what about collaborating on innovation?

It has become clear to (almost) everyone by now that the word design does not simply fit into the "beautification of objects" slot any longer. And a great deal has already been done, and continues to be done, to take Design to a more holistic level, positioning it as a problem-solving approach for companies, governments, and society in general. Too often Design is understood as “the styling of furniture”. Hopefully this is changing, and businesspeople are realizing that common analytical thinking and design thinking must collaborate to obtain real innovation. As always, in Europe we still struggle moving from the ancient vision of creativity and design to what it is now while in the US it’s been 30 years that companies are working in such a way.

If it is true what I’ve heard during the conference held last week as pre-view of the inauguration of Institut pour l’innovation & la compétitivité at the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris, creativity is starting to be taken seriously as a mean to obtain innovation. Ms Delphine Manceau, director of the Institut, as well as other attendees, seemed convinced. Results are already showing up as more and more companies include design as part of their primary focus, and as design starts to climb up the ladder in these corporations to < ;/span>become a central part of their strategy.

The idea of collaborative innovation is not that weird: marketing and R&D managers should spend less time behind Excel spreadsheets and much more observing their customers and understanding issues: in the streets, in the shops and in their homes. All of this makes a lot of sense, and seems very basic… doesn’t it? Sure, but then why don’t they do it?

edoardo monaco  –  emonaco@bobup.eu