Simple Truths

By Michael Coleman, Managing Director, Anthem Worldwide

In an increasingly complex and fragmented consumer culture marked by media overload, exponentially expanding marketing messages, multiplying retail channels, and an increasing level of cynicism among consumers, marketers (some, at least) are rediscovering the power of simplicity and clarity. The really brilliant ones are those who manage to distill complexity into a simple idea, clearly expressed: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” Charles Mingus’ oft-quoted words are even more relevant today than when he uttered them, especially for brand owners and designers!
 
The simple truth of the matter is this—in our highly commercialized, infinitely complicated, super-branded world, we’re seeing a sea change washing over the landscape.

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DMI third anthology book examines Design Thinking

Design thinking is a new and extremely effective tool that can be applied to the design of innovation, systems, business processes, and the design of businesses themselves. The latest DMI/Allworth Press book, Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value, shows that design, as both a process and output has greater opportunity to add value to the bottom line than any other business function. Edited by Dr. Thomas Lockwood, President of DMI, the book features chapters with point-of-view pieces, techniques, and methods, as well as hands-on case studies from nearly thirty international thought leaders. Design Thinking is the third and final book in a series that also include the acclaimed Building Design Strategy, and Corporate Creativity. All three books can be ordered at allworth.com or at popular online booksellers.
 

Design Korea
International Conference on Best of Class: Balance of Theory and Practice in Design Management

Organized by KIDP (Korea Institute of Design Promotion) and DMI
December 3-4, 2009, Incheon, Korea

The Design Korea International Conference brings together design and economic experts from around the globe to survey and analyze the social influence of design on life, the business world, and economy. The event is co-organized with DMI, with co-chairs/speakers Thomas Lockwood, President of DMI, Rachel Cooper of Lancaster University, and Kyung-won Chung from Seoul Metropolitan Government. Other speakers include Bruce Nussbaum, contributing editor of Businessweek, and Gianfranco Zaccai, CEO of Design Continuum.

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Design/Management Europe 14 Conference

April 21-22, 2010
London, UK
 
DMI is proud to announce co-chairs for the upcoming 2010 European conference in London: Oliver King, Co-founder and Director of Engine, a UK-based service design consultancy; and Clive Grinyer, Director, Customer Experience, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group. Oliver and Clive will work closely with DMI president Tom Lockwood to develop the theme and select leading experts from around the world. The last two events in Paris and Milan attracted the largest audiences and highest ratings in the history of the conference. The 2010 venue will be One Wimpole Street, in the heart of London’s vibrant West End and convenient to London’s major tube lines. Registration is now open at www.dmi.org/european.
 
 

“Design, Complexity, and Change” video now available
Complete video coverage of the recent highly-rated Design/Management Annual 34 conference is now available for DMI members, as well as attendees of the conference. Fifteen presentations are presented in their entirety, edited to incorporate video of the speakers and all presentation slides, a total of more than a dozen hours of content. The video is presented courtesy of DMI sponsor, Microsoft. DMI membership includes access to complete video coverage and presentations from DMI’s last ten professional conferences. For more information about the many benefits of DMI membership, visit www.dmi.org/membership.
 

Two energy-saving products designed by Bresslergroup have been recognized with prestigious Popular Science “Best of What’s New” awards… Reckitt Benckiser won The Economist’s Innovation Award at the Eighth Annual Innovation Summit… CIULLA ASSOC received a 2009 Gold Pentaward in the Body Care category for the design on the Colgate Wisp package… Ximedica is excited to share the debut of their new blog, Living Innovation… Ziba Design’s first gallery exhibit celebrates China’s “Sunshine Generation”… Stuart Karten Design (SKD) won two Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) CES Innovations Awards…

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Webinar: Relevant Innovation is More Important than Design Thinking

Brian Matt, Founder & CEO, Altitude, Inc.
December 9, 1pm EST

I see the value of design. I have dedicated my career to design, run several design business, and created my own design consultancy. Design thinking is trotted out as salvation for businesses that need help with innovation. But that’s not the whole story. For us, the creativity is easy. The hard part, and quite frankly the most important part, is to create something that your audience needs and desires. This webinar will begin the discussion of refining Design Thinking to the point where most people understand it and most companies make it useful.

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Designing Business: New Models for Success

By Heather M.A. Fraser, Director of Rotman Designworks, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
DMI Review, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2009

The greatest benefit of design thinking comes when it is used to design the very business it serves—to craft its strategies and business models. Heather Fraser introduces “three gears of business design,” a methodology that incorporates user understanding, prototyping, and strategy to meet today’s rapidly evolving business challenges. She offers examples and suggests the conditions under which design thinking flourishes best.

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