Today is all about Norway – Olso, to be exact. Two new lovely people join our ranks, ready to wow us, dazzle us, and generally make a big impression.

Maria Hartmann is our new Interaction Design Manager, and holds an MSc in IT Product Design from the Mads Clausen Institute at the University of Southern Denmark. She also holds a BA in Product and Furniture Design from Kingston University in Jamaica, I mean, London. She likes to be cold by the looks of things, and enjoys snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and finding junk at flea markets.

Mike Jones also joins us as an Interaction Design Manager, and also holds an MSc IT in Product Design from the Mads Clausen Institute at the University of Southern Denmark. However, he holds a BS in Product Design from Stanford University in California. Mike enjoys snowboarding (this is getting weird), and playing frisbee. I’m not sure how he feels about flea markets.

That’s it for now. We’re still hiring though, so be sure to check out our jobs page!

The strength of good strategic design is at last being recognised. Currently, the hunt for a national design strategy aimed at innovation and growth in Denmark is well underway.

“Design has evolved from being able to create beautiful and functional products to be a process that can drive the evolution of services, products, business models, organizations and ways of thinking. Therefore, design is an important part of Denmark’s future.”said Eskild Hansen, head of European Design Centre at Cisco, one of the participants at a summit held by the Social Liberals.

Denmark has a strong history of design that has evolved from design and aesthetics to a strong strategic power through which companies are able to innovate and grow. It’s this strategic design power that has recently sparked a debate in the political world and within the design industry.

The Danish Design Association (The DDA) have, as a result, invited all parties concerned to a meeting on April 26^th 2011 in the hope of coming to an agreement, and to make a start on the road to a stimulating and bold design strategy that will fully benefit all of Denmark, on national and international levels.

The concern is that by effectively working against each other, the potential power and strength of a national design policy could be hampered. The DDA believe that by working together, and including the knowledge, experience and strategic thinking of professionals both from within the industry, and outside the industry, a true visionary design strategy can be created.

Two political parties (the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre)) and the current government of the Liberals and Conservatives (Venstre and Conservative) are working on their own national design strategies.

The Liberals recently unveiled their ‘Design the Future’ (Design Fremtiden) which focuses on four areas; design education, internationalisation of Danish design, public Design challenges, and growth in the creative industries.

The government have formed a ‘Vision Committee Design 2020’ comprising of six members, selected based on their personal qualities, professional activities and knowledge of the design area. The committee will recommend strategies and to strengthen conditions for design until 2020.

Denmark was the first country in the world with a design policy in 1996, and the time has come to reformulate this in order to keep Denmark as a leading design nation. It’s an exciting time for Danish design, and needless to say, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the matter.

We went to an innovation conference today. It was fun. It was held at The Danish Technological Institute and was aimed at just about anyone interested in innovation.

We were one of the businesses the institute asked to come along and present ourselves and all that we do to the attendees. So we did! Our little stand gathered a lot of attention, and it was great to meet so many interested in Designit. From people asking what they could do to work at Designit, to people who had heard about our super innovation calendar and wanted one, to people who wanted to hear more about how we work – we covered all the bases.

Here is our desk looking very smart;

Our wall – or fortress – of calendars, built by Ida Marie;

I was convinced that someone (me) would knock it over but no-one (I) I didn’t, amazingly.

We were lucky to be nestled in a corner, which meant that we were pretty eye-catching with all our yellow and black! Super stuff.

“How does it work?”

Our calendars got everywhere! Look;

And our invitations to our tablet event got in bags;

And we got busy.

Woohoo! A great afternoon.

We’ve just been lucky enough to have had an afternoon with Ambassador Mr. Clark K.H. Chen, Representative to the Taipei Representative Office in Denmark, Mr. Mark Tseng,Director of the Economic Division, and Ms. Carrie Wu, the Assistant Director of the Economic Division.

Ida Marie (our Business Development Coordinator) and Martin Delfer (one of Designit’s co-founders, and our Head of Sales) met Mr Chen when the Danish Design Association hosted a study trip for Taiwanese companies to come and get a hands-on experience of Danish design. It turns out that Danish design is held in very high regard in Taiwan, so it was logical to extend an invitation to Mr. Chen to come and visit our office in Copenhagen to get a taste of Danish strategic design.

They were more than happy to come and get an inside peek at our creative zoo, and to learn more about strategic design in Denmark. We had a great afternoon, with lunch, cakes, a tour of the office and a thorough introduction to strategic design.

Here is the obligatory official picture;

Here’s Sofie explaining our innovation calendar;

Martin explains the social side to Designit. Alcohol was….mentioned. This is the area where we all hang out and let off steam on Fridays.

And that was it. A cosy day was had by all.

On Thursday 31^st March, Designit will be holding another Thursday Briefing (gå-hjem-møde), this time focusing on the tablet.

The tablet, as some of you may already know, represents an entirely new mobile platform, and therefore presents entirely new possibilities for consumers and businesses alike.

2011 will be the year of the tablet in Denmark. As demand goes up, and production price goes down, by the end of the year it’s estimated that every fifth household in Denmark will own a tablet. The question; is your business ready?

Come and hear Mads Vad Kristensen, Director of Digital Development at Berlingske Media, discuss Berlingske’s digital strategies and why tablets and other mobile platforms are Berlingske Media’s future.

Our very own Troels Nørlem (Communications Strategist), David Fellah (CEO) and Hans-Henrik Sørensen (Director of Interaction Design) will then take the stage to discuss three different perspectives on tablets; future trends in mobile platforms, how tablets will revolutionise B2B and B2C sales, and finally, NUI (Natural User Interface).

Lasting just 90 minutes, it’ll be an intensive, in-depth look at tablets, and how they will revolutionise business strategy as we know it. Take a look at the programme below;

16:00 Welcome
David Fellah, CEO, Cofounding Partner, Designit.

16:05 Berlingske Media
Mads Vad Kristensen, Digital Direktør for Berlingske Media.
Why are tablets Berlingske Media’s future?

16:35 New needs, new platforms, new potential…
Troels Nørlem, Senior Communications Strategist, Designit.
Why should we take tablets seriously? How will they fit into the ecosystem with smartphones and laptops? How do they affect users behaviours and expectations?

16:55 Tablets will change sales forever…
David Fellah, CEO, Cofounding Partner, Designit.
Why are tablets the sales tool of the future, and how will tablets revolutionise B2B and B2C sales?

17:15 New methods of interaction
Hans Henrik Sørensen, Director of Digital Design, Cofounding Partner, Designit.
What possibilities does NUI – intuitive access to services and functions – bring? A glance into the future of interaction (gesture, voice, 3D), and NUI as a conversation agent.

17:30 Tapas & wine

So there you have it. It will  be in Danish, but I’ll be tweeting from the event in English, and doing a re-cap in English too, so be sure to follow us on Twitter, or follow the feed on LinkedIn.

If you’d like to know more and/or sign up, please check out the event at our Thursday Briefing page.

We just can’t get enough! Say hello to more new faces at Designit…

Mads Heje Pedersen joins us in Copenhagen as our new Product Designer. Mads holds an MA in Industrial Design from The Danish Design School, and decided to come to Designit as he sees us (quite rightly so!) as the most progressive design agency in the country (we already like him). He enjoys making electronic music, as well as building stuff. What stuff exactly, we’re yet to see.

Esben Rose will be making waves in the Aarhus team, as an Interactive Designer. Esben has actually worked at Designit before, but after a few years, he realised his leaving us was momentary madness, and we’re glad to have him back. He’s a drummer, a gamer, and also likes sunshine.

Claus Bertelsen will be joining the zoo in Aarhus to help with the big move they have to make next month (they’ve outgrown the original office so have found a new home down near the harbour – more on that later!). Claus will help with People and Business Support. They’re going to need him!

Yes yes! Our second book, ‘The Irresistible at First Glance Book’ is in the house. Full of examples of products we have worked on, products that demand attention, catch your eye, and just ooze instant appeal…

To whet your appetite, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

No, you can’t see anymore. If you want more, you’ll have to ask for one (either comment here, tweet @SocialDesignit, or email lara.mulady@designit.com – remember your address!).

Today I find myself in Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, also known as the City of Smiles. This is where Designit was born, which is probably why everyone’s smiling. OK, jokes aside, the Aarhus office is cool. Big, and cool. Lunch was freshly made in the in-house kitchen (roast chicken – my personal favourite), and there’s cake being baked in the oven as I write. I’m lost for words.

Here are some pictures from the office.



I’m also meeting everyone. About 60 new faces and names, which I’ll do my very best to remember, but…. Well, ‘oi’ works in many languages, let’s just leave it at that. Very nice lot here in Aarhus, and they even have their very own Englishwoman holding up the front. We’re everywhere, we are. Here is a picture of some happy Designits. Work hard, play hard.

In these boxes are our books! Woohoo! So to anyone who wanted one – they’ll be with you soon.

Well that’s it for now. Just a little ‘hello’ from Aarhus. Hopefully one day I can do the same thing for every office. You know, eat their cake, that kind of thing.

Until then!

As I’ve said just a post or two ago, we’re hiring. A lot. In fact, we’re hiring so quickly we’ve decided it’d make life much easier if we all wore nametags. Like this;

That’s mine. Nice, huh? The problem is people keep appearing and we just can’t remember everyone’s names. Personally, I think it’d be fun if we all swapped nametags, but no-one seemed to support my plan. Oh well.

Here are just a few of the new faces we’ve welcomed into the zoo. More will come!

Thi Nguyen who will be joining us as a kitchen assistant in Aarhus. She loves to cook, and thought she should try doing what she loves as a job – why not? It’s what we do J

Rikke Mørck Lichinger Jessen joins us as a Research Intern in Copenhagen. Rikke is studying for a Master of Science in Engineering in Design and Innovation, specialising in Product Development at the Technical University of Denmark. If she wasn’t here she’d be off travelling the globe.

Nirvana Soltani also joins us in Copenhagen, as an Insights and Strategy Intern. She completed her BA in Industrial Design back home in Iran, took a one year course at the Umeå Institute of Design, and is currently doing her MA in Interaction Design. Nirvana is a dab hand at table tennis, or so she claims…….challenges?

Sara Mirdal also joins us in Copenhagen, but as a Senior Interaction Designer. She took her BA in Industrial Product Design in Copenhagen, and her MA in Interaction Design at the Umeå Institute in Sweden. Sara is just happy she can now bike to work, and doesn’t have to endure a 4 hour train commute.

Kathrine Nehen-Hansen joins us as a Brand Strategist in Copenhagen. Kat holds an MA in Media Studies from Aarhus University combined with Marketing Management Strategy from the Institute of Economics and Copenhagen Business School. She’s a Mac freak, a mobile freak, and apparently is fond of Swedish elks.

Also joining the Copenhagen team is Signe Utoft Andersen, our new Research Intern. Signe holds a BA from the Department of Design at Aarhus School of Architecture and has recently returned from a 6 month exchange at the design school ENSAAMA in Paris, studying industrial design, and service and graphic design. She cooks, dances, and will soon be our resident kitesurfter!

Rasmus Troelstrup Olsen will soon join us in Copenhagen as a 3D Design Trainee – he’s spending his first week in Aarhus, and studies Digital Media. Rasmus enjoys football, and climbing, although not at the same time.

Jeppe Ramkær joins us as a Research Intern in Copenhagen too, and is studying for an MA in Industrial Design from the Danish Design School. He also holds a BEng in Interaction Design from the University of Southern Denmark. He enjoys fishing from his kayak, and even spear fishing, which is probably a first for Designit. We are a diverse bunch!

And then there’s me. Online Communicator. I hold a BA in Marketing and Management Communication and an MA in Corporate Communication, both from the Aarhus School of Business. I’m a massive fan of Mythbusters and an out and proud fan of Buffy. I also love technology.

If you have fallen madly in love with one of us and would love to have the chance to work with us at this crazy creative place called Designit – look no futher!

So there you have it. There are more to come!

Yesterday morning, while doing the routine surf, I came across this article from Fast Company; User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs; Just Ask Apple and Ikea (written by two Danes, no less!). A good little article, but one that I can’t quite let go. Why? Because Designit firmly believes in user-centred design. It’s a belief we’ve based our work on from the day we began work, and it’s a belief that has so far, given us nothing but success.

We know that the consumer is not king, that’s a 90’s mantra, but neither is the brand king. The playing field is levelled, and with that, brand and user meet each other on common ground. We work together as one unit.

We all know the story about Henry Ford, cars, and faster horses, which is in effect what this article claims Apple and IKEA adhere to, and of course, there is some truth in that. Just look at crowdsourcing; not exactly the death of advertising it was once touted by some to be. However, I don’t think any brand believes exclusively in the ‘user as leader’. User-centeredness doesn’t mean ‘what the user says goes’ as this article implies. It means involving the user from the outset, taking the views and opinions of the end-user and then incorporating the skills and talents of designers and creatives to help evolve, enhance, and refine the ideas.

The whole process is easily explained through our approach; we, (Designit) and you (the client) both create the solutions you need. We constantly throw ideas back and forth, never losing sight of the market or your customers, meaning that the end result fits perfectly with your expectations, your customers, and your ideals.

No brand relies solely on their users, and no brand completely ignores their users (even Apple!). Winning innovation and winning design are born from collaboration. It’s worked extremely well for us over the past 11 years, and it’s only getting better.