To bring the next generation of connected products to market, designers of tomorrow need to combine core expertise with broad experience in a range of disciplines like ethnographic research, sensing, scenario forecasting, experience, strategy, participatory design, and design for manufacturing. Of course, more nuanced skills like empathy and systems
thinking are important too.
In conjunction with the IxDA Interaction14 Conference in Amsterdam, frog will host a panel discussion on Thursday, February 6 : "Future Cast: Assembling the Designer of Tomorrow." This panel, along with a co-design session, will explore the new skills and competencies necessary to address complex challenges across the hyper-connected world - with a focus on designing amazing technology products and services.
In order to paint a diverse and comprehensive picture on the subject, four different fields of expertise have been identified.
Culture and Government
Michiel Schwarz / Founder @ Sustainism Lab
Known for his design manifest “Sustainism”, Michiel Schwarz will discuss how designing products and services with the long-view in mind demands a new sensibility and attention to the impact designs have on individuals, communities and cultures. Michiel is an independent cultural researcher, design strategist and innovator from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He co-created the concept of ‘sustainism’, which some have called "a new ethos for design.” He is co-author of the much-discussed Sustainism Is the New Modernism: A Cultural Manifesto for the Sustainist Era, and the recently published Sustainist Design Guide. In his current work he is developing the idea of ‘sustainist design’ both in Holland (with the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture) and India (with the School of Design, Ambedkar University Delhi).
Corporate In-house
Thorsten Jankowski / User Experience Lead @ Volkswagen Group IT
Thorsten Jankowski has the challenge of building a new framework and capabilities of design thinking within a global IT organization. He will share his approach to shift an organization's mindset through the influence of user-centered designers. Thorsten is an industrial designer from scratch with a focus on interactive media and innovative solutions. He studied Industrial Design at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Braunschweig, Germany (HBK). Thorsten started working as a graphic designer during his studies and became art director for online media and project manager in the multimedia business in 1998, working for various clients like Bayer AG, Volkswagen, Audi. In 2002 he switched to the automotive industry and today he focuses on uncovering new markets.
Design Service
Dave Benach / Global Talent Acquisition @ frog
Dave Benach will discuss how the creative talent landscape is changing and the approaches he takes to seek and hire the perfect team for frog. Dave currently leads frog's global talent acquisition practice and is always searching for the world's best talent to join our EU and US studio teams. Dave also functions as a corporate ambassador at events, conferences and universities. He still gets excited everyday by identifying, engaging and securing rockstar thinkers, doers and makers.
Design Education
Elisa Giaccardi / Professor of Interactive Media Design @ TU-Delft
Elisa Giaccardi teaches at one of Europe’s foremost design programs and is grooming a new group of eager young design talent. She will let us know what is changing in today’s curriculums to address more complex and diverse workplaces. Elisa is a professor of Interactive Media Design at the Department of Industrial Design Engineering, and one of the recipients of the TU Delft Technology Fellowship for top female scientists. Her background brings together humanities, digital media, and interaction design. She regularly lectures and publishes in international journals and at leading conferences for interaction design and human-computer interaction, and has been the recipient of several scholarships and grants, including a NSF Science of Design grant on participative systems and open interaction design. She has served as an expert reviewer for the US National Science Foundation, the National Research Council Canada, and the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), and she is a member of the editorial boards of ACM Interactions and the Intellect journals Ubiquity and Writing in Creative Practice.
About frog
frog is a global product strategy and design firm. We identify business opportunities, create great products, and design meaningful experiences to grow brands and delight customers. We are more than 600 strategists, researchers, designers, and technologists who consult and partner with clients across industries. Headquartered in San Francisco, we have offices in Amsterdam, Austin, Boston, Milan, Munich, New York, Seattle, and Shanghai.
About Interaction14 (IxDA14)
Interaction14 (IxDA14) is an initiative of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), a global network of over 55,000 members worldwide dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design. IxDA is an annual event that draws nearly a thousand experts from across the globe. It relies on individual initiative, contribution, sharing and self-organization as the primary means to realize its conference.
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