Some major news coming out of the latest 2015 International Design Congress in Korea.
With a majority vote, the 29th General Assembly of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) approved a name change for Icsid to World Design Organization. Attended by member organizations from more than 50 nations, Icsid’s General Assembly also agreed to renew the vision and mission of the Council.
Brandon Gien, who led the Renew Icsid initiative, says the new name speaks to a more accessible organization, open to the wider design community and better aligned to the organization’s international programming, including World Design Capital®, World Design Impact Prize, World Industrial Design Day and Interdesign.
The main objective of the new World Design Organization is to re-position industrial design as a catalyst for positive change in the world. Staff will begin work to implement the new name and vision to be presented in 2016 and celebrated as part of the organization’s 60th anniversary in 2017.
New President Mugendi M’Rithaa emphasizes his commitment to strengthening member value. “I look forward to working with the new 2015-2017 Board of Directors to formulate a model for member collaboration that will identify regional issues for a global design agenda, and to build partnerships with the younger generation of designers that will bring fresh thinking to these exciting times and rapidly expanding areas of design.”
The two-day, General Assembly also reported the upcoming program of events for World Design Capital® (WDC) Taipei 2016; the announcement of WDC 2018 to Mexico City; and the six shortlisted projects for the 2015-2016 cycle of the World Design Impact Prize.
The US delegation included IDSA Executive Director Daniel Martinage, CAE; Srini Srinivasan, IDSA, WDO Board member; David Kusuma, FIDSA, vice presdent of product development for Tupperware and former WDO Board member; and Gianfranco Zaccai, FIDSA, WDO Board member.
Martinage reports the Board is looking forward to working with him and IDSA leadership “on strategic initiatives that will bring our organizations closer.” As IDSA celebrates the increasing impact of industrial design around the globe in the Society’s 50th year, Martinage adds, “I was extremely pleased and excited to learn more about Icsid’s refocus on its regional partners. There are incredible new possibilities for IDSA and Icsid to promote our common objective of reinforcing the value of ID on the world economy, and on improving the quality of life for people around the world.”
The International Design Congress was held from Oct. 17-23 in Gwangju, Korea. Themed Eeum: Design Connects, it was hosted by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; the Korea Tourism Organization; and KIA Motors Corp. The main partners of the Congress were Icsid; the International Council of Design; and the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers. More than 3,000 attendees from 30 countries converged on the KDJ Convention Center at Chonnam National University.
The Korean word ‘eeum’ translates into English as a ‘connector’ or ‘bridge.’ The 2015 International Design Congress brought together together speakers in industrial, service, information, interaction, interior and many other fields of design; as well as in architecture, visual communication, marketing, typography, planning and art.