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eBulletin

In this issue:

Viewpoints

Calendar of Upcoming DMI Events

April
Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
April 3-4, Boston, Mass., USA

Managing Innovation and Creativity
April 8-9, London, UK

Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
April 10-11, Chicago, Ill., USA

Using Design Research for Product and Brand Innovation
April 24-25, San Francisco, Calif., USA

May
Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
May 1-2, Boston, Mass., USA

The DMI Senior Executive Workshop: Strategies for Developing, Maintaining, and Sustaining a Powerful Brand
May 4-6, Boston, Mass., USA

Creating the Perfect Design Brief
May 15-16, New York, NY, USA

Using Design Research for Product and Brand Innovation
May 22-23, Chicago, Ill., USA

June
15th International Corporate/Brand Identity Conference
June 4-6, 2003, Vancouver, Canada

Futurecasting: Integrating Scenario Planning and Design
June 19-20, New York, NY, USA

Managing Innovation and Creativity
June 24-25, Boston, Mass., USA

August
Managing Innovation and Creativity
August 7-8, Seattle, Wash., USA

September
Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
September 11-12, Miami, Fla., USA

Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
September 18-19, San Francisco, Calif., USA

Creating the Perfect Design Brief
September 25-26, Seattle, Wash., USA

Strategic Design Management in 250 Floors or Less

Futurecasting: Integrating Scenario Planning and Design
The DMI Senior Executive Workshop

DMI Conferences

Early Registration Strong for Corporate/Brand Identity Conference

Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
Managing Innovation & Creativity
Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
Using Design Research for Product and Brand Innovation
Creating the Perfect Design Brief

Free Download of the Month

Viewpoints

Strategic Design Management in 250 Floors or Less By Brian Gillespie, Principal, Designing Business		Brian Gillespie

Recent research into the extent to which design management is being offered as a consulting service offered up some interesting (and perhaps disappointing) insights. Virtually no consultancies that provide design-related services include “design management” as a specific competency that has been articulated into a set of services. Although one would think there is a market opportunity here for a smart agency to differentiate itself from the competition, the evidence shows that for those who have tried, it hasn’t been easy and it won’t get any easier any time soon.

Among the reasons offered by the consultants interviewed was that clients or potential clients don’t know what design management is. Those who have tried in the past to establish a design management service and communicate its potential value to their clients have faced an uphill service marketing battle. The all important elevator pitch, communicating the essence of the proposition in 30 seconds or less, or approximately 10 floors, proves a formidable challenge! These challenges become more formidable when the form of design management being envisioned is elevated to a higher level, the formidable beast known as strategic design management.

Read the complete article

Article proposals are welcome! Please email jtobin@dmi.org.  
 

Featured DMI News

A New DMI Seminar: Futurecasting: Integrating Scenario Planning and Design June 19-20, 2003, New York City, USA Taught by Andrew Zolli, Principal, Z+Partners		Andrew Zolli

Futures research is a powerful tool for understanding, planning, and designing for our rapidly changing world. By exploring alternative futures in an organized way, organizations can identify new opportunities and anticipate new challenges, better allocate their resources, and make better decisions. Yet few managers—and fewer designers—understand the tools of the forecaster’s trade.

In this hands-on seminar, participants will learn various approaches to scenario planning that can be applied to strategic planning, branding, and design issues. We’ll explore methods for understanding and tracking emerging trends, and how to build models of alternative futures. We’ll explore how (and when) to use these processes in a business and design context.

The seminar has been structured as an intensive, interactive working session for senior professionals. The seminar will include case studies, lectures, and time for participants to share their own insights and experiences. Each participant will leave with new tools and techniques that can be applied in their own businesses right away.

During this day and a half seminar, you will:

• Be introduced to futures research and scenario planning from the ground up
• Discuss specific emerging trends and issues
• Participate in the development of several real-world scenarios
• Explore methods of tracking and understanding issues of emerging change
• Learn how to integrate futures research and scenario planning into business and design processes
• Have fun!

Please visit the DMI Web site for more information about this exciting new DMI seminar.
 

Strategies for Developing, Maintaining, and Sustaining a
Powerful Brand

The DMI Senior Executive Workshop
May 4-6, 2003

The Inn at Harvard & The Harvard Faculty Club
Cambridge, Mass., USA

Led by: Stephen A. Greyser, Richard P. Chapman Professor (Marketing/Communications) Emeritus, Harvard Business School Peter L. Phillips, Design Strategy Consultant
	Stephen Greyser		Peter Phillips

The Design Management Institute takes great pride in offering a program tailored specifically for senior managers. The workshop, part of the DMI Professional Development Program, is designed for senior executives responsible for creating, or recreating, their company’s brand identity and meaning to multiple stakeholders.

The entire workshop has been structured as a highly interactive and intensive working session. The content of the workshop has been designed to include case studies, lectures, and ample time for participants to share their own knowledge and experience in brand management. Participants will leave with an arsenal of new strategic management tools and state of the art knowledge of effective brand management.

A sampling of the topics covered in the workshop include:

• Strategic and tactical processes for brand development
• Nomenclature systems and name development
• Repositioning existing brands
• Metrics for evaluation of brand design elements
• Estimating (and justifying) the cost of developing a brand identity program
• Developing and managing “Voice” as a corporate asset
• Creating a new brand from scratch
• How to identify corporate values that are critical in the marketplace
• Implementing and institutionalizing a brand identity program
• Managing brand meaning in a period of brand crisis
• Brand identity consolidation in the event of mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances
• How misalignments of multiple identities in a corporation can create significant management problems
• Ongoing measurement and management of brand identity in the marketplace

To foster the best possible learning experience for all participants, an application is required from everyone interested in attending. After reviewing all the applicants, up to twenty-five will be selected to participate, giving the workshop the best mix of viewpoints and expertise. Please visit www.dmi.org/executive for complete information, including a schedule and an application form, or call Earl N. Powell, President (ext. 221), or John Tobin, Vice President (ext. 226) at 617-338-6380.

"There was a great balance between the two points of view. It was a great opportunity to extract myself from the day-to-day operations and take a step back. This will definitely prove to be extremely valuable in view of the challenges waiting for me at the office."
—Jean-Jacques L'Henaff, VP Corporate Design, Terk Technologies Corp
 

DMI Conferences

Early Registration Strong for 15th International Corporate/Brand Identity Conference
Connecting Design & Marketing for Brand Success
June 4-6, 2003
The Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The Corporate/Brand Identity conference is just two months away! Early registration to this event has been strong, attracting a broad range of high-level professionals from corporate, consultant, and academic backgrounds. Some of the organizations that will be represented at the conference include Boeing Corporation, Frank Russell Company, KARO Design, MetaDesign, Microsoft Corporation, BIC Corporation, Canada Post Corporation, and The California State University.

Registration for this event is filling up fast. Don’t miss out on this important and exciting conference!

Conference Updates
A complete schedule listing all sessions, workshops, discussions, receptions, and meals has now been posted on the DMI Web site.

An additional session has been added since last month's eBulletin:
The Power of Design
Donald Frischmann, Senior Vice President, Symantec Corporation

Optional Conference Workshops
Full information is now available on the two optional workshops:

Customer Equity: The Key to Branding Accountability
Nick Wreden, Brand Futurist

Brand Now! Scanning Cultures to Envision the Future of Brands
Marco Bevolo, Senior Design Manager, Philips Design
Brechje Vissers, Senior Consultant, Philips Design

For complete information about this popular international conference, please visit the program, schedule, hotel, and registration pages on www.dmi.org.

DMI Education

Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
April 3-4, Boston, Mass., USA (Registrations accepted as late as April 2 for this session!)
September 11-12, 2003, Miami, Fla. USA
Taught by Dave Norton, PhD, Vice President, Experience Strategy and Research, Yamamoto Moss

Fundamental shifts in consumer behavior are occurring. This seminar is designed to help design managers and strategists develop actionable solutions to address these shifts that, combined with recent economic trends and world events, will shape the way consumers live, work, play, and buy. Consumers expect more than brand promises. They want brand truth. This seminar will help you prepare your organization to fulfill consumers’ greatest unmet need: having meaningful experiences. More information.

Read an interview with Dave Norton about this seminar.

Managing Innovation & Creativity
April 8-9, 2003, London, UK
June 24-25, 2003, Boston, Mass., USA
August 7-8, 2003, Seattle, Wash., USA
Taught by Alison Rieple, Professor of Strategic Management, University of Westminster-Harrow Business School (UK)
Designers are visionaries with important roles to play in the innovation process, and are key drivers of organizational success. And yet innovation, and the creativity that underpins it, is notoriously hard to manage. This seminar will explore why this is the case and how participants can work to improve the management of the creative process. More information.

“The seminar was very well organized, and the instructor was extremely knowledgeable and full of timely info.”
—Brenda Parkin, Chief Color Designer, Nissan Design America

Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
(formerly Managing the Corporate Design Department)
April 10-11, 2003, Chicago, Illinois, USA
May 1-2, 2003, Boston, Mass., USA
September 18-19, San Francisco, Calif., USA
Taught by Peter L. Phillips, Design Strategy Consultant
Traditionally, design has been viewed as a service within an organization—not as a strategic business resource. But this traditional view of design is rapidly changing in the fast moving, highly competitive business arena of the new millennium. Design managers and designers now need to rethink both the processes of managing design and the ways in which they communicate the strategic value of design to the success of the enterprise. More information.

"Excellent, the information was presented and discussed in a very thoughtful way."
—Robin Kittleson, Manager, Creative Services, Chicago Mercantile Exchange

Using Design Research for Product and Brand Innovation
April 24-25, San Francisco, Calif., USA
May 22-23, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Taught by Darrel Rhea, Principal, Cheskin

This seminar empowers design managers to integrate research into the design development process with confidence. It will give managers the tools to become advocates for research that actually produces better design and supports innovation. Design managers are increasingly finding that they must take an active role in conceptualizing and managing research activities to support their initiatives. There is often a big gap between the needs of designers and the approaches taken by traditional market researchers on design-related issues. By knowing how, when, and what kind of research to use in the design process, managers can maintain control of their programs, and produce more effective products and brands. More information.

Creating the Perfect Design Brief
May 15-16, 2003, New York City, USA
September 25-26, 2003, Seattle, Wash., USA
Taught by Peter L. Phillips, Design Strategy Consultant
A well-crafted design brief can function as a contract, an easy-to-follow road map for the entire design process, and an invaluable tool for securing project approval at the end of the process. This seminar explores all of the critical components of a design brief and how to use them to assure the success of any design project. More information.

“Great job! This seminar expands my understanding of the process. The collegial tone of the seminar encouraged insightful discussions and enabled us to establish beneficial professional connections.”
—Ron Sekulski, Dow Center for Art, Design & Technology
 

DMI Publications

Free Download of the Month
Brand Design for the Long Term
By Marco Bevolo, Senior Design Manager, Philips Design; and Reon Brand, Manager, Trends Research, Philips Design
Design Management Journal, Winter 2003, Vol. 14, No. 1

Future brands will evolve from complex interactions among consumers, culture, and technology. Marco Bevolo and Reon Brand present strategies and examples that suggest how their organization engages multidisciplinary research to uncover insights into the brand experiences that will drive future successes. They believe that brands will go beyond corporate-designed experiences to emphasize individual control and the fulfillment of personal values and aspirations.

This free download has expired. Click here to read the executive summary for this article and the opportunity to purchase the article for direct download.

Marco Bevolo will be a speaker and workshop presenter at the 15th International Corporate/Brand Identity Conference.

DMI members can download DMI Journal articles for free on the DMI Web site. Visit www.dmi.org/membership for more information.
 

News & Events Around the World

Utopia 1.0 Design Contest: Communicating in a Sustainable World
Registration Deadline: April 30, 2003
Utopia 1.0 is the first edition of an international design contest organized by Saint Etienne Métropole Design (France). Info: http://www.goaland.com/internationaldesign/countsubfr.php.

Success by Design 2003
April 24, 2003, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Confirmed speakers include Michael Graves, Robert Matza, John Heskett, and Sherrie Donghia. Sponsored by the Center for Design & Business. Info: www.centerfordesignbusiness.org.

5th European Academy of Design Conference
April 28-30, 2003, Barcelona, Spain
Theme: "Techné: design wisdom." Part of the International Year of Design in Barcelona, the event will be organized by the University of Barcelona. Info: www.ub.es/5ead/princip5.htm.

The 4th International Conference of the Design Education Association
May 8-9, 2003, Brighton, UK
Theme: Studying Form—Refining the Scholarly Infrastructure for Learning, Teaching + Research in Design. Info: http://www.deed.ac.uk.

IDSA DesignAbout: How to Compete Internationally
May 14-15, 2003, Montréal, Canada
Join a small group of industrial designers at the Hotel Sofitel in Montréal for an intimate, interactive seminar. Info: http://www.idsa.org.

Innotown 2003 Design Conference
May 26-28, 2003, Alesund, Norway
Innotown is an exciting melting pot that highlights the importance of vision, creativity, innovation, design and communication. Info: http://www.innotown.org.

SEGD Annual Conference & Expo
May 28-31, 2003, Las Vegas, Nev., USA
SEGD's annual conference and expo provides many opportunities to meet practitioners and fellow design professionals. Info: www.segd.org.

EXP3: Where Experience Intersects with Place
June 1-3, 2003, Philadelphia, Penn., USA
EXP3 unites every key segment of the emerging experiental economy to create a single comprehensive marketplace. Info: http://www.exp-3.com.

Sustainable Product-Service-Systems: 'State of the Art'
June 5-6, 2003, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The first conference of the EU-funded Thematic Network on Sustainable Product-Service (SusProNet). Info: http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/suspronet.

DUX 2003: Designing for User Experiences
June 5-7, 2003, San Francisco, Calif., USA
A joint conference on interactive digital design organized by AIGA, SIGCHI, and SIGGRAPH. Info: http://www.dux2003.org.

Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World
June 7-Sept. 7, 2003, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Minn., USA
This exhibition highlights one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century. Info: http://www.mam.org/exhibitions/major/story_ID_84.asp.

International Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces 2003 (DPPI03)
June 23-26, 2003, Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Pittsburgh, Penn., USA
DPPI03 is one of the leading international forums for the exchange of ideas and information on issues of affective and emotional factors in product design. Info: http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/design/dppi03.

DesignEx 2003: Imagination, Innovation, Integration
August 28-31, 2003, Impact, Thailand
The first design-focused exhibition held in Thailand. Info: http://www.designex2003.com.

The Power of Design: AIGA National Design Conference
October 23–26, 2003, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Designers will play critical roles in the success of our rebounding economy—both as agents of social change in a complex world and as leading architects of sustainable solutions for a troubled planet. Info: http://powerofdesign.aiga.org.
 

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