The national conference continues to deliver design inspiration with great speakers like Dean Kamen, Blake Leeper, and many others.  Dean was inspirational in prompting the reevaluation of life goals, and the impact that one man can have in technology, social influence, and education.  Blake reminded us that design is a selfless process with the goals of empowering, inspiring, and enabling an audience other than ourselves.

In one of the “Un-Conference” sessions, Microsoft’s Surya Vanka expressed the need for “hybrid” talent : individuals that can bridge the language between design experience and technical execution.

Lunar’s John Edson and Mark Dziersk promoted the power of influence, and the trust in intuition over spreadsheet data when generating market-leading products.

Finally, Pensa’s Marco Perry and Mark Prommel showed us the way to develop products with an open approach, providing the community with more information rather than being secretive, as a new way to achieve success in the context of modern communication.

Chicago pizza, a boat tour, and Priority Designs winning the derby car competition (again!) capped off a great trip.  Looking forward to Austin.