Erik Spiek­er­mann bekommt den Design­preis der Bun­desre­pub­lik Deutsch­land

Congratulations Erik. One of the best of the best. It is great to see so much publicity for something as fundamental as typography.

I guess you have already heard the joke about the two fonts that walk into a bar. The barman refuses to serve them. Indignant, they ask why not? "We don't serve your type here" says the barman.

Well done Erik you really deserve it.

Future Luxe in London

The first day of the Future Luxe conference 2011 organised by Luxury Briefing got off yesterday to a fantastic start, (20th January), with the resounding pop of (many) champagne corks and with about 250 triple G's, (glamorous, gorgeous, guests). Great speakers and great dinner in the Dorchester.

The conference speakers were diverse and had much to say. Of particular note were Matt Webb from Berg, Gerry McGovern Design Director of Land Rover (check out the upcoming 'Evoke'),and, for me, the final panel of the day with Nadja Swarovski, Vice President of Swarovski; Marigay McKee, Fashion Director of Harrods; and Ellie Patsalos, Vice-Chairman & Partner, Deloitte. This panel was chaired by Kate Reardon, formerly Contributing Editor of Vanity Fair and recently appointed as Editor of the Tatler.

It is clear that luxury brands are here to stay with issues of relevance, extreme customisation and experience design top of the agenda. Not too many fears of recessionary pressures apparent. Marigay McKee made a plea for more 'good old fashioned charm and manners' which seemed to particularly resonate with delegates. Gerry McGovern stated that design lies at the core of the product and the brand at Land Rover and it is that which will give them access to new customers and create differentiation. Sustainability did feature even at this level of the market with sustainability credentials being increasingly seen as a compelling and important part of the brand story.

Fishy business in Camden

Innovation comes in many forms and always changes our view of what is possible.

European Commission and Design update

The eighth conference of APCI in France took place in Paris on Monday and Tuesday of this week. A mixed and very interesting two days. Congratulations to Jean Schneider and APCI for making it happen.

One of the highlights for me was the very first speaker Christine Simon from the European Commission speaking about the European Commission's adoption of design into the Innovation Union. Launched in October 2010, The Innovation Union was adopted by the Member States at the end of November, has a 'novel approach' to innovation and is wider in scope than before with 34 commitments of which one is to design. (See previous post October 2010)

And this has already seen the appointment of Aalto University as Secretariat to the European Design Innovation Initiative which will include a European Design Leadership Board. The European Design Leaderership Board, membership of which is yet to be announced,will comprise 15 persons and will be tasked to create a vision for design over the longer term with the designation of pilot projects, including perhaps exchange of good practice and other measures to promote design. It is non-legislative.

And this Leadership Board will not be only a talking shop. The Commission has already earmarked around €3 million for 2011 out of the CIP (Competitiveness and Innovation Programme) with an intention by the Commission to publish bids by summer 2011.

Finally, Christine spoke of the meeting of the European Council that is scheduled for 4th February 2011 at which Heads of State and Governements could be discussing the Innovation Union and its commitments and might mention design in the discussions.

Rail Interiors Berlin

The Rail Interiors Conference was held in Berlin in the Scandic Hotel on the 13th and 14th of December. The programme included presentations from Alstom, Siemens and Austrian Rail as well as from Martin Darbyshire of tangerine and Paul Priestman of Priestman Goode. The speakers are listed here.

What is clear is that the rail sector is fighting hard to become more customer focused and to be a viable alternative to air travel. Somewhat ironically, it is therefore trying to see how lessons on customer experience may be transferred from aircraft cabins to railway carriages. Some examples are beginning to emerge. Austria's operator OeBB has introduced the Railjet service with three passenger classes (Economy, Business and Premium) to choose from and particular attention paid to passenger flow and airline-style 'comfort seating'.

Alstom Transport is building a stronger design focus in its innovation strategy to create compelling passenger experiences and trains that can lead the sector. For Alstom, the key interior design issues were presented as Access and fluidity; Brightness and lighting; Modularity and Perceived quality. When creating the AGV the concept was of 'a tube to design' with a focus on the passenger experience as 'connected, easy and exclusive'.

Giving the second keynote of the two days Martin Darbyshire spoke about tangerine's distinctive innovation process and how processes and similarities within the airline sector could offer value and insight for train operators and manufacturers alike.

The rail sector is beginning to discover and utilise in new ways the power of design to drive user-centred, non-technological innovation. The urgent need is to raise quality overall to a new level; to drive in creativity to meet future passenger and operator needs and to increase passengers' perception of quality.

Only by doing this, can the rail sector hope to attract an increasingly demanding and sophisticated travelling public away from other modes of travel.

Catch up

Well. It's been quite a while since I have had the chance to write here. Life has been busy.

I completed the development and facilitation of the DBA's new Executive Leadership Programme, 'Re-imagining Leadership' held over two days in York with 26 very senior participants at the beginning of November. It has been recognised in participants' evaluations as an overwhelming success which is a powerful testimony to the contributors, Jon Teckman, Toby Scott and David Lomas of the Penticle Business School, Emma Collins, Sarah Benton, David Baker and Marco Steinberg. Great work everyone. Well done DBA. Thank you participants for making it such a success.

Since then I have been in Geneva and Lyon although a spot of the flu prevented me from both attending a cities conference in Cite du design in St Etienne and subsequently chairing the education session at the Design & Learning conference held in Brussels and organised by the EU Commission on 25th and 26th November.

Last week I hooked up with Matt Rudd of Rudd Studio. Beautiful work. And last night was a chinese meal in Soho with Massimo Pitis of Pitis in Milan. A week of graphic design and visual communications.

Tomorrow I head off to Berlin to meet with Embassy Experts and then catch up with Erik Spiekermann at Edenspiekermann on Friday. (I used to work as a business development consultant for MetaDesign in London). Next Monday and Tuesday sees the Rail Interiors conference also in Berlin with Martin Darbyshire of tangerine giving a keynote. He will be speaking about tangerine's experience in the airline sector and spotting points of relevance in innovation behaviour that might be of value to the train sector. Should be interesting.

The following week sees me back in la bella Italia, firstly with the wonderful Massimo Iosa Ghini in Bologna and then back to language school - this time in Arezzo in Toscana.

And then it will be Christmas.

Leadership in York

I went to a Halloween fancy dress last week togged up as the Duke of Wellington, (the theme was 'dead famous'), and this week I find myself thinking of the Grand old Duke of York.

I am at the wonderful Cedar Grand Hotel in York, about to lead a two-day Executive Programme on leadership for director-level personnel in design companies that I have had the opportunity to put together for the Design Business Association, (DBA).

The DBA's goal is, 'to accelerate the growth and increase the sophistication of design businesses through improved leadership practice'. This is to help them further strengthen their capability and capacity to compete more effectively in a globalising world.

For the 26 participants, the two-days is intended to, 'elevate and enhance their view and understanding of leadership and provide ideas, insight and tools to take back to their businesses to create greater impact through improved leadership practice'.

We have pulled together a great team of UK and international contributors. When this is combined with the experience and knowledge of the particpants who have come to York tonight from all over the country, (and with attendance from Scandanavia as well), I know that we are in for an exciting, insightful and transformative two days.

Well done DBA. More anon.