Western PA IDSA Chapter Site

Networking Event

2011-05-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

Dust off your business cards and bring your best people skills as we join AIGA Pittsburgh, AIA, IxDA, PRSA and Refresh Pittsburgh at Eclipse Lounge in Lawrenceville for a fast & fun networking event. AIGA Pittsburgh will provide light hors d'oeuvres & Eclipse Lounge will feature drink specials for the duration of the event. 18+ event open to the public.

Thursday, May 26, 2011
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Eclipse Lounge
3705 Butler Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201

See you there!
Western PA IDSA Council

AIGA "Making Mistakes"

2010-11-17T22:27:00.000-05:00

AIGA Pittsburgh is hosting Laurie Rosenwald for a day-long workshop on Saturday, Dec 4 entitled "How to Make Mistakes on Purpose."

Laurie Rosenwald is an author, designer and illustrator, and this is what she says about the workshop: "‘How to Make Mistakes on Purpose’ is not a creativity workshop. Trying to be creative works about as well as trying to be charming. There can be no syllabus. People are just encouraged to show up.” For participants, at least, it must be a surprise! Because it’s about surprise. Former participants are asked not to describe it. Omerta! There should be no expectations or preconceptions. Anyone can do it. It is not just for designers. No special skills are required.”

Full details and more about the workshop can be found at http://pittsburgh.aiga.org/mistakes

Tickets for the event are $50 which includes lunch; AIGA members pay $25. There is a group discount of 20% for parties of 6 or more.

IDSA members interested in attending should email us at westpaidsa@gmail.com and we will coordinate to register as a group for the discounted rate and arrange payment to AIGA.

Monkey Business Follow-up

2010-11-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all those who were able to attend the Sock Monkey activity at Product Lexicon this past Sunday. By all accounts, it was extremely fun and energetic. And in the end contributed to an excellent cause. See pics and a summary from the hosts, Josh & Lisa and Product Lexicon, here: http://www.productlexicon.com/updates/sock-monkey-event-/

Monkey around and do some good...

2010-11-08T10:45:00.010-05:00

Inviting all to attend an afternoon of monkey-making and merriment!

Learn a little about soft goods design and manufacture.

Create your own sock monkey(s).

Donate to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

When?: Sunday November 14th, 1-4pm
Where?: Product Lexicon, 5711 Friendship Ave. Suite 3

Please bring $5 to cover material costs

SEE YOU THERE!

Studio Tour: Kenson Plastics & IxDA

2010-09-29T16:58:00.001-04:00

Event date:

October 13, 2010 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Location:

Kenson Plastics

Brush Creek Road

Warrendale, PA

United States

Activity:

Please join IxDA Pittsburgh and the IDSA Western PA Chapter for a studio tour of Kenson Plastics, a Pittsburgh-area manufacturer of precision pressure-formed plastic parts. Kenson will open their doors and their manufacturing floor to us, giving a tour of their capabilities. Under new ownership, Kenson has focused on the latest thermoforming and specialty machining techniques to better capture designers’ visions. The evening will begin with refreshments at 6:30, and the tour starts at 7:00. We hope you can join us! Kenson Plastics is about a 25 minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh. Visit http://www.kensonplastics.com/ for more information and Kenson’s portfolio.

Pinhole Workshop Follow-Up

2010-09-27T15:04:00.000-04:00

The pinhole cameras are built, and the photographers have dispersed to capture their views of Pittsburgh. Hearty THANKS to Tom Persinger (seen below) for his excellent lecture and introduction to the art of lensless photography. Tom founded and administrates the forum f295.org which is an excellent resource for all things photographic (which likely extends well beyond what you might think).

Attendees were very complimentary - and we greatly appreciated being able to put on such a well received activity. Now we are greatly anticipating the photographs that people are able to capture!

To return images, please upload them here: Doug's iDisk We'll share and repost.

Take care
Doug, Prakash & Christine

This was a great meeting which connected industrial design & photography from a very meaningful perspective. We are looking forward to the photo contributions. For those unable to attend, here are a few more images of what you missed... a special thanks to Doug and Menasha packaging for supplying & creating the kits. It helped make the event an interactive success!

Lots of love!
Christine

Show Us How You See Pittsburgh

2010-09-12T22:09:00.004-04:00

Please join us for your next Western PA IDSA activity: Pinhole Photography
Monday September 20th, 6:30pm
Silver Eye Center for Photography, 1015 East Carson Street, Southside

$5 members / $10 non-members (camera kits and snacks/drinks provided)
Please bring a roll of 35mm film.

image courtesy of www.f295.org

Local photographer, founder of f295.org a lensless and alternative processes photography website and organizer of the annual Alternative Photography Symposium (held at CMU), Tom Persinger will be leading us through construction of our own pinhole cameras and giving us some information about lensless photography. We will use University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Nick Dvoracek's paper Populist 35mm film Pinhole Camera to learn about and capture pinhole images. Camera kits supplied by Menasha Packaging.

After you've built your camera, go out and shoot! Then return your pictures to us so we can share them with the rest of the IDSA group.

We're really looking forward to this exciting event and finding out how you see Pittsburgh.
See you there!

Protecting your Design Ideas

2010-07-25T23:18:00.040-04:00

Is your new product design patentable?

Should you file for international trademarks?

Is a design patent enforceable?

Find out answers from Dan Brean and Thomas Kerr, expert practitioners in IP protection and management, in our next Innovator Series event on Intellectual Property protection for product design. Our presenters will share their knowledge on when and how to protect your design ideas as well as how to navigate through intricacies of this process. Moreover, we have allocated enough time for you to be able to interact with our experts and find answers to your specific questions.

Appetizers will be served. Please RSVP.

Time: Aug 18th, 2010. 6:30 - 8:30pm

Venue: The Library, 2302 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Cost : Members of IDSA, PGHTech: $5.00, Non Members: $10.00

Here are some of the questions that will be covered by our experts:

1. What are the differences between a patent, a trademark, and a copyright and how do I know which is best for my situation?

2. What is the process of obtaining the protection that I want for my idea? When is the right time to consider patent protection?

3. What mistakes do firms and individuals make while creating new intellectual property?

Daniel H. Brean | Attorney at Law

The Webb Law Firm

Thomas Kerr

Software Engineering Manager | ClearCount Solutions

Can you improve on this classic?

2010-06-24T09:34:00.010-04:00

Announcing the Martini Glass Design Competition, joint sponsored by Boyd & Blair Vodka, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, and Pittsburgh Magazine! This is a really cool competition - literally. Your goal is to design a glass to keep a chilled martini cold through a full conversation.

In support of this event, Western PA IDSA would like to host a research and networking workshop where interested design professionals, students and others can learn about glass techniques from a Glass Center. There's even the off chance that you will see a glass blowing demonstration. In support of IDSA's mission, we would also like to encourage pairings of students and professionals for the contest in the spirit of collaboration and mentorship.

Where? Pittsburgh Glass Center
When? Tuesday July 13th, 6:30pm

Competition details: click here

The event is open to everyone, so bring a friend!

Hope to see you there!!!

Dozen Recap

2010-06-10T22:41:00.015-04:00

What a great first event in our new 'Innovator's Series'! James and Andrew were wonderful hosts, providing some awesome treats (I sampled the lemon-basil and chai cupcakes, which were incredible) and their signature coffee. Dozen is one of those businesses which very consciously tailor every aspect of their business model to interact responsibly with their customers and their local community. From top to bottom, every detail is carefully considered and weighed against their socially respectful business model. And though James and Andrew might not consider their story inspiring, I came away very impressed with their openness, candor, intelligence and commitment to the local community. Keep in mind, what they do oh so well is sell great cupcakes and other sundries. Check them out when you can, or better yet make them part of your daily or weekly routine. You won't be disappointed.

Dozen Bake Shop

Many thanks to Josh Greenberg for sharing his excellent pics!!

Meet the creators of Dozen!

2010-06-02T21:26:00.007-04:00

Come join us for an informal evening at Dozen Bake Shop in Lawrenceville. Sample their unique coffee and baked goods, meet the owners and join in a casual 'round table' discussion around their entrepreneurial story.

Wednesday June 9th 6pm.
$5 for members, $10 for non-members
(includes a coffee and a pastry)

Part of the Western PA IDSA Innovator's Series!

Design of Medical Devices - AAMI/ANSI HE75 Standard Review

2010-05-17T22:29:00.004-04:00

JOIN US! Join us for a review and discussion on the latest Human Factors Standard for the design of medical devices.

What: Design of Medical Devices - AAMI/ANSI HE75 Standard Review
When: Thursday, May 20th - 6:30-9:00pm
Where: Daedalus Product Development
4923 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412.687.7000

IDSA Members: $15
HFES, AAMI Members: $25
Non-Members: $35

PLEASE RSVP: online (preferred), by email to tfletcher@daed.com or by phone 412.687.7000

One copy of the HE75 standard will be given away as a door prize thanks to AAMI ($270 value).

SPONSORED BY: IDSA Medical Section and the Western PA IDSA Chapter
HOSTED BY: Daedalus Product Development
The review will be led by a contributor to the development of HE75, Sean Hägen of BlackHägen Design. Sean is on the AAMI Human Factors committee that authored the standard and is the current Medical Section Chair of the IDSA.

WHAT IS THE AGENDA?
An overview of the Standard’s contents and intention for use, a case study of how it could be used, and a Q&A session.

WHAT IS THE AAMI/ANSI HE 75 STANDARD?
The standard was developed by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Human Factors committee in cooperation with the FDA; it supplants HE48, which was written in the mid 80s, to provide design guidelines for user interface development in medical devices.

It is essential for the medical device designer to be well versed in the many regulatory standards that apply to the healthcare industry in order to contribute as critical member of the device development team. This is especially true for the human factors standards since they pertain specifically to the user interaction element of the design.

Over the past decade or so the FDA has started really focusing on the fact that use error was the source of the majority of adverse events (nice word for really bad things regarding the patient). This focus translated into an emphasis on human factors and device ease-of-use (reference 21CFR820.30). It is recognized that the most affective way to mitigate use error is through the design of the device in the first place (as opposed to training or instruction for use).

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Medical Device Industry Professionals, Industrial Designers, Quality Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Software Engineers, Human Factors Engineers.

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR CONCERNS?
Contact: Daedalus Product Development
4923 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412.687.7000

IxDA Happy Hour Invitation

2010-05-12T09:50:00.038-04:00

To All,
From our friends at IxDA:

IxDA Pittsburgh would like to invite the members of IDSA and AIGA to join us for a Happy Hour

Wednesday, May 19th, 6:30pm

at Embury in the Strip District.

"Embury offers guests pre-prohibition style cocktails with a modern twist. Named Embury, for David Embury, author of “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks,” you will find a quiet and intimate space featuring hand crafted cocktails, a knowledgeable staff using premium ingredients and classic American fare."

Link: Firehouse Lounge/Embury
Link: City Paper Review

Thanks to IxDA Pittsburgh for extending this invitation to our members and interested followers!

Town Hall Update | Goals & Direction

2010-04-02T11:55:00.000-04:00

Hi All!

First we want to thank everyone who participated in the Town Hall Meeting. We have put together a recap of the meeting (please see below), but also some goals and initiatives that came out of the Town Hall Meeting. We have had some great response and some wonderful ideas about future events.

One of the main comments was finding out about other design relevant events, s first step we hope to get Love PGH Design revamped and going.

There have also been some great ideas about using design thinking to connect design to the community, as well as sharing some of the individual talents in Pittsburgh with our design community.

For now it's just setting direction forward.

Take Care and more soon,

Christine Fish
IDSA Western PA | Chapter Chair

+ create + strength + love + beauty +

Love PGH Design | Launch

2010-03-22T23:13:00.000-04:00

Hi Design Community!

It's your very first issue of "Love PGH Design" (name is still pending). What is "Love PGH Design"? it's an announcement of all those great design events coming to your area.

Our goal is to try it twice a month... even more if we can get those events going!The design events will not just be limited to Industrial Design but open to anything that gets your design blood boiling... contact us if you have an event you'd like to have posted!

It's starting off to a beautiful spring and there are quite a few of design events coming! Two in one night on April 2nd... both at CMU!

Take care and love Pittsburgh design (that means show up)... Christine Fish IDSA Western PA | Chapter Chair + create + strength + love + beauty +

IDSA CMU Student Merit Awards Presentations

Learn Enjoy and Relax with upcoming CMU designers... plus there is Pizza!

Our Multi Faceted Panel will be judging... (from a New Zealander with quite a precise eye to a young interaction design expert... plus + a few more characters, I'm sure) Let the presentations begin!

Please RSVP if possible...

April 1, 2010 5:30PM gathering/ 6:00PM presentations start

Carnegie Mellon University School of Design

110 Margaret Morrison Building - Room A-14

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Pizza and drinks will be served at 5:30PM.

Parking is available in the Gesling Stadium garage off of Forbes Avenue and Beeler Street. On-street Parking on Margaret Morrison Street and Tech Street.

INTERACTION 10 REDUX!

Presented by IxDA Pittsburgh & Carnegie Mellon HCII

JOIN US! for a showing of talks from the IxDA’s conference, Interaction 10, held this past February in Savannah, GA.

Thursday, April 1st 6:30 to 8:30pm

Carnegie Mellon, Gates-Hillman Room 4303

Talk selection: (20 min. each)

Liz Danzico – Frames: Notes on Improvisation and Design

Ben Fullerton – Designing for Solitude Intermission

Mike Kruzeniski – Poetry and Polemics in Creating Experience

Paola Antonelli – Talk to me ............... Logistics:

Doors open at 6:30pm, talks start at 7pm Light Appetizers and beverages will be provided (come early)

Parking: East Campus Garage, on Forbes next to the University Center OR after 6pm, free at the meters on Craig Street Entry to the Gates Center: The building is technically locked to visitors after hours, but we will have a person standing at the west entrance from 6:30 to 7:00.

Love PGH design | Every hour

Every hour is a happy hour, but if you are interested... after both events we will be wandering over to the Union Grill for quick drink is anyone is interested Union Grill

413 South Craig Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)-681-8620
Monday-Thursday: 11:30am-10pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:30am-11pm
Sunday: 12pm-9pm

TOWN HALL MEETING | Update & Progress

2010-03-17T22:15:00.000-04:00

Hi Western PA design community!

This is just a quick update on the progress of the town hall meeting!

First we had a great turn out, and a wonderful amount of participation. After some refreshments and hellos, we broke into teams. The teams focused on three topics:

Relax: What activities would get you out? What makes Pittsburgh such a hidden gem?

Create: What should the identity of Western PA look like?

Collaborate: What can IDSA do to contribute to the Western PA design community?

The messages from each team were great and are going to help set a path and identity for our chapter. More information is to come about this event... simple ideas that we can implement like utilizing our blog as a posting for all relevant design events...

SO designers, start keeping us informed about activities we can share. There will be more ideas from the session that we would love to implement...

I would love for those that participated to make some comments about the time spent... let the sharing begin. What was the important thing that you heard?

Take Care and happy designing...

Christine Fish
IDSA Western PA | Chapter Chair

+ create + strength + love + beauty +

TOWN HALL MEETING | March 10th

2010-02-28T19:42:00.000-05:00

Hello Western PA Industrial Designers!

This is just a welcome from your new Chapter Chair! I am looking forward to leading the IDSA Western PA over the next 2 years with the help of our design community. There are exciting times ahead for IDSA and it's time to get moving...

Your new officers, Douglas Holt, Prakash Somasundaram, and myself are now fully trained and ready to get going. As a start we are holding a Town Hall Meeting...

What is a town hall meeting exactly?

It's chance for YOU to get involved in making IDSA valuable and helping lead the Western PA chapter... In essence it will be a collaborative session that is fun and engaging. As a group we will talk about the status of IDSA and a discussion around a fabulous recent survey...

Even more it will be a brainstorm about WHO WE ARE AS A WESTERN PA CHAPTER? Let's start by having some fun and getting to know each other... and best of all finding the value in our design community.

relax and have fun...

create value in western pa idsa

collaborate with our design community

Join us!!

@ the FIREHOUSE LOUNGE

6:00 - 9:00 PM |Wednesday March 10th

2216 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

members & non members welcome!!

free round on IDSA!

questions: westpaidsa@gmail.com

Stay tuned for an agenda and what to expect!

Take care and happy designing...

Christine Fish

+ create + strength + love + beauty +

"OBJECTIFIED" Movie night

2009-07-15T15:39:00.000-04:00

Its finally here! Our next event will be a partnership with the AIGA and the great folks at Pittsburgh Filmmaker. Students welcome!

Objectified: a documentary film by Gary Huswit
Thursday July 23rd
Harris Theater
805 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

This will be on the LAST NIGHT for the movie to be in town. The movie will be showing from July 19th through the 23rd, then after that no more chances locally!

First Showing
5:30 PM
$5 admission- sponsored by KQV 1410 AM
$3 for students at Pitt, Point Park and Art Institute.

Second Showing
7:30 PM
$5 discount admission for IDSA and AIGA members
$7 general admission,
$6 for seniors and students,
$3 for students at Pitt, Point Park and Art Institute.

PLEASE RSVP to:
westpaidsa@gmail.com
Space is limited! Make sure you indicate number in your party attending and which showing you would like to attend!

RSVP by July 17th!

Our after-movie mingle will be held at:

Mark's Grille

923 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

MAP

412.471.6401

The official after event will happen after the second showing but everyone is welcome to meet at Mark's after the first showing.

DRINK SPECIALS

From 5-7pm- $1.00 off ALL drinks

Just for us; From 8-10pm $1.00 off draft beers

We'll see you there afterwards!

Please forward this to anyone in the design community that you think would be interested in attending the event.

Cheers!
Tony Shoemaker, IDSA
Chapter Chair, Western PA Chapter IDSA
westpaidsa@gmail.com
www.westernpaidsa.blogspot.com

OBJECTIFIED coming to Pittsburgh!

2009-06-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

Just announced on the Objectified Film site:

OBJECTIFIED: the Movie
July 19 - 23
Pittsburgh PA, USA
Harris Theater
A week-long run at Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

The much talked-about film on "what is industrial design?" is coming to town! Keep your email eyes peeled for further details- we will be creating an event around the film. We'll let you know soon!

-Tony Shoemaker

A Fantastic, Bouncy Event

2009-05-14T13:22:00.000-04:00

Pittsburgh-- Tony Shoemaker
I know it is now nearly two weeks ago that we had our Mideast District Conference right here in Pittsburgh, but I felt it was important to do a report on our event.

First off I want to thank our entire chapter for being such gracious hosts- we really had a great event especially considering the current economic state. I know that many of our members are tightening their belts, but regardless attended the event and helped make it such a great success. Our Open House night was really a fantastic way that we showed off the vibrancy of the Pittsburgh design community. Many thanks to everyone at Bally Design, Bright Innovation, Daedalus Excel, Carnegie Mellon University, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and Thorely for opening their doors and creating such an exciting kickoff to the conference. So many designers from outside our fair city had wonderful things to say about all of the hosts and their locations, not the least of which was their surprise as to the strength of design in Pittsburgh. And a special THANK YOU! to Dexter Stoltz for getting the conference totes for our event. He even paid for them himself! Please make sure you thank this very selfless man for his support of our event. We owe him a lot of rounds of drinks!

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the presentations, let me tell you that you missed a real treat. Our planning committee worked hard to insure the content was on point with the theme of our conference; bouncing back from an economic hit. We were all quite pleased that all of our presentations really stayed true to this message. When designers are asked to deliver, they do. There were great messages for both the seasoned professional and the graduating designer. Generally speaking the overall message orbited around the idea of hard work. If you are willing to do the hard work, you create great relationships with those that you work for, and they will go out of their way to make sure you are rewarded, regardless of economic conditions. Another solidly emphasized message was the idea of getting back to basics. No matter if you are designing interfaces or instruments, the basic skill set of critically thinking, and using visual skills to communicate the thinking process and test new ideas, is ALWAYS the basis of our profession. New tools may come and go but the real core of design stays the same, research, concepting, prototyping and implementation. Finally, that idea of “being good at everything” seemed to echo through the venue. We are in that unique position to know how to do many things, or find someone to help us do the things where we are not strong, and offer this as a service. Which brings us back to point one- be valuable.

The students, their work, and their attendance was a very big part of our event. As always a portfolio review was held on Sunday morning to end the event. Despite some challenges with some of our local volunteers not being able to get past the Pittsburgh Marathon blockades (oops!) we had a great turn out of reviewers and students looking for input.

The merit award winners were again a fantastic selection of all of our districts schools, showcasing the best of the best. We are fortunate to have one of the most solid districts in terms of design education, and that was proven once again with not only the merit winners but all of their peers as well. I personally believe that the most talented designers are educated right here in our district, and are the best equipped for the real world upon their graduation. (Full disclosure: I am slightly biased, having attended University of Cincinnati- go Bearcats!)

Lastly I want to mention the really fantastic presentation by Tim Cunningham and Alex Bally. These two gentlemen have been central to the design community in Pittsburgh here for years, and were able to tell us about their professional and personal journey. The entire audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy their conversation, and loved seeing “how it used to be” in contrast to today’s design world. Actually, while the tools may have changed, not much else has! For me it was an honor and a privilege to moderate their “panel discussion” that felt more like a visit to an old friends living room.

While the conference was wonderful, all good things must end, and we can look forward to doing it all over again at next year’s District Conference. Thank you again to all those who attended, helped, suggested, commented, advised, listened, worked, and supported this event. It was a wonderful experience for me, and I hope we did a good job of making it a wonderful experience for you as well.

One last thing- I know that there is no way to really capture every moment from this conference, and many of you may be able to share stories of that which others may have missed. So please comment on this article and share your experience. If you have photos, send them to us and we will get them on our Flickr page too.

Okay a second and very important last thing- I want to thank the rest of our chapter officers for their support in keeping the chapter on track while I was distracted for the last four months planning this event. Please join me in thanking Josh Greenberg, Vice Chair, Julia Frederking, Secretary (extrordinaire), and Matt Sass, Treasurer. Cheers All!

See more pictures on our Flickr Page!

IDSA Pittsburgh Happy Hour

2009-04-13T17:08:00.000-04:00

April 15th
The Library
2304 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Southside
6:30 to 8:30 PM

We are going to start having Happy Hours as a simple touch point for all of our members starting this April 15th, on the 3rd Wednesday of every other month. A full schedule will be posted soon. Let’s get together, talk about upcoming events, share a drink and camaraderie.

This month, meet us at The Library on Carson Street in the Southside at 6:30 PM. See you there!

Pecha Kucha Night

2009-03-25T18:32:00.001-04:00

Our friends in the AIGA informed us about this fantastic upcoming event. Last year there were well over 200 area designers in attendance, and local press coverage to boot. AIGA and AIA want the IDSA to become a regular part of the event too. Hope to see you all there!

Pecha Kucha Night
Friday, April 3, 2009
Third Floor Gallery
937 Liberty Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Presentations begin at 8:00 p.m.

$10 per person at the door

Join AIGA Pittsburgh and AIA Pittsburgh for Pecha Kucha Night, a place for the local creative class to meet and network while presenters display work in 6 minutes and 40 seconds of exquisitely matched words and images and then sit the hell down. Pecha Kucha, a japanese term for the sound of conversation, was originally devised by Klein Dytham Architecture in Toyko in 2003 and has spread virally to over 133 cities across the world.

For more information contact Greg Gibilisco at 412-889-2419 or email info@pittsburgh.aiga.org.

Friday! Auto Show Event!

2009-02-12T10:19:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to meet us at the Auto Show this Friday!

6:30PM Sharp! at the Convention Center

Get the details here.

Call for Artists: Children's Museum

2009-02-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

This just in from the Children's Museum- normally the IDSA does not post this kind of thing but the Children's Museum is looking to get local designers on this project. Please contact the listed parties below. The IDSA is not responsible for the content of this posting.

Call for Artists
Design of an Interactive Climbing Structure for the
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA.

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh seeks an artist or artist team to produce a permanent interactive climbing structure for the Garage Workshop exhibit area at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. The ideal candidate/team will be able to produce a large scale artwork that is highly interactive, visually engaging and encourages creative play. A successful project will be able to withstand the rigors of heavy use while also distinguish itself as an artwork. A two stage process will be used to identify an artist or artist team to work with. The first stage is a portfolio and qualifications based review. Artists will submit portfolios and related information for review by a professional selection panel. A short list of finalists will be recommended for further consideration. In the second stage, each short listed artist or artist team will receive an honorarium to produce a complete proposal. Selection criteria for the first stage includes: the applicant’s professional qualifications; artistic merit of previous projects or ideas as evidenced by the submitted portfolio; and proven or implied ability to undertake projects of a similar scope. Interested artists or artist teams should contact Penny Lodge for a complete Request for Qualifications that outlines the project specifics and how to submit the portfolio for consideration by the selection panel. Portfolios and related materials are due at the Children’s museum by January 31, 2009*.

For more information and a copy of the complete Request for Qualifications,
contact Penny Lodge, Director of Exhibits, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh,
10 Children’s Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
Web site: www.pittsburghkids.org.
E-mail: plodge@pittsburghkids.org

* REVISION 1
Due date for portfolios has been extended until February 27, 2009.

2009 Annual Pittsburgh International Auto Show Photo Scavenger Hunt

2009-02-05T18:42:00.000-05:00

Mark your calenders - it's coming right up!

Friday, Feb 13th, 6:30 PM SHARP! (we will go in without you!)
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Meet downstairs at the bottom of the escalators, just inside the doors.

Aftershow meetup at Sonoma Grille, 7:45 (947 Penn, right around the corner from the show)

IDSA Members – Free
Students- $5 (50% off general admission
Non-members - $7 (%30 off general admission)

Start your weekend right and join us for a glimpse of this year's newest cars from manufactures around the world and an aftershow meetup after a lap through the showroom.

Be sure to bring your favorite digital camera for a chance to participate in the (soon to be famous) autoshow photo scavenger hunt. We will host the photos on our website later and give prizes for the Best Set of Photos and Best Overall Photo.

Last year's event had a huge turnout, and fun was had by all. We couldn't miss out on a chance to do it again.

See you there...prizes and prestige await!

The Global Future of Industrial Design Protection, a Lecture

2009-01-28T16:35:00.000-05:00

From our friends at Pitt Law: we want to thank them about informing us on this very interesting event.

The Global Future of Industrial Design Protection

Thursday, February 26th 2009
4-5:30PM

This program is free and open to the public. A reception for all attendees will
follow the program.

Featuring:
The 2009 Distinguished Intellectual Property Law Lecture:
“The European Community Design Right: A Uniquely Tailored System for Protecting Industrial Designs”
by Prof. Dr. Annette Kur
Unit Head, Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law

Followed by:
Panel Discussion:
“The Future of Industrial Design Protection in the United States, Europe, and Beyond”

The burgeoning field of industrial design generates the unique and appealing appearance of products ranging from digital music players and automobile parts to convenience foods and furniture. A wide variety of intellectual property regimes protect the creativity invested in industrial design. The European Union broke new ground in 2002 by enacting the Community Design Right. In Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa (2007), the en banc Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rewrote the standards for U.S. design patent infringement.

More details:

The 2009 Distinguished Intellectual Property Lecturer, Prof. Dr. Annette Kur, stands at the
forefront of international legal protection for industrial design. She is a senior research staff member and head of unit at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and
Tax Law in Munich, Germany. Kur spearheaded the Max Planck working group proposal that formed the basis of the European Union’s Community Design Right legislation. Kur currently serves as president of the prestigious International Association for the Advancement
of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property. During the spring 2009 semester, she is a visiting professor in the Hauser Global Law School Program at New York University School of Law. Kur, who recieved law and doctor degrees from Munich University, has authored books and numerous articles in the field of national, European and international trademark, unfair competition, and industrial design law as well as international jurisdiction and choice of law. Following Kur’s lecture, a panel will join her to debate the future of industrial design protection in the United States, Europe, and beyond.

The panelists are:
Donald S. Chisum, author of the treatise Chisum on Patents;
Janice M. Mueller, Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Law; and
Daniel H. Brean, Esq., the Webb Law Firm, Pittsburgh.

What you Missed on the Back of the Envelope

2009-01-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

Here's the Audio Podcast from the Back of the Envelope event. Thanks to EcoDesign Guild Pittsburgh for making the podcast and allowing us to link to it on their site!

http://ecodesignersguild.blogspot.com/2009/01/edg-podcasts-subscribe-free-add-to-my.html

Enjoy!

What an evening!

2009-01-23T10:53:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all who attended our first event of 2009! The Back of the Envelope was a huge success. With 40 in attendance from all four major design groups in Pittsburgh, we really helped foster a sense of community.

We want to thank the three restaurants who graciously opened their doors to us:
Oh Yeah! Ice Cream http://www.customswirl.com/
Casbah www.bigburrito/casbah
Abay http://www.abayrestaurant.com/

Art Groll of the Frank Parsons Paper company started us off with some basic sustainability practices in the paper world. Not only did we mention recycled content and FSC but newer certifications, and the importance of us all making the right choices in print materials.

Ryan Walsh of Restorative Events presented some basic tips about resetting our own minds on the "green revolution." Small steps and thoughtful education are far more impactful than the more militant practices of many misinformed well-doers. Use plastics marked with #'s 1, 2, and 3, and avoid 6 if at all possible. Ryan will be making a PDF available to us with the outline of his presentation- stay tuned!

Then the IxDA's Onny Chatterjee closed the evening with a participatory construction of a "Sustainable Pittsburgh" map. This map will later be hosted on the IxDA site and will highlight some of the more ecofriendly businesses and locations in the city.

Be sure to check out the photos on our IDSA Flickr Page- click on the link in the right column and look for the "Back of the Envelope."

The Back of the Envelope: Sustainable Restaurant Crawl

2009-01-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

Brought to you by
IDSA, AIGA, eDG, and IxDA

When: Thursday January 22nd, 2009 @ 6:30 PM
Where: Crawl begins at Oh Yeah! Ice Cream and Coffee
www.customswirl.com – 232 S. Highland Ave. Pgh.

How: RSVP to julia@bright-innovation.com by January 15th and you’ll pay the $12 per person discounted rate. All others pay $15 at the door. First 10 people to arrive will receive a handmade eDG grocery bag!

What could be better than spending a winter evening getting to know your local design and sustainabiliy minded colleagues while indulging at three nearby restaurants who serve up locally grown and organic food, wine and beer?

Nothing, you say?

Well, eDG, IDSA, AIGA, and IXDA chapters of Pittsburgh would like to invite you to join us for an evening of food and drink.

Come ready to share your thoughts, ideas, and desires for a more sustainable Pittsburgh. We'll start at Oh Yeah! Ice Cream and Coffee, hosted by AIGA, move on to Casbah (www.bigburrito.com/casbah) with events and food hosted by IDSA, and wrap up the fun at ABAY (www.abayrestaurant.com) with events and food hosted by IXDA.

Hope to see you there! RSVP today!

Upcoming Winter Events

2008-12-19T13:04:00.001-05:00

Mark your calendars for the new year- two exciting events are planned for Winter.

January 22nd, 6 to 9 pm
The Back of the Envelope
Sustainable practices in Pittsburgh
Co presented by
Pittsburgh ecoDesign Guild
AIGA
IDSA
IxDA
Get a taste of three sustainable restaurants in Pittsburgh and discuss some hot eco design topics at each location.
Casbah, Abay, and Oh Yeah! Ice Cream
Details coming soon!

January/February Timeframe
STEEL CITY SLEDDOWN
First Ever SLED DESIGN competition!
We will set the rules on design and materials.
YOU make your ultimate sled-
Then we RACE!
We will be waiting on Mr. Winter to be cooperative with the weather, but keep your eyes peeled for the design rules and start thinking about your teams! Awards will be given for best aesthetic design, fastest sled, most maneuverable sled, etc. Bragging rights are at stake!
More details to come!

Sustainable Brands conference

2008-11-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

We just received this message from IDSA NY and thought everyone might like to know about this discount opportunity.

A 25% discount off of attendance fee plus a free night’s stay for IDSA members! Read below and enjoy!
You must be registered by NOVEMBER 9TH!

Regards,
Tony Shoemaker, IDSA
Western PA Chapter Chair
tonys@ballydesign.com

________________________________________________________________

Dear IDSA members:
I am happy to extend a discounted registration fee to all IDSA members, which is the result of a strong affiliate partnership established between IDSA NYC, IDSA SF and Sustainable Life Media, for their upcoming conference: Sustainable Brands International, December 9th-11th at the Fontainbleau Resort in Miami Beach, FL.

Please see the details below. Normally, the discount code would expire October 31st. The President and CEO of Sustainable Life Media has extended the registration period for IDSA members until Sunday, November 9th. Please use the following code when registering for a VIP conference pass to take full advantage of a 25% discount to the conference and receive a free night stay at the Fontainebleau Resort: idsa128or

I hope you will all benefit from this discount.

Sincerely,

Meredith Goodwin Bajaj, IDSA, IESNY
Chapter Chair IDSA New York
Industrial Designer's Society of America
www.idsanyc.org

Nulux Inc.
1717 TROUTMAN STREET
RIDGEWOOD, NY 11385
Ph: 718.383.1112 x327
Fax: 718.383.1118
www.nulux.com
mgoodwin@nulux.com

Sustainable Brands International — Dec 9-11 — Miami Beach
This December, in Miami Beach, Florida, meet sustainable product innovators and brand experts from around the world to explore global market trends and best in class sustainable business ideas.
Dozens of thought leaders and business experts from all corners of the globe are already committed to share with you what they are learning, and the business results being generated by their sustainability efforts. Learn how MeadWestvaco is growing their sustainable brand offerings in fast growing international markets, from SustainAbility about their latest world-wide research and the changing dynamics of communicating accountability, from Unilever in the UK about business opportunities for innovating sustainable solutions for emerging markets, and from Nau, who are raising the bar by integrating sustainable thinking from their supply chain to governance and communications.
Featuring leading sustainability experts from Wal-Mart, InterfaceFLOR, eBay, HP, Office Depot, Panasonic, Best Buy, and over 40 more!
For a full list of Speakers: www.sustainablebrandsinternational.com/speakers
For a look at the full Program: www.sustainablebrandsinternational.com/program
Our VIP conference pass gets you into every aspect of this vibrant 3-day event -- from the opening night party, to birds-of-a-feather dinners, to in-depth workshops and much more. Get a 25% discount and free night's stay* at the Fontainebleau Resort (the conference hotel) if you sign up now!
IDSA Members enjoy 25% OFF + 1 free hotel night*: use code idsa128or by Nov 9th
* Free hotel room night promotion requires purchase of VIP conference pass and 2-night minimum stay at the Fontainebleau Resort. Book your room with the hotel and find one free night credited to your account when you arrive! Please note: rooms are limited and promotion is first-come first-served until room block is full.
Plan to join us, Dec 9-11 in Miami Beach. For more information: http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/

Pecha Kucha night in Pittsburgh

2008-10-22T10:04:00.000-04:00

An event we just found out about and though you might enjoy. Thanks to Matt Sass for keeping his eyes peeled. Cheers!

Note: The article includes a date error. The event appears to be on Friday.

--Tony Shoemaker, Western PA Chair, IDSA

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/pittsburgh

(Design Pittsburgh) x Pecha Kucha Night

20 x 20

A dynamic dialogue with local, creative talent
121 7th Street, 6th floor

Friday, October 24

7:20 p.m. social hour, 8:20 p.m. start time, $10 per person

20 images x 20 seconds = 400 seconds of your best work!

Join the conversation and discover a place where local creative talent can meet, network and display their work in public in an informal, relaxed, and dynamic environment.
To learn more about Pecha Kucha Night click here. If you are interested in presenting click here.

Pecha Kucha Night is presented in partnership with AIGA Pittsburgh. It is devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture.

Good design in just six minutes: AIA and AIGA bring Pecha Kucha to Pittsburgh

What happens when architects, designers and artists have six minutes and 40 seconds to present their latest labors of love?Find out Oct. 25 at Pecha Kucha Night, a new signature program of Design Pittsburgh. Local AIA and AIGA chapters have teamed up to bring the innovative practice that's sweeping the globe's design communities to Pittsburgh.Conceived by Tokyo-based Klein Dytham architecture and named for the Japanese term meaning sound of conversation, Pecha Kucha is a presentation format for sharing creative work with peers and the public.

"Our intention is to work with other professional organizations to cross-fertilize and get this repeated throughout the year," says Anne Swager, with AIA Pittsburgh, who emphasizes the event's unjuried nature. "It's fun to show people's wide range of talents and what's going on in their head." Among the event's 16 featured presenters are photographer David Eskenazi, architect Mimi Jong and sculptor Hugh Watkins. Architect Rob Pfaffmann will explore the intersection of urban design and social issues via his strategies for the adaptive reuse of the Mellon Arena site. Architect Hyla Willis will present the work of Chicago-based feminist subRosa cyberart collective, while artist Ryder Henry will share his cardboard models of imagined cityscapes.

"The relaxed dynamic environment promotes networking around design. There are no rehearsals. We don't want people to feel stifled by the format—when you're done, you're done," adds Rachael Kelley, with AIA, who says the event features a social hour, emcee Dutch MacDonald and a beer break. "Limited time slots keep the energy up. We want Design Pittsburgh to be more collaborative."

For more information about Pecha Kucha Night, go here.

CMU Lecture Series: Stuart Morgan

2008-09-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

More news for our members:

On Thursday evening this week Stuart Morgan will be speaking at CMU as part of their lecture series. All are welcome! Thanks to Mark Baskinger at CMU for the heads up.

"For design to play a significant role in the success of an
organization, the three disciplines of leadership, innovation,
and execution must be active and in balance. Over the past six
years, the role of design at Ethicon Endo-Surgery has changed
from one of support to one of leadership. Through recent
product examples, Morgan’s lecture will outline guiding
principles, strategies, processes, methods, and tools employed
to deliver significant results to the company, and show
the importance of balancing the three disciplines of design."

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA
Western PA Chapter Chair

AIP Portfolio Review

2008-09-16T15:04:00.001-04:00

An Open Invitation

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh will have a public display of their student’s portfolio review at the Convention Center, this Friday from 2pm to 4PM. All interested parties are welcome to check it out! Thanks to Terri Laurenceau for letting us know about the event.

Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA, Western PA chapter Chair

Chapter Event: Carnegie International

2008-08-18T17:31:00.001-04:00

Pittsburgh IDSA, it's time for our next event!

55th Carnegie International - Life on Mars
Saturday, September 6, 2008 @ 11:30am

Carnegie Museum of Art
http://blog.cmoa.org/CI08/

Please join us as we take advantage of this classic Pittsburgh event.

We have arranged for a private, hour long, docent-guided tour for our Western PA IDSA chapter members! Admission is FREE for members and discounted for non-members. ($9.00)

Join us afterwards at Union Grill on Craig Street for a casual get-together to chat about what we saw.

Spaces are limited, so please RSVP to Tony tonys@ballydesign.com at your earliest convenience!

We would like to give a special thanks to our event sponsor, Bayer MaterialScience. Their sponsorship will help offset the costs of our event so that our members can attend for free. Please take some time to check out their website and look into the fantastic things they do with special engineering plastics.

http://www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com/

http://www.bayerdesignworks.com/

Hope to see you there!

Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA

Senior Industrial Designer

ballydesign

412 621 9009 ex227

tonys@ballydesign.com

Design Friends News: IDXA Happy Hour

2008-08-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

Please join IXDA Pittsburgh for a summer Happy Hour
(half price appetizers and 1$ off drafts, wine and well liquor)
and discussion about submitting to the IXDA conference.

Date: Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008
Time: 5:30 - 7 pm
Place:
Walnut Grill
5500 Walnut Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Michele Marut and Jack Moffett
(michele.marut@respironics.com)
IXDA Pittsburgh Local Ambassadors

Designers for a Sustainable Pittsburgh coming up!

2008-08-01T09:58:00.000-04:00

Members-

An event that may be of interest to many of you is coming up NEXT WEEK here in town. Our very own Julia Frederking is part of this meeting, and we wanted you to all have a chance to attend. Details are below- we hope to see you there!

Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, Western PA IDSA Chair

____________________________________________________________

From: Jenna Date [jenna@fitassociates.com]

Designers for a Sustainable Pittsburgh - Wednesday, August 6, 5:30 to 7:30

Hello Hello!

Well, it's happening! We have a date, a time and a place for our very first meeting, now all we need is for YOU to be there.

As most of you know, (and for those that don't--you are on this list because some one that knows you wants you to be involved)...

Fit is excited to start something new... Designers for a Sustainable Pittsburgh. (for lack of a better name at this point)
Let’s get educated, get organized and get moving on making a difference together.

Our first meeting will be held:

Wednesday, August 6th
5:30 to 7:30pm
@ Bright Innovation
Directions can be found here: http://www.bright-innovation.com/contact.php

Please! RSVP to jenna@fitassociates.com, so we know how many mouths to feed.

Beers and food to follow at one of the establishments on the South Side.

Our agenda is loose, but active. From the folks that I’ve already talked to, there are some great ideas out there on how designers can get involved in the community to help create a sustainable city. We’ll spend some time brainstorming about all of those, and then set an action plan for the upcoming months.

If you can’t make this meeting, don’t worry, there will be others.

Please forward to friends, peers and colleagues that may be interested. At this point, the group is forming by word of mouth. This is an open forum, if you have ideas on discussion topics, please let us know.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Smiles.

Jenna

Ps. (A quick thank you to Minette Vaccariello and Julia Frederking from Bright Innovation for providing a space and snacks for us)

FW: Materials Workshop in Columbus, Ohio

2008-07-18T16:19:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone-

While I have not attended any of their workshops, I have read one or two of their MTRL magazines, and they are really cool. This group seems to really get what designers are looking for in terms of materials and information.

So, just wanted you to know about their upcoming workshop in Columbus. If anyone chooses to attend, let me know- we may have you do some reporting for our blog!

Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA

Western PA Chapter Chair

From: John Cerne [mailto:john.cerne@asminternational.org]
Subject: Materials Workshop in Columbus, Ohio

Dear Mr. Shoemaker,

My name is John Cerne and I have a Materials Workshop that your IDSA Members might be interested in. Please take a moment to review the enclosed information for possible distribution to your Membership.

I look forward to your reply.

Best Regards,

John

At the intersection of art, science, engineering and industry, materials have the capacity to transcend function, becoming touchstones of widely shared human experience that live forever.

This series of highly immersive workshops hosted by ASM/Mtrl will provide you the knowledge and insight necessary to visualize the ways in which the latest materials and fabrication processes can influence design.

ASM/Mtrl presents a two-day workshop on Materials for Designers. Choose from one of these dates and locations for details and registration information:

Columbus, OH – Aug. 11-12 - Sparkspace
Seattle, WA – Sept. 18-19 - Experience Music Project @ Seattle Center
Boston, MA – Oct. 16-17 - Institute for Human Centered Design @ Adaptive Environments
Los Angeles, CA – Nov. 13-14 - W Hotel
Miami Beach, FL – Dec. 15-16 - Doubletree Ocean Point Resort & Spa

Register Now Seating Is Limited

What you will learn from the Materiality Workshop:
- Material properties and sensory perception
- Selecting base materials and finishes to satisfy aesthetics
- How product shape influences the choice of material and process
- Sustainability through material and process selection
- What’s new on the materials and processes horizon

For more information contact John Cerne at 440-338-5417 or email john.cerne@asminternational.org.

EDMT0851_b

John Cerne

Manager - Corporate Training

ASM International

440-338-5417 (direct)

800-336-5152 ext. 5637

john.cerne@asminternational.org

AIGA Happy Hour

2008-07-16T10:27:00.001-04:00

Hello IDSA members!

From our friends in the AIGA:

A Summer's Night Happy Hour

AIGA Pittsburgh

Thursday, July 17th

from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

D's SixPax and Dogz

1118 S Braddock Ave

Swissvale, PA 15218

$1.00 off all bottles and discounted appetizers

Say hello to hot summer nights while enjoying a pint at D's SixPax and Dogz in Regent Square. Hang out with other creative-minded colleagues and friends as you enjoy your favorite beer and beverages and hot dogs for meat lovers and vegetarians alike!

Our monthly happy hours are open to AIGA members and non-members alike. It's a great way to hang out, network, and have a great time.

Also remember to check our site often for other upcoming events and more information on how you can get involved in the design community.

www.pittsburgh.aiga.org

Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA

Senior Industrial Designer

ballydesign

600 River Ave

Pittsburgh PA 15212

412 621 9009 ex227

tonys@ballydesign.com

www.ballydesign.com

News and updates!

2008-06-09T13:31:00.001-04:00

Hello to our chapter members!

There have been lots of goings-on in the chapter in our first and second quarters; hopefully we saw you there, and if not, perhaps we can catch you up.

> We had our first event with our friends in the Pittsburgh AIGA, with Tucker Viemeister giving his presentation on “Its Always Something.” This was a retrospective of his experiences as a designer and his views of design’s role in the world today. Read about it in this month’s Design Perspectives.

> Our second event was at the Pittsburgh Auto Show. This year we mixed it up a bit and made it an interactive event. With over 20 people participating in this fun Photo Scavenger Hunt, we have some winners to announce! And you can see our participants photo sets on Flikr. Go here for the whole story.

> The third event this year was sponsored by Imaginit Technologies. They presented their Digital Design workflow process using the latest tools from Autodesk. Most impressive were the sketching demos in Alias and the real time rendering in Showcase. More on that here.

> The Art Institute of Pittsburgh’s student IDSA chapter is hosting a kickoff party and design event next Saturday the 19^th in Schenley Park. The Asphalt Assault will be a skateboard design competition with a race following, and a picnic as well. Read more about that here.

> Also- we have begun uploading the photos of the last two year’s events onto our new chapter’s Flikr page. We have many photos to share, and if anyone wants to share chapter pictures with us as well, let us know and we will get them up on the site.

> Bayer Material Science and the local student chapters are participating in a collaborative effort to design Bayer’s exhibit for the IDSA National Conferece. We are still looking for more professionals to be advisors to the students as they grow through this great program. Any interested parties should e-mail me at tonys@ballydesign.com

Stay tuned to our Calendar and website- we will be announcing the year’s second half of events shortly!

Best Regards,

The Western PA IDSA Chapter Council

Imaginit Keeps it Digital

2008-06-09T13:04:00.000-04:00

Imaginit Technologies sponsored and event on June 2nd about an all Digital Design Workflow. This event featured Shad Hardy and Aaron ____ demonstrating the power of the latest versions of Alias and their new rendering program Showcase. The programs allow you to sketch digitally and maintain your design intent even as you move into a developed product.

Showcase was incredible, in my opinion. You have to check this out- Real Time Rendering is not just a promise- it is REAL. You pick a surface and drop on the shaders and BOOM its done. I was amazed. Photorealism instantly. You have to see this for yourself.

For more information, contact Shad at shardy@rand.com

Auto Show Photo Winners!

2008-06-09T12:51:00.000-04:00

Hello Pittsburgh Designers!

We had a very well attended event in May at the Pittsburgh International Auto Show. It seems that the idea of a participatory event was very attractive to our members, and we will be sure to note that! Over 20 people attended the event, which is nearly 1/5th of our membership. Everybody seemed to have a great time attempting to collect 10 photo subjects in the time allotted. By the following Monday, we had 7 different complete submission sets.

As promised, the photo collections of all submissions will be hosted online. You can go to our brand new Flikr account, and check out these really creative shots. I am always blown away with the creativity that comes from a band of designers cut loose!

That’s not all- we have three winners from our photo collections. Best overall photo is given to Solomon Benjamin for this fantastic shot. Best Collection is being awarded to our very own Matt Sass. And finally, our Honorable Mention goes to Paul Borerro for his photo collection and single best shot. Congratulations everyone! And thanks to everyone for participating.

A very special thanks to our judges: Vanessa Sica, designer with Body Media, Josh Greenberg, our Vice Chair and designer with Respironics, and Matt Beale, partner at Daedalus Excel.

Thanks again to our participants. Have fun examining everyone’s photos online, and feel free to leave comments (keep it positive!).

One last thing- we will be maintaining the Flikr Account to allow us to submit all of our photos from events over the last few years, so check back soon for further uploads and collections. Our website will also get a permanent link, just in case you don’t bookmark it.

Happy Warm Weather to you all!

Regards,
Tony Shoemaker, IDSA
Pittsburgh Chapter Chair

AIP Student IDSA Chapter Event!

2008-06-06T11:58:00.000-04:00

Hello all! Next weekend, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh's student chapter are hosting a really fun interactive design event and picnic in Schenley part on Saturday the 14th. They are also celebrating the re-launch of their student chapter. Check out the information below! You can download the JPEGS to read the details- just right click and "Save As."

Please contact Justin Ezell the student chapter VP with any questions at jm.ezell@yahoo.com

Upcoming IXDA event

2008-06-06T11:01:00.001-04:00

Our friends in the IXDA have an upcoming event- here’s the scoop!

EVENT: IXDA Pittsburgh June Meeting: An evening at Fit Associates

When: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Refreshments and Networking: 6:30-7:00 PM
Presentation and Discussion: 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Post-event Mingle: 8:30 PM onwards

Topic: "Making a Difference"
As interaction designers, we all want to see our work go to market, be loved by its users, and make a positive difference in their lives. And that is Fit's intention: to lead, nurture, connect and equip its clients so that what they make fits the complexities of life and positively affects the common good.

Fit partners Marc Rettig and Jenna Date will describe their approach to integrating design practices, ethnographic research, and the practical necessities of organizational change. Through project stories, they'll share practical techniques and points of view on process, collaboration, and making a positive difference for teams, organizations, and end users.

Where: Fit Associates, 5744 Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside
Fit Associates' studio is across the street from the Shadyside Saloon and above SPIN bar. The entry door is on street level to the left of SPIN bar. Look for the cranberry Fit Associates sign in the door. Ring the bottom buzzer to be let in. Those that are driving can find parking at metered spots on the street. Parking meters are not enforced past 6:00 pm.

link to Google Maps <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=5744+Ellsworth+Ave,+Pittsburgh,+Pennsylvania+15232&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.847644,88.417969&ie=UTF8&ll=40.456875,-79.931459&spn=0.007935,0.021586&z=16&iwloc=addr>

Company site: www.fitassociates.com

RSVP:
Please let us know you're coming:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pXQ-v5NgcfQnvYmkxLZzReQ&email=true

Thanks,

Michele Marut

IXDA Local Ambassador for Pittsburgh

Questions?
Direct inquiries about this event to Dana Pruszynski at Fit Associates, dana@fitassociates.com

Tonight's Event: Digital Industrial Design Workflow

2008-06-02T08:46:00.001-04:00

Hello Pittsburgh IDSA! Don’t forget tonight’s event:

Digital Industrial Design Workflow

Art Institute of Pittsburgh

6:30 PM

Monday June 2^nd

Room 740

Presented by Imaginit Technologies

Imaginit Technologies will be in Pittsburgh on Monday June 2nd to give a presentation on their "digital production workflow." They will show you how to create a model directly over a sketch without losing your design intent. From there, Inventor will be used to show many of the new features that make it a great engineering solids modeling tool. Finally, Showcase will be used to bring the project full circle as a high end real time communications tool eliminates the nee for renderings.

Imaginit Technologies is a reseller of AutoDesk products and also a solutions provider. They will be highlighting Alias Studio 2009 in their presentation. Their technical experts will get you up to speed with a great deal of information about the new powerful tools in Alias Studio 2009.

The event is being graciously hosted by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (find the map here) in ROOM 740.

Personally I have seen a few of their new programs at the Mideast District conference, and while all were very impressive, Showcase was the most amazing thing- it is truly an instant real-time rendering tool. I have never seen anything like that. This is a must see!

http://www.rand.com/imaginit/1/verticals/industrial_design.htm

Best Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA

Western PA Chapter Chair

Next Event: Digital Industrial Design Workflow

2008-05-28T09:37:00.001-04:00

Hello Pittsburgh IDSA! Our next event:

Digital Industrial Design Workflow

Art Institute of Pittsburgh

6:30 PM

Monday June 2^nd

Room 740

Presented by Imaginit Technologies

The event is being graciously hosted by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (find the map here) in ROOM 740.

http://www.rand.com/imaginit/1/verticals/industrial_design.htm

Best Regards,

Tony Shoemaker, IDSA

Western PA Chapter Chair

We're Live!

2008-05-08T18:21:00.000-04:00

The Western PA Chapter IDSA now has its own spot on the internet!

http://westernpaidsa.blogspot.com

This will be our organization’s home for all of our happenings and information. There, you will find a permanent link to our Calendar, which will be updated (ir)regularly. We will also post all of our event announcements as well as our post event wrap ups there.

Did you lose that email about that event? Not to worry- its on the site. Immediately after you receive the emails, the same information will appear right on the site. Even if other posts have come online, just scroll down and you will find what you’re looking for.

In the near future you will find a link to our own Flikr account so that you can go back and see what you missed in previous events, and upload your own IDSA event photos to share with the chapter.

We will also be providing links directly to pertinent information about our chapter on the IDSA National site, as well as a link directly to IDSA.org’s hompage.

Always looking for more ways to keep us all in touch, please feel free to post comments on the site. The new site is a blog, so this is also an opportunity for us all to interact with each other and not fill up our in-boxes. We also intend to host discussion topics in which we can all participate.

So bookmark us today, and check back often!

-- Western PA Chair, Tony Shoemaker, IDSA

2008 Calendar

2008-05-07T15:38:00.000-04:00

March 20th, 5:30 PM
Student Merit Award Presentations
Carnegie Mellon University
Margaret Morrison, A11
http://www.design.cmu.edu/
All are invited to view the Student Merit Award judging.

April 1st, Tuesday 6:30 PM
Tucker Viemeister
MAYA / VIZ General Dynamics2730 Sidney Street, Building 2, Suite 300, South Side Works
http://www.gdviz.com/web/index.mtml
Tucker Viemeister will conduct a lecture for all local IDSA and AIGA members.
FREE for members! $5 for non-member
Space is limited so please email info@pittsburgh.aiga.org with your attendance.
More details coming very soon!

April 11-13th
IDSA Mideast District Conference
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.idsa.org/whatsnew/districts/mideast/about.html
This year's conference is shaping up to be a great one. See you there!

April 18th
Pittsburgh International Auto Show
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
http://www.pittsburghauto.org/pata/main.cfm?section=auto
This year we plan on not only attending, but perhaps making the event a bit more interactive. So, stay tuned. Members free, $5 for guests and friends.
More details coming soon!

AND COMING LATER...

This Summer (June/July timeframe)
55th Carnegie International
Carnegie Museum of Art
http://www.cmoa.org/exhibitions/ci08.asp
More details soon

This Fall (September timeframe)
The "Fall Thing"
More details soon

This Winter (November timeframe)
Holiday Party
More details soon

If you have any brainstorms or if you are interested in helping out with planning or hosting, don't hesitate to write or call. We love volunteers! ...and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

Your Western PA Chapter Board
Tony Shoemaker
Josh Greenberg
Julia Frederking
Matthew Sass

Live!

2008-04-30T17:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Western PA IDSA Chapter's Website! We are finally online, and will keep all of our upcoming events and past events here on the site. This will become our member's main means of access to the leadership here in the chapter, a source for intercommunications, and a direct link to our past events as well.

Eventually, this will also be hosted by IDSA National, but for now, we're going to let Blogger have the honors.

Check in often for the latest happenings, and to find out what you have been missing.

Take care and talk to you all soon!

--Tony Shoemaker, IDSA
Western PA Chapter Chair