Pecha Kucha SF

Twiter for the visually inclined.
Karaōke for designers.
Adult show and Tell.
Inspiring. A.D.D. friendly. An Intellectual happy hour.
I have to say, while it may not change my life, it sure improves my life. I walk out of these events feeling uplifted, that not everything that happens in the grind of a career has to be so limiting, and when you step back, we live in a city with an amazing array of talent and passion
I’ve been attending this since the first one, over 3 years ago, i’ve presented 3 times, and clearly, I get more out of it than most. So come by, or better yet, give it a shot and show us your goods, its quite easy to do and no one has ever gotten boo’ed. Even if you don’t present, you’ll see some great creative minds sharing things, with the occasional eccentric that can only be found in SF, presenting the zany ideas that you just have to chuckle at and say, well, to each their own.

Pecha Kucha is really cool. It is an interesting, and inexpensive (basically free aside from the $ 5 suggested donation and your drinks) way to start your evening.
The whole thing is loosely based on a theme or key word, heat, escape, failure etc. Designers and artists of any discipline can put together a slide show that is on a big screen and show 20 slides and they get 20 seconds per slide. The content is entirely up to the individual. It is great to see how each person has interpreted the theme in totally different ways. It is a great opportunity to get inspired by someones work, or meet other people in the industry. The whole show is over in like an hour & a half and they usually host it at a bar so you can buy drinks and mingle a bit. I totally recommend checking it out!

If you need to be inspired to get you working on ideas, this is the event for you! I am not nearly as creative or inventive as the presenters, but I get out of there with my brain working around ideas for future presentations! I just need to get going and do one!
The location of the event changes every month, so go to the website for information. Also, the theme of each event varies, but I noticed, some people don’t even stay withing the theme…
The November 08 event was at the Autodesk Gallery– crazy beautiful place, but the sound system truly sucked and was the one thing that annoyed the «beejeezus» out of me… Hopefully next time it will work better…
It is not an event for kids, but maybe for the right kid?

Pecha Kucha is monthly gathering event between architects and designers to showcase their inspirations, ideas and works. This even started in Tokyo by Klein Dytham Architects and has spread at global scale.
Pecha Kucha San Francisco is held at 330 Ritch, a small bar in SOMA. Each presenter is allowed to show max. of 20 slides. The energy in the room is incredible! I haven’t seen these many designers in a same place with the same purpose. I go to a lot of designers/​architects events and they are usually very uninteresting. So I was very sketptical before I showed up at my first Pecha Kucha night.
It’s really cool to see independent young designers work and, to see the support of their peers! To me, this is a real community!
If you are not a designer, it’s really cool to show up and check out the scene. It’s definitely not your standard SF bar scene.
For more info, go to:

some excellent presentations and a good, rapid-​fire vibe. a few dogs, but mostly fun and or smart work presented. i was a big fan of aero bed & breakfast. i will be back.

Pecha Kucha (Japanese for «the sound of conversation») is a mindf*&k of the first order. I’ve pasted their own verbiage below to describe it, and add as my review that if you have even the slightest passing tangential hint of interest in any form, shape or kind of design, you should put this on your must-​dos.
The format is simple. One night each month several dozen folks gather in SOMA to hear 5 – 10 designers from all fields present their work. Each person shows 20 images with a fixed 20 seconds per image. Combine with sharp conversation pre and post, and good drinks from the bar, and it’s no wonder Pecha Kucha received the 2007 «BEST HYPERINTELLECTUAL SHOW-​AND-​TELL» award from the Bay Guardian.
Without further ado, here’s their desc:
«This is the San Francisco version of Pecha Kucha, originally created by Klein Dytham Architects in Tokyo. Pecha Kucha has gained great success in Tokyo and it has been transferred to over 80 cities world wide, including San Francisco.
Pecha Kucha is intended to gather creative individuals to share their work and ideas in a night, chilling-​out, getting together and exchanging thoughts in an informal environment.
Pecha Kucha welcomes creative minds from the fields of Architecture, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, Fashion Design, Animation and Design in general. We also invite students who are looking for a job and want to promote their skills. Pecha Kucha represents a new expression venue for people in the creative world.
Pecha Kucha is a lot of fun for short attention fragments. We welcome a broad mix of participants, from well-​known professionals to students, recent graduates, and new firms presenting their work for the first time.
Here’s the chance for you, designers of all kinds, to tell the world about YOUR big ideas! Break out of those pesky specialties, see what cool things are going on right here in town. Who knows you might just stimulate some cross-​discipline collaborations & connections & maybe even get inspired in the process.
We have invited designers in product design, interactive media, illustration, fashion, graphics, film, architecture & landscape — virtual and real — to stand-​up and show the world what they can do.»