A series of talks for creatives to get together, share, and connect.

Bilingual events help you learn more about the world and China.

SODAA is Shanghai-based Society of Designers and Artists, a professional community for design and related industry professionals, supporting and advancing the design and arts in China through advocacy, education, community building.

Fresh Insights

SODAA Talk is an event for creatives to get together, share, and connect. The initiative began as to encourage creatives in Shanghai to get together. Each theme is based on a mentor invited to speak about their creative journey. Mentors come from all areas of the profession including communication/graphic design, interactive design, environmental design, branding, publishing, education, advertising, research and marketing, arts, and even fashion design.

  • Gain professional knowledge
  • Make connections and develop your network
  • Share ideas and career aspirations
  • Get feedback on your work
  • Ask questions

Designers and artists know the value of creativity — but how can this value be articulated and understood by those outside of the industry? SODAA helps educated non-creatives and re-discover such values.

Meet New Faces

Shanghai creatives get together. Make new friends. Grow your network with likeminded industry professionals.

Next Talk Details

Follow us on WECHAT Official Account or see the poster below.

Social Responsibility

The speed of technological change made the stopping condition “good enough for now,” knowing new versions would quickly replace their predecessors. And because designers could observe the interactions of people with technology, user-centered approaches and research replaced designer-centered strategies and work based solely on informed intuition.

The future is creative.

SODAA’s ideal future is more so creative than ever before. As human beings, we often skip the details, lacking to recognize the value of design and arts, leaving creative professionals filled with anxiety. Is my work worth anything anymore? Is there any value left? What is happening right now? Nobody knows, but we can talk about it.

Adjusting to Change

Technology plays an outsized role in shaping the future of design. Streaming, cloud processing, machine learning, and augmented and virtual reality challenge traditional notions of information as something material, “fixed” in time and space. The “page” and “edition” today are fluid interactions, often customizable for particular users and purposes.

What change means for students and professionals

While there is never-ending pressure to expand students’ short-term skills to match qualifications for entry-level employment, college faculty must be cautious not to overload curricula with content of temporary relevance at the expense of more enduring knowledge that transcends a rapidly changing context. At the same time, educators must rethink how to deliver lasting concepts and principles in light of a radically changed landscape for professional practice that bears little resemblance to the past.

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