Mission

The Aspen Design Conference (ADC) led by locals and young innovators, is an open, inclusive space where designers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries come together to challenge conventions. 

Born from the pioneering Bauhaus spirit of the International Design Conference in Aspen (IDCA), a new conference emerges, free from commercial barriers. We break beyond the traditional conference model by promoting dialogue, creating friction, and driving momentum.

Through spirited discussions, hands-on experimentation, and deep engagement within Aspen’s natural landscape, this is where the past meets the future, and design is reimagined for the challenges of today.

A horse and a cowboy are mid-air in a rodeo event, with the cowboy falling off the horse against a backdrop of mountains and a crowd of spectators.
Black and white photo of a group of people sitting at a restaurant outdoor patio, with a store named Johnny Litchfield's Red Onion in the background.
A black and white photo of a group of people sitting at a round outdoor table in front of a shop called Johnny Litchfield's Red Onion. The shop has large windows showcasing painted landscapes. The people are dressed in mid-20th-century clothing, and the background shows a building with arched windows, a fence, and a street scene.
A cowboy is thrown off a bucking horse during a rodeo event, with spectators watching in the background and hills in the distance.

What we’re exploring

The Aspen Design Conference examines how design influences every aspect of our lives, from the environments we inhabit to the products we interact with. Through interdisciplinary conversations, we aim to inspire innovative solutions that shape the future. 

Guided by this year’s theme, What’s Next?, we gather creative minds from across disciplines — from fashion to AI, climate to sound, space-making to storytelling — to spark new ideas, challenge assumptions, and imagine what comes next.

At the Aspen Design Conference, we explore how design shapes the way we live, from the homes we build and the tools we use to the systems we navigate and the cultures we create.

What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving. It blends curiosity, empathy, and experimentation to create meaningful solutions — not just beautiful ones.

Meet the Leadership Team

Man smiling, wearing a large wide-brimmed hat, dark jacket, and a bolo tie, standing in front of a door.
Triangular split background with black on the top right and bright green on the bottom left.

DANIEL WATKINS

Black and white portrait of a woman with long wavy hair, standing by a wall, looking at the camera with a slight smile.
Diagonal split graphic with black top triangle and bright yellow-green bottom triangle.

SARAH MCLELLAN

Black and white portrait of a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a blazer, with arms crossed, looking confidently at the camera.
A diagonal split image with one half in black and the other half in bright green.

MARLENA CHANEL HOST

A man with a beard wearing a black shirt with a name tag that says 'Mosler' sits on a wooden artist's chair in an art gallery. The wall behind him features three abstract paintings.
A graphic with a diagonal split, black on the top right corner and bright yellow-green on the bottom left corner.

ELI BUCKSBAUM

A young woman with straight dark hair, wearing a sleeveless leather top, standing against a plain wall in black and white.
A split image with one side showing black and the other side bright green, separated diagonally.

CHRISTINA GRACE ROIG

A smiling young man with dreadlocks wearing sunglasses, a cap backwards, and a dark shirt with patches stands in front of a colorful abstract mural.
Diagonal split image with bright lime green on the bottom left and solid black on the top right.

ANDRE "MYXZ" NICHOLS

A woman with long dark hair, wearing glasses and a black Adidas shirt with white stripes, sits on a bench with a guitar and a leopard-print cushioned stool nearby.
A black and neon lime green background divided diagonally with solid colors

AGGIE FLORES

A young woman with short dark hair sitting on a bench in front of a large, leafy plant. She is wearing a white t-shirt and a patterned dress, with sunglasses on her head and a bracelet on her wrist. She has her legs crossed and is smiling slightly at the camera.
A black and bright green triangular design, with the black occupying the top right section and the lime green filling the bottom left section.

HANNAH BADWAN

A man with a beard wearing a plaid flannel shirt and a baseball cap standing in front of a colorful abstract mural.
Diagonal split image with black color in the top right corner and bright lime green in the bottom left corner.

CHRIS ERICKSON

A woman smiling in a field, wearing a white dress and a large black hat.
Diagonal split image with black color in the top right corner and bright lime green in the bottom left corner.

JADA BEACOM

A young woman with shoulder-length hair and light skin sitting in a car, wearing a sleeveless top and layered necklaces, taking a selfie.
Diagonal split image with black color in the top right corner and bright lime green in the bottom left corner.

NOEY VAN STOKEN

We’re just getting started — but Aspen’s design roots run deep!

History of Design in Aspen

Snow-covered town with small houses and shops in the foreground, surrounded by snow-covered mountains and ski slopes in the background.
An outdoor symphony orchestra performing with a conductor, piano players, and musicians playing stringed instruments, while an audience sits on wooden benches under a tent.
An elderly man with glasses and in a sweater standing outdoors on snow, with a mountain landscape and a partially collapsed amusement park ride in the background.

Aspen has long been a gathering place for design innovation and bold ideas, where the natural landscape has inspired a unique convergence of art, technology, and thought.

This legacy traces back to 1949, when industrialist and cultural patron Walter Paepcke founded both the Aspen Institute and the International Design Conference in Aspen (IDCA). Paepcke envisioned Aspen as a retreat where leaders in art, industry, and philosophy could engage in open dialogue—free from urban distractions—fostering collaboration and forward-thinking ideas in a serene mountain setting.

The IDCA quickly became a pioneering platform for the global design community. Its interdisciplinary approach broke down traditional boundaries between fields, encouraging designers to think not only about aesthetics but also about ethics, utility, and the role of design in shaping society.

Over the decades, the conference drew some of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Charles and Ray Eames shared their visionary approach to design, architecture, and storytelling. Buckminster Fuller presented radical ideas about sustainable living and geodesic structures. Paul Rand, Herbert Bayer, Saul Bass, and many others brought modernist sensibilities and a shared belief in design as a tool for progress.

Aspen continued to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of design into the 1980s. In 1983, a young Steve Jobs took the stage at the IDCA to introduce the computer mouse—an innovation that would forever change the way humans interact with technology. That moment marked a shift from analog to digital design, and Aspen once again stood at the frontier of a new era.

Although the International Design Conference eventually ended, its influence reverberates through contemporary design discourse. The ideas born in Aspen—about human-centered design, the fusion of form and function, and the social responsibility of creators—continue to guide and inspire designers worldwide. Today, Aspen’s legacy as a design capital is felt not only in the objects we use and the buildings we inhabit, but also in the broader cultural understanding of what design can be.

Black and white photo of an outdoor event with many people sitting and lying on a grassy hill in front of a large circus tent, trees surrounding the area, and a partly cloudy sky overhead.
A man standing outdoors in a natural landscape with mountains in the background, beside a tall, twisted wood sculpture.
Children playing in a water fountain on a city street, with people watching, street lamps, and mountains in the background, in black and white.