#16 | Kathleen Brandenburg | Driving strategy through design
“I think design has an opportunity to change the world. I always believed that every problem and challenge is a design challenge. A business issue is a design issue. The biggest issues in this world (…) are design challenges.”
Kathleen on the impact of “design as a methodology” and the impact of using design thinking to drive impact and change not just on a product development side but also in aspects like social innovation and business strategy.
In episode 16, I talk with Kathleen Brandenburg, Co-founder and Chief Design Strategy Officer at IA Collaborative - a global design and innovation agency in Chicago and Los Angeles. She is also part of the Innovation Council at Northwestern University, Board Member at Chicago’s IIT Institute of Design, Board of Trustees Member at IIT, and also recently co-taught Design for Social Innovation as a visiting professor at Harvard University. In her role as both a business owner and educator, Kathleen leads integrated teams that drive business and human impact through design. This is a series of podcasts where IDSA shares insights from the best International Design Conference speakers and design voices in Chicago. Kathleen has a unique background in both business and design, and this is something we dive into: the rise of the importance of design in business. We also talk about how to convince business stakeholders about the impact of design, how to be a master of collaboration (learning from the culture of IA Collaborative) and how designing for behavior change is a new gateway and huge responsibility for designers to drive impact - and can even save lives. This podcast is packed full of learnings and insights on why, how and what design drives forward.
About IA Collaborative:
IA Collaborative is a global design and innovation consultancy. We believe the companies and organizations that will succeed in tomorrow’s hypercompetitive landscape are those that understand how to fully integrate design into business thinking and operations. We work with business leaders to rethink the role of design in every corner of their organization – and how to leverage design as a competitive advantage, from corporate growth strategy, to offering investment, to driving performance at scale. From redefining customer experience at Airbnb, to transforming brand loyalty for Audi, to designing new platforms and identifying new business models for Nike - IA Collaborative prioritizes, prototypes, and launches what’s next for leading brands. Learn about IA Collaborative’s 7 Elements of Design.
About IDSA:
“For over fifty years, IDSA has worked to advance the practice of industrial design through education, information, community and advocacy. Our roots stretch to the beginning of the profession and our members are, and have been, some the most celebrated industrial designers of all time. However, being a part of this community means you are joining something bigger than any one individual. Your participation helps strengthen the industrial design profession as a whole and contributes to the boundless impact of design within business, culture and society.”
Learn more at https://www.idsa.org