In 2014, Steven Umbach served as the conference chair for the International Design Conference, held in Austin, TX and produced by the Industrial Designers Society of America. In his role, spanning almost two years, not only did he preside over the conference as emcee, but was instrumental in designing the entire integrated participant experience.

Professional design management leadership is not only desirable and critical within a company, as the same skill set can be applied to large-scale industry events such as conferences in order to create an integrated experience for participants and a successful event for the organizers and sponsors. Good design is good business at any scale. Umbach Consulting Group (UCG) has helped to plan and organize numerous conference events and brainstorm sessions, as well as international student design competitions. How can we help your business by design?

Umbach Consulting Group was retained by Cardionics over two years to develop design concepts, mechanical designs, fabric patterns, and prototypes for two new-to-the-world wearable, healthcare technology products: the simulation shirt (SimShirt) and the simulation suit (SimSuit).

The Cardionics SimShirt and SimSuit are different garments worn by a Standardized Patient Actor (SP) for simulating physiological conditions used to teach healthcare and medical students diagnostic procedural skills relating to auscultation. The SimShirt contains one layer of technology, embedded RFID tags, while the SimSuit adds ECG posts and a pulse-point tube system—all made functional through a WiFi network (see video for explanation).

UCG provided high-level design management direction, innovation process know-how, and traditional industrial design and prototyping services resulting in true innovation. The SimShirt placed as the Platinum (“All-Spark”) award winner in the wearable technology category for the Spark International Design Awards.

Watch videos: Cardionics Bionic Hybrid Simulator (1) and Cardionics Bionic Hybrid Simulator (2)

Umbach Consulting Group was retained by the Dell Experience Design Group to design, develop, and manage an international product design competition, seeking the best ideas from design students, computer enthusiasts, and others demonstrating fresh approaches and responsible solutions for green computing technology. The competition was called “ReGeneration: International Green Computing Technology Design Competition” and coincided with numerous corporate initiatives led by founder Michael Dell as he looked to reinvigorate Dell Inc. with a new strategic direction that impacted product design and material use, manufacturing and logistics operations, and asset recovery and recycling.

Umbach Consulting Group, as the program’s behind-the-scenes leader, worked with Dell staff at all levels to conceive, develop, and execute the competition. This included the development of the competition’s full structure, legal requirements, website design and communications, international jury invitation and selection, the adjudication process, awards dissemination, and professional partner relationships.

Some of the more significant and strategic corporate-level design management programs that Umbach Consulting Group has provided for Dell include:

(1) Design language management process refinements and communications.

(2) Served as design studio photo lab art director during start up.

(3) Conducted a corporate-wide Logo badge/brand audit resulting in logo design consolidation and significant manufacturing-supplier cost savings.

(4) Complete program turn-key development and ongoing management of international product design award competition participation and linkage with Dell MarCom efforts.

(5) Multi-city, in-store competitive reconnaissance and analysis when Dell returned to in-store sales.

(6) Customer advisory council materials generation, including brand positioning and brand attributes mapping.

(7) Guidance in the development of a Color, Materials, and Finishes (CMF) Group to better align the designs being created with the products being produced, as well as the development of leadership in new CMF manufacturing initiatives.

Strategic design management has a dramatic impact as a key driver and differentiator for organizational success.

Umbach Consulting Group was retained by HP Inc. to guide and support their ongoing efforts in global design award competition participation. Recognizing that such endeavors require experienced insight regarding the development of purposely generated and compelling submission materials that are targeted for a specific adjudication audience, HP turned to Umbach Consulting Group.

An important aspect of any corporate design management and MarCom strategy—participation in global design award competitions—provides numerous benefits for the entrant, including global expert peer review of designs, worldwide media exposure as winners, and recognition credentials important to customers, sales teams, and recruitment efforts, as well as skillset sharpening through global design exposure and motivation for design staff.

We work with many other large Fortune 500 corporations in this pursuit. Let us know how we can help your company, big or small. Let’s win together!