 Sean Carney became Chief Design Officer for Philips Design as of November 1, following the retirement of Stefano Marzano. Sean joined Philips in March 2011 as Chief Design Officer for Consumer Lifestyle and in addition to this will now take on responsibility to lead design for the company. Tell us about yourself. How has your experience equipped you for your new position as Chief Design Officer for Philips?
I was born in the north of England – a true Yorkshire man. I studied Product Design and then Industrial Design Engineering in Birmingham where I received a Masters degree. During the early part of my career I worked with several classic British brands – winning a design award for work on the Anglepoise P90 lamp, and then at Morphy Richards and Swan where I was on the team developing the first cordless kettle. In order to get a better understanding of manufacturing techniques I joined the Thorn-EMI Group whose portfolio spanned TVs, major kitchen appliances and small appliances under the Kenwood, Ferguson and Tricity brands. I was able to follow projects from beginning to end, seeing firsthand the complete production process. The company was eventually acquired by Electrolux and I was asked to help set up their first design center in the UK. I then went to Italy to create and lead the European Design Center, with satellite studios across Europe. Several years later I moved once more with Electrolux to Sweden to take on global responsibility for the Electrolux brand and design strategy.
In 2005 I joined Grow Partners, a start-up company that brought together a group of architectural, brand, retail design, web and graphic design agencies to deliver ‘holistic branding solutions’. As Creative Director I worked on everything from identity systems and websites to retail environments, with a diverse set of clients including iittala and Assa Abloy. My most recent move was to San Diego, California to create the Experience Design Team for Hewlett Packard. We led the design of the complete user experience – from in store selection, to the out-of-box and setup process, and of course through to the final experience of using the product. This meant that we were driving not only product design, but also packaging, software, firmware, web design and even customer care. The aim was to ensure that at every touchpoint the user was rewarded with simple but engaging experiences.
Are you planning to bring ‘experience design’ to Philips?
I would say Philips has already started to understand the concept of experience design, but I intend to accelerate the process. The Philips brand has incredible equity and a wide reach, and we have the opportunity to build on our global presence and build deeper emotional attachments where our consumers become passionate ambassadors for the brand. This means we have to pay incredible attention to detail to ensure that each interaction that the customer has with a Philips product or experience lives up to or exceeds their expectations. To do this we need to join the dots and design the whole experience.
Even for a product such as a steam iron or a shaver, we need customers to know that we are thinking about them. This can start even in the retail environment. People don’t buy these products often, so we need to help them navigate the category, choose the right product in store and avoid expensive mistakes. Technology can really help here – QR tags for example can be used to take people to specific microsites where they can find out more about the product and its advantages. Augmented reality can show how a product will fit into an operating theater. Technology can also help post purchase using videos to show people how to use a new appliance, trouble-shoot any problems and help them get the most from the features it has.
Why did you choose to work at Philips?
Philips has one of the most talented design groups in the world. This is recognized by our peers and is reflected in the sheer volume of design awards we receive. We have a lot of talent and potential and I think that we can achieve even more. I want to help the global design team to maximize the value design can bring to the business so that we see more of our ideas in Philips products, achieving their full market potential. One key example of success is Ambient Experience in healthcare. Projects like this are really what attracted me to Philips. This is design at its best, delivering value for the user, operators and the healthcare providers alike. It shows how design thought leadership is critical in helping the business in key areas.
Do you think the value of design changes as economic conditions change?
In the current economic climate, there is a sense of urgency in business and a stronger than ever need to innovate. Design as a competence can be key in helping to create share-holder value both in the short term as well as in the long term, so that we are ready to establish winning positions when the economy recovers. One of the key skills that design brings to the table is a fusion of creative and divergent thinking with the ability to see patterns and think about systems. Designers are important partners to business because they bring new perspectives and different solutions.
The beauty of Philips as a diversified conglomerate in these difficult times is that we don’t have all our eggs in one basket – healthcare is currently doing well while mature consumer markets are hit hard by the economic downturn. These are challenging times for everybody but consumers will still make a purchase where they recognize value. Design can help ensure the insights we gather guide the creation of meaningful new products and experiences which people will emotionally engage with. It’s still early days, but can you give us an essence of the direction that you want to take Philips Design in?
I want to achieve the true business benefit of the creativity within Philips Design. I believe to do this we need to avoid ‘design-speak’ and be able to explain design and its advantages in a clear and simple language that can be readily understood by our partners across the company. However we have to exercise caution as we don’t want to lose our integrity as designers. We need to continue offering a creative point of view and challenge the status quo. I’m really keen to foster a bold, positive and entrepreneurial spirit, like the one I left in HP. I want to enable everyone within the global Philips Design community to achieve their full potential and help create real value for Philips and its customers. + Sean Carney biography + A few words with Sean Carney (July 2011) 8 November 2011 | 