IDSA Conference 2015 + IPC 2015

The 2015 IDSA Conference was really my first look into the world of Industrial Design outside of the academic environment. It was the first time I really had the opportunity to meet others who had gone through the schooling I was and had come out on the other end in a single piece. This was of course comforting in its own respect, but it was also great to see them doing the thing - making money with their degrees in ID and the many ways they were doing it. Big companies were there like IBM, Papermate, Coca Cola, Verizon, and design houses who had done work for high profile companies such as these.

As an added bonus, it just so happened that the International Plastics Convention was being held at the same time just a floor below. The IPC only comes around every few years and showcases the companies and machinery that have literally built the world as we know it. Although I think this was more coincidence than careful planning on IDSA’s part, they took full advantage of the situation and worked with the IPC to allow free entry to all students at the conference… and it was a hugely impactful. From the single shot molding of 5-gallon buckets to the quality scanning of millions of bottle caps, this introduced to me the world that I was just scratching the surface of: manufacturing.