Hack Day (De-constructed)

  • Our Clients
  • Working With Plank

A Plank Hack Day has to be experienced to be believed. I took part in one this summer in Cincinnati and will do my best to share the insights that came from our time there.

At its core, a Plank Hack Day is a day long meeting between members of Plank and a new client. We get to know each other, learn about the team and learn to work together. Having everyone focused and engaged in one room is invaluable. What emerges is a strong, durable platform from where our work together truly begins.

Plank's Véronique Pelletier working the Hack Day

A Plank hack day is a brainstorming session, a collaboration. Together we solve a digital problem, address an issue, detangle a puzzle. We do that by taking part in tasks and sessions, navigating through crucial themes and talking through what needs to be discussed and understood. We do it together, with purpose and productivity in mind.

“I’m really proud when I see the team members step up, shine and show the quality of the work that they can do. Show how smart they are, how creative and how committed. And I like that I can sit back and watch it happen.”

Warren Wilansky, Plank president & Founder

The Plank team arrives ready. We’ve navigated your site, we understand your content, your mission and your vision. We understand where you would like your website to go and what you would like it to do. We plan to take you there. We plan to make it beautiful.

Members of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati working away at our Hack Day

In the Hack Day for the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati we took a deep dive into their online presence. Mapping out exactly what they wanted to see on their site, what they needed, what their vision was and finding the best, clearest, most comprehensive way to get there. At the end of this hack, the entire team felt empowered and excited to begin the process of designing and building a website that we can all be proud of.

Plank's team working away at the Hack Day

When the laptops close and work for the day is done, there is a collective exhale. It’s a tiring day but a deeply satisfying one. Everyone emerges feeling listened to. Something specific has been accomplished, and we did it as a group with no lack of laughter and humour and joy. And then we went to watch a baseball game!

Plank team members at a Cincinnati Red's game

At Plank, we are passionate about what we do. That doesn’t just mean the design or the technology. It means we care about the project itself and the people behind it. We get emotionally invested.

Plank and The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati team members pose for a group photo

So that’s a Hack Day. A process we value and look forward to as each new collaboration begins. If you’d like to see a video on a Plank Hack Day, you can watch it here.