IRDC

Putting together the printed brochure is a huge job, and it's one of the biggest IRDC challenges faced by our copywriter and creative consultant, Betsy Smith, and designer Becky Mengel-Freund. This brochure is for people who design for a living. It'd better look good, right? Right. So Betsy puts a ton of thought into the right approach each year, and it's so much fun going through her big file o' clippings with images, words, catalogs and other things we might draw inspiration from. She, Becky and Sandi Luppert, our marketing director, spend weeks concepting, refining and fitting the pieces of the puzzle together. (I mostly just nod, point out typos and say "cool!" a lot.) When the finished product arrives in the building, it's a beautiful moment. While I love the Internet and all its conveniences, that physical, well-designed, tangible brochure feels like a real accomplishment. Our brochure goes to the printer today, meaning you can get yours within a couple of weeks. (Click "request a brochure," at left.) Above is a sneak peek at the brochure's coup de grace, a poster-sized "Big D" collage of all things retail- and Dallas-related, suitable for hanging on your office wall ... after you register for the conference, of course. I