“HLB is honored and delighted to be representing our areas of expertise at two of the IDSA District Conferences,” said Walter Herbst, Chairman and Co-founder. “While both Martha and Anthony are well sought after on the speaking circuit, having IDSA as a forum always brings lots of excitement, as the audience is well tuned in to the subject and the need.”

Ms. Cotton’s workshop is designed to provide attendees with the tools needed to make ethnography worthy of its “buzz” by illustrating the best reasons and ways to do it, as well as the most efficient and cost effective implementation strategies. As ethnography moves mainstream, clients desire to utilize the practice more than ever before, but this increases the risk that it won’t be executed correctly, resulting in misleading findings.

“What concerns me about the growing ‘buzz’ around ethnography is the un-meaningful choices practitioners make for the reasons to do it, and the outputs to expect from it, “ stated Cotton. “What I say to them is: think about what you want from ethnography, and then expect more from it.”

Mr. Pannozzo’s panel discussion on Design in Asia is comprised of him and two other industrial design experts: Bruce Ancona of A2 Design and Uday Dandavate of Sonic Rim. The discussion focuses on the conference theme of “Shift”; specifically how design is shifting to Asia and its global impact. Participants will gain a better understanding of the opportunities that this shift presents and how to best take advantage of them.

The IDSA Midwest Conference, “Shape,” will bring together an unparallel group of professionals to discuss their perspective on this new element in the design field: how the use of analysis and visualization skills now not only create products, but also creatively tell the stories about how consumers, products and markets might interact. The Northeast District Conference will hit the pulse of industrial design through Mr. Pannozzo and other experts’ examples of notable “shifts” in the industry. For more information visit the conference websites (http://www.idsa-midwest.org/index.html and http://www.idsa-ned.org/index.htm).

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for numerous breakthrough products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com