NYC 2013 - Impressions from the IFVP Conference - Part 1

After a year's absence, it was that time again this year: the IFVP conference in the USA – more precisely in New York – to be exact at the Marriott Downtown in the Financial District of Manhattan.

IFVP – the International Forum of Visual Practitioners – is an international association of professional visualizers. The international conference is something of a meeting place for the "who's who" of visualization professionals, characterized by a friendly atmosphere and lively exchange of information. Many good reasons, then, for us to attend this conference.

Pre-Conference and Welcome

Our first day at the Marriott was the pre-conference day. While the numerous attendees dispersed to the parallel workshops "GR101" and "Teaching Graphic Facilitation," we began unpacking the two large pallets that had survived the air freight to New York unscathed. After all, the extensive Neuland equipment needed to be presented in an appealing way.

The conference's welcome session began with a short visual introduction, in which participants were asked to draw a picture of themselves and add their name and contact details.

This year, Diane Durand gave the welcoming address at the reception – in a very special way. Although she had announced it online beforehand, she still surprised many of those present with a musical-style opening performance.

First day of the conference

The first official day of the conference began at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast, followed by a welcome address from Diane Durand, who spoke about the "internationality" of this year's IFVP conference. It became clear that the topic has truly reached a global audience, as the visual practitioners attending this event came to New York from all corners of the world for this gathering of the industry.
After this brief introduction, Brandy Agerbeck captivated the audience with a professional/charming opening keynote.

International conferences must adhere to a strict schedule to avoid disrupting the entire concept. Thus, Brandy's session concluded as planned with the first major break of the conference. Time for a cup of coffee, a light snack, and of course, a visit to the Neuland booth.

Interest in our products was so high that even during the workshops, some participants, true to the law of two feet, were always lingering at the Neuland booth. No time for boredom! However, this also meant that we ourselves had very little time to participate in the workshops. Therefore, this report only scratches the surface of the conference in many areas, without being able to delve into any real depth. However, given the wealth of inspiration such a conference offers, it seems presumptuous to believe that a report could truly convey a complete impression. Such a conference simply has to be experienced firsthand. You'll find out how to do this even more easily next year at the end of this conference summary.

Despite a full schedule, Guido Neuland didn't want to miss the "Cartooning & Lettering" workshop with Jim Nuttle. Jim had stepped in at short notice for Joern Nielsen, who unfortunately couldn't attend the conference this year.

Other workshops/sessions that we unfortunately couldn't attend for the reasons mentioned above were offered on the first day:

• “The Digital Graphic Recorder: iPads, Tablets, and Virtual/Online Graphic Recording” with Rachel Smith
• “Identifying your Unique Value Proposition” with Michelle Boos-Stone
• “How to empower 300 people to draw in 30 minutes” with the communication guides
• “Plenary Session: Business Modeling for the Visual Practitioner” with Diane Durand
• “Vision to Reality” (Personal development) with Patti Dobrowolski
• "Shall we Dance? Partnering with the non-graphic Facilitator" with Lisa Arora/Cynthia Pace (IAF)

Sequel follows..

Link:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/2274107@N23/