Core77

A change of venue (from CCS to The Henry Ford) framed a crazy-full day of conference matter. Michelle Berryman, VP of IDSA National started things off by pitching the upcoming national conference in Austin this September, and sharing some of her plans and enthusiasm for what we can expect from the organization in the near future. She was then joined on stage by Eric Anderson (associate professor, Carnegie Mellon) and Paul Magee to engage the audience in some Q&A about the various kinds of IDSA memberships, sections, etc., but most hadn't yet had their coffee, so it was on to Tom Granzow, program manager at Herman Miller, with a stellar presentation on their DfE protocol (Design for the Environment). Grounded firmly in MBDC's Cradle to Cradle principles (indeed, MBDC consults with them), they are positively cranking on walking the walk in sustainable design, not only from a materials standpoint, but from process to energy and back. (HM's new Cella chair can be disassembled in 5 minutes; sad old Aeron takes 1.5 hours.)

Another pro, Perry Saidman, founder of Saidman DesignLaw Group, took the audience through Design Law 101, from utility and design patents to contracts, copyright, and tradedress. Perry was such an effective speaker, in fact, that he should be on the circuit as ambassador for design IP. Put that guy on the payroll! Rainer Schnabel, executive VP at Brooks Stevens, started out discussing design in China (average wage for U.S. apparel worker $9.50/hr., El Salvador $1.60, China $0.85; China's got 100-160 cities with poulations over 1 million people, U.S. has 9; China has 230 universities with I.D. programs, graduating 6000 students/yr.), but then switched gears to a tour through BS's design process.

A nice break was provided when Rene Polin (founder of Balance), Sarah Thielman (design manager at P&G), Eric Anderson, and Leon Fitzpatrick (student merit award winner for CCS) took to the stage for a design education roundtable, this time with many questions, comments, and impassioned pleas from the audience for better preparation of students for interviewing, presenting their work, and overall communication skills. (These interactive roundtables should be a regular feature at the conferences.) Ken Krayer, Chair of the product design department at CCS, spoke about the impact of technology on design, providing a thoughtful, forward-looking perspective that's too often lacking in design education. (Tip: check out accellerationwatch.com for provocation and stats.) Finally, Ehab Kaoud, chief designer at Ford, shepherded the audiences through global design and national identity--making stops in France, Germany, Japan, Britain, Sweden and the U.S.A.--comically pointing out stereotypes of nationalistic form generation and making me wonder if form follows citizenship. (U.S. hotel rooms: flouncy curves; Japanese hotel rooms: rectilinear shoji screens). He ended early, plugging Ford's "red, white and bold" SUVs, but most memorable was his assertion that [when it comes to user interface], "noone wants to start a motorcycle with a button."