The ability to craft (and deliver) a good presentation should be in the quiver of every designer, right along side their Moleskine and Micron pens (Garrett prefers Sharpies and a Dot Grid Book).

I use presentations to unravel a vague idea or requirement to be sure I completely understand all of the facets and details. If I can’t clearly explain a topic or idea then I need to go back to the project stakeholder and regroup. In some cases this will uncover holes that need to be address even before I start sketching out a wire frame.

I’ll be presenting Influencing Change Through Presentations at Design Thinking Dallas on Friday October 19th. Officially:

Have you ever sat through a bad presentation? Me too! In this session we’ll see how a well designed presentation can be an invaluable tool for telling your story, incubating ideas, and making change in your organization.

Design Thinking will be an all day session about “thinking different” and will feature a keynote from Chris Bernard and many other Dallas superstars. This all day event it only $40 dollars if you register in advance, $50 at the door.

At this year’s SXSW, Jason and Rob led a great panel on finding and maintaining inspiration in everyday life.

Citing Kevin Cornell, they suggested becoming a design vigilante - “If you love design, take it back!”

This idea really resonated with me. I’ve always believed that design should be used for good in everyday life. And the best way to stay inspired and keep learning is practice. Find a design problem and solve it.

I’ve got a few blog posts in the queue of some quick before & after websites that I made over for the sheer fun of it. After realizing the power of this exercise, I ran home and bought designvigilante.com!

I must admit, I’m very shocked this was available. Look for something soon.