SECTION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

The section of Industrial Design researches and teaches design methods, design processes, and design thinking in order to study how design can be a driving force for a sustainable transition. 80% of a product's resource consumption is determined in the design phase. Therefore, design is crucial in the green transition. Our current research focus is on long-lasting products that remain attractive and usable for a long time.

We research and teach design

Design is shaping, method, process, and reflection at the same time. This is what we know as design expertise:

• to be able to see a problem from new angles

• exploratively examine potential solutions through sketches, models, etc., which give shape to a synthesis.

In both research and education, we start with real problems, challenges and opportunities within product and service development. From the initial search phase until there is an overall conceptual design proposal.

Collaboration with companies

We collaborate with companies and external organizations in both research and teaching. This helps to ensure that our research projects and teaching in design are:

• relevant

• connected with reality

• creates new valid knowledge.

Design - and developing design - must make sense for users and customers. They perceive and form an opinion about the products and the solutions that are designed, developed and produced. Therefore, customers and users are a natural part of the companies' business strategy and brand. We take this into account in our holistic approach to design, where we use a user- and context-oriented approach in both our research and teaching.

CHRISTIAN TOLLESTRUP Head of Section cht@create.aau.dk