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Watch Patrick Whitney’s “The Value of Abstracting Design Problems” talk

Patrick Whitney, Institute of Design Dean and Steelcase / Robert C. Pew Professor explains the value of design for business and innovation — in under four minutes!

Patrick Whitney, Institute of Design Dean and Steelcase / Robert C. Pew Professor of the IIT Institute of Design explains the value of design for business and innovation — in under four minutes!

The Value of Abstracting Design Problems

About Patrick Whitney

Patrick Whitney has published and lectured throughout the world about ways of making technological innovations more humane, the link between design and business strategy, and methods of designing interactive communications and products. His writing is generally about new frameworks of design that respond to three transformations: linking insights about user experience to business strategy, the shift from mass-production to flexible production, and the shift from national markets to markets that are both global and “markets of one.”

BusinessWeek has profiled Whitney as a “design visionary” for bringing together design and business, Forbes named him as one of six members of the “E-Gang” for his work in human-centered design, Fast Company has identified him as a “master of design” for linking the creation of user value and economic value, and Global Entrepreneur named him one of the 25 people worldwide doing the most to bring new ideas to business in China.

He is the principal investigator of several research projects at the Institute of Design, including “Global Companies in Local Markets,” “Design for the Base of the Pyramid,” and “Schools in the Digital Age.” His recent work has been supported by several grants, including funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, SC Johnson, the Steelcase Foundation, and numerous corporations.

He is a trustee of the Global Heritage Fund, which supports restoration of heritage sites and local communities in the developing world.

via Patrick Whitney on the value of abstracting design problems on Vimeo.

By Itamar Medeiros

Originally from Brazil, Itamar Medeiros currently lives in Germany, where he works as VP of Design Strategy at SAP, where he leads the design vision for the entire Human Capital Management product line, ensuring cohesive product narratives and establishing best practices.

Working in the Information Technology industry since 1998, Itamar has helped truly global companies in multiple continents create great user experience through advocating Design and Innovation principles. Itamar has also served as a juror for prestigious design competitions and lectured on design topics at universities worldwide.

During his 7 years in China, he promoted the User Experience Design discipline as User Experience Manager at Autodesk and Local Coordinator of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) in Shanghai.

Itamar holds a MA in Design Practice from Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK), for which he received a Distinction Award for his thesis Creating Innovative Design Software Solutions within Collaborative/Distributed Design Environments.

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