Wednesday Webcasts: Bostonist Rates AIGA Design Conference

Have you ever walked down Boylston and seen weird people with funny accents and large tote bags? These people from all over the country come to the Hynes Convention Center to pay large sums of money and hear important people talk. Nothing upsets Bostonist more than an event too expensive to attend, and for once we have found a different solution than charging the guards at the front gates. AIGA has decided to podcast all of their main stage content in addition to a number of back stage interviews.

The AIGA Design Conference had some very large names. Design legends Milton Glaser and Stefan Sagmeister talked, along with Paula Scher and Daily Show Co-Executive Producer Ben Karlin, who talked about America: The Book. Some of the local color included Nicholas Negroponte (whom we've mentioned earlier) from MIT, who talked about his hundred-dollar laptop, and Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, who gave an amazing speech about government's roll in our lives. Another phenomenal presentation was given by Bill Strickland about how design can change how poor people see the world.

Both the main stage and back stage podcasts are recorded beautifully but several of the main stage presentations relied too heavily on visuals for the podcasts to capture their full flavor. Many of the presentations are available in PDF form, but it's not fun trying to sync the audio and visuals yourself. The back stage interviews are a little odd, as the interviewer has cut herself out, leaving only the answers from the presenters. While it does not sound too much like a one-sided conversation, it is definitely noticeable. Hopefully, more conferences in Boston will open themselves up and share the wealth with all of us looking in from the outside.