Hold onto your anodized aluminum hats and bring out the foamcore piñatas! Today, March 5, 2015 is being recognized as the very first National Industrial Design Day.
According to the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) – who are also celebrating their 50th anniversary today – U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly declared that industrial design professionals “improve our lives in every way and are worthy of our recognition,” and thus, have had their own day entered into the U.S. Congressional Record. Flippin’ sweet!
While the term industrial design still has to be defined from time to time amongst those unfamiliar, it was first recognized by the U.S. Patent Office over 100 years ago in 1913 – the same year that the US Post Office started accepting parcel deliveries. The profession later attracted pubic attention in 1927 at the Exposition of Art in Trade in New York City after the U.S. government declared the craft of designing mass manufactured products an important “modern movement”.
Since 1965, the IDSA has been largely responsible for wrangling the ID community and has grown from 600 members to thousands. In declaring today the first National Industrial Design Day, U.S. Rep Connolly commended the IDSA “for being an instrumental force in the growth and expansion” of industrial design.
So whether you’re in the field conducting user research, busting out your 50th round of thumbnail sketches, going crazy with fillets in SolidWorks or just simply taking the day off today – our hats are off to all of you industrial designers out there.
Find out more over at IDSA.
