i-design08

i-design08 brought together a unique group of speakers (including yours truly) from wide ranging backgrounds including design, technology, anthropology, media, advertising and branding to explore the theme of meaningful interaction and the future of interactive design.

This eclectic mix led to rich conversations raising a number of issues including the need for greater collaboration between the disciplines and the opportunity for designers to move up/along the value chain in terms developing and implementing their own products/IP.

The best examples of this potential were presented by Brendan Dawes, of Magnetic North, creator of the acclaimed Mixa (pictured above) and Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, CEO of technology and design consultancy Tinker it!, who showcased some of her team's innovative work using Arduino.

Timo Veikkola of The Future Laboratory also gave an inspiring talk about digital and other trends including womenomics, ambient intelligence, emotion technology and the body as an interface.

Altogether an interesting day. Will write more later about the "Where's the money?" panel I participated in.