I’m just leaving for Amsterdam to run the DMI conference. Here is my vision for the event … Just imagine if the values of design were known to all. If everyone felt they simply could not live without good design in business, governments and society. And imagine if they felt that design processes were paramount to innovation and growth. And if they realized that brands are built by design, services are engaged by design, and experiences are enjoyed by design. Imagine if the design and business communities had common language and perspectives about the value of design.
And imagine if the leading educators in many disciplines developed new curriculum that involved the integration, collaboration and value of design. And imagine if government officials integrated design thinking into everyday processes. And rather than the creative class trying to become faux financial managers, that business managers understand the tangible and intangible values of design. And if designers no longer just “pitched” design, but rather helped provide solutions to the real problems, not just the superficial problems. And imagine if there we the “5D’s”: of design, and the “5I’s” of innovation and integrated thinking, akin to the “4P’s” of marketing? And what if one day “design”, as a noun and a verb, got real traction at the board levels like advertising and marketing did, and also at the individual contributor levels like corporate quality did?
Imagine if we discussed this honestly, wholeheartedly and collaboratively for two days in Amsterdam. And we came to some forms of consensus about articulating the values of design, as a possible model or models for communication, that we could carry forward to future conferences and symposiums around the world regarding a shared perspective of design value. And just suppose that the leading industrial design organization in America, IDSA, partnered with DMI to research and develop this topic, and joined us here in Amsterdam. And imagine if DMI’s new president, who is a leading global design director, with deep expertise in future design forecast and design in emerging markets, joined us in Amsterdam. And that the DMI vision remains true as true today as it was when DMI started in 1975 – to advance the role of design in business around the world.
Now, please realize, that these imaginations are actually the realties for today. This is the agenda for our conference in Amsterdam next week, May 18-19.
Ironically, the first DMI conference I ran was in 2006 in Amsterdam, and the last one will be also in Amsterdam, next week. ☺