The Duke of Cambridge visits International Business Festival 2018, Future Mobility

On Tuesday 19th June, tangerine was invited by the UK’s Department of International Trade (DIT) to be part of the UK Innovation Hub, on the Future of transport day, at The International Business Festival 2018 in Liverpool, one of the world’s largest business festivals.

tangerine presented a concept for a seamless and holistic passenger journey and showcased some of the innovative transportation design solutions that the studio has recently created for clients including Cepsa, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd, Hyundai and Gulf Air.

At the UK Innovation Hub, we were fortunate enough to be honoured with a visit from His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge, who was introduced to tangerine while assessing the enormous talent and depth of the capabilities of the featured UK companies, each of whom showcased innovations that have the potential to shape the future of mobility.

Prince William, a patron of the festival, also spoke to an enthused crowd as a keynote speaker. In his speech, he championed the importance of exporting to drive growth in the British economy and heralded the “ingenuity, drive and commitment” of Britain’s SMEs.

Prince William shaking the hand with the University of Manchester’s robotic hand in front of tangerine’s exhibition. Photograph: 2018 International Business Festival / McCoy Wynne Photography.

At the DIT’s UK Innovation Hub, tangerine’s Director, Melinda Darbyshire, also presented a short talk about innovation and the role that design plays in creating innovative solutions that have the potential to shape the future and improve the experience of travel.

“Innovation means many things to different companies, but for tangerine, it is ultimately about getting the experience right for the customer and business alike,” says Melinda.

Melinda identified a number of different ways in which tangerine has helped clients such as British Airways, Nikon and Toyota to innovate: identifying opportunities, breaking new ground, adding value, creating new spaces to own, protecting market share and initiating change from within an organisation. She ended her presentation by revealing a new self-initiated proprietary economy class seat that tangerine has designed called, Flex.

tangerine Director, Melinda Darbyshire presenting how tangerine helps its clients through innovation and design

A highlight of the event was British Airways CEO, Alex Cruz’s talk on the Futures Stage, where he discussed digital disruption in the airline industry. Looking to the disruptors in the service industry, including Uber, Amazon and Deliveroo, Alex explained how consumers now expect “easier, better and faster services” across all industries and that airline’s now not only have to compete against each other, but also experiences from other sectors such as retail. Alex gave examples of initiatives that British Airways are undertaking to adapt their culture, to meet the changing expectations of passengers, such as using biometrics to create a more convenient check-in system.

At tangerine, we highlight the importance of taking a cross-sector perspective and key learnings from adjacent spaces to stay ahead of the competition. As a longstanding client, we wish British Airways the very best with its new initiatives.

Alex Cruz talking about bringing passport-check free biometric gates to LAX airport

About the International Business festival

The International Business Festival is a 9-day festival, with over 30,000 visitors, focusing on high-growth potential sectors such as global economics, sport and culture and sustainable energy. The festival offers a platform for different industry leaders to come together, share knowledge, build new connections and provide new ideas to help businesses to grow.

tangerine is proud to support the UK Governments’ GREAT campaign by joining the DIT Innovation Hub and we look forward to furthering partnerships to demonstrate the power of UK creativity and innovation in the near future.