Autodesk University: A Product Design Disneyland

Autodesk University is one of the biggest design conferences in the world, focusing on expanding design knowledge and shaping the future of the product design industry. As one of the leading software companies in product design and our partner in community outreach, there was no question – MAKO had to be there. Our Senior Designer, Tim Uys, attended each of the keynotes, as well as several labs and lectures, and sums it all up for us here!

Opening Keynote: CEO and CTO of Autodesk

It all began with the opening keynote, given by AU’s fearless leader, Carl Bass, and the company’s CTO, Jeff Kowalski, who kicked it off with a bang. The duo spoke about the trends they thought would have the biggest impact on the product design industry and, more specifically, on us.

As if this wasn’t enough, a guest speaker and child prodigy, 16-year-old Anna Nixon, a robotics engineer, challenged the audience to design products for her demographics. However it was approached, they all had the same message: the way we work is evolving. New technologies give us the power to harness evolution, giving us the ability to make anything.

Innovation Keynote: AU’s SVP of Products, Amar Hanspal

Wednesday’s Innovation Keynote featuring Amar Hanspal, AutoDesk’s SVP of Products, spoke about the highly innovative technologies available to product designers and beyond today and in the future. The key message throughout his presentation is that every day we’re getting more and more connected, so it is vital to stay on top of this trend with the best possible software that allows you to design, make, and create for the future.

Closing Keynote: AU’s CMO, Andrew Anagnost

Finally, the event wrapped up with the closing keynote speech by Andrew Anagnost, who shared his perspective on driving change in the world through product design and innovation, leaving all AU guests inspired to try something new.

Once it was all said and done, 159,800 live streams were viewed, and there were 9,933 attendees, 934 speakers, and 783 hours of classroom instruction. Most notably, 434 hours of class media were produced, and a ton of it was recorded and available for you to listen to.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!