2015 Board Candidate – At-Large
Bio
Eisermann has worked as a designer and strategist for three decades, making it his mission to always challenge preconceptions of design. Trained as an industrial designer, he is currently vice president for integrated experience design and development at Lowe’s, the home improvement retailer. Eisermann’s multi-disciplinary team works in a cross-functional fashion to craft the experiences that help people love where they live, by reshaping the physical, digital and human aspects of Lowe’s omni-channel services.
Prior to Lowe’s, Eisermann started two design consultancies based in London: Instill in 2013, and Prospect in 2006. Instill developed innovation programs and public services for the governments of Belgium and Estonia, while Prospect completed numerous projects to transform the digital businesses of Eurostar, Europcar and Nokia Siemens Networks, among others.
Eisermann was brought to London by the UK Design Council, where he served as director of design and innovation. His work led to the development of “Designing Demand,” a UK-wide business support program that helps manufacturers and technology start-ups to build innovation and people-centred design into all aspects of their businesses.
Eisemann also previously served as director of design for Whirlpool in Italy, responsible for a 25-person team of designers and usability specialists in the design of innovative white goods. He also led design teams while with IDEO in Boston, developing the Acela high speed train for Amtrak, and at Sottsass Associati in Milan, delivering projects for Cassina, Zanotta and Bodum. He graduated in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from The Rhode Island School of Design.
Eisermann has lectured at many design and business schools around the world, including The Royal College of Art, The University of The Arts, Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan Polytechnic and the Interaction Institute Ivrea. He and his teams have won IDSA’s IDEA and The Smithsonian National Design Award; they’ve earned design distinctions from iF Hannover, ID Magazine and The Austrian Design Council. Eisermann is an RSDF Fellow and a member of IDSA, DMI, DBA and SDN. His writing has been featured in publications such as Design Week, Blueprint and the DMI Journal.
Statement of Candidacy
As our manmade environment changes, so too must the practice of industrial design change. Digital intelligence is being embedded into everything, from the largest buildings to the smallest nano-machines. The world of products is turning into a connected universe and it is the duty of the industrial designer to address the full complexity of the systems we now find ourselves immersed in. The physical, digital and the human aspects of design need to be woven together into a seamless whole in order to provide people with the services and products they deserve. More than ever, designers need to be making meaning, encompassing everything from the visceral joy of beautiful lines to the sustained satisfaction of environmental consciousness.
As Director-at-large on the IDSA Board, I would bring an understanding of how the role of the designer must expand and grow to include the entire range of skills necessary to innovate in the modern world. Designing the path through the design problem has now become more difficult than the design problem itself. It requires the ability to connect and influence, demonstrating through leadership and humility the importance of bringing expert teams together, uniting behind a common vision, co-creating and executing alongside people both inside and outside of the organization. I believe that my experience bringing seemingly disparate competencies together to work towards a common goal will be very useful in helping to guide the IDSA towards a broader view of how the design profession could be engaged with.
I am a big believer in the power of learning by doing. Experiential learning makes lessons stick. The more that the IDSA can get its message out in an experience-based way, the more influential an organization it will become. The real power of design must be experienced to be understood. My history in creating programs for non-designers to “get” design could be tapped to address questions of reach. I believe there is room to extend the reach of the IDSA not only into adjacent design spaces, but into non-design spaces as well. Indeed, as the IDSA grows, it will need to tap into non-designers to get them onside. I would be very interested to help make that happen and look forward to doing so as a Board member.
