2020 International Design Conference Emcee

IDSA's annual International Design Conference (IDC) represents the perfect opportunity to bring together our global community of designers and top creative minds each year for a few days of connection, inspiration, and knowledge exchange. The 2020 event was originally planned to be in-person, as always, and in Seattle, WA. However, due to health concerns arising from the novel coronavirus pandemic, IDSA quickly realized that a pivot would be necessary. As a result, our biggest event of the year happened virtually for the first time ever.

And if that wasn't enough of a challenge, we also tried something that had not previously been attempted by any international design conference, to our knowledge: a virtual event with attendees and presenters logging in from around the world for a continuous span of 24 hours.

We wanted to build something truely unique

"This format helped to separate us from other events and allowed us to address a truly global audience. It didn't try to replicate an in-person format in a digital environment, but rather leveraged the best of what a virtual experience can provide in order to create an entirely new attendee experience."

- Chris Livaudais, IDSA Executive Director