A river runs through the mountains near Steamboat, Colorado

Top 10 Lessons from Basecamp: #10 – #7

July 5, 2016

– By Dave Cooperstein, senior creative designer

Back in June 2016, thanks to the incredible PGAV Go! program, I had the opportunity to attend SketchUp 3D Basecamp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. SketchUp Basecamp is held every two years, to gather hundreds of the world’s most avid users of SketchUp, to share ideas, show off their latest projects, talk about new technologies, and learn from each other. This year, 600 people attended Basecamp. There were multiple sessions held all day, over three days, and the amount of stuff that I saw, talked about, shared, experienced and learned was overwhelming.

So, to distill it all down for you, this summer I will reveal the Top 10 Things I Learned at SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2016.

To get us started, here are Lessons #10 to #7:

#10 – Dire situations bring people together very quickly.

Here’s something you DON’T want to hear your airport shuttle driver say on the way up a mountain at 7,000 ft. above sea level: “Engine’s running kind of hot. We need to pull over.” With an already three-and-a-half hour drive ahead of us, through the mountains, the 25 of us on the shuttle had looks of panic on our faces. And that’s what broke the ice. We had been riding on the shuttle for 20 minutes, and hardly knew each other. But, sitting on the side of the road in the mountains of Colorado without a clue if and how we were going to move forward, we quickly became good friends, making jokes, admiring the (stationary) scenery, and plotting plans for how to get airlifted to Basecamp.

#9 – Everyone needs their own walk-up music.

At the Keynote session to open Basecamp, each speaker, upon being introduced and walking up to the stage, was accompanied by their own piece of walk-up music like a major league baseball player. It set a tone for their presentation, and usually reflected their personality. It relaxed everyone in the audience with a laugh. And it made the speakers feel like superstars, which made them more confident, which made their presentations that much better. I need to select my own walk-up music. You should have yours ready too, just in case.

#8 – People crave the “human touch”.

There was a lot of talk this year at Basecamp about 3D Visualization… new ways that people are finding to present their 3D computer models. Ways that aren’t stale and plastic and ‘computery’, but something more beautiful, more special, and more human. It’s something that we strive for everyday with our work at PGAV Destinations, and for good reason. We create experiences and destinations that make memories. And our clients need to see how we’re going to do that. So the images we make need to be memorable and compelling… and human.

#7 – Storytelling is still paramount.

This is directly related to Lesson #8 above. Stories move people in unique ways. Stories help us understand the world around us, and make meaning of what we’re seeing and experiencing. No matter what the project, and how you choose to represent the experience, or the building, stories can help create that connection to a place that people crave. It’s something that we’ve known at PGAV Destinations for a long time.