Previous Conferences

2016 Central Conference

Welcome to the 2016 IDSA Central District Design Conference: Industrial “Strength” Design brought to you by GE Appliances.

If there was ever a perfect time to unleash the raw power of the fundamentals of industrial design, it’s now! Today, we are experiencing an amazing intersection of mighty forces—connectivity, digitization, mobility, autonomy, sensorification and electrification in numerous product categories. Because of these forces, our world is going to be full of lucrative opportunities and surprising new challenges via the emergence of new business models.

2016 West Conference

Welcome to IDSA’s 2016 West District Design Conference, DESIGN: GIFT Empathy Driven Solutions.

Life is challenging. Often, distractions create tension between the things we have to do—and the things we want to do. Experience the adrenaline rush of working alongside people you have never met before, and analyzing rapidly using empathetic drivers to assess, create, prototype and present solutions. You need cool nerves, quick reflexes and a clear understanding of what a gift it is, to be able to design and find answers. The rewards of this design swarm will be great indeed!

IDSA International Conference 2015: Future of the Future | Seattle

Join us in Seattle, August 19-22, 2015 for IDSA’s 50th anniversary International Conference. Future of the Future will celebrate the achievements of the design community and accelerate reinvention of the profession. This year’s IDSA/Eastman Innovation Lab Education Symposium on August 19, Designing the Future of Education, is open to designers, educators and thought leaders. Join the journey on Twitter @IDSA and #IDSASeattle15

2015 South Conference

Welcome to Home Cooking: Designing, Manufacturing and Sourcing in the USA,

The South has always been known as the place to get some great home cooked comfort food.  This year, the Southern District wants to take that idea of home cooking and deep-dive into how corporations and entrepreneurs are designing, manufacturing and sourcing their products right here in the good old USA. 

2015 West Conference

Welcome to TRIBE:CRAFT, where you will learn how to build a tribe + sharpen your craft!

Through exploration of design swarms, tribal brand-leading keynotes, panel discussions and maker-style workshops, consultants and corporate designers will walk away with tangible skills that will sharpen their craft.

2015 Central Conference

Welcome to the Nature of Design.

Design, like nature is constantly evolving. It has changed from producing stand-alone, artifact-based design solutions to creating a connected and automated design experience economy. How is the collective need of humanity changing? Shouldn’t we start to re-think our design methodologies? 

Nature is arguably the greatest inspiration for designers all over the globe. We still have a lot to learn from the flora & fauna and the immense ideas that nature plays out every single day. Many of the solutions that we see and experience have been in the making for thousands of years.

2015 Northeast Conference

Welcome to Design + ______

Many design conferences consist mainly of designers talking to designers about design. But that doesn’t really represent what we do—not in the real world.

Design is a critical component of almost every solution, but it is not the only part. Complex problems require expertise in engineering, business, strategy, environment, marketing and research. Designers may choose to tackle these problems themselves, or opt to work with specialists. The question is when should you be a jack-of-all-trades, and when should you collaborate?

2015 Midwest Conference

Welcome to INTERSECTION.

The landscape of design and innovation is changing. As designers become more prominent and influential in the world, we must begin to fundamentally think differently about the products, services and overall experiences we strive to create for people.

INTERSECTION will center on a common (but often underutilized framework) that depicts “design innovation” occurring at the intersection of business, technology and human values, hopefully sparking a dynamic conversation among attendees.

2014 Medical Design Conference

The Usability Ecosystem delivered advanced content for product development and usability specialists practicing in the healthcare space. The conference was balanced between two primary formats:

  • Discussions on why and what design can do to affect usability and,
  • In situ workshops on how usability design methods can be effective.

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