The Society for News Design is thrilled to announce our sixth SNDMakes event to take place in San Francisco, April 4-6, 2016, at the Code for America headquarters and scheduled in conjunction with the Society’s annual workshop. For this event, we’ll be focused on designing tools to grow our own news- and information-design community.
Applications are due Wednesday, March 9, 2016 and accepted participants will be notified with instructions to complete their enrollment on Monday, March 14, 2016.
The details
The SNDMakes program is a quarterly series of 2.5-day rapid prototyping events that use the principles of design-thinking to develop solutions for modern news and media companies. On the heels of a successful invitational event in Chicago, we are picking up where we left off with our first four events (Indianapolis, Boston, D.C. and Austin) and continuing our focus on community. This April, SNDMakes-SF will be thinking about:
“How might we grow the news and information design community through tools and digital experiences?”
In nearly three days, we’ll not only build prototypes but we’ll also build relationships with some of the brightest minds in both technology and media. Whether you’re an experienced developer or a technology-phobe, our event format ensures that literally anyone with a passion for information design and a desire to collaborate can make meaningful contributions to a project.
Due to expected popularity — and our promise to curate diverse, cross-disciplinary working teams — we are asking everyone to apply here. SND is committed to creating an environment that champions diversity, inclusion, and reflects our community’s wide range of skills. The application is a tool to help us provide a socially responsible, high-functioning, collaborative environment. Applications are due EOD on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. 45 participants will be accepted into this cohort and acceptances/notifications will be sent out on Monday, March 14, 2016.
NOTE: All participants must commit to the duration of the full event. We cannot accommodate late arrivals or early departures. Plan for full days on Days One and Two, plus a half day wrapping at 1 p.m. on Day Three. Check out a sample schedule on the FAQ page.
Once selected, SNDMakes-SF participants will be asked to purchase an event ticket, which includes five meals, beverages and snacks throughout the event, swag and supplies sketching and brainstorming. Funds from event ticket fees are used to offset much of the total cost. Participant registration will be complete after the purchase an event ticket and you are added to the event’s Slack team.
NOTE: We offer partial scholarships for students and professionals that can demonstrate need. Details can be found in the application. Contact us with questions.
Finally, for those planning to also attend the SND-SF workshop, you’ll notice that we have some discounts available, exclusive to SNDMakes participants. Therefore, in short:
- What?: #SNDMakes-SF at Code for America, “How might we grow the information design community?”
- When?: April 4-6, 2016; Applications due Wednesday, March 9; Participants notified by Monday, March 14.
- How much?: $150 for SNDMakes-SF (incl. one-year SND membership) | $495 for SNDMakes-SF and SND-SF workshop member-price ($50 off the cost of SNDMakes-SF) | $595 for SNDMakes-SF, SND-SF workshop registration and one-year SND membership ($50 off the cost of SNDMakes-SF, $10 off annual membership dues)
Get involved
We would love to have more involved as supporters of the program. We found an excellent partnership with the inspiring Code for America team and would not be able to pull it all together without our amazing SF-event hosts: Alley Interactive, CodePen, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, Medill School and Northwestern U. Knight Lab. There are still a few slots open for event hosts — including opportunities for food and beverage sponsorships — and we have packages available to to support both SNDMakes-SF + SND-SF. Please contact Miranda or reach out to us at sndmakes [at] gmail for more information.
We are so grateful for the ongoing SNDMakes program support from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and to our generous scholarship funders: Dow Jones News Fund, Scripps Howard Foundation, and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. The SNDMakes community would not exist without their support.
Contact
Find us out in the wild and follow along: #SNDMakes, Instagram, Facebook. Send us an email at sndmakes [at] gmail, or directly to one of the team:
- SNDMakes Co-Director: Ramla Mahmood, @ramoved, Designer at Vox Media. SND board member, Diversity.
- SNDMakes Co-Director: Miranda Mulligan, @jmm, Consultant and innovation events producer. News design veteran. SND board member, Technology.
- Communications manager: Lauren Katz, @Laur_Katz, Audience development at Vox Media. SND member.
- Technology manager: Adam Schweigert, @aschweig, Product at Institute for Nonprofit News. SND member.
- Design manager: Emily Yount, @emilyyount, Interaction designer at The Washington Post. SND member.
Or, you can always reach out with general questions to Kyle Ellis (Director of Strategic Programs) and Stephen Komives (Executive Director) at Society For News Design.
For news about future SNDMakes and other events, follow SND on Twitter or Facebook and consider supporting programs like this one by becoming a member.