13/05-08   -   Press releases

Consumer knowledge will help you beat the IT competition, says trend researcher

"To gain competitive advantage you must combine consumer knowledge and trends better than the opposition - and then use the knowledge quicker," says Sean Pillot de Chenecey.

The renowned trends analyst is the opening speaker at Business to Buttons 2008, Europe´s meeting place for interaction designers and business managers. It will be held in Malmö harbour on 12 and 13 June.

"From a researcher´s point of view, trends are there to be observed, analysed and understood. The earlier in the design process that consumer insights are added, the better. With so many brands merely being ´me-too´ copies of other products available in the market, sold at the same price point and utilising similar communications, the consumer has to be at the very centre of design," says Sean Pillot de Chenecey.

Edith Sánchez Svensson is head of the User Interface Design section at SonyEricsson. She is sending 18 staff to the Business to Buttons conference.

"We want to get an insight into which companies are doing interesting work in the field of user experience, and what are the latest trends and developments," says Sánchez Svensson.

She thinks the dialogue between designers and product managers is important. "There is a difference in having a design and business perspective on product development. The motivations are different. If designers and product managers could talk earlier, there is a potential that they could be telling the same story. Designers could help product managers achieve their goals quicker: to design better products and thereby doing better business," says Edith Sánchez Svensson.