Introductions, provocations, promotions, and explications abounded in NEXT’s opening session.

Ric Grefé

Ric Grefé, executive director of AIGA, welcomed and addressed the audience, connecting the dots between the national organizations and the conference’s ever-contortable theme: NEXT. Of note in their sustainability initiatives, the organization has purchased carbon offsets not only for their entire operations, but also the travel of every NEXT attendee to the conference. Grefé shared that AIGA currently has 21,000 member, up from 8,000 10 years ago, and is planning for another 8,000 members by 2010.

Kurt Andersen

Host of WNYC’s Studio 360, Kurt Andersen, is this year’s emcee. While he’s yet to make the heart-string pulls that John Hockenberry so easily made in the past, a short personal tale of his life surrounded by design was both endearing and impressive. He seems to have intersected or collaborated with a vast majority of the notable design talent from his generation including Michael Bierut, Steve Heller, Number 17, Stephen Doyle, Bill Drenttel and many, many more. Let’s face it: we like design fans, and Andersen is certainly a sincere one.

Famed architect Daniel Libeskind addressed the crowd in what felt like the expression of a keynote, rather than a keynote itself. His talk certainly didn’t push any longer than twenty minutes, and yet through the power of his speed-talking (which he’s known to do in any situation), Libeskind managed to address his working methodology, the inspiration and development of his design for the Denver Art Museum, and the relationship he finds between graphic images and their application in architecture. So maybe the gesture of a presentation was perfectly appropriate.

Denver Art Museum

Libeskind showed early drawings he would create very much removed from the designing-to-build part of the architecture practice. He used these sans-client exploration to inform later work in which he described “graphic work transcending itself to become the projection of a graphic idea in building materials.” One might be quick to react to this highly conceptual, language-centric propping up of design decisions, and he delivered another in describing the Denver Art Museum, “Folded vectors that bring together the energy of the city.” Just as quickly as these seemingly art-heavy pronouncements come out, Libeskind follows them with a pragmatic sell:

Rather than place the required parking garage underground, proposed cladding an above-ground structure with condos to create a community around the museum and add additional value to the development. I can begin to understand how he appeals to clients.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper spoke about his goal to create the “creative capital of the west.” Most surprising to me was the program he initiated to convince Denver businesses to invest 1/10th of 1% of their revenues to buying art from local artists. Beyond supporting the artists themselves, Hickenlooper is a proponent of the efficiency and quality-of-life improvements for workers when they’re surrounded by inspiring art. An entirely new idea? Certainly not. But in the hands of a politician who has a history of actually making things happen,

Hickenlooper declared this week “Design Week” in honor of our influx to Denver.

What’s Next? The Crowd Favorites. Learning to be good human beings. Creativity at Kid Robot.