World Industrial Design Day 2022 celebrated the theme of leadership, recognizing the many ways in which designers are leading the charge towards a better future. To mark the occasion, WDO hosted a 24-hour event, let’s talk: leadership, that welcomed over 70 speakers from around the globe. Highlighting diverse leadership perspectives and insights, this virtual event featured conversations with top design leaders, mentors and emerging visionaries across different industries.

The Programme

28 June 2022

20:00

let’s talk: leadership

WDO Communications Manager Natalie Dutil and WDO Programmes & Communications Officer Sarah Virgini open our programme and share what leadership means at WDO and why this theme was selected for 2022. With a special appearance from WDO Managing Director Bertrand Derome.
  • Bertrand Derome, Managing Director, World Design Organization
  • Natalie Dutil, Communications Manager, World Design Organization
  • Sarah Virgini, Programmes & Communications Officer, World Design Organization

20:15

A Historical Look into WDO

To mark the 65th anniversary of the organization, WDO Board Member from Italy Pier Paolo Peruccio shares a historical look at WDO’s past.

  • Pier Paolo Peruccio, Full Professor, Department of Architecture and Design

20:30

Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going in Design

The field(s) of design have made great strides over the past 65 years, adding important content to make the creative process more robust, but now is the time to update our skills and influences in the world. Join professor, author and consultant Lorraine Justice as she explores where design has been, and where it’s headed.

  • Lorraine Justice, Dean Emerita and Professor of Industrial Design, Rochester Institute of Technology

21:00

Inclusive Design Leadership

How can you be inclusive as a leader? In this session, we look at the tools leaders can use to create inclusion and to be good allies.

  • Manisha Amin, CEO, Centre for Inclusive Design

21:30

Extensive Transformation Moment of Design

Design, from the initial simple product, to the contemporary digital process and social innovation and transformation, can lead to a broad and far-reaching impact. WDO Member Design Intelligence Award (DIA) shares their take on the original intention and mission of design leadership through the lens of their projects and design context in China.

  • Gao Shiming, President, China Academy of Art
  • Yun Wang, Dean of Industrial Design School, China Academy of Art

22:00

Growing as Design Leaders in Global Companies

Apple, Google, Kakaostyle, Nike, McLaren, Logitech…these are some of the names South Korean designers June Shim and Jongwoo Choi worked at or have been working for as an in-house designer. Shim and Choi, now design leaders at work, will share their thoughts, experiences and lessons on leadership and how to become a design leader working and growing within these gigantic organizations.

  • June Shim, Vice President of Design, Kakao Style
  • Ryan Jongwoo Choi, Principal Industrial Designer, Logitech
  • Jeongman Song, Director of Global Expansion Division at Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP)

22:30

Ka Muri Ki Mua, Walking Backwards into the Future: Let’s Talk How we WALK Leadership

​The principles of equality, cooperation, and self-determination are central to the inclusion of matāuranga Māori within our curriculum. While we continue to address this and grow our cultural capacities and capabilities, there is still much work to be done to ensure whanaungatanga (authentic connections) are central to our endeavours – how do we walk the walk ?

  • Nan O’Sullivan, Head of the School of Design Innovation, Victoria University of Wellington
  • David Hakaraia, Deputy Head of the School of Design Innovation, Victoria University of Wellington

23:00

IDxConversations: Faces of Leadership (Philippine Session)

Join WDO Member Design Center of the Philippines for this conversation on design leadership within the Philippine context as they showcase how Filipino leaders are driving change to shape a better future for all through design. The session offers an intimate conversation between diverse, perhaps unconventional faces of Filipino design leaders who continuously redefine what it means to lead with creativity and empathy, shaping a better, more diverse, more inclusive future for all through design.
  • Bella Tanjutco, Co-Founder, TAYO Change Agency
  • Natasha Tanjutco, Co-Founder, TAYO Change Agency
  • Clark Mendoza, Former Junior Project Officer, Design Center of the Philippines
  • Rolyn Lomocso, Senior Researcher, Design Center of the Philippines
  • Debbie Palao, Managing Director, Debbie Palao

29 June 2022

00:00

Leadership: The Power of Movement

Philosophy is necessary to lead something as complex as design, and based on that philosophy, “activism” to change society is important. In this session, Kazuo will present from three perspectives: from the standpoint of GK, which I represent; from the standpoint of Japanese design policy; and from the standpoint of next year’s World Design Assembly in October 2023 in Tokyo.

  • Kazuo Tanaka, President and CEO, GK Design
  • Ken Nah, Professor of Design, International Design School for Advanced Studies (IDAS),

00:30

Leading design and innovation in Taiwan

Taiwan Design Research Institute is a national level institution in Taiwan that is leading industrial innovation with national design policy to develop high-value design knowledge and applications. During this session, TDRI will share some of their outstanding design projects accomplished in Taiwan and how they led the project to foster measurable impact for both city and society.

  • Chi-Yi Chang, President, Taiwan Design Research Institute
  • Oliver Lin, Vice President, Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI)
  • Shyhnan Liou, Vice President of R&D, Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI)
  • Nina Ay, Vice President, Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI)

01:00

Leadership: Navigating Failures

Hosted by Design Innovation Institute Shanghai and moderated by WDO Senator Srini Srinivasan, this session will explore the ins and outs of effective leadership from a community and business perspective in China. As effective communicators, motivators of their teams, patient listeners and risk-takers, tune in to hear from local leaders sharing their personal experiences around how to drive impactful and optimal outcomes.

  • Nishtha Mehta, Corporate Innovation Coach and Executive Change Facilitator, CollabCentral
  • Momo Estrella, Head of Digital Design, IKEA China
  • Srini Srinivasan, Senator, World Design Organization

01:30

Leadership: Business value of design

Hosted by Design Innovation Institute Shanghai and moderated by WDO Senator Srini Srinivasan, this session will explore the ins and outs of effective leadership from a community and business perspective in China. As effective communicators, motivators of their teams, patient listeners and risk-takers, tune in to hear from local leaders sharing their personal experiences around how to drive impactful and optimal outcomes.

  • Cathy Huang, Chairperson, CBi China Bridge and Founder, SDN Shanghai
  • Min Wang, Professor, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing
  • Srini Srinivasan, Senator, World Design Organization

02:00

India Dialogues on Leadership

From the Indian perspective, the Design Leadership framework is at a nascent stage, for designers to have a stronger say in business strategy, they need to be empowered. They play an increasingly important role in a world of connected people, things, and disciplines. Hosted by WDO Member Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), thi session explores the current scenario of leadership and key strategies for involving designers in critical decision-making process.
  • Udayant Malhoutra, CEO & Managing Director, Dynamatic Technologies Limited
  • Mohan Krishnaraj, Chief Experience Officer, WONGDOODY Infosys
  • Pradyumna Vyas, Senior Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industry
  • Suparna Mitra, Chief Executive Officer, Titan Company Limited
  • Sumit Singh, Associate Vice-President & Head of Customer Experience and Design, Havells India

03:30

Fail or Perish

Design leaders neglect the role of failure in the design process, undermine its role in developing a culture of experimentation and often eliminate the possibility of radical innovation. Focussing on the impossibility of innovation inside a bubble of success, this interactive session is a provocation to dismantle the binaries between success and failure – both of which undermine the concept/metaphors of experimentation and process.

  • Rahul Bhattacharya, Head of the MDes Integrated Programme Department, Unitedworld Institute of Design

04:00

Leadership through Storytelling

Leading a team with thought leadership requires you to inspire, collaborate and align stakeholders across an organization into a common purpose. How can you use stories to envision the future for people working on it? How can stories help you lead a more motivated team, better cohesion in work processes and overall more targeted outcomes?

  • Ekta Jafri, Head of Design, Compass IDC

04:30

Creative Leadership in Africa: Design as a Catalyst for inclusive socio-economic development

With its value system and execution deeply rooted in the philosophy of UBUNTU, this session is hosted by ambassadors of Open Design Afrika. The session will explore “Ubuntu” as an African Design Leadership Mindset and Co-Creation as a potential global design leadership principle; Moving from Scarcity to Abundance: Exhilarating Design Partnerships in and with African Designers; Best Practice in Design Leadership in Africa: The Nando’s Case Study; South Africa as a Design Leadership Lab for the World: from Policy to Practice to Prosperity.

  • Ulrich Meyer-Hoellings, Corporate Venturing Strategy Specialist
  • Thando Ndashe, Founder, TanDesignSA

05:00

Representational Leadership at WDO

Join two former WDO Presidents, now Senators, as they discuss the lessons learned at the helm of the organization. Don’t miss this special conversation between WDO’s first African President Mugendi K. M’Rithaa and second female President Luisa Bocchietto, moderated by WDO Senator and CEO of Good Design Australia Brandon Gien.

  • Mugendi K. M’Rithaa, Educator and researcher, Machakos University, Kenya
  • Luisa Bocchietto, Architect and Designer, WDO Senator
  • Brandon Gien, CEO, Good Design Australia

05:30

Leading positive change via participatory industrial design and design education

This session presents a research-based design case study of a human-powered composting shredder conducted with urban farmers from Soweto, just south of Johannesburg in South Africa. Some of the key lessons learned from this industrial design project will be described. The session aims to provoke thought and encourage discussion about participatory product design being both a relational and educational journey.

  • Peter Harrison, Postgraduate Academic Manager, Inscape Education Group

06:00

Leading via Signature Moments

How might we lead people who are intrinsically creative, ambitious and passion-driven in this shared journey that is a design project? And how can signature moments of elevation, pride, insight and connection help unlock people’s full potential? A sharing of lessons learned from an empathic design leader.

  • Carla Lemgruber, Design Director, ATÖLYE

06:30

Leadership by Design

Two distinguished design leaders, both coming from two opposite ends of the design spectrum, are meeting to discuss the topic of leadership in design. The leading academic executive, Gjoko Muratovski, and the leading industry executive, Eric Quint, will examine the importance of design leadership and the role that design leaders should play in shaping the world today. While higher education plays a critical role when it comes to preparing the next generation of design leaders, industry is the place where their knowledge and skills really matters and can make the difference. Ultimately, these two design domains represent the two sides of the same coin. In this session, Muratovski will discuss what it takes for one to become a design leader, and Quint will outline what it takes for a design leader to be transformational in the long term.
  • Gjoko Muratovski, Award-winning designer, researcher and innovation consultant
  • Eric Quint, Author, Design Leadership Advocate, Former Chief Brand and Design Officer at 3M

07:00

Becoming a better design leader by using open source principles

Whether you’re tasked with building a new design team or improving an established team, you will need the support of surrounding teams to succeed. In this talk, award-winning UK designer Martyn Redding will show you how borrowing the principles of open source software can build better design leaders through richer collaboration, transparency and continuity.

  • Martyn Reding, Chief Design Officer at Upzelo, Founder of Design Leaders Studio

07:30

Andreu World: Design as Strategy

Design is the key factor for the generation of value, through different areas such as sustainable product and furniture design focused on the well-being and health of people for Andrue World. The company’s CEO Jesús Llinares shares insight into how Andreu World continues to lead sustainability in design, fostering definitive steps towards the circular economy since being named the first manufacturer in the world to have an FSC® 100% range. From strides in R&D to develop their own sustainable materials, to promoting and facilitating restoration and reuse to extend the life of the designs they produce, to using renewable energies and reducing water consumption.
  • Jesús Llinares, CEO, Andreu World
  • Srini Srinivasan, Senator, World Design Organization

08:00

Leadership by design with WDO Board of Directors

A special session hosted in France, this two-part panel offers first a discussion with WDO Board Members from India, Taiwan, Spain and Canada, then explores design leadership for industry transformation and circular economy a roundtable with design leaders from Orange, IBM and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
  • David Kusuma, President, World Design Organization
  • Bertrand Derome, Managing Director, World Design Organization
  • Makiko Tsumura, Board Member, World Design Organization
  • Luis Calabuig Parras, Board Member, World Design Organization
  • Eray Sertaç Ersayin, Treasurer, World Design Organization
  • Meghan Preiss, Board Member, World Design Organization
  • Thomas Garvey, President-Elect, World Design Organization

09:30

Olivetti, the gentle revolution of human-centred design

Attention to design, alongside products of optimal quality, has been one of Olivetti’s distinguishing traits. Today, this commitment to excellence in every field is called Olivetti Style, a recognizable and positive approach to leadership and community empowerment.
  • Gaetano di Tondo, Communication & External Relations Director, Olivetti
  • Stefano Zordan, Co-Founder, OLI – Adriano Olivetti Leadership Institute
  • Emanuele Cappelli, Designer, Creative Director, Cappelli Identity Design
  • Pier Paolo Peruccio, Full Professor, Department of Architecture and Design

10:00

Lost and Found: Design Innovation

Design thinking and innovation processes are much alike. But no process can guarantee the emergence of innovations. This session will explore how in the middle of pressures and deadlines, it is necessary to give time and freedom for innovators to achieve results. In the end, only motivated designers in an permissive environment can be successful.
  • Hannu Havusto, Design Manager, Huld Oy
  • Anne Stenros, Former Chief Design Officer at City of Helsinki and Design Director of KONE Corporation

10:30

Women in Design Leadership

A host of factors, including pay gaps, gender bias, and lack of strong mentorship, keep women from the higher levels of design leadership. Hear from 3 female design leaders as they share their experiences and insights on how to carve out your own path forward.
  • Mariana Amatullo, Vice Provost for Global Executive Education and Online Strategic Initiatives, The New School
  • Teresa Franqueira, International Coordinator, DESIS Network
  • Anne Stenros, Former Chief Design Officer at City of Helsinki and Design Director of KONE Corporation

11:00

Italdesign: The Way we Design Leadership and Process

This session exploring how Italdesign is ‘making’ ideas to lead the change and design collaborative, integrative and inclusive leadership in design will be given by company executives from Design, Engineering, Production and Business Development. A third-party eyewitness will highlight how interacting with this kind of leadership can spark innovation and productivity.
  • Carsten Monnerjan, Head of Design, Italdesign
  • Davide Casini, Chief Technical Officer, Italdesign
  • Saverio Lograno, Head of Pre-Series & Production, Italdesign
  • Michele Bonino, Full Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, Politecnico di Torino
  • Franco Bay, Head of Communications, Italdesign

12:00

Leadership and Creative Confidence

In conversation with two Board Members from the Pan African Design Institute, this session will explore the role creative confidence as part of design leadership and policy development within the African continent.
  • Juliet Kavishe, Executive Board Member & Publications Editor, Pan African Design Institute
  • Sam Nii Adjaidoo, Co-Founder, Institute of Design and Synergistics (Ghana)

12:30

Politically Engaged Design

What is the role of design in shaping our political systems? In this session, Gustavo will share his experiences designing the voting machines for the Brazilian elections and some key realizations about how designers can impact leadership systems through political engagement and rethinking social design.
  • Gustavo Chelles, Head of Design, Senior Strategist and Innovation Manager, Chelles & Hayashi

13:00

The design (leadership) to come

A session exploring the design to come platform, an initiative founded in the midst of the COVID pandemic with the purpose of promoting the debate about design. To date, nearly 50 experts have participated, leaving clues regarding the relevant transformations of design leadership in changing times.

  • Roberto Iñiguez Flores, Dean, Architecture, Art and Design, Tecnológico de Monterrey

13:30

Leadership by Industrial Design in Morocco

Join the General Manager and Design Director of TRAREM, the first industrial company of the Mena and Africa region, as they explore design leadership and the profession of industrial design as a vector of growth for human, economic and social development.

  • Hicham Lahlou, CEO, 1852 & Co By Hicham Lahlou Designer
  • Samir Bennis, CEO, Trarem

14:00

Design Leaders in the Board Room: Are we bringing pencils and a sketchbook to a gun fight?

During these challenging times where turmoil globally is impacting everyones lives, leadership and the modern fundamental principles of true leadership have to be re-defined. When it comes to Design Leadership, we would like to change the game. It should no longer be about outwitting your opponent but using the 10 characteristics of good leaders, empathy, humanity centered design for the collective better good. How do today’s Design Leaders deal with other board members who have studies traditional leadership styles where the end goal is to eviscerate your opponent and win at all costs? How are we “enabling” our design leaders with the tools to disarm, charm and convince the others that a win-win-win is possible?

  • Stephan Clambaneva, Director, Design Consulting and Strategic Partnerships, PARK USA and Board of Directors IDSA
  • Frans Joziasse, Founding Partner and General Director, PARK

14:30

A Look into Design Leadership in MIT Laboratories

What is design leadership and why does it matter not only to designers, but to all of us? How do we practice this critical human skill in the era of transformational change? Sheng-Hung Lee, Chair of IDSA Boston and MIT Ph.D. researcher, will share his experiences working with four different MIT laboratories and will demonstrate how to apply design leadership skills to empower anyone to elevate from inspired designer to enlightened leader.

  • Sheng-Hung Lee, MIT AgeLab Researcher, MIT xPRO Course Experience Designer, MIT Office of Sustainability Fellow, MIT

15:00

Announcement of World Design Medal Recipient 2022: Patricia Moore

Join us for an exciting session as we announce the recipient of the World Design Medal 2022: Dr Patricia A Moore. She will join WDO President, David Kusuma and WDO Board Member Meghan Preiss for a special conversation exploring leadership in design.

  • David Kusuma, President, World Design Organization
  • Meghan Preiss, Board Member, World Design Organization

15:30

The Importance of Female Leadership in Design

Join a panel discussion with members of WDO’s 2022-2023 Young Designers Circle, exploring some of the key challenges that are top of mind for young leaders around the world. In this session, you’ll engage with 3 YDC members drawn from diverse backgrounds and geographies, who will discuss their take on the importance and value of women in design leadership. They’ll also delve into the subject of gender inclusivity as a means to increase impact in the design process and outcomes.

  • Nyariara Njoroge, Lean Experimentation Coach and Facilitator, The Nature Conservancy Innovation Hub
  • Sameera Chukkapalli Holmes, Founder, Needlab
  • Pedro Sáez Martínez, Co-founder and Strategic Designer, monnou studio
  • Ralitsa Diana Debrah, Communication Designer, KNUST

16:00

Fostering a Design Community

Tips and tricks on how to lead a generation of industrial designers in a country like El Salvador, based on Roberto’s experience of leading IDWEEK through meaningful connections.

  • Roberto Juárez, Creative Director, LERO STUDIO

16:30

Together, we grow stronger

Every designer responds to their human uniqueness to discover and reach their own aspirations. In this way, we find others with their own struggles but with some common doubts and interests. In this session, learn how you can align your journey with others and explore the value of growth within a supportive, diverse design ecosystem.

  • María Jose Delgado, Co-Founder, CROBI Design
  • Marjorie Bonilla, Industrial Designer, Exportaciones Siman trio
  • Roberto Juárez, Creative Director, LERO STUDIO

17:00

Post-COVID jet lag in students

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed us to adapt our courses from the classroom to Zoom meetings, Brightspace planning and digital prototyping. The transition was not without its challenges, deeply effecting the students’ mood and motivation. This talk will focus on how I successfully adapted my teaching style to the new experiences and this generation of students.

  • Carsten Lemme, Design Lecturer, Universidad Anáhuac Mexico Norte

17:30

Is Age just a Number?

The United Nations even defines youth as starting at age 18, but there are a lot of amazing people, younger than 18 capable of great things, including assuming leadership positions. Leadership is lacking if there is no seat at the table for the youth to lead the next generation. In this session, three teenaged leaders will share the importance in including ‘age’ into questions of diversity and inclusion.

  • Chille Cynthia Bergstrom, Space Futurist, MIT Media Lab
  • Gitika Gorthi, Founder and CEO, IgnitedThinkers
  • Sophia Crowder, Founder, ItGirls

18:00

Being the Catalyst for Transformation

When Owen Foster and John McCabe set out to create SHiFT, one of their goals was to design immersive programs that would assist people in recognizing the unique combinations within their life that make them truly one of a kind. By employing transformative thinking, unscripted education, and personal purpose and relevance, SHiFT evolved into a distinct and compelling eco-system that empowered individuals to have the confidence necessary to transform not only themselves but make a difference in the lives of others, as well as in the world at large.

  • Owen Foster, Co-Founder and Director, Aether Global Learning and SHiFT Design Camp
  • John McCabe, Co-Founder and Director of Experiences, Aether Global Learning and SHiFT Design Camp

18:30

Engaging in Leadership as an Early Career Designer

This session will focus on how early career designers can show up both as leaders in their communities and in their place of work. Tolu will discuss his experiences helping to build Blacks Who Design, running his own business and now transitioning up to Dropbox.
  • Tolu Olubode, Product Designer, Dropbox
  • Surya Vanka, Founder, Authentic Design

19:00

Design Leadership 4.0

In this session, designer, educator and author Surya Vanka will describe an evolving world, in which outdated design approaches are being replaced by 21st century paradigms that focus on equity, creativity and the well-being of all. With examples, Surya will illuminate how the failure or success of these paradigms depends in large part on enlightened and agile Design Leadership 4.0.

  • Surya Vanka, Founder, Authentic Design

19:30

24-hours of Leadership in Design

A conversation highlighting some of key moments and lessons learned over the course of 24 hours as we have travelled the globe and explored the different meanings, interpretations and expressions of leadership in design.
  • Surya Vanka, Founder, Authentic Design
  • Sarah Virgini, Programmes & Communications Officer, World Design Organization
  • Natalie Dutil, Communications Manager, World Design Organization