SEGD will convene its 2011 Conference+Expo+Awards in diverse and design-centric Montreal, the only North American city designated a UNESCO City of Design.
Themed Vive la Diversite: Designing the Difference, the conference will be held June 1-4, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency Montreal.
"This will be our first-ever annual conference held outside the United States, and we're proud to invite our international community to gather in this beautiful, cosmopolitan city," said Jessica W. London, SEGD's Chief Executive Officer. "Montreal is extremely progressive in its promotion of design as not only an issue of aesthetics, but of economic stimulus and social well-being. It serves as a model for cities that wish to use design as a catalyst for growth and change."
SEGD's annual event is the only international conference focused on communication design for the built environment. It attracts designers from a wide range of disciplines as well as industry professionals, educators, and design clients who attend to be inspired by design thought leaders, network with others in the field, and learn best practices in environmental graphic design.
Conference Chair Udo Schliemann, design director with Gottschalk+Ash International (Toronto) says the word "diversity" has many meanings: in Middle English it translates to "several" or "many," while in Old French and Latin it means "different," "contrary," "separate," or "divert."
The 2011 conference will pursue all these meanings and more.
"As the world has become a global village without borders due to electronic media, we are more than ever exposed to a variety of expressions, disciplines, and possibilities," said Schliemann. "Now the vast complexity that we face in projects and tasks demands that we listen to a broad range of views and ideas and work together toward solutions."
The program will combine presentations from design leaders, clients, and change agents with panel discussions, technical sessions, networking and social events, and SEGD's signature Workshops on Wheels, which invite attendees to visit and experience project sites firsthand.
The conference also includes a one-day Expo, during which attendees can mingle with targeted industry professionals and meet project collaborators with expertise in EGD and related fields. The Expo will be held at the Palais des Congrès de Montreal.
Another conference highlight is the program celebrating winners of the 2011 SEGD Design Awards, the premier international forum for recognizing excellence in environmental graphic design. The conference will also include a banquet honoring the 2011 SEGD Fellow and other individuals and companies that have contributed to the betterment of environmental graphic design.