More than nine years ago, when we told the first potential presenter for the first Cusp Conference that it was going to be about ‘the design of everything’ (a phrase made up on the spot because we didn’t know how to describe what we were trying to do), there were crickets on the other end of the phone.
That first potential presenter was a young man named Bryan Anderson, who’d lost both legs and one arm in an IED explosion in Iraq. His response, once the crickets cleared, was “I’m not a designer.” So we mentioned an article in which he’d been quoted as saying — as his buddies pulled him from a shattered, burning Humvee — ”I’m really going to have to re-think my life now.” And we told him that beyond that being an absolutely incredible thing to even think during such a moment, those were ‘design’ words. And he totally got where we were going. Yes, he’d actually said that, and yes, he could definitely talk about that. And he did!
It’s fair to say that ‘design’ has firmly entered the public’s consciousness. It’s even taught in business schools. But shouldn’t it be taught (or encouraged) at every step of a child’s education? Because design is really a basic human trait. Virtually everything we see and experience that isn’t naturally occurring has been designed, or is the unintended result of design. It’s not always used for good, but design is how we as a species move forward.
As we stare down the barrel of another US election, face challenges related to climate change, armed conflict, food, water, criminal justice, healthcare, education, energy and on and on, we’re hoping that people are beginning to really understand that they have the power to reimagine and contribute to reshaping the world, if they think of the challenges they care about as design problems. Voting is design. Purchasing or not purchasing something is design. Choosing to read a book vs watching a reality TV show is design.
We know you all totally get this, because hey, you’re here! We don’t know how these two days will help you design or redesign whatever it is you care about. But we’re pretty sure you’ll figure that out. Because you’re all designers.
Welcome to Cusp 2016.
Dave Mason
Kevin Krueger
Kelly Komp
Andy Eltzroth
Pamela Lee
Skot Waldron
Multiple Inc.
Cusp Conference 2016 Hosts
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Dave Mason
Dave Mason was born in England and raised in Canada.
The things he learned as a CJFL quarterback, while working in a women’s prison, a forensic psychiatric hospital and a subatomic physics laboratory and while coaching high school football naturally prepared him to start a design firm immediately after graduating from college in the late 20th century. He subsequently co-founded internationally recognized Chicago/Vancouver-based SamataMason in 1995. He's currently Principal and Strategy Director at Multiple Inc.
Honored for excellence in virtually every significant design publication and competition, Dave’s work has also been exhibited at The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany. He has served as a juror for numerous international design competitions including Communication Arts Design Annual, The Mead Annual Report Show, AR 100 Annual Report Show, Taiwan International Poster Competition and Applied Arts, and as a guest speaker at design and business schools, conferences and events throughout Canada, the United States and Asia. In 2010 he was named a Fellow by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada.
In addition to Multiple Inc. and Cusp Conference, Dave has also co-founded a number of additional ventures including OpinionLab Inc., the leader in web and mobile voice of customer feedback software, and PowerPlayer Inc., a feedback / communication / data collection system for youth sports.
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Kevin Krueger
Kevin Krueger is an accomplished brand communication designer.
Principal and Creative Director at Multiple Inc., he's a former partner in internationally recognized design firm SamataMason. His work for a diverse range of clients such as the PGA Tour, Whirlpool, Devon Energy, International Truck, and Motorola has been honored internationally in numerous competitions and publications including AIGA Communication Graphics, The Art Directors Club, The Type Directors Club, Communication Arts, Applied Arts, Graphis and How Magazine.
A graduate of Ohio University, Kevin is a former Chicago Chapter board member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), a frequent lecturer at design schools and organizations, and has served as a juror for numerous design competitions.
Kevin is a co-founder of Cusp Conference LLC, and PowerPlayer Inc., a feedback / communication / data collection system for youth sports. And yes, he was bitter about the whole LeBron James thing.
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Andy Eltzroth
Principal and Business Development Director at Multiple Inc., Andy Eltzroth served as a designer, project manager and account executive in San Francisco and the Midwest prior to co-founding Tandemodus with Kelly Komp in 2006.
An Indiana University graduate with a BFA in graphic design, Andy has provided strategic direction for a wide range of organizations including Eli Lilly, Dow AgroSciences, the Center for Leadership at Northwestern University, Pearson Education and True Value Hardware. He’s a current board member of Chicago-based Goodcity, an organization dedicated to identifying and supporting high potential community-based entrepreneurs in under-resourced communities.
Andy now spends the majority of his off-work hours simultaneously doting on his growing family and wishing he’d spent more time perfecting his knuckleball.
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Kelly Komp
Principal and Creative Director at Multiple Inc., Kelly Komp graduated from Ball State University with a BFA in Graphic Design. A former co-founder and Creative Director of Chicago-based Tandemodus, his award-winning strategic thinking and communication design capabilities have brought clarity and energy to organizations such as DePaul University, University of Chicago, Great Lakes Protection Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Spertus Institute, and Scott Foresman.
He’s a former Chicago Chapter board member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and instructor of Design for the Web at Chicago Portfolio School.
And he credits his experiences slinging tacos, shagging golf balls at a driving range, filing records for a law firm, operating a forklift and bagging ice in a 20° factory with providing him with a love of not doing any of those things today.