveted spot in Type@Cooper’s post-graduate program, where he’s studying type history and typeface design. His specialty is hand lettering, which is a big trend in design currently, and his Crop workshop will include lessons on best practices, type and lettering history and a drop-cap drawing exercise and critique.
Other workshops will focus on social media, animated images, presentation and icon designs, and preparing files for print.
Baton Rouge-based Post Parlor directors Jody Johnston and Michael Tucker will speak on social media.
“They really have a firm grasp on quality content and effective approaches to posting,” Dawson says. “Posting something with meaning is their big takeaway.”
Dawson himself is an LSU graphic design grad with a decade of industry experience. Today, he and his wife own their own design and branding business, Studio Gray. He was inspired to create Crop by his own experiences speaking at conferences and schools.
“We want [Crop] to kind of submit Baton Rouge as a creative hub,” he says. “You always hear about Austin and Portland and Asheville, but Baton Rouge has so much of those same qualities.”
But of course, speakers and attendees from out of town will experience our city’s unique flavor, too. Organizers are planning a second line and will serve classic Louisiana cuisine at its after-parties.
“We just want [attendees] to have a memorable time getting away from their desks,” Dawson says. “And going back to work on Monday feeling refueled and refreshed.”
Thursday, April 14
Creative Bloc, 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.: Workshops and lectures on hand lettering, icon design, social media, animated images, presentation design and pre-press production.
Shaw Center for the Arts, 8-11 p.m.: Kick-off party
Friday, April 15
Manship Theatre, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.: Stories from keynote speakers hailing from Portland, Atlanta, Newport Beach and beyond.
Roux House, 8-11 p.m.: Wrap party
Check out a selection of pieces designed by some of the event’s speakers
