Analogue/Digital Creative Conferences 2013

I have attended at least one creative conference every year since my second year of uni in 2009. When Analogue/Digital came around in 2011, I walked away pleased that it was different from the other conferences I had been to, in the sense that most of the speakers were local, down-to-Earth creatives who had interesting and real stories to tell instead of showcasing people who were already "global" and a "big deal" and had spoken at a dozen other events already.

This year Matthew Haynes went above and beyond, bringing us a phenomenal two day line-up of brilliant speakers, a lot of whom were from Brisbane and the Gold Coast which was incredibly great to see. The conference sold out and many came from interstate to attend—most were pleasantly surprised to discover that south-east Queensland has such a strong creative culture compared to what those coming from Sydney or Melbourne might have assumed. Analogue/Digital 2013 was better than that of 2012 and 2011, and better yet, steadily kicking the arse of most of the other creative conferences I've been to. Well done to Matt and the Analogue/Digital team for making this happen!

I have a renewed sense of purpose, energy and drive after hearing so many of the speakers talk about things I so strongly believe in or things I have already experienced for myself. Knowing that I'm doing a lot of the same things that they are can only mean that one day, in good time, all the hard work definitely will pay off, and that sometimes what you think is quitting and failing can end up being the start of better opportunities in disguise.

More photos after the jump.

Beyond Blue: I Am Anxiety Campaign.

Beyond Blue recently launched their I Am Anxiety campaign, an anxiety awareness campaign the first of its kind within Australia, which inspired me to write about my own experiences with anxiety. As I wrote in this post earlier this year, I have lived with anxiety for quite some time, and so this campaign is fairly close to my heart and the hearts of 1 in 4 Australians like me. The videos outline many of the common symptoms of anxiety, calling viewers to recognise them and take action.

Disorders such as depression, anxiety and many other mental illnesses are still so largely misunderstood by the general public that many suffer from the symptoms without being aware. The social stigma caused by such a lack of understanding on the topic has left many to fall silent on their own affliction; whilst many people commonly view depression as being a serious mental health issue, a lot of people assume that being anxious is simply a part of their personality. Such is the stigma of these conditions, that many of those around me would not have known that this was a part of the day-to-day life of someone who is typically described as being outgoing, sociable and seemingly speeding towards a bright future.

Aurelie Maron for Design Montage | Sneak Peek.

Here's a little look at what I was up to for almost the entire weekend with Gold Coast's favourite chalk-letterer and designer extraordinaire, Aurelie Maron. I filmed her working on a beautiful piece for Jenica of Brisbane-based creative hub Design Montage, who I was also filming for just a few weeks ago. If you're attending Analogue/Digital Creative Conferences next week, you'll get the finished postcard version of this in your conference pack! Be sure to say hello to Aurelie, Jenica or myself if you see us around. Can't wait to show you the final videos from both of these shoots soon.

Dominique Falla: Tactile Typographer | A Work-In-Progress Film.

Related: Dominique Falla: Tactile Typographer | Sneak Peek.

Many of you were so very keen to see the finished project behind many of my teaser Instagram images (like this, this, this and this) whilst working on this piece with Dominique. 15 hours of filming, over 1,300 videos, many hours of editing and probably a little bit a lot of RSI later, I bring you the final video that will give you an insight into just how much goes into making one of Dominique's fantastic string art typographic pieces that she is now so well-known for. I mean, the amount of times she's been reblogged around the Tumblrsphere is intense.

Just in case you couldn't get enough of it, Dominique has founded a creative conference for all typography nerds called Typism, that will be held in the Gold Coast in September. The line-up is looking fantastic already (and Dominique herself is speaking), so I'd urge you all to like the Typism Facebook page and keep in the loop with the event's news, including the launch of the website and speaker announcements. It's going to be great!

Reunions and summer's last weekend.

There wasn't a weekend more suitable to farewell summer and the year's first quarter than our Easter long weekend. The last days of March epitomised the chaotic month that was; March brought with it birthday after birthday, event after event, and the standard ins and outs of the every day.

But it was far from an ordinary weekend, because for the first time in 13 years, I was reunited with my childhood best friend Adeile, who I grew up with during my days in Auckland, New Zealand. From our parents growing up in the same province in the Philippines, to them moving to Auckland and us following three years later, to them moving yet again to Sydney and us to Brisbane, it felt like our paths were almost always destined to cross. After she moved to Maryland, United States in February 2002, I knew it would be a long time (if ever) before we saw each other again.

For our paths to have crossed over and over again since we were young is amazing in itself—but even more so, the fact that even after so much time has passed and despite there being little communication between us over the years, we are just as we were then.

We showed her and Andrea (her best friend from primary school in Sydney), as much of our beautiful South-East Queensland as we could, with a day trip to Moreton Island and an early morning breakfast at the Gold Coast. We soaked up summer in all its sunshine and storms and left little time for rest: we hurried to make up for lost time, catching up on everything, getting to know each other's lives in the past decade.

Crammed between all this, 5:30am starts, a day out with my mother and the usual Easter celebrations was also my reunion with Alanna, after she spent half a year in Europe. I couldn't have spent summer's a better way: in the presence of friends who were as much family to me as my own, surrounded by sea, sun and sand, reminding me that there are always happy days ahead.

*P.S: Apologies for some of the shaky parts in the video. It's hard to film handheld on a windy day!