Upcoming Events

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Tuesday December 9th
Fourth Annual Holiday Networking Party

Where: Vig Bar, 12 Spring St. at Elizabeth St. | MAP
Time: 6:30 pm
Cost: $15 includes light fare
& cash bar
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org by Dec 5 with your name and vendors you're bringing

Bring yourself, your business cards, and the the vendors you love to our fourth annual festive holiday networking event! This is a great time for new and perspective to members come meet our group and see what types of relationships Spark can help grow for you.



Tuesday January 27th
Spark Speak - Get Organized with ‘The Clutter Cowgirl’

Where: Hagopian Ink
321 E 66th Street #2E, btw 1st and 2nd Ave | MAP
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Organization is the key to success - an organized office space is a fundamental component to running a healthy business. Jeni Aron is The Clutter Cowgirl and is ready to wrangle your office into shape. She covers paper trails, setting up your home or separate office, making things pretty, as well as general organization.

Saturday February 21st
Spark Boot Camp for Graphic Design Firms

Where: NY Designs
45-50 30th Street
Long Island City, NY 11101 | MAP
Time: 10 am - 3 pm
Cost: $75 for members / $95 for non-members, includes boxed lunch
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Get a headstart on your 2009 resolutions with this amazing full-day workshop featuring:

Linda Rappaport of Gazzelle Strategic Partners
10:00am - 11:15am
Linda helps design firms improve performance, productivity, and efficiency in order to prepare for growth. Linda will present a model that demonstrates how you can successfully link your personal vision and strategie to financial growth.  

Ivan Drucker, Mac expert at Ivan Expert
11:15am - 12:30pm
Ivan will show you how to create systems for your small office to ensure that your networking and back-up operate smoothly. He'll also cover some of the most common technology challenges that small design firms struggle with regularly.  

Onsite lunch and networking. A boxed lunch will be provided.

Adam Urban of Kirshenbaum, Urban, & Tan, LLP
1:00pm - 2:15pm
Ever wondered how your income and profit measures up against other design firms? Business accountant Adam Urban will share years of industry knowledge on how to evaluate your gross profit, net profit, profit cycles, and overall expenses.

Tuesday March 3rd
Spark Studio – Studio TBD

Where: TBD
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Twice a year we ask principals of design firms we admire to share their insights on running a small studio. Get an insider's view into the real workings of a successful design firm – particular emphasis will be placed on discussing work/life balance, business successes, and industry recognition.

Tuesday April 7th
Spark Speak – Andrew Berger on Trademarking and Copywriting Issues

Where: Office of Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP  | 900 Third Avenue | MAP

Time:
6:30 pm time to chat; 7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Learn how to protect your company’s and client’s work, and avoid legal proceedings. In this seminar Andrew Berger offers practical advice about trademarks, copyrights, and how to register and protect them. He will also discuss some notable and very unexpected infringement cases that affect our industry.
 

Tuesday May 5th
Spark Roundtable – Self Promotion Review with a Panel of Experts

Where: TBD
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Get honest feedback of your promotional and marketing materials from a panel of clients who regularly review press and marketing materials.

How do you know which of your marketing materials are most effective and which just don’t make the grade? Hear from these experts what clients are looking for in promotional materials, and how to tweak what you have to gain the maximum impact for presenting your business to potential new clients. 

Tuesday June 9th
Spark Book Club – How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul

Where:  Red Rooster Group
23rd and Park
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Join us for a round table discussion on the book, How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy and Stefan Sagmeister. We will discuss your favorite ideas and tips for applying them in the real world. You must have read the book to attend this event as we will be speaking intimately about how its philosophies can apply to your business.

Tuesday July 7th
Spark Social - Annual Spark BBQ at MSLK

Where: MSLK | 23-23 33rd Road, Long Island City | DIRECTIONS
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins

Cost:
$5 and a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Enjoy the summer air, grab a burger, a beer, and get to know Spark at this purely social event. Everyone is encouraged to bring a graphic design colleague that you think should get to know us more as well. We'll have standard BBQ fare, as well as vegetarian options! A great opportunity to have some fun, get to know colleagues and say ‘I was there’.

Tuesday August 4th
Spark Field Trip—Museum TBD

Where: TBD
Time: 6pm
Cost: Cost of museum admission
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org


Take some time off from hard work and join us on this trip to a NYC museum. Looking at and discussing the work of other creators is a great way to rev up those creative juices and keep your enthusiasm stoked.

Tuesday October 6th
Spark Speak - Best Practices & The Newest Web Technologies

Where: TBD
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Our back-end developer panel will discuss best practices for how designers can integrate and communicate with their technical teams, leading to seamless translation of ideas into end-user functionality. We’ll also learn about the latest and greatest web techniques that clients are asking for.

Tuesday November 3rd
Spark Speak – Interactive Social Marketing for Design Firms with Carmina Perez

Where: TBD
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat;
7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: a bottle of wine or beverage
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org

Learn how online social networking techniques can greatly contribute to the promotion of your design business. Carmina Perez is an social marketing expert who will be discussing how you can leverage social networking platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Blogs, etc. to increase the strength of your brand and marketing transparency in the interactive social networking sphere.

Tuesday December 15th
Fifth Annual Holiday Networking Party

Where: Vig Bar, 12 Spring St. at Elizabeth St. | MAP
Time: 6:30 pm
Cost: $15 includes light fare
& cash bar
RSVP: rsvp@sparknyc.org by Dec 5 with your name and vendors you're bringing

Bring yourself, your business cards, and the the vendors you love to our fourth annual festive holiday networking event! This is a great time for new and perspective members to come meet our group and see what types of relationships Spark can help
grow for you.



Event Policies

Events are held on the last Tuesday of every month.

While attendance at events is generally free for Spark members, we ask that you bring your beverage of choice and on occasion pay an additional fee for particular speakers and venues. Events with additional fees are noted on the calendar and at these events beverages and snacks are provided.

Non-members may attend two events on a trial basis