#dmiwhaaat

[monicarayscott]

These are a few of my favorite things... #workspacedesign #visualizations #designthinking #dmistudents #launchlabs #movingwalls #dmiwhaaat (at Launchlabs.ch)

[designmanagementintl]

Digital Transformation: the Evolution of Sylvia Ewerling and the World of Digital Design Management

If you’re reading this right now, it’s evident that part of your life exists in a digital space. Whether in the role of creator, consumer or both, these days we increasingly learn, share, and live online. We’ve largely accepted this new dimension as individuals, but what does it mean for business?

Surviving in this relatively new space can be overwhelming, especially for organizations whose structures weren’t born in the Internet Age. Your brand can easily set up camp on social media, but so can everyone else. It’s free to start a Facebook page, a Twitter account, or even a MailChimp Newsletter and broadcast your message to some corner of the virtual world, but what do you or your company really have to say? The lack of upfront investment is deceptive: being a brand or organization in the digital world is anything but easy.

This is where Sylvia Ewerling comes in. As a Digital Design Manager she helps organizations prepare themselves to live sustainable lives in the virtual realm. She coaches businesses as they navigate the challenges, learn the lingo and persevere to keep reaching their goals using user-centered digital marketing long after she leaves. As a sought-after professional with her own consulting firm, both Sylvia and the Internet have come a long way since she graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and Web Design wasn’t even among the Art School program offerings…

“I started very traditionally in the print area and did very ugly brochures,” she told us, laughing, “but then I switched more and more to digital.” Her very first digital project, the website for the internet radio phenomenon Das Ding for SWR in Baden-Baden, earned major recognition for her and her team. “[At] that time, it was very new to have radio on the internet,” she recounted. The combination of radio, web and TV with timely weekly themes targeted at youth turned out to be a hit. They ended up winning the Grimme Online Award for the site, an astounding feat for a bunch of youngsters.

Inspired to learn more about this thing called “digital” yet looking for a break, Sylvia went to New York. Web Design and E-Commerce course at Pratt Institute lead to a job doing web design at an advertising agency. As time went on though, she found herself doing less design work and more Project Management. When it came time to take her education to the next level, Sylvia came here to the HSLU, completing a Masters in Digital Design and Management. (This exact program is no longer available, but for those interested, our program as well as the Master of Advanced Studies in Digital Marketing and Communications Management have you covered!) When she finished, she’d grown a lot. “After the study here, there was this idea of ‘Oh, I need to change, I need to do something bigger!’”

That opportunity came in the form of a marketing position at agricultural industry giant Syngenta. “I switched desks, so to say, because in the agency I was sort of a service provider and then I changed into the industry. I learned a lot about Marketing and Communication, a lot about how a company ticks. I cleaned up the website, applied what I’d learned before, and after a year and a half I was promoted to head of E-Business for Germany and Austria.” She’d gone from a design-driven agency, to a corporate marketing position, to a full-fledged management role.

“I was there in this management area in a very big company and things are different than in an agency. The processes are slower and the commitment for digital marketing was not as I would have liked to have it. There was a commitment, there were projects and digital was on the agenda but I missed the results. I had a clear vision of where to lead my agricultural customers and with the structure there, I wasn’t sure if we could reach it.” As is too often the case, Sylvia’s enthusiasm, diligence and personal commitment were lost in the unempathetic structural labyrinth of a large organization.

From the outside, choosing to branch out on her own, especially in the independent, fast-paced world of digital marketing, seems obvious given her impressive trajectory. On the inside though, it was one of the hardest decisions of Sylvia’s life. It was risky, and her concept of consulting organizations on their digital strategy would bring her right back into the corporate tangle. “I need to deal with...the same guys I already knew! And I know the structures, that they are so slow and so on. This was a point I thought a lot about.” When she finally decided to break out on her own though, the need for her expertise was there. And it still is.

All too often she goes into established enterprises to find that they lack basic infrastructure and strategy regarding digital marketing. “I ask about the CRM [Customer Relationship Management] system, how they manage their customer data. Very often they say they have nothing. This I can hardly believe! Then they say, yes, everybody has his own Excel list. And I’m talking about companies from 300-500 employees so they are not very small! I say ‘let’s do the things together, please’. Let’s see how CRM and internet and all your traditional marketing can fit together and make a full picture.” And this is just one example. Anyone who’s tried it knows that uncoordinated social media management or digital strategy is a recipe for burnout. This presents a huge challenge for organizations, and a huge demand for Digital Marketing experts and Design Managers like Sylvia Ewerling.

In typical DMI fashion, her diverse background has uniquely prepared her for this role. Her wide spectrum of understanding allows her to span divides. “They speak different languages--the business people and the creative people. This means there’s often a lot of miscommunication.” In her current role as consulting Design Manager, one of her many jobs is serving as a diplomatic interpreter.

As with the move towards being more design-driven, most companies are currently in transition to living full digital lives. Everyone is in the process of figuring out what it means to thrive in this age whether it’s as a brand, or a human. When it comes to this kind of evolution, as Sylvia discovered, Design Management truly has a lot to contribute.

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You can find Sylvia Ewerling and learn more about the world of Digital Design Management on her website, Twitter and Facebook. Sylvia’s Design Manager’s Talk was the last scheduled for this school year, but we’ll be looking forward to starting them up again in the fall! Keep updated with our newsletter by subscribing here

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[designmanagementintl]

Guest Post: Jürgen Salenbacher on Adapting Your Mental Model

        In anticipation of his talk this Wednesday evening, Jürgen Salenbacher shares insight and inspiration for change-makers, creative leaders, and visionary modern humans (or more simply, Design Managers!).

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Creative Personal Branding: Adapting Your Mental Model to the World’s Challenges Today

Thank goodness that times have changed for creative professionals. There is more respect and recognition for us, but also more responsibility if we think and talk about our education and dedication to create and grow.

The BA in Design Management is an excellent example of a highly relevant way of educating the type of change-makers, visionaries and creative leaders most companies need urgently to facilitate change of companies’ business model and culture. Sometimes I wish that students and young professionals have more faith, willingness and ambitions to position themselves as a relevant and decisive part of the workforce. Even by daring to develop their own business-model.

Creativity and innovation are no longer rare habits. They form the backbone of economies in transitions. We need to develop a vision to make them part of our work and lives.

In my book Creative Personal Branding we reflect on and reframe what is actually happening with the economy and society, we dedicate time to understand who we are, what interests, skills and interests we have, what new skills and competences we need and where we can get them.

         The recommendation of the European Parliament and Council for ‘life-long learning’ defines eight key forms of competence:

Communication in your native language

Communication in a foreign language

Mathematical competence and basic competence in science and technology

Digital competence

Learning to learn

Social and civil competence

A sense of initiative and entrepreneurship

Cultural awareness and expression

These forms of competence are interdependent. The emphasis in each of them is on critical thinking, creativity, initiative-taking, problem- solving, risk-assessment, decision-taking and constructive management of feelings.

We urgently need change-makers, creative visionaries and leaders, people with these hybrid competences. With substance: real and valuable knowledge and expertise in at least one relevant area that increases effectiveness. We need people with the hybrid ability to synthesise information and combine creativity with business strategy.

We need creative leaders with style: an understanding of aesthetics and the power of design and design thinking.

We need informed, active, responsible and relevant citizens for our global society.

We need creative leaders with conviction: ethics, integrity, beliefs and an idea of how a better world would be.

We need people with grace: the ability to listen and talk within a diverse community, to understand and act within new business realities and sometimes just say ‘thank you’.

We need people who challenge the status quo, contribute to the future and lead their lives to help others. There is a huge demand for people with the emotional and intellectual capacity to relate and react to a complex world in a state of constant flux. We need people who combine substance and style, conviction and grace.

-Jürgen Salenbacher

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        Jürgen Salenbacher is author of Creative Personal Branding and will join Kathryn Best at this week’s Design Manager’s Talk. Find his book here (there’s also an app!) and we’ll hope to see you on Wednesday!

[designmanagementintl]

What’s the big deal?

         Today is a big day at Design Management, International. The Infodays are in full swing, there’s lots of energetic activity, and we’ve just announced the expansion of our study program. With all this excitement, you may be wondering just what all of the fuss is about. Let us explain…

The fuss about DMI: we’re one of a kind!

          The world is changing. Lines between countries, traditional disciplines, and even the words ‘real’ and ‘digital’ are blurring. Things are moving faster, the stakes are high and expectations are even higher. In this age of constant change, many traditional business models have lost their footing. Organizations are realizing they need new skills in order to operate in this environment. Competencies like interdisciplinary collaboration, clear communication, and rapid, human-centered solution generation are increasingly sought after. These skills are at the heart of Design Management and the Lucerne School of Art and Design is the only university offering these “new fundamentals” at an undergraduate level.  

The fuss about the Program Expansion:  we’re growing and innovating!

          We’re innovators, and our program is always evolving, reflecting the needs of the industry and our students. This development is no exception. Starting in Fall 2016, Design Management, International will offer two Specialization Tracks. One is focused on Solution Creation through the design of products and services, while the other is concerned with Market Creation and designing to communicate with the public. Both are grounded in the core competencies of Design Management and both apply the same fundamental process, they simply concentrate on applying them differently resulting in either product solutions or communication solutions. These specializations allow for students to grow deeply confident in their chosen area of interest, while still understanding the context of Design Management. The interest in DMI has continued to grow and with this expansion, the program can also welcome about 20% more students.

The fuss about Infodays: we’d love to meet you!

          The Infodays are an especially exciting time for us because it means we get to meet you! That is, we get to meet curious individuals who are interested in learning more about DMI and may become future members of our ever-strengthening community. From finding out the answer to “DMI… Whaaat?!” with Head of Program Jan-Erik Baars, to taking a tour of our world of workspaces here at the Sentimatt, to enjoying some treats and a coffee, it’s a great chance to get a sense for what we do. Current students will also be around to answer your questions. We’d love to have you join us!

Presentations start in room S125 at 15:00 today (November 27th) and tomorrow November 28th at 11:00 and 15:00. You’re welcome to stop by the DMI Hallway whenever to say hello and have a chat though. Hope to see you there!

[designmanagementintl]

“At the Start of Things”: A Conversation with Iain Aitchison

In his Design Managers Talk, Iain Aitchison shared views on the rapid recent developments of the design world. Through connections to his personal journey, and that of the consultancy he helps run, we were given new insights into the vibrant industry of which we are a part. We spoke to him about silos, management muscles, and Why Questions to better understand the inner workings of someone continually “At the Start of Things”.

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Like many of us here at DMI, you went into college with a wide variety of interests but you chose to study Design. Did you know what direction you wanted to take when you made that decision?

Iain Aitchison: No, is the answer. *laughs* Absolutely not. But I was interested in an environment that would allow me to find out. Finding the right place to experience what design is in its entirety and then position yourself within that as a practitioner.

In your talk, you described the challenge of being forced into choosing a discipline, even though you wanted to just be a Designer. It’s true that a lot of programs are preparing students for “silos” that don’t really exist anymore. 

IA: That’s a big question in education in general: the role of disciplines versus a more contextual approach. Without disciplines, the creation and management of knowledge becomes more difficult. It’s not an either or, though. You need both.

Education for T-shaped people! You also mentioned that, even though Plan didn’t start out as a Design Management firm (and still doesn’t identify as one), you were pulled in that direction by the desire to create impact. That’s wonderful!

IA: Even designers are now looking at the impact they deliver at more organizational level. You measure it no longer only by what products you got to market but also by what changes you affected in the organization that led to better things happening.

That’s a change that happened in the Management Consulting industry 10 or 20 years ago when the McKinseys and the BCGs started to focus much more on organizational change and transformation, not just giving advice. They still give advice, but now they also help organizations to react to this advice and actually make it happen. I think Design Management is a part of the same shift.

Do you have any habits, routines or practices that you consider especially integral to your process or Design Management work?

IA: One would be making things visual. We have studios like yours where everything’s mapped out on the walls [giving] us space to reflect and make connections. That’s really integral, especially when you see so many Powerpoints. When you’re working with such complexity, sometimes you just need to get it all out there.

The other thing is that we like to think of ourselves as having a creative muscle and an analytical muscle, like a left arm and a right arm. The pure design process is quite intuitive and requires big leaps of faith. When you’re communicating design decisions to complex organizations or non-designers, though, you need to be able to explain your thinking. We don’t want to make the design process an analytical process, but we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can clarify the decisions we made and the reasons for them. To say why we haven’t done what we could have done, as well as why we have done what we did. That’s a habit, a kind of muscle memory which we’ve tried to build up as a company. 

“Why questions” are huge at DMI as well. What about any current or future projects that you’re especially excited about? It seems like you have a lot!

IA: The thing that gets me out of bed is any kind of situation where design is taking on a role it hasn’t had before. Either it [design] doesn’t exist within a company and you’re trying to help it establish itself or you’re in a much bigger situation, where there may be a very large organization but it needs to be revamped in some way. That’s what I find interesting. For all the poster children of “design success” in organizations, there are hundreds of thousands of examples where design is not even present! 

Design isn’t the be-all and end-all of everything, but still. There’s lots of work to be done.

Definitely. As the world around us gets more man-made, the role of design is getting exponentially more prominent.  

IA: True. People ask “what does a design education give you” [and] I say, it gives you agency for your world. It gives you the ability to think that things can be different and the ability to visualize and give form to that future state. That’s an incredible capacity and you can use it in lots of ways.

What about when people ask you to define “Design Management”?

IA: I’d say it’s about insuring the effective use of design and helping to support design itself in any organizational context, big or small.

There’s a danger that Design Management can become too obsessed with Design Thinking and other roles for design within organizations when actually there’s a very distinct discipline of and need for Design Management itself. 

Even within our major, Design Management is recognized as being divided into two parts: one is just managing design (DM in its traditional sense) and the other is applying Design Thinking or creative problem solving techniques in organizations that are not typically creative.

IA: It’s important to know that these two contexts exist. In practicing it, you’ll become even more aware of that fact and then you can make a choice about where to focus.

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Iain Aitchison is Director of the Product Strategy consultancy Plan in London.

[designmanagementintl]

For those of you who are wondering how the #WerkschauDK flyer was created... #hslu #designundkunst #messeluzern #seeyouthere #dmi #dmiwhaaat #designmanagement @hslu_luzern

[designmanagementintl]

My Alp Escapade

This story begins with a desire to travel, to seek a getaway. For a girl of age 24, in a country like India an almost impossible dream is to live life on ‘her’ own terms. What does one do in a situation when you have an offer to go for an exchange semester to the oh-so-lovely Swiss Alps? Of Course! you hop on the next flight. And that’s what I did. Travelling from a country of 1 billion population (there are 13 zeros after 1) my initial reaction on reaching Zurich was “pray! But where are the people? Knock knock! Anybody home? “

I was about to live my dream. To stay in a land which is as different from my homeland, far away from the maddening crowd (quite literally) and continents away from my culture and family? A strange scary feeling rooted inside me, which soon gave way to curiosity and wonder. The city of Luzern was much beautiful than as shown in the Google image gallery. The warm smile of Heidi (exchange coordinator) at the Luzern bahnhof instantly put all the worries away. The student dorm at 12, Rossligasse was to be my abode and I instantly fell in love with the smallest Orange/ Beige attic room. I soon filled the allotted spaces with my Indian munching supplies and the window pane got flooded with the broad grinning faces of my family and friends. This felt ‘almost’ like home.

All the exchange students were taken for a trip of the University, where we met Andrea Moor, Head Exchange Coordinator. She was very welcoming and informed us about the schedules, timings and do’s and the don’ts of this beautiful place. I must say, I was enjoying myself and the welcome kit- bag. The classes were about to begin in a week’s time and all I was doing was hunting for an Asian shop. Yes, I had begun to miss my ‘dal-roti’ and ‘masala curry’. (Both staple Indian food, read: high on spice).

My first day in class with DMI 3rd year students at Hochschule Luzern was about to begin and I was very nervous. Mr. Daniel A. welcomed us and introduced us to the class. All I noticed was – why is everyone so tall?

During the classes, as they progressed I realized that there was a lot of focus on the so-called ‘third world”. And I being the humble representative found it very fascinating. A lot of questions on India and its people, economy, business were thrown at me. The inquisitiveness about my motherland made me wonder about the new trend of ‘Look East’. Are we just an unexplored market segment or are we the next –super power? Should the world be scared of us or welcome us with open arms? When explaining India to my classmates and the teachers I always said India is two- countries. I was amazed at the disparity and diversity of my own country. No two experiences were the same. How could I sum –up India for them? The best I could say was “Have your own experience. Be our guest”.

Talking about trade policies, customer need and innovation, I realized that in a land of abundance, where the basic needs are met people have a very different viewpoint. There was so much for me to learn and grasp. Each day lived in this amazing country was special. It taught me something. How to find the ‘cheapest’ grocery store or How to differentiate from one cheese to another? Jokes apart, but my biggest learning has been to be more inclusive as a person. Today, I am able to accept differing views because of the numerous arguments and discussions in class which has broadened my perspective about people and culture. It made me understand the importance of context and relevance. Why ideas might fail and why we need to start from the scratch. Why businesses must strive for the people and not just for profit. I have begun to question the ‘why’ and my search is on.

On a lighter note, I also came across certain weird obsessive antics of this country and its people. I call that my own list of swiss-ness:

(purely a work of fiction, any resemblance to anyone or anything is a mere coincidence)

• Right on Swatch. ( it’s 10:17 am and not 10:18 am)

• Mail, mail and mail ( long ones)

• Extra cheese won’t hurt

• Swear by SBB

• ‘Let’s go for a trek’ (even if it’s about to snow)

The weather was changing and to be honest I was not very excited about the snow. But, one morning when I got up and saw the whole city wrapped in the snowy blanket my heart almost froze. It was so breathtaking. I had seen this in Indian movies, imagined it many a times but experiencing it in the real time was out of this world. I stepped out on the terrace wearing only my night gown and slippers. I was hysteric making the snow balls and throwing them around.

I have a bag full of such memories, and no space is enough to put them all down. I feel very privileged to have visited Switzerland and to have spent so many days here. I met so many amazing people; some of them continue being the dear friend they are. From the solitary rides in SBB, to the noisy arguments for the IPP project, from the m-budget grocery shopping in Migros to the pasta dinner with classmates, I miss them all and I cherish them for a lifetime.

Danke! HSLU, for such a beautiful opportunity. A big thanks to Mr. Jan-Erik Baars for your smiles and lunch table talks, Mr. Daniel for being so kind and listening patiently to my India-anthem, Mr. Hans Kasper for pushing our limits to bring the best out and Mr. Jorge for the jokes and the profound feedbacks. Thank you Monica and Thomas for always being there and for the lovely DMI Whaat ? bag. (not to forget the DMI meet parties)

And for my dear classmates, I wish them all the best for their thesis (don’t break your head over it! It too shall pass). You guys are awesome and thank you for giving me such nice memories.

- written by Saloni Jha, an exchange student from NID.