You’ve probably already heard the hype around blockchain and digital currencies being the “next big thing” and rolled your eyes at the hyperbole. This key technology that is already disrupting some industries, however, and it is poised to change every industry in the near future. It and a few other technologies, like AI and conversational interface will reshape our relationship with service, objects, and organizations. What does this mean for the physical products we design? How will it impact our peers, customers, users, and industry?

IDSA Texas Chapter has been recognized students whose senior thesis projects are selected by the IDSA members. IDSA Texas Chapter Recognition Awards are awarded at the commencement with Certificates and Gifts. For the 2018, IDSA members (Paul Skaggs, Leo Chen, and David Bier) selected four best students: Ashlie Walker (1st), Nicholas Orchard, Jessica Juarez, and Vivian Pham. Including Jonathan Seto (IDSA SMA), we will recognize FIVE students at the UH Commencement and support their career development on behalf of IDSA.

Salone del Mobile, the annual Italian furniture and furnishings expo in Milan, Italy, is one of the most important and vibrant design spectacles our industry observes each year. This year–2018–marked the 57th year of the event and drew an attendance of nearly 435,000 from all over the world.

IDSA's commitment to the medical design profession has been growing over the past few years. This is exemplified by the annual Medical Design Conference, the most recent of which was on March 28 & 29, 2018 in Boston, MA. During two days of focused content, over 100 medical design professionals participated in hands-on workshops and heard from some of the top thinkers in the field.