Downtown Phoenix has long been a hub for creatives of all types: artists, architects, graphic gurus, Web ninjas, urban planners and on and on.

This past April, PechaKucha, an event designed as a sounding board for these creative minds lost in the desert sand, arrived in town for the first time. Encouraged by the success of that night, a second event is this Friday evening at Bragg’s Pie Factory.

PechaKucha, pronounced “peh-chak cha” is Japanese for “chit-chat,” meaning the sound of busy conversation going on in a room. Devised in Tokyo in 2003 by architects Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein as a means for designers to show their work, PechaKucha Nights has become a global phenomenon, with events taking place in 326 cities around the world today.

To keep the momentum, a very efficient shotgun-style presentation format called “20×20” was created. That’s 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide; a total of six minutes, forty seconds. Stand up, tell the world what you got, and then sit the hell down. This format demands that presenters be precise, concise and engage audiences with only their most compelling work and ideas. No prolonged speeches, no endless PowerPoint slides and no bullet points!

PechaKucha PHX is an event where creatives of all disciplines can share their latest projects, newest curiosities, insights, aspirations and flashes of brilliance — to show what they’ve done, are doing or are psyched-up about doing next.

For additional information, including speaker profiles, visit the PechaKucha PHX website at pknphx.com.

If You Go: PechaKucha Night Phoenix 2

When: Friday, November 12, 2010. Food and drink: 5:30 p.m. Show starts at 7 p.m.

Where: Bragg’s Pie Factory, 1301 Grand Ave.

Tickets: $10, includes food and drinks during the event (yes, that means beer and wine). Advance sales ONLY at pknphx.com/attend/.