Sirens are screeching, car horns are blaring, and a bullhorn is bellowing for people to clear the street just outside my open window. It is the passage to summer—the first day of spring madness in New York. But, this riotous noise is music compared to the continuing cacophony of mass media that assaults me from different directions—the chaos of “information,” “news,” and “marketing messages” boiling out of radios, televisions, newspapers, magazines, films, billboards, telephones, paging devices, and the Internet.

There was a time when information was precious, when news was important. We collected and stored the facts in our heads. But something began to happen around the middle of the last century. Information got ahead of us. It started to grow at a rate we were unprepared to handle. Throughout the sixties and seventies information abundance made collecting and recalling more selective and more difficult. During the eighties, real angst set in. We suffered from “Information Anxiety,” as Richard Wurman explained in his classic book by the same name. In the nineties, information became the currency of business—the preferred medium of exchange, and the information managers became information officers. Today, we have rounded the Metcalfe curve, and this currency has become a commodity, another mass-produced, unspecialized, overdeveloped product. And we are nearly drowning in it.

Read the complete article

Article submissions are welcome; please contact jtobin@dmi.org.

Leadership by Design
The 29th International Design Management Conference
October 24-27, 2004
Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

As design has moved closer to the mainstream of the business enterprise, the responsibility of design leadership has grown exponentially. In this increasingly fast-paced world of information dissemination and global exchange, brands emerge and fade, products top the charts and drop off, markets shift and reconfigure so fast that the slightest mistake is quickly magnified to huge proportions. In this environment, the management of design must move from a reactive to a proactive position in order to survive. This means design managers must become proactive leaders in their departments, organizations, and industries. More than ever before, they have to build design leadership processes and structures that embody trust and respect. Along with this, design managers will need to be able to effectively participate in shaping design vision/strategy, articulating all aspects of it, and facilitating its execution.

The educational experience at the core of this conference will provide participants with the tools and background to describe the major components of leadership, identify the characteristics of successful leaders, evaluate personal leadership strengths and weaknesses, and develop an action plan for improving one’s ability to be a successful leader. From this experience, participants will learn effective methods of developing and maintaining successful design vision.

Dr. David Campbell, Smith Richardson Senior Fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership, will lead the conference keynote session. Each participant in the conference will receive the workbook for the Campbell Leadership Descriptor, and will be asked to fill it out prior to the event. This workbook will help participants understand their particular leadership style, and the strengths and weaknesses inherent in that style.

To complement this core educational experience, the conference will include case studies, discussions, and presentations on design leadership. Complete information about the speakers will be posted on the DMI Web site in the next few weeks.

If there is one event on your calendar that you should make sure that you don’t miss, it would have to be this conference. Every autumn, the International Design Management Conference draws an exceptional cross-section of the best and the brightest in the design and business worlds to Cape Cod for an intense four days of learning, interaction, and networking.

The DMI member early registration period for this prestigious conference is in effect until July 1, 2004. All nonmember registrations received during this time will be placed on the waiting list until July 1. Nonmembers may register for the conference immediately and receive a substantial discount on DMI membership by signing up for the special combined membership/conference registration package. Please visit the program, hotel, and registration pages for more information.

Pushing Beyond: Brand New, Brand Stories, & Brand Myths
16th International Brand Design Conference
June 2-4, 2004
Vancouver, Canada, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

DMI is still accepting last-minute registrations for the Brand Design Conference! Join senior design and business leaders from organizations such as eBay, FedEx, Hallmark Cards, Herman Miller, Patagonia, and Target, in moving ahead of the competition by understanding and pushing beyond the current concepts of brands. For more information, or to register, visit the program, registration, and hotel Web pages.

The International Conference on Innovation by Brand and Design Management
November 11-12, Seoul, Korea

This year’s biannual academic conference will be held in collaboration with two other international organizations: The Design and Brand Management Society, and the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies. The conference will be a forum for exchanges of ideas and best practices among participants from around the world. The proceedings and results will help participants better understand ways to integrate brand and design for better management.

Look for more information about this important international event on the DMI Web site this summer.

Marketing Graphic Design Services
June 11-12, New York City, USA
Taught by Cameron S. Foote, Principal, Creative Business Newsletter

Without regular and consistent marketing, a firm often finds itself on a feast-or-famine roller coaster at best, and at worst, struggling for its very existence. This seminar has a practical, real-world approach that’s ideal for anyone who wants to improve his or her marketing ability, learn techniques for prospecting for new clients, needs to know more about hiring and motivating sales personnel, or would like to achieve a higher success rate in converting presentations into projects. More information

“Cameron is knowledgeable and presents well, with interesting insights and info. A small price to pay for knowledge!”
—Craig Terrones, Principal, Creative Director, Graphica Communication Solutions

The DMI Senior Executive Workshop
Strategies for Developing, Maintaining, and Sustaining a
Powerful Brand
June 16-18, London, UK
Led by:
Stephen A. Greyser, Richard P. Chapman Professor (Marketing/Communications) Emeritus, Harvard Business School
Peter L. Phillips, Design Strategy Consultant

One of the most daunting tasks faced by senior executives in any enterprise is to develop, maintain, and sustain a powerful competitive brand in the global marketplace. The brand reputation of the company is one of its most important assets, and must be strategically managed at the highest levels.

The creation and management of a powerful brand requires an equal partnership between both strategic marketing and design expertise. This Workshop has been tailored specifically to address the problems faced by senior executive managers responsible for creating—or recreating—their company’s brand identity and meaning to multiple stakeholders.

Participants will leave with an arsenal of new strategic management tools and state of the art knowledge of effective brand management. For more information and for an application, please visit www.dmi.org/executive.

“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.

Managing Strategic Creativity & Innovation
August 12-13, Boston, 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 overcome some of the problems inherent in bringing about something new in their organizations. More information

“This seminar offered excellent value to my career, and should help improve my role within the organization.”
—Nicholas Tatt, Design Manager, Durlacher Ltd

Creating the Perfect Design Brief
September 16-17, Philadelphia, 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

“The knowledge I gained at the seminar has been an excellent asset to my design skills, and has helped me to work more successfully within my corporate environment.”
—Elizabeth Drury, Graphic Designer, National Life Insurance Company

Using Design Research for Product and Brand Innovation
September 16-17, New York City, 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. 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

“A must for any creative professional who wishes to use design and marketing research as a means to achieve breakthrough innovation.”
—John Schaffeld, Director, Product Development & Engineering, Proteus Design

The New Marketing: Understanding It, Working with It
September 23-24, Chicago, USA
Taught by Bruce Clark, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Marketing Group, Northeastern University

It’s not just the “four P’s” of marketing anymore. It’s not just “brand” anymore. Over the last ten years, marketing has been inundated with new ideas that are changing the way marketers and designers need to do their jobs. Simultaneously, the end of the 1990s boom has put new pressures on marketing managers that only increase their demands on complementary functions such as design. This seminar outlines the new marketing practices resulting from these trends, how the new marketing affects design and other functions, and how designers and marketers can build and maintain effective relationships in this environment. More information

Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
September 27-28, Los Angeles, USA
Taught by Dave Norton, Ph.D., Vice President, Experience Strategy and Research, Yamamoto Moss

Creating meaningful brand experiences is the key innovation that will drive growth and new value for your brand over the next ten years. This seminar will prepare your brand to engage in—and profit from—an important shift in consumer demand: a desire for experiences that really matter. Designed to make you a more strategic thinker about branding, experience design, and value creation, this seminar will explore key consumption trends and detail techniques for creating meaningful experiences for your target audience. More information

“What an eye-opening way to look at your business! Dave's seminar on creating meaningful brand experiences exposes you to what every marketer needs to know (and probably thinks he/she already knows, but doesn’t) to become or remain successful during these times.”
—Cheryl Rogers, High Affinity Markets, Disney

Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
October 7-8, Philadelphia, 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

“This seminar gave me tools and guidelines that I can actually use and take back to my colleagues to improve our group.”
—Kristin Karaiskos, Design Manager, P&G

Free Download of the Month

Understanding Why Your New Design Ideas Get Blocked
By Alison Rieple, Professor of Strategic Management and Director of Research, University of Westminster-Harrow Business School
Design Management Review, Winter 2004, Vol. 15, No. 1

People are creative in different ways and approach problems differently. Alison Rieple believes understanding these differences can reveal bottlenecks and opportunities in the innovation process. Her analysis distinguishes between out-of-the-box thinkers and those who are more conforming, and examines how they deal with the search for new ideas and how both types make important contributions to business success

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.

The next session of Alison Rieple’s DMI seminar, Managing Strategic Creativity and Innovation, will take place in Boston, USA, on August 12-13.

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

 

2004 SEGD Annual Conference & Expo
June 2-5, Philadelphia, USA
The conference theme of “The Power of the Individual” speaks to our role in making change. As designers and people of influence, each of us has the ability to create a better community and shape the future. Info: www.segd.org/conference.html

Trapeze Awards: Seattle’s Innovative Student Portfolio Competition
June 3, Seattle, USA
This AIGA event will feature a reception, an inspirational speaker and an exhibit of winning portfolios. Info: www.aigaseattle.org

19th International Poster Biennale of Warsaw - Exhibition
June 5-September 26, Warsaw, Poland
This exhibition presents poster work created world-wide during the period between 2002-2003. Info: www.icograda.org

Chicago Design: Green Workshop
June 17, Chicago, USA
This event is part of a partnership with the Design Foundation of IDSA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and leading design schools. Info: www.greenmarketing.com/designgreen

Red Dot Communication Design Award 2004: Strength in Communication Design
Deadline: June 18
Agencies and clients from all over the world are invited to submit their communication design works in these categories: Advertising, Corporate Communication, Financial Communication, Public Areas, Printed Values, Television and Electronic Media, Culture and Sport, Publishing and Multimedia. Info: www.red-dot.de

International Conference on Typography and Visual Communication
June 24-29, Thessalonika, Greece
Numerous international speakers from the fields of typography, graphic design and communication have been invited for lectures, workshops and discussions. Info: www.uom.gr/uompress/2nd_int_conference

Fourth International Conference on Design and Emotion
July 12-14, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
A leading international forum for the exchange of ideas and information about various aspects of emotion/experience driven design. Info: www.de2004.metu.edu

Rock. Paper. Scissors.
July 15, St. Louis, USA
This annual design resource exposition is sponsored by the AIGA St. Louis Chapter. Info: www.stlouis.aiga.org

Include 2005: International Conference on Inclusive Design
New Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2004
The conference will be held May 5-8 2005, at the Royal College of Art, London, UK. Info: www.hhrc.rca.ac.uk/programmes/include/2005/index.html