Ben Greengrass and Jessie McGuire of ThoughtMatter seemed to be everywhere at this year’s HOW Design Live conference in Nashville. They gave a talk titled, “Creative Bravery: The Importance of Friendship, Humanity and Embracing Vulnerability to Break Creative Boundaries”; ran a booth at the exhibit hall; and ThoughtMatter even sponsored the lunch for the HOW Women Lead conference the day before HOW Design Live officially kicked off.

We talk about all of this, as well as doing socially impactful work like they did for Misfits Market; diversity in the field of Design, and how to promote it; and more.

We also spend a bit of time talking about how to network as a student or recent graduate. Ideally, everyone in the profession would all get that perfect internship that would introduce them to everyone in the industry, and then have it turn into a full-time job. Fortunately, this is not the only way to get experience in graphic design, and it’s not the only way to meet others in the field. Networking sometimes simply means you talk with another creative person, share ideas, and hopefully learn something, even if you never meet again – and even if what you talk about has nothing to do with graphic design at all. I love hearing of companies who find a way to give back, and find a way to get creatives to start talking to each other, and ThoughtMatter has started an event, AfterTHOUGHT, that does just that. If only I lived new New York City… but these things happen elsewhere, you just have to find them, or start them yourself.

Enjoy.

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