Now that innovation is as much part of the furniture as whiteboards and stand-ups in just about every company I know of, what is to become of innovation, and the fruits that it’s meant to provide us? I went along to the Design As Strategy Forum with this in mind, to soak in as much contemporary thought and musings about the strategic design space as possible. And just like last year, I was also sketchnoting, except this time it was large-scale as a graphic recorder.
This year’s broad theme was Innovation as an Object of Design, hosted by The Customer Experience Company at their fantastic space overlooking the harbour and the Botanical Gardens. Among the speakers were Aurecon’s Global CEO Giam Swiegers, Australian Industry Group’s Chief Executive Innes Willox, Tharani Jegatheeswaran (leader of Deloitte Australia’s Social Impact Consulting practice), and Ben Hamley (Partner and Strategy Designer for Business Models Inc in Australia).
While each speaker was active at the front of the room, I was busy recording the essence of what they were saying (as well as a bit of the Q&A that followed) on floor-to-ceiling whiteboard wall panels up the back. It became a really effective post-talk piece for everyone to look at, to help them reflect and embed what they’d taken in a little deeper.
Thoughts on leading and encouraging innovation, by Giam Swiegers
Great reflections by Innes Willox on keeping a level perspective about innovation in large-scale companies, and the broader economy
Easily my favourite: Tharani’s talk on viewing society as an object of design, and the way that government, businesses and non-profits can work together
The theory and model of a business is also an object of design; well-told by Ben Hamley
Roberto Verganti’s talk was my second-favourite; we need to dig deep into our on emotions and motivations (and not be afraid of that) to make greater sense and meaning in design. Brilliant stuff.
It had been a while since I’d done graphic recording at this scale, and I’d forgotten the toll it can take on my lower back! Still, I was really happy with the overall output, and very grateful to the organisers for having me there.
Other highlights: