Weapons of Mass Creation Fest | 2012 (click here for full photoset)
This festival is put on every year by Go Media and it was amazing. Such an inspiring event. There was 20 designers, 20 speakers, and 30+ bands (as well as a badass break dancing competition). It was 3 days long in Cleveland, OH. I think it’s safe to say that I was most excited to see Johnny Cupcakes, Chuck Anderson, and Freinds of Type.
The fist night was pretty nice and mellow. Hung out with some friends, drank some beers, and (sorta) listened to some bands.
Then on Saturday we went to check out the break dancing, which was incredible! There were some kids about 10 yrs old tearing it up. So after that we headed to the speaker’s hall to start watching some presentations. The first one was Nate Utesch and he was an amazing speaker. Very down to earth and personable with an inspiring story. He runs Ferocious Quarterly which is a neat little publication with some inspiring artwork from various artists. I also really enjoyed Tad Carpenter’s presentation. He had a lot of great things to say and share. Personally, I find his approach on branding and illustrations really inspiring. Next was Chuck Anderson, who was fun to watch, but I didn’t feel like I got a lot of “advice” from his presentation. He definitely had some good stuff to say, but not as much as I had hoped, I guess. Then finally Johnny Cupcakes did his presentation. What an awesome guy. He mixed a lot of comedy into his presentation which really lightens the mood of the whole room. Plus he has the best success story for anyone in the creative industry. So awesome! After his (2 hour) presentation we headed down to Melt for some enormous/delicious grilled cheese. I could hardly eat half and then we basically passed out right afterwards.
On Sunday, we headed to the art room to check out some of the amazing designs hung up and prints for sale. I ended up buying all three of the Ferocious Quarterly books, an Airtype tshirt, and all the free stuff I could fit in my arms. We grabbed a couple beers and watched a few bands, then went to see the Friends of Type presentation. These guys are awesome! They’re just right up my alley. They drink beers, cuss like sailors, and make beautiful type pieces. I think it was a nice reminder that art is whatever you want it to be, and don’t need to be restricted to worrying about whether or not someone might be offended.
All in all, it was the best $40 I’ve ever spent on a design event. It was so refreshing to surround myself with more artwork and less advertising. Sometimes I forget that what I do is making artwork. I feel really motivated to start making more illustrations and type pieces. I’m definitely going to be picking up tickets for next year. I recommend this for anyone working in the creative industry.
