A new monthly event for Bay Area designers to share ideas, learn, and get things done.

Chromatic (formerly The Drawing Room)* combines the spirit and goals of developer-oriented events like hackathons and hackerspaces with the practical structure needed for designers and students of design to truly learn, receive feedback, and improve their design skills by talking with their peers.

We invite you to leave your screen for an afternoon of talks, critiques, workshops, and anything else you can conjure up to share. Chromatic is yours to shape and mold (something we know you do best)!

Please spread the word!  Link to us at http://bit.ly/chromatic on Twitter or your blog. You can follow us on Twitter, and add your event photos to the Chromatic Flickr group.

The very first Chromatic meetup took place on Saturday, June 6, at 2pm at Hot Studio , our host and sponsor.  More than 40 people attended a total of ten sessions. Thanks to all who attended, presented, donated, and volunteered!

Chromatic was inspired by...

• SupperHappyDevHouse, a Bay Area hackathon
• BarCamp and other un-conferences
• Hackerspaces of all varities
• Ignite and Nerd Nite, two geeky/nerdy lightning-talk events

Chromatic is not...

• A coworking space (though there is plenty of room to do that if you like)
• A mixer (but, trust us, drinks will happen elsewhere after)
• A formal design association (if you're looking for one of those, check out the local chapters of IxDA and AIGA)

Co-Founders / Organizers

Timoni Grone: lead web designer at Scribd

Heather Rasley: community manager, net artist, and social media geek

Sasha Volynets: illustration and design student at San Jose State University.

Special Thanks

Shalin Amin, Holly Hagen and Hot Studio for hosting the first-ever Chromatic!

Jeff Lindsay for general wisdom and support

*Why the name change? Because it sounds better (more current, more design-related) and will build a memorable brand. Don't you agree?