Enlighten Americas

Last week I had the privilege of being in Vancouver, Canada to attend the annual lighting design conference of the IALD – Enlighten Americas.  Here’s what I learned…

1. That Richard Seymour (the keynote speaker from SeymourPowell in London) gave a jaw-droppingly brilliant address about the future of design. According to Richard, the technology is there RIGHT NOW, what’s lagging behind is the imagination of designers… For more in Richard Seymour, check this must-see TED talk
2. That there is no shortage of people hungry for education in lighting related matters. This year saw a record attendance of 375
3. That the future is bright – there are an exciting bunch of new lighting designers about to hit practices the world over. The conference had a strong focus on emerging designers (many of them attending courtesy of stipends that covered conference fees and travel from the IALD Education Trust). The emerging designers gave addresses, networked, showed of their folios and made light fixtures using LEDs and random materials for LightPlay which was part of the President’s Address evening function. Wonderful stuff.
4. That Australian lighting design is right up there with some of the best in the world. We might be far away but people see what we do from afar and are very complimentary.
5. That IALD know how to put on a conference; the whole thing ran like clockwork.