MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an increasingly competitive and ever changing market scenario, design becomes the key to all organizations, large and small, to make innovation and business.
Innovation is real when it generates value for people who are constantly looking for ways to improve their lives. Industrial design is the indispensable tool to project materials, products and services that have real value to people and that can generate business for companies.
This is the main analysis of today’s event “Joining forces: design & sustainability” organized by 3M Italy, which saw the participation of leading figures from academia and business such as Roberto Verganti - Professor of Leadership and Innovation at Politecnico of Milan, Sam Livingstone – Director Car Design Research, and Eric Quint – Chief Design Officer 3M Company.
Different areas and experiences compared to each other to outline possible models of a successful future strategy, able to the change and that needs the logic process of industrial design as part of companies’ culture, with the aim of sustainable materials, processes and finished products.
«In the last fifteen years, we have seen big changes that have affected the perception of design - said Professor Roberto Verganti - From just a simple way to be more creative and have more ideas, to an approach to interpret the needs of consumers and create meaningful products that people love».
«Design is major contributor to the commercial success of automotive products - Sam Livingstone added. In the car industry, powerful emotional connections between the car and the customer are forged not just by the overall design of the car but the many different elements that make up the vehicle; from the exterior design details to the feel of the fabric inside; from the behaviour of the controls to the finishes on the exterior. And increasingly we see the role of sustainability within many of these design elements being part of that added value that car design brings to the customer».
According with 3M Company and as widely discussed by Eric Quint, today the value of industrial design within a company or organization is undisputed. Industrial design is considered a competitive advantage that serves to differentiate brands and support the growth of a company, creating innovation.
In 3M research and innovation are the basis of scientific and economic progress and design has an extraordinary potential for innovation and for a sustainable and durable future development. The 3M Science applied to life, through the sustainable design of its products and materials, creates value to clients, whether they are companies or final consumers.
Sustainability for 3M is not a business goal to reach, not anymore but is an essential feature for all activities, from design processes to finished products.
The event ended with the greetings of H.C Shin, 3M Company Vice President, and Gunter Gressler, 3M West Europe Vice President, in the presence of more than 30 important Italian and European companies.
For more information, visit www.3m.com, follow @3M on Twitter or join the conversation with #LifeWith3M. 3M is the technical sponsor and contents partner of the USA Pavilion at Expo 2015.
