Students get glimpse of Domina’s design vision
Students learned why business strategies are important in design Monday night.
Approximately 50 design students gathered in Charles V. Park Library Auditorium to hear the latest speaker in the art department’s “Surrounded by Design” Stephen L. Barstow Art and Design Lecture Series.
Chris Domina, a designer for global design group IDEO, led the presentation.
Domina shared his “Seven Mantras for Design Thinking” with students, explaining why each was important.
The mantras are: zoom in - zoom out, follow the money, create a green cycle, brand in - brand out, tell stories, make it work and build momentum.
“I think it’s about finding ways to keep important design issues at the top of their (students’) minds,” Domina said.
For each mantra he spoke about, Domina shared a personal experience which explained why it was important.
To demonstrate the “brand in-brand out” step, Domina told the students about a branding project IDEO collaborated on with Timberland Shoes.
The “make it work” and “build momentum” steps were emphasized by Domina’s story about how his company helped Motorola define and understand a strategic company vision.
He said he puts all aspects of business into his designs.
Domina, who has worked at IDEO for five years, said the company has an amazing range of discipline because of its large size.
The company has worked on thousands of projects with major companies, including Sony, Toshiba, Motorola and Timberland. It helps other companies innovate and design products, services, environments and digital experiences.
Students who attended the event said they learned new things about design.
“Since I want to go into engineering, it helped me understand more the design process and how it affects business.” said Dearborn freshman Rachel Lutsic.
Jasmine Yancey, Roseville freshman, said the lecture was very informative.
“You don’t see the work that goes into marketing and how important it is to people who work on the project,” she said.
