DESIGN MANAGEMENT

Managers with both design and management skills are rare. Today companies recognise and acknowledge the way designers ‘think’ as a strategic asset; an alternativeto traditional management methods and approaches toward company growth.
This unique one year course encourages creative strategic thinking, forming multidisciplinary profiles capable of working in areas of product development, operations, marketing, R&D, and brand strategy – the mastermind that is designer and manager.

For participants with previous undergraduate level study in either design, art, business, management or similar, this course covers multifaceted training in management models, business organisation processes, project management, business strategy, design thinking, and leadership, providing all the necessary skills to successfully head-up and lead a department, or manage a company. It is increasingly important for designers to be involved in the development of new products and communication strategies.

Participants learn how to develop and apply innovative and creative management solutions to design-based projects focusing on 3 areas: business, design and research. They investigate the design process and learn the creative tools required to develop products and services within multidisciplinary, innovation-driven business contexts, understanding how their creative ‘design thinking’ approach can be integrated in project solutions, and advance a company’s strategic positioning and growth. Multidisciplinary projects explore management models, creativity and leadership, researching design and management processes in order to gain a greater understanding of operational difficulties. By analysing complex problems participants learn how to develop problem-solving capabilities in individual and team lead projects.

Integrative thinking, experiential learning and empathy are subsequently applied to creative methods in the development of new products, ideas and services via interactive, user-centred and systemic design strategies. Throughout the course participants focus on the needs and skills of leaders of design teams for the fashion,
luxury and creative industries, completing the course with the skills, and a forward thinking mind-set, to become the future front-runners of design management.

The partnership with Macromedia brings expertise in communications management in the fields of design and media. Macromedia is a private university with 5 locations in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich. With more than 2,000 students, it is Germany’s leading private university for media and communication.