EPIC – the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference

Since 2005, ethnographers and applied anthropologists have been convening to explore and promote the use of social science theory and thick data methods in commercial contexts. Most of these EPIC events have been held in the USA, but in September this year Touch TD joined the international gathering of ethnographers for three days of EPIC 2013 at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London.

Deploying a diversity of formats, from conventional plenary sessions and workshops to quick-fire ‘PechaKucha’ presentations and ‘salon’ discussions, EPIC 2013 showcased the very latest in design-led, research-based, solution-oriented approaches to business behaviour, highlighting the creative potential of multi-disciplinary ethnographic collaboration for innovative product and service design. As demonstrated by the conference presentations, such approaches are becoming well established in fields as diverse as health care provision, consumer product development, retail services, education, marketing and brand management, IT, energy use … and we think now is the time for tourism and cultural heritage industries too to start to get in on the act!