Philly Tech Week Signature Event illustrations: Mike Jackson

More than 1,200 people visited the Philly Tech Week Signature Event at the Comcast Center on Friday night. It was a massive party inside (and outside) the tallest building in the city, both in its lobby and tents on the adjacent plaza.

As an illustrator, I attended a number of events this week to follow the people and the conversations, including Baseball Hack Day, Startup Design Exposed and Failfest. (Also find drawings from a Hive 76 event here and from Exhibiting Technology here.)

The party was a microcosm of my week on the whole. I don’t consider myself a tech person, so I felt like a bit of an outsider to this community at first. But I ran into plenty of familiar faces, and met just as many new ones. I also ran into new familiar faces from previous events.

Conversation was particularly easy with anyone who spoke of doing what they do because, no matter what, they love it. I had that conversation a lot throughout last week and at the Signature Event.

The tech community that I met this past week consists of people who root for each other — where each success is a shared one. I’m thrilled that I got to witness that again and again at each event I attended. So even though I don’t program anything, or build apps, or work in a startup, I’ve learned that I belong in the tech community in Philadelphia — because it’s not about what you make, it’s why you make it.

(Bonus points if you noticed that I used the Philly Tech Week colors for all the party drawings.)