Un-meritable Awards Recap

Pushing the limits and boundaries of what is useful, usable and desirable, is a driving ingredient of what is innovation. The Un-Meritable awards values the un-successes and recognizes that by pushing the limits we are sometimes left with unintended results. If we can learn from those instances, they become a strength. As James Dyson said, "Enjoy Failure and learn from it. You can never learn from success."

The Un-Meritable awards started out as a simple joke said aloud during this year's IDSA Student Merit Awards, “Wouldn't it be funny to swich things around and have the students judge the professionals?” People chuckled a bit and then we made it a reality. Instead of a competitive environment, we kept things loose and fun. Professionals presented their greatest “success” stories answering why it was a success and most importantly what was learend. This allowed for their story to become a valuable learning tool for the design community.

Held at the Idea Loft in the Rivermarket, Kansas City, engineers, artists, industrial designers, graphic designers, researchers alike mingled in in the loft, learning from the un-meritable stories. Six very talented designers from various companies gave amazing presentations as the student judges and audience listened. There were many laughs and after the presentations were over, the student judges went away with their judging criteria in hand, mentioning “judging is a lot harder than they thought.” The judges returned with the verdict, and the winner was awarded his placard and new membership, not sure if he really wanted to win...

Unmerit working

The annual Un-Meritable awards drew a good turnout, twice as many people as we have chapter members, and was a great way to connect the community with a fun and educational theme. Thanks to the Chuck Dymer with Idea Loft, our wonderful presenters Gavin Johnston, Danielle Caldwell, Tom Brantman, Alex Marshall, Tom Boozer, and David Allen, the IDSA team and community for making this event a success!