In this Issue:

Viewpoints

The High Cost of Saving Money

DMI Conferences

Pushing Beyond: Brand New, Brand Stories, & Brand Myths
Conference on Innovation by Brand and Design Management

DMI Education

Upcoming Seminars
The DMI Senior Executive Workshop

DMI Co-Publishes Four New Books with Allworth Press
Free Download of the Month: Breaking Down the Barriers to Packaging Innovation

News & Events Around the World

Calendar of Design Management Events

Viewpoints

Several months ago, a well-respected Fortune 500 consumer products corporation asked its design leader to fire his entire staff and re-hire them under the payroll of one of its pre-press consultants. As a reward for completing this awkward transition, the design manager was, in turn, laid off. The corporation required him to outsource himself out of a job.

Downsizing and outsourcing are only some of the increasing attacks on corporate design management. In a never-ending quest for cost efficiency, corporations are undermining one of their core competencies and eliminating one of their most valuable assets.

Why is design management so often in the center of the cost savings crosshairs? Why isn’t the process more highly valued and properly supported? Why are design managers fighting to keep their jobs? The answers to these questions are rooted in three primary issues: an absence of “best practices,” a lack of autonomy, and an inability to measure design’s direct financial impact.

Read the complete article

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

DMI Conferences

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

When can a brand be new? Does every brand have its own story? What role does design leadership play in creating brand stories? When do stories become brand myths? Have we become too attached to brands or brands to us? Have brands pushed our culture to evolve or devolve? When, if ever is the story over? Have brands become vicarious extensions of who we are?

These questions and more will be answered at DMI’s 16th International Brand Design Conference. Join your peers in Vancouver, where leading branding luminaries from the fields of design, marketing, culture, and journalism will examine the provocative topic of brands as news, stories, and myths, and provide insight to challenge or support the current concepts of brands.
 

Topics to be addressed by the speakers:
Emergent trends		Grant McCracken, PhD, Adjunct Professor, McGill University
Customer experience		Ray Davis, CEO, Umpqua Bank
Product insight		Sarah Zuberec, Director of User Experience, Mobile Devices Product Group, Microsoft Corporation
Brand leadership		Jerry Kathman, President and CEO, Libby Perszyk Kathman
Organizational transformation		Martin Gierke, Corporate Identity Manager, Global Brand Management Group, Caterpillar
Brand research		Christopher Ireland, CEO, Cheskin
Adapting brands		Ken Delor, President, Delor Martha Bowman, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Delor
Brand loyalty		Steve McCallion, Creative Director
Re-branding		Larry Bloomenkranz, Vice President, UPS Global Brand Management & Advertising, UPS
Design power		Bruce Mau, Chairman and Creative Director, Bruce Mau Design Inc.
Brand/story-making		Jeannette Hanna, VP, Brand Strategy, Spencer Francey Peters, Inc.
Logo strategy		Jerry Kuyper, Senior Partner, Lippincott Mercer

Bring a Marketer and Save!
A goal for the 16th International Brand Design Conference in Vancouver is to increase interaction and sharing with the marketing community. DMI is offering a special savings opportunity for design professionals who bring a marketing colleague to the event. Register now with a marketing colleague and save US$200 on each registration by using the special PDF form on the DMI Web site. Help DMI bridge the gap between design and marketing to enable the best use of design in organizations worldwide.

Free Articles by Conference Speakers
Get to know the Brand Design Conference speakers better! The sharing of expertise at the conference has already begun, with free DMI Review articles written by these conference speakers:

Steve McCallion, Creative Director, ZIBA Design
Christopher Ireland, CEO, Cheskin
Ken Delor, President, Delor
Jerry Kathman, President and CEO, Libby Perszyk Kathman
Jeannette Hanna, VP, Brand Strategy, Spencer Francey Peters, Inc.

These articles are available for free download to all eBulletin readers, enjoy!

Register Now!
The conference schedule has now been updated with a complete list of all sessions. Don’t miss this important international conference, which attracts a broad spectrum of high-level professionals from the corporate, consultant, and academic worlds. For more information, or to register, visit the program, registration, and hotel Web pages.

The International Conference on Innovation by Brand and Design Management: Call for Papers
November 11-12, Seoul, Korea
Abstract Submission Deadline: May 28, 2004

This year’s biannual academic conference will be held in conjunction with two other international organizations: Design and Brand Management Society, and the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies. The conference is seeking a broad range of papers, including ones on theoretical developments, research results, panel discussions and case studies.

Abstracts for paper submissions are due by May 28, 2004. The full paper will be due by September 30, 2004 for inclusion in the proceedings. Please visit the DMI Web site for complete information about the theme tracks, and an abstract submission form. Look for information about registration for this important international event in a future issue of the eBulletin.

DMI Education

The New Marketing: Understanding It, Working with It
May 6-7, Boston, USA
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 to build and maintain effective relationships with marketing in this environment. More information.

Managing Design for Strategic Advantage
May 13-14, Montréal, Canada
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

Strategies for Designing Meaningful Brand Experiences
May 19-20, New York City, USA (New date)
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—the most 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 unveil key consumption trends and detail techniques for creating meaningful experiences for your target audience. More information.

“One of the better seminars for anyone trying to build a business—any business. Dave is brilliant and his teaching methods are down to earth and truly applicable to everyone.”
—Andrea L. Baytoff - Director of Innovation & New Business Development, Campbell Soup Company - Away From Home Division

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 techniqu

es 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.

“This seminar was extremely valuable. The ‘open forum’ format was particularly appealing because I was able to learn from the comments made as well as the instructor.”
—Lisa Viramontes, Creative Network Account Executive, Abbott Laboratories

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

Among 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.

“A great overview of brand, voice, and related issues. The case discussion format was wonderful and allowed the other smart people in the room to contribute insight.”
—Steve Rodden, Partner, Director of Marketing, Fiori

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 had excellent content, delivery, and discussion, it was extremely inspiring and insightful, and a real asset to our personal and professional development.”
—Simon Bromfield, New Media Manager, Lubrizol 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.

“I can't wait to return to work and start implementing what I've learned, and begin educating the rest of the organization to the importance of effective briefing.”
—Chloe Franklin, Design Production Manager, Design Council

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.

“Darrel is a fantastic speaker and the information/value of his insight will be put into motion ASAP within my organization.”
—Gerry Squires, System Designer, Nestle Product Technology Center

DMI Publications

DMI Co-Publishes Four New Books with Allworth Press

DMI has joined together with Allworth Press to co-publish four books focused on providing design managers with insights to promote business success. Combining DMI’s rich intellectual resources with the expertise of Allworth Press as a leading design business publisher, these new books provide design managers with fresh how-to advice, critical essays, and business guidance.

Design Management: Using Design to Build Brand Value and Corporate Innovation By Brigitte Borja De Mozota
This groundbreaking volume provides the corporate world with a blueprint for integrating the values, creativity, ethics, and innovations of the design process into the overall management of business.

 

The Industrial Design Reader Edited by Carma R. Gorman
This anthology includes essays written by some of the greatest designers, visionaries, policy makers, theorists, critics, and historians of the past two centuries.

 

Creating the Perfect Design Brief By Peter L. Phillips
Peter Phillips has achieved high regard over the past four years with his DMI seminars. This volume captures his wisdom in book form for the first time. Design professionals and their non-design business partners will learn not only about creating the design brief but also how to help change the perception of design from a service to a core, strategic business resource.

 

Designing for People By Henry Dreyfus, Foreword by Tom Peters, Preface by Earl N. Powell
A reprint of Dreyfus’ classic 1955 book, which provides invaluable insight into industrial design’s past as well as catapulting our imaginations into future possibilities for human engineering.

These titles and many more are all available for purchase through the Amazon.com associates program at the DMI Book Center, www.dmi.org/bookcenter.

Free Download of the Month

Breaking Down the Barriers to Packaging Innovation
By Scott Young, President, Perception Research Services
Design Management Review, Winter 2004, Vol. 15, No. 1

Most executives understand that packaging innovation can add value and drive sales. The challenge, explains Scott Young, is to identify opportunities for innovation—and to measure and convey the business value of innovation. To this end, he identifies research techniques that are effective and articulates a framework for distilling the potential return on packaging innovation.

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.
 
 

News & Events Around the World

Forging Strategic Partnerships and Creative Collaborations
May 6, The Boston Foundation, Boston, USA
At this AIGA event, listen to anecdotes from innovative collaborators and learn how their unusual partnerships have led to increased business opportunities and enriched their creative offerings. Info: www.boston.aiga.org.

The 2004 Conference on Customer Experience and the Brand
May 20-21, Columbia Business School, New York City, USA
Among the presenters at this event is DMI seminar instructor Dave Norton. Sign up for both the conference and Dave Norton's seminar and receive a discount. Conference info: www.globalbrands.org.

International Workshop on Design Support
May 25-26, Cardiff, Wales, UK
The event will facilitate knowledge sharing and networking for those involved in the support and promotion of the use of design within small and medium sized companies. Info: www.iwds.org.

Smart Questions Workshop
May 20-21, Los Angeles, USA
The content will be based on the new book by Gerald Nadler and Bill Chandon: Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results. Info: www.breakthroughthinking.com.

Sappi Ideas that Matter
Deadline: May 31
Sappi Limited, through its annual Ideas That Matter grant program, has awarded grants to graphic designers around the world to design projects for the non-profit organizations of their choice. Info: www.sappi.com.

INCLUDE 2005
Abstract Submission Deadline: June 1, 2004
The 2005 INCLUDE conference will be held at the Royal College of Art, London, April 5-8. The 2005 Scientific Committee invites abstracts describing research projects, case studies and/or future projections or experiments in the field of inclusive design. Info: www.hhrc.rca.ac.uk/programmes/include/2005

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
Thursday, 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, 2004
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