I-Design conference takes one-year hiatus

Digital conference I-Design will not go ahead in February 2011 as planned, but will run next year, with organiser Malcolm Garrett saying he may look to reinstate it at London Design Festival.

The February event was planned to target students – a significant part of I-Design’s audience – during term-time. Garrett may still look to find a term-time date to accommodate the festival if he decides not to pursue an LDF slot.

I-Design is an interactive digital conference based around a central theme. According to Garrett, next year’s theme will be ’Reshaping the human brain in the digital era’. He says it will deal with ’the psychology of youth and growing up with social networking, [and] the physical changes that take place in the brain’.

Garrett says wider economic factors have influenced the decision to move the festival. ’Everyone is too diverted by other business concerns to think about [I-Design] at the moment.’

Garrett previously said the February event was due to have a ’a very human theme’ and would focus less on technology and more on usability and interface (DW 12 May). He said, ’I am interested in the way that interactive technology influences individuals and society.’

As founder of the conference, Garrett says the proposed date changes are his personal views and he is yet to raise them with the rest of the I-Design team, which includes independent digital media consultant Tara Solesbury of Creative Strategy. He is yet to approach LDF.

Education partners, sponsorship and speakers are still to be confirmed, although past speakers include Nik Roope and Jeremy Leslie. The event has previously been hosted and partnered by the University of Westminster.