Taking place March 9-10 in Zaragoza, Spain, the Diseña Forum will feature many leading designers and thinkers tackling the subject of design and its place in our social and economic landscapes, including "Doors of Perception" author John Thackara, and representatives from Landor, Bosch, IKEA, Intellegencia Creativa, and Cirque du Soleil.

Women compose half the population and make or influence 80 percent of all purchases. However, their needs are largely ignored by products and services on today’s market. Helping the group understand more about how gender and design intersect, Agnete Enga, co-founder of Femme Den and Senior Industrial Designer at Smart Design, will lead an enlightening discussion on how start addressing women’s unmet needs and how to make the most of this real opportunity in business.

Agnete’s talk:
March 9, 2009
19:15 (7:15pm)

For more on the event:

Diseña Forum
WORLD TRADE CENTER ZARAGOZA
María Zambrano 31, Torre Este, Planta -1. 50.018
Zaragoza, Spain

Related Links

Rescheduled to next week (March 4th) due to inclement weather — please see details below.

As part of Cooper-Hewitt’s Design USA: Contemporary Innovation program, they will be hosting a panel discussion called "Design for Humans" on March 4th led by three design leaders: Dan Formosa (Smart Design), Niels Diffrient, and Sigi Moeslinger (Antenna Design), and moderated by Jesse Ashlock, former Editor-in-Chief of I.D. Magazine.

The session will focus on user-centered design and each speaker’s specific philosophy in achieving this goal during the design process.

A description from Cooper-Hewitt’s calendar:

Design for Humans

    * Thursday, March 4, 2010
    * 6:30pm

Join the Cooper-Hewitt for a conversation on user-centered design with National Design Award Winners and Finalists who have been recognized for their contribution to the field of Product Design. Moderated by Jesse Ashlock, former Editor-in-Chief of I.D. Magazine.

A pioneer of ergonomic design, Niels Diffrient is driven by the need to improve the way existing products work. For Diffrient, “the key to human factors, is getting enough data so you really understand what’s happening with the body, mind, social context. You let the user drive design.”

Co-founded by Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa in 1997, Antenna Design combines technological complexity with a sense of humanity. For Antenna Design, “people-centered” design means recognizing people as complex beings with the potential to learn and grow and to be responsible, creative and reflective.

Much of Smart Design’s work, ranging from kitchen items to medical products, has become part of people’s everyday lives. A Smart Design founder, Dan Formosa, explains that their mission has always been simple: social responsibility through design. If a product is designed for the extremes on the user spectrum, the needs of everyone are included.

Related Links

Related Downloads

To see the full video, click here.

Related Links

Related Downloads

"The role of marketing research is to work with product or service consumers to understand their needs and desires, while designers are often asked to use the results of marketing research. So why have I never seen a marketing research study targeting designers to find out how marketing research can benefit them? The answer may be because it can’t."

Read the full article here.

Related Links

Our interactive digital card was highlighted on the UnBeige.com design blog. Check it out.

Happy New Year from Smart!

For the full article, download the PDF.

Please visit the Professional Convention Management Association’s mangazine, Convene, to read the full article.

Smart Design is ready for its PBS close-up! Check out Objectified on Independent Lens next Tuesday for a great night of entertainment and a peek into the world of design. Spread the word!

For more information, visit PBS.

DVDs and Blu-ray discs are available now, too.

Related Links

Motor Trend’s announcement is here.

Ford’s press release is here.

Related Links

Related Downloads

Everywhere you look, companies are “going green.” But what does sustainability really mean? Where do design and sustainability intersect? And how can you tell the difference between blatant greenwashing and real innovation that inspires meaningful change?

Through a partnership between the NYC Usability Professional’s Association (NYC UPA), the Interaction Designers’ Association (IxDA), and the School of Visual Arts (SVA), this half-day event will explore the challenge of sustainable design with leaders in social entrepreneurship, product design, and interaction design.

Ted Booth, Director of Interaction Design at Smart Design, will join the other thought leaders in sharing stories and successes, and discussing how to overcome obstacles to creating provocative and engaging new products.

For more information, visit the World Usability Day website.

Related Links