While the pandemic has forced the majority of the world to be confined at home, it’s also helped make the world a smaller place by allowing people to virtually connect and collaborate. Like most events this year, the International Design Conference, hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), is moving to a virtual format with a 24-hour live stream, starting at 12pm EST (US) on September 17th, and ending at 12pm EST (US) on September 18th. For the first time, the International Design Conference will be a truly global event, allowing people from across the world to attend the continuous 24-hour experience that includes 6 keynotes and 18 mainstage presentations, along with dozens of breakout sessions, workshops, and panel discussions.
The event’s schedule is divided into six tracks over two days, featuring elite presenters from all around the world, representing industry-leading tech companies, design studios, and innovation hubs like Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Puma, Airbnb, and many more (logging in from countries including Denmark, Nigeria, India, China, England, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, and Pakistan, as well as from cities across the United States). Emcees Kristine Arth (Lobster Phone), Spencer Nugent (Sketch-a-Day.com), Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, IDSA, and Jeevak Badve, FIDSA will co-host and lead different content blocks, introducing experts from a variety of fields including industrial design, graphic design, furniture design, service design, UX and UI, social impact design, and more, calling upon them to share their insights, tools, and strategies for innovation and creativity.
The days leading up to the conference are filled with a roster of free events (you’ll need to RSVP in advance), with virtual design studio tours on Sept. 14th and 15th, followed by IDSA’s annual membership meeting and year-in-review, the annual IDSA Awards, and the 40th annual International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) Ceremony, held on September 16th (Wednesday).
The International Design Conference’s origin stretches all the way back to IDSA’s inception and its first national meeting in 1965. Since then, IDC has blossomed from IDSA’s annual membership gathering into a massive cultural and learning-exchange event for designers across disciplines, with diverse speakers, seminars, workshops, and challenges to foster a stronger design community. The IDC was held in Chicago last year and New Orleans before that, attracting hundreds of designers and creatives across all disciplines. This year’s IDC goes beyond borders, offering a unique opportunity to designers, students, educators, and enthusiasts around the world to participate in real-time. All content will be recorded for IDC ticket holders.
Visit the International Design Conference website to grab tickets to this event, and don’t forget that you can join the free, virtual design studio tours as well, and even watch the IDSA Awards and the IDEA 2020 Ceremony right from the comfort of your home!
Click Here to Buy Your Tickets Now: IDC 2020, Sept. 17-18.
World’s Premier Design Event – IDC 2020, Goes Virtual
The International Design Conference 2020, normally an in-person event, is going virtual and truly global this year. Starting at 12pm EDT (US) on Thursday, September 17 and ending at 12pm EDT (US) on Friday, September 18, the livestream experience will bring attendees 24 hours of uninterrupted design content from around the world.
The continuous 24-hour span will include six keynote presentations and 18 mainstage presentations, in addition to dozens of breakout sessions, workshops, panel discussions, and side-bar social interactions, all happening in a carefully choreographed progression.
Keynotes
Presenters
What to Expect
With its roots as the national meeting of the Industrial Designers Society of America, the IDC has grown into something much bigger. IDC 2019 was held in Chicago, IL (see above video), and IDC 2018 was in New Orleans, LA. Each event drew hundreds of designers from around the world and across disciplines.
This year, the virtual IDC’s eclectic mix of content is tailor-made to provide inspiration, challenge assumptions, and advance the conversation about what design can contribute to the world’s future. Without leaving the comfort of your home, you have the opportunity to learn from design leaders who will present their work, passions, and authentic stories with hundreds of designers worldwide.
These expert presenters come from industry-leading tech companies, design studios, and innovation hubs like Microsoft, Puma, Airbnb, Samsung, and many more. They’ll be logging in from countries ranging from Nigeria to Denmark to England to Germany to the United States, and offering plenty of design knowledge, skill-sharing, best practices, and tips for success that will expand your perception of what’s possible.
Tickets
General admission to the IDC 2020 is $250 USD per ticket, which helps to cover the cost of subsidized rates for students and goes toward current and future IDSA programming. The cost to attend for an IDSA Professional or Young Professional Member is $150 USD, and the cost for an IDSA Student Member to attend is $50 USD.
