The history of ICED
The Design Society is built on the foundations laid by the WDK (Workshop Design-Konstruktion) Society. WDK was an informally constituted international society based on a common interest in engineering design. WDK was responsible for establishing the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED series) and has supported an extensive range of publications. It was Professor Umberto Pighini who took the bold initiative to establish the first conference in the ICED series in Rome, in 1981 (ICED81). Subsequently, many dedicated individuals have contributed to the development of WDK and the ICED series of conferences.
The Design Society was formed in 2000 building upon WDK's foundation of 15 ICED conferences, 26 major publications and more than 60 workshops on a wide range of topics. At that time, the previous activities and responsibilities of WDK were transferred to the Design Society, including the right to continue the ICED conferences. Consequently, the start-up period of the Design Society ended after the General meeting at ICED01.