Steve Diller, director of Cheskin's Innovation Practice and leader of the company's Experience Design Studio, has more than 20 years of innovation and marketing consulting experience that drives the firm's innovation practice.

Diller coauthored Making Meaning: How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences with experience designer Nathan Shedroff (chair of the MBA in Design Strategy Program) and Cheskin CEO Darrel Rhea. (For more information about this book, please visit http://www.makingmeaning.org.)

Steve is a self-described experience strategist who believes the most effective way for companies to deepen relationships with their customers is to develop meaningful experiences, be they through branding or product usage. Such experiences constitute the cornerstone of effective brand and product innovation in an era of rapid technological change. Recent clients include: The Washington Post, Gannett, MasterCard, Microsoft, Del Monte, Humana, and Procter & Gamble.

Prior to joining Cheskin's Innovation Practice Steve was responsible for media research at Continental Bank. He also has been a professor at Columbia College, Chicago, where he taught advertising and marketing, psychology, social marketing, market research, media, and political propaganda courses. He also has owned a film production company and has produced and directed several features.

Steve earned a bachelor's degree in History from Carleton College, a second bachelor's degree in film from Columbia College, and a master's degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.

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Adjunct Professor, Design MBA

BA, Carleton College; MA, University of Chicago; BA, Columbia College.

Website: www.makingmeaning.com