by Asha Sumputh for Dassault Systèmes

We welcomed hundreds of attendees in the first two days of Design in the Age of Experience, focused on Design for Life, and featuring an impressive list of speakers, from the design and architecture industries such as Westley Goatley, Kengo Kuma, Daan Roosegaarde, Daniela Bohlinger, Laurens Van Den Acker and Carlo Ratti among others. (Check out our daily recaps of Monday and Tuesday!)

On this third day, the conference revolved around Consuming in a Sustainable World, where Retail Revolution, Connected Universes and Consumption Innovation themes were the primary focus.  The idea?  That design can be a whole lot more than a point of attraction for today’s consumers. It can be meaningful.  It can serve a purpose.  It can help create a better world for all.

Retail Revolution

The Retail Revolution theme had all the ingredients of an auspicious conference: international headline speakers, compelling content and lots of interactions with the audience. Paolo Zazzi, Customer & Shopper Marketing Global Director at Barilla, focused on the shift in company’s innovation strategy.

Likewise, Mathieu Tournaire – designer of high-end jewelry – pointed out how innovation is at the heart of La Maison Tournaire legacy. The French designer strives to customize his creations using technology to achieve “never seen and never done before.”

Retail Revolution also looked at the idea of enhancing customer experience beyond the product. Mathieu Boimare, Design Director at Decathlon Inesis, clearly demonstrated how retail spaces are breaking conventional rules by creating seamless experiences between physical and digital. Nasahn Sheppard, CEO of Everyday Heroes, took it even further saying that retail is shifting “from shareholder value to shared values” driven by the millennial generation’s expectations.

Connected Universes

From smarter connected products improving our daily lives to bringing life to all kinds of surfaces, today’s connectivity knows no bounds!  It expands a product’s role and functionality. Product design is not just about fashioning smart products but also creating an effective connected system. This concept was brilliantly demonstrated by the CEO of ShadeCraft Robotics, Armen Gharabegian, whose LA-based startup stepped outside the box by creating the world’s first autonomous outdoor living solutions.

That talk was followed by Tactotek’s Sini Rykty, who described how designers are no longer limited by form factors, but instead can freely create electronic functionality in areas that are inaccessible with traditional electronics and mechanics.

Nano Dimension’s CEO, Amit Dror concluded this session by outlining the shift in manufacturing thanks to technologies based on connectivity.

Consumption Innovation

We winded up the day with the Consumption Innovation session.  A fantastic story by Patrizio Carlucci, head of Innovation Lab at ECCO, let us step into the future of footwear.

After apparel, we turned to household appliances designed to last. L’increvable’s co-founder Christophe Santerre illustrated “how design can help us shift from a linear economy based on disposable goods to a circular economy based on durable and repairable products.”

In a similar fashion, Young Se Kim, INNODesign’s charismatic CEO, shared how he strives to “save the Earth by design”. He talked about the launch of the Goodbye Paper Cup campaign that imagines a whole new experience for drinking coffee and tea.

Consuming in a Sustainable World came to a close with Gian Paolo Bassi, SOLIDWORKS CEO, explaining to the audience how Dassault Systèmes is a partner for life, before renowned French designer Patrick Jouin shares his vision of transforming architectural landmarks and landscapes using locally sourced natural materials.

What an exciting day at Design Week in Milan! Join us tomorrow at SuperStudio Piu for another round of stimulating sessions dedicated to Dwelling in a Sustainable World, with sessions around Home Design and Connected Homes.  In the meantime, take a virtual tour of our 3DEXPERIENCE playground!

Asha Sumputh is an Entrepreneur, TV Journalist and Emcee with a background in Economics and Finance. Graduated from both Cambridge University and Sorbonne University, she started her career as a TV journalist on a French news channel.  @AshaSumputh