The most popular response when I ask for advice is the hardest to take seriously. “Just have fun.” Yeah, that’s easy for you to say. You get the luxury of sitting in the darkness of the audience while I try to hide the sweat that’s collecting on my forehead. You get to go to Graceland and on studio tours and attend the opening night reception and have drinks at the Design Observer party on Friday night at The New Daisy Theater. Yeah, you go have fun while I sit here on display and work through the night.
Finding moments of fun is never easy under the pressure of a tight deadline. In these conditions, laughing occurs only out of hysteria. But after re-watching Command X: Season 1, I realized that it could be a lot of fun. In fact, the people that went the furthest in the competition were the ones that had the most fun.
In the initial challenges, humor got the best response from the judges. It’s no wonder, I mean the three-day conference is packed, back-to-back with inspiring lectures and workshops. It’s overwhelming. So what did AIGA decide to do? Provide a little entertainment by putting seven helpless designers in the spotlight and seeing what we can create in less than a day. This year, they increased the entertainment with another competition, Mano-A-Mano a live tournament testing the design IQ of 16 conference attendees. There will also be screenings of the films Objectified by Gary Hustwit and Typeface by Justine Nagan and an appearance from comedian Demetri Martin.
Alright, so this might be fun. But keep reminding me though, even if I roll my eyes. If I hear it enough times, I just might start to believe you.
Tags: AIGA, Design Observer