Innovation? Simple.

By John Malnor, Vice President, Growth Initiatives, Steelcase, Inc.

Innovation is simply doing something new—a new way to add value, to complete a task, or solve a problem. The word is used almost as frequently as Design, and is often paired to create design innovation, experience innovation, or new product innovation.
 
In his book, The Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Peter Drucker identified seven sources of new ideas or new ways of adding value. The top catalyst for new ideas came from the unexpected event—a success or failure that was surprising. This requires a team to keep a vigilant focus to make sure we recognize and respond quickly to learn more when an incongruous event happens.
 
String together Drucker’s work with Clayton Christensen’s Innovator’s Solution, and we can begin to understand which ideas have the best chance to make a big impact—even disrupt whole industries through adding value in a new way. At the core is crafting a concise problem statement with clear, tight constraints—this drives teams to get creative and also makes it clear if they have solved the puzzle successfully.

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April 21-22, 2010
London, United Kingdom
 
“new new” will not be simply a revert to the old pre-recession ways. We are now at a crossroads. Embrace the changing and expanding opportunities for design to lead the way, or observe on the sidelines.

Have we arrived?
Kate Aronowitz, Director of Design, Facebook
 
Divers of complexities
Charles Bezerra, Ph.D., Executive Director, GAD’Innovation
 
Evolving your design DNA
Willem Boijens, Principal UE Manager, Vodafone
 
Design to survive
Joe Ferry, Head of Design, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.
 
Designers: Transformers in disguise
Mike Ganderton, Creative Senior Director, Markets and Products, LEGO Group
 
After the tornado: How design can (and can’t) transform business
Kevin McCullagh, Director, Plan Strategic Ltd.
 
The future role of design effectiveness in business
Deborah Dawton, Chief Executive, Design Business Association (DBA)
 
Integrative design: Design for social impact
Geoff Mulgan, Director, Young Foundation
 
From user-centered design to designing for service: Where design is leading us next
Lucy Kimbell, Clark Fellow in Design Leadership, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
 
Facilitation, experimentation, and managing design risk
Michael Schrage, Research Fellow, MIT Sloan School Center for Digital Business; Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Imperial College Business School
 
Design for the other 90%
Dr. Paul Thompson, Rector and Vice-Provost, Royal College of Art
 
Transformational synergy: Aligning design pushers and pullers
Raymond Turner, Principal, Raymond Turner Associates
 
David Kester, Chief Executive, Design Council
 
Julie Meyer, Chief Executive, Ariadne Capital Ltd.
 

Introducing the Design Research Master Class Series
Module 1: Design Research and the Customer-driven Innovation Strategy

Darrel Rhea, CEO, Cheskin Added Value
April 23, 2010, London, UK
(US session to be announced shortly)
 
Consultative Design Research skills have become a core competency of contemporary designers and design organizations. For that reason, DMI has tapped one of the field’s pioneers and a leading world authority to create a Design Research Master Class Series. Darrel Rhea has updated his popular and highly-rated seminar as the first offering in the series, which will provide you with the perspective you need to raise the level of your contribution in your organization, and the skills to interact with and manage Design Research. Most importantly, it will make you a better designer.
 
Among the concepts covered by this seminar are: design thinking as an approach to innovation; why innovation fails; evaluating the business opportunity; profiling customers; making meaning; mapping the design space; driving creative breakthroughs; introduction to research methodologies; and design ethnography.

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Update on members

Tennyson Pinheiro opens live|work office in Brazil… MARSH, INC. has been awarded nine 2010 American Package Design Awards… Essential has won two Consumer Electronics Show Innovation awards… Anthem Worldwide announced the release of new packaging design for High Liner Foods new premium product offering… Ralf Beuker is now Dean of the Design Faculty at the University of Applied Sciences Muenster, Germany… Corey McPherson Nash developed an online annual report for Buckingham Browne & Nichols School… LPK has developed branding strategies, packaging, web design and nomenclature for the Dermal Renu® brand…

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DMI Member IDEA award discount still available

DMI and IDSA are making available to all current DMI members the IDSA discount on applications for the IDEA 2010 awards. Applications are still being accepted for the February 15 late registration deadline. The IDEA program is the premier international competition honoring design excellence in products, ecodesign, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. DMI members should call or email DMI to obtain the discount.
 
 

Webinar: Corporate Design Functions: 2010 and Beyond

Jeneanne Rae, President and Co-Founder, Peer Insight LLC
Gordon Hui, Senior Vice-President, Consulting Services, Peer Insight LLC
March 3, 1 pm EST

Once relegated to production management and artwork, corporate design functions have become multifaceted, strategic organizations, providing breakthrough thinking. This webinar will answer key questions: What lessons did these new functions learn in the past decade? What challenges will they face? What best practices should they consider going forward?

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Seminar: Creating the Perfect Design Brief

Peter Phillips, Strategy Consultant
March 9, Chicago, USA
 
“Bring your creative and project team to this seminar! The perfect design helps create a solid foundation to deliver a precise result.”
—Noemi Tello-Botdorf, Marketing Communications, Intelsat

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Seminar: Strategies that Transform Brands

Scott Lerman, Founding Partner, Lucid Brands
March 23, New York City, USA
 
Join a special, intense one-day session of this acclaimed seminar. Come ready to roll up your sleeves!

“I have been put in charge of rebranding our company. The techniques learned in Scott’s seminar will certainly be useful in our efforts.”
—John Judy, Manager, Industrial Design, Datascope Patient Monitoring

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Seminar: Managing Creative Staff

Dr. Leonard Glick, Executive Professor, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University
April 8-9, Boston, USA

“Now, I feel that I have the tools I need, and also a network of colleagues I can bounce ideas off of.”
—Georgia Gofis, Director, Integrated Marketing, American Dietetic Association

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Transition: How to Become a More Design-Minded Organization

By Thomas Lockwood, PhD, President, DMI
DMI Review, Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

Becoming a design-minded organization is challenging and takes time, but with the right planning, and a little nurturing and patience, it is not as difficult as it might first appear.

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