ADAPTING TO THE LANDSCAPE

Iprobably wouldn’t be the vice president of Teague if it weren’t for IDSA, or at least for the members I met when I was a freshly graduated industrial designer. It might sound dramatic, but I am truly indebted to the numerous women from IDSA who networked with me, gave me portfolio feedback, invited me to see their work, and eventually encouraged me to apply for an open position at Teague.

Industrial design remains a male-dominated industry: Women make up just 19% of our profession, according to the Design Salary Guide by Coroflot. That’s why my early history with IDSA is so meaningful: It was women who carried me through, despite being few and far between in the industry. I didn’t feel as isolated because I had a community—brought together through IDSA—behind me.

The Many Values of Community

IDSA is the set and setting for designers to uplift one another. This is one great purpose of a professional organization. Together, we have the capabilities to nurture and promote the careers of all underrepresented designers, ultimately bringing much-needed balance to the industry. There’s a good reason we have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council—to take real action toward increasing minority representation in IDSA’s core programming, leadership, and membership; increasing access to industrial design education; and dismantling inequities within design at large. A greater spectrum of identities is in the best interest of our industry and the world we affect through our products, environments, and ideas.

The practice of industrial design is facing an identity crisis of its own. Our roles have changed dramatically in the last decade as we have watched the field of industrial design evolve and grow to intersect with UX, UI, AI, and 3D—so many acronyms; it’s easy to get lost. New design practices and technologies will continue to emerge and disrupt the status quo over and over again, and the need to recalibrate our identities as designers will not cease.

It is important that we address these challenges—the changing, growing practice—as an organization. IDSA can play a crucial role in helping members navigate these changes and stay informed about the latest developments in the field. By providing a platform for discussion, learning, and collaboration, we can help shape the future of industrial design.

On the Horizon

I’m a people-first person. That’s true wherever I am in a leadership role, whether it’s at Teague or IDSA. The value of this organization lies first and foremost with our members, as I experienced myself early in my career. My primary goal as Board Chair is to support our existing `and future members.

I hope to foster the same kind of support for others that I experienced myself.

This begins first with finding our next Executive Director. We want to do this the right way—that means slowly and deliberately. We’re establishing a search committee with external voices from the design community to help us find the right person who can help our members navigate what the future of the industry will be. We are committed to finding someone who is not only knowledgeable and experienced but also forward thinking and excited about the future of industrial design.

In the coming months of 2023, I’m also looking forward to sharing more about the exciting changes we’ve made to our awards and conferences programming. We’ve created new committees for both programs, and I’m proud to say they’re full of highly talented designers who are dedicated to elevating these two important offerings. In the future, we will share an inside view of the IDEA review process—get ready for some lively debate over the winning entries! For conferences, the committee will now include a much larger, diverse group that will identify conference themes that are most relevant to you, our members and community. After the topics and themes are agreed upon, the committee members will curate the speakers, emcees, workshop facilitators, moderators, and pane`lists.

We have also begun testing an IDSA membership service for schools that allows for greater community access to industrial design students. This is a wonderful benefit to our up-and-coming professional members and helps to increase a diversity of perspectives at IDSA.

I am proud of the improvements IDSA has made this last year and know there are many more to come in the years that follow. The ever-changing landscape of industrial design may seem daunting, and finding our place within it may feel like a challenge. But this, in my opinion, is the most exciting time in history to be an industrial designer. With technology advancing rapidly and global needs to solve for, we have seemingly endless opportunities to make real impact with our work.

To truly make a difference, we need a strong point of view and advocacy for our profession. The members of IDSA hold the key to creating that voice and identity for industrial design.

I look forward to meeting many new faces and seeing old friends at the International Design Conference this August. Though it’s been 20 years since we’ve held the conference in New York, we’re honored to be returning to the design hub after such a long time away. See you there.

—Lindsey Maxwell, IDSA, IDSA Board Chair lmaxwell@teague.com