Form follows function - but not in product design!
The line-up of keynote speakers had a strong international flavor and propagated inspiring, exciting approaches and ideas with their respective contributions. Aubrey de Grey, Scientific Director of SENS Research Foundation from San Francisco, kicked things off with his dream of living our lives in unlimited health. He criticized the traditional understanding of human ageing as an accumulation of "damage" (age-related diseases and ailments) - in contrast, he suggested that humans can be understood as systemic machines that need the right "service" from time to time; this with medical applications that are now under development.MIT professor Hugh Herr was able to show that we are on the way to making prosthetic legs an integral part of our bodies via sensory control, for example. The project presentation by the young Teju Ravilochan made it clear that innovation is in no way limited to the traditional profit-oriented economy. With his now globally rolled out anti-poverty initiative, he emphasizes the importance of action and relentless trial and error. In a personal conversation with Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, the founder of the Red Dot Award, MK was able to address three questions.
MK How would you describe the interaction between design and marketing?PETER ZEC For manufacturing companies, design affects all four elements of the marketing mix. With the product, it is clear anyway and once again the example of the Apple iPhone can be used - a design icon, so to speak. But it is also the case with pricing policy that a product with a good design radiates value and can therefore achieve a higher price. In terms of communication, I refer to Apple again - in the first few years after the iPhone was launched, no classic advertising was necessary thanks to its ingenious design.MK Where do you see the specific challenge for design in a highly digitalized world?ZEC design is fundamentally an optimization process, which means that what is good today does not have to be good tomorrow. In addition, more and more new technologies and, above all, software are being used in the development process, which means that the development process is being partially automated. The design parameters built into the software mean that the previous mental work can be done at the touch of a button. This leads us to the question of what remains for the traditional designer - not much! Unless the designers cooperate with the software developers and can get involved early in the process in this way. While engineers were previously the designers' partners, in future it will increasingly be the computer scientists - the spread of machine learning and 3D printing make this clear.MK: How do you feel about the statement "Form follows function"?ZEC This statement is used in a completely misleading way in connection with design - after all, it was the renowned American architect Sullivan who derived this sentence from his observations of nature and elevated it to an irrefutable law for the design of buildings. Not so with the development of products; here, engineers and designers must develop and drive the process forward together at a very early stage - not one after the other.*************************************************************An interview with the CEO of Swiss Innovation Forum Dr. Dominik Isler
MK: How will the conference business develop over the next 3 to 5 years?DOMINIK ISLER Real-time encounters will not lose their importance in an increasingly digitalized world. In a fast-moving, fast-paced world, the foundation of trust is becoming even more important. Conferences such as the Swiss Innovation Forum allow precisely this personal and trust-building interaction. Individual participants don't come for the presentations, but for the personal interaction.MK What do you see as the unique selling point of your conferences?ISLER With our strong connection to entrepreneurship and SMEs, we know and meet the needs of this target group. We always strive to deliver relevant content that provides concrete benefits for companies. We meet this requirement not least thanks to our close cooperation with the NZZ editorial team. Thirdly, we want to make our events an overall experience, which manifests itself in the variation of formats, catering options and entertainment blocks.MK Is digitalization more of an opportunity or a risk for your business?ISLER Definitely more of an opportunity - the sometimes horrendous pace of business calls for short breaks. Our conferences offer precisely these opportunities to pause for thought and reflect on the implications of change for your own business and exchange ideas with others.Dominik Isler in person:
- Dream or reality: Dream
- Self-driving or self-driving: self-driving
- Sport or culture: Culture
****************************************************************Further information on the presentation of the Swiss Technology Award 2017: www.swiss-innovation.com/gewinner
