Aaron Draplin set to keynote in 2015

The DDC Road Show makes a stop in Ottawa in November!

Tall Tales from a Large Man
Nov 8, 2015   12:55pm / 50 MINUTES

Using scientific proof and state-of-the-art multimedia techniques, Aaron will deliver a suckerpunch of a talk that aims to provide bonafide proof of work, the highs and lows of a ferociously independent existence and a couple tall tales from his so-called career in the cutthroat world of contemporary graphic design. Just a regular American guy with a trajectory a little dirtier than yours, his talk is open to all oncomers brave enough to show up. If you are a youngster, you may find yourself inspired to attack your design future in a different way. If you are established, you may just leave feeling grateful your career path was a bit different.

Speaker Bio: Aaron Draplin

Joining us from Portland, Oregon, Aaron is a proud Midwesterner who started his design career with a snowboard graphic some 20 yrs ago, and it took off like wildfire shortly after – everything from lettering cafe signs to drawing up logos to thinking up local advertising campaigns. Since then, he’s made a few moves back and forth between the Midwest and the west coast, including a gig at Snowboarder magazine where he was awarded “Art Director of the Year” for Primedia 2000, before starting up the Draplin Design Co. in 2004.

Located in the mighty Pacific Northwest, the DDC proudly rolls up its sleeves on a number of projects related to the Print, Identity and Illustration categories. They make stuff for Field Notes, Coal Headwear, Union Binding Co., Richmond Fontaine, Esquire, Nike, Old 97s, Wired, Timberline, Chunklet, Eaux Claires, Poler, Incase, Giro, Cobra Dogs, Burton Snowboards, Rhett Miller, Dawes, Nixon Watches, Patagonia, Target, Megafaun, Danava, Ford Motor Company, Woolrich and even the Obama Administration, if you can believe that. They pride themselvesselves on a high level of craftsmanship and quality that keeps them up late into the wet Portland night.

Not only will we have Aaron on stage, speaking (pretty damn passionately) about some rather unlikely sources of design inspiration, but he’s also bringing his merch. Throughout this year’s event, in the reception area, you’ll find a huge selection of posters, T-shirts, the classic DDC caps, and more. Bring a piece of the DDC home with you!

You can follow Aaron on Twitter @draplin.

*Image credit: Aaron Draplin