IBM has announced that an IBM Design Studio will be set up at its Damastown, Dublin campus.
The company said that the studio will “focus on transforming how the new era of software is designed, developed and used by organisations around the globe”.
The announcement was welcomed by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny who said that it was announcement was a strong support to the 2015 Year of Irish Design initiative.
“2015 marks the ‘Year of Irish Design’ which is part of the Action Plan for Jobs to encourage more investment in design and to sustain and grow employment opportunities, sales and export potential in the design sector. IBM continues to add high value activities to its Irish operations providing excellent employment opportunities here. I would like to wish Phil Gilbert and the entire team my full support as they launch the IBM Studios in Dublin.”
New space
IBM said that a new space is being built for creative collaboration by designers, developers and product managers to co-create software for Big Data, cloud, mobile, social and cognitive computing solutions. The Damastown studio will be part of the worldwide IBM Studio network of cross-discipline spaces to develop the company’s products, services and digital engagement platforms for clients.
“People’s expectations of enterprise tech has changed because of great design they see in devices and apps they use at work and at play”, said Phil Gilbert, general manager, IBM Design. “Our Dublin studio will join a network of more than 20 studios around the world that is transforming how enterprise tech is created, with user experience at the centre.”
Designers will apply the principles of IBM Design Thinking, said the company, taking a rapid prototyping approach to user-centric product development, as well as IBM Design Language, a framework to inspire bold and engaging experiences.
New approach
IBM said that it is actively working with product teams, including product managers, designers, engineers, and product executives, on this new approach to design. In addition, it is bringing Design Thinking to clients and business partners. The company is also recruiting design experts from around the world and is engaging with leading design colleges in Ireland to bring designers on board.
The skill sets on offer at the studios include visual design, design research, user experience design and design development, including mobile developers and industrial designers.
Gilbert said that the plan is hire 1,000 designers over five years to lead the transformation of the company to be a design-led organisation. However, he emphasised that this change would be lasting.
He said the challenge was to “build a sustainable culture of design,” one that “will not die out this time.”
“We are on an historic mission here,” said Gilbert.
Studio network
The Dublin studio now joins locations such as Austin, Boeblingen, Chicago, Hursley, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, New York, Shanghai and Toronto in the network, with more to open this year, said IBM.
Gilbert said that the Dublin studio already has some 20 designers and will look to double that by the end of the year. Key areas of interest for site are around healthcare, mobile, security and social. For example, the mobile app for IBM’s re-invention of email Verse was designed and developed in Dublin.
Dublin, said Gilbert, will be one of the three flagship studios, with Austin in Texas being the first and Shanghai the other.
The studio adds other major functions already established at the Damastown campus, such as the Research and Development Labs, Watson Solutions, Executive Briefing and Innovation Centre and IBM European Digital Sales Centre.
TechCentral Reporters
Ireland joins global network of 20 design studios
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