Global businesses increasingly appreciate how design and design thinking can provide them with high-level, strategic value and competitive advantage. In an intensely competitive market, with ever more diverse and demanding customers, executives are often left unsure of exactly what products, communications and services to create for what segments of the market. Design, with its ability to understand users, redefine problems and create systemic, human-centered solutions, can help companies better understand their customer's daily lives, and lead directly to valuable (and valued) offerings that are effectively tailored to their market.
The inaugural Institute of Design Strategy Conference in May 2005 sought to help bridge the worlds of design and business. It was created as a business conference about design, rather than a design conference about business. Participants were the leaders of strategy and innovation from their firms, as well as those who aspire to leadership positions in these areas. It was loosely structured, creating many opportunities for informal discussion during breaks and meals. This helped to foster connections between business leaders and design leaders in a way that was interesting, informative and fun.
ID's next conference, Design for the New China Markets (December 2005, Beijing) focused on issues related specifically to design and business strategy for the rapidly emerging Chinese market, with speakers from General Electric, Baidu.com, SINA.com, Lenovo, and many other leading global companies.
With Strategy06, we're continuing the work of bridging design and business strategy. We hope you can join us!
About the Institute of Design
Since its founding as the New Bauhaus in 1937, the Institute of Design (www.id.iit.edu) has grown into the largest full-time graduate design program in the U.S. The school offers professional Master of Design degrees concentrating in communication design, design planning, design research, and product design. It created the country's first Ph.D. design program in 1991, pioneering the development of an international community of basic research in design methods. The Institute of Design also offers a nine-month (or two to three year part-time) executive Master of Design Methods degree for mid-career designers and managers seeking the latest design methods to use in leading corporate innovation.
