3by10

One thing about Portland design community is that it's very tightly knit. The second day after we arrived in the city we were invited to an event titled "3by10". Each month three people each would be giving a 10min talk about design and arts. It's a great way to get to know designers and artists in the city and see what they do. We've made it to every single 3by10 so far.

For March, I was asked to share something from my experience. I chose the topic of "design process, ideal vs. real-world", reflecting on how projects were run at Motorola. It was a fun experience. People seemed very engaged and asked a lot of questions during the Q&A session.

I also really enjoyed the talk from the other two presenters, both are small business owners. One is a ceramist who has her own shop in SE Portland, and the other a custom camera maker. You can check out their website to see the cool stuff they make. Pigeon Toe Ceramics and The Art of the Camera. Even though what I do is very different from what they do, you start to draw parallel when it comes to process and collaboration with other parties. Besides it's just fun to hear stories of how someone took an idea and built a successful business around it. It's very inspiring.

Art Institute of Portland has offered part of their shop space for this event

Q&A session following the presentations