“Right now, what’s beautiful is not always what’s good for us.�
—Janine Benyus, founder, Biomimicry Institute (biomimimcryinstitute.org); author, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

“I willed myself a new existence. I consciously created my own ‘next.’�
—Marian Bantjes, illustrator and designer

“The authentic is an ever-receding horizon.�
—Nick Currie, Wired.com columnist and Click Opera blogger

“I basically walk around in a very alert stupor.�
—Mara Kalman, illustrator and author, The Principles of Uncertainty

“If we give people what they say they want, we’ll never be able to give them what they need.�
—Khoi Vinh, design director, NYTimes.com (and Otis alumnus)

“What we need now is an activism of the mind.�
—Alex Steffen, executive editor, WorldChanging.com

“Every time I see it, it makes me feel stoned.�
—Kurt Anderson, moderator, about Photosynth 3-D technology developed by Blaise Agüera y Arcas

Some 2,000 AIGA members converged on Denver in mid-October for Next. It was a three-day mindbender of large-, medium- and small-group sessions led by more than 80 speakers expounding on their vision of the future—for their own career, for design practice, criticism and education, for technology and for the planet.

We also time-traveled to vintage versions of the future, as seen in short films by Oskar Fischinger, Len Lye, Dziga Vertov and others, as well as in fresh evaluations of the work of such masters as Alvin Lustig and Georg Olden.

The most intriguing and far-reaching topic—and one that deserves to take center stage at other AIGA gatherings—was biomimicry, a branch of applied science that studies nature’s ways of doing things (adhering, communicating, turning light into energy, etc.) and figures out how these processes can be replicated to solve human problems. To do this, biologists need to work with teams of designers, architects and engineers.

“You quiet your cleverness,� Benyus said. “You listen. You emulate. [In that way] a designer can re-imagine our world.�

Serious stuff, yes. But we also had a blast at Command X, a reality show-style contest in which seven young designers, chosen from more than 100 entrants, were asked to solve three design problems and defend them before a panel of experts . . . and emcee Michael Bierut of Pentagram, who turned in a pitch-perfect performance.

The first two challenges—a redesign of the Denver Broncos logo and the packaging for Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick—produced some hilariously outrageous solutions, including a horse reminiscent of Farrah Fawcett and a down-home Wonder Woman hitching a ride on the swaddled sausage. Throughout, the contestants demonstrated amazing poise (how often do you speak to a group of 2,000 people?) and a great sense of humor.

With the third challenge (a campaign to encourage 18-to-24-year-olds to vote, to be completed in 16 hours), the three finalists outdid themselves. Their passion and commitment to an important cause was so moving that panelist Noreen Morioka, myself and no doubt many others in the audience wound up furtively wiping away tears.

Nichelle Narcisi won with an entirely word-based campaign that (she explained) could be printed out in any typeface, for use anywhere. Designer as copywriter! Control in the hands of the user! Narcisi’s brilliant solution was the epitome of “nextness.�

As master of ceremonies for the conference, Kurt Anderson was the very model of a modern moderator. Witty, smart, skeptical, bemused, engaged—he not only kept things moving, but also added an intellectual dimension that obliged presenters to think on their feet.

For once, it’s hard to think of ways this design conference could have been improved. (A greater proportion of female community-session presenters? Hors d’oeuvres that are easier to eat standing up? Roundtable discussions that don’t start so early in the morning?)

I’m already looking forward to AIGA’s design conference in October 2009, in Memphis.