Paul van Barneveld led the AGDA Conference team with the ambition of stimulating dialogue on the nature of "effective" design. The result was a great program delivered by inspiring speakers at a fantastic location! The sold-out sessions were complemented with plenty of unstructured, "get to know you" time, all in warm and sunny Noosa.

With the inimitable Stephen (Steve) Castledine as a very capable Master of Ceremonies, day one kicked off with Paul Davis' presentation entitled 'Boredom is the Enemy.' Paul Davis is a globally-renowned London-based illustrator with a wry and amusing take on modern life. While his material didn't really speak to the topic of design effectiveness, it didn't matter to the audience at all because it was such a great way to be reminded of the fun to be had in design. You can check out some of his work at: http://www.copyrightdavis.com.

Andrew Ashton (Pip&Co, http://www.peoplethings.com/) gave a brilliant presentation on the ins and outs of developing effective designs, while David Pidgeon (Gollings+Pidgeon, http://www.gollingspidgeon.com) used a point-counterpoint technique to explore the effectiveness of work done for Heide Museum. Both presenters were exceptional in terms of going beyond the usual "show and tell" format and being able to articulate their thoughts and views on the issues affecting the practice of design today.

After lunch, Vince Frost successfully evaded an in-depth discussion of 'Successful Creative Partnerships' (ie. how's it really going with Garry?) while presenting a range of work that underlined why he is so admired by the global creative community. Don't get me wrong, it was great (as always) to see his stuff, but it was a little disappointing that he stuck with a conventional show-and-tell format and sidestepped the meatier topic. See http://www.emeryfrost.com for an appropriately inspiring/demoralising/challenging experience of what great designers get up to.

Day 1 ended with two speakers and a panel discussion on Responsible Design. Anna Carlile (Viola Design, http://www.violadesign.com.au) gave a really useful and informative presentation on Design by Nature (http://www.designbynature.org), a web resource established to inspire Australian designers to adopt more environmentally sustainable practices. Marek Cukier from Australian Paper (http://www.australianpaper.com.au) gave a rather detailed presentation on the tricks and traps in environmental accreditation schemes used by paper companies worldwide. His key point was that you need to look beyond the label to ascertain how truly 'environmentally friendly' some products and companies really are.

>From the panel discussion, I think the most profound point made was that being environmentally friendly today means a lot more than simply using recycled stock, and that there are many ways in which designer can improve in this area. Other resources worth checking out include the Society for Responsible Design (http://green.net.au/srd/index.html) and the REAP Guide (http://green.net.au/srd/reap.htm).

Day 2 started with yet another inspirational kick-off by Wolfgang Weingart giving us some insight into the work and thoughts behind his typography, based on material from his tome, 'Wolfgang Weingart: Typography', originally published in 2001.

On the principle that more of a good thing must be even better (and it was!), Weingart was followed by John and Ros Moriarty of Balarinji Design Studio (http://www.jumbana.com.au/jumbana_frameset.html?index2.html) - you know, the mob that in 1994 turned a Qantas jumbo into the world's largest flying artwork, Wunula (kangaroo) Dreaming. Even after a decade and copycat efforts by both British Airways and Cathay Pacific, the sheer power and scale of the work is mind-blowing. Ros and John went well beyond the jumbo in explaining the history and aspirations of Australia's leading indigenous art and design group.

Matthew Remphrey then gave a kick-ass presentation on his studio, Parallax Design (http://www.parallaxdesign.com.au), and his work. Matthew managed to combine a very thoughtful and articulate review of his business (as a business!) with humorous and insightful explorations of work that he has done for two boutique wineries.

At this point, I have to say how impressive the 'younger' designers were. I am talking about Matthew Remphrey, Andrew Ashton, David Pidgeon and Anna Carlile. These people are smart - really smart - in a well-rounded and mature way. None of this "hey the work is great but they couldn't manage their way out of a wet paper bag" bullshit that was acceptable twenty years ago. Even someone like Andrew Ashton who actively eschews aggressive commercialism is still savvy enough to understand the economics of CD music, and to integrate that insight into his design thinking. Ditto for Matthew Remphrey, for whom it is clearly "all about the design" - I mean, his 2nd employee was a business manager for goodness sake! How smart and mature is that? Without wanting to get soppy about it, these people gave me renewed hope for the Australian design community - at last, properly talented designers who control their businesses instead of being overrun by them!

Then it was my turn. As usual, I banged on about the business of design, including a presentation of an econometric model for a design business. For AGDA members, you can download a copy of my notes here .

Then it was on to two more presentations on business stuff. Chris Finn, of Finn Roache Lawyers (http://www.finns.com.au) gave an energetic and useful presentation on the top legal issues that designers typical struggle with. Chris' bottom line was that you should really invest the small amount of time and money upfront to get your terms and conditions sorted out so that they properly match your business expectations and requirements. Brad Hodges of BDH & Co (http://www.bdhco.com.au) followed Chris with an even more energetic review of what it takes to set up and manage a successful business, all based on his experiences working with design firms in Sydney. Day 2 sessions finished with a panel discussion on design effectiveness facilitated by Simon Pemberton, AGDA National President.

In the wrap-up speeches, Liam Camilleri, AGDA ACT President, announced that next year's Awards would be held "on a weekend in November in 2006," so pencil that one in your diaries!