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September 2009 News & Views

Welcome to News & Views, DMI's re-launched monthly email newsletter. News & Views combines the timeliness of the former eBulletin and editorial features of the printed News & Views.
 
Subscriptions are free, so spread the word. Editorial submissions are always welcome—contact us with your ideas!

Conversations on Culture

An interview with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
Conducted by Josh Levine of Great Monday

In tough times every CEO takes a hard look at what his or her company could be doing better to weather the storm. Some cut jobs, others stop advertising, and still others try to innovate their way through. Those are all reasonable tactics, but what if they could’ve avoided the crisis in the first place? How do you build an unshakable business foundation from the start?

Every business has a critical, overlooked, underutilized asset—its people. While money is a key commodity and motivator in our economy, it isn’t the only reason we work. There’s more, and Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh has built his business around this assumption. I had the opportunity to spend a few days at online shoe retailer Zappos.com’s Las Vegas headquarters and saw in person what makes this company tick.

Read the complete interview

EQ meeting IQ
Drain the brain or train the brain?

By Carina Oskarsson, Strategic Designer, Information Rosenbad, Government of Sweden

Even though we are seeing a paradigm shift in the world and change is knocking on our doors, everyone also has a need to feel secure. As a design thinker you may want to turn the world upside down to achieve radical and innovative solutions, which can cause insecurity. The brain needs two things; thinking the old way—and thinking the new way!
 
One of my roles as a designer is to touch people, simplify relations, and create valuable memories. It can be interesting to work with people who are primarily text-based. The world is built on the left side of the brain and therefore as a right-brain-person it is necessary to meet left-brain people on their terms regardless of what I personally feel or think.

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Design, Complexity, and Change

DMI Design/Management Annual 34 Conference
October 18-20, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

“I'm looking forward to a good s-t-r-e-t-c-h expedition into the future of design thinking. It’s time to reframe our thinking to focus on the simple, in order to solve the complex. If we can do that, I believe the possibilities for a better business future are endless.” —Robyn Waters, conference co-chair

This October, come to Cambridge and join the people who are designing at the edge of change and demonstrating the way forward. Join an international roster of engaged attendees from organizations such as 3M, Capitol One, Danisco A/S, Motorola, and Legrand. We’ll work together to draw out lessons for how design can help us to reframe, rethink and reinvent our future.

A few of the thought leaders you’ll meet:

Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP, GE

Joe Ferry, Head of Design, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.

John Maeda, President, RISD

Stephen Randall, Founder and Chief Executive, LocaModa Inc.

Watts Wacker, CEO, Futurist, FirstMatter LLC

Alan Webber, Author, Rules of Thumb; Founder, Fast Company
 

DMI welcomes the participation of Fast Company, Media Sponsor for the conference, the world’s leading progressive business-media brand, with an editorial focus on design, innovation, technology, and sustainability. All attendees will receive a free subscription to Fast Company magazine.
 
Participate in engaging receptions and an interactive breakout series with high-level design leaders. Design, Complexity, and Change will be a different conference for different times. Short and succinct. Focused and intense. Be a part of this change!


More information
Register Now!

DMI’s 1st “Get Connected” night a success!

Enjoying a beautiful August night at Wallace Church’s New York midtown courtyard, over 40 current, new, and prospective DMI members attended DMI first networking night!

The purpose of the event was to introduce the NYC design community to other members and like-minded peers, and share ideas and challenges of where design management is today. Instead of twittering and blogging, guests enjoyed some hors d’ouevres with a glass of wine—and put an actual face on members.

More DMI networking events will be planned in the future. Watch for other area announcements soon.

More Pictures & Info

Member update

Anthem Worldwide recently redesigned the packaging for Mike’s Hard Lemonade… ATB Financial worked with Karo Group to completely reinvent banking at their newest branches… LPK designed limited-edition, tennis-themed packaging for Pringles in the UK… P&G’s design process was featured in the Design News article, “Virtual Design Takes off at P&G”… Pamela De Cesare of Sterling Brands and Dan Formosa of Smart Design will help teach the new Masters of Professional Studies in Branding degree at the School of Visual Arts... Ziba recently moved into its new headquarters in Portland… ThoughtForm created a visual checklist of the best places to find innovation…

Read the complete member news

Seminar: Learning to Lead: Nurturing Your Innate Leadership Skills

Maureen Thurston, Design Leverage Consultant, Second Road, Pty. Ltd. (Australia)
September 21-22, 2009, Boston, USA

“This seminar increased my awareness of ‘non-designer’ roles and points of view. Understanding this will enable me to design paths around those barriers.” —Steven Pulskamp, Sr. Project Designer, Crown Equipment Corporation

More information
 

Seminar: Design Research for Product and Service Innovation

Darrel Rhea, CEO, Cheskin Added Value
September 29-30, Chicago, USA

“Darrel Rhea presents a framework you can apply immediately to add more value to your company and customers. I highly recommend it.” —Jeff Herman, Senior Director, ebay

More information
 

Seminar: Integrating Sustainability & Design: A Systems Approach

Adam Richardson, Director of Product Strategy, frog design, inc.; and Sara Todd, Senior Design Analyst, frog design, inc.
October 7-8, New York City, USA

Receive tools that allow you to uniquely translate opportunities and strategies to leadership, while gaining tactical methods for driving innovation and implementing sustainability criteria in the development process.

More information
 

Seminar: The 2009 Seminar on Creating Meaningful Brand Experiences and Producing Customer Happiness

Dave Norton, Ph.D., Principal, Lead Strategist, Stone Mantel
October 15-16, Seattle, USA

“Dave Norton enlightens the true meaning of ‘creating an experience.’ I think twice to ensure the smallest detail creates a positive customer experience.” —Noemi Tello-Botdorf, Marketing Communications, Intelsat

More information
 

Webinar: Design Mind/Engineering Mind

Surya Vanka, Senior Manager, User Experience, Microsoft Corporation
October 7, 1 pm EDT

New synergistic designer-developer collaborations are emerging, including a new hybrid role, the ‘Devigner,’ that bridges designer and developer. Learn how to build your organization to keep designer and developer roles working smoothly and focused on truly compelling experiences. For designers, learn how to evolve into a ‘devigner.’

More information

OPEN Digital Experience Design: A Strategic, Trends-Based Approach

By Nita Rollins, PhD, Marketing Specialist, Resource Interactive
DMI Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2009

As the web has matured, brand relationships have become ever more dynamic. Nita Rollins outlines and illustrates the kinds of digital brand experiences consumers have come to expect. She believes there has never been so much opportunity for experiential design as there is currently in digital media.

View complete article

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