Santa Cruz Design and Innovation
This past Friday night, Plantronics hosted the first public meeting regarding the Santa Cruz Design and Innovation Center. When I received the invite back in October, I really had no idea what to expect - but I am always interested in reaching out to my community to see what's new, especially as it relates to design and innovation. What surprised me was the pent up demand that Santa Cruz has for events like this. There were easily 350 people in attendance and talk of of over 100 that were turned away at the door due to the event being over-capacity.
Ken Kannappan, Plantronics CEO, led off the formal part of the meeting essentially stunned at the turnout. Ever the example of modesty and graciousness, he said a few words and passed the stage to Ed Porter, one of our city council members and the chair of the committe. Noting the countless people in the audience to acknowledge for helping to put this together over the last 18 months, it was handed over to Darrin Caddes, the VP of Corporate Design for Plantronics. Darrin did a terrific job of launching the part of the event aimed squarely at the designers in the community. His tempered style set the tone of appreciation for everyone there.
Lastly Chris Chapman, Director, Automotive Design at BMW stepped up with 176 slides - however they were nearly all automotive artwork, photos of clay models, classic cars, and design teams, giving us a peek into the daily lives of auto designers. He was truly a delight to hear.
Like everyone else there, I was very pleased to see such a active involvement in Santa Cruz for something so fresh. There is a serious goal to raise Santa Cruz's stature with respect to all kinds of designers. Having lived here for 22 years, I am well aware of the talent here - and creating a catalyst like this is just what the design community needs. I can hardly wait to see what's next.
Ken Kannappan, Plantronics CEO, led off the formal part of the meeting essentially stunned at the turnout. Ever the example of modesty and graciousness, he said a few words and passed the stage to Ed Porter, one of our city council members and the chair of the committe. Noting the countless people in the audience to acknowledge for helping to put this together over the last 18 months, it was handed over to Darrin Caddes, the VP of Corporate Design for Plantronics. Darrin did a terrific job of launching the part of the event aimed squarely at the designers in the community. His tempered style set the tone of appreciation for everyone there.
Lastly Chris Chapman, Director, Automotive Design at BMW stepped up with 176 slides - however they were nearly all automotive artwork, photos of clay models, classic cars, and design teams, giving us a peek into the daily lives of auto designers. He was truly a delight to hear.
Like everyone else there, I was very pleased to see such a active involvement in Santa Cruz for something so fresh. There is a serious goal to raise Santa Cruz's stature with respect to all kinds of designers. Having lived here for 22 years, I am well aware of the talent here - and creating a catalyst like this is just what the design community needs. I can hardly wait to see what's next.
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