Alissa Walker, the freelance journalist and gelato connoisseur of Gelatobaby, liveblogged Compostmodern 09 on Core77. Her compilation of articles serves as a tremendously useful resource for anyone who could not attend the February 21st event. Not only are her posts informative and enlightening, but her fun, honest, and witty commentary itself is worth the read.

For example: Walker describes Saul Griffith as “a man who has invented several products, started several companies, plus he’s a certified (MacArthur Foundation) genius, and has multiple degrees in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering including a Ph.D from MIT in Programmable Assembly and Self Replicating Machines (what does that even mean?). Luckily, he’s funny.” She summarizes his presentation on calculating energy usage by saying, “According to his calculations in how energy is measured, you can equate your entire lifestyle into the measurement of a burning lightbulb. A 12,000 watt lifestyle means you can think of yourself as walking around with that many lightbulbs continuously burning behind you, like a human Vegas. Even though Griffith is a fairly sustainable chap, his 2007 life was 18,000 watts.” Walker’s full assessment on Griffith can be found here, and a compilation of all 10 of her liveblogged posts can be found here.

In this visual representation of Compostmodern 09, Anya Kamenetz, editor of Fast Company, reports that “Becoming a More Sustainable Designer in 47 Easy Steps” by Nathan Shedroff was “one of the top presentations” at Compostmodern 09. Kamenetz reported that Shedroff, chair of the Design Strategy MBA program at California College of the Arts, “clearly visualizes and relates a spectrum of conceptual frameworks for talking about sustainable design.” Visit Nathan Shedroff’s website to download his full presentation.

Kamenetz also noted that, “...human ingenuity can replace natural resources, close waste loops and make the world a better place for the future.”

Founder and Principal of Creative Core Design, Mike Lenhart describes Compostmodern 09 as “one of those cutting-edge conferences that couldn’t come at a better time.” He said of Eames Demetrios, “Geographer-at-Large” of Kymaerica and leading filmmaker on design, architecture, and sustainability, “Demetrios showed us one of the film versions of ‘Powers of 10.’ Quite an astounding commentary on the immense scale of the universe and the importance of designing in scale these days. His thought on sustainability is that we need to ‘harvest enough to sustain us.’”

Lenhart also felt that corporate and business leaders should attend conferences like Compostmodern because “they just may learn a thing or two on how to think in new ways about such things as their packaging and products.” Lenhart has written several other articles relating to design, sustainability, and the environment, all of which can be found on his blog.

Daniela Province, of the Innovative Fashion Council San Francisco, known for their promotion of sustainability and environmental consciousness, posted on the IFCSF Blog that Compostmodern 09 “couldn’t have come at a better time - amidst all the gloom and doom that has become the daily news, here was a day filled with innovative minds trying to do amazing things so that when the tide is ready to turn we’re in the right place to start over.”

Province felt that Emily Pilloton’s lecture was “by far, the most extraordinary story” from Compostmodern 09, but she also praised California College of the Arts MBA in Design Strategy Chair, Nathan Shedroff, for his advice to designers on how to speak “the language of business,” by understanding the framework they are operating in and designing things for use and durability. “Most importantly,” says Province, “as designers we need to understand the concept of storytelling in design and sustainability - because it’s about us, and who we are.”

Kristin Palm’s overview of the Compostodern 09 conference, posted for Metropolis Magazine’s POV blog, focuses on how each speaker advocated for change, “changes in the way designers work, the way they think, what they design, and for whom (‘your client is the planet’ became another reigning mantra).”

Palm reported that Emily Pilloton’s focus on the social benefits of design as “one of the most compelling presentations” at the conference. Founding the nonprofit organization Project H at 26, Pilloton “has already carried out a wealth of innovative projects that directly impacts people’s lives.” These projects include redesigning the Hippo Roller, a receptacle for transporting water in developing nations such as Africa, and creating a “Learning Landscape,” which Palm described as “simple but revolutionary” and “a reclaimed tire-and-sandlot environment that can be used for math games.”

“I've spent the days since Compostmodern09 with the words of its wildly intelligent, articulate, and achieved speakers running through in my mind,” said Emma Sherwood-Forbes, who leads design at Zannel.com, while also working freelance.

“After letting things settle,” said Sherwood-Forbes in her article on the Speak Up Design Blog, “what I was left thinking is that the essential task for the sustainability movement in 2009 is not to figure out how to reduce or eliminate our waste, but rather to make people care. After listening to these speakers, I have confidence that we as a species are up to the task of figuring out how to live on this planet without destroying it — this challenge is more about time and money than the struggle to create the right technology.”

Leading sustainable design strategist and researcher, Jeremy Faludi, covered Compostmodern 09 with reporting by Adele Peters. A professor of green design at Stanford University, Faludi said, “Despite being thrown by the AIGA, it feels much more like an industrial design conference. I personally think this is quite productive, but I’m biased by being a product designer.”

Faludi, who has also taught green design at theMinneapolis College of Art and Design and co-authored Worldchanging, wrote about the speakers, “Saul Griffith juiced things up with a bit of attitude, and was brilliant as usual, ...Emily Pilloton of Project H was great to see, simply because of the sheer momentum with which she’s rocked into the sustainable development world. ...Nathan Shedroff’s presentation was the perfect way to end the day, offering practical, real-world strategies for green design that people can implement today, such as dematerialization, product service systems, design for longevity, design for recyclability, systems thinking, etc. — all points I personally support.”