The Errant Æsthete

A fabulous idea brilliantly executed out of design observer. Command X was supposed to serve as comic relief at the AIGA’s Next Conference last month in Denver. Seven young designers from around the country were chosen to compete in a real-time design competition, taking on a series of assignments and risking elimination in the manner of “Project Runway” and any number of other television reality shows. No one was sure whether it would work, including the organizers. But it did work, and powerfully so, in no small part due to the compelling performances of the contestants.The last of the three challenges was the most serious: propose a strategy to raise the turnout of voters between 18 and 24. With less than 24 hours to work, each of the finalists came up with a provocative response. But it was Nichelle Narcisi’s all-text solution that caught the enthusiasm of the visually-biased 2000-plus audience, gaining her the only standing ovation of the entire three-day conference.

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