UPDATE: Buy 2 tickets before 2pm on Tuesday, get 2 free drinks!

Thanks you Woodstock’s Pizza for sponsoring this community event!

Curious about the future of design? Join us at Design Tech on Wednesday, September 11 for a jam packed event featuring renowned Santa Cruz firms. Discover how AI and emerging technologies are transforming design, explore ethical challenges, and gain insights from top industry experts.

• Astonishing Work / Monte Atherton — a graphic design studio that works with clients on packaging, logos, and brand visual identity. He will share before-and-after images from clients' branding projects, highlighting the power of strategic visual design and its impact on companies. The showcase will include the results for a newly traded gaming company (Zynga), a small winemaker (LIOCO), and a non-profit (Full Picture Justice).

• Herbst Produkt / Scot Herbst: Design Proximity — Product design is evolving and shaping the modern world in ways we never imagined. Proximity is the shrinking of the 'idea-to-reality' continuum, while the very process of product innovation is being Innovated. Using emergent tools from AI to 3D printing and virtual reality the visual and tactile feedback loop is shrinking and the pace of design innovation is rapidly hastening. And, in tribute to the idea of design proximity, we will walk you through this incredible landscape in less than 5 minutes!

• PowerHouse / Victor Mathieux — Discussing how great design at every step became the difference between $0 and $100M: Victor recently sold an e-commerce brand after scaling it to over $100M+ in sales in just 4 years, largely due to the power of great design and creative. Victor will share some of the biggest learnings from this journey and how you can apply them to your own ventures. 

• Spanner / Damien Golbin — Spanner is a premier design and engineering firm with studios in Santa Cruz and Los Gatos, specializing in crafting physical products for some of the world’s most forward-thinking brands, from innovative startups to Fortune 500 companies. Spanner was established to provide a more impactful and engaging approach to product development. Our team employs a proven, highly collaborative process to ensure a seamless partnership with clients at every stage of product development—from initial concept to market launch.

• Studio Holladay / Ted Holladay — “We are creative. Sometimes we’re linear thinkers, forging a direct path between point A and B. Other times we’re broken field runners, taking the audience on the scenic uniquely memorable route. Either way, we deliver the destination, distilling even the most complex marketing messages into elegant outcomes. Or put another way: Left brain. Right brain. We maintain residence in both neighborhoods.”

• UCSC CIED (Approach to Design, Tech, & Entrepreneurship) - Nada Miljkovic will cover how UC Santa Cruz's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development (CIED) integrates design, business, and ethics into its curriculum, despite lacking traditional design or business schools. The focus is on problem-solving through an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing self and customer discovery, an iterative design thinking process, and the cultivation of creative traits. The discussion will also explore the ethical implications of AI in creative industries, preparing students to become innovative and responsible leaders in the evolving fields of design and entrepreneurship.

Enjoy networking, food (pizza, snacks, dessert included), live music, and drinks from 6-7pm before diving into presentations that will expand your understanding of the latest trends and innovations. Don’t miss out—RSVP today and connect with the creative community!