Activities
Storytelling for Designers, Hosted by IN2 Innovation
Activity Details
Location: Caddel Building Room 101
Time: 8:45 AM - 11:00 AM
You can solve the problem. But can you sell the solution?
This workshop is built for designers who want to get better at communicating their work to clients, stakeholders, and anyone who holds the keys to a “yes.” We’ll pull from the worlds of influential storytelling and data-driven communication and tailor it specifically to the challenges designers face when presenting ideas and concepts.
Too often we see great designs get overlooked because they got lost in the noise of a presentation. Great design doesn’t always speak for itself. The most impactful designers know how to bring people along for the ride, framing their thinking, building a case, and connecting with the humans on the other side of the table (or, more likely these days, a Zoom call). This session is all about maximizing the impact of your ideas and designs.
This workshop is hosted by IN2 Innovation, an experience innovation design agency with 20+ years of designing products, services, and experiences for clients across 60+ industries, and IN2 Institute, which has taught 1000+ professionals the skills that make innovation thrive. We’re sharing the tactics we’ve tested, refined, and seen work in the real world.
Registration
Limited to 45 people. Must pre-register.
Deadline for registration is Friday, April 3rd @ 5:00 pm
To sign up for this activity, email Warren Ginn at idsa.rdu@gmail.com
Autodesk: Generative Design Demo
Presented By
Jeff Smith, IDSA
Technical Solutions Executive, Autodesk
Activity Details
Location: Architecture West, Room 155 (first floor)
Time: 8:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Come learn about Generative Design and how you can leverage it. This will be a hands on class. If you are a student, you get free access to Generative Design and Fusion. Bring a computer and learn with me. We will also touch on the Design tool "Geometric Pattern" and Basic Static Stress in FEA. Are you an engineer? No. Yet a deeper understanding how Engineers think, test and validate will make you a better (and more valuable) partner in the product development process. We will also touch on how the results from Generative can be used as a design direction exploration and baseline.
Registration
Limited to 45 people. Must pre-register.
Deadline for registration is Friday, April 3rd @ 5:00 pm
To sign up for this activity, email Warren Ginn at idsa.rdu@gmail.com
Design to Digital: Bringing Concepts to Life in SOLIDWORKS
Presented By
Rachel Jackson and Magnus Skold
TriMech
Activity Details
Location: Architecture West, Room 107 (first floor)
Time: 8:45 AM - 11:00 AM
In this session, we’ll guide you through the full journey of a concept sketch as it evolves from an initial idea into a refined CAD model using SOLIDWORKS. Magnus will begin with a brief overview of the original concept and design intent before introducing Rachel Jackson, TriMech’s expert SOLIDWORKS tutor. Rachel will then demonstrate the best practices she’s developed over years of professional experience, walking through essential tools, advanced part‑modeling techniques, and surface‑modeling workflows for refining form. The session will conclude with a look at SOLIDWORKS Composer and an overview of creating compelling visuals in SOLIDWORKS Visualize.
This presentation also serves as an introduction to TriMech’s new Industrial Design Track: a training pathway built specifically for industrial designers. The track includes the first three foundational courses, with optional Composer and Visualize modules available as add‑ons. For attendees of the Southern District Design Conference, these courses will be offered with a special conference‑only package.
Registration
Limited to 45 people. Must pre-register.
Deadline for registration is Friday, April 3rd @ 5:00 pm
To sign up for this activity, email Warren Ginn at idsa.rdu@gmail.com
Custom Sensor Workshop
Presented By
Noah Posner
Research Scientist and Lab Manager, Interactive Product Design Lab
Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design
Activity Details
SOLD OUT
Location: Architecture West, Interactive Product Design Lab, Room 265 (Second Floor)
Time: 8:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Come join us in the Interactive Product Design Lab at Georgia Tech to get hands on with creating your own sensors. As more products incorporate interactive technologies, Industrial Designers’ ability to create functional protypes of their ideas become even more important to get their intent across. When off the shelf parts just don’t fit your application or form factor it is time to get creative and make your own. In this workshop you will create two custom sensors, wire them to working electronics, and ideate about potential applications. No prior experience is needed, and all materials will be provided.
Registration
Limited to 24 people. Must pre-register.
Deadline for registration is Friday, April 3rd @ 5:00 pm
To sign up for this activity, email Warren Ginn at idsa.rdu@gmail.com
Coca-Cola Global Design Office Tour
Activity Details
SOLD OUT
Location: Off-site, Instructions will be sent to participants before the event.
Time: 8:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Step inside one of the world’s most iconic brands with an exclusive tour of The Coca-Cola Company world headquarters. Gain a rare behind-the-scenes look at the Global Design team—the creative force shaping how Coca-Cola and dozens of other global brands show up in over 200 countries every day.
Personally guided by Chris Livaudais, Senior Director, Global Retail & Experience Design at The Coca-Cola Company, you'll explore the spaces where brand identity, packaging, retail environments, and global campaigns are conceived and crafted.. See how a single design idea travels across cultures, scales across markets, and remains both globally consistent and locally resonant. Along the way, you’ll learn how design drives innovation, strategy, and storytelling for some of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Registration
Limited to 15 people. Must pre-register.
Deadline for registration is Friday, April 3rd @ 5:00 pm
To sign up for this activity, email Warren Ginn at idsa.rdu@gmail.com