Interrogating Futures in Industrial Design Education

Designers should keep up with the pace of change and have the power of directing change to the desirable. In order to design forward product/services in a continuously changing world, designers should have " future vision ". Futures Studies is considered a practical way to help designers develop the capacity for future vision. The main research problems in this study are; what kind of problems do students confront when they undertake future oriented design projects? and how can the implementation of futures research methods in studio education be beneficial for design students?

2016

Design education needs to recognise the changing world it services. The way that we live our lives is very different to that of our parents. No doubt the way our children will live their lives will be very different to ours. We exist in an ever changing world. Design education must recognise this constant change and develop long term strategies that enable designers to not only be aware of, but play a major role in this change. Futures thinking – the systematic study of the future – provides design with a structured approach to consider potential futures.

site, and discussions with Professor Simon Fraser and senior lecturer Ross Stevens. This information lays the minimum needed ground for expressing an opinion about the programme.. Ideally, participating in intermediate project reviews, and interviewing students, industry partners and representatives of the funding agencies would have given me a more comprehensive view of the scope and quality of the programme. The suggestions I present are based on my experience as concept designer and project manager at Nokia Research Center, on my teaching experience at UIAH gathered especially through teaching the User Inspired Design post- graduate course for industrial design, business and engineering students, and on the studies that the School of Design, UIAH research team has conducted on concept design and design collaboration with European industry, and other Finnish research teachings. The references suggested all refer to these studies. Finally, my approach to design is that of an academ...

Service Innovation and Design - Stories of the Emerging Themes and Impact of the Education, 2019

In 2013, after two years of research, we created a new domain called Futures Design by combining business, design and foresight approaches - all rooted in systems thinking. The work led to EU-level trademark establishment and to a service concept called Futures Fit®. Futures Design in practice means designing futures fit solutions and making futures fit decisions that are by default sustainable and viable. The solutions are also both desirable for people and feasible in terms of their realization. In order to identify novel opportunities and the window of opportunity Futures Design requires deep, holistic, systemic and systematic understanding of the existing and future operational environment: its various actors, contexts, motives, practices and interfaces. Today, Futures Fit® service concept has also pedagogies and coaching approaches included for public and private sector organizations to be the change makers: to innovate, to leap and to transform. Futures Design capabilities are the asset for sustainable and successfull operations. Laurea Publication 121. Available at link below: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-799-530-6

2017

During the last years, the differences between industrial design and engineering design have become increasingly blurred. The two disciplines show interferences regarding their methods, problems and ideas. Fundamentally, they also share the term ‘design’ which addresses industrial design as well as engineering design. This is visible particularly in contemporary product development processes where a holistic understanding of the word design forms the base of successful communication and collaboration between designers and engineers [1]. Radical changes in industry regarding speed, cost efficiency and quantity influence the design process and thus design education. An acceleration of product life cycles requires the parallel development of product parts and systems. Customized industrial goods have to meet the specific needs of a small target group. Users need to be involved in their development. Within these complex systems digital and analogue design overlaps. With our contribution...

Journal of Futures Studies, 2019

This paper presents the preliminary results of a review of the first four years of the postgraduate course in Design of Tomorrow, which CENTRO Advanced Design Institute in Mexico City has offered since 2014. It assesses whether the program is achieving the aim of having students “design futures,” and to what extent the program conforms to the principles of foresight according to Wendell Bell. The question in the title is answered affirmatively, but with some important caveats, and areas of opportunity for improving the design of the program are identified