Hometown. Bringing the whole Polychrome LA crew. What can I say, watch out for our bar tab.

Ill be there! Staying at The Westin Copley Place.

Design Observer and Speak Up are hosting drinks on Friday the 16th at 33 Restaurant and Lounge. Bring your conference badge and arrive after 9pm.

I'm getting on a plane in roughly 18 hours and I'm checking the weather and I'm seeing things like "84°" for tomorrow and things like "T-Showers" for Thursday and Friday and I'm thinking "what the hell?". OK, for the sake of design, for the sake of my career and for the sake of a few good parties, I will brave this hostile and foreign environment.

The last national design conference I attended was a few years ago in Las Vegas and it was a blast. I saw some great presentations by the usual suspects like Paula Scher and Stefan Sagmeister (both are lined up again this year) and a pretty disappointing slide show by David Byrne. I also learned how to play craps, which I was hoping was going to double my paycheck, but unfortunately didn’t even come close. I look at it as all part of become a well-rounded person.

This year in Boston there is an even more impressive lineup and it all starts off Wednesday night with The Design Legends Gala reception and dinner. There’s a large Los Angeles contingency attending and I’ll be sure to get some photos posted. Anyone else reading this and attending? You’re welcome to post here and be sure to find us and say hello.

I'm not going - but jealous of everyone who is. I'm counting on regular updates to this feature (with daily pictures!!!) on the conference and the parties and the ... everything else! Make me even more jealous, ok?

are you in boston alissa? hopefully you're planning a nice trip and hike in the white mountains for lunch on saturday. come on... make me proud!

AIGA Design Legends Gala 2005. Well dressed designers, very large centerpieces, obscured views and good food. Good time, though.

There is also coverage of the conference at www.kottke.org/order/aiga-2005 . Check out the comments, too.

Lots of impressive hoo-hah at the opening remarks. Props to Ric Grefe. Nice job Hockenberry. See everyone tomorrow at Kottke/Bierut/Bekman/Vit — would anyone be anywhere else?

tom: what was impressive about the hoo-hah?

rob: those pics look like they're from an event at which I'd shoot myself in the head.

David, I know you and I know you would have shot yourself in the head there.

I've been here since Tuesday but in my dual roles as AIGA/LA cheerleader and AIGA/National storyteller, my ratio of drinks to hours slept has just evened out and I can finally put together a coherent sentence.


Watching this behemoth unfold from behind the curtain is a truly inspiring. A staff of about 12 (myself included, but in a much, much smaller capacity) has put this entire event together, in addition to organizing a massive relief effort in the week before the conference. These people get up at 6 every morning, and are still in the bars at 2. That's dedication.


David wants hoo-hah and I have a few hoos and a few hahs about last night's presentation. I think John Hockenberry kicks major ass, even though I was ashamed to admit that I've enjoyed his writing and Dateline appearances for years but I hadn't realized until several months ago that he's been in a wheelchair since he was 19. Somehow I missed this Wired article. Hock's got energy, he understands why we're here (he's been doing this for ten years) and he would like to hear your thoughts at hockenberry@aiga.org.


My new hero is Juan Enriquez, who spoke about the dramatic global changes on the horizon due to the way certain cultures access and understand information. His company Biotechnonomy and books might explain his views, but to see him speak--a solid, matter-of-fact delivery welcome in the age of hype--is a truly moving experience.


Finally, you'll be able to catch interviews with all the speakers as podcasts are uploaded to the resources section of the conference site. Check back later today.

A live blogging summary of Barney Frank's address during the Friday morning main hall (or as John Hockenberry as called it the "unfocused") session.

Representative Frank begins by talking about the tradition of elected politicians to get elected to government by bashing big government. "It's very popular to cut government." Since Carter, every president has been elected based on their ability to bash big government and appeal as an outsider. Barney speaks about the disingenuousness in public speaking, and despite his longstanding advocacy of free speech, he suggests now, shockingly, the banning of metaphor in discussion of public policy. : )

"Cutting government" sounds good in general to almost everyone, except when you get specific. I cut government 8% sounds good, until you say, "Ya, I cut government, and there are fewer cops on the street. There are fewer firefighters, fewer teachers, fewer people worrying about the environment." In government since 1968, Frank says, "I have had very few constituents come up and ask for less government."

Re: Capitalism: Inequality in reward is not just okay, but beneficial. But left *entirely* on it's own, a free market will create more inequality than necessary for efficiency or healthy for a social system. It's the role of the public sector to keep free enterprise within efficient boundaries. Price gouging is simply capitalism. Even responsible producers of goods and services will degrade the environment. It's a producer's job to produce products as cheaply as legally possible. If a manufacturer chooses, voluntarily, to incur additional costs to be more environmentally responsible, they will likely lose out to their competitors. It's the government's job to protect the public interest and the common need.

A public sector too enfeebled to meet the needs of society is a result of left-wing rhetoric as well. It's a terrible mistake to take pot-shots at the public sector, and encourage a relentless cynicism towards government. It will only decrease voting, decrease participation, and fuel a self-fulfilling prophesy that will make government worse.

Re: Getting Involved: The more people with whom you are collaborating, the less autonomy you have. The government is about pooling resources and not being cutting edge, it's about finding a common denominator.

Re: Morality and imposing your views on others: We have fallen into the rhetorical trap (we=liberals), saying, "Morality shouldn't be brought into the discussion of public policy. Of course it should." This shouldn't mean using the coercive force of government to force people to behave in a certain type of religious manner. The problem is not morality in public policy, but public policy in our private lives. Those of us who believe in compassion, should not cede the high ground regarding talking about morality.

DJ Spooky very good. A few links for those who missed it:

DJ Spooky site

Distorted Minds at NinjaTune.

Nitro Microphone Underground (cool site)

Has anyone linked yet to Kottke yet from here? If so, here's another. Jason's blogging the conference officially for the AIGA and doing a great job running from session to session in an attempt to get as much covered as possible. Peter Merholz from Adaptive Path and Jen Bekman are here as well — expect their observations to turn up on their sites.

I'm guessing Design Observer and Speak Up are gonna be a bit quiet today given last night's party. But I could be wrong.

The suspense is over: Carolina DeBartolo is now the AIGA Typophile of the Year. If you see her, please congratulate her on her recent inauguration of this two year seat. In his 2005 AIGA Type Quiz Allen Halley administered a very, very gnarly test that made me embarassed to have ever set type. Oh, and Carolina also won the entire Monotype library. Yes, the whole thing. Congratulations, Carolina.

Various pictures here. Captions to come.

Speak Up write up here.

Short movie clip here of John Hockenberry chatting with Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky

Wow- what a conference. My first one, but the first of many, many more. I had no idea there'd be talks on such a variety of topics. Truly inspiring and thought evoking.

Did anyone wonder if there were any republicans in attendance? I'm curious if they enjoyed it as much as others...

Had a roundtable with Milton Glaser. He wants to die at his desk. The thrill of coming up with creative solutions and learning something new in the process is what gets him out of bed in the morning. Now there's a mindset to shoot for!