Overall I had a really good experience at this years NE IDSA event. This was actually my first IDSA conference and I left very inspired and energized. I actually graduated form RISD last year (I was at the event rep. the company I work for) so I can speak to some of the comments above.
@memphis
Got to agree with you on the Maeda talk, huge let down. I think the Idea may have been interesting, but the way it was executed was in my opinion quite lackluster and I could see how it may have come across badly. The concept of mind mapping was interesting, but nothing was done with it. I really wish John did more to direct the conversation, or wrap all the ideas together.
As for attendance, yes RISD’s may have been lackluster to other schools, but you have to understand there has been zero IDSA presence at RISD for the last two years. There were not even Merit awards winners while I was in school which is something I really wish I could have participated in. While I don’t think IDSA is a requirement of being a successful industrial designer, having attended this year I do see how beneficial it would have been and if I had been aware of this while I was in school I would definitely have attended. That being said I think after this event and having talked to my friends still in the program, you will be seeing a much stronger RISD presence at events to come.
Thanks for setting up and running the event! I had a really good time this year and even though I am a year out of school, I found many of the talks very inspiring.
The highlight for me was the Scott Wilson talk, just great presentation and story, really ignited my inner entrepreneur. I also really enjoyed the talks by Smart, Continuum, Hasbro, and Altitude. However I did find it slightly ironic how Erica and Nathaniel talked of the success of the flip cam and two days later it was dropped by cisco; completely unrelated but still very ironic.
The talks I found less successful were the ones by pilotfish (too long and too much “challenger”), Method (felt more like a ramble), and the Pratt (too much ramble, very superficial).
Overall though great weekend I really hope to attend more events in the future. Talking to my friends still in school, I couldn’t stress how important such an event can be especially at the sophomore and junior levels and I really hope more of them attend next year.
Thanks!