The fiftieth anniversary of Icsid
2007

Icsid 50 brought together the Icsid network of members in celebration of 50 years of achievements in industrial design. Through a series of events and initiatives in 2007, the evolution of the organisation was presented and celebrated. Icsid was proud to be a part of the below events in celebration of its 50th anniversary.

European Design Promotion Conference, Paris - France
Hosted by l’Agence pour la Promotion de la Création Industrielle
January 8 - 10, 2007

The Icsid 50 anniversary year began with its official launch in Paris on the second week of January 2007. Icsid President, Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, gave a short speech regarding the significance of opening the Icsid 50 celebrations in Paris where Icsid was first conceptualised in 1953. This year’s APCI (Agence Pour la Promotion de la Création Industrielle) conference, “Designing Design Support” dealt with issues facing stakeholders of design, such as who should pay for design support, the need for design support and the role of networks in design support activities.

On the 9th of January at the Hotel de Ville, Lyne Cohen-Solal, Paris City Trade & Arts Officer welcomed over 200 people from the design community who had contributed to the design and economic climate of Paris. Prof. Dr. Zec had also said a few words regarding Icsid’s upcoming World Design Capital Project, as well as reiterating Paris’s role in Icsid’s development.

On January 10th, Prof. Dr. Zec, Luigi Ferrara and ex-members of the Icsid Board, Michael Thomson and Anne-Marie Boutin met with local designers and design promoters to discuss the issues facing organisations such as Icsid. On the same day, Icsid Sentor Luigi Ferrara addressed Parisian students at Icsid member school, Les Ateliers, to discuss the future of design.  This interactive forum provided students who had attended the week’s events to ask questions that applied to their context.

Triennale di Milano, Milan – Italy
Hosted by Design Innovation
March 8, 2007

Icsid President-Elect, Carlos Hinrichsen gave a presentation at the Design & Complexity workshop at the ‘New Italian Design’ exhibition as part of the Triennale di Milano. The purpose of this workshop was to observe the ways in which the design process becomes increasingly complex as more opportunities emerge from the mixing of various design disciplines. In fact, several high-profile people discussed the various manifestations of complexity that are found in the world of design. The New Italian Design exhibition presented the results of the survey that was implemented by the Triennale di Milano in April of 2006. Additionally, Icsid’s 50th anniversary was celebrated during a welcome cocktail where Carlos Hinrichsen introduced Icsid and its activities.

Norwegian Design Day, Oslo - Norway
Hosted by Norwegian Design Council
March 15, 2007

The Norwegian Design Council (NDC) celebrated its 2007 Design Day in style. It began with a seminar, continued with an awards ceremony, and concluded with a gala celebration. Guest speakers included Roberto Verganti, professor of innovation technology in Milan, Bård Eker, entrepreneur, business partner and industrial designer in several successful enterprises, and Atle Enberget and Ståle N. Møller, from Sweet Protection, who received the Honours Award for Design Excellence in 2005. Robin Edman (Sweden) attended the event as a special guest and Icsid representative, whilst Jan R. Stavik, NDC Managing Director introduced Icsid to the audience gathered for the design awards.

Moreover, the Award for Design Excellence, the Classic Award for Design Excellence, the International Design Award, Young Talents Award and the Honours Award for Design Excellence were also distributed at the ceremony.

The intent behind the NDC’s Design Day is to recognize the Norwegian companies and designers that are, and have been committed to design, as well as to inspire design potential from a business and innovation standpoint.

Yodex, Taipei - Taiwan
Hosted by Taiwan Design Center
May 17 - 20, 2007

The Young Designers’ Exhibition (YODEX) which was held at the Taipei World Trade Center in Taiwan, displayed an eclectic array of up-and-coming designers in five exhibition days from universities and colleges in Taiwan and from 12 design schools from Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, UK and USA. At the opening ceremony for the event, YODEX invited Dr. Zhao-Yi Chen, director of Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), Ministry of Economic Affairs to make opening remarks. At the opening ceremony for the event, YODEX invited Dr. Zhao-Yi Chen, director of Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), Ministry of Economic Affairs to make opening remarks. In addition to the exhibition, the Taiwan Design Center also presented a series of events including YODEX Graffiti Party, the 2007 Young Designers’ Competition, as well as the 2007 YODEX Interior Design Competition. Within this period, YODEX also featured an exhibition booth dedicated to Icsid 50 meant to depict its history and contribution to the evolution of industrial design around the world.

View the Image Archives.

Icsid Archives Official Transfer, Brighton – UK
Hosted by the University of Brighton
June 1-2, 2007

A significant moment in Icsid’s existence was marked by the official transfer of the Icsid archives to the University of Brighton. Icsid President, Prof. Dr. Peter Zec attened the handover ceremony that was presided by Julian Crampton, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Brighton.

Before the formal handing over of the archives, a seminar took place with presentations from Prof. Dr. Zec, Professor Victor Margolin (University of Chicago at Illinois) and Professor Jonathan Woodham (University of Brighton) focusing on the international importance of Icsid as a global organization.  The seminar and the signing ceremony was arranged to coincide with the annual degree shows of the Faculty of Arts & Architecture.

View the Image Archive.

World House Interdesign Forum, Toronto - Canada
Hosted by George Brown College
June 24-30, 2007

The 2007 Interdesign Forum, hosted by Icsid member George Brown College, was entitled “Sustainable Housing & Water: Local and Global Challenges”. Groups of 10 to 15 design students, professionals and design faculty gathered with the aim to find design solutions to four local challenges involving sustainable housing and water in the Greater Toronto Area. The topics tackled were: Revitalisation, Sustainability, Capacity, and Resource Conservation.

Each team of designers visited their site on the first day of the week and spent the following four days developing design solutions to their given challenges. With expert critiques provided on each day and consultation with the stakeholders in each of the affected areas, the teams developed full strategies and design proposals that were presented before an audience of over 50 people at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on Friday June 29, 2007.

Through the course of the week, the participants were also treated to presentations from Icsid President, Peter Zec and President-Elect, Carlos Hinrichsen.  In addition to this, Thomas Homer-Dixon, of the University of Toronto’s Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies presented a keynote address and a panel discussion was held at the Design Exchange with experts from the fields of sustainability and conservation.  Finally, Bill Moggridge, the Icsid/IDSA Congress Chair, also presented a lecture to a packed audience on the concepts recently published in his book, Designing Interactions.

View the Image Archive.

Design Week, Budapest - Hungary
Hosted by Hungarian Design Council
October 11, 2007

The Hungarian Council’s Jubilee programme opened on the 11th of October at the Gala Hall of Moholy-Nagy Art University (MOME) with a greeting from the Chancellor of MOME, followed by brief lectures from Dr. Márton Szentpéteri, an assistant professor at MOME, Judit Várhelyi, Director of the Hungarian Design Council and member of the Icsid Executive Board. Giuliano Molineri President of Frimark Srl and member of Icsid Executive Board also presented a short speech. As a finishing touch, the evening concluded with a champagne reception.

Icsid/IDSA Congress 2007, San Francisco - USA
Hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)
October 17-20, 2007

The 2007 Icsid/IDSA Congress, hosted in San-Francisco USA by the Industrial Designers Society of America, marked the grand finale to the Icsid 50 celebration. This event opened with a live musical performance and saw an opening address from Peter Zec, Icsid President, The congress opening was followed by an informal champagne reception with foods from all over the world.

Throughout the congress period, international audiences of design practitioners and enthusiasts were treated to plenary morning sessions, afternoon sessions on practice, methodology, education and theory which were held at Fairmont and Stanford Court Hotels, as well as the Masonic Center.

The Icsid members continued their celebrations of Icsid 50 during the two-day general assembly that took place on October 21 & 22, 2007.

View the Image Archive for the Congress.
View the Image Archive for the GA.

MX Design Conference, Mexico City - Mexico
Hosted by Universidad Iberoamericano
October 29-31, 2007

The second MX Design Conference entitled "Form + Desire" was hosted at the University Iberoamericana in Mexico City with the purpose of encouraging designers in the industrial, textile, graphic, and new media design fields to share professional and academic expertise on linked projects.  The conference focused on four main topics:

The "Form + Desire" event involved three days of lectures, exhibitions, and cultural activities, as well as celebration of Icsid’s evolution over the past fifty years.  Carlos Hinrichsen attended the conference in one of his first official visits as Icsid President.

Design for Social Innovation: Destination 2025, Tokyo/Nagoya - Japan
Hosted by the International Design Center NAGOYA
November 2007

"Design for Social Innovation: Destination 2025" was an event organised by the International New Designers Workshop Organizing Committee City of Nagoya, International Design Center NAGOYA with the intent to unite students educational backgrounds ranging from architecture, industrial design, visual communication design, multimedia, among other fields. Their aim was to focus on various means towards attaining an ecologically sustainable future through discussion and presentations. The participants first visited the “Eco-Products 2007” exhibition, then moved to Nagoya located in central Japan, and stopped at the 2nd "International Conference of Design for Sustainability Destination 2007–2005". The latter was held at a village (Shirakawa-go) that has, in fact, maintained ancient harmony with the natural environment. The final presentation of results have been delivered to the International Design Center NAGOYA.

Triennial of Design, Brussels – Belgium
Hosted by Design Flanders
December 13, 2007

Hosted by Design Flanders, the 5th edition of the Triennial of Design took on the theme of beauty as a discriminating factor between everyday products and designer objects. A new exhibition displayed the results of a study which sought to reveal the various criteria that defines beauty and why people are drawn to particular objects, and not towards others. The City of Brussels had hosted the Icsid Secretariat between 1974 and 1986 and has held a special place in Icsid’s history.