The World Design Organization (WDO) was founded in 1957 by a group of international organizations focused on industrial design. WDO, formerly known as the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, is a worldwide community that promotes better design around the world. Today, WDO has more than 170 member organizations from more than 40 countries, representing approximately 150,000 designers.
The main goal of the association is to promote the discipline of industrial design internationally. To this end, the WDO undertakes a number of global initiatives to support the effectiveness of industrial design in an effort to meet the needs and aspirations of people around the world, improve the quality of life, and help improve the economy. peoples around the world.
Jacques Vienot first introduced the idea of a society representing industrial designers internationally at the International Congress of the Institut d’Esthetique Industrielle in 1953. The International Council of Societies of Industrial Designers was officially founded at a meeting in London on June 29, 1957. The name Icsid demonstrates the spirit aimed at defending the interests of design practitioners and ensuring global design standards. Thus, those first elected to the Executive Board did not act out of personal conviction, but represented the voice of the members of the society and of the international design community.
The organization then officially registered itself in Paris and opened its headquarters there. Icsid’s original goals were to help raise public awareness of industrial designers, to raise design standards by setting standards of training and education, and to encourage collaboration among industrial designers around the world. To this end, Icsid held its first Congress and General Assembly in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1959. At this first Congress, the Icsid Constitution was formally adopted, together with the first definition of an industrial design. During this Congress, the official name of Icsid was changed from the International Council of Societies of Industrial Designers to the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design to reflect that the organization would focus on more than just professional practice.
Throughout, Icsid has continued to grow and now has members from all over the world in both capitalist and non-capitalist countries. Icsid currently hosts Congress in such places as Venice, Paris, Vienna, Montreal, Slovenia, Glasgow, Taipei, Toronto, Sydney, Kyoto and London .
In 1963, Icsid received special status with UNESCO , with whom Icsid continues to work on many projects using design to improve the human condition. As their humanitarian interests grew, Icsid decided to create a new type of conference that would bring together industrial designers in the host country to explore issues of both regional and international importance.
In 1971, the 7th Congress of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), organized by Agrupació de Disseny Industrial del Foment de les Arts Contemporarys (ADI / FAD) in Avis (Ibiza), was an event without precedent in Spain: a socialization process and example of how the energy of collaboration, vitality, intellectual reflection and leisure can be put at the service of projects based on dialogue, with the ability to generate creative approaches and structure new behaviors.
In 1974 the Icsid Secretariat moved from Paris, France, to Brussels, Belgium, then to Helsinki, Finland, and in 2005 it settled in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where it is now located.
In the 1980s, the co-operation became even more important and a joint Icsid/Icograda/IFI congress was held in Helsinki. The impetus for this joint conference was the direct recommendation of Icsid members to explore closer ties with other global design organizations. At their general meetings, all participants unanimously approved a directive to explore options for closer working relationships in the future. These organizations then teamed up with UNESCO to bring together physicians, industrial and graphic designers, and assistants to design basic furniture for rural health centers, packaging, transportation, vaccine cooling and injection, and to develop data collection devices for use in the field.
In 2003, Icsid and Icograda ratified an agreement between the two organizations during their respective General Assemblies to create the International Union of Designers, a multidisciplinary partnership that supports design. In 2008, the IDA partners accepted a third member, IFI (International Federation of Architects / Interior Designers). Together in 2011, all three partners held a historic joint Congress in Taipei, Taiwan, called the IDA Congress. The alliance was terminated in November 2013.
In January 2017, Icsid officially became the World Design Organization. (WDO).
