OREANDA-NEWS. 3M, the global innovation company long recognized for diversified technology and collaboration, today announces the development of the 3M Design Center, an incubator for progressive ideation and the creative heartbeat at 3M. Underscoring the 3M Design mission that revolves around collaborative creativity, the new facility will be the central hub for design professionals with multi-disciplinary expertise, driving competitive advantage, customer experience and positive global impact.

“This important initiative will elevate design and propel dynamic opportunity to enhance everything from branding solutions to product innovation to sustainability and social impact,” says Eric Quint, Chief Design Officer at 3M, who is at the helm of this design transformation. “Design Thinking is about unlocking future value in partnership with research & development and marketing. Our collective goal will be to deliver transformative value for 3M, its partners and customers.”

Located at 3M headquarters in St. Paul, MN, the 3M Design Center will stimulate creativity as an open, multi-level studio environment, four times the size of the current design space. The interior architecture will incorporate use of 3M solutions and technologies throughout, as well as energy efficient systems and recycled materials demonstrating that sustainable, smart design supports a better future. Flexible spaces – including a fast prototyping lab, materials library, brand labs and an interactive area known as the “Design Hive” – will foster spontaneous connections and ignite cross-functional collaboration among partners, thought leaders, customers and colleagues at 3M headquarters, connected to 3M Design studios around the globe.

As 3M continues to apply science in imaginative ways around the world, design helps translate insights into useful solutions, bringing meaningful experiences to life every day. Quint adds, “With our diverse product portfolio, Design represents a critical and strategic platform to define and differentiate 3M, bridging our strong legacy of innovation with creativity toward the future, uniting purpose with partnership.”

3M Design applies integrated, creative thinking to identify future customer needs that innovate industries. Ranging from digital applications in the dental business to the migration of safety materials and technologies into the fashion world, 3M products cast a global footprint with design as a catalyst for change. The new Design Center will provide a timely complement to such initiatives, enriching innovation and enhancing new business opportunity.

Development of the new 3M Design Center builds upon recent momentum that is driving design forward at 3M, evident in the elevation of design leadership and governance, which yields business value and impact on a global scale. The award-winning design team continues to receive international recognition for design excellence. In 2014, 3M Design received more than 25 awards across multiple creative disciplines, and recently, two 3M products received Red Dot “Best of The Best” design awards for product design among nearly 5,000 entries. The ceremony took place at a gala event attended by international media, design experts and manufacturers in Essen, Germany. Later this week, 3M Design will be presented with a Top Winner International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) by the Industrial Designers Society of America.