Design Truth events in 2024.
Two newsletters within the space of a week - there must be an event on.
It is a bit like when the local career politician only turns up when they want your vote for an upcoming General Election - or when your parents need ordering their latest must-have from Amazon.
To stay on brand and tell the truth, this was originally supposed to be a post. Then the words kicked in, you reach the conclusion no one is aware the discount code is gopunting, and you think well if we make it slightly more clear you can finally find out does anyone even read this?
There is nearly 4,000 of you subscribed to this thing so probably.
Anyway, less about 010.
The ticket price is not going up. Let's get that out of the way.
... but one of our go-to phrases is to zig whilst others zag.
In October for the first time we held two events across two cities in Bristol & Cambridge - a deliberate exercise to establish what does scaling this side of the business begin to look like.
So yes, we will be running more events in 2024.
Scaling them however does create this really interesting challenge - and as we have always been super transparent on inner-workings, as we reach this next stage it seems a nice point to contextualize the learnings.
There is an inner-tension that always needs to be balanced. You do not want to put the onus on the attendee with hyper-inflated ticket prices, understand the nuances and timings of internal politics when it comes to marketing spend, budgets, but also appreciate through a significant increase in cost of living that fundamentally putting on events costs more money as venues charge more for their spaces.
All with the backdrop of a dodgy economy & rough job market. Uncontrollable factors that heighten striking a fair balance of attendee experience, value for money, greater tangibility to sponsorship ROI.
You should be aware we have turned down our biggest offers in regard to sponsorship simply as the conditions that come with it we believe would negatively impact the authentic, vibrant experience of attending a Design Truth event.
So we want to let you in on what we have been planning.
Look, like anything - things happen, it gets watered down, dates change, you grasp putting on events in February is maybe not the wisest decision in this climate. Bring a coat.
... but also just let us zig!
You know you get those design weeks? The ones with all the furniture you are unable to afford and pretty lights ... and then that really good one in Milan which people rave about?
What does a Design Truth week look like? Better yet, a Design Truth month?
Because at Design Truth, we set the tempo. We create the culture.
Do you want to just sit around and wait for the sun to come out, or do we really make something out of 2024?
London. Bristol. Cambridge. Manchester.
Anyone else wants to join in, the door is open.
2024.
The year you get that new job, new hire, pay rise, promotion. You make new friends, win new business, create new memories. You learn, you laugh, you eradicate the doom & gloom and you make sure to check in on your mate to see if he's doing alright.
Where are we at?
London
Cambridge
Bristol
Manchester
Design Truth events in Oxford & Edinburgh are being looked at for later in the year - this is mainly down to venue choices.
Our goal is to release tickets in January, reaching conclusion on above question marks between now-then.
Will we ever bring back talks?
There is a plan.
The answer is yes, but in a stand alone format.
A new Design Truth experience - ironically labelled 'DT Talks' (subject to change)
Talks offer a unique dynamic to an evening, but our stance is that a Design Truth event (particularly in London) is too big & diverse in scale to really get the most out of them.
It is an incredibly difficult task to get as many of those individuals engaged in a talk. At a reduced capacity with a more targeted audience, combined with high-level production we think is the route forward.
We have experienced other events where talks have been integrated well, but also on the flip side where they have not. It leads to a damaged event experience.
Feedback has always remained consistent that the reason why someone attends a Design Truth event is to not for a talk - it is not an attendee priority.
That said, we believe DT Talks to offer a new high ticket, high level Design Truth experience - with our first one aimed solely at Design Leadership & Management.
Bringing in the biggest names, with only best-in-class making the invite list.
We will be releasing a separate a 'register your interest' link/post over the next few weeks. A venue is secured, one speaker is confirmed and we need to assemble a diverse panel for a live Q&A. This event will be recorded and made available for free - a first for Design Truth.
Something that will create far more value add, greater tangibility to sponsorship ROI, admittedly greater profitability which we actually think reduces ticket prices to traditional Design Truth events, and can move us eventually to a membership model which is a sustainable longer-term vision.
Oh, and before we go.
Our free student tickets for DT010 have gone out to
Welcome to Design Truth 010. You will have a blast.
We have sold just over 50% of our allocation over the first weekend, and at the minute just putting a slight pause on inviting anyone else to give a little more time for original invites to sign up, and to take stock on where we are with diversity - it is not just about selling the remaining tickets to the highest bidder and the quickest to checkout.
This will be another sell out for Design Truth.
The gifts being sent out for 010 to a selection of those signed up are these gorgeous handmade refillable sketchbooks from a small, independent local business from sunny Margate.
Even in this digital age, let's not forget to put pen to paper.
If you have any insights or would like further information on how you could be involved with Design Truth, never hesitate to contact [email protected]
Thank you.
Absolutely just getting started! ?? As Steve Jobs once said, "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." Let's continue pushing the boundaries of industrial and product design to new heights in 2024! ? #innovation #designfuture