Creative conference inspires regional students
Wed 01 June 2011
Caitlin Ryan, Bachelor of Journalism
The first Analogue/Digital creative conference was held on May 13, 2011, on the Sunshine Coast in front of a packed audience of students and professionals.
Analogue/Digital is a local creative conference which provides a regional destination with a range of high profile creative professionals.
This year’s conference featured seven outstanding speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds and creative avenues.
They included art director Claudio Kirac, editor Vaughan Blakey, graffiti artists Sofles and Luke Shirlaw, agency director Jeremy Wortsman, fine artist Simon Degroot and photographer Matthew O’brien. 
The conference was created by The Various Artists graphic designers Matthew Haynes and Brian Keayes, who specialise in everything from branding and web design to print media and digital advertising.
Matthew Haynes, who is only two years out of university himself, hopes that Analogue/Digital will be able to provide the same resources as something as big as the Semi-Permanent conference does but in a more attainable way.
“Analogue/Digital is never going to outdo something like (national creative conference) Semi-Permanent, but I want to make it a whole lot more appealing by making it smaller and more intimate with the opportunity to get close to the speakers,” Mr Haynes said.
“I hope that one day Analogue/Digital is what I do and I can go to all the regional places that never have anything and do a conference every month- that’s when everyone comes out of the woodwork.”
Mr Haynes added that although he is a junior graphic designer, living on the Sunshine Coast in comparison to somewhere like Sydney he has learnt that someone will always find you if you are good at what you do.
“If you want to change the world you need to find something that motivates you and moves you,” Mr Haynes said.
“Then use your talents to do something great and hopefully you can get paid while you do it.”
The conference, which took six months of organising and planning, was an all day event at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinema in the Sunshine Plaza.
It was attended by an audience of up to 280 people, ranging from university students to their lecturers and tutors.
One of the highlights of the conference was the address by Claudio Kirac, whose career spans more than 15 years as a professional artist, photographer, designer and consultant.
Mr Kirac, who is based on the Gold Coast, said after many years of being involved with creative conferences, the regional Sunshine Coast setting was just as impressive as the bigger cities.
“After attending and presenting nearly 10 years of conferences, I was so impressed with both the quality of speakers, and attention of attendees,” Mr Kirac said.
“It was so good to have something available at such a 'grass roots' level for students and professionals that normally get left to the bigger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.
“It was a very intimate setting and it gave the attendees a great chance to speak and interact one on one with the speakers and organisers.”
The conference ended on a high note with an inspiring presentation from Surfing World editor Vaughan Blakey, who with no formal journalism qualifications was editor of Waves magazine at just 20 years old.
Mr Blakey, who flew in from Sydney, said creative conferences like Analogue/Digital allow participants to walk away with information and inspiration to help with their own goals in the future.
“This was fun because it gave the speakers an opportunity to share with everyone their own journey in creative fields and in doing so present some lessons and inspiration that the people in the audience could then apply to their own lives,” Mr Blakey said.
“My message was very clear- talent will get you so far, but commitment and passion are the real stepping stones to success.
“Even if you don’t know what you want to do with your life, if you are going to bother to work hard it may as well be doing something you love, otherwise you’re just wasting time.”
The next big plan for Analogue/Digital is to move it to the Gold Coast in 2012, where the organisers behind the conference hope to be able to bring an even bigger range of guest speakers, domestic and international, to another regional audience.
Mr Haynes encourages young people on the Sunshine Coast to follow his footsteps and get their name out in the workplace if they really love something, but to be prepared to work hard.
“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity,” Mr Haynes said.
“I’m not lucky; I’m just more prepared than the other guys that are trying to do the same thing as me.”
Image(s) designed by Caitlin Ryan