Shane Life

I was in Atlanta for the HOW Design Conference this week and as I was making my way to the Delta terminal in the airport on Wednesday, I saw this:

This man is Seven feet, nine inches tall.

I know this because his shirt said: www.sevenfootnine.com. His name is Sun Ming Ming and he is the tallest basketball player in the world. When he got on the tram, I was certain that I was seeing things. There was no way that there was a man that large. Apparently, I was wrong.

I’m a tall guy…probably 6′3″ with my shoes off, but I was DWARFED by Ming, who was a full foot and a half taller than me. That’s a full-size Mr. Goodcent’s sub. Unfortunately, I only had my Sprint cameraphone and this is the best picture I could get, but there was a train full of witnesses, all of whom emerged saying the same thing, “MAN, that guy was HUGE!”

And that wasn’t even the highlight of my trip to Atlanta…

The HOW Design Conference is perhaps one of the most wonderfully invigorating creative conferences that exists. Bryn Mooth and her staff at HOW Magazine put together a stellar lineup of speakers and sessions that makes it the seminal conference for graphic designers, creative directors and the like. This was my 3rd consecutive year attending and it was just as good as the rest.

I didn’t take to Atlanta quite as well as Las Vegas in 2006 or Chicago in 2005, but it was really neat to see a city I’ve never been to before. It was like opening a new box of shoes for me, although this box of shoes didn’t smell of leather and rubber, but of smog and humidity. Despite its less-than-appealing weather proclivities, I found the downtown skyline pretty remarkable. It is unique and much bigger than I thought, although I found it rather frustrating that there were perhaps three restaurants in the 5 blocks surrounding my hotel that were open on Sunday (when I arrived). Lunch was an ordeal and I settled on an Irish pub where I got some fish and chips. Not bad, but not what I was looking for.

Food-wise, the rest of the visit to Hotlanta was a bust, save two meals. First was my dinner on Monday night. Alli had heard from Rachel Ray that The Flying Biscuit is the place to go in Atlanta. Since I’d heard that the train system in Atlanta was good, I purchased a 4-day pass to the MARTA, which turned out to be totally worth it. Not only did it take me 1 block away from my hotel directly from the airport (Tony, I know you think mass transit in KC will be a bust, but this is where it is AT), but it took me North to 10th Street, a mere 3 blocks from The Flying Biscuit. Great meal, eclectic setting, and very affordable.

The other meal that stood out was my Tuesday night sushi at the Pacific Rim Bistro, which was in the building next to my hotel. I had a Dragon Roll and some Hamachi and thought that it was wonderful. I don’t eat sushi that much, but since I’ve found I like it, I try to eat it whenever I can. Good stuff!

As far as the conference went, I was really happy. I love listening to these uber-creative people talking about their successes and their careers and how they have accomplished what they have. On Monday morning, I listened to Chip Kidd, a book designer who is probably most famous for designing the cover of Jurassic Park, which in turn became the branding statement for the whole franchise. I read his book, The Cheese Monkeys, last year, but forgot to bring it with me. Chip was nice enough to sign something for me and when I got home, I stored it in my book and it will be there for a long time.

While the rest of the conference was great, I had one minor issue – I wished that speakers would wait until the end of their talks to start showing all the work they’ve done that makes them so great. I’d rather hear what you’ve come to speak about first, folks. Graphic Designers are notorious egomaniacs who love the chance to whip out their portfolio whenever they can – even people who have great jobs and don’t really need to (do you hear me, Armin Vit?).

All in all it was a great conference. I’m glad to be home for sure. Alli and I leave in less than 2 weeks for our trip to Italy. I can’t believe it is almost here!