It's that time of year again. IDSA is gearing up for Spring with five district design conferences looking at the changing practice and the impact of design on business and the society at large. Taking place throughout the month of April, the five district conferences invite educators, practitioners and business professionals to share learnings over the course of two days. Register today!

Southern District Design Conference Raleigh, April 5-6 "Revitalize with Design"

Western District Design Conference Long Beach, April 12-13 "Designer as Entrepreneur"

Central District Design Conference Cleveland, April 12-13 "Design Your Ecosystem"

Midwest District Design Conference Indianapolis, April 19-20 "New Paradigms for Design"

Northeast District Design Conference Hartford, April 19-20 "The Color of Design"

Hit the jump for full descriptions of each of this year's district design conferences.Southern District Conference Raleigh, April 5-6 "Revitalize with Design"

The world is changing. Business, society, the economy and our daily lives are evolving more rapidly than ever before. New ideas, opportunities, technologies and methodologies have changed the way we work and do business both domestically and globally.

How has design helped shape that change, and how will we be a force for change moving forward? This year at Revitalize with Design, the Southern District Design Conference in Raleigh April 5-6, a fantastic group of speakers and some of the industry's brightest minds will take you through an in-depth look at how design and design thinking has helped revitalize the way business is done. You will learn how they've used design to change the game in their industries. And, you'll walk away with a new perspective and actionable insights on how to increase your own value and revitalize your business in the wake of dramatic changes in technology, culture and our slowly recuperating economy.

Western District Conference Long Beach, April 12-13 "Designer as Entrepreneur"

Never before in history has the industrial designer had more diverse, powerful and accessible tools to become an entrepreneur. The economy, rapidly evolving technology and global interconnectedness have created a new normal within which we practice our craft. Diverse platforms like crowdfunding and new manufacturing technologies offer countless new avenues for designers to also be producers and manufacturers. As large corporations crumble and fall, sprouts of disruptive innovators grow out of the debris. Designers, by their own creative nature, are best suited to step into the lead. This status is empowering and liberating, yet also carries great responsibility.

Now is the time to look creatively into your own hands and find new ways to design, to work and to take advantage of the new entrepreneurial opportunities. What has changed? How should we adapt? What opportunity does the future hold? Join us April 12-13 in Long Beach at IDSA's 2013 Western District Design Conference, Designer as Entrepreneur, as we answer those questions, focus our attention on designer as entrepreneur and consider what that means for you and your future.

Central District Conference Cleveland, April 12-13 "Design Your Ecosystem"

What does it mean to Design Your Ecosystem? No product is an island, especially in this new world of compatibility. A manmade environment typically consists of an assortment of interrelated products working harmoniously with each other, much like our natural ecosystem. When developing a new product experience, it is the designer's job to carefully consider this context of the micro-ecosystem and analyze the interdependencies formed between the lead product, secondary products, complementary products and accessories lines. The end user or consumer is not served just by a single product, but by this well balanced micro-ecosystem.

But there is more. Designing Your Ecosystem is also about the conscious sustainable choices in daily product and process design solutions we each make in our own design spheres. And, as we connect our independent design communities, we can effectively manage the interactions within these micro-ecosystems and to positively impact the macro-level environment and make this world a better place to live. Please join us April 12-13 in Cleveland for IDSA's 2013 Central District Design Conference, where you will brainstorm and network with educators, students and design and business leaders from around the region and learn what it really means to Design Your Ecosystem.

Midwest District Design Conference Indianapolis, April 19-20 "New Paradigms for Design"

The proliferation of new models for design practice makes this an exciting time for designers. Business is changing and with it so are our roles and relationships with manufacturing and distribution, product development funding models, entrepreneurs, and social and environmental groups offering designers virtually limitless possibilities for growth. Likewise, our interaction with the people who use the products, services and experiences that we create are rapidly evolving, shifting to a paradigm of increasingly direct collaboration between designer and end user. The result is a shift in how we design and new opportunities for collaboration.

With these new and evolving paradigms in place, how can we best fulfill the consumer's needs and desires? How do our new relationships with manufacturing and distribution, funding models, entrepreneurs and special interests affect the way we design? And what does it all mean for us moving forward? At IDSA's 2013 Midwest District Design Conference in Indianapolis, April 19-20, we will explore the New Paradigms for Design consider rich new possibilities, examine some tough questions and pose tangible options for your success and the future of design.

Northeast District Design Conference Hartford, April 19-20 "The Color of Design"

Whether a product we own or covet is black or white, red or green, it was designed that way. Color, by design, has always had a profound impact on the things we wear, the houses we live in, the cars we drive and the phones we use. Colors have inherently been associated with certain key actions or functions, social, economic and environmental issues. So close is our affinity with color that we even use it to describe our moods.

So what is The Color of Design? How does color affect and how is color affected by design? What is its role in the process? How does it differ by design application and how do we employ color to augment and alter the products, services and experiences we design? Let's get together in Hartford April 19-20 for IDSA's 2013 Northeast District Design Conference, The Color of Design, where we will embark on a two-day deep dive with inspiring speakers, practical workshops and in-depth discussions on the vibrant relationship between design and color.