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Jan 30, 2025

Unity not Uniformity

J. Todd Simmons

About this video

Description

Good design is still good business at IBM. In this session, Todd Simmons, VP of Brand Experience + Design and Co-lead of IBM’s global Blue Studio, offers insights into how he and his teams are ensuring one of the world’s most iconic brands stays that way by keeping ‘good design’ at the heart of the business. Drawing from his extensive experience, Todd demonstrates how IBM has maintained its design leadership and business success through decades of technological and cultural transformation. Balancing consistency with creativity and excellence with efficiency, Todd shares the evolution and expansion of the IBM Design Program itself, IBM’s design philosophy and principles. And he outlines the practices that guide everything the design team does (and doesn’t do) as a brand, visually and verbally, digital or physical.


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J. Todd Simmons

Based in New York, Todd brings nearly 30 years of multi-disciplinary experience to IBM, and has the distinction of being the very first “Designer” in the Company’s long history to be brought on as an Executive VP. In his 9 years since, Todd and team have worked across all businesses to elevate every expression and experience of IBM, as well as to help evolve and expand the IBM Design Program itself, the philosophy, principles and practices that guide everything we do (and don’t do) as a brand, visually and verbally, digital or physical. Today, Todd is tasked with scaling the team’s impact and influence even more, co-leading Blue Studio, which brings together 300+ creatives (and partners) across systems design, content creation, digital, social, experiential, advertising, events and environments into one single studio model globally. Todd has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and Most Influential People Shaping The Future of Design.


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