LCAD’s Creativity Flow Speaker Series at Rivian sparks new conversations & opportunities
By MARRIE STONE
This fall, Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD) kicked off their monthly Creativity Flow Speaker Series at Rivian South Coast Theater. In partnership with Group Y, the series brings visionary leaders in the world of art, design and commerce to share their cutting-edge ideas and inspire the next generation of creative minds.
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Photos courtesy of LCAD
Creativity Flow is a monthly speaker series hosted in collaboration with LCAD, Rivian Theater and Group Y. Their next event is Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
While the evenings are targeted to LCAD students who might make valuable contacts for future internships and career opportunities, over half the audience are community members, business leaders and creatives from various industries eager to hear these inspiring stories. Attendees are treated to these visionaries’ backstories, inspirations and insider advice. So far, Creativity Flow has hosted speakers from the NFL, Oakley, Blizzard Entertainment and other leading brands.
The next event will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. and welcomes Denise Cherry, VP of Experience Design at Rivian and Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at Liquid Death.
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Denise Cherry (Rivian) and Andy Pearson (Liquid Death) will headline the event on December 4. Mark Sperling, co-founder of Group Y, announces the event.
Mark Sperling, co-founder of Group Y, hosts similar speaker series and networking events across the nation. “We’ve done over 260 of these talks [with over 900 speakers], hosting brand and company founders to big-name celebrities, athletes and thought leaders,” Sperling said. “I offered this format to LCAD, proposing we do something like a TED talk in Laguna. We feature top creatives from different brands, fine arts, sports, automobile and other industries that relate back to the college. At the same time, we showcase work from alumni and current students.”
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(L-R) Brian Takumi (VP of Brand Soul and Creative at Oakley), Mark Sperling (co-founder of Group Y) and Steve Brittan (president and CEO of LCAD) at October’s Creative Flow event at Rivian
The series is gaining quick momentum. The first event, held in September, welcomed 146 guests. By November, that number jumped to 252 and attracted not only locals, but attendees from Los Angeles to San Diego. The December 4 event is on track to be their biggest yet.
“We are thrilled to see the Creativity Flow Speaker Series gaining momentum,” said Steve Brittan, president and CEO of LCAD. “This collaboration with Group Y has already proven to be an incredible resource for our students and the broader business community. By bringing together inspiring artists and designers, we’re not only fostering creativity but also encouraging innovation that will shape the future of our creative industries.”
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Steve Brittan, president and CEO of LCAD, introducing the event
Creativity Flow’s speakers bring decades of experience across a variety of industries and readily share that hard-fought knowledge with audiences. Nikki Scoggins, VP of Creative Design & Content at Blizzard Entertainment, advised graduates entering the industry to protect their work product. “Do not be humble,” she told students. “People will take credit for your work, so get your name on it. Make friends, help everyone you can, but don’t let anyone steal your credit. You’ve got to fight for yourself.”
Scoggins also counseled students to keep creating work that makes them happy outside their day jobs. “Always be making,” she told them. “Do not wait for permission to do anything. Figure it out. Sitting back and hoping you get a job just because you applied won’t get you where you need to be. And it won’t keep you happy.”
Scoggins shared a story of a junior colleague who, eager to work with her, sent a cake with his face frosted onto it. That got her attention. They’ve worked together for more than a decade.
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Nikki Scoggins, VP of Creative Design & Content at Blizzard Entertainment, spoke at November’s event
Joshua Vides – known for his black-and-white comic-inspired works and collaborations with brands like Fendi, Airbnb and Ferrari – assured students it’s less about talent and more about being willing to say yes and deliver on your promises. “Every so often, a tiny window of opportunity opens, and you’ve got to be ready,” Vides said. “Say ‘yes’ and then figure it out. Do everything you can. Everything under the sun has helped me succeed in life. Don’t be scared. Try it. You’ll learn from it.”
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Joshua Vides has collaborated with brands like Fendi, Airbnb and Ferrari. He spoke at September’s event with Mark Sperling.
Between the two headline speakers, LCAD shared video stories about alumni, students and faculty who found success in their fields. On December 4, LCAD will highlight Jeremiah Cortez, an animation alum who attended the school through their scholarship program and whose trajectory reinforces much of the advice given by these industry professionals.
Cortez worked a factory job, mixing paint for Caltrans, to make ends meet. On the side, he was developing his animation passion project just in case the day came when he could show it off. One afternoon, he received a call from Netflix who offered to turn his cartoon concept into a series. Cortez now owns his own animation studio and is the creator of Dogs in Space, a Netflix sci-fi comedy series. He will join on December 4 to speak about his journey.
Brian Takumi, VP of Brand Soul + Creative at Oakley, spoke last month about brand building and how working for commercial clients differs from other creative and fine art. This generation of students, and the generations to follow, faces new challenges in the marketplace but also hold unique superpowers prior generations lacked.
“A.I. tools are more accessible than ever to creatives. Millennials were the creator generation. Gen Z and Gen Alpha will be the storytelling generations,” Takumi said. “Because creativity is so democratized with A.I., anyone can be creative. Now it’s about the stories that go with it.
“Students today are light years ahead of my generation as creatives. It’s naturally part of them with social media. The kids who are hungry to create more meaningful stories will be the successful ones. The LCAD students I talked to had a desire to find that earlier in their lives.” Takumi expects that desire to pay dividends in the workforce.
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Brian Takumi, VP of Brand Soul + Creative at Oakley, spoke last month
According to Sperling, the series is working well for students. “A few have already gotten jobs or internships,” he said. “Our speakers – and the companies they represent – will also work with LCAD in one way or another, whether hiring students for future positions or inviting them to tour their facilities or headquarters. They’re also making donations and creating scholarship funds.”
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Students and alumni mingle with industry leaders
On December 4, Andy Pearson and Denise Cherry will headline the night. Pearson is the VP of Creative at Liquid Death, one of the fastest growing non-alcoholic beverage brands. As part of Liquid Death’s mission to make the world healthier and more sustainable, Pearson helps oversee all creative output from the brand, from their viral video content to social content to merch to experiential events to CRM and more.
Cherry is an award-winning design executive. At Rivian, her team is responsible for design across all aspects of the customer journey – from initial brand building, to configuring vehicles on their website, to experiencing their products in their showrooms, all the way through to the final transactions, delivery flow and beyond. Her work has been recognized by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Wired, Fast Company and Metropolis, among others. She has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and is an honoree for the Northern California Real Estate Women of Influence.
LCAD will soon announce the list of speakers and dates for “Creativity Flow Season 2,” which will launch in February 2025. They also plan to expand the event into Los Angeles and San Diego in 2025, but the hub will continue to be Laguna Beach.
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The speaker series is attracting students, alumni, community members, business leaders and creatives from various industries across Southern California
The event is free for LCAD students and alumni, and $35 for the general public. All ticket sales go to the LCAD Scholarship Fund. For more information and ticket purchases, visit their website here.
