Circles Conference

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Presents

September 6-8, 2023

Grapevine, TX

Register

About
Circles?

2019 Recap

Shed layers of fear and doubt, and reveal your inner creativity at Circles Conference 2023. We have faced a lot of struggles in the pandemic. Now, it’s time to remove those barriers and allow your creative process to thrive.

Circles is filled with inspirational stories and workshops from the industry’s leading creatives. You’ll walk away with new ideas, practical advice, and a tight-knit community to support you along the way.

About the Topics

At Circles, our speakers will center their discussions around a variety of subjects, including illustration, branding, creative processes, pricing, managing relationships with clients, establishing procedures, collaborating with teams in an agency or in-house department, project management and other related topics.

Convince Your Boss

Speakers
& Instructors

More speakers coming soon.
*Speakers subject to change.

Jessica Hische

Jessica
Hische

Illustrator, Letterer & Author

Charlie Howlett

Charlie
Howlett

VP, Creative Director at Schaefer Advertising Co.

Kwaku Amprako

Kwaku
Amprako

Logo Specialist& Brand Designer at Amprako®

Hillary Burson

Hillary
Burson

Brand Designer & Illustrator at Tropic

Jeremy Slagle

Jeremy
Slagle

Designer & Illustrator at Slagle Design

Natalie Armendariz

Natalie
Armendariz

Partner & Design Director at Funsize

Amber Zaricor

Amber
Zaricor

Owner + Creative Director at Copperheart Creative

Grizzly Wheeler

Grizzly
Wheeler

Owner at Grizzly Wheeler Print Shop

Geoff Schultz

Geoff
Schultz

UX Researcher/Designer at Elevation Church

Kevin Daughtry

Kevin
Daughtry

Founder & Director at Yellowbox

Lyndi Stücky

Lyndi
Stücky

Art Director & Photographer at Lyndi Ruth Photography

Paul Sirmon

Paul
Sirmon

Founder at Buzzbomb Creative

Jon Chapman

Jon
Chapman

Owner at Brokenstraw Design Co

Nick Agimudie

Nick
Agimudie

Director of Client Relations at Yellowbox

Andrew Hochradel

Andrew
Hochradel

Circles Emcee

Speaking Inquiry

The
Topics

Always in Tandem

Jeremy Slagle

Jeremy Slagle

Designer & Illustrator at Slagle Design

Ever wish you could align your business with clients who share the same values and goals? A few years ago, I took a month-long international trip. Upon return, I saw my business with a clarity I hadn’t seen before. The pivot I made at that point changed the way we do business as a design studio as well as our approach to finding clients who best fit our culture and values. It helped us to define the real meaning of fulfilling creative work and how, when we do what is best for our clients, we can help them achieve their goals and find the same level of joy and fulfillment.

This one-hour presentation covers:

  • Discovering, developing and spreading joy through your everyday work and talents
  • Curating and connecting with a client base that resonates with your values and goals
  • Sharing your gifts to better your community
  • Loving people through your work

Becoming A Chameleon

Kevin Daughtry

Kevin Daughtry

Founder & Director at Yellowbox

Can we as creatives develop excellent relatable work for clients and situations that we personally can’t relate to?

We can spend so much of the creative process trying to figure out what the hell our client really wants that we blow our entire budget just to get to square one. Creativity, like facts these days it seems, is subjective. It’s our job as creatives to build teams and processes that can easily adapt to creatively inexperienced clientele. If we’re truly building agency-level creative, we have to become chameleons that adapt to our clients’ tastes AND hold up universal creative standards in the process.

Design with Heart

Amber Zaricor

Amber Zaricor

Owner + Creative Director at Copperheart Creative

Five ways to thoughtfully humanize your creative process with Amber Zaricor, Owner & Creative Director of Copperheart Creative from Nashville, Tennessee.

Enabling Your Internal Teams

Hillary Burson

Hillary Burson

Brand Designer & Illustrator at Tropic

In-house designers spend a ton of time working with their marketing and product teams and could miss the potential of empowering our less design-based teams. We’ll walk through a few ways to encourage internal teams to get creative and build trust with design while bridging your employer brand across the company.

Here's what's keeping you from success

Lyndi Stücky

Lyndi Stücky

Art Director & Photographer at Lyndi Ruth Photography

Are you standing in your own way of succeeding? Do you know the blindsides of your business? Understanding what’s holding you back is the key to unlocking your full potential of a successful career.

How to make a logo: Theory, practical & implementation

Kwaku Amprako

Kwaku Amprako

Logo Specialist& Brand Designer at Amprako®

After several years of figuring out how to make a logo, I’ve formulated a process that any one can learn and understand. A process that includes teachings and approvals from one of the worlds best logo designers, Ivan Chermayeff. The logo process is broken down into 3 steps theory, practical and implementation.

Iterating Your Way to Success

Geoff Schultz

Geoff Schultz

UX Researcher/Designer at Elevation Church

As creatives, we often want to design in the dark, then dramatically reveal our masterpiece to the world in order to receive validation for all of the time, effort, and skill we poured into our work. But, more often than not, reality strikes with countless rounds of revisions, vague feedback, and soul-sucking demands that result in a Frankensteined version of concepts 1, 2, AND 3 all blended together. But, what if rather than fighting the feedback, we figured out how to use it as our greatest weapon. In this talk, you’ll learn how to consider the needs of your users and properly include the opinions of the stakeholders throughout your creative process.

Oops, we started a design agency!

Natalie Armendariz

Natalie Armendariz

Partner & Design Director at Funsize

When my partner (and husband) and I set out to work for ourselves, we didn’t anticipate the journey that lied ahead. After more than 10 years of running Funsize, we’ve amassed a portfolio with some of the world’s biggest names—Volvo, Oura, Dell, Adobe, Intuit, Electronic Arts, Toyota to name a few—and a badass team of designers at the helm. I’ll share the lessons we’ve learned throughout the years and some of the things we think it takes to run a successful agency.

Value of Relationships

Grizzly Wheeler

Grizzly Wheeler

Owner at Grizzly Wheeler Print Shop

I’ll be talking about my journey of building a successful business and how crucial the relationships we’ve built over time were essential to its architecture.

The
Classes

Workshops are on WEDNESDAY, September 6, 2023

Knowing the basics is not enough for you — you’re serious about making your ideas move like lightning and you want to soak in all the knowledge you can get. Perfect! The workshops were created just for you. At the Circles Workshops you’ll be able to get your hands dirty, go a little deeper, and get answers to your questions floating around in your head. You’ll walk away with practical knowledge and action steps in order to use your words to make some big waves in our world.

Classes start at $97/class & are 1.5 hrs long.

Track II starts at $197

Track 1

Workshop 01

How to improve your photography with any camera

Lyndi Stücky

Lyndi Stücky

Art Director & Photographer at Lyndi Ruth Photography

Do you struggle to improve your photography? Do you take a photo and wonder how you could make it better? Let’s walk through everything from food photography, layflats, portraits, coloring in editing and camera settings. You’ll walk away more confident in your shooting abilities!

TIME: 8:30 AM
LENGTH: 1.5 HRS
COST: $97

Workshop 02

Checking Your Frames

Nick Agimudie

Nick Agimudie

Director of Client Relations at Yellowbox

Leading Question: How can you help master the art of perspective and continue to produce excellent creative along the way?
Join us as we unpack how to gain greater perspective physically (in your craft), emotionally (within you) along your journey as a creative.

Synopsis:
Because our focus can be driven by what we produce, it can become difficult to stop and take stock of how and why we are producing. In the midst of all that we produce, we are becoming something. Are we content with who we are becoming?

In this workshop, we will talk about the greatest creative commodity on the planet – humans. And how to approach creativity through in light of our humanity.

TIME: 10:30 AM
LENGTH: 1.5 HRS
COST: $97

Workshop 03

Bring on the Browser: How To Step Up Your Web Design

Jon Chapman

Jon Chapman

Owner at Brokenstraw Design Co

This workshop serves as an exploration on the process of evolving and planning your work to thrive on the web. The workshop will include tips on organization, modern layout application and development considerations. Let’s get Digital!

TIME: 1:30 PM
LENGTH: 1.5 HRS
COST: $97

Workshop 04

Building a Culture of Creative Collaboration

Geoff Schultz

Geoff Schultz

UX Researcher/Designer at Elevation Church

Egos, opinions, assumptions, biases, and office politics. They all proudly present themselves on our quest to collaborate with other creatives, clients & other various stakeholders. We have one of two choices. Either we join in the bloodbath to fight for what we believe or we cower into our shells, hoping to make it through another project unscathed. Or, might there be a third option? During this workshop, I’ll equip you with some practical tools that will help you begin building a culture of creative collaboration within your team.

TIME: 3:30 PM
LENGTH: 1.5 HRS
COST: $97

Track 2

Workshop 01

Boom! Bam! Brush! Adobe Illustrator Workshop

Jeremy Slagle

Jeremy Slagle

Designer & Illustrator at Slagle Design

An interactive workshop for Illustrators, Letterers, and Designers who want to add truly unique style to their work in Adobe Illustrator.
Our Custom Illustrator Brush Workshop is an in-person, hand’s-on class where you learn how to make unique, one-of-a-kind, hand-created textures and turn them into custom brushes. We also explore the many ways to use them in your work.

The content is drawn from what I learned while illustrating the children’s book Chin Up, Chinchilla. While there a million Photoshop brush workshops, I sought to create a unique style within the vector-based Adobe illustrator platform while still achieving a hand-drawn, analog style.

This three-hour presentation covers:

  • Getting our hands dirty! We supply paint, brushes and some unexpected drawing tools.
  • Ways to import your hand-made brushes. No laptop is required but you’re welcome to bring one and work alongside us.
  • How to take those digital assets and create various types of brushes in Adobe Illustrator.
  • How to use and integrate brushes in your work to create linework, texture and transparency.
  • Downloadable step-by-step reference guide that walks you through the process – so you can spend more time making, and less time taking notes
  • Downloadable demonstration files to pick apart and practice on

TIME: 8:30 AM
LENGTH: 3 HRS
COST: $197

Workshop 02

A Designer's Guide to Brand Strategy and Identity

Paul Sirmon

Paul Sirmon

Founder at Buzzbomb Creative

This workshop is a comprehensive guide for designers who want to learn about brand strategy and create a strong brand identity for their clients. It covers the fundamentals of brand strategy, including identifying brand values, mission, and target audience, conducting market research, creating brand personas, and developing a brand positioning statement. Participants will also learn how to create a brand identity system that includes a logo, typography, color palette, and other visual elements. The workshop includes case studies, examples, and exercises to help participants apply what they learn to their own work. By the end of the workshop, participants will have the knowledge and tools they need to create effective brand strategies and identities for their clients.

TIME: 1:30 PM
LENGTH: 3 HRS
COST: $197

Register For Workshops

The Experience

Secure your pass for two days of inspirational speakers, opportunities for creative connection, and a front-row seat to rediscovering the wonder of design.

WORKSHOPS REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
AND ARE SOLD SEPARATELY.

$497

12

Speakers

6

Workshops

3

Parties

1

Activities

Location

Palace Arts Center

300 S Main St, Grapevine, TX 76051
Directions →

City Guide →

Past
Speakers

Hear from our past speakers to see what makes Circles Conference an inspirational powerhouse.

Aaron Draplin

Aaron
Draplin

Founder at Draplin Design Co.

Tad Carpenter

Tad
Carpenter

Designer & Illustrator at Carpenter Collective

James White

James
White

Visual artist & Designer at Signalnoise

Jay Argaet

Jay
Argaet

Global Art & Communications Director at Hillsong Church

Speaking Inquiry

The
Schedule

8:00 am

Registration & Coffee


8:30 am

Workshop 01

Lyndi Stücky

Lyndi Stücky

Topic: How to improve your photography with any camera

Jeremy Slagle

Jeremy Slagle

Topic: Boom! Bam! Brush! Adobe Illustrator Workshop


10:30 am

Workshop 02

Nick Agimudie

Nick Agimudie

Topic: Checking Your Frames


12:00 PM

Lunch


1:30 pm

Workshop 03

Jon Chapman

Jon Chapman

Topic: Bring on the Browser: How To Step Up Your Web Design

Paul Sirmon

Paul Sirmon

Topic: A Designer's Guide to Brand Strategy and Identity


3:30 pm

Workshop 04

Geoff Schultz

Geoff Schultz

Topic: Building a Culture of Creative Collaboration


7:00 PM

Kickoff Party Location Coming Soon


8:00 am

Coffee & Connect


9:00 am

Day 2 Kickoff


9:15 am

Session 1


10:15 am

Session 2


10:55 am

30 Minute Break


11:25 am

Session 3


12:05 pm

Lunch (2 hours)


12:30 pm

Yoga in the Square


2:15 pm

Session 4


3:15 pm

Session 5


3:55 pm

30 Minute Break


4:25 pm

Session 6


7:00 pm

Goodbye Party


2019 Recap

Sponsors

Yellowbox
Printed Threads
Ugmonk
TCU Design
AAF Amarillo

Gain valuable exposure for your brand and help us ensure the success of our 9th Annual Conference by becoming a sponsor or exhibitor!

Want to build valuable connections with creatives from around the world? Become a sponsor for the 9th Annual Conference and join us in September 2022.

About Circles

Circles Conference is a three-day creative design conference by Circles Co., bringing together designers and makers from around the globe. Learning from transformative thinkers and connecting with like-minded innovators, Circles provides a space where you’ll be challenged to push yourself in the creative process while drawing inspiration from those thriving in the industry.

During this conference, you’ll be empowered with resources and action-driven knowledge to help you pursue excellence in your craft. At the end of the experience, you’ll leave with a fresh spark of passion filled to the brim with revolutionary ideas and a community of Circle Makers ready to take on the world with you.

2019 SHORT FILM "REVISIONS"

Convince Your Boss
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