Nick Dormon
Nick Dormon
Though his working life Nick Dormon has transversed the world of design from engineering, product and service design to branding and communication. On the way he has been active in industries at critical points of transition prompted by technology and social change. His early career was spent in San Francisco helping Silicon Valley companies take advantage of computing power acceleration. In London, Nick supported the BBC’s transition to emerging digital radio services. He developed strategies to help the world’s largest furniture company, Steelcase, navigate changing work practices with the proliferation of mobile technology and the resulting changes to furniture systems and business models. Setting up the ECHO in 2004, Nick works with companies including Unilever, Nestlé and Danone on 360o design programmes. During this time, he has assisted their move from bricks and mortar to develop new e-comms and DTC digital channels. Nick has also consulted with spirits companies on future visioning where health issues, new tech and stimulant competition are changing alcohol’s role in society. The focus is now transitioning businesses to be planet positive, from 10year sustainable packaging plans, through to strategies to meet net-zero targets. The world is always in a state of flux. Technologic advancement, social change and environmental pressures are the causal forces we are grappling with today, but there is always something else, like AI, to contend with on the horizon. Nick believes design is the process we use to gather these threads together, bringing coherence, value and, hopefully, happiness to our world through the solutions we build.
Do you have a CDO?

Do you have a CDO?

Nick Dormon
Apr 10 '24
I would like to propose every company should have a Chief Design Officer on their board
The strategic ego

The strategic ego

Nick Dormon
Mar 4 '24
Strategy is such a fat word. It is imbued with so many meanings to so many people. It proffers status and ego to the bearer of that title be it a strategist or strategic company.
A time and place for tactical innovation

A time and place for tactical innovation

Nick Dormon
Feb 8 '24
I started my career working with technology companies having to deal with the constant change of Moores Law, so anything other than the long view would lead to failure.
Quest for data

Quest for data

Nick Dormon
Jan 8 '24
Data is defined in the dictionary as ‘information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered and used to help decision-making’
We need to talk about AI

We need to talk about AI

Nick Dormon
Dec 1 '23
Firstly, I haven’t shirked my duties and asked Chat GBT to write this article, but it’s tempting just to see what it comes up with
Coming to terms with the disruption of innovation

Coming to terms with the disruption of innovation 

Nick Dormon
Nov 8 '23
James Dyson took five years to develop his bagless vacuum cleaner and another 10 to get it into the market. Was it worth the wait?
Semiotics: the use of signs and symbols in branding

Semiotics: the use of signs and symbols in branding

Nick Dormon
Oct 4 '23
All designers intuitively use semiotics in their work, and some are trained in their use. Academics study it, try to define it and have spawned a raft of businesses offering consultancy in it
Brand models

Brand models

Nick Dormon
Sep 7 '23
Over the years I have seen many versions of verbal and visual documents designed to capture the idea of a brand, either in its creation, or for its on-going maintenance
Brand planning for a multitude of consumer interfaces

Brand planning for a multitude of consumer interfaces 

Nick Dormon
Aug 7 '23
We are told how we need to develop 360o branding and think hard about the brand experience to get noticed in an increasingly complex world
The role of product design in the modern world

The role of product design in the modern world

Nick Dormon
Jul 10 '23
Product, or as some say industrial design, is an enigmatic thing, it doesn’t even have one name.
Slow working

Slow working

Nick Dormon
Jun 14 '23
We all seem to be in such a hurry, don’t we? Rushing from one deadline to another with the terms: “Just-in-Time, Critical Path, Rapid Prototyping and Innovation Sprints” ringing in our ears.
I’m afraid I need to introduce yet another business worry. Alongside meeting sustainability goals, being inclusive and tackling inflationary pressures you also need to tackle biodiversity.

Action Biodiversity!

Nick Dormon
May 3 '23
I’m afraid I need to introduce yet another business worry. Alongside meeting sustainability goals, being inclusive and tackling inflationary pressures you also need to tackle biodiversity.