Philips Design magazine on foresighting techniques, health and ‘sensitive’ interactions

Philips today released the October issue of new value by One Design, its online quarterly design magazine.

As described in Stefano Marzano’s foreword, the issue is devoted to foresighting techniques, design concepts for a healthy lifestyle, and interactions that are responsive to subtle triggers like sensuality, affection and sensation.

In ‘Making sense of the future‘, the magazine explores how innovative foresighting research, and particularly Philips’ Compass Program, helps to provide the company with clues to the future to leverage new opportunities. Josephine Green, Senior Director, Trends & Strategy, New Solutions Development explains how they use a strategy of ‘putting people first’ (!): “People are very much at the center of the foresighting process [and this] offers us a much richer set of insights to drive innovation”.

The next step in simplicity is the title of an article on this year’s Simplicity Event in London (see also this post). The event addressed the issue of ‘A healthy lifestyle’ with the introduction of the Philips Design simplicity-led design concepts to help people become more aware of their own well-being. The article gives an overview of the thinking behind the concepts and the processes used to generate them.

A feature story addresses some of the subtlest, most sophisticated interactions: those that are ‘sensitive’ rather than intelligent and take place through a simple gesture, touch or glance. ‘You are what you wear‘ examines how Philips Design is exploring this issue in the SKIN Probe project. “We are experimenting with devices that are responsive to subtle triggers like sensuality, affection and sensation,” says Lucy McRae, Body Architect at Philips Design in Eindhoven, who is also interviewed in this issue.

Finally the magazine contains an interview with Harry Rich, Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Design Council on the value of design for business.