89. PH.D
Set amidst the evergreen mindset of Vancouver, B.C., the 2003 AIGA National Design Conference carried heavy themes of ecologic and economic responsibility on its shoulders. “Designers will play critical roles in the success of our rebounding economy—both as agents of social change in a complex world and as leading architects of sustainable solutions for a troubled planet,” reads the conference overview. Considering the importance of such concepts, as well as the thought of designing something that “every designer in at least America” would see, Clive Piercy decided to have a little fun.

To throw the issues in the face of potential attendees, Piercy used perhaps the least sustainable of all mediums. “The Styrofoam cup is this insidious object that we don’t have a choice about,” says Piercy. He asked board members, designers, and illustrators to riff on the themes of sustainability, Canada, and Vancouver, and then assigned fitting designers to do the cups of others. Christophe Neimann lovingly gouged Stefan Sagmeister into foam, Steven Heller’s cup was drawn by his best friend Seymour Chwast, and Ross MacDonald peppered his “Welcome to Vancouver” creation with heroin needles and hookers.

Within the pamphlet, conference details are succinctly outlined in a few pages. Greenest of all is the centerfold; evocative, oversized type describes what would otherwise have been conveyed by a sumptuous photo shoot. Alissa Walker