Elisabeth De Morentin

Design and business had always been in conflict, although a healthy synergy between them is definitely the key to success. To know how to communicate in both languages, and understand Design and Business nature, will benefit people life style and the industry.

I define myself as a nomad, traveling to always look for fresh opportunities, learning about people and business needs, transforming the needs of successful strategies for services and products.

Back in 1999 I started my carrier as a product designer in Barcelona for the retail Industry at Inditex and Mango. I have lived in New York City for 10 years to work and collaborate as a product designer, a brand/licensing director and an innovation planner with some of top 500 fortune companies i.e. Apple, Nike, Sears, Gap, Walt Disney World, Kohler to develop products, retail service and business strategies.

For the last 5 years I was appointed as an innovation planner manager at Zobele Group. I was in charge of setting up the innovation department in Barcelona and Singapore from the front-end to back-end of the process to cover; consumer and market needs, product design, engineering, and the development of household products co-created with P&G, SC Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, with the results of success around the world.

Areas of expertise:

• Design innovation planning methods and management
• Transversal leadership (Bisiness & Design)
• Product and service design
• Primary and secondary research
• Quantitative & qualitative analysis & synthesis.
• Co-creation/workshop facilitator
• Frame ambiguity
• Localization

Elisabeth holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial design, and from Illinois Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in Design Methods (focus on innovation planning strategy) building the gap between Business and Design. Currently she is on the process of getting Evidence-Based Design (EDAC) Certified.

She is also teaching Strategic Design Planning at IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) and Market Research and Strategies at Elisava Design School in Barcelona.