Top dogs Ty Rarick, Tim Fletcher, and Brian Roderman ham it up at the Saturday night festivities.

Georgia Tech hit IDSA Memphis with 63 students and a clear determination to make themselves known! At night they hit Beale Street with clearly blurred vision...
University of Houston meets Georgia Tech.

More Georgia Techies representin.

Props out to the Georgia Tech students for putting together an awesome booth this year. They included a display for prototypes, sketches, their personal designer trading cards and mini portfolios to thumb through. Dont forget the classy hardwood floor with imbedded Studio 104. Sweet.

Student designer trading cards, shown in an acrylic display case, featured a portrait on one side and designer stats on the other side. The stats side included the contents of that designer's desk(top)... or a part of their body... hmmm...

I'm putting out a challenge to the other District Conferences. Prove to me that your raffle is bigger and badder than the Southern District. These guys gave away some serious booty. Thanks to donated prizes from generous companies like Hunter Fan, Ryobi, Motorola, Bolt, and Eastman, everyone had a good chance of walking away with some sweet schwag.

I even got in on the action and walked away with a Ridgid Random Orbital Sander with a retail value of $180! I think I'll put it on my mantle for all to see...but first, I'll have to get a mantle.

By Sunday morning, everyone was blaming Beale Street for missing the 7am portfolio review sessions, slurred speech, and constant nodding off during presentations. Even a few of the speakers acknowledged having a bit of trouble getting the right words to flow. Here's a few snapshots of a really long street, large groups of people, long lines, and late nights...

These students, pictured with 2 Southern District Reps, showed off their version of Southern hospitality by sharing their award winning work over dinner and cocktails. From left to right:

Andy Loewy - IDSA Southern District Education Rep
Michael Hesterberg - North Carolina State University
Renaldo Alonso - Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
Kurt Rampton - Georgia Tech
Tom Murray - Auburn
Brooks Vaughan - University of Louisiana-Lafayette
Ty Rarick - IDSA Southern District VP

CONGRATULATIONS to Kurt Rampton, who will be headed to the IDSA National Conference representing the Southern District!

One of the most interesting aspects of this conference was its format. The goal was to increase the interaction among the attendees, and to facilitate discussions with the speakers. After making it through the grueling Saturday schedule, I have to say it went off brilliantly.

The conference was keyed on the concept of a day long design charrette. We were all assigned to groups of 60 people, each named for Memphis rooted musical talents. (I was a member of "Tina Turner" and no, there was no "Team Ike.") Each large group was broken into smaller teams of 8-10 attendees; a mix of students and professionals.

The topic that the charrette was centered around dealt with the international sending and receiving of packages: a topic that is both very vague, and very open ended...

As you can imagine, with a general theme such as this, the possiblities were endless. Each group rotated through 6, 50-minute breakout workshops focused on things like materials and processes, trends, research, and creativity. Each workshop was led by a specialist in their respective field.

It was a great experience working with students and professionals from across the country. And without sounding too cliche I'll say that it broke out of the stagnant paradigm that tends to be the normal operative structure of these conferences. Taking a more active role in the weekend's events was a welcome change.

Tom Yurken, our presenter of the Multi Sensory Exhibit Design presentation is actually the CEO of th International Student Exhibit Design Scholarship Competition. OK, thats a big title, but with $4000 in scholarship monies we'll say it over and over. Limited to Juniors and Seniors. To confirm details and cash awards visit www.launchyourcareerinexhibitdesign.com

Tom Yurken: VP creative, Freeman transforming emotion into results.
Taste, touch, smell, see, hear and how to apply it to exhibit design.No longer a exhibit, more of an experience. Last several years the industry has grown and changed immensely. Large, wall sized graphics are now the norm. What’s next? Scott says wall sized video is possible, but still expensive. It's just matter of time. Be creative. Don't limit yourself to the premanufactured resources. Scott found and cut recycled wood from an old barn for use in a Polo clothing exhibit.

Reactive table (shown above) was made with a LCD tabletop, but reacted to touch by creating waves like touching the surface of a still pond.

Corin Ludwig showed some of her work from a branding and identity class. She is graduating with her Masters in Industrial Design from Auburn and looking for a job this August. You can see the rest of her fantastic work by contacting her at: 256-490-1876 or ludwicm@auburn.edu

After our meat-centric dinner outing we were hangin' with some more of the IDSA crew at The Peabody. After hearing of our rib exploits from earlier, Marty Gage was jonesin' for some late night eats. Sadly the Rendevous was closed but he found a place open late and made a rib run.

Two full racks of BBQ Ribs, $40.
Eating ribs on the floor in the lounge of a 5-star hotel at 1AM, priceless.

Ali Khalifa: Creativity and Connectivity
Photos: As expected Ty Rarick, our beloved IDSA Southern Chapter Chair, delivers an awesome opening speach at the conf. Ali pictured with fellow Design Box member Becky Shankle.

If you had a design box what would it look like? DesignBox is democratic, creative outlet, and above all a collective of friends started by Ali Khalifa. (You may recognize Ali from Gamil Design.)

Ali stressed a few main points in his creative approach... The essence of understanding is to see all the connections between things. Look at how they are connected by using an experiencial approach. The most innovative work is done by networked individuals. It's really about synectics; the most creative group ideas come from outside of your profession (utilizing lateral thinking). Respect these relationships on the "fringe", as Ali put it. Its those differences between people where creativity comes from.

And finally... Cultivate your own garden. Get involved with your community. Get involved with children. They have an awesome perspective and will share their honest clarity where the "jaded" elder is sometimes amiss.

How do you become a member of Design Box? Contribute 2 hours a week and curate a gallery show. If all goes well the group will vote you... and watch the fun unfold.

After the final speaker of the day, a small group of professionals, along with 63 Georgia Tech students, and roughly half the population of Memphis, headed to Rendevous, one of the most famous rib joints in the US. One word: porktastic. Okay, so it was riblicious as well, but the best part was our surly waiter. He got a little fed up with us not knowing what we wanted. FYI: the MEATLESS Red Beans & Rice is indeed MEATLESS.

Bringing designers and manufacturers together is like pairing cats and dogs...or is it? Nypro and Radius coexist and create products for companies with an emphasis on decreasing lead time. Currently, the average lead from design concept to production, for most companies, is 14-20 months. Nypro and Radius have a goal of an amazingly efficient 4 months. Wow.

Today's companies want vendors with global capabilities, innovation, speed, low price, and accountability. Nypro and Radius want to engage these companies at the front end, with user focused design, but from a manufacturing standpoint. It's a really interesting business model, and one that Brian Jones and Steve Callahan spoke to extensively. Industrial design coupled with and outsourced manufacturer hasn't been done succefully...this relationship is unique. The challenge of this integrated scheme hinges on their brand promise: compelling design, manufactured anywhere in the world, for the lowest possible price.

To be very honest, I figured Richard Simmons was dead, or missing, or at the very least, out of the public eye. But thanks to the diligence of Auburn student, Andrew Thomson, we now know with certifiable precision, the exact location of the creator of Deal-a-Meal. It turns out he's making appearances at the Memphis Women's Covention. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes. But, as you can see from the pic, Richard is indeed a deity. In fact (and I'm not making this up) when he saw that I was going to take his picture, he reached out to me, and, surrounded by his worshippers and a beacon of ethereal light, said "You're too far away from me...come heeeeeere..."

He left a profound impression on all who witnessed his glory today:

"Pure, unrestrained elation." - Chelsea McLemore

"Seeing Richard Simmons made my day...no, week! Okay, more like month." - Bethany Klausing

"Short gym shorts. Black tank top with glitter hearts. Big hair. Kissing old men in suits. I think my life is complete" - John McCabe

"I'm emotionally drained..." - Matt Julian

"Purely inspirational" - John Rea

"Do the Pony" - Corin Ludwig

"Now I know how Columbus felt when he discovered the New World...Richard, thank you...for everything." - Andrew Thomson (at the right place at the right time)

Like many of our peers across the south, Ayham and I (Mardis) made quite a trek across the south to attend the IDSA conf. We left University of Houston's new ID studios on Thursday. Barelling accross Louisiana, high on energy drinks and gas station goodies, we were determined to roll into Memphis in style -jittery and windblown :) Nine and a half hours and a speeding ticket later we arrived in Memphis (86mph in a 60... who knew that wouldn't play well in LA? -duh!). 4:15am to bed and up at 8:30... ahhh, the things we do for the love of design.
Not to be disappointed, IDSA has stepped up to the bar. They have planned an action packed weekend full of design workshops and events (parties) from dawn to dusk. Seriously folks, its gonna be a hell of a weekend. "Wish ya'll were her... -Mardis"

Jeff Smith of Reflexdesign borrowed a couple images from one of his employees for his presentation at the Portfolio Workshop. They should not be too complex. They should offer enough to wet the taste buds critical info. Text is not mandatory though. It should be used in moderation. (sorry for that second blurry image, but it was worth seeing ;)

The portfolio workshop was awesome. Robert Fee of SCAD and Jeff Smith of Reflexdesign gave presentations on portfolio dos and don’ts. Afterwards the a panel consisting of (back row LtoR) Jeff Smith of Reflexdesign, Robert Fee of SCAD, Tim Fletcher, (IDSA's very own National Chapter Vice-Prez) of Elumens, Brian Roderman of PDS Development, (front row) Lauren Brenneman of id-one, and Carie Davis of Coca-Cola fielded questions from the student audience.


Robert Fee- "Don't show washing machines to a washing machine design studio." They probably know more than you about w/m. If you design shoes, but want to get into washing machines then consider banging out some quick concept related design. A little ideation is better that nothing.


Jeff Smith - "Always show lots of sketches." If you came into his office without a sketchbook "YOU WOULD NOT GET HIRED!" Wow what a statement. Without it, it doesn’t show the intimacy of your designs and communications. We are designers. This is how we communicate. Sketches are critical.


Digital or tactile???
PDF, CD, web site or printed portfolio -why not all. Let the potential employer choose what they want to see. Be sure to keep file sizes small. Make sure the PDF can be printed well.


Don't go in blind. Send plenty of info to employer. Hopefully they should be at least familiar with one of your images when you follow up phone call or visit studio. Also, another comment to consider... don't illegally use a industry logo to make your design look real world. The company you are interviewing with will kill you.

We've all had trouble validating our design directions. Plain and simple.

Those folks in marketing are constantly throwing market research at us as a means to direct our design efforts. It's time to throw a little something back. By blending DESIGN research with market research, we can create touch points to insure product success. Marty Gage (RocketSurgery) and Chris Rockwell (Lextant) put together a stellar workshop discussion centered around the various processes associated with design research. It aimed to demystify the ways to reach out to users with a focus that provides beneficial results.

Design research allows us to get buy-in from the business side of our organizations by providing them with justification for concepts in areas like consumer usablility and product usefulness. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Extremely compelling presentation. Perhaps the best part of the session is yet to come...the attendees will all get a digital copy of the presentation as a reference for future projects!

Memphis, TN - April 8th - 10th, 2005

Design at the Speed of Business 5: HOT SOUTH, COOL CREATIVITY aspires to break the mold of the traditional conference syndrome of active speakers and a passive audience. Professional designers, educators, and students will “interactively” apply the tools and methods they experience in morning lectures and hands on afternoon team “creative business” breakout sessions to develop thought provoking, real world design solutions. Creativity in design is the fuel that will drive the business engine of the future. Sustainable Design nurtures a company's relationship with its customers by helping clients design products that can be perpetually recycled, reinvented and leased again and again to a customer base. Creative and sustainable design methods are eco-effective, regenerative solutions and strategies that create environmental health, abundance, and makes a positive impact ecologically, socially, and economically.