Giants Day 3 Recap
Giants wrapped day two of the conference last night at The Grey, a historic art deco-style Greyhound terminal-turned bar and restaurant near the Savannah riverside. A bourbon and cake tasting followed a dinner of Southern comfort food before trolleys shuttled everyone back to the Perry Lane.
Today, the Giants began their final day of the conference at the Perry Lane’s rooftop lounge. Editor-in-chief and host Cindy Allen welcomed the group over breakfast and introduced the day’s first speaker. Michael Chui is parter at robotics firm McKinsey Global Institute. He spoke with the Giants about how the robotics revolution can help everyone mid-to-senior-level management reclaim up to 50 percent of their time through automation. (24:45)
“We want to look at the potential of technology QUOTE TK 15:40,” he said. “We have a new set of robotics designed to work with human beings (21:45) FULL QUOTE TK” to drive his point home, Chui presented McKinsey Group’s research on the potential for automation, which looked at historical employment rates and how previous technological innovations have shaped product development, the workforce, and international GDP growth. “QUOTE 30:55” “It’s not a question of waiting for this to catch up” (33:58)
Chui’s research gave the Giants a lot to think about. An audience Q&A followed, where attendees asked about topics like machine learning, sustaining economic growth as workplace population declines, and America’s workplace culture.
Next, Teri Yarbrow, the president and co-founder of Emmy award-winning creative firm Magika introduced the Giants to augmented and virtual reality. The virtual reality concept that resonated most with the group was Microsoft’s newly re-launched HoloLens VR headset, which allows architects to virtually tour their building plans with SketchUp integration.
“My students all want to work at DreamWorks when they get to me..etc (7:25) “(10:45) this is a super exciting time to work in design,” she said.
For the final session of Giants, Cindy introduced Amanda Schneider of ThinkLab. Interior Design’s newest partner, ThinkLab is revolutionizing contract interior design through transparent research that creates communication between manufacturers and designers.
24:50 “we started this on the project side, etc quote TK”
After introducing ThinkLab, Schneider opened the floor for a discussion between the Giants about what’s changed in the industry. Designers and manufacturers alike voiced speed to market, sweeping mergers and acquisitions, and design industry disruptors as some of the most dramatic changes they’ve seen. The conversation then shifted to how designers can evolve their processes to consider new tools and developments in the ever-changing landscape.
It was a fitting finale to Giants, allowing the designers and manufacturers to come together and frankly discuss how they’re affected by the industry of design.
