All HUES: Designers of Color Meetup Groups follow the HUES Meetup Group Code. Read it to see how they work and then apply to set one up in your town! More tips and assistance will be available once you have started. Our goal is to set up one new city a month, so jump right in!

HUES MEETUP GROUP CODE

HUES Meetups are Free to the Public

• HUES Meetups were specifically created for minority designers, artists, and creatives working in the industry, but anyone is welcome to come – employers seeking designers, and other professionals from other industries. People from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds are welcome. There is no “us” and “them”.
• Organizers and attendees actively greet and welcome newcomers, and introduce them to others in the group.
• All attendees commit to meeting new people at every session, and not just sticking with people they already know.

HUES Meetups are Freeform

• There is generally no specific agenda or theme, HUES attendees mingle and share insight and creative inspiration and delight witch each other. There is lots of networking involved, and great people to meet.
• All kinds of people come to HUES Meetups, and that’s what makes it diverse and interesting.

HUES Meetups are Regular

• Usually monthly, or every other month.
• Organizers find a fixed date in the month and at the same venue for easy management. Fridays and Thursdays tend to be busy for most people, so Tuesday or Wednesday evenings is best.

HUES Meetups are Simple to Organize

• Usually held in a convenient central location that is free. A corner of a community gallery, bar or pub for example. Put up a sign on the table where you are gathering so that people can find you.
• A private space is the best choice in the end. However, booking a private room usually means the organizer has to incur cost or risk of not enough people turning up to cover the cost of the room. Instead most HUES Meetups have an arrangement something like: “Hello Mr/Ms Bar Manager, if I bring along 15 / 40 / 100 people who want to buy your beer and food on a normally quiet night can we have a space to ourselves somewhere?”
• Set up an email list for invites. We require that you use our ning community to create your group where you’ll have the opportunity to communicate with your members. However, using a secondary list manager like meetup.com, Yahoo Groups, Facebook, or evite.com, is also welcome and encouraged for community outreach.
• Start with 10 key people you already know, and get them to each invite 5 others the first time.

HUES Meetups are Self-replicating

• People who come to HUES Meetups each invite others along by word of mouth, who in turn themselves invite others.
• Email invites mean that people can forward the invite to friends easily. This is the core for exponential growth.
• New cities are easy to set up and people moving will want to set up a HUES Meetup in their new location.

HUES Meetups are Local

• Cities, towns, or suburbs.
• 45 minutes’ travel time apart from each other.
• Avoid date clashes and being in the same week as neighboring HUES Meetups.
• Check the website for your nearest HUES Meetups and talk to the organizers; they will be happy to hear from you.

HUES Meetups are Informative

• HUES Meetups can be a channel to circulate announcements or news about Designers of Color issues. We call these “Speak! Series”.
• HUES Speak! Series Meetup events must be clearly labeled on invitations and communicated with attendees.
• During these series It’s OK to have speakers or workshops for 30-60 mins or so or to have a theme for the evening to help stimulate discussion.
• HUES Meetups and HUES: Designers of Color as an entity will never endorse or have a position or stance on any given topic.
• There will be no HUES-related content or messages or appeals or ads circulated to the city organizers or appearing on the designersofcolor.com website.

HUES Meetups are Creative

• Each city does its own thing.
• There is a central mailing list on our ning site, but each group will be in charge of its on list.
• There is a central logo and branding, but each city is inspired to re-invent it to adapt to its on regional style.

HUES Meetups are Non Profit

• Organizers mostly use free resources and volunteers and donate their own time.
• Voluntary charge at door if necessary to cover costs; per event only, no membership fee.
• Mostly free to attend, each participant pays for their own drinks and food.
• Contact HUES HQ for information on incorporation.
• Event sponsors and venue hosts OK as long as freedom of discussion is not compromised.

HUES Meetups are Run Responsibly

• Organizers and participants work to create a safe, non threatening environment for all and drink responsibly, if at all.
• Organizers niche and collaborate with other HUES Meetup groups in their area.
• Organizers keep their groups on www.designersofcolor.ning.com updated so first-timers have confidence to travel across town and devote an evening to HUES.
• Organizers don’t sell their email lists to advertisers.
• Some organizers act as mentors to help and advise other groups.

HUES Meetups are Fun

• There is a very informal vibe and overall light feel.

Start A HUES Meetup Group in Your City

Check that you can comply with this code and then contact us to apply and set up your group page.

Sample email:

HUES: DESIGNERS OF COLOR MEETUP

WHAT:   *** HUES: Designers of Color Meetup *** Detroit
WHEN:   6.30 ’til late, Tuesday 14th July 2009
RULE:   Second Tuesday of every month
WHERE:  DOWNSTAIRS  at our NEW VENUE Vogue Gallery, 55 Woodward Street, Detroit.
WHO:    Minority artists, designers, and creatives – From fashion designers to graffiti artists
WHY:    Fun, contacts, drinks, info, gossip, inspiration, business and pleasure
NEW:    Just go up to someone and say “What kind of art do you do?”, and you’ll be made welcome.
REMIND: To get on this email circulation list, join our group on the HUES ning group at: http://designersofcolor.ning.com/mygroup
PRIVACY:This email list is ONLY for  reminders. We will not give your email address to anyone else
URL:    http://www.designersofcolor.com

*Some content taken from Green Drinks Code Version 2.1 December 5th 2008