Ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes at some of Brighton’s most innovative and creative companies?
This year as part of Brighton Digital Festival 2015, Wired Sussex have invited 27 Creative, Digital & IT Companies to run 33 events over 4 days – resulting in a jam-packed line-up of workshops, drop-ins, demonstrations, talks, parties and games tournaments.
With our biggest and most diverse line-up ever - covering Animation, Graphic Design, Digital Marketing, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), Accounting, Digital Publishing, Games Development, Strategy, Advertising, Research & Development, Web & App Development, Networking, Entrepreneurship and more – there’s bound to be at least a few events for you, whether you’re a recent graduate, a seasoned industry professional, or a curious individual.
Creative, Digital & IT (CDIT) Open Studios 2015 runs from Tuesday 1st to Friday 4th September. All CDIT Open Studios events are free to attend and open to everyone, but please register to attend events asap to secure a place.
Check out what’s in store this year:
Design, Branding, Animation and Creative Events
Puree Design will be running Brand Discovery Drop-In Sessions (Tues-Fri, by appointment) to help you hone the direction and voice of your new brand, or give your existing brand a much-needed MOT.
Open Studios veterans and animation masterminds Persistent Peril invite you to their persistently open, perilous studio for a cuppa and an informal chat about what they do.
Tilt do everything from Design and Development to Film, Motion and Strategy – hear each of their departments give lightning talks on what they love about working at Tilt and their respective industries, before breaking out into mini-workshops.
Curing Perfect - Meet the Makers offers a unique insight into Carousel, a learning disability led arts organisation, and a project that brings together learning disabled artists, bio-medical scientists, ethicists and digital artists.
Harvey & John are a creative studio that invents moving objects that interact with people in playful ways – on Friday evening they’re opening up their brand new studio in New England House for “an evening of sense-triggering delights”.
Accounting Events
Cardens Accountants will be running 4 workshops during Open Studios week – each focussing on practical accounting advice and tips for different audiences. On Tuesday 1st they’ll be explaining why going freelance isn’t such a scary move after all, with Andrew Dunham.
On Wednesday 2nd they’ll be joined by Xero – a leading cloud-based accounting package – to give you a personal introduction to how their software could save you both time and money.
Whether you’ve already taken the plunge or are considering it, Thursday 3rd’s workshop with Jo Camplisson will be based around what it takes to work for yourself.
Rounding off the week on Friday 4th they’ll be joined by Keith Hall to give an overview of the various tax breaks available to creative & digital businesses.
Strategy, Marketing and SEO Events
On Tuesday 1st digital strategy agency Brilliant Noise invite you into their new offices in International House by Brighton Train Station, to tell you about what they do and show off some of their recent work over tea, coffee and healthy treats galore.
Rakuten Attribution (formerly DC Storm) are running a “Wake Up Wednesday” morning session around the Evolution of Attribution (Marketing Analytics), and their journey from DC Storm to being part of the fourth largest ecommerce company in the world.
On Wednesday afternoon join Propellernet at their office in Castle Square for an interactive workshop in which you’ll work on a hypothetical brief for a brand that wants to increase online revenues, whilst also making their lives better.
Want to build your own HTML5 advert in 30 minutes? Scenestealer have got you covered – just bring along your own image and video assets.
Newcomers HARE.digital celebrate the launch of their new platform on Thursday afternoon, with food, drinks and insights into the digital marketing world.
Rakuten Attribution return to round off the week with their second Open Studios event: TFI Friday – featuring data workshops and beers on their roof terrace.
Web, App & Software Development Events
Build your team working skills and learn about Agile project management by building a hovercraft in 2 hours with Bright Interactive’s Eric Clack on Wednesday Afternoon.
OCSI (Oxford Consultancy for Social Inclusion) work with public and third sector data to improve public services, and have a technical team developing software to make open data available to all. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what they do at their Open Studios event, and challenge them to a game of table football.
Matchbox Mobile invite you to their studio in the heart of the North Laine to see how they work and play – over a breakfast discussion around the evolution of mobile, followed by a Fifa tournament.
Software agency DabApps are running two back-to-back sessions on Wednesday 2nd – the first focussing on what it’s like to be the MD of a growing software agency, and the second around technical direction, tools and technologies.
Semantico works with many of the world’s leading publishers to make websites and publish scholarly journals and other academic and professional content. Join them to find out more about how they work and what they make.
Cogapp brings you Dispatches from the Tech Front Line – terrifying tales of battles with alien file systems, decomposing characters and mysterious acronyms. Join Wordpress efficionados Pragmatic Web for a no-strings-attached clinic for your new of existing website.
Asset Bank, the UK’s leading provider of Digital Asset Management (DAM) software, are running a demonstration on Thursday afternoon.
ribot will be opening up its shiny new studio in Seven Dials for talks discussing how they are fusing technology, innovation and creative thinking to deliver seamless customer experiences.
Games Development Events and Open Studios Events for kids
For an Open Studios first, Jollywise invite you and your kids (5-9yrs) to develop a game in 3 hours and experiment with 3D printing and virtual reality.
Mind Candy – a British entertainment company best known for Moshi Monsters – are opening up the doors to their Brighton-based Candy Labs to show off the process and tech behind their latest game World of Warriors.
Plug-In Media welcome kids (5-12yrs, and 12+) and their parents/guardians to pop in after school to grill their team on how to build a career in the games and animation industries, all whilst playtesting some of their games.
Graphite will be showcasing their game LUNA in their office windows on Kensington St throughout Brighton Digital Festival. Join them on Friday 4th for their launch party and a presentation about how they made it happen.
Networking, Employability and Entrepreneurship Events
On Tuesday afternoon Wired Sussex’ very own Events Manager Laura Bevans will be offering advice and guidance on making the most out of networking.
Wired Sussex Jobs & Talent Manager Kelly Dibbert will follow on Wednesday evening with a surgery around finding work in the digital, media & tech sector – from writing your CV to standing out in an interview.
Want to find out more about the Digital Catapult Centre Brighton and how it might benefit you and/or your business? Come along to their fortnightly drop-in sessions on Friday morning to find out more.
The Happy Startup School’s Lean Coffees are monthly gatherings for local startups, creatives and entrepreneurs to meet and share knowledge over breakfast.
You can see the full line-up of events organised by day here
See a map of where Open Studios events are taking place
Check out what else is happening during Brighton Digital Festival 2015 here