The Bay Area, on the West Coast of the United States, is where innovation feels at home. Naming a handful companies based there is enough to explain why: Google, Facebook, Apple and many more in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. That is the reason why last October the Danish Design Council flew there for an oversea study-trip.
The tour covered several design disciplines and included different design firms, but also tech companies that make design an integral part of their work. ´Facebook and Google, for example, work with design in terms of art, product design and industrial design´ Lone Feifer, member of the Council´s Board, explains.
Lone is the Director of Sustainability & Architecture in the VELUX Group and former vice-chair of the Danish Design Council. She took part to the study-trip together with some 20 Council members. Among the most interesting companies that hosted the Council, she recalls fuse project – which among other things works on ´classic product design and identity design´ – and IDEO, which offers design courses for companies to become more innovative.
´The most inspiring visit – Lone adds – was probably the one to Otherlab, a research and development lab that works with a variety of enterprises. Our host was able to give us an interesting perspective on climate change developments, and we got great insights about investment strategies in Silicon Valley from a venture capitalist strategizer.´
Concepts like Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and blockchain – which are very relevant for design – were also quite central during the Bay Area tour.
The Council members came back to Denmark with key takeaways and inputs for their work. Among many, Lone points out the importance of storytelling. ´Today you have to be able to tell a story, and relate to a community perspective.´
Overall, this visit contributed to inspire the members of the Council on new ways to innovate Danish design and Danish firms, and it remarked the importance of international networking and openness.