How telling stories can provide a rich source of consumer insight (And excellent fodder for product development)

In our work to uncover consumer insights, build marketing strategies, and support new product development initiatives, we are constantly looking for ways to more deeply understand a consumer’s reality. Getting inside people’s heads and hearts to understand their behavior, and the beliefs behind their behavior, can help shape product development and positioning.

As we seek to understand the consumer’s context, we look for tools that give us as authentic and organic a view as we can find. Asking people to tell us stories has repeatedly proven to be a rich and productive avenue for important insights.

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Conference co-chairs:
Roger Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management
Darrel Rhea, CEO, Cheskin Added Value
 
DMI's Re-Thinking … the future of design 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 Design’s potential level of contribution—and the implications for you as a professional. Bring your own questions and issues to the conversation and raise points what you find meaningful in this important discussion.
 
Agents and transformers include:

David Butler, Vice President of Global Design, The Coca-Cola Company
 
Valerie Casey, Founder and Executive Director, Designers Accord
 
Bruce Nussbaum, Professor of Innovation & Design, Parsons The New School for Design; Contributing Editor, Businessweek
 
John Fly, VP Strategic Planning, Milliken & Company
 
Roberto Verganti, Professor of Management of Innovation, Politecnico di Milano
 
Bob Schwartz, General Manager, Global Design, GE Healthcare
 
Jeanne Liedtka, Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia - Darden Business School
 
Marco Steinberg, Director of Strategic Design, SITRA, the Finnish Innovation Fund
 
Randy Swearer, Provost, Philadelphia University
 
Kyung-Won Chung, Chief Design Officer/Vice-Mayor, Seoul, Korea
 
Nathan Shedroff, author, Design is the Problem
 
Lane Wallace, Author, Correspondent for Atlantic Monthly on Design and Innovation; Editor, Flying Magazine
 
Sean Carney, Design Director, Global Imaging & Web Services, Hewlett-Packard

Save the Date: Design/Management Annual 35

October 25-27, 2010
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
The Providence Biltmore

Conference co-chairs:
David Butler, Vice President of Global Design, The Coca-Cola Company
Bruce Nussbaum, Professor of Innovation & Design, Parsons The New School for Design; Contributing Editor, Businessweek

DMI’s annual fall conference will be inspired by two leading trend setters: David Butler, recently featured on the cover of Fast Company; and Bruce Nussbaum, well-known through his extensive writing and blogging for BusinessWeek. They’ll lead a creative, interactive event with a new, cogent point of view on today’s most important shifts and pressing issues.
 
We’ll meet at the historic Providence Biltmore, in the grand ballroom on the top floor with commanding views of the city. Providence is an engaging, lively city of rebirth, transformation, and top-flight design education. We’ll visit the RISD Museum of Art for a memorable reception in the soaring main gallery, with access to the design exhibitions and other galleries.
 
Don’t miss this special event. Mark your calendar today!
 
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Update on members

Michael Courtney Design has given an extreme makeover to Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo Penguin Exhibit… Anthem Worldwide helped bring the McCain It’s all good™ brand platform to life… Corey McPherson Nash has received two Interactive Media Awards… LPK has established its second Asian office in Singapore… Plan celebrated their fifth birthday in March with a bash at London’s Paramount Club… CNBC covered gravitytank’s app study in a one-hour special... Ziba Design is creating electronics with Imation for the recently revived Memorex brand… Fast Company recently featured Smart Design work on an early iPad prototype in 1989… LUNAR partnered with Green Toys to remake classic toys with recycled material from used milk jugs…

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Webinar: The Design Promotion “Gift Basket”Pierre-Yves Panis, Group Design Manager, Legrand
May 5, 1pm ET

As design managers, we’re always looking for ways to better leverage design in our organizations: How can we best communicate about design so that we get the authority and support we need? Pierre-Yves has collected stories from design managers all over Europe and picked the best ones to share in this webinar—a “gift basket” of design promotion for managers.

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Seminar: Improving Design Decision Making and Concept Evaluation Jeremy Alexis, Assistant Dean and Professor, IIT Institute of Design
April 29-30, Chicago, USA
 
This seminar will teach easy to use and implement tools for improving the quality of your decisions. You’ll leave with ideas and methods that can be applied right away.

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Seminar: Co-Creating Meaningful Brand ExperiencesDave Norton, PhD, Principal, Lead Strategist, Stone Mantel
May 13-14, Boston, USA
 
Discover the pattern that explains what consumers want from brands and how to design long-term solutions for them. Then, learn how to co-create a meaningful experience by collaborating with your prospects and customers.

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DMI’s custom onsite workshop: Making the In-House Design Function A Strategic Competency Led by Peter L. Phillips, Design Management Strategy Consultant
 
This workshop is designed specifically for in-house corporate design groups working in graphic design, packaging design, or product design who are searching for positive, practical techniques to better establish their group as a core strategic business competency. If your organization’s in-house design function wants to move toward becoming an essential strategic business partner, then this workshop from DMI is right for you!

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Platforming: Evolving the Paradigm of Branding

By Valerie Jacobs, Vice-President, Group Director, Director of Trend Analysis, LPK
DMI Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2009
 
As a design forecaster, Valerie Jacobs observes a divide between how designers see their role in brand building and how people actually experience and use brands. She suggests that creating “platforms” that customers can resonate with rather than simply buy into will carry brands beyond mere product status and into the new cultures of the future.

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Don’t miss the new DMI seminar led by Valerie Jacobs, The Trends Imperative, June 10-11, Cincinnati.
 
 

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