About DMI - History of DMI

A Brief History of DMI

The Design Management Institute (DMI) was founded in 1975 at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. The annual Design Management Conference was established the following year, and quickly gained a reputation as the single most prestigious conference on design management. In the mid-1980s, the Institute became an independent nonprofit entity, established a strong membership program, and extended its networks to three continents. In the late 1980s DMI initiated, with the Harvard Business School, the TRIAD Design Project, the first international research project on design management.

In 1989 the Institute began publication of the Design Management Review, the leading publication in the field. DMI expanded its conference program with the International Corporate Identity Conference and the Forum on Design Management Education and Research. DMI’s relationship with the Harvard Business School strengthened in 1995, when Harvard Business School Publishing became the sole worldwide distributor of DMI case studies. DMI increased its international presence with the establishment of the European International Conference on Design Management in 1997, and with an increasing number of international Review authors and DMI members. The DMI Professional Development Program was established in 2000, and rapidly grew to become the premier provider of design management continuing education. Initiatives currently underway include an expansion and overhaul of DMI's international network with regional groups, and a substantial increase in scope of the Professional Development Program.