I’m a true believer in reflecting on the past as much as looking to the future. I was recently rummaging through some old materials and came across a deck I put together capturing some choice highlights from the AIGA Risk Reward Conference (.pps) back in 2000. There are some nice insights in the deck that I took away from the event. I recommend taking a quick look through it—as much of the thought is applicable today. What’s remarkable about this is that the conference had the same creative energy levels that we are seeing in the industry now. Back then anything seemed possible. There was so much going in between the traditional creative worlds and what we were seeing online. It was both a special and kind of crazy time.
We all know what happened shortly after 2000. The internet bubble burst, global terror reared it’s ugly head, and recession hit pretty hard. So temporarily, many of us had to put survival in front of creativity. Creativity never went away, it just took on a different shape for a while. Ironically, right after that conference, Risk became a dirty word. No one wanted to take risks. It was all about ROI.
Fast-forward to 2006. The internet is a finally a respectable business model—and many brands understand this. Advertising is being turned on it’s head—the 30 second spot is slowly losing it’s grip. Product Design has experienced an all out renaissance. Consumers control how they choose to interact with brands—they now have the power. Technology no longer drives—it enables. Design has gone mainstream—companies like Target and Apple have seen to this. I could go on...
Wow. It’s 2006 and I can’t believe I survived those years in between 2000 to the present. And I’m glad I did. Looking back to the AIGA conference—I’m even more excited about creativity, innovation, and design then I was back then. Hard to believe.
