Paperback (304 pages)
Released on October 2012 by Wiley
Unlike other books on the subject, 101 Design Methods approaches the practice of creating new products, services, and customer experiences as a science, rather than an art, providing a practical set of collaborative tools and methods for planning and defining successful new offerings. Strategists, managers, designers, and researchers who undertake the challenge of innovation, despite a lack of established procedures and a high risk of failure, will find this an invaluable resource. Novices can learn from it; managers can plan with it; and practitioners of innovation can improve the quality of their work by referring to it.
Vijay Kumar is a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design in Chicago and leads the Strategic Design Planning and the Design Methods programs www.id.iit.edu. For more than 12 years he was the chief methodologist at Doblin Inc. (now a member of Deloitte) a leading global innovation firm based in Chicago www.doblin.com.
With over 30 years of global work experience, Kumar has taught, published, lectured, and consulted throughout the world about how to use structured methods, tools, and frameworks for conceiving reliable human-centered innovations and turning them into strategic plans for organizations. His research is focused on framing up emerging innovation opportunities in education, health care, communication, retail, social reform, built environments, and emerging markets among others. He is the inventor of many methods, tools, and frameworks designed to uncover unexplored innovation opportunities.
He consults with companies and organizations around the world for planning innovations using systemic, structured, and human-centered methods. He has consulted with Alamo, Amoco, Amway, Autodesk, Bose, Ceasefire, Cigna, Daishinsha, Hallmark, Kraft Foods, Lenscrafters, Liberty Mutual, McDonald's, Motorola, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Shell, SAS Airlines, Steelcase, Target, Texas Instruments, T-Mobile, Wells Fargo, and Zurich Financials among others www.linkedin.com/pub/vijay-kumar/4/324/5bb/.
Kumar is a frequent speaker and is widely published on the topic of innovation. He regularly conducts executive workshops on innovation for organizations around the world. He is the author of the best selling book on design thinking, "101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization" www.101designmethods.com.
Recently, the Design Futures Council has named Kumar as an Honorary Senior Fellow for his “significant contributions toward the understanding of changing trends, new research, and applied knowledge that improve the built environment and the human condition” www.di.net/about/senior_fellows/.
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