EAEA report on a conference on Creativity and innovation, held in Brussels on November 23

Erik Spiekermann & Damini Kumar
Spiekermann and Kumar, who are ambassadors for Creativity and Innovation, focus on the following issues:

• There should be closer cooperation between Education & Business and Education & Culture.
• Designers can show how a problem might be solved.
• In education the whole brain should be trained; both the left as the right side should be stimulated. This creates a mix between arts and sciences. Creativity arises across these disciplines.

Cristina Larraz Istúriz, Francois Jégou, Andrew Erskine
Larraz (Architecture & Accessibility) gives a presentation of a project in Spain she has been involved with. This project was focused on the design of new metro maps and metro signs for Madrid´s city metro that were also easy to understand for migrants, tourists and illiterate people. Jégou (Strategic Design) mentioned the importance of a sustainable future and the need for social innovation. Erskine (Creative Consultant) talks about developing a creative mindset in order to stimulate creativity and innovation. He also thinks that the current economic crisis will bring many new chances and opportunities. All three stress the importance of the development of regional strategies for innovation.

In addition, Benedict Davies and Elaine Brechin Montgomery give a presentation about User Experience Design in Google. Malte Behrmann speaks about the Game Design industry in Europe.