Finding Inspiration at SXSW 2013

Designers need to be inspired. Everything is so much better when you feel inspired. Production increases as well as the quality of the work produced. As a single parent sometimes it’s difficult finding time to indulge in the activities that keep me inspired before the responsibilities of work and parenthood set in. This week the kids are headed to Hollywood for a screening of Oz at the El Capatain so I am going to see some music at SXSW.

According to peekanalytics, I should fit right in at SXSW. The core audience is middle aged men from Texas.  Ha! I will have an opportunity to watch over 1900 officially scheduled bands and over 1000 street shows, impromptu gigs, secret sets & line up surprises. The rumors today included Prince & Radiohead. I’ll see an estimated 45-55 shows. That’s more shows than I would normally see in a year. I’ll discover new acts as well as established bands that are looking to re-ignite their sound. I’ll be surrounded by geeks wearing google glass, an appearance by grumpy cat, and I might even run into Elon Musk before he dies on Mars!

A lot of data is being gathered at the festival. I’m not sure if I will get to use any homeless hot spots like last year so I can connect & collect that data. There will be some relevant people and some, well, dumb.

To help keep me inspired and moving around the city quickly, I will be riding around on a foldable Tern p9 bicycle. Tern will be hosting the annual SXSW Tern bike share. All in all it should be a good time and it will help get me inspired to move forward creatively when I get back to pmg. Wish me luck.