In this talk, Andy will discuss how consumer brands are having to adapt to changing customer needs and desires. By using an array of techniques, brands can gather the right insights to ensure they are headed along the right transformation journey, for both their brand and consumer benefit. Simply doing market research, or even adding standalone technologies like sensing are no longer considered breakthrough processes to feed into a product roadmap. Using recent case studies, Andy will show how brands that are successful, develop new design innovations through truly integrated consumer insights and behaviours. This talk covers numerous sectors within the consumer product arena from appliances through to sports industry, and attendees will be able to take actionable insights and apply them to enhance their own business.

Andrew has had a diverse design career spanning over 23 years. One of his first professional roles was with the toy company Lego, in Denmark, where he focused on driving new product lines and technologies that would evolve children’s play. During his early years with the company he was involved in the first Lego action figure, ‘Bionicle’ and contributed to a number of new product launches across Lego Technic, Lego System, Mindstorms, and Lego Studios. He had spent close to eight years with Glen Dimplex Group as a design manager, developing a range of consumer electronic products from industrial to household goods. Small domestic appliances became a focus where he led the design development process for brands such as Morphy Richards and Roberts Radio. Other areas of innovation focus for Glen Dimplex business units included; Galaxy Showers, Stoves, Belling, Newworld, Faber, Carmen, Xpelair, Creda, Burco, Dimplex Heating, Lec refrigeration, and EWT. His career path led him to Cambridge, at the cutting edge of innovation and technology. With a tenure of 10 years at Cambridge Design Partnership he worked on a broad range of projects alongside multidisciplinary teams. The target market was the medical sector, and he supported on turnkey developments for brands; Medtronic, Titan Medical and Sonofi. Consumer and industrial sectors is where he focused, leading new business initiatives where he help develop and expand the business potential in the sector, working alongside well-known brands such as; DKB, Domino, Dulux, Pyrex, GHD, Lego, Coke Cola, Reckitt Benckiser, Krups, Beko, UK Sport, Adidas, Puma, and Speedo. A design award winner, spanning over numerous years, Red Dot, Good Design, and IF awards; 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017. The awards were won for products which delivered a new consumer experience in their respective product categories.