Noordeloos, Netherlands -- (SBWire) -- 05/07/2015 --Grow has educated more than 500 working professionals in design management, design leadership and design-led innovation across Europe since 2012. Participants range from senior designers stepping into design manger roles up to experienced design directors with over 20+ years' experience in their career. The program has also included engineers, account managers, programmers, marketers and others with a professional role in managing design. The thing they all have in common, besides professionally managing design, they have loved the program and it has made a significant impact on their careers!

While it can be extremely difficult for working professionals to learn industry shifts and new leading best practices while maintaining their busy schedules and project demands, Grow provides participants with an innovative intuitive means of on-the-job training to learn professional design management while they work. The program teaches the basic fundamentals of managing and leading design, such as: design process, design briefing, design quality, design research, design resources, design value, design language and others. Comprised of theory, models, leading definitions, exclusive case studies and expert interviews, all fundamental learnings are applied back into the participant's daily role via assignments. The Grow program is delivered through a mix of live teaching & evaluation sessions and remote learning is facilitated through an online web based platform called Livebook, developed specifically for iPad. Students learn from world leading consultants as well as within the mix of other professionals who bring forth various insights and specific working challenges, related to different design disciplines or industries.

"Grow was born from the frequent request of (PARK) clients due to unmet needs of traditionally trained designers lacking management capabilities. It is the first of its kind education program for design and innovation professionals, presented in a dynamic format," said Jay Peters, Managing Partner & Director of Grow USA.

Grow has developed and delivered internal education programs for industry clients such as LEGO, named LEGO Design Academy, currently running its 5th annual academy, GlaxoSmithKline, 3M, Unilever and  for agencies alike. Grow is not tied to only educating designers, but also educates marketing and non-design professionals about design thinking and the value of design. In addition, Grow has partnered with leading design councils across the globe to deliver local on-site programs for participants in Norway, Belgium, United States, Slovenia, UK and Germany. Grow programs are available for either professionals working in industry or professionals working in (design) agencies.

Inclusive Grow programs consist of eleven days of live education meetings spanning over a 40-week period. In between live meeting students receive personal one-on-one coaching to dig deeper into the material and receive feedback on their assignment progress. Cross-company and Cross-agency programs bring together individuals from different organizations to share in a program, while In-company and In-agency programs cater to large internal departments. Shorter and more customized programs are also available to in-house organizations and agencies.

"Grow developed and delivered an inspiring training program to help support the global program during a time of organizational transition and business change in North America. Delivering on time and in full the Grow team proved to be invaluable partners and true business collaborators. I highly recommend Jay and the Grow team". - Dennis Furniss, (former) VP Global Design @ Unilever

The educational material was developed in conjunction with Grows sister company PARK, a world leading consultancy in design & innovation management for more than 17 years. PARK is often referred to "the McKinsey of the design world by many of their clients, such as Cisco, BMW, Nestle, GlaxoSmithKline, Sony, Unilever, LEGO, Johnson Controls, Reckitt Benckiser, Bang & Olufsen, Novo Nordisk and many others. All Grow programs are taught by active PARK consultants, who spend the majority of their time guiding world leading organizations in design & innovation practices.

"Not only does the Grow training offer a great perspective on the different aspects of design management; Jay manages perfectly to present the content in a clear and understandable way with numerous examples. In providing examples he clearly chooses to build on examples that relate closely to the group to demonstrate the value of design management hands on" - Stefaan Van Den Broecke, Sr. Manager Design @Newell Rubbermaid

Grow USA will be directed and managed by Jay Peters. Jay holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Southern Illinois University, and a Master's degree in Business Design from Domus Academy in Milan, Italy.  Since joining PARK in 2010 as a design & innovation management consultant, Jay has taught numerous Grow programs to a myriad of both industry and agency professionals in Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and USA.

Grow will formally open its USA office on September 1, 2015 in the Greater Los Angeles area.

For more information visit http://www.growdesignmanagement.com or http://www.empdl.com

About Grow USA
The world leading design management, design leadership and design-led innovation management consultancy with offices in the Netherlands, Germany and USA. With more than 17 years in operation strictly specialized in adding value to business by creating value through design, PARK has the privilege to support world market leaders across a variety of industries.

To learn more visit: http://www.park.bz

Media Inquiries:
Grow USA
c/o: Jay Peters
Telephone: +1.773.672.3413
Email: jay@growdesignmanagement.com
Website: http://www.growdesignmanagement.com