Milan Conference Content Themes
In organizing this conference DMI’s primary objective was first to determine what is most relevant to design leaders today. First and foremost, the co-chairs and Tom Lockwood wanted to focus directly on the realities we are facing, and to do so in both a pragmatic and thoughtful manner. We wanted to make the conference as relevant as possible to this moment in history. We considered many issues that we all must face, and determined four key content themes that are of most importance to design managers. We then sought to determine and secure subject matter experts for the speaker presentations to address these four key areas of reality.
The content themes are:
- Economic Realities: Clearly our global economy is in a state of turmoil. This means many businesses are facing reduced budgets and reduced staffing. This, of course, has ramifications on the corporate and consulting design communities. Several speakers will address how we can face, and perhaps even influence, the effects of our difficult economies.
- Sustainability Realities: Every company and every person is responsible for sustainability, yet few professions have as much potential influence as that of the design community. As design leaders, it is an imperative, and we are challenged to provide improvements that make a difference. Several speakers will look at current initiatives and give us a look to the future of the realities of sustainability.
- Systems and Complexity Realities: The scope of work for design managers is changing rapidly. Innovation is a constant process, and rarely are design projects isolated or single discipline. Rather, we are all asked to solve complex problems, which require integrated solutions of many design disciplines. This involves sharing knowledge, working with cross-functional teams, and even “open design” processes. It’s more difficult to manage, yet the results can be far more influential.
- Corporate Culture Realities: Has design per se reached the tipping point in business? Or will the economic downturn force a setback? Several speakers and a panel discussion will look into the strategies and techniques to best integrate design into corporate culture for the long view. In addition, we will have a panel discussion on “Integrating design and corporate culture.”
These content areas are the theme of the conference—the realities we are facing, and the realities that are changing. We are not presenting these realities as conference tracks per se, but rather as four themes, which are integrated throughout the conference.
In addition, to make the conference experience most interesting and to leverage the unique history of design in Milan, we have developed a content “wildcard,” which is to explore the “Design Magic of Milan.” Why is it that there is continuously such great design originating in Milan and the surrounding areas? How is this accomplished? And what is the unique role of design management in this region? We’ve prepared a conference panel of contrasting experts to debate and explore this very notion.
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