designBytes

Originally uploaded by georgeaye.
If you’re in the world of industrial design, particularly in the USA, then you’ll probably have heard of the IDSA. The Industrial Designers Society of America have an electronic newsletter that gets mailed to all its memebers each month. Can a society exist without one of these badly written ‘news’ letters. Apprently not. Especially the ones that take themselves very seriously.

Well I don’t have too much beef with the IDSA (in fact I met my girlfriend there) but did anyone else notice that their newsletter is having a go at all our beloved profession, every time?

Design bites. I know! Tell me about it.

Come on fellas! Doesn’t anyone say these titles out loud before making it part of the brand strategy?

As it happens, my girlfriend was invited in a super geeky technology/business contest at Stanford some time last year. The contest was trying to find innovative business models that used technology to help those in need in third world countries. Lots of nerdy engineers and awkward business types. The name of the contest?

“The Social-E Challenge.”

I don’t think anyone else noticed the irony. Shame.