Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha night originated in Japan in 2003, conceived by the architects Astrid Klein & Mark Dytham as a place for young designers to meet, network and show their talents. The concept obviously worked well because Pecha Kucha night is now held in 158 cities all over the world.

The idea behind Pecha Kucha is to give each designer a microphone and a slide projector for a limited amount of time, which keeps it concise and allows more people to show their stuff. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds, which gives you 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up!

The term Pecha Kucha is Japanese and translates roughly to "chit chat", but is more accurately an onomatopoeia for the sound of people talking.

I attended my first Pecha Kucha night in Hong Kong last night. Held in conjunction with our annual Business of Design Week, both local and dutch designers were featured. I did not present, in case any of you were wondering - I'm terrible at public speaking! It was definitely a fun night, and a great forum for designers, something that Hong Kong has been desperately lacking.

So, check out the website, and find out where your local Pecha Kucha night will be. Or, if your city doesn't already have one organised you can get in contact with them and maybe start one on your own!