Vicky

One of PDD’s objectives has been to build on the success of its Innovation Training programme and expand it into Asia. Last year, PDD organised several taster HCD workshops during IXDC and delivered a private customised workshop to one of its clients in Asia. PDD’s first Asia specific public ‘Accelerating Innovation through Human-Centred Design (HCD)’ workshop took place in Shanghai on 19th and 20th July, and thankfully it occurred just before the heatwave hit 40℃!

The Chinese New Year of the Fire Monkey is coming! 2004 was the last Year of the Wood Monkey. In Chinese element theory, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth, which means that a Wood Monkey or a Fire Monkey comes once in a 60-year cycle. (Read more about Chinese New Year from buzzle). And this year could be more precious than ever.

Over the past few decades, Chinese consumers’ perception of international brands and products was that they were ‘the best quality and most reliable’. But, with home-grown brands providing more choice and improved reliability, western brands are losing market share as it’s become harder to win trust and revenue, even for well-established brands like Siemens.