How does one get designers to think like business executives, and vice versa? Or what’s the difference when designing for cities and countries, rather than companies?
These are just some of the topics that will be explored when the global business and design leaders gather in Singapore next March 6-8 for the 2018 Brainstorm Design conference.
Twenty new names have been added to the speaker roster for the conference jointly organized for the first time by the editorial teams behind Coins2Day, Time, and Wallpaper* magazines, with the support of the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) and Singapore Economic Development Board.
The updated list of speakers now comprise prominent business leaders from across Asia, Europe and the United States, including Autodesk vice president of experience design Maria Giudice, SAP chief design officer Sam Yen and Netyear president and CEO Fujiyo Ishiguro.
Leading names in architecture and design will bring the designer’s point-of-view to the table, among them Mark Dytham, co-founder of Klein-Dytham Architecture and PechaKucha, a networking events for the design community; Norihiko Shinya, vice president of internationally celebrated Japanese interior design firm Super Potato; and Kashiwa Sato, founder of Toyko-based Samurai.
Johnson & Johnson’s chief design officer Ernesto Quinteros, IBM general manager for design Phil Gilbert and Google vice president of material design Matías Duarte will weigh in from a big business perspective, while two Singapore-based representatives, Changi Airport Group CEO Lee Seow Hiang and UBS Wealth Management chief digital officer for Asia-Pacific, Ketan Semani will share their experiences in Asia.
Design consultants such as IDEO partner and executive managing director for Asia, Charles Hayes, Frog chief executive Harry West, McKinsey partner and Lunar chief executive Derrick Kiker, and Fjord’s chief client officer Mark Curtis will share their experiences of how they’ve tapped on design thinking principles to lead business transformation for their clients. Further to that, Danish Design Centre CEO Christian Bason how the approach can be adapted for city planners and public policy makers to better prepare for the future.
Academics and published authors such as John Cary, Foundation Capital Partner Steve Vassallo, and University of Virginia Darden School of Business professor Jeanne Liedtka will offer their observations on how design has evolved over the years.
Giudice, Kiker, Lee, Semani, and Yen will also serve on the 2018 Brainstorm Design’s Global Advisory Council. They join previously announced speakers and other council members, such as designer Tom Dixon, who will also be the event’s creative director; designer Thomas Heatherwick; Dsg executive director Agnes Kwek; PepsiCo chief design officer Mauro Porcini; artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde; architect Ole Scheeren; and architect and designer Patricia Urquiola, who will give counsel and recommend content for the conference.
Find out more about Brainstorm Design and see the current list of speakers here.
