Currently living in Malmö, Sweden
Short bio
I work as a researcher, educator, entrepreneur and professional consultant across interaction and service design, design management and innovation management – with a particular interest in critical and strategic thinking. I currently serve as an Associate Professor at Aalborg University, where my core focus is on how design and arts can support personal, organizational and community resilience, innovation, transition thinking, long-term strategic orientation and positive and impactful change. I have carried out research, teaching and consulting activities at various universities (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Polytechnic University of Milan, Malmö University and University of the Arts London), (co)authoring and (co)editing some 70 publications. I have founded and managed successful companies and award-winning design-driven firms operating in more than 30 countries and with commercial hubs in Milan, Singapore, Toronto and Doha (key Clients include Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Dior, Sony). I also help private and public organizations (e.g. the European Commission, World Bank, Research Council of Canada, UNICEF and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) to define strategies, policies, and funding schemes to foster innovation. As a certified yoga instructor (RYT-200), I offer experiential sessions that anchor breath-based movement to creativity and that leverage science-based insights on mindfulness.
How can we work together?
What can I offer to design agencies?
My research (e.g., the one on how to combine design methods, strategic thinking and foresight) can possibly provide insights on how you can expand your market offering or enrich and streamline your design and development processes. In addition, I am also available for a chat in case you want / need an external viewpoint on managerial issues, business development or on a pitch / project particularly delicate and challenging.
What can I offer to large organizations? (E.g., government and public agencies, international institutions and cities operating within the R&D domain or through mission-oriented programs and transformative innovation)
I have extensively studied and consulted on how design thinking and methods can be leveraged to ignite and sustain innovation. I can help to set funding schemes and mission-oriented policies or help to launch and run design-driven programs and projects. I have also extensively reviewed research proposals and projects at different stages of development.
What can I offer to universities and research centers?
I am always interested in co-authoring publications, writing joint grant applications, and, generally, collaborating on research and educational initiatives (e.g., co-chairing tracks at conferences, guest-editing special issues of journals, acting as a censor, discussant or opponent for PhDs and master’s exams, etc.).
Further information
Key areas of professional interest: Strategy & design, foresight and futures thinking, design entrepreneurship, participatory design, design management, service design and strategic design methods and, more broadly, interaction design.
Key area of interest for my yoga practice: I have been into yoga for some 20 years, mostly practising various forms of breath-based hatha yoga (my reference point is the work of Krishnamacharya, T. K. V. Desikachar and Vanda Scaravelli). I got my RYT-200 certification from Akasha Yoga Academy. I offer private one-to-one sessions (either in person or online) – mostly geared to people who would like to develop their own personal practice.
Get in touch at me [at] lucasimeone.net