SPARKcon began in 2006, when a group of creative and community-minded people realized that there is an abundance of creative people in the Triangle, but we are unconnected and even invisible to many.  Starting with no financial or managerial backing, this continuously growing group designed a weekend of showcases to celebrate local creative pursuits, and a series of workshops and speakers to nurture the growth and sustainability of our creative future. In 2010, SPARKcon became of program of Visual Art Exchange, a longtime partner in the event.

September 2010 will be our fifth annual SPARKcon.

Click here for more information and to take part.

Should be great for any local ID’ers and students alike

SME Chapter 133 – Raleigh/Durham/Sanford
What: Plant Tour of Superior Tooling! http://www.sti-nc.com/

When:   June 22, 2010 3:30 PM

Where: Superior Tooling, 2800 Superior Drive, Wake Forest, NC 27587-7799
(919) 570-9762

Superior Tooling is a local manufacturer of plastic injection molds and serves industries such as Medical, Health Care, Electrical, Industrial, Packaging, Automotive, Aerospace, and others.

The molds designed, built and repaired range from single cavity cold runner molds to larger more complex 64 cavity and higher Hot Runner Molds with Side Actions, Lifters, and other complex features including Stack Molds, Two Shot Molds and Overmolds.

All molds are designed in house using the latest Software and Computer technology. Manufacturing Processes include milling, turning, ECD, grinding, and welding.

For IDSA members wishing to attend please email Brian Westbrook.

Dear IDSA Members,

IDSA is partnering with Sustainable Brands 10 this year. As a member you qualify for an additional 20% off the current early registration rates.

The leading brands of the future will be sustainable brands. Building them takes a new kind of thinking, a new group of collaborators, and a new set of tools. The world's leading sustainable business innovators will attend Sustainable Brands 10 this June for three days of extraordinary conversation, inspiration and insights. Won't you?

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1st Annual Charlotte Design Week April 12-16, 2010
AIGA Charlotte is proud to host our community's first Design Week in Charlotte, April 12-16, 2010. Charlotte Design Week has been developed to celebrate, recognize and inspire our diverse community of Queen City design professionals as well as local businesses, non-profits, entrepeneurs, students, the design-savvy public and more.

As part of Charlotte Design Week, AIGA Charlotte is hosting a full week of events highlighting the diversity and professionalism of our local design community, as well as, events that showcase the talents and trends throughout the greater design industry. Our goal is to raise public awareness of the impact that all designgraphic, product, interior, fashion, architecture, advertising, etc.has on the greater Charlotte area and to inspire the broad spectrum of designers within our vibrant community.

CLTJelly
April 12, 2010 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM at Dolce Vita NoDA

Design Unplugged :: Shaping Our Community 
April 13, 2010 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM at ImaginOn

BuzZ April :: To Specialize or Not Specialize 
April 14, 2010 7:15 AM - 8:30 AM at Amelie's French Bakery

Reel Design :: Typeface 
April 14, 2010 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM at Spirit Square - Duke Energy Theater

Eat Your Greens :: April Showers Bring Paper Flowers
April 15, 2010 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM at The Libery Gastropub

Talk About with Ann Willoughby of Willoughby Design Group 
April 15, 2010 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM at aloft Charlotte Uptown @ the EpiCentre

Spring Printer Tour 
April 16, 2010 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at TBA

Meet | Market April 
April 16, 2010 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM at Revolution Pizza NoDa

For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.aigacharlotte.org/design_week/ 

Why not come a day early to the IDSA Southern Conference and partake in an interactive conversation with
 Richard Saul Wurman? 
 

April 7th: "Charlotte as a learning playground"
5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton

Topic Description: Design Thinking meets Entrepreneurial Passion to imagine how Charlotte can become an interconnected playground offering learning experiences both in the real and virtual worlds. Richard Saul Wurman will trigger an interactive conversation on Charlotte’s present and future identity. What information is critical to design its future? What connections can be created between buildings, people and activities? What media and social interactions can make our city a “playground” for learning about its power and potential?

April 8th: "Understanding is power"
8:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Great Aunt Stella Center

Topic Description: How can we design our lives to satisfy our curiosity, our interests and passion?  In an interactive conversation, Richard Saul Wurman will share his insights on his life as an Information Architect, focusing on his passion for making things understandable. He will describe his journey from being penniless to creating the ACCESS guides, developing the TED, TEDMED and eg conferences, writing 82 books and engaging in his ambitious 19.20.21 global project.

More event info at:
http://www.saluminternational.com/wurman/events.htm

IDSA AND FRIENDS Special Registration Fee - http://www.saluminternational.com/wurman/promoters.htm

For additional Registration (not Members/not Friends): http://www.sirconferences.com/registration

The Design Revolution Road Show is a traveling exhibition and lecture series bringing “product design that empowers” to 25 high schools and university design programs across the nation in the Spring of 2010. A Project H Design initiative, the road show will feature an Airstream trailer exhibition of 40 humanitarian design solutions that have been showcased in the book Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People. The programming will bring the evidence of and tools for design for social impact to the doorsteps of students, with the ultimate goal of enabling and empowering the next generation of creative problem-solvers to apply their skills to the world’s most pressing problems and improve life on a global scale.

We believe design can change the world. Come and see how.

The Association of Professional Model Makers (APMM) announces the opening of  registration for the 2010 APMM Conference “Revolutions in Model Making – Creating the Future Faster” on March 26-29, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge. Details and registration at: www.modelmakers.org/page/2010 and www.modelmakers.org .

The keynote speaker is Neil Gershenfeld, Director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms and author of “FAB…THE COMING REVOLUTION ON YOUR DESKTOP – FROM PERSONAL COMPUTERS TO PERSONAL FABRICATION”. Saturday and Sunday are workshops on the latest model making materials, techniques, tools and resources as well as career essentials. Friday and Monday are tours of Boston area model facilities at DEKA, Continuum, BOSE, Rhode Island School of Design, Hasbro, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Boston City Model and MIT. The student model making competition has a $500 first prize and the winner’s school receives a RepRap personal fabricator machine that will be built at the conference.

For more information contact:

APMM
P.O. Box 165
Hamilton, NY 13346
877-663-2766

info@modelmakers.org

Product Visualization Forum
Presented by Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology

Florence, SC - February 24, 2010 - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

More information and to register: Go to InnoVentureCommunity.com
Cost: Underwritten by SiMT and free to attendees.

Keynote Speakers: Terry Wohlers is recognized as the #1 most influential person in rapid product development. He has spoken to thousands of engineers, scientists, and executives from around the world. He has given 65 keynote presentations on five continents and visited more than 200 organizations worldwide to witness firsthand their capabilities, best practices, and challenges.

Mats Johansson is CEO of EON Reality, the world's leading management and virtual reality software provider.  He is a virtual reality pioneer with over 17 years of extensive experience in the 3D Interactive Simulation market from a sales, marketing and technology perspective.  A recognized simulation expert, he founded EON Reality, Inc. and grew it organically to +55fte's, positioning it as a world leader in immersive interactive 3D simulation.  He is a specialist in Immersive Display Technology and holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in International Business Administration from Chalmers University.  Mr Johansson will speak on "Interactive 3D in Commercial Applications".

The Forum's objective is growing a community of product development, product marketing, and industrial design professionals interested in enhancing their skill at visually communicating new product concepts to internal and external customers. The Forum will feature best practices sessions on leading edge 3D CAD, 3D virtual reality, and additive manufacturing technologies.

The Forum's location is the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology, the premiere technical service provider, and training facility, for industry in the southeastern portion of the United States. It’s state of the art facilities are located on a 146-acre campus in Florence, SC. SiMT provides engineering/CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, and 3D/virtual reality services as well as leading edge manufacturing workforce development and business process training.

Colleagues helping to organize the Product Visualization Community include
Milliken - James Bryant
Mechanical Enterprises - Mickey Dorsey
Sealed Air - Joe Owensby
3D Systems - Rajeev Kulkarni
Precision Southeast - Dick Averette
Anvil Prototype & Design - Bill Watson
TriMech Solutions - Meric Gambel
SC Engineering Cluster - Lee Stogner
Nexsen Pruet - David Dubberly
Sonoco - Dave Rykard
Pro/Vide - Robert Crockett
KIYATEC - David Orr
Skyline Exhibits - Steve Hoffman
ModernTech Mechanica - Austyn Piel
Criterion - Mike Cobb

More information and to register: Go to InnoVentureCommunity.com

Presented by Michelin Americas Research Company Greenville, SC - March 18, 2010 - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

More information, to register, and to see who's attending: Go to InnoVentureCommunity.com

Cost: Underwritten by Michelin Americas Research Company and free to attendees.

Objective: Connect materials professionals in industry with materials capabilities at southeastern research universities and small and medium sized companies.

Agenda:

• Aging, Endurance and Wear of Elastomers and Other Soft Materials
• Tribology and Friction of Soft Materials
• Green Materials (non-petroleum based)

Presenter: At the Michelin Americas Research Company, innovation and technology converge with the real-world needs of demanding consumers in a highly fragmented industry. Employing 888 people, mostly engineers, Michelin’s R&D center in North America has developed some of the finest products in the world, including the first 80,000-mile passenger tire for American-made vehicles.

Colleagues helping to organize the Advanced Materials: Models and Methods Community include:

• Michelin Americas Research Company - Rod Bailey
• Milliken Research Corporation - Phillip Wilson
• Nexsen Pruet - Amy Allen Hinson
• Nexsen Pruet - Larkin Ellzey
• Charlotte Research Institute - Barry Burks
• Oak Ridge National Lab - Jack Cook
• SC Launch! - Dave McNamara
• The National Academies - Tony Boccanfuso
• USC - Tom Vogt
• Clemson - John Ballato
• SealedAir - Nate Miranda
• Georgia Tech - Greg King
• Growth & Innovation Group - David Cornelius
• Upstate Alliance - Hal Johnson
• Joe Guy - Nexsen Pruet
• Ralph Hulseman - Hoowaki

More information, to register, and to see who's attending: Go to InnoVentureCommunity.com