IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2012 - 50

Resources Special Conference Edition

MUlTI, CUlT-y

Multicultural conferences Single-discipline conferences have their benefits, namely a multivalent look at a single topic. But to really expand your thinking and gain an edge, multidisciplinary events offer an unparalleled opportunity for inspired idea-sharing across genres. As designers sculpting the physical world around us, we are continually tasked with new and mind-boggling challenges that deserve inventive problem-solving approaches, and cross-pollinization can abet heightened innovation. Confabs like 99U, the Feast, and PopTech offer attendees exposure to some of the processes and perspectives that visionaries in fields ranging from robotics to medicine have adopted. Most have content-rich Web sites featuring creative resources and videos of past presenters. Another perk: Multidisciplinary conferences offer a great job-networking opportunity, too. Here are a few that are on our calendar. 99U: Insights On Making Ideas Happen May 2–3, 2013 New York Although its mission is to empower attendees to “make good” on ideas they already have, you’re still guaranteed to leave 99U with plenty of new ideas, too. Past speakers include luminaries from varied industries: designers Laura Guido-Clark and Yves Béhar, leadership expert Simon Sinek, and Google Labs creative director Ji Lee among them.
99u.coM/coNFereNce

Do Lectures: Ideas Change Everything April 25–28, 2013 Wales An entrepreneurial bent defi nes Do Lectures, which is staged in an otherworldly venue: a farm in Fforest, West Wales, with no TV or Internet connection. The remote location, small scale, and post-presentation workshops make for a very focused affair. The talent lineup is intriguing: Hycrete CEO David Rosenberg, British Film Institute digital director Paula Le Dieu, Kickstarter cofounder Perry Chen, architect turned washing-machine inventor Andrew Reason. Even the attendees are well curated: You have to apply to get in.
dolectures.coM

Gravity Free: Design That Opens Minds May 2013 Chicago Although Gravity Free has a design focus, it still casts a wide net. The roster of top-notch presenters are culled from myriad fields: graphic design, architecture, typography, interior styling, magazine art direction, and more.
exhiBitoroNliNe.coM/GravityFree

Cusp Conference: The Design of Everything September 18–19, 2013 New York Billed as “two days of intensely focused broadness” masterminded to inspire “associational thinking,” Cusp is like a lower-key, less pretentious TED. Presenters include ambitious hyphenates like Lara Lee, Continuum’s chief innovation and operating officer, and Jeff Staple, a graphic, web, and clothing designer as well as an artist, DJ, writer, and entrepreneur.
cuspcoNFereNce.coM

http://www.99U.COM/CONFERENCE http://www.DOLECTURES.COM http://www.EXHIBITORONLINE.COM/GRAVITYFREE http://www.CUSPCONFERENCE.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2012