For my second Networking event I went to a Design Symposium put together by the Pratt Institute called DESIGNA: The DNA of Design. I found out about the event when my Topics in Graphic Design teacher Marianna Trofimova told us about it in class, she was also requiring us to attend a networking event. As soon as I saw that Paula Scher was going to be there I decided that I was going to do everything that I could to attend the event. I tried to look for tickets right away but I couldn’t find a place to sign up anywhere. I contacted people from the Pratt Public Programs office and they told me the event was full but that they might have standby seating at the discretion of the staff, that was all I needed to hear and decided that since there was a chance however slim it was I was going to show up. The event was on a Monday evening and luckily we weren’t meeting that day but to be honest I would’ve just missed class. The event started at 5:30 but people who wanted a chance to be on standby were asked to be there at least thirty minutes earlier. Seeing as how I also have a class from 2:30 to 5;00 on Mondays and just my luck I had a presentation that day I spoke with the professor and told him that if I could present first so that I could go to the event. He had no problem with it and I left class early. When I arrived to The TimesCenter the staff from Pratt wasn’t even letting people in yet, so I waited about 15 minutes until the doors opened and was the first one in. I informed them that I didn’t have a reservation but heard about the standby option. She told me to come back at 5;20 so I told her to remember me and that I was the first one there and stepped out. When I came back one staff person told me that I would have to wait some more but another staff, probably seeing how bad I wanted to attend the event told them to let me in.

The event was great, it was moderated by Marc Rosen and it had a great panel of Debbie Millman, Paula Scher, Arne van Oosterom, and Terry Young.

I was a great event that spoke about branding and how now branding is very different and how you don’t really design a brand because there are many outside influences that change how people perceive a brand that are out of the designers control.