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Design conference at Illinois focuses on nexus of design, business, technology
Melissa
Mitchell, Arts Editor
217-333-5491; melissa@illinois.edu
3/17/2005
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CHAMPAIGN,
Ill. — While filling the tea kettle in the morning, most people
probably don’t give a whole lot of thought to the shape or style
of the kettle, let alone ponder why the handle on the tap is angled
just so.
But someone else has given considerable thought to such matters. In
fact, a whole team of industrial designers likely has labored over the
design of just about every consumer product we come in contact with
daily – from alarm clocks to zippers, and yes, even the kitchen
sink.
“Good design should go unnoticed,” said Deana McDonagh,
a professor of industrial
design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. McDonagh
is providing faculty oversight for a student-led initiative that goes
against that grain. U. of I. students Danielle Moorman, Mona Haggag
and others have been working overtime to push industrial design out
the shadows of inconspicuousness and into public focus on campus next
month.
As a result of their efforts, some of the field’s most talented
and respected designers will assemble at the U. of I. April 7-9 –
along with industrialists and academics – to share their experiences
and vision as participants in “IMPACT – The Synergy of Design,
Business and Technology,” the Midwest conference of the Industrial
Design Society of America’s Midwest Conference. The U. of I.’s
industrial design program is hosting the event, one of five regional
conferences organized each year by IDSA.
Conference activities will take place in Lincoln Hall Theater, 702 S.
Wright St., Urbana; the Art and Design Building, 408 E. Peabody Drive,
Champaign; Temple Buell Hall, 611 E. Taft Drive, Champaign; Krannert
Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign; and Wohlers Hall, 1206
S. Sixth St.. For registration information and updates on event locations,
visit the conference Web site.
“This year’s event is unique because we’re bringing
in top names in design, business and technology,” McDonagh said.
“We’re attracting speakers that no one has brought together
in one place before.”
Among the “star” attractions are New York City-based designer
and self-described “cultural provocateur” Karim Rashid,
whose projects for such companies as diverse as Prada and Sony range
from consumer products, furniture and lighting to interiors, fashion,
fashion, art and music.
Other conference headliners include:
• Cat Chow, the avant-garde, Chicago-based artist/fashion designer
who is making waves with art dresses fashioned from unlikely materials,
such as zippers, tape measures and dollar bills;
• Dan Formosa, a design and research consultant with Daniel Formosa
Design, whose background includes being a member of the teams that designed
IBM’s first personal computer and OXO Good Grips kitchen tools.
• Bruce Nussbaum, an author, essayist, broadcast commentator and
editorial page editor of BusinessWeek, who also frequently writes on
design topics.
Guest participants also will include Rashid’s studio manager,
Michael Regan; Nike senior designer Stefan Andren; Martin Gierke, identity
manager, and Gary Bryant, industrial design manager, Caterpiller Inc.;
Velma Velazquez, human factors specialist, IDEO; Tucker Viemeister,
president, Springtime-USA; Greg Leubbering, senior designer, and Randall
Sandlin, director of industrial design, Electrolux; and Herb Velazquez,
aesthetics researcher, Kimberly Clark. Also, U. of I. alumni Larry Bell,
professor of space architecture, University of Houston; Bryce Rutter,
founder and chief exectuive officer, Metaphase Design Group; and Jim
Wicks, vice president and director of the Consumer Experience Design
organization, Motorola.
“These are the people who shape the world we live in and shape
the products we surround ourselves with,” McDonagh said, adding
that such products “can either strip us of our dignity or empower
us,” depending on the quality of their design. “Carrying
out everyday tasks should be pleasurable experiences.”
Moorman said the IMPACT conference has been planned to educate and engage
multiple audiences – from students and faculty members to design
professionals and members of the public.
The conference’s opening panel discussion with Rashid and others,
at 7 p.m. on April 7 in the Lincoln Hall Theater, is free and open to
the public.
Also opening to the public on April 8 will be an exhibition of the industrial
design program’s new Design Excellence Collection at the U. of
I.’s Krannert
Art Museum. The collection, which includes products designed by
Rashid, Michael Graves, Ross Lovegrove, TEAMS Design, Herman Miller,
SmartDesign and others, has been organized by McDonagh “to promote
design excellence, designers and manufacturers who are investing in
design excellence.” McDonagh said the collection will be used
for teaching design students, research and public exhibitions. It also
will be featured in a forthcoming publication celebrating the impact
of design.
Among other conference highlights will be the presentation of the IDSA’s
Midwest District Merit Award. This year’s winner is recent U.
of I. industrial design graduate Toshihiro Fujimura, who now works for
TEAMS Design in Chicago.
