ANNE ASENSIO, DESIGNER OF EXPERIENCES
The huge open spaces of Design Experience of Dassault Systèmes, a subsidiary of the French group, exudes the laid-back atmosphere of a Silicon Valley start up. In the lobby, large sofas welcome visitors as the team’s brainstorming sessions, adjacent to the imposing library and office of Anne Asensio and her collaborators, ex-graphic artists, developers and engineers. On a wall, a quotation from St Exupéry sets the tone for this resolutely forwardlooking entity: «It is important to not merely predict the future, but to make it possible.» Their mission - one they have enthusiastically accepted - is to anticipate the habits of tomorrow. In a process halfway between consulting and research, they support their clients, as well as the staff of other departments. Here, design is thought of in project mode, in systems, uses, time and space: the subtle equation that makes up what is known as experiential design.
When Anne Asensio explains their daily challenges, her eyes shine with enthusiasm, and one can easily imagine the little girl, fascinated by Fantasmagories (editor’s note: a 1908 cartoon), who decided at the age of six to make drawing the running thread of her life. Since then, the magic has remained intact, and though her pencils are never far away, today she draws her lines in a 3D space. Her career path is one of those that we willingly cite as an example, with the particularly French penchant for highlighting the exception to confirm the rule. After the Beaux- Arts, then the ENSAAMA, she joined the Renault group in the 80s and in 1997 was named «Woman of the Year in the Automobile Industry». In
