{"id":10307,"date":"2017-11-03T14:24:13","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T18:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/?p=10307"},"modified":"2017-11-03T14:24:13","modified_gmt":"2017-11-03T18:24:13","slug":"brian-leonard-lenovo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/2017\/11\/03\/brian-leonard-lenovo\/","title":{"rendered":"Always a Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Brian<\/a><\/p>\n

Few people can attest that they knew the career path they would take before they entered elementary school. Brian Leonard knew at an early age that he would be a designer and a maker. He never wavered from this path, and he calls it, \u201ca blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew at the age of 5 that I was coming to NC State. I don\u2019t know how I knew, but I always had a vision in my mind of what this would look like,\u201d says Leonard, who received his undergraduate degree in \u201989 and a master\u2019s degree in \u201991, both in industrial design.<\/p>\n

Leonard attributes his love for making to his mother, who was \u201ca creative, but it was more about craft and the making of things. For me, industrial design is a way of not only making one, but making millions.\u201d And that\u2019s something that he does now on a daily basis. Leonard is the VP of the Experience Design Group at Lenovo, a global position that oversees all Lenovo products. This includes personal computing and smart devices including ThinkPad, Yoga and Legion gaming products to name a few. Beyond notebooks, tablets, and desktops, it also includes AR\/VR technologies, smart devices for the home and office.<\/p>\n

In high school, Leonard tapped into his creative side and designed home plans for people and made money. While he found architecture interesting, he says, \u201cI was more interested in the objects in the space, rather than the space itself.\u201d He realized that the opportunities in industrial design were far greater. What fascinated him most was designing everything, from furniture to kitchen appliances, even down to a single spoon.<\/p>\n

\"Lu<\/a>
Professor and Department Head of Graphic Design + Industrial Design Tsai Lu Liu and Brian Leonard, VP of Experience Design at Lenovo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI remember the day I came home and said, \u2018I\u2019m not going to be an architect, but I want to be an industrial designer,\u2019\u201d Leonard shares. His father, who was a cost analyst for IBM, told him, \u201cyou guys are the ones who add cost to the product and make everything more expensive.\u201d They have this friendly debate to this day.<\/p>\n

Design at Lenovo is an important element of its brand. And something Leonard emphasizes that he continually pushes in order to change the perspective of what design is. He doesn\u2019t want design to be just the team that makes things look good, but rooted more deeply in the who, what, why and how. \u201cHow does it relate to the customer? How does it improve their lives? How does it leap forward over the competition? To me, it is about the fusion of form and purpose. So, we talk more about the purpose of the product and the total experience\u201d he says. Additionally, it\u2019s about being \u201cinstigators of collaboration.\u201d When starting a new product, a new brand, a new design language, or a focus on how to improve the customer experience, Leonard explains that the design team \u201cwill pull in a multidisciplinary team to collaborate.\u201d The collaboration allows them to partner with others that have expertise in different areas to come together to build a vision that can help inform the design process. This collaborative input can include all types of information about the end-user, market segmentation, and brand direction, as well as what is happening in the world.<\/p>\n

As a design leader and innovator of one of the most iconic technology brands, Leonard understands the importance of his role as teacher and mentor.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeading a design organization is about two things,\u201d he states. \u201cIt\u2019s about developing, educating, and inspiring the designers to go do bigger things; and it\u2019s about promoting all the works of greatness they bring to the products and customer experience.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having spent six years at the then School of Design, Leonard says, \u201cI knew I was in the right place because of the faculty. I felt in the design school we had fantastic relationships with the faculty. [I had] guidance of what to do with my life; was I on track and keeping me on track. They were life counselors as much as they were design counselors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, Leonard spoke to design students during an Industrial Design Student Hour presentation and offered some advice: \u201cBuild on relationships. The relationships that you have with people you meet in school last a lifetime.\u201d He emphasizes that connections like these could land students jobs. In addition, he shares the value of the skillsets learned at the College of Design: \u201cthe ability to think, see, and create are the foundation for your future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\"Brian<\/a>\n\nFew people can attest that they knew the career path they would take before they entered elementary school. Brian Leonard knew at an early age that he would be a designer and a maker. He never wavered from this path, and he calls it, \u201ca blessing.\u201d\n\n\u201cI knew at the age of 5 that I was coming to NC State. I don\u2019t know how I knew, but I always had a vision in my mind of what this would look like,\u201d says Leonard, who received his undergraduate degree in \u201989 and a master\u2019s degree in \u201991, both in industrial design.\n\nLeonard attributes his love for making to his mother, who was \u201ca creative, but it was more about craft and the making of things. For me, industrial design is a way of not only making one, but making millions.\u201d And that\u2019s something that he does now on a daily basis. Leonard is the VP of the Experience Design Group at Lenovo, a global position that oversees all Lenovo products. This includes personal computing and smart devices including ThinkPad, Yoga and Legion gaming products to name a few. Beyond notebooks, tablets, and desktops, it also includes AR\/VR technologies, smart devices for the home and office.\n\nIn high school, Leonard tapped into his creative side and designed home plans for people and made money. While he found architecture interesting, he says, \u201cI was more interested in the objects in the space, rather than the space itself.\u201d He realized that the opportunities in industrial design were far greater. What fascinated him most was designing everything, from furniture to kitchen appliances, even down to a single spoon.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_10316\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"500\"]\"Lu<\/a> Professor and Department Head of Graphic Design + Industrial Design Tsai Lu Liu and Brian Leonard, VP of Experience Design at Lenovo[\/caption]\n\n\u201cI remember the day I came home and said, \u2018I\u2019m not going to be an architect, but I want to be an industrial designer,\u2019\u201d Leonard shares. His father, who was a cost analyst for IBM, told him, \u201cyou guys are the ones who add cost to the product and make everything more expensive.\u201d They have this friendly debate to this day.\n\nDesign at Lenovo is an important element of its brand. And something Leonard emphasizes that he continually pushes in order to change the perspective of what design is. He doesn\u2019t want design to be just the team that makes things look good, but rooted more deeply in the who, what, why and how. \u201cHow does it relate to the customer? How does it improve their lives? How does it leap forward over the competition? To me, it is about the fusion of form and purpose. So, we talk more about the purpose of the product and the total experience\u201d he says. Additionally, it\u2019s about being \u201cinstigators of collaboration.\u201d When starting a new product, a new brand, a new design language, or a focus on how to improve the customer experience, Leonard explains that the design team \u201cwill pull in a multidisciplinary team to collaborate.\u201d The collaboration allows them to partner with others that have expertise in different areas to come together to build a vision that can help inform the design process. This collaborative input can include all types of information about the end-user, market segmentation, and brand direction, as well as what is happening in the world.\n\nAs a design leader and innovator of one of the most iconic technology brands, Leonard understands the importance of his role as teacher and mentor.\n

\u201cLeading a design organization is about two things,\u201d he states. \u201cIt\u2019s about developing, educating, and inspiring the designers to go do bigger things; and it\u2019s about promoting all the works of greatness they bring to the products and customer experience.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/blockquote>\nHaving spent six years at the then School of Design, Leonard says, \u201cI knew I was in the right place because of the faculty. I felt in the design school we had fantastic relationships with the faculty. [I had] guidance of what to do with my life; was I on track and keeping me on track. They were life counselors as much as they were design counselors.\u201d\n\nRecently, Leonard spoke to design students during an Industrial Design Student Hour presentation and offered some advice: \u201cBuild on relationships. The relationships that you have with people you meet in school last a lifetime.\u201d He emphasizes that connections like these could land students jobs. In addition, he shares the value of the skillsets learned at the College of Design: \u201cthe ability to think, see, and create are the foundation for your future.\u201d"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few people can attest that they knew the career path they would take before they entered elementary school. Brian Leonard knew at an early age that he would be a designer and a maker. He never wavered from this path, and he calls it, \u201ca blessing.\u201d \u201cI knew at the age of 5 that I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[19,6],"class_list":["post-10307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-experience","category-uncategorized","tag-_featured","tag-industrial-design"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}