10 Reasons To Go To GIANT Conference 2015-Silicon Harbor Magazine

The 2nd annual GIANT Conference comes to Charleston June 14-17 and brings together world-class speakers and talented professionals to talk about creating rad experiences and how to make those experiences even radder. They’ll talk about rad work at a technical level and in abstract levels. They’ll talk about doing rad work over good drinks and music. They’ll have people talking about rad work who you’ve heard of, and people you haven’t heard of. That’s because this conference brings inspiration from all over, and rad work happens in all kinds of professions.

Come to GIANT if:
• You are open to inspiration from people who aren’t just like you.
• You know we don’t have to always talk about wireframes and CSS
• You need a break from formality
• You want to chill out with people who are creative in all kinds of ways
• You need a little nudge toward a bold move
• You believe that experience is more than prototypes and usable forms
• You can’t stand the thought of another conference in a boring hotel basement
• You dig art, music, and pop culture
• You do rad work
• You want to do rad work

But if all those reasons aren’t enough, check out our top 10 for checking out GIANT Conference:

1. It’s not a UX conference. It’s a celebration of the people and practices that help us Do Rad Work ®

GIANT Conference exists because creativity and community go together like a guitar and amp. You’ll find an array of topics here but simply put, it’s all about celebrating User Experience, Usability, Design & Interaction.

2. A collection of your professional heroes will be leading out in 76 sessions and 8 workshops.

You’ll hear keynotes from Aaron Draplin, Denise Jacobs, Dan Willis, Leslie Jensen-Inman, Scott Berkun and Sonya Looney. You’ll experience workshops and sesssions from some of the best speakers and pros the industry has to offer. Check out the full schedule here.

3. Rumor has it that sharks will be at the opening party.

Monday night, the opening party (sponsored by UserTesting.com and Twisted Cypress Brewing) starts at 7 p.m. at The South Carolina Aquarium—and they’re opening their newest Shark Shallows exhibit, including a shark touch tank!

4. Free beer—need we say more?

But just in case, we do, Twisted Cypress Brewing will keep us supplied at the several GIANT parties.

5. Charleston is a cool city with tons of historical relevance, character, and shrimp & grits.

Located in Charleston Harbor and as the oldest and second-largest city in South Carolina, Charleston is a central point of SC’s coastline. Its historic charm, culture, surrounding beaches, and growing tech scene make it an extremely awesome place for such a rad conference. And oh yeah, the food around here is insanely good.

6. You heard there’d be unicorns.

And who doesn’t want to see one of those?

7. Swag. Lots and lots of swag.

The best swag bag I've ever received at a dev conference. Thanks @GiantConf! pic.twitter.com/6Neptdotkf

— Travis Maynard (@travismaynard) June 10, 2014

T-shirts with clever slogans, stickers, music, prints, and more. Who doesn’t love that? And judging by last year, GIANT has some of the best swag you’ll find at any conference.

8. You want to meet a few hundred people who know what you mean when you say, “It depends.”

Really, really creative folks know exactly what this means and will rejoice when they’re surrounded by hundreds of others who know just what these two little words mean in their daily lives.

9. The Draplin F-bomb drinking game.

Do. Not. Miss. @Draplin‘s Graphic Treasures from the American Underbelly talk at #GIANTconf. http://t.co/ddkjIAbxdO pic.twitter.com/6TWUIOeYX4

— GIANT Conference (@GiantConf) March 27, 2015

It’s true, he loves to drop the F-bomb, and if you take a shot for every time you hear it, be ready for a serious buzz to go along with his killer keynote.