CUSP Conference 2015
About six months ago, we heard about a design conference located in the heart of downtown Chicago, where speakers come from all over the United States to speak about their backgrounds and influence in the world of design. As industrial designers, we focus on product development and how to help our clients succeed in the marketplace. But – collaboration and free flowing ideas can come from anywhere, right? We figured that this conference would be a perfect opportunity to open our horizons and step into someone else’s world for a couple of days.
The Cusp Conference, a project that is hosted by Multiple, Inc. Over the years, they have been fortunate enough to work with phenomenal people, maintaining the connection between energy and intelligence of the awesome people that keep these conferences engaging and energized. This conference is an attempt to spread their experience into a format that will allow others to experience the same knowledge.
Cusp Conference is a conference about the design of everything – allowing participants to think broadly and immerse themselves in a flood of ideas that will break down their barriers/comfort zones and connect unknown dots. It’s all about finding ideas and relevance in the most unexpected ways. The program is intended to provoke ideas that come from every which way, along with generating new ways of thinking. The two-day conference allows attendees to enjoy 25+ presentations by people who are passionate about designing a better future for their field of study.
As designers at Beyond Design, we crave creativity – and being authentic at all times. It’s a variable in our lives that presents itself at every turn, allowing us to display our passion and thought process.
As this is our first year attending, these are our thoughts on CUSP – an interesting experience to say the least. In 2015, the cast of speakers persists the diversity in humans and their desire to help those in need. Presenters like Lily Born, who invented the Kangaroo Cup for those with Parkinson’s Disease, Riana Lynn who created the supply chain management platform called FoodTrace, and Samantha White, who founded Shakespeare in Detroit.
One presenter that caught Michael Prince’s eye was Robin Sukroso – a world traveler, visionary and inventor. Over the last decade, he has wandered all over the world seeking different experiences to further his musical journey, performing and doing what he loves to do. Along with incorporating the sounds of the world to his creations, bringing in his own tools has made a difference – developing the ACPAD, the world’s first wireless MIDI controller for the acoustic guitar.
His crowdfunding efforts on a global level are fascinating – allowing him to connect with all different kinds of people to help him develop his idea, raise money and awareness. These platforms allowed him to further his journey, teaching others the value of music and contributing to bringing all different types of music together.
There a number of ways to promote and develop creativity in the workplace. The Cusp Conference offers perspectives and projects to help stimulate different scenarios that we probably wouldn’t think twice about on a daily basis. The presentations that we saw can motivate us to make connections with others – intellectual, creative and even unexpected ones that allow us to tell a continuous story and to never stop creating.
To read our crowdfunding article, please click here.