OFFSET, one of the creative highlights of our year, took place in Dublin over the weekend and we were once again suitably impressed and entertained with the fantastic line-up of speakers from across the creative industry who shared their work and their stories with us!

We doodled, we made badges, we nabbed digital prints, we networked and we were left buzzing with inspiration and the fun frenzy of creatives in the beautiful Bord Gáis Energy Theatre!

We thought we'd share some of our favourite bits, while it's all still fresh in our minds, so check out a recap of some of our highlights from this year below!

As usual, we were treated to a whole host of amazing and incredibly talented designers, digital artists, illustrators and creative agencies this year, with an added bonus of a new little appetiser segment called OFFSHOOTS to kick the whole weekend off.

The OFFSHOOTS were a nice, bite-sized snapshot from speakers Aoife Dooley (illustrator), Ale Mercado (illustrator), artist collective Subset, and Arice (motion designer) speaking about one of their projects.

Creative Director Sean Murphy of Moving Brands made us all feel a little better about not having it all figured out…

“One of the downsides of constantly learning is always feeling like an amateur.”

He discussed the merits of not having a plan, learning to accept the ire of the internet and changing your situation if you don't like it.

Richard Brim from adam&eveDDB had us in fits of laughter as he detailed the process of coming up with good ideas and how “stupid ideas are sometimes the best ideas.”

Interactive Artist and Filmmaker Ivan Cash gave us some interesting ways to interact more with people through the use of creative surveys while commuting or asking people what their last photo taken on their mobile phone is of. He inspired us to get a little out of our own comfort zone and maybe take a few minutes off staring at our phones to engage with the world around us, especially when we're in a park!

Comics illustrator Chris Ware gave beautifully dry humoured and witty responses in his conversation with Eye Magazine's John Walters. He humbly admitted that he “makes it up as [he] goes along”.

He also discussed his approach to his comic illustrations which don't always appear intuitive and conventionally structured.

“Our memories are not linear and that's what I'm trying to reflect in comic book form.”

Game Designer's Anita Murphy and Roy O'Connor of HUB Games have a passion for storytelling and have helped spread this passion around the world, most notably with “Rory's Story Cubes”!

They discussed their playful approach to working, teaching creativity & innovation techniques through their games and the importance of keeping it human.

Graphic Designer Stephen Doyle reminded us all that if “you do good things, good things will happen.”

He emphasised the importance for of trusting your own voice and learning to express yourself.

“Find a new language which is really yours.”

Dena Walker, BBDO Dublin's Head of Planning gave us a rousing call to action with her presentation discussing the current “cult of change” and how it leads many of us to being constantly overwhelmed and panicked that we're falling behind. This need to be ahead of the curve on every platform, technology, design trend can actually be counter-productive to our creativity and the work itself which should be key.

“Not all changes are created equal.”

She asked us to be contrary and rebel against the status quo of constant, overwhelming change. To create work that interests us, which will go on to inspire others.

Cartoon Saloon's Nora Twomey gave us a beautiful, behind the scenes look at the making of The Breadwinner. Detailing the process and the journey involved in telling such a story.

“We wanted to make a basic film with a complex subject matter.”

A HUGE thank you to all the crew of OFFSET for setting up another knock-out event!

Looking forward to next year already!