I have spoken at international universities and conferences including Lift Asia, UPA international conference, Seoul National University, AIGA National Design Conference, and Kyoorius DesignYatra and taught courses at California College of the Arts, ENSCI - Les Ateliers, and CEDIM Master in Business Innovation.

Speaking Topics

Interaction Design and Innovation

This 20-45 minute talk covers in-depth the role of interaction design in product and service innovation and how interaction designers create solutions that build business value, deepen brand relationships, and make using technology more effective and emotionally meaningful for people.

• The role and impact of interaction design in product, service, and brand innovation.
• From 1.54-inch to 10-foot, design and innovation beyond the desktop.
• What's good interaction design? Examples from the Interaction Awards.
• Special Sauce - culture, people, environment, methods/tools, and leadership.

Role of design in Social and Environmental Issues

This 45 minute presentation covers the role of technology, social networks, and design in social and environmental issues illustrated through current events.

• Demystifying the role of social networks and mobile technologies in contemporary social events such as Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Haiti and Japan earthquake, etc.
• Using design thinking and craft for breakthrough sustainable and environmental innovations.
• The ethics and responsibilities of designing products and services contributing to radical social and environmental change.
• The principles to create and foster the conditions for commercial or social communities and conversations to strive online.

Insights from the Field. Why? What? How?

This 20-45 minute talk demonstrate why gathering insights from the field is instrumental to inspiring designers and developing relevant and meaningful products.

• What is Design Research and why is it essential to successful innovation.
• From data to insights - gaining a deep understanding of people's behaviors, practices, activities, and needs.
• Processes, methods, and tools for designers honed for over a decade.

Other Topics

Other topics include cross-cultural design, designing for mobile, and design education. Custom topics available upon request.

Contact me

Please contact Raphael with your event details, budget, and date.

Talks

• Designer Led Startups
  

  Jan 28, 2013 panel with Ben Fullerton, Todd Silverstein, Josh Seiden and Suzanne El-Moursi at Interaction13 in Toronto, Canada.

• Social Media / Social Change.
  

  Mar 25-26, 2011 talk and thinkshop at AIGA Y16:Spark Conference in San Diego, USA.
  » View the slides online.

• Small things x Big numbers.
  

  September 6, 2009 keynote at Kyoorius DesignYatra 2009 in Mumbai, India.

• Sustainable and Ethical Issues When Designing for the Masses.
  

  June 12, 2009 closing plenary at Usability Professionals’ Association – 2009 International Conference in Portland, USA.
  » View the slides online.

• Homegrown.
  

  September 6, 2008 presentation to the LIFT Asia conference session “Aiming for a better society” in Jeju-do, South Korea.
  » View the slides online.
  » Watch the talk on Liftconference.com.

Academia & Workshops

• Customer Relevance.
  

  Master in Business Innovation Module 2, Jan/Feb 2013 session, at CEDIM in Monterrey, Mexico.

• To Be Designed
  

  Oct 1-5, 2012 design fiction product design workshop with Near Future Laboratory and Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design in Detroit, USA.

• Industrial Design 6 Course.
  

  Teaching CCA‘s Undergraduate Program Industrial Design 6 course this spring with Colin Owen, Robert Murdock, and Parul Vora in San Francisco, USA.

• Designing for Billions.
  

  February 4, 2010 workshop at Interaction10 in Savannah, USA.

Publications & Press

• Designing for Billions of People.
  

  Asia Design Journal 2010 Design for Social Innovation, 2010. Grignani R.

• GQ Korea.
  

  Very Secret Issue 100. June 2009.

• CBC Radio Spark.
  

  Episode 52: Raphael Grignani designs mobile phones for billions of people hosted by Nora Young, November 2008.

• The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer
  

  by Steve Hamm published in September 2008. (Amazon)

• The New York Times.
  

  Hoping to Make Phone Buyers Flip by Laura M. Holson published in February 2008. (Read)

• Where’s the phone? A study of Mobile Phone Location in Public Spaces.
  

  Mobility ’05. Ichikawa, F., Chipchase J., & Grignani R. (Download PDF)

Patents

• A mobile terminal, and an associated method, with means for modifying a behavior pattern of a multi-medial user interface
  

  (Granted, Republic Of Korea, 02 Nov 2009, 0925759)

• System and method for assigning contact information to an external device
  

  (Granted, USA, 13 Feb 2007, US Pat. 7177597)