Rich Insights and Inspiration Mark Success of 2nd Product Design + Innovation Conference

June 7, 2012 - PRLog -- The unique Product Design + Innovation Conference recently held in London featured star speakers, insightful case studies and engaging debates that inspired delegates. With more than 40 UK and international speakers representing global brands and consultancies, the conference delivered a wealth of ideas and fresh insights for over 200 delegates.

Among the many highlights was the debate on the motion “In both manufacturing and services, design is pivotal to economic growth”. Clive Grinyer, director of customer experience at Cisco IBSG, opened with a strong pitch of: “The inability to design products that compete internationally is a major reason why companies fail.” But James Woudhuysen, professor of Forecasting & Innovation at De Montfort University, and Martyn Perks, founder of Thinking Apart, opposing the motion, led an impressive turnaround in opinion, convincing many delegates not to “over claim” the economic power of design.

Dick Powell of SeymourPowell’s opening keynote included the memorable idea that company’s trying to innovate look like a giant jelly. “They shake around trying to be innovative for a period of time, then they go back to the way they were,” he said. A thought-provoking description that recognised the way corporate culture resists change. He then went on to suggest designers can help with the “engine of creativity” and by “listening with their eyes”.

Equally memorable was Louis Kim, vice president of the Advanced Platforms Group at Hewlett-Packard. From a survey of perceptions on influence, he showed a slide in which the influence of design comes way below that of other departments: finance, marketing, human resources. Naming this domain “The Quadrant of Heartbreak” he exhorted designers to be “organisational warriors” to effectively exert influence within the corporate structure.

Case studies were a vital and inspirational part of the conference, a highlight among which was Rob Law, CEO and Co-Founder of Magmatic, designers and distributors of the award-winning Trunki children's travel products. Rob took delegates from his initial invention through early unsuccessful attempts to bring the product to market through to sales success and ultimate brand extension.

“This was the first international conference in my career that looked at the intersection of innovation and product design in true sense,” said Manoj Kothari, Director & Principal Strategist at Onio. “In two days it effectively covered from global mega-futures to new polymers that promote sustainable design and from limits of the profession to design in India & China. It was surely a re-mineraliser for my mind.”

While James Moultrie, Head of Design, Institute of Manufacturing, Cambridge University added, “The conference demonstrated that it is an exciting time for British design and generated informed discussion around emerging issues, new materials and the role of design in the economy.”

While for Simon Bolton, Director, Centre for Creative Competitive Design, Professor, Cranfield University, “The importance of the event is its ability to bring together recognised key players, emerging talent and ambitious new entrants in order to share insights and debate fundamental issues impacting on our profession.”

Phil Gray, Managing Director, Quadro Design Associates summed up by saying: “This is fast becoming the event for industrial designers. Not only did it attract more designers it attracted some of the best speakers in the business. To be able to debate and discuss with our peers, share experiences and see the latest tools and techniques is a must and Product Design + Innovation certainly ticked all boxes for me.”  

Product Design + Innovation is aimed at senior product designers as well as innovation professionals working for brand owners, OEMs or consultancies. The new London venue for the 2013 Product Design + Innovation conference will be announced in the coming months.

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DuPont and Autodesk sponsored the conference, which was also supported by British Design Innovation (BDI), the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) and the Innovation Leadership Forum, together with media partner DEVELOP3D magazine. Verband Deutscher Industrie Designer (VDID) in Germany was international supporting partner.