The creative landscape is changing at a rapid rate. The lines continue to blur. In-house creative departments, agencies small and large, even freelancers —  everyone needs to learn what’s new and solidify connections to get to the next level and continue thriving.

According to Tim Irvine, Regional Design Director for North America at Fjord, guest on a recent episode of the HOW Design Live podcast, “The most interesting problems worth solving can’t be done by a single, creative mind. We need to think of designers more broadly than interactive, visual, content, etc. and bring a host of new skills into the core team. Obviously, this includes developers but it also incorporates data scientists, strategists, creative technologists and people with deep industry expertise.”

We see the role of HOW Design Live as a think tank for the future of design. That’s why the theme for HOW Design Live 2019 is Future Forward. On the HOW Design Live podcast as well, we have been focusing on the future for a while, on the places where design and marketing overlap, where technology and creativity intersect and on what marketers and brands, designers and other creatives need to know to make themselves future-proof.

So I’ve put together a group of podcast episodes that address these issues to prepare you for what you’ll learn at HOW Design Live in Chicago, May 7-10, 2019. Listen and learn…

Podcast: Connie Birdsall on Branding for The Customer of the Future

Connie Birdsall, Senior Partner, Global Creative Director, leads the design practice at Lippincott and is a member of the Lippincott Management Team. We talked in depth about the customer of the future and how she sees the future of branding. I also asked:

• How will the customer of the future decide what to buy?
• What do you believe is the expectation from consumers around how they would like to interact with brands?
• What role does social responsibility play in branding? What about the rest of our senses?
• What is the future of print in the face of digital growth and artificial intelligence?

Podcast: Zorana Gee on Selling Your Design Ideas with 3D & AR

Zorana Gee, Group Product Manager for Adobe Dimension, has been an integral member of the Adobe team and has played a crucial role in driving Adobe’s direction with the evolution of 3D design, from the introduction of 3D features in Photoshop to the birth of a brand new design product, like Adobe Dimension. I also asked:

• Why designers are hesitant to adopt 3D into their workflows and why it’s important for them to start embracing those workflows?
• How 3D design is changing how companies like Adidas are designing their products
• What does the future of 3D design look like?

Podcast: Gina DeDomenico Flanagan & Michael Thompson on Technology for Digital Artists

Gina DeDomenico Flanagan, Costume Concept Illustrator, and Michael Thompson, Senior Director of Technology and Innovation at Wacom talked, of course, about the digital tablets and pens Wacom makes for artists. But we talked mostly about how technology has changed and continues to change, the way artists produce their work. (You’ve heard of virtual reality, but what about “mixed reality?”) This podcast veered into really interesting territory about the differences between men and women when it comes to adopting technology. Gina gave some excellent advice for young women artists getting into the field.

Podcast: Val Head on Designing for AR, AI & Chatbots

Val Head, a design evangelist at Adobe whose background is in UI/UX animation, talked about how designers can implement animation as a design tool, as well Designing A New Reality: Chatbots, VR & Beyond. But especially interesting was her experience as a woman in the design world and how she has developed the confidence to be the evangelist she has become, and how she went from “no, not me,“ to “yes, why not me?”

Podcast: Tim Irvine on The Future Role of Designers

Tim Irvine, Regional Design Director for North America at Fjord, leads diverse teams consisting of design research, interaction design, and visual design and content, working with them to solve complex problems in memorable ways. As more and more designers are being asked (indeed required) to collaborate on diverse teams within a company or for a client, we discussed which skills and talents (beyond what designers already do) are needed to collaborate effectively.

If you like what you hear, write a review and subscribe on iTunes so you won’t miss the next season with speakers from HOW Design Live 2019.

And of course, I hope to see you there! Join us at HOW Design Live in Chicago, May 7-10, 2019. Early bird deadline is February 15, 2019. 

by Ilise Benun, founder of Marketing-Mentor.com