Vol. 2: design-management.de

Yes, I’m alive and on the road quite often these days … in any case from my latest postings you will have noticed that it’s conference season ;-) Lot’s of interesting stuff going on in Europe and the US these days … While talking about design and business conferences last weekend I’ve participated in the 3rd KISD Design Management Forum as an attentive listener and workshop moderator.

However prior to sharing my conference experiences in some separate postings I’d like to thank those people I’ve met at the forum who’ve provided constructive and positive feedback regarding my blog :-) Silke, it seems that next time we have to arrange a pre-conference session in order to have an untroubled discussion about my blog, your job etc … ;-) And yes, Florian I know that you’re still waiting for my feedback on your Wikipedia entry on Design Management ;-) Mike, the shot above is aiming to re-activate your memories from your trip to Cologne ;-) (made from inside the latest Starbucks at the main station).

In the context of the conference I have to note that I’m rather used to attend international forums in the context of Design and Management with English as the conference language. Furthermore Design Management conferences in Germany are quite rare therefore I’ve been really curious how this one will have turned out. –

After this weekend I must say that I’ve really enjoyed this one and as discussed with Frans Joziasse from PARK during one of the breaks I’ve found it quite remarkable that most of the speakers and participants have been quite open minded and willing not only to share success stories, but also openly discuss pitfalls and future challenges of their industries and businesses. At least from my perspective this is not typical “German Style”.

Consequently kudos go to Brigitte Wolf and her team of co-organizers and students for having made this 3rd conference happen. In particular the switch of the conference location to the roof conference room of the FH Köln with a scenic view over Cologne added a special touch and facilitated a quite casual atmosphere.

Within the next couple of days I will try to give an overview on the different topics addressed by the various speakers from WDR, Gira, LEGO, Lufthansa, etc. here on this blog. So stay tuned! … On the other hand if some of my readers attended the forum as well and would like to share their impressions here on this blog: You’re welcome anytime for a guest posting! Any volunteers, Silke, Florian … ;-) Just drop me an email!