Ben Kessler (bio)

Wednesday's program kicked off at 8:30 a.m. with a charged-up keynote address by Augusten Burroughs, the author of the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors. Burroughs recounted several offbeat incidents from his unconventional career, which began with alcohol-fueled stints at several major advertising agencies. Tapping into his own creative energies, Burroughs says, not only revitalized his career but also allowed him to achieve sobriety and personal fulfillment. He urged the audience to pursue creative passions outside of the office.

The next presentation was by Bosnian designer and illustrator Mirko Ilic, co-author (with Milton Glaser) of The Design of Dissent, a collection of politically subversive graphics from around the world. Ilic displayed and described several of the artworks that appear in the book, which was published in the autumn of 2006. Judging from my lunchtime conversations with other attendees, Ilic succeeded in provoking political dialogue among American designers (his stated goal), but his presentation left me nonplussed. His slideshow contained some striking and innovative work, to be sure, but he also showed pieces whose only noteworthy attribute was a left-wing message.

Among Wednesday afternoon's highlights was a talk by Josh Liberson and Ethan Trask, principals of the NYC design firm Helicopter. Liberson and Trask cut their teeth in magazine art departments, and much of their work to date consists of designs for mass-market publications such as Jane.

Liberson explained that in the magazine world, design and content must work together on every level to convey a title's "unique narrative voice." When Helicopter redesigned Jane, for example, they facilitated brainstorming and strategizing sessions involving both the art department and editors, an unprecedented move for that magazine. This intensive collaboration "gave the staff the vernacular to understand the magazine in new ways."

Groundbreaking designer Paula Scher's concluding keynote speech provided a valuable contrast to Helicopter's talk. In her work as a principal at the design consultancy Pentagram, she has helped to refurbish established, even iconic, brands such as Tiffany & Co. Scher spoke of how she slimmed down the typeface on Tiffany's classic logo, emphasizing the exclusivity and elegance associated with the brand.

She also described Pentagram partner Michael Bierut's recent work for Saks Fifth Avenue. Bierut split Saks's logo into 64 squares that could be reconfigured for packaging, advertising, and other purposes. Each of these parts communicates the character of the original logo, but when combined in unexpected ways, the details have an abstract, contemporary feel.