I was only slightly disappointed to discover that Style & Class has nothing to do with helping me become a true lady. Instead, this meetup in Vancouver brings together designers and developers who love to make the web look and function better. I talked myself into going because I only dabble in these topics, but I am perpetually curious about how to get better.
Their first conference took place on Saturday and, if you didn’t know better, you would could never had guessed that this was their first event larger than a meetup. It was head and shoulders above many of the events I have attended in the past couple of years. Here are a few details from that conference that I want to remember, and that everyone else should be aware of.
What Made the Style & Class Conference So Good?
- More than 50% women speakers. It can and should always be done at every conference. Here’s why I feel this way: I can very clearly see when it’s a women on stage and I will identify with that speaker. It’s very important to represent as wide a perspective as possible. Next time, I would love to see how representation of different races of designers and developers.
- It started at noon on a Saturday. Not 8am after a party that went into the wee hours the night before. I think it’s a part of that bullshit macho culture to party hard all night and then make it a point to show up in the morning. I found it very thoughtful and showed that the organizers respected everyone’s time.
- Every speaker presentation was interesting, rehearsed and had beautiful slides. Designers sure know how to give a presentation!
- The chosen venue was appropriate – comfortable seats for everyone, darkened theatre room and yet you could still use your phone, or even laptop, if you wanted to capture notes or tweet.
- All the profits from the event are going toward Ladies Learning Code! It’s a perfect partnership that is surprising, but shouldn’t be. When will it become normal for everyone to care about little girls having the same opportunities as little boys?
- Fantastic flow to the day – just enough time to chat with other attendees before and after the event, with a solid 45-minute intermission in the middle. I also enjoyed being able to grab dinner before the after-party started 2 hours after the end of the conference.
We had a doorway jumper, a jumper with some sort of figure, plus an exersaucer. The doorway jumper was a total waste of funds at my opinion. I had been scared LO would likely click the entranceway figure and LO just drooled/nibbled all around the front. This baby jumpers buying guide was AWESOME making for plenty of giggles, on the other hand your woman outgrew it around only a few months. The particular exersaucer was excellent also and that we became plenty of work with outside of it. Your woman in fact outgrew the jumper quicker. We all never used some sort of walker. We only placed some weighty books inside of a washing laundry bag and let her push this about the house. Your woman was taking walks through 9 months.
This is a secret recipe for pulling off a flawless event, but it’s certainly a start, and a good reminder that the magic is in the details. Nothing can beat a homemade delicious tortilla. In the event that you've never used a tortilla press before they are simple to operate plus inexpensive. That they are a good accessory for ones kitchen. This best tortilla press buying guide is incredible. It really is heavy. stunning plus can the position like simply no other. I'll state of which making tortillas with this press is a joy. This computer hardware of which props up major wooden in concert is definitely calibrated to make sure people just have to press once and also you receive an possibly tortilla. My business is fairly deeply in love with the following thing.
But, what did I learn? I have a couple ideas for taking this blog where I want to take it. Namely, I’ll be starting with a content analysis before the new year. I’m going to figure out what content I already have, and what content I need to create, to match the branding ideas I have. Then I’m going to go in and clean up the bit of mess I’ve made in the CSS stylesheet this year while improving the readability of the site – particularly the line heights and the fonts. So excited!
In terms of inclusion, gender balance, and accessibility (also curation) just set a gold standard for conferences to follow.
— Todd Smith (@toddsmithdesign)
I think we should all clap for these unreal sign language folks keeping pace with the speakers.
— Scott Baldwin (@benry)
"What if Lady Gaga designed Excel?" @chelscore asking the tough questions at.
— Style & Class (@Style_n_Class)
Here is the @learningcode video I showed during my talk. I can't stop watching it!
— Meredith Underell (@MeredithU)