Design London launches new lecture series to inspire the designers of tomorrow

The role of design and patterns in innovation explored by American professor - <em>News</em>

Tuesday 15 January 2008
By Naomi Weston

Design London, a joint project between Imperial College and the Royal College of Art that combines design and innovation knowledge, has launched its first lecture series, providing master classes for students from both institutions.

The STIR - Simulator, Teach, Incubate, Research - lectures will address a wide range of subjects covering the core areas of Design London from conducting research and incubating new business ideas to innovation technology.

Patterns and the role of design in innovation were themes discussed in the first lecture delivered last night by Professor Andrew Hargadon, from the University of California.

In ‘Transforming Creativity into Commercial Success: from Edison to the iPod Touch’, Professor Hargadon encouraged the audience to think critically about what they are designing. He explained that when designing a new product it is essential to shift the boundaries and look at the wider picture. “The success of a product is not solely down to design, it is down to the networks of information surrounding the product,” he said.

To illustrate this, he cited the example of Thomas Edison who developed the electric light bulb but did not invent it. “Edison brought the technology together but it already existed,” Professor Hargadon said.

Similarly Sony created the Walkman in 1979 which proved to be a big success. However, when Apple created the iPod 20 years later, it improved on the design of the walkman and the current mp3 players to offer something novel to consumers’ imaginations.

“The success of the iPod was not just down to design; it was influenced by the mp3 player. Apple built better networks around this product to create and launch it in only eight months.” Professor Hargadon added: “You can take any idea and find a better solution, build a large network of information around it and create a new product.”

He concluded by saying: “Don’t see the world as it is today, see it for tomorrow. Design involves seeing the potential networks, how it fits together and how to bring it all together.”

Andrew Hargadon is Professor of Technology Management at the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, and is the founding Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the Design London Advisory Board.

An industrial designer by background, Professor Hargadon also worked as a product designer at Apple Computer, teaching in the Product Design program at Stanford University. He then joined the University of California. His research focuses on the strategic role of design and the development and commercialization of sustainable technologies.

The lecture was chaired by Nick Leon, Director of Design London. The STIR series is aimed at Imperial College London and RCA students as well as alumni of the College.

Nick Leon joined Design London from Imperial’s Tanaka Business School where he is also a Visiting Fellow and teaches innovation management in the school. Prior to joining Imperial College, he worked for over 30 years at IBM where he was Director of Business Development in Europe, for IBM Global Services, and led IBM's business in the telecommunications industry. During the 1990's he was Director of Marketing in IBM Europe, and then Worldwide Director of Channel Marketing for the IBM Server Group.

For more information about Design London and for details of upcoming lectures please visit the website – www.designlondon.net/