The 6th year of IIT Institute of Design's Design Research Conference, formerly known as About With & For (what was wrong with that name!) is coming up next month, so you might wanna make plans to attend if you're in Chicago, and you might wanna make plans to be in Chicago in September. Here's the pitch:
The conference provides a venue for featuring the design research being conducted in some of the world's most forward-thinking corporations and academic institutions, and for sharing insights on the challenges and successes of implementing new research methodologies in organizations. This year's confirmed speakers include Dan Buchner, VP of Innovation and Design at Design Continuum; Steve Herbst, design research manager at Motorola Consumer Experience Design; Chuck Jones, VP of Global Consumer Design at Whirlpool; and Darrel Rhea, CEO of Cheskin.
Who should attend. The ID Design Research Conference is an ideal venue for design and consumer researchers, planners, marketing and branding strategists, and other managers and executives concerned with learning the latest advanced methods and approaches to design practice
Sure, that's good copy, but then it gets great: Mission
Establishment of a norm. Since the advent of industrialization, companies have sought to streamline operations and maximize efficiencies in order to remain competitive. A linear development process emerged as a means of maintaining control over this evolution. If design research played a part in affecting the development of products, services and experiences, it relied mostly on the 'intuition of the few'.
Then things changed. It is safe to say that in this day in age, corporate competition has reached a critical mass. In response, the characteristic of today's business leaders lays not in their ability to single-handedly devise solutions, but in their acumen for structuring teams that create new choices for the institution. In response to this shift, we've seen the capabilities of design evolve in remarkable ways, capitalizing on the use of research methods to bring out deep insight into the motivations that drive social and cultural transformation.
The linear business model is now being called in question by the stresses of the competitive landscape. If 'business as usual' embraces silos, roles, and hierarchy, what should 'business by design' be? The capability of user-centered research to solve wicked problems, deliver superior and differentiated offering, and win market share, continues to expand. Among corporations and business schools, people are beginning to understand the potential of design in research and across the organization, to develop strategies for addressing the nuances that differentiate markets from one another.
Refocus. Corporations are at a critical juncture. Incremental innovation alone will no longer support sustainable growth. The IIT Institute of Design's 2007 Design Research Conference will showcase a select group of forward-thinking individuals who have challenged the norm. It will feature their exceptional, breakthrough, disruptive approaches to design problems, and the outstanding ways in which their research inspired uniquely new outcomes. Their solutions demonstrate empathy for the cultures they serve, and respect for the context wherein they exist.
Here's to "solving wicked problems"!
IIT Institute of Design Design Research Conference September 21-22, 2007 Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago http://www.designresearchconference.com
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