Design for Relevance

By Harald Lamberts, Head of User Experience – Internet Services & Handsets, Vodafone Group

With new social-networking communities popping up continuously, 100,000 apps in the iPhone Appstore, 500+ contacts in multiple places, two to three email accounts per user, Internet feeds from multiple sources, and different end-user credentials to remember for each service, can people still manage their digital lives? If on top of this, a text message notifies you of a new voicemail and an email notifies you of a new status update, something is wrong and the burden to manage it all is on the end-user.
 
The core of these problems is not accessibility or usability but relevance. The more a product interface surfaces the relevant content and actions from the clutter, the better the experience will be. To quote Alan Webber at last fall’s DMI conference in Cambridge: “Design is hot (right now) because it helps us make sense of the world of chaos.”

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Transforming Design
Design/Management Europe 14 Conference

April 21-22, 2010
London, UK
 
Conference Co Chairs:
Clive Grinyer, Director, Customer Experience, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group
Oliver King, Co-founder and Director, Engine
 
Design is now recognized as an enabler of business transformation, because design leads change which is critically needed to save and solve our future. It is a solution that addresses problems, and problems behind problems. Design connects businesses to their customers, and customers to new products, services and experiences. Design is a process tool, an innovation tool, a tool to build experiences, and a transformation tool. Transformation is as much a way of thinking as it is a result.
 
As design leaders, we are now at a crossroads. Embrace the changing and expanding opportunities for design to lead the way, or observe on the sidelines. Increasingly, design managers are being invited to the boardroom and are asking themselves: “Can I rise to the occasion?” Now is the time to take action, to prepare for your future, to be engaged, and to lead your organization, your staff, and your clients to the values of design like never before. Join us in London 21-22 April. Transform yourself!
 
Stay tuned to www.dmi.org/european for program and speaker updates. Make sure to sign up by February 1 to obtain the early bird discount!
 
Get a head start with additional learning at this optional seminar: Service Design: Key Methods & Strategies, April 19-20, London
 

 
 

Save the Date
Design/Management/Brand 22 Conference

June 16-17, 2010
W Hotel, San Francisco, USA

DMI’s Design/Management/Brand 22 Conference will pick up where we left off last year and move the conversation forward to the next level! Join Roger Martin, author of the acclaimed new book, The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage, as well as Darrel Rhea, one of today’s foremost strategic design consultants, as they design version 2.0.
 
Last year, Mel Lim had this to say: “I haven’t been to a conference this engaging, exciting and educational in a long time… I left with a belly of information that I can actually use to help my clients, grow my business and how to move forward in these uncertain times."

Early registration is now open. Sign up and get the early discount! Look for updates in future issues of DMI News & Views.
 
 

DMI introduces three new seminars

Improving Design Decision Making and Concept Evaluation

Jeremy Alexis, Assistant Dean and Professor, IIT Institute of Design
April 29-30, Chicago, USA
September 16-17, Seattle, USA

It is an accepted fact that when someone notes, “he or she is a great leader” what they really mean is that “he or she has a clear point of view and makes good decisions.” As important as decision-making is to the success of design projects, there is little formal training in design schools, and managers often rely only on intuition when making critical, strategic decisions about projects and even their own firm.
 
This seminar will teach an overall approach as well as specific methods and tools for improving decision making in all phases of the design process, with particular attention being paid to leading a group decision process. You will gain easy to use and implement tools for improving the quality of your decisions.

More information
 
 

The Trends Imperative: How to Get Ahead of the Curve and Stay There

Valerie Jacobs, Vice-President, Group Director, Director of Trend Analysis, LPK
June 10-11, Cincinnati, USA
September 30-October 1, New York City, USA

How can we design for the behaviors, attitudes and values of tomorrow’s consumers when we are stuck here in the now of today? Our work must be future-forward enough to be relevant when it hits the market, and resonate enough to remain compelling for the years following its launch.
 
Attendees will learn that there is a new capacity for understanding trends that will help them see and work differently—recognize patterns, glean insights and design more strategically. The seminar format will be highly interactive, utilizing group participation, individual exercises, dialogue, discussion and presentation.

More information
 
 

Building Great Internal Design Organizations

Thomas Lockwood, PhD, President, DMI
June 24-25, New York City, USA
September 23-24, San Francisco, USA

This seminar is about increasing the value of design in business and advancing design as a core competency. It explores the area of design leadership, by building great internal design organizations, operational excellence, and the integration of design into strategic management processes.
 
You will learn how to set in place a plan for more effective internal design operations, organizations, management and sourcing. You will better understand your clients, how they make decisions, where you fit in the grand scheme of things, and how to bring more value to the table. This seminar will empower managers, from design or business organizations and backgrounds, to more effectively leverage the power of design into the corporate agenda.

More information
 
 

DMI and KIDP announce cooperative agreement

During the recent Design Korea conference, DMI and KIDP (Korea Institute of Design Promotion) finalized an agreement to work together closely on future publishing, educational, and conference initiatives. During a ceremony, the agreement was signed by Tom Lockwood, President of DMI, and KIM Hyun-tae, President of KIDP. The agreement demonstrates DMI’s ongoing commitment to continued international growth and program development. The first fruit of this collaboration will be the 2010 issue of DMI’s Design Management Journal, which will feature selected papers that were presented at the conference. Founded in 1970, KIDP is one of the world’s leading government design organizations. The city of Seoul is also the 2010 World Design Capital, with multiple design-related events scheduled over the course of the year.
 
 

DMI members eligible for IDEA award discount

DMI and IDSA have together agreed to make available to all current DMI members the IDSA discount on applications for the IDEA 2010 awards. The IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) program is the premier international competition honoring design excellence in products, ecodesign, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. The regular application deadline is January 25, 2010. DMI members should call or email DMI to obtain the discount.
 

Webinar: Discovering What’s Next

Harry West, CEO, Continuum
February 3, 1 pm EST

We are going through a time of great change: the integration of the physical and the virtual; rapid erosion of technical advantage; fast followers pulling out into the passing lane; the emergence of real markets in emerging markets; and above all, intense global competition. Companies are looking for new approaches to innovation as a way to stay ahead. In this session we will review some simple techniques that can help an organization get to what’s next.

More information
 
 

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

More information
 
 

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 high-level, acclaimed seminar. Come ready to roll up your sleeves and immerse yourself!
 
“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

More information
 

Your New Design Process Is Not Enough—Hire Design Thinkers!

By Mauro Porcini, Head of Design, Consumer & Office Business Worldwide, 3M
DMI Review, Vol. 20, No. 3, 2009

The best design methodologies will come to naught without the right designers and the right design attitudes. At 3M, a company renowned for its many successful innovations, it is revealing to learn how this balance is defined.

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