Richmond's take on the 2008 HOW Design Conference

I attended the conference in 1994 when it was last in Boston. At the time, I was a "deer in the headlights," as I was just out of graduate school.

Though my memory fails me in other areas, this conference sticks in my mind. I remember feeling inspired by all the speakers like Kit Hinrichs and Gordon MacKenzie. Being young and uninhibited, I was full of ideas.

This time, I go to revive that feeling of "anything is possible." And what better place than Boston.

Last time, I visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. That is a definite must do.

I've had several recommendations for food: Legal Seafood and the more expensive L’Espalier.

Thanks to Jennifer Syer for her recent insight!

The HOW Conferences are always fun to attend. As a 2-time attendee (Chicago/Las Vegas), I can impart the following general advice:

If you've never surrounded yourself with thousands of other designers from all walks of practice, it's easy to feel overwhelmed -- try your best not to act like a deer in headlights and let the spirit of the event spur your creative juices!

Try not to "latch" onto people or have others latch onto you -- this is easy to do if you're attending as a "lone gun". Don't get me wrong -- it's fine to find a regular dinner group or something like that, but you shouldn't feel as though you have to coordinate your entire conference experience around the first people you meet.

On a related note, if you're going with a group from your office, consider splitting up for the duration of the event... part of HOW is all about meeting NEW people and sharing ideas. You may not get the chance to do this if you take the office-clique approach.

Don't feel guilty about leaving a session -- if you aren't getting what you need from a certain speaker, politely excuse yourself and move to another one... With so many tracks, it's hard for each topic and speaker to be a gem, and you don't want to regret not getting up out of your seat for fear of insulting the speaker.

Take advantage of the Adobe Lab -- the staff are top-notch instructors and/or developers, and this is a wonderful chance to bend their ear about software and pick up some useful information.

If you're a bookstore junkie, take advantage of HOW's shipping -- but don't wait until the last minute -- those lines can get CRAZY!

Thank the HOW staff if you think they're doing a good job... Event planning is an enormous undertaking, and walking up to a staffer and telling them you appreciate what they've done goes a long way. Conversely, if you have criticism, give it constructively -- you're much more likely to get a desirable outcome (provided it's feasible) if you deliver it objectively and sincerely.

Again, these are just some general tips from having attended two prior conferences... Here's hoping it proves helpful!

As a former attendee, How sent me a $25 off coupon that I can photocopy and give out. If anyone would like one, shoot me at email and include your fax number: president@richmond.aiga.org.