There has always been a lot of focus on fast moving consumer goods, but what about fast moving ideas? Having recently helped create and run the “Tsinghua-DMI International Design Management Symposium” in Hong Kong, I think it’s time to talk about fast moving design methods.
I am very impressed with the advancement of design management in mainland China, Hong Kong and South Korea, in both the design education and industry sectors, here’s why. The DMI conference, Dec 3-5, drew over 300 attendees from 18 countries, and we published 88 papers and 66 paper sessions, representing 55 universities. The theme of the conference was “A new era of innovation”, and I think this represents a new reality.
The adoption of design management appears to be as fast, or faster, in Asia as in Europe and the US. Lets call it fast moving design methods. The underlying principles of design strategy, design methods and design thinking are widespread and have gained traction in many sectors. The impact of design and design methods to business success is becoming very obvious to more and more people. And business executives are recognizing that design is the connection between company, consumer and innovation, and that design management makes it happen. Today, design management covers the practicality of design and design processes, and extends to business strategy and innovation as well. This involves methods such as design thinking for innovation, design organization development supporting change management, and design management focusing on efficiency and effectiveness. The scope of design has extended from the level of product, brand and identity design, to user experience design, business and corporate strategy, and even government strategy.
This advancement of knowledge is particularly rapid in Asia. As a comparison, in 2009 I was asked to be a judge of a design management competition at Tsinghua University, considered the “Harvard of China”. Frankly, the cases submitted for review were fundamentally sound but rather basic. Now, just two years later, the progress in research and case work presented at this conference is staggering. There are pockets of excellence in design management, and the research being conducted is world-class. However, the impact of a few leading universities such as Tsinghua in Beijing and KAIST in Seoul is minor compared to the 400 or so design schools in mainland China alone; but potentially a center of excellence will become a distributed competency.
Another interesting point on fast moving design methods is the adoption by government. In Seoul, a leading design management professor from KAIST, Kyung-won Chung, whom I wrote a HBS case study with for Samsung, was appointed to become the cities vice mayor. And in Shanghai I was invited a few years ago to attend a meeting with the government Ministry of Science and Technology to discuss design management. On a Friday afternoon we were not quite done meeting and they asked me to come back on Saturday morning – I said yes but it is the weekend – and they responded to the effect of; we are an emerging country, we must work on the weekends.
In addition, the rapid advancement of design methods in Asia is bolstered by close connections between industry and education. A top design professor from KAIST, professor LEE Kun Pyo, is now the corporate vice president of design at LG Electronics. Educators, industry and government appear to work closely together which helps spread the rapid adoption of design and design methods in Korea and China.
“The 2011 Tsinghua–DMI International Design Symposium, Hong Kong marked a prominent milestone for the pursuance of knowledge of Design by kicking off the new wave of design management studies in Hong Kong and Mainland China”. – Gabriel Y. L. Tong (Founder, Innovation and Design Management Association)
The inspiration for this conference originated on a Skype call with professor Cai Jun of Tsinghua University and I in December of 2010. Then we “just did it” (another fast moving idea).
Keynote speakers:
Thomas Lockwood (Lockwood Resource)
Duncan Trevor-Wilson (GE Healthcare)
Hagen Fendler (Huawei Device)
LEE, Kun Pyo (LG Electronics)
Richard Buchanan (Case Western Reserve University)
CHUNG, Kyung Won (KAIST)
CAI Jun (Tsinghua University)
Cathy HUANG (China Bridge International)
Richard Kelly (IDEO)
Ms. HUANG Wuxiu (General Secretary, China Industrial Design Association)
Officiating guests:
Mr. Jerry LIU (Head of CreateHK, HKSAR Government)
Prof. XIE Wei He (Deputy President, Tsinghua University)
Prof. ZHENG Shuyang (Dean of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University)
Mrs Agnes MAK (Executive Director, Hong Kong Productivity Council)
Dr. Edmund LEE (Executive Director, Hong Kong Design Centre)
Dr. Roy CHUNG (Chairman, Federation of Hong Kong Industries)
Ms. HUANG Wuxiu (General Secretary, China Industrial Design Association)