Compostmodern, the ground-breaking biennial interdisciplinary conference for designers and design-leaders created by the San Francisco Chapter of AIGA, announced the speaker line-up and schedule for their fourth annual gathering. The conference, dedicated to promoting and inspiring sustainable design solutions, is geared to established design firms, emerging designers, design students and strategists who are interested in cultivating sustainable design by becoming catalysts for cultural, social and ecological transformation. Compostmodern 2011 explores the current and future potential for ecologically sustainable growth and responsible design, focusing on real world solutions and practical applications of design thinking.
"Compostmodern speakers push the design-thinking envelope," said Rahul Raj, AIGA San Francisco Sustainability Chair. "By connecting the dots between design practice and social responsibility, this event delivers attendees real-world examples of how to put ideas into practice. Our conference goal is to instigate action."
Compostmodern 2011 takes place January 22 - 23, 2011 and is designed to inform, educate and inspire as well as promote action. Day one of the conference will be held at the Herbst Theatre and includes mainstage presentations by cutting-edge thinkers including Scott Thomas, Founding Partner of a design collective lovingly known as The Post Family, and former leader of the New Media Team at Obama for America; Dara O'Rourke, Co-Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer of GoodGuide, that empowers people to screen and compare products based on their personal values and concerns; Jonah Sachs, Founder of Free Range Studios and widely considered a leader in the powerful movement to spread progressive political and social messages through use of the Web; Nathan Waterhouse, lead at OpenIDEO, an online platform for collaborative design for social good; Dan Phillips, founder of Phoenix Commotion which provides housing for low-income families, created with recycled and salvaged materials, and; Janine James, President and Chief Strategist of The Moderns, a brand strategy and multidisciplinary think tank that has brought success to some of the world's most influential and environmentally sustainable brands including American Express, Planned Parenthood, BASF and Sundance.
Day two will be held at the Academy of Art (79 New Montgomery St) as the "UnConference." Using a unique format, attendees will propose topics about which they are passionate, engage like-minded individuals in open discussions, and build project solutions that help them realize their passions. The half-day UnConference is a democratic and open way to encourage action.