I’ve returned from the HOW Design Conference that happened over the weekend in Chicago. It was a mediocre event, overall. The personal highlights were sessions with Stefan Sagmeister on his clever print production techniques and Brendan Dawes on his unusual computer interfaces (such as a snow globe with actual computer inputs). Disappointments were a typography session that was little more than an Extensis product pitch and Brian Collins of Olgivy’s Brand Integration Group giving a presentation that was identical to his talk from last year’s AIGA conference. (Hasn’t anything happened at Olgivy in the last year?)
by Adam » Jun 23, 2005 9:09 PM
After attending a couple of "instructional" classes (Jeff Fisher's Tooting Your Own Horn being particularly unbearable), we made a point to see only designers who were showcasing work. These seesions were energetic and inspiring (Ken Barber stood out for me). Most of the presenters trying to teach lessons were simply rehashing things that can be found in any designer's textbook. Overall I'd rate the conference a solid c+.