RICHARD SEYMOUR

Sleep Convention 2012

IN CONVERSATION WITH

IN CONVERSATION WITH RICHARD SEYMOUR

Interview in association with Richards appearance at the Sleep Event, the leading European Hotel Design Conference and the European Hotel Design Awards
21 22 November 2012, London

1. What areemotional ergonomics and how do they fit into your vision for a new world order?
The concept of emotional ergonomics recognises that the functionality of an object is both physical and emotional, and that these aspects are equally relevant to its value. For example, as our favourite pair of jeans becomes more distressed with age, we grow more attached to them. So as designers, we need to determine how the appearance and behaviour of something factors into our emotional connection with it. This is especially interesting to consider when this product is intangible, such as service delivery, a website that appeals on an emotional level, or the ambience felt within a hotel. Its the little intuitive touches that are supremely important. The new world order is essentially the way in which we appreciate what is around us. With the viral nature of todays digital communications, the credo has become if you lie you die. Advertising claims no longer sway us the way they did 30 years ago; now its the opinions of those around us via Twitter, TripAdvisor, blogs, etc-

which shape our truths. We are back to the Middle Ages in the way we communicate now. If the blacksmith was crap in the village, everyone knew about it - except that now the village is actually the world. Truth is the new social currency, and the more the worlds collective consciousness validates it, the higher its worth. Of course this is critically important in the hospitality industry - getting a hotels emotional ergonomics right is what will determine its perceived value, and therefore its reputation.

2. What are some examples of how service, product and communication will converge in the 21st Century?
A brilliant example is the Nest learning thermostat developed by a team of former Apple employees. Its wifi-enabled technology self-adjusts according to the usage patterns of those living in a home, raising and lowering room temperatures based upon past and current data. Calibrations will also be determined by Nests external communications, for example, with a weather station that advises of upwind temperature changes approaching from 20 miles away, which then triggers the fine-tuning

of a homes temperature. It can also be controlled via a smart phone, allowing for one-off adjustments, and its settings can be programmed online. Well be seeing much more prescient technology such as Nest in the years to come.

3. How do you see design as a catalyst for change - both in general andalso specifically in the hotel industry?
Change is stimulated not just by a products design, but rather by the act of designing the process of understanding how to best satisfy peoples physical and emotional needs and then creating something new. This may not be the cheapest or most convenient solution. However, a feature that is utterly compelling - for instance, an incredibly comfortable bed in a hotel room

Confidential. Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.

- leads people to tell others about it because their experience was so delightful. Change starts by convincing clients that this utterly compelling element is where they can make money. Its looking at the performance-tocost ratio and giving clients the best that is possible for their investment.

proactivity for social interaction with the internet. On the other hand, look at Siri, the iPhones speech recognition feature; those who use it tend to do so in private, as it feels foolish in public. By tracking the behaviours of the young and very young, we can see what activities feel comfortable for them having known no other way of living. If anthropology can catch-up with technological inventions, then the world will accept them because they can offer so many benefits.

been an increase in demand for luxury holidays where there are no mobile and broadband connections. Some people are feeling the need to defrag their brains from the whirlwind of technology that envelops their daily lives.

6. Which of your designs are you most proud of and why?

I cant really pick a favourite. In fact, the act of creating something can sometimes completely exhaust my interest in it. Designing is one of the most intimate things we can do as a human being. I am proudest of our unique process for creating the new - being able to accurately deliver something into the future that doesnt exist yet. I tried to add-up the total number of all the new things weve created over the last 30 years; Im not sure exactly how many this is, but its in the thousands.

5.Theseemingly infinite number of choices brought about by a digitally connected world can feel overwhelming. How isgood design humanising technology and encouraging face-to-face interactions?
Good design understands peoples emotional needs and fulfils them - but its not encouraging face-to-face communications. Of course the digital revolution doesnt remove our fundamental need for personto-person connections though. The way this is manifested through technology can be problematic: we dont want to have a discussion with someone at a call centre halfway around the world who is trying to sell us insurance. But on the plus side, the young have embraced group conversations via texts, tweets, Facebook, etc; their natural inclination is to be involved simultaneously with more people. They have an increased tendency for what I like to call side streaming, or composite communications in which a persons focus is divided. This is actually altering the anatomy of their brains hippocampus technology is changing how we function as human beings. At the same time, theres

7. If you were not a founder of Seymourpowell, what else would you be doing now?
Id probably still be doing what I do now. The legacy of our work over the last 30 years runs the gamut from spaceships to kettles. This has rewarded me with a wide bandwidth - a helicopter view of where the world is going. A person cant research the future, but if you are a collaborator in creating it within a 5-10 year perspective, you are privy to the privileged insights shared only with those who are part of the process. Ive always been fascinated with trying to figure out the shape of things to come.
For more information please go to: Twitter @Seymourpowell, www.thesleepevent.com or www.seymourpowell.com

4. Who are the youngand very young groupsand what are welearning from their behaviours?
There are no exact socio-demographics for these age groups, but in general the young are those under 20-25 years old who grewup in a world with internet access, and the very young are children around the age of 7 or 8 who already have a strong command of digital products and services. The internet is not a thing, it is a how a means for satisfying a need. Yet the degree to which new digital applications are integrated into our daily routines goes hand-in-hand with societys comfort levels. Facebook successfully combines our anthropological

Confidential. Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.