Frans Joziasse, Tim Selders, Wouter Voskuij, and James Woudhuysen

Since the dot com boom and Clayton Christensen’s book The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997), there has been a revival of international interest in innovation. Even in sluggish Europe, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso believes that priority must go to growth and scientific-technological research more than to social and environmental policy.

At the same time, however, corporate interest in branding remains very buoyant, despite reversals. BusinessWeek, for instance, argues that building mass consumer cults around brands has now grown into a widespread strategy among multinational firms. Brands, the magazine contends, can ‘foster a sense of shared experience and of belonging’.

There is a third characteristic of commercial practice today. In a world of cost-cutting, off-shoring and IT, millions of managers around the world have been forced, as never before, to focus on organization, both inside and outside the firm. Of course, interest in overcoming ‘silo’ department walls within the firm has been on the increase since the 1980s, when Japanese car manufacturers first frightened American manufacturers with the silo-busting speed of their new product development. But today, partly because of such concern, we might well imagine that design management within a corporation typically occupies a more mainstream role, among the silos, than it did, say, 20 years ago.

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

The 17th International Brand Design Conference Reaches Record Attendance June 5-7, 2005 Cincinnati, Ohio, USA   The DMI Brand Design Conference is receiving unprecedented response, with over 190 professionals signed up so far. Only two days are left to register, so don't delay! Come to Cincinnati and join business and design leaders in discussing how new approaches to strategy, research, and collaboration are revealing paths to brand innovation and greater product success.

Selected Featured Speakers:

The Design Imperative in Consumer Goods
Claudia Kotchka, Vice President, Design Innovation and Strategy, Procter & Gamble Co.

The Empathy Economy: Using Design Thinking to Innovate
Bruce Nussbaum, Editorial Page Editor, BusinessWeek; Recipient, DMI John F. Nolan Award

How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding
Douglas Holt, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing, Said Business School, University of Oxford

Brand Dialogues
A series of six interactive parallel sessions featuring brief presentations by leading experts, followed by in-depth discussions.

Optional Post-Conference Workshop
Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences: The Speed Seminar
Dave Norton, Vice President, Experience Strategy and Research, Yamamoto Moss

Please visit the DMI Web site for complete information about the program, schedule, the hotel, and registration.
 

Building Customer Value Strategies by Design
The 30th International Design Management Conference
October 23-26, 2005
The Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham, Cape Cod, Mass., USA

Businesses today face an increasingly critical choice. They can focus on products and services that aim to be the least expensive, and leave themselves vulnerable to being beaten on price. Or they can embrace the concepts of value and customer empathy in order to build unbeatable loyalty and higher margins. This means moving from the comfort of decisions based solely on data and quantitative analysis, to the expert, empathy-informed decision making employed by designers.

Today, design managers are faced with important questions: How can design investment most effectively build sustainable customer loyalty? How can design thinking most effectively provide innovative leadership and customer value? What will the new management paradigm be that most effectively supports design leadership? The new imperative for design leadership will be to continually push the cutting edge in understanding customer wants and needs, and to work from the mainstream of the enterprise to make sustainable and strategic contributions that ensure future success. These issues will be addressed by speakers and design leaders of the caliber that have made this conference a consistent leader for the last thirty years.

Last year's Cape Cod conference filled up early and went to an extensive waiting list. Currently registration is open only for DMI members until July 1. Nonmembers may sign up for the waiting list until that date, at which time the conference will be opened to the general public. Please visit the DMI Web site for further information about the speakers and program, as well as registration and hotel information.

First-Ever John F. Nolan Award Presented to Bruce Nussbaum

	Bruce Nussbaum

The Design Management Institute is proud to announce that John Nussbaum, Editorial Page Editor, BusinessWeek, will be the recipient of the first John F. Nolan Award. This prestigious award is granted to a senior non-design executive who has been an active champion of design for economic and cultural development. The award honors John F. Nolan who, as president of the Massachusetts College of Art, encouraged the creation of the Design Management Institute and provided it with extensive administrative support including space and staff during its formative years.

Since the late Eighties, Bruce Nussbaum has been the leading business journalist advocating the effective use of design in business. He will be presented the award during the upcoming Brand Design Conference in Cincinnati, at which he is a featured speaker.
More information

Upcoming Seminars

Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
Taught by Peter L. Phillips, Design Strategy Consultant
June 16-17, 2005, Chicago, USA

“I feel empowered to make positive changes at my company; I feel I have a whole new toolbox that I will use for years to come.”
—Rachel Caldwell, Design Manager, The Vanguard Group

Design Consultancy Strategies: Evolving the Vision (New for 2005)
Taught by Kory Kolligian, Chief Operating Officer, Design Continuum, Inc.
June 16-17, 2005, Newton, Mass., USA

Managing Strategic Creativity and Innovation
Taught by Alison Rieple, Professor of Strategic Management, University of Westminster—Harrow Business School
July 11-12, 2005, London, UK
August 11-12, 2005, Boston, USA

“Alison Rieple is dynamic, organized, an excellent facilitator.”
—Gerald Boulet, Manager / National Visual Communication Design Centre, Parks Canada

Integrating Design into Strategic Management Processes (New for 2005)
Taught by Ron Sanchez, Ph.D., Professor of Management, Copenhagen Business School
July 21-22, 2005, New York City, USA

Managing Creative Staff (New for 2005)
Taught by Dr. Leonard Glick, Executive Professor, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University
July 28-29, 2005, Chicago, USA (New session)
November 7-8, 2005, New York City, USA (New session)

Building Innovation Scenarios and Simulations (New for 2005)
Taught by Michael Eckersley, Ph.D., Managing Principal, HumanCentered
September 15-16, 2005, Minneapolis, USA

Marketing Graphic Design Services
Taught by Cameron Foote, Principal, Creative Business
September 16-17, 2005, Houston, USA

“Cameron is extremely knowledgeable and organized in his presentation and materials. Besides providing me with new information, it validated and gave me some new techniques for methods I already use.”
—Carla Peay, Principal, Creative One Design & Development

Creating the Perfect Design Brief
Taught by Peter L. Phillips, Design Strategy Consultant
September 22-23, 2005, New York City, USA
November 3-4, 2005, London, UK

“Such a well thought-through formula. This seminar has provided a valuable tool for clear, trackable communication between designers and stakeholders.”
—Polly Greathouse, Sr. Creative Designer, Rand McNally

The New Marketing: Understanding It, Working with It
Taught by Bruce Clark, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, Northeastern University
September 29-30, 2005, Chicago, USA

“This seminar provided a clear understanding of the partnership that must exist between the marketing discipline and the design discipline. A must seminar for all organizations who truly believe that design impacts their bottom line.”
—Dan Dittmar, Global Brand Design Manager, BIC Corporation

Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
Taught by Dave Norton, Ph.D., Vice President, Experience Strategy and Research, Yamamoto Moss
October 6-7, 2005, New York City, USA
November 3-4, 2005, Sante Fe, New Mexico, USA

“What Dave Norton brings to this topic is a delightful mix of business savvy and genuine fun! Dave shares strategic insights and a pragmatic, step-by-step approach for rethinking brand opportunities that spark valuable introspection about what is meaningful for your consumer.”
—Robin Gamble, Design Manager / Kraft Foods

Design Research for Product and Brand Innovation
Taught by Darrel Rhea, CEO, Cheskin
October 13-14, San Francisco, USA

“A wonderful seminar jam-packed with practical information. I look forward to sharing what I have learned in the last day and a half with my co-workers.”
—Kristin Arnold, Consumer Insights Leader, Sanford Corporation

Design Research Fundamentals (New for 2005)
Taught by Darrel Rhea, CEO, Cheskin
November 10-11, 2005, San Francisco, USA

For complete information and the latest schedule, visit www.dmi.org/seminars.
 

Free Download of the Month

Hybrid Organizations as a Strategy for Supporting New Product Development
By Alison Rieple, Adrian Haberberg, and Jon Gander, University of Westminster, UK
Design Management Review, Winter 2005, Vol. 16, No. 1

Alliances between large, well-established corporations and highly creative small companies or consultancies can be an effective method for promoting innovation. Alison Rieple, Adrian Haberberg, and Jon Gander cite examples and analyze circumstances, cultures, and the role of individuals they call “boundary-spanners” as these factors facilitate this important type of partnership.

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.

Alison Rieple will be presenting her popular DMI seminar, "Managing Strategic Creativity and Innovation," in London, UK, on July 11-12, 2005, and in Boston, USA, on August 11-12, 2005.

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

Calendar of Events

InSource Presents: The Vanguard Group: Forging Brand Consistency from the Inside Out
June 1, 2005, Morris Plains, New Jersey, USA
Info: www.in-source.org

2005 SEGD Annual Conference & Expo
June 1-4, 2005, New Orleans, USA
Info: www.segd.org

REVOLUTION: PHILADELPHIA—AIGA Design Education Conference 2005
June 3-5, 2005, Philadelphia, USA
Info: revolutionphiladelphia.aiga.org

Transforming Urban Communities: Lessons from Providence, Rhode Island, and Liverpool, England
June 5-7, 2005, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Info: www.rsa-us.org

Call for Entries: red dot award—communication design 2005
Entry Deadline: June 10, 2005
Info: www.red-dot.de

Kokuyo Design Award 2005
Entry Deadline: June 30, 2005
Info: award@mrk.kokuyo.co.jp

Call For Papers, Special Issue of the Journal of Product Innovation Management: “Branding and New Product Development”
Deadline: August 31, 2005
Info: Prof. Erik Jan Hultink, Delft University of Technology, tel.: +31-15-2783068, e.j.hultink@io.tudelft.nl

IDSA National Conference & Design Gallery
August 24-27, 2005, Washington, D.C., USA
Info: www.idsa.org

Call for Entries: Color Management for Logos
Deadline: August 30, 2005
Info: jdrew@fullerton.edu

Era 05: World Design Congress—Icograda/ICSID/IFI Joint Congress
September 22-28, 2005, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Malmo, Oslo
Info: www.era05.com

Mind Your Own Business Conference—Presented by How Magazine
October 6-9, 2005, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Info: www.myobconference.com