Events

Design Concepts is pleased to sponsor the 5th annual, Maddie’s Miracle children’s carnival in support of the American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH). The family-friendly carnival, complete with plenty of games and prizes will be held Friday, August 13th, 2008, from 3 pm – 8 pm at Carriage Hills Park in Sun Prairie, WI.

To look for the next generation of engineering and design talent, look no further than the kids selected to participate in the University of Wisconsin – Madison College of Engineering’s Camp Badger program. On Friday, July 23rd, Design Concepts’ staff members were visited by thirty-three, soon-to-be eighth grade students attending the week-long residential learning opportunity held on the UW campus each year.

Their creativity and enthusiasm were clear as they pondered a better way to move books from class to class and make today’s backpack obsolete. Their free-wheeling brainstorming session generated amazing ideas that got everyone talking and thinking about how great ideas become successful new products.

Design Concepts’ staff members Rachel DeSmidt, industrial designer, and Scott Biba, senior mechanical engineer, will be at The 2010 Green Manufacturing Summit presented by the Bradley Corporation, Focus on Energy and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The third annual Summit will be held at The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center on August 31, 2010. The Summit brings practitioners and thought leaders together in an effort to encourage environmentally conscious manufacturing practices.

DeSmidt and Biba will present Designing for Disassembly. They’ll discuss the importance of considering the end of a products’ life cycle throughout the design process. They’ll share perspectives and reasonable, practical steps to move manufacturing practices toward this sustainable idea.

Both Rachel and Scott are members of Design Concepts’ Green Team, organized to make information and resources on green design available to staff.

To learn more about The Green Manufacturing Summit, please visit the Green Manufactaing Summit Web site.

To register please visit the Green Manufacturing Summit Web site.

Dave Franchino, president of Design Concepts, spoke to the Madison area Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) on May 20th, 2010. SCORE offers sound and helpful advice to help innovators determine if they have a successful product or service idea. Franchino’s presentation, titled Introduction to Product Design Consulting, introduced entrepreneurs to the opportunities in collaborating with a design firm experienced with the triumphs and challenges of product development.

Design Concepts principals Stefanie Norvaisas, director of strategy & research and Ami Verhalen, director of industrial design, lead a PDMA webinar series to introduce design thinking – an approach to innovation that is changing business as usual.