International Design Conference at Aspen

Scope Note: Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke founded the International Design Conference in Aspen more than fifty years ago. He and his wife Elizabeth envisioned Aspen as a place where leaders from throughout the world could gather to share ideas. Their vision was first realized in 1949 when the Goethe Bicentennial celebration attracted more than 2,000 people to Aspen to honor the 200th birthday of Goethe, the great German humanist. Albert Schweitzer opened the convocation.

In 1951, two years after the Goethe Bicentennial, Paepcke established the IDCA as an opportunity to bring together designers, artists, engineers, business and industry leaders. That first June, some 250 attendees and their families assembled for four days of presentations on the theory and practice of design. The title, “Design as a Function of Management,” was chosen to ensure the participation of the business community.

The IDCA, along with the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Music Festival and School, grew out of the Paepckes' belief that Aspen provided an ideal environment for nurturing the whole human being. Isolated from the distractions of urban life and inspired by the abundant natural beauty of the Colorado Rockies, people could take advantage of Aspen's recreational, intellectual and cultural resources. They would return home renewed in “body, mind and spirit,” a concept that has come to be known as “The Aspen Idea.” Today, Aspen is renowned for its wide range of cultural activities and opportunities for learning.

Related entities: American Institute of Graphic Arts

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