June 28th saw the culmination of the second edition of the Design Conference for Business Innovation. The event organized by the Galician Agency of Innovation in the CIS Technology and Design in Ferrol was focused on user-centered innovation. After the success of the first edition in 2018, the aim was to continue opening channels of contact and collaboration between design professionals and Galician companies, especially SMEs. 
The conference took place on the eve of World Industrial Design Day and showed the latest international design trends through Galician professionals who are leaders in the sector:
- Iván Mato, creative director of Jones Knowles Ritchie and former creative director in Nokia;
- Coca Rivas, expert in service design that works for the public sector in the United Kingdom;
- Isaac Piñeiro, co-founder of Nadadora and founder of Isaac Piñeiro Design Studio;
- Manuel Vázquez, consultant of strategic design and innovation for companies such as BBVA, Orange, Media Markt and Repsol;
- Nuria Carballo, founder of Unconventional London and with projects for brands such as Timberland, Chanel, Evian or Heineken.
The day concluded with the presentations from two companies explaining their experiences about the incorporation of design to their business strategy: the multinational Nationale-Netherlanden, together with its innovation manager, and the Galician SME called María Martínez Otero, through the vision of its director of civil works.
The Regional Minister for Economy, Employment and Industry, Francisco Conde, took stock of the first year of the programme “Design for Innovation 2020” and he also presented the new actions that the Xunta de Galicia is promoting to drive Galician design as a tool for competitiveness in companies, especially in SMEs. Among these actions is a publication called ‘Design as a motor. Success stories’, which showcases the success stories collected within the framework of the Design4innovation project. Another action is the Materioteca de Galicia, which has recently been inaugurated in the CIS Technology and Design and that the participants had the opportunity to visit. An online catalogue for Galician design professionals was also announced and launched this day.
The conference brought together about a hundred Galician designers from all disciplines (graphic and visual communication, product and industrial, audiovisual and multimedia, spaces, fashion and strategy), students of this specialty and representatives of companies and other entities interested in promoting design as a tool for innovation and competitiveness in their organizations.
