Our Creative Juices Were Flowing at Creative South

This past week, a few of our designers attended Creative South, which is an immersive experience where attendees collaborate with other artists to learn about industry trends and techniques. The event, which was held in the newly restored historic, Springer Opera House, was jam-packed with influential speakers, workshops and creative exercises to stimulate the audience’s minds.
The design conference offered multiple workshops throughout the first day. Senior art director Dolly Sanborn was mesmerized during Dominique Falla’s Tactile Typography workshop. The well-known string artist whose work has sparked the DIY Pinterest craze, demonstrated how tactile materials can give more dimension to designs. Then Steve Wolf’s workshop, Creating a Logo that Lasts, shared valuable tips and tricks about the process, as well as techniques used to develop iconic logos.
The remaining two days of the conference were dedicated to the large number of creative speakers. One of the headliners, Charles Anderson, shed light on his 28-year history with client French Paper Co., showcasing some favorite projects like the Jerry French blow-up doll. Art director and senior designer Eric Czerwonka felt a connection with fellow designer, Bob Ewing. Ewing’s Midwest background and down-to-earth personality instantly grasped Eric’s interest, which is why he thoroughly enjoyed learning about Ewing’s creative process. Another awe-inspiring speaker was the typographer, Nikki Villagomez. She discussed how culture affects typography by asking participants to submit specific typographic samples from the cities they’re from. From Texas to Japan, she compared the stylistic differences based on geographic region and cultural differences.
Throughout the weekend, contests and events were held, allowing attendees to flex their creative muscles. Our senior designer, Jennifer Graven, competed in a logo challenge, where participants were only given an hour to execute a design for a fictitious restaurant. Jennifer raved about the experience by saying, “I loved participating in the Logo Wave challenge. On one hand, I had free reign to create anything I wanted, but on the other hand I only had an hour to do it. It was exhilarating to put my skills to the test and challenge myself creatively with a group of my peers.” Another crowd-pleasing activity was InkWars X, a contest where eight individuals were given a theme and only an hour to create a hand-drawn, 4’x6’ piece of art. Even though many of the events required participants to think on their feet, the artists did an outstanding job when faced with the challenge.
The design conference allows artistic minds to continue expanding their education, as well as stay on top of the latest trends. Appleton members had such a terrific time, they’ve already purchased their tickets for next year!
Appleton knows creativity never goes out of style, which is why we strive to seek a fresh outlook on the industry. Appleton Creative is an award-winning, full-service marketing and advertising agency located in Orlando, Florida. Appleton works with local, national and international clients to provide marketing strategies through print, web, social media and video production – all in-house. At Appleton, we want to learn about your business, empower your marketing team and be your creative resource. Your marketing goals are worth a conversation: contact us at 407-246-0092 or info@appletoncreative.com.