I’ve been asked to take this down. Thanks for visiting. Sorry for any inconvenience.
-Lonnie
daily photobooth
latest thoughts
I love receiving animated gifts as a response to an email. Thank you internet! Also, feel free to send some my way @davidarrigotti
follow me on twitter
flickr
more writings and archives
read bio and summary
"I believe design has the power to save lives and change our world."
Photo courtesy of CO+HOOTS and eeko studio.
Thanks, Jenny!
Archive for June, 2010
For the Sake of Design: Travel, Perspective and Trying New Things
June 23rd, 2010
In college I tried to take all of my electives first. I knew I would eventually turn to design but I wanted to experience the largest range of classes possible.
I didn’t know the effect that would have on my life at the time I exposed myself to so many new subjects, but it’s one of the college experiences that had a fundamental change to my perspective and views on life.
I took a gymnastics class. I was afraid to do it when I was younger. But I learned self-confidence and gained physical strength. And I took courses unfamiliar to me like world religions, islamic studies, asian art history, yoga, voice classes, and power volleyball. I studied French, Japanese, and Spanish.
Someone summed up why I was doing this when he said this from his own experience, “I majored in religious studies because I want to see the world from other people’s point of view. I want to see things on their terms and not force them to see the world like I do.”
10 Tips for Leading a Successful Town Hall Meeting
June 21st, 2010
Last week I lead a town hall meeting for Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW). Speaking in front of people is one thing, but facilitating a meaningful discussion where criticism is openly cherished is quite another task. The event went over really well, a dozen or so “Thank you’s” and “You did a really good job” followed the event. So I thought I would offer some tips for leading a successful town hall community meeting. Please use and share them.
Tip 1: Get to know everyone, make them feel welcome
I knew that in order for the event to work well, I needed to be welcoming to all the attendees. Phoenix Design Week is a community-run event. It is their event. I welcomed each person individually at the door with a smile and tried to remember their name and something about them to bring up at a later date.
Tip 2: Be prepared for any questions, have experts on hand
I asked for a few volunteers and organizers from the first Phoenix Design Week, held last September, to be in attendance. They weren’t going to miss the event anyway, so that was easy to do. They brought perspective and experience to the table. Past attendees, armed with ideas for this year’s event, made up the rest of the group and had tons to offer.
Tip 3: Know the format
After a quick introduction about myself for the stragglers who walked in, I thanked everyone for coming, explained how they were important for the evening’s proceedings, and offered a brief outline of the format for the town hall.
