CMD+Z, how we love thee!
The whole team drove to Moncton last month for Creative Union Club's creative gathering for Atlantic Canada. Ashe took the stage on the Women-Owned Agencies panel with Tanya Duffy and Gillian Jackson, moderated by Kate Wallace.
Focusing on Atlantic Graphic Design is a must, and CMD+Z achieved that. I feel we are a region that should be well connected, but for one reason or another, we feel quite separate from province to province.
When you bring designers, young and old, into one room, something magic happens. I have been to national design conferences, and there is something profound about a group of people who live their careers engaging with one speaker at the top of their respective field of design.
It’s kind of like a Canada Day fireworks display with the collective audiences' ooooohs and aaaaaahs. Except everyone watching the display knows exactly how much time, energy, and, of course, skill went into building each rocket and the painstaking work of getting them to explode on time.
CMD+Z placed incredibly talented Atlantic Canadian Designers on stage who live and breathe their work. They might work with international organizations or global rockstars, but they prove that you don't need to be in Toronto to be at the top of the mountain. Great work can be achieved from a rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean if it is truly inspired.
Atlantic Canada is a design powerhouse, and CMD+Z proves that. We just go about our business in a more “East Coast” way. Politely, but don't you mistake that for weakness.
— Lewis, Creative Director
I'm in awe of how much creative talent Atlantic Canada has, and being in a room full of it all day was really special and inspiring. Hearing the speakers share how their creative careers took shape was a highlight, and one piece of advice kept popping up from speaker to speaker, Ashe included... trust your gut! It's advice we all need to be reminded of every now and then, and I’ll be carrying it into every project (and, well, everything else) from here on out.
— FR, Digital Implementation Lead
Being in a room packed with East Coast creatives was an absolute boost of inspiration. Getting a look into how the keynote speakers built their client networks over time left me with two major takeaways: no interaction is too small (you never know who will become your next client!), and while curiosity gets an idea rolling, bravery is what actually gets your art/designs out into the world. So be brave and share your work!
Also, huge shoutout to Ashe 🔈! Her thoughts on design, inclusivity, and healthy workplace culture made me especially proud to be part of the Hijinks team.
— Bhreagh, Graphic Designer + Illustrator
Speaking at CMD+Z was a wee bit surreal! I’ve watch a good number of these designers present at other conferences and the ones who hadn’t, certainly could have. We said amongst ourselves more than once, that any of the presentations could have been on the Main Stage at DesignThinkers in Toronto and we wouldn’t have blinked. That says a lot for our Atlantic Canadian design heroes!
I was on a panel with two other women who founded design agencies in Moncton and Fredericton, Tanya Duffy and Gill Jackson. Kate Wallace was our moderator and had so many fantastic talking points for us, and I feel like we only touched on 2-3 of them over the 40 minutes. Our chat centred mostly around workplace culture, using our inherent empathy as a super power, and the lessons we wish we’d known prior to starting our agencies.
Despite being located within 4 hours of each other, we didn’t actually know each other. So we’re thankful to CMD+Z for making the world a little smaller and putting good, creative people in one room together. There’s no better way to build community than to learn and share experiences together.
We are definitely looking forward to next years conference, and if you’re interested in the Atlantic Canadian creative scene, I’d start following Creative Union now!
— Ashe, Founder + Brand Designer
