Speaker Series

Speakeasy: Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

The world of sports comes to the Helen Mills Theater next month for an SPD Speakeasy featuring two industry heavyweights: Chris Hercik, Creative Director of Sports Illustrated, and John Korpics, Vice President/Creative Director for Print and Digital Media at ESPN the Magazine. Hercik and SI helped start the tablet publishing revolution with its innovative demo video before the iPad was even announced. Hercik continues to inspire with interactive editions for tablets, browsers and smartphones and smart standalone apps like Sports Illustrated Football Rivals. Korpics is one of the industry's brightest stars, with two National Magazine Awards and an SPD Magazine of the Year Award from his runs at Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, InStyle and Fortune. He joined ESPN this fall to oversee The Magazine and provide an integrated vision for its editorial and photography teams across all platforms. The two will take the stage January 26 for a moderated discussion about their innovative brands and to take questions from the audience. RSVP today after the jump... … MORE

WAITLIST ONLY -- Tablet Town Hall:
Questions and Answers About the Next Generation of Tablet (and Kindle) Publishing

What's the new Adobe + WoodWing alliance all about?
If you're working in WoodWing, what will the Adobe partnership mean for you? Vice versa?
 
Can you really make, and publish, your indie app for just $399? Really?

Need some iPad advice? Need some KINDLE advice??
We've got it, and we're bringing them together for you.

On Thursday, November 10th, please join us for an SPD Town Hall kind of night: learn from Adobe and WoodWing what their partnership means for you, whether you work at a large company producing digital magazines or are interested in making your own standalone apps. Shawn Duffy from WoodWing and Steve Hart from Adobe will talk about what's changed -- and what hasn't -- in the quickly evolving world of creating content for the iPad, Android tablets and other new devices, including the Amazon Fire. They'll take your questions in a special event moderated by Joe Zeff, an SPD Board member and president of Joe Zeff Design. Submit your questions as part of your RSVP after the jump, and we'll be sure they're asked first before all the others from the crowd, or submit them to us at mail@spd.org. Now get those tickets...
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Speakeasy West: Unsung Heroes 4

Los Angeles, we're coming back for you! Please join us Thursday, October 20th as our pals at Smashbox Studios, West Hollywood host us for another evening of creative collaborations and inspiration courtesy of this amazing line-up of top talents and unsung heroes.

Our stellar lineup of presenters includes: a keynote presentation from John Van Hamersveld in conversation with Lawrence Azerrad and special guests Jeff Divine, Rebeca Mendez, Frank W Ockenfels 3, and Heidi Volpe each presenting one of their selections of hidden talents on the west coast. Their choices of "Unsung Heroes" will be revealed that night, so RSVP now to guarantee your place at the party! It's another night of Right Brain talent on the Left Coast -- not to mention cocktails, delicious food and inspiration and from a lot of old & new friends!

Let's get down to business after the jump...
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WAITLIST ONLY -- Speakeasy: These Guys Kick APPS.

The creative forces behind PROJECT, TRVL, Above & Beyond: George Steinmetz, The Final Hours of Portal 2 and more come together for one night in NYC to the SPD Speakeasy--to inspire and inform, and give you the inspiration to kick some apps, too.

You know their apps. Now meet their creators, and learn how it's done. (A part of the story involves publishing 25 issues out of a spare bedroom -- if they can do it...) The Society of Publication Designers presents a rare opportunity to interact with some of the most disruptive forces in digital publishing. Their companies are small yet their impact has been enormous, with groundbreaking apps that reinvent business models and rethink how content can come alive on the tablet. Get your tickets now, because all our previous app nights have sold out, and get 'em early, because we want to see you there, not on the waitlist! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, July 26th, make a note that there are cocktails involved, and follow us after the jump for all the details on how you too can come kick some apps with SPD...
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WAITLIST ONLY -- Speakeasy: The Story of O

UPDATED 5/31: Tickets for this event are currently sold to capacity. Please sign-up for waitlist tickets so we can help seat you at the door the evening of the event as soon as we have additional tickets.

On Tuesday, June 7th, please join us in welcoming Robert Priest and Grace Lee (Priest + Grace) to the SPD Speakeasy to talk about their collaboration as Design Directors for O, the Oprah Magazine, and their work redesigning the print product while launching its first iPad app (We know Oprah loves her iPad!). Hear about repositioning a huge corporate brand across all kinds of platforms, working with the reality of a celebrity, and more -- just days after the Oprah show goes off the air, Robert and Grace bring it all to the Speakeasy! … MORE

SOLD OUT -- Bloomberg Businessweek: Process

An evening with CD Richard Turley and the visual team of Bloomberg Businessweek.

On Thursday, April 21st, please join us at the offices of Bloomberg Businessweek where Creative Director Richard Turley, Design Director Cindy Hoffman, Director of Photography David Carthas, Information Graphics Director Jennifer Daniels and the creative team behind the Bloomberg relaunch of Businessweek will take us behind-the-scenes for a look at work that is smart and serious, from a team that knows how magazines are made.

As our very own Bob Newman wrote in GRIDS back in November,

When Bloomberg Businessweek launched their redesign (and re-imagination) of the magazine at the end of April, the response from the publication design community was somewhat underwhelming. The first couple covers were solid but not remarkable, the insides were crisply formatted but a bit overstuffed, and the imagery had yet to find its full voice.

It's time to take another look. In the succeeding months, the new design has grown and matured into a remarkable visual package. Week after week, creative director Richard Turley and his crew are producing stunning covers and features, along with tightly formatted interior pages that rival New York for their texture, density, creativity, and attention to detail. This is state-of-the-art magazine design, with highly-original and intelligent photos, graphics, and illustrations. It's a look that fuses the formatting brilliance of New York and the smart visual approach of The New York Times Magazine, with a hierarchy and architecture lifted from the best British and European publications (the Guardian chief among them). Most impressively, Businessweek has a high level of visual intelligence, challenging its readers, pushing the boundaries of traditional newsweekly and business magazine design. ...

Tickets and all info after the jump...
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Speakeasy West: Illustration's Unsung Heroes

We can't stay away! We hope you're in the LA area on Thursday, March 24th and can join us at Smashbox West Hollywood for another amazing gathering of the coolest creatives around, a night of Right Brain talent on the Left Coast, presented by Charlie Hess, Lisa Thackaberry and Carol LeFlufy. This time we're focusing on the bright lights of the illustration world, with David Armario, Lou Beach, Jim Heimann, Brian Rea and InJu Sturgeon introducing some of the top-notch, unsung illustrators they have spotted as the ones to watch (but you have to be there to meet these Unsung Heroes!). You'll be amazed at the work on display, not to mention you'll beef up your own rolodex with our Unsung Heroes and also the connections you'll make with the creatives in the audience. Cool inspiration, cocktails and homemade Mexican food, and an amazing group of people. All details and RSVP info after the jump... … MORE