Polar Opposites - IDSA 2008 National Conference

“The more we appreciate the differences among the American, European and Chinese worldviews, the more we will see the planetary stakes of the new global game. What we have today, for the first time in history is a global, multicivilizational, multipolar battle.” --Parag Khanna, New York Times, January 27, 2008 The idea: Exploring Polar Issues in Design Practice and Education Context: A hotel appropriate to the theme designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and one of his students, near a state university with a design program, in a city that is in a unique environment and has various subcultures and issues attempting to address the polar tensions that many US cities face. Structure: The will be a focus on action and dialogue with a goal to produce position statements and papers on the polar issues we choose to focus on. The conference will represent the breadth of the field from corporate managers to young design entrepreneurs. Educators and practitioners will overlap and also have distinct times to focus on the issues particular their interests. Here are some of the broad categories we have identified as a basis for discussion:

• Companies today are stretched between the polar opposites of quarterly profits driven by investor demands and the evolving needs of consumers. The need for both long term brand equity and short tem quarterly profits often skew the role designers play in the development of new products and services.
• We are caught in the battle between mass consumption and minimizing footprint. We continue to design products that have shorter and shorter active life cycles of use and will not be easily reused or recycled.
• We are in a period where design is not only a value to business but a core capability in the development of new business strategy. How do we balance the opportunity to become more effective at the strategic level and maintain our core strength as tactical solution practitioners connected to consumer expectation? We need to keep the tension alive between design thinking and design as execution of actual products and services.
• We are witnessing the emerging of powerful new economies in China and India as they are repositioning the balance of economic power for both production and consumption. What role do US designers play in how we design with Asia for global distribution and for Asia as their consumer societies develop?
• In addition micro economies throughout the world are also competing for a position in the global economy. How do countries like Finland, Singapore, Taiwan, Ireland and New Zealand create an innovation strategy to help create a niche in the global economy?
• We are witnessing a global shift in the average number of human beings around the world. The number of births between 1945-1965, combined with an increase in the number of humans living to be 100, is creating a powerful new market of consumers who are 50+ years old. The Boomer market is comprised of 76 million consumers with $2.1 trillion of buying power. This requires new thinking for companies who have been exclusively focused on 15-35 as the only age to design for. Unlike previous generations, new individuals age 50+ (Boomers in particular) want to be connected and active with the support of the physical, cognitive and economic challenges they face; however, they do not want to be stigmatized as old, retired or disabled. How do we design to meet the challenges created by this new market force as they seek to live at the highest quality of life possible?
• Women are becoming the most powerful consumers in the world, dictating choice in many countries. While the opposite is also true women still struggle to have equal rights and representation in several countries. IDSA is still not as balanced as it should be as an organization and the field still needs to enable women to play a more significant role.

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