Education Symposium
An annual exploration into the state of design education, now and into the future.
Education, a foundation of our Society
The Industrial Designers Society of America has a long tradition and commitment to education and the academic community. In fact, education is one of the four pillars of IDSA’s mission and a key component of our Future Vision moving into the next 50 years of success. We are in the practice of educating people about design and creating environments for designers to thrive. Design education is where creativity and knowledge are forged to envision new ideas and create solutions designed to help people live better lives. Design schools, educators, and students are central to this endeavor.
Today, there are around 20 million college students in the United States. Of that, only a small fraction is studying industrial design. As of this writing, IDSA’s current (admittedly unscientific) estimate has that number to be anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 (based on anecdotal sources and extrapolations of existing student membership data). Regardless of size, it is this small group of creative and increasingly diverse minds who will eventually become professional designers and will be responsible for creating some of the great innovations of our future.
What is being taught?
How is it being taught?
Who is teaching it?
The answer to those questions might be as varied and nuanced as the interpretations and debate about design thinking. Yet, as it relates to the teaching of industrial design, one of IDSA’s central purposes is to help facilitate the conversation around those questions and thusly understand the answers. Our articles of incorporation, established at the time of our founding in 1965, state that, among other pursuits, IDSA is to:
“cooperate with educational institutions where the principles of industrial design are taught with the aim of improving the methods of instruction of their application to the practical work of the practitioner of industrial design.”
For over 20 years, the IDSA Education Symposium has been a platform for celebrating the very best in design academia. It draws design educators, practitioners, and students from all over the world and helps connect our vast community through knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.
Access to educational opportunity can have a profound impact on one’s ability to succeed in life. The reality is, however, that access is not universal and a myriad of factors such as social class, gender, ethnicity, disabilities, funding and infrastructure can impact access to educational resources and deeply complicate the path toward achieving positive outcomes. Within our domain and with education as one of IDSA’s core functional pillars, it is vital that we work to provide equal access to learning opportunities to both our membership and our community at large. The annual Education Symposium is one way we can make progress towards this goal.
Gaylon White, H/IDSA presents to an audience at the 2008 Education Symposium in Pheonix, AZ.
Eric Anderson, FIDSA and Kevin Shinn, FIDSA at the 2012 Education Symposium in Boston, MA.
Scott Shim, IDSA, Ann-Marie Conrado, IDSA, Warren Ginn, FIDSA, and Carolina Gill (left to right) in a design educator panel discussion at the 2016 Education Symposium in Detroit, MI.