Mainstreaming Design: Faster and For Keeps Design Thinking our Way into the Heart of Business

• Design thinking
• Experience design
• Customer-centered design

They are all trends at the intersection of design and business. They have more hype than bite. They each require a multi-disciplinary team to work together in new ways to integrate approaches designers use, in order to deliver better results than before.

I’ve emphasized three phrases in the prior paragraph to highlight the nature of the challenge we face. First, these trends are multi-disciplinary endeavors. Disciplines with different goals and approaches must be aligned and committed to deliver a compelling product, service, message or strategy. Each discipline has their own language—each a culture to themselves, with their own beliefs and norms.

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Design Metrics Systems: Pitfalls and Best Practices

Deborah Mrazek, Design Practice Manager, Corporate Marketing, HP
 
Design metrics is a topic frequently discussed in design management and design strategy circles. Many of us struggle to find the “Holy Grail of Design Metrics.” To make strides in finding a solution, we should leverage the wisdom of others. In 1998, John R. Hauser and Gerald M. Katz wrote a foundational paper titled “Metrics: You are What You Measure!” Their premise is that “it is easy to select a metric but it is hard to select a good metric.” They then describe seven metrics pitfalls and seven best practices. Based on my experience in developing a design metrics system for my company, their guidance is very helpful.

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Transformers:
Have we arrived?
Kate Aronowitz, Director of Design, Facebook
 
Divers of complexities
Charles Bezerra, Ph.D., Executive Director, GAD’Innovation
 
Evolving your design DNA
Willem Boijens, Principal UE Manager, Vodafone
 
Design to survive
Joe Ferry, Head of Design, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.
 
Designers: Transformers in disguise
Mike Ganderton, Creative Senior Director, Markets and Products, LEGO Group
 
After the tornado: How design can (and can’t) transform business
Kevin McCullagh, Director, Plan Strategic Ltd.
 
The future role of design effectiveness in business
Deborah Dawton, Chief Executive, Design Business Association (DBA)
 
Design-led Innovation
David Kester, Chief Executive, Design Council
 
Why form is content in entrepreneur country
Julie Meyer, Chief Executive, Ariadne Capital Ltd.
 
Integrative design: Design for social impact
Geoff Mulgan, Director, Young Foundation
 
From user-centered design to designing for service: Where design is leading us next
Lucy Kimbell, Clark Fellow in Design Leadership, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
 
Facilitation, experimentation, and managing design risk
Michael Schrage, Research Fellow, MIT Sloan School Center for Digital Business; Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Imperial College Business School
 
Design for the other 90%
Dr. Paul Thompson, Rector and Vice-Provost, Royal College of Art
 
Transformational synergy: Aligning design pushers and pullers
Raymond Turner, Principal, Raymond Turner Associates

Optional post-conference seminar:
 
New: Design Research and the Customer-driven Innovation Strategy
April 23, London, UK
 
The Service Design seminar is currently sold out. We are taking names for the waiting list.

Re-Thinking … the future of design Design/Management Thinking 22 Conference

June 16-17, 2010
W Hotel, San Francisco, USA

Conference co-chairs:
Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management
Darrel Rhea, CEO, Cheskin Added Value

Last year’s “Re-Thinking … Design” conference was a huge success for DMI and the Design community. Top thought leaders on Design Thinking generated deep, insightful conversations that moved the definition of the subject forward. Veteran attendees declared that it was one of the best, most stimulating DMI conferences ever.
 
Due to the demand created by last year’s success, we are doing it again... and this time, taking it up a level and also looking to the future. This conversational-format conference will move beyond philosophical arguments on Design Thinking: it will grapple with the real changes in the expectations that all types of organizations are beginning to have about the Designer’s potential level of contribution—and the implications for you as a professional.
 
This is your opportunity to get in on the up-to-the-minute dialogue on the change in design, and to add your own voice. You will be engaged, challenged, and inspired by this must-attend event for Design Leaders!

Look for announcements on who will be talking shortly.
 
More information         Register by April 15 and save!
 
 

A new DMI seminar:
Marketing Design Services

Cameron S. Foote, Founder and Editor, Creative Business
June 11, Boston, USA
 
Nothing is more important to the future of a design firm then how it gets business, especially during tough times. Yet, developing a steady stream of work, month-in and month-out, is an ongoing challenge. Without regular and focused marketing, a firm often finds itself on a feast-or-famine roller coaster at best; at worst, struggling for its very existence. Today more than ever, there’s a strong correlation between the success and the effectiveness of a design firm’s marketing efforts.
 
This seminar has a practical, real-world approach that’s ideal for anyone who is unsure about his or her marketing ability, has had difficulty prospecting for new clients, needs to know more about hiring and motivating sales personnel, wants to explore the use of new social media in creative firm marketing, or has been less than successful in converting presentations into projects. This well-received seminar was run by DMI several years ago, and has been updated and reintroduced by popular demand.

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DMI & Facebook

Just recently, DMI added an official Facebook page to our social media offerings. You don’t need to be a Facebook user to view the page. Join our growing group of fans today!
 
The facebook page joins DMI’s Linkedin page (you must be a Linkedin member to participate), Flickr photostream, and DMI’s twitter account, @DMIfeed. If you’re not a twitter follower, you can follow the tweets on the DMI website. Connect and participate with DMI today!
 
 

Two new DMI advisors: Mauro Porcini and Scott Stropkay

The DMI board of directors is proud to announce the appointment of two new members to the prestigious 40-person DMI Advisory Council.
 
Mauro Porcini is Head of Global Design, Consumer & Office Business Division Worldwide, 3M. Since 2002, he has managed 3M’s design strategies and projects, working with internal teams in Italy, USA, China, and Japan, and with the external support of renowned design firms. Partnering with marketing and R&D around the world, he works on developing 3M’s internal design culture to produce innovation with an experience-driven approach.
 
Scott Stropkay is a founding partner of the research, strategy, and development consulting firm, Essential. Scott helps corporate leaders create innovative products and services in consumer, healthcare, and commercial markets. His work guides the selection and development of market leading products and services for a wide variety of major clients. Prior to Essential, Scott led a design team at IDEO, and was a Director of Design at Gillette and Fitch.
 
 

Update on members

You recently heard Audiobrain if you were watching the Olympics... Anthem Worldwide’s packaging for Kalologie Skincare won an EX·TRACTS award… Smith Design is creating a package design and shelf merchandiser for Earth Best Tendercare Tots… LPK’s Valerie Jacobs and Phil Best recently received promotions… ThoughtForm recently created a visual identity and website for Otis Elevator Company’s new residential arm… The Continuum-designed Targus 4-port Smart USB Hub was honored by Time… Bresslergroup designed DentalVibe™, which takes the fear and pain out of dental injections… Larsen is sponsoring Design Intersections, a series of themed interactive dialogs… Corey McPherson Nash recently partnered with Biogen Idec to create a new website design… Fast Company honored frog design as one of the top ten innovative firms for 2010… Karo won in the Poster or Art Print, single category, for the art book Here is Home… GK Design Group’s Chairman Kenji Ekuan was recently awarded a lifetime achievement alumni award by Art Center College of Design…

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Webinar: Discovering What’s NextHarry West, CEO, Continuum
April 7, 1 pm EDT (Rescheduled)

We are going through a time of great change. Companies are looking for new approaches to innovation as a way to stay ahead. In this session we will review some simple techniques that can help an organization get to what’s next.

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Seminar: Creating the Perfect Design Brief Peter Phillips, Strategy Consultant
March 9, Chicago, USA
 
“Bring your creative and project team to this seminar! The perfect design helps create a solid foundation to deliver a precise result.”
—Noemi Tello-Botdorf, Marketing Communications, Intelsat

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Seminar: Strategies that Transform BrandsScott Lerman, Founding Partner, Lucid Brands
March 23, New York City, USA
 
Join a special, intense one-day session of this acclaimed seminar. Come ready to roll up your sleeves!

“I have been put in charge of rebranding our company. The techniques learned in Scott’s seminar will certainly be useful in our efforts.”
—John Judy, Manager, Industrial Design, Datascope Patient Monitoring

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Seminar: Managing Creative StaffDr. Leonard Glick, Executive Professor, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University
April 8-9, Boston, USA

“Now, I feel that I have the tools I need, and also a network of colleagues I can bounce ideas off of.”
—Georgia Gofis, Director, Integrated Marketing, American Dietetic Association

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Storyboard Your Strategy: Think About, Design, and Measure the Whole Experience

By David W. Norton, Principal, Lead Strategist, Stone Mantel
DMI Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2009
 
Sometimes, views of brand remind one of the blind men and the elephant—everyone sees only his or her piece of the whole. But there is one way of coaxing the business consultant, accountant, ad agency exec, and product designer to see the whole animal all at the same time.

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Don’t miss David Norton’s DMI seminar, Co-Creating Meaningful Brand Experiences, May 13-14, in Boston
 
 

Design Management Journal: The Evolution of Design Management

DMI and our publishing partner, Wiley-Blackwell, have recently published DMI’s annual peer-reviewed publication, the Design Management Journal.
 
Edited by Rachel Cooper and Sabine Junginger, the issue features selected papers from DMI’s academic conference held in Paris in 2008. The Journal is sent to all Design Management Review subscribers and DMI members.
 
 

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