Idealist

Doors at 6pm, Talk at 6:30pm

Please visit the site to RSVP.

Our Topic

Over the years, the internet has had many a debate over unicorns, aka designers that code. In what capacity do they exist? Should more people try to become unicorns? What does it take to be a designer/developer?

Despite what the descriptor might imply, being a unicorn isn’t magic – it’s work. Whether you’re starting a career in design, already designing and coding all the time, or hiring, you’ll have to make decisions about what to prioritize. So rather than perpetuating unicorn myths, let’s talk about what it’s like to jump between two disciplines and what makes one designer better than another.

Our speaker, Elea Chang

Elea Chang is a Bay-Area-native-turned-Portlander who designs for the web and thinks about usability. Previously, she worked for Upworthy, Idealist, and OkCupid Labs. Recently, Elea has written pieces for Model View Culture and The Pastry Box, and is putting together Affect, a conference on the intersection of design and social good.

Our Topic

There are few things given more skepticism by the geeks of the world than marketing. Indeed, we like to see ourselves as above the buzzwords and cheesy stock photographs, safe in a world where the empirically best solution is the one that will win out.

But there’s a problem. Marketing, and especially branding, is critical to the geek’s career. Indeed, geeks from John Gruber to Jeff Atwood have become big names in programming, and it’s not by accident- they know how to make and expose a great, genuine professional identity. Projects turn from hobbyist hacks to enterprise concerns thanks to their clear, strong branding. For the successful geek, branding is essential, but we can be just too skeptical to take advantage.

Well, no longer. I’ve trudged through the marketing landscape and found the bits that anyone can be okay with applying. I’ll go through finding an authentic identity for yourself or your next project, so you can put together an appealing image without having to lie through your teeth. And I’ll back it up not with lofty promises, but with a skeptic’s favorite thing: science.

Our speaker, Zoe Landon

Zoe Landon has been messing with computers since childhood and making them work more or less correctly for the last 8 years. She has a Software Engineering degree mostly used for front-end web development, and a Creative Writing minor mostly used for confusing people. Zoe’s many entrepreneurial efforts have resulted in an interview with Sir Christopher Lee, vulgarities from a British rock band, and other minor successes.

She can often be found partaking in trivia and wearing a silly hat.

Follow Zoe on Twitter.

Doors at 6pm, Talk at 6:30pm

Dive deep into the nuts and bolts of how to audit your existing CSS. By understanding the reasons for doing it as well as how you can learn, as your auditing, how to keep your CSS lean and mean in the future. You'll leave with tools and ideas for how to do an audit, as well as what to do with the information once you’ve got it. Your audit can even be a springboard to create CSS guidelines and even a style guide.

Our speaker, Susan Robertson

Susan is a front end developer working with Fictive Kin who focuses on CSS, style guides, responsive, and accessibility. In the past, she has worked with clients such as FiftyThree, Imprint, Cloud Four, and worked for Editorially, The Nerdery, and Cambia Health. When not actually writing code, she can be found writing about a wide variety of topics on her own site as well as contributing to A List Apart and The Pastry Box. When not staring at a screen, she reads comics and novels, cooks lots of yummy food, and enjoys her Portland neighborhood.

Join us for an afternoon workshop on 21 May 2015...

Have you ever wanted to build something from scratch that other people could use? There are tons of tutorials and instructions for writing your first website using HTML and CSS, but building something that interacts with the user — a full, complete web application — might feel unachievable and out of reach. Not so!

This workshop will walk you through creating a basic web app using Python and Django, from ideation to deployment. Set up your first web product with a database, registration and login forms, and perhaps get on the path to a fun side-project or future startup. Tailored for designers and non-programmers and taught by a designer.

What We'll Cover Installation of Python Django, and deploying your local web app. Setting up static files and templates to make it look like a real website. Creating a database schema. Setting up registration, login, and password recovery pages. Deployment on Heroku (if time allows).

Who Should Attend This workshop is for those who are comfortable with HTML CSS and want to learn how to build a web app with Django.

What You Should Know Experience with HTML and CSS is highly recommended. Very basic knowledge of programming concepts encouraged (variables/loops/etc — easy resources will be given before the workshop).

What to Bring A laptop with your favorite text editor. If possible, a Mac or Linux system.

What to Expect A half-day of workshop learning! Coffee, Tea, and Snacks are provided by Refresh Portland! A copy (digital or physical) of Tracy's new book for each attendee! Other things that warrant an exclamation mark!

The workshop will begin at 1pm and end at 5pm. After the workshop is over, everyone who wants to join us will head to a nearby establishment for drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) on Refresh Portland.

About Tracy Osborn Tracy Osborn is a designer, developer, and entreprenerd living in the Bay Area of California. She's the author of Hello Web App, teaching beginner web app development. Building websites since she was twelve, she always felt an affinity to computers, the internet, and what it brings us.

Tracy graduated with a BFA in Art Design with a concentration in Graphic Design from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and worked as a web designer for five years before teaching herself programming and launching her first startup, WeddingLovely. She's also an avid outdoorswoman and would love to go on a hike with you.

The Venue, Idealist Thanks to Idealist for hosting us this month! Idealist is located at 209 SW Oak, Suite 101, Portland, OR, 97204.

Come on in the front door and go straight back, then left to the meeting room.