DesignSight: Volume IV - February 17th!

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DesignSight is an event series developed to help stimulate some important conversations in the design community. Anyone considering making the entrepreneurial leap or those looking to fine tune their business practices should attend. Come ready to discuss your concerns with experts on entrepreneurial topics.

Volume IV Participants:

Derek Chen, Founder and CEO, Council Inc.

What would you ask me?
1. What are some war stories from starting and growing a creative business?
2. Can you point out the challenges and decisions of dealing with Intellectual property from a designer’s perspective?
3. When we talk about furniture and design what would be the main differences and approaches between the US vs. the rest of the world?

Derek Chen is a designer and the founder of Council Inc. With Council, Chen endeavors to build an American brand whose collections make a meaningful contribution to international contemporary design.

Chen’s own work reveals a facility with technology as well as an appreciation for the visual and tactile appeal of natural forms and materials. Chen has been designing and building things since childhood, and has most recently returned to his first love, furniture.

Before founding Council and his own design studio, Chen started Urbana Design, a company named after the city in which he spent much of his childhood. Urbana Design continues to produce sleek tabletop accessories sold in design stores around the country. Chen’s first career was as a management consultant advising clients in Europe, South America, and the United States.

Through Council, Urbana Design, and his studio, Chen’s work has been widely covered in the international design media. Chen has spoken on issues facing the contemporary design market in conjunction with museum exhibits and design trade shows.

Chen holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. He lives and works in San Francisco, California.


Felicia Vallera, J.D., M.B.A., C.P.A., Entrepreneurial Business Attorney

What would you ask me?
1. Please help me understand the practical reality of new business formation, funding, and launch?
2. Buying a business: how do I protect and grow business value after the deal is closed?
3. Sandbox Rules: How do I manage the risks (and reap the benefits) of a multiple owner business?
4. Contractual Relationships: How do I use business contracts to build mutually-beneficial relationships and stay out of court?

Felicia Vallera is owner and principal attorney of The Law Office of Felicia Vallera, an independent law firm that supports the legal needs of entrepreneurs and privately-held businesses. Felicia works side by side with her clients in a manner similar to an outside general counsel, insightfully guiding their business plans and skillfully crafting legal strategies and transactions to help implement their business goals.

Felicia has assisted with the successful launch of more than 100 startups over a diverse range of industries and business models. She has designed and led operational turnaround efforts for troubled businesses ranging from microenterprises to segments of Fortune 100 corporations. As a skilled negotiator, she has successfully closed and implemented business transactions ranging up to $200 million in deal size.

Felicia graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1998, following an 18 year career in corporate finance and technology management. She successfully launched her current firm in 2001, following a legal internship with the SEC and almost three years as an associate in a large law firm. She was 2005 President of the San Francisco Barristers Club, 2007 President of Queen’s Bench, and currently chairs the Business Law Section of the Bar Association of San
Francisco.


Michael Hoch, President, RampRate Sourcing Advisors

What would you ask me?
1. How would I overcome transition challenges from 3-man shop to a real company?
2. How to write high-value proposals that close FAST!
3. How can I sell consulting for cash flow and product seeding AND avoiding the day-rate pricing trap?

Michael Hoch is the President at RampRate, and oversees the company’s primary research activities, SPY Index™ development and operations, and IT outsourcing analysis for RampRate clients. His mission at RampRate is to provide all clients with substantiated, field-based research and analysis for strategic and tactical business planning decisions.

Michael joined RampRate after more than five years as a research director and industry analyst at Aberdeen Group, an IT market research firm. At Aberdeen, Michael advised Global 2000 enterprises and the world’s top technology IT Suppliers on the business value, market dynamics, competitive landscape, and go-to-market strategies of Internet technologies. His research practice, “Content Delivery and Application Distribution,” covered the delivery elements of Web services, network infrastructure, data center optimization, streaming and digital media, and delivery and distribution technologies (caches, routers, load balancers, server off-load engines).

At Aberdeen, Michael published dozens of market defining reports and white papers. He also contributed leading articles to major trade publications, such as the 6-part “Business of Streaming” column to Streaming Media Magazine, “Delivering on Digital Data’s Promise” for Finance Director Europe, and “Real Numbers for a Real Market” in The Streaming Media Industry Sourcebook 2004. In addition, Michael has been quoted widely in worldwide journals and newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, Streamingmedia.com, CNET.com and Network World.

Michael is co-author the book, The Business of Streaming and Digital Media, published by Focal Press.

Prior to Aberdeen, Michael worked in the Executive Director’s office at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs as a program director raising sponsorship and organizing research symposia on such diverse topics as “Feeding China in the 21st Century” and “The Future Relevance of NATO.” Michael earned a master’s degree in business administration from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston University.

Karen Waksman, President, Product for Profit
Karen's Podcast

What would you ask me?
1) Can anyone really sell their products to Major Retailers without any sales experience or existing buyer relationships?
2) What is the #1 Mistake most people make when trying to sell their products to Major Retailers?
3) What is the difference beween manufacturing and licensing my product? And which is the best option for me?
4) Does my product have to be ready to go in it’s packaging before I approach buyers?

Karen Waksman is a successful Manufacturers Representative, Consultant, Speaker and Author with more than a decade of experience selling products to Major Chain Store Retailers. She is President of Product For Profit (www.productforprofit.com), a company dedicated to empowering Entrepreneurs interested in making money off of their product ideas and inventions. Over the years, Karen has sold a variety of different products in categories such as Consumer Electronics, Fashion Accessories, Costume Jewelry, Toys and Gift Items to just about every Major Retailer.

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DesignSight Partners

Our partners offer free business information, classes, seminars and one-on-one consulting.
Please take a look at their great services.Please take a look at the schedule of free business lectures at the SBA.

Digging Deeper Competition - Open Call for Entries

The SF Chapter of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) and the Interaction Designers Association (IxDA) would like to introduce you to this year’s Digging Deeper, Building Blocks for Sustainable Design - A multi-disciplinary design competition addressing real urban needs.

Read More About the Competition on the Digging Deeper Site

On the afternoon of Sunday Sept. 27th the Digging Deeper 2009 program began with two informative and inspiring presentations. A leading systems ecologist teamed up with the Greening Director of the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco to deliver a design brief. They describe issues around urban food supply, health and agriculture relevant to the City of San Francisco and all urban areas. The presentations were specifically formatted to be the foundation of this competition, bringing industrial, graphic and interaction designers, architects and urban planners together to help solve real urban problems. This is a call to action for all design communities.

In the first presentation Gil Friend, acclaimed systems ecologist and CEO of Natural Logic, works through proven techniques on how to break apart complex problems and devise sustainable implementable solutions. The second presentation is an in depth problem statement and call to action delivered by Astrid Haryati, the Greening Director for the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco. She explores the obstacles to, and overarching importance of Sustainable Urban Agriculture for education, health and community development in the context of personal, community and city wide scales.

Watch Part 1: Approach and Inspiration by Gil Friend

Watch Part 2: Competition Problem Statement by Astrid Haryati

Read More About the Competition on the Digging Deeper Site

Digging Deeper '09 Workshop and Competition - Register Now!

Sustainability Workshop with Gil Friend - Sunday, September 27th, 2009

Click here to register for the Digging Deeper Workshop and Competition

The SF Chapter of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) and the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) would like to introduce you to Digging Deeper, Building Blocks for Sustainable Design, an exclusive workshop and sustainable design competition.

Digging Deeper seeks to give the Design Community an opportunity to use design thinking to generate a large set of potential solutions to local sustainability problems through competition.

Sunday afternoon participants will be introduced to a framework for solving large complex sustainability problems from sustainability consultant Gil Friend. Participants will then be briefed on a local city problem by Greening Director, Office of the Mayor of San Francisco, Astrid S. Haryati. After the presentations participants will be armed with the right set of tools to help the city in its continued green efforts. Individuals participating in the competition can find rules and submission requirements on the Digging Deeper community site.

Join us for Digging Deeper on the afternoon of September 27th at the Autodesk Gallery, located at One Market, San Francisco.

Event begins at 12:30pm
Talk begins promptly at 12:45pm
Priority attendance given to IDSA, IxDA, and AIGA Members

Click here to register for the Digging Deeper Workshop and Competition

Unable to attend the workshop but want to enter the competition? Sign up for the competition here.

DesignSight: Volume III - September 10th!

JOIN US! Thursday, September 10th 6:30pm – 10:30pm at Andalu Restaurant, 3198 16th St. @ Guerrero, San Francisco

DesignSight is an event series developed to help stimulate some important conversations in the design community.

Volume III is sure to be the best yet! Anyone considering making the entrepreneurial leap or those looking to fine tune their business practices should attend. Come ready to discuss your concerns with experts on entrepreneurial topics specific to: entrepreneurship in developing nations, marketing, brand development, trends in the market, and of course, entrepreneurial best practices.

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Brett Lovelady
President / CEO at Astro Studios and CEO at Astro Gaming

Topics:
1) The Business of Design
2) Create IP at all levels; brand, utility, design, etc.
3) Ideas are important, but only 10% of the effort.

Brett Lovelady is the founder and driving force at ASTRO Studios of San Francisco, a company he launched in 1994. Brett created ASTRO to be a pure design culture, where he and his talented crew could blend design skills, innovative technologies and lifestyle influences into high impact, supercharged products and brands.

Within a short time, ASTRO has become an international design powerhouse by designing industry leading products and brands for companies like Nike, Microsoft, HP, Alienware, Herman Miller, Xbox, Virgin and many more. Also, Brett and ASTRO recently spun-off a new company called ASTRO Gaming, providing high performance video gaming equipment for pro gamers.

In the past decade, ASTRO has won numerous design and industry awards, including 2 prestigious BusinessWeek/IDSA Design of the Decade Awards, for both NIKE Triax Sportwatches and Kensington Smartsockets and was featured as one of Fast Company’s Fast 50 in 2003. Prior to starting ASTRO, Brett did time as VP of Design at Lunar Design and before that VP of Design at Frog Design on the mean streets of the San Francisco bay area.

Pamela Bennett, PR/Marketing – North Face

Topics:
1) Business and audience - creating best storytelling
2) Integrated communications - spreading out the word
3) News cycle- establishing relevancy

Pamela Bennett has been a communications professional for more than ten years. From corporate communications to media relations and social media campaigns, her programs and strategy development are designed to assist clients to best understand their audience and deliver stories in unique, truly relevant ways.

She has crafted and placed positive stories and product+service reviews in top tier consumer and technology outlets including The Today Show, The New York Times, USA Today, Men’s Journal, Wired, and CITY magazines. In addition to generating mainstream success on behalf of Apple Computer and clients like IBM Voice Systems [while with Boston-based Brodeur Worldwide] Pam has helped startups such as dodgeball.com go from obscurity to being widely known and respected.

Pam is currently the Communications Manager for The North Face, the world’s premier supplier of authentic, technically innovative outdoor products. In this role, she is responsible for corporate initiatives, retail, product, events, lifestyle and entertainment, athletes and expedition communications and PR.

Martin S. Linder, Associate Professor, Design and Industry Department at San Francisco State University, Founding Director at Industrial Design Outreach (iDo)

Topics:
1) Fostering creativity amongst task driven work loads
2) How to work with engineers in order to realize unique design visions
3) The win/win strategy in setting up royalty contracts

Professor Martin Linder has worked as an industrial designer and educator for over two decades. Martin initially received national prominence for his award-winning designs during his graduate studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Martin has focused his design work on the creation of interfaces which enhance airport security. His innovative work with InVision Technologies and Reveal Imaging explosive detection programs are utilized in airports throughout the world. Martin was recently rewarded for his design innovations in explosive detection equipment with an Industrial Design Excellence Award sponsored by Business Week Magazine.

During Martin’s youth, he served for two years as an apprentice in New Hope Pennsylvania with the George Nakashima trained furniture designer sculptor James Martin. Martin’s professional furniture designs have been exhibited throughout the United States for the entirety of his career, most notably at Knoll/Design America, Steelcase's Metro Furniture, and Herman Miller’s Brandrud Furniture. His furniture designs have received both ADEX and S.P.E.C awards.

In addition to his success as an industrial designer, Martin has also distinguished himself as a design educator. After teaching at both the San Francisco Academy of Art and California College of Art in various facets of their design programs, Professor Linder came to San Francisco State University (SFSU). Martin teaches industrial and interface design, rapid prototyping technologies, design education and design management. San Francisco State University has honored Martin for his work as an academic with the 2009 Outstanding Community Service Learning Award that acknowledges “Exemplary Practice in Community-Based Teaching”, and the 2008 Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Distinguished Faculty Award, awarded to a faculty member for “Extraordinary, Meaningful, and Lasting Contributions to Teaching”. He was also named one of the "Most Admired Design Professors" in Academia by Design Intelligence. His students have won international research and design awards including the Industrial Design Excellence Award, and hold key design positions at companies including Nike, Steelcase, IDEO, Hewlett-Packard, and Kodak.

Martin currently devotes much of his time as the Founding Director of the Industrial Design Outreach program (iDo). iDo reaches out to public school teenagers in the bay area who are inspired by hands-on, tactile, experiential learning. iDo is a nationally recognized program which fosters curiosity, promotes creativity, and builds self confidence. Recently the iDo Community Bench Project was selected for display at the San Francisco De Young Museum and was featured on the Cover of the San Francisco Chronicle News paper. In addition to this, the 2009 iDo Community Bench Project was gifted to the Mayor of San Francisco and placed on permanent display at the San Francisco City Hall.

Martin is an active writer and presenter on topics including Design Education, Technologies and Rituals that Impact Collaboration for the Knowledge Worker, Risk, Experimentation, and Innovation, and Industrial and Interface Design for Explosive Detection Airport Security Systems


Marieke Van Der Poel, Trend specialist consultant at Peclers Paris

Topics:
1) Smaller is better, and in that respect, startups have a definite benefit.
2) Keep an eye on your core business. Stay aware of market trends and the socio-cultural context. Where do you fit in?
3) Make sure to always have a good story. In your design, in your marketing, anywhere.

At 30, Marieke van der Poel is the youngest member of PeclersParis' West Coast team, operating as an independent trend consultant in all consumer markets (a.o. with Nike, Microsoft, Old Navy) in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, since the beginning of 2006. As a consultant, she works with together with brands to define new markets and helps them recognize opportunities for the future.

With advanced degrees in humanities, philosophy and fashion, Marieke combines analytical skills with a profound knowledge of international culture, fashion and design. Currently based in San Francisco, she has lived in Italy and The Netherlands most of her life, working as an editor and consultant for a variety of Italian, English and Dutch magazines and fashion brands.

The company Marieke works with, Peclers, is a leading international trend forecasting agency, based in Paris. It has been a reliable source of trend information and inspiration for virtually all markets and industries for almost forty years. Deciphering today’s trends, predicting the products of tomorrow and aiding in defining creative directions, it offers both consulting services and a line of trend publications, translating consumer expectations for fashion, interior, industrial design and marketing fields.

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Futur(s) 9 Immersion - Special Pricing for IDSA San Francisco!

Futur(s) 9 - Only $300 for IDSA San Francisco! Click here to register: http://peclersparisfuturs9immersionsf.eventbrite.com/

DesignSight: Volume III - Postponed

Update: DesignSight Vol. III has been postponed until Tuesday, September 8th.

Design Collective Seeks Another Member (Creative / Studio / Shop)

Design Collective Seeks Another Member (Creative / Studio / Shop)
$650 / mo plus last month rent and one months rent for deposit.
Studio & Shop Space – Office for rent with access to design studio and shop space
If you aren’t interested in the entire space package, we are open to other arrangements, so let's talk.

$650/ month includes 10'x10' lockable office with windows and natural light, DSL (3up 6 down), power (3 phase, 220V & 110V), water (Arrowhead Bottled), Garbage/Dumpster Service and access to the design facilities and shop/prototyping/ fabrication facilities.
We’re looking to fill it by Aug 5th but are open to mid month move in.

The Person we’re looking for:
Graphic, sculptural, & digital artists, product designers, architects & mechanical engineers encouraged to apply. Must be flexible, easy to get along with and financially accountable / responsible.
No timber framers please, the space is suited to smaller projects, product design & prototyping, furniture, housewares, jewelry, instruments, weird science experiments etc.

The Building:
Our studio is located in the DogPatch on the top floor of one of the old Cannery Buildings facing East with windows looking out at the bay and some classic industrial infrastructure at the intersection of 3rd St and 22nd. The building has 3 loading docks, 3 huge freight elevators, dumpsters for garbage & recycling. There is easy street parking with many great restaurants nearby. The building itself has hundreds of units all filled with creative entrepreneurs. It is one of the true creative incubation spaces in the Bay Area. Everything from wine makers, graphic artists, architects, photographers, woodworkers, model makers, furniture designers, chocolatiers and digital film makers are present. Most of the floor below us is taken up by the San Francisco Art Institute’s Graduate Studios and the adjacent building has similar creative occupants.

The Space:
We’ve been in the building for 3 years and moved into a new space 4 months ago. It has 2200 square feet of shop / prototyping / bench space and a 2000 square foot mezzanine level used for office / design / meeting /chill space. We have a full woodworking shop taking up 2/3rds of the downstairs with the other 1/3rd used for light metal fabrication, entry way & storage – the two areas are isolated from one another with positive airflow to prevent dust getting into the metalwork.

Tool List:
• 3 Axis CNC Router - - 4x8 Bed, (heavy duty water cooled spindle)
• 3 Axis CNC Bridgeport Mill
• Table Saw – Powermatic model 66
• Jointer
• Planer
• Band Saw
• Chop Saws for metal and wood
• Sliding Compound Miter Saws
• Miscellaneous Air and Electric Sanding Equipment
• Miscellaneous Power Hand Tools
• Dust Collection throughout
• Vacuum bagging set up with table
• Petite MIG welding set up
• Compressor
• Industrial Sewing Machine (possibly used for wet suites at one point)
and just about everything else you can think of...

About us:
We are independent entrepreneurs who share overhead and hire one another on a need basis. Some of what we do includes: Modern Furniture Design, Carbon Fiber Guitar Design and Fabrication, Contract Product Design, Chairing the Industrial Designers Society of America’s Bay Area Chapter, Houseware Design, Teaching Industrial Design at Local Universities and Prototyping. Our backgrounds span Art, Engineering, Product and Industrial Design, Construction and Fabrication.

Check out some of our work at:
www.linkstudios.net
www.blackbirdguitars.com
www.dylangold.com
www.falconfive.com
www.cragelmeyer.com

Give me (Charlie) or Troy an e-mail at:
Charlie@idsa-sf.org
Troynado@gmail.com
if interested.