Featured Speaker

Russia and the Global Culture: Balancing on the Blurring Boundary

Dr. Ekaterina Khramkova, Founding Director, Lumiknows; Head of Design and Innovation Department, Moscow University Synergy

Every culture has its own "product development codes," and it is important to be aware of different mindsets and attitudes behind each to elaborate a relevant design strategy, positioning, branding, and-go-to-market considerations.

A boundary between Russia and the global culture has always been something that caused difficulties in understanding Russian lifestyle and habits, not to mention the “mystifying Russian soul.” Today, when the boundary is blurring, social structure, value, tastes and perceptions—all key elements on which new product development is based—undergo deep transformation.

This presentation will be based on key takeaways from design research projects initiated by various global brands and conducted by Lumiknows in 2007-2011, with an aim to identify new product ideas in the Russian market.

Biography: Ekaterina Khramkova

Ekaterina Khramkova has a multidisciplinary academic and professional background combining economics, anthropology, and design strategy.

In 2007, Ekaterina founded the first-in-Russia design research consultancy Lumiknows, specializing on developing appropriate design strategies and new products / brand offerings for the Russian market. Full-scale design research projects aimed at gaining deep insights into the Russian mentality to create products tailored for Russian customer needs have been fulfilled for Samsung Electronics, Philips Design, Renault, Danfoss, Harris Tweed and other global brands. In Russia, Lumiknows has facilitated product innovation and user-centered approaches at large corporations such as Moscow Metropolitan, Beeline, and NVision, as well as business incubators and small ambitious startups. Together with Intel Russia, Lumiknows has initiated a series of events dedicated to innovative entrepreneurship education with involvement of design thinking approach.

Ekaterina is a Head of Design and Innovation Department at the largest Russian private institution, Moscow Financial-Industrial University Synergy. She is also a columnist on design thinking at Harvard Business Review – Russia, and lecturer on Design Research and Trends Forecasting at the British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow.

Ekaterina holds a Master’s in Economic Geography from the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov, a Masters in Design and Branding Strategy from Brunel University, and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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