Welcome to our first-ever Community Spotlight post! Our inspiration for this series came from one of the key objectives for In/Visible Talks: building community. Fantastic introductions and connections happen at the conference, and we want to foster those relationships all year round. Some of the people you’ll see in the spotlight here have told us how In/Visible Talks has boosted them, so we want to return the favor. This aligns with something we picked up from Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, and Kai Elmer Soto in their book Get Together: How to build a community with your people: We want to build our community with people, not for them. 

Today we’re building with Camille Matonis. 

Camille is an elite runner by sunrise, a UX/UI product designer for Full Harvest by day, and an organizer of design marathons by night. About that last bit: She is the founder of the San Francisco chapter of Make a Mark. Coming up in October, she and her team will gather with designers and developers for 12 hours to solve problems and work on projects for local humanitarian causes.

Camille first heard about In/Visible Talks at Creative Mornings, and she attended the January 2019 conference. Ahead of In/Visible Talks 2020, we reached out to several past attendees to learn more about them, hear about their experiences, and get their feedback. Here’s what we heard from Camille.

How was In/Visible Talks meaningful or impactful for you?

“It provided a window into the worlds of creatives in fields outside of my own. Listening to painters, journalists, installation artists, and event producers pulled me out of my silo and filled me with inspiration from places I would’ve never looked on my own.”   

What is your relationship to the creative process?

“Often anxiety-ridden, but glorious when I find that sweet spot.”

How or where do you find inspiration?

“My creative process functions best with movement and nature. I like to mull over challenges while walking, running, swimming, or biking outside. There’s something about the combination of moving through fresh air that stimulates my right brain. Nature is the best inspiration we could ever dream up, and the best way to absorb it is by immersing yourself in it without distraction.”  

Who was your favorite In/Visible Talks speaker?

“Laurie Rosenwald. She is a wonderfully whacky and entertaining speaker. Laurie’s work reminds creatives not to take themselves too seriously and to lean into the imperfections and ‘mistakes’ in our work.”

What is something you learned in the last year that you wish you knew when you started your career?

“You don’t get what you don’t ask for. This applies to your career, your relationships, and when ordering food.”   

What are you working on right now?

“I am thrilled to be organizing Make a Mark San Francisco, coming up on October 19^th. We are looking for makers (designers, writers, developers, photographers, etc.) who would like to contribute their valuable skills to help local nonprofits tackle their biggest challenges using the creative process. If you are interested, please apply at letsmakeamark.org/sf.”