This past Thursday, November 13th, I had the opportunity to address the audience at the World Usability Day event in Leuven, Belgium. The Challenge of Happy Users was sponsored and organised by u-sentric, a self-described user experience engineering & (re)design firm. “We all want happy users.” And how.

I’m always happy to talk about smaller companies that are applying design to innovate and grow, and it was great to be able to highlight the six Irish organisations that took part in the Innovation by Design programme.

The event took place at Living Tomorrow. Director, Joachim De Vos spoke about the science of innovation. We got a chance to tour the House of the Future and I was surprised to learn that 80% of the innovations were already commercially available, from simple improvements like doors that can’t pinch your fingers to smart surfaces with embedded technology. It’s not a house I’d move into (honestly, it lacks a soul), but it does provide a place to explore living innovations in context.

Phillips presented a case study on remote control redesign. Only 55 percent of users achieve universal remote set-up without help! They are currently working with u-sentric to change that and have already achieved a 95% success rate. I wish Phillips had attached a figure to how much money that would save the company in support costs.

Marc Michils of Saatchi & Saatchi presented their thinking around lovemarks, which he defined as loyalty beyond reason. We talk about lovemarks in our brand workshop, but make it clear that everyone doesn’t need to aspire to be one. If you have a brand that gets the job done, that’s fine as well. It is true that lovemarks might deliver more value, but may be out of reach, or impractical for a small business. What you don’t want to be is a question mark, where your users don’t know what you stand for.

“Emotion leads to action. Reason leads to conclusions.”

The proof is in the tangible benefits a brand provides, but winning awards is always a nice endorsement of the work. Off the back of the Innovation by Design programme, the Institute of Technology Sligo chose Design Factory to rebrand the college, and the work was just recognised by getting shortlisted for the IDI Design Awards 2008.

You certainly can influence what your brand stands for, but at the end of the day, it is out of your hands. If you still have doubts, check out the brilliant brand tags site.

I was personally taken by the whole “package” of the Help Remedies brand. Smart. Witty. Sustainable. Simple. User focused.

Help Remedies was created to make solving simple health issues simple. We find the best solution there is, and take away everything else. By stripping away some of the complexity and fear mongering of the health industry, we hope to make the category friendlier and more accessible, and in doing so empower people to make their own health decisions.

Their website even offers help if you’re just feeling bored.

Design Delivers is a one-day workshop run by the Centre for Design Innovation. In this highly interactive session, you will learn practical tools for identifying your key customers and applying design research tools to extract meaningful insights that can be developed into product and service offerings.

The first half of the day focuses on user-centred design; what it is, why it is important to your business and how to do it. You’ll be taken through a straight-forward process of applying user-centred design (Identify, Look, Involve, Try, Plan). Each step will be illustrated using tools that can be applied after the workshop. Why would you want to invest resources to develop ideas or services your customers don’t want or need?

The second half of the day will focus on branding. Branding adds value to your business, helps you differentiate your offering from the competition and helps you connect with your customers. A brand is not a logo or an identity, it is much more. You will learn why branding is important to your business, as well as the components that make up successful brands. Convey your message more effectively and consistently. Sell your products and services at a premium. Attract better customers, distributors, partners, suppliers and staff.

What have past participants said about the day?
“Practical tools to bring back to the workplace.”
“This kind of seminar should be available as soon as you enter into business. Day one.”
“Informative and essential for any discerning SME who wants to drive value in their business.”
“Like the interaction exercises … I hate sitting and listening for hours solid. Thanks.”
“It has taken the blinkers off to what design can be and do for the business.”

Why should I care?
Research conducted by the Centre has proven that Irish businesses who use design innovate more often, more effectively and compete less on price. Companies that integrate design at the highest strategic levels are 2.5 times more successful than those that do not yet only 15% of organisations use design at this level. Why? One of the reasons may be they just don’t know how. Begin to learn how during this one-day workshop.

How much does it cost?
The event is fully subsidised by the BMW Assembly and is free of charge to organisations in the BMW region of Ireland.

Is one day enough time to learn this?
Our goal at the Centre is to help demystify the design process and provide tools that allow you to use design thinking for yourselves. When it is time to undertake more detailed work you will feel more confident and empowered to brief the appropriate expert to provide you with further support. You’ll get a lot of value from the day.

Where and when will it take place?
The workshop will be run three times, with the second session taking place Tuesday, April 29th, from 10-4PM at the offices of the Centre Design Innovation, Room G1003, Business Innovation Centre, Institute of Technology Sligo campus. Please RSVP to Justin Knecht, Programme Manager, justin@designinnovation.ie.

When helping SMEs understand the benefits of design-led innovation, we often rely on a standard roster of case studies from multinational players. The latest Innovation Leaders survey by Innovaro is a veritable “who’s who” and even though there are great approaches in there, as well as the Eleven Lessons published by the Design Council, I fear we alienate smaller organisations. Are we painting a picture that only the largest companies can afford meaningful innovation and effective design management?

It was breath of fresh air to hear Irena Fonda discuss her choice to invest in design to drive their family-owned fish business forward in Slovenia at the DME Conference. Fonda feeds their fish by hand (only the best food) for four years before going to market. Since they control the feeding, their fish can have 13 times less mercury than wild fish.

Working with LUKSstudio, Fonda incorporated family values and created a brand around old family photos. The “mustache” in the final logo is applied to the family portrait in a humorous and memorable way. You can purchase fresh, tagged fish on the Internet and have it shipped directly to you in a packaged experience. A panel of Italian chefs preferred their sea bass to that caught in the wild in taste tests and within a year of the launch, their fish appears branded on menus in the best restaurants in Ljubljana. Quality product. Authenticity. Design. That should put an end to the term “fishy business.”

Irena referred to design as one of many business tools, and she made the decision to spend on design. That’s a story to get out to other small operations looking for the right investment when spending (literally) their own money.

(The Fonda site is currently not available in English.)