Aspen

Once a year, design professionals and enthusiasts meet at the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado where approximately 300 international participants discuss design, architecture, art, science, and technology. The conference aims to achieve a global appreciation of social and cultural concerns and to exert influence by implementing the results and conclusions that emerge from its workshops and seminars.

Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke and his wife Elizabeth founded the design conference in 1951. Their idea of bringing together diverse skills to approach problems from different perspectives was reflected in the diversity of the participants invited to the conference. As a result, author Max Frisch (1956), composer John Cage (1966), and video artist Nam June Paik (1971) have all contributed to the development of design philosophy. Choosing Aspen as the conference's venue was also significant. Paepcke believed that the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains, a wholesome...