Towards a taxonomy: classifying design innovation policies in Europe

Cambridge Academic Design Management conference 2013

Visual sensemaking in the innovation process. Tools for innovation acceleration

Cambridge Academic Design Management conference 2013

Facilitating innovation through design in a Danish context

Cambridge Academic Design Management conference 2013

Prototypes for innovation - Facing the complexity of prototyping

Cambridge Academic Design Management conference 2013

The Meaning of Innovation and Creativity in Theory and Practice

Design is a mental plan or scheme relied upon to achieve some stated objectives on specific issues. Using Fashion Designers as suitable example, design according to Williams (2003) means to plan a style to fit their customers. The design must be in line with the current issues/style in the concerned society. Designers are bound locally and internationally. SOBOL-PERRY Fashion Productions of Miami Florida USA organizes a one week fashion designers show. During the Miami Fashion week, designers exhibit lots of designs of both male and female apparels. It is a period set aside to plan the ground work on classical designs to achieve various styles that are appealing to the eye. In designing, certain rules/principles and elements are observed to achieve better result. The elements are those things which when used together, form a perfect work in any design. Such elements could be line, colour, space, texture, form. The principle of design on the other hand, means the rules or the guides. The elements needs to be guided, arranged, organized, controlled and planned (Igbo 2001). It helps an artist designer to put together the elements to achieve unity, harmony and order in any design. Some principles of design are rhythm, balance, variety, proportion; dominance etc. Innovation means to bring the novelties, to make changes in the usual way of designs or other things thereby bringing about new ideas in design and be current to design very admirable and acceptable products. In art for instance, innovation brought about great discoveries even in the use of elements and principles of design to achieve classical and better designs. This brought about ‘RENAISSANCE ART’. When great discoveries were made, features like foreshortening, perspectives, etc were discovered by the Renaissance Artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo etc. when there is mastery in the use of elements and principles of design, innovation sets in, resulting in creativity. This means, bringing into existence issues that will create ideas in different areas of design.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

CAN DESIGN GO BEYOND CRITIQUE? (TRYING TO COMPOSE TOGETHER IN OPENING PRODUCTION)

This paper aims at contributing to the emerging

field of design for social innovation (D4SI)

discussing the insights from the author’s long-term

involvement as a design researcher in a social

innovation project. In order to discuss this

experience a particular perspective is introduced,

according to which D4SI can be considered an

attempt of design to go beyond critique, and,

specifically, of composing together (Latour 2010).

In this understanding D4SI can be considered as a

collective effort towards the construction and

exploration of alternative ways of living and

working.

Nordic Design Research Conference 2013

Retracing an Evolution of Meanings for Design-Driven Innovation

In this paper we explore how to enrich design-driven innovation by considering the dynamic nature of such innovation as a result of history and evolution. Designdriven innovation takes distance from users in their  current context, but instead proposes radical new  meanings to users that address new potential needs.  Here we look at how design-driven innovation can  be based on a thorough understanding of a product/ service’s current meanings and lost meanings of its  predecessor(s). We investigate this assertion with an  action oriented case study using a research through  design approach. Within the context of recorded music,  and using script analysis theory to define meaning, we  studied the evolution of album covers. As a result,  we were able to come up with two radical meaning  innovations for album covers. We conclude that the  investigation of the evolution of meaning of a series of  products/services –from the past up to the present–  can help designers to depart from current meanings  more radically, and more purposefully. We thus hope  to inspire design to go beyond studying meanings in  temporal isolation, taking into account meaning as  a result of history and evolution for the purpose of  design-driven innovation.  

Design and semantics of form and movement DeSForM 2013

CREATIVITY AND INNOVTION: DEVELOPING DESIGN THINKING AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A common feature of today‘s societal challenges lies in their complexity. Society‘s ability to address these problems depends on education programmes developing in their graduates competencies and capabilities needed to drive innovation in unanticipated situations. Key challenges lie in developing creativity and innovation skills in students and in supporting them learning to apply these skills to real-world problems that are typically complex and unpredictable. This paper builds on experiences from a week long workshop, ―Innovation Week‖, that is delivered as a core and distinctive part of a multi-disciplinary undergraduate programme in Product Design. Through a condensed, one hour, version of Innovation Week, we also explore ways in which design and visual thinking might be integrated into educational curricula with a view to identifying requirements for future developments in both educational and professional practices.

ICDC2012 Glasgow

Transforming Universities with Design Thinking

This author asserts that U.S. higher education must greatly accelerate the rate at which it
innovates by fundamentally redesigning itself. The paper approaches this subject by first
outlining the significant challenges faced by American colleges and universities. It then
analyzes the case of a university that is facing these challenges by broadly integrating
design thinking into its curriculum and planning processes. The author frames the rationale
for pursuing an innovation agenda in this manner and critically presents the results. The
case suggests that under certain conditions it is possible for universities to become
designable, and when this occurs innovative and integrative change is possible.

DRS 2012 Bangkok

Designer-User Interactions for Innovative Problem Solving: A socio-cultural perspective

In this paper, a model of designer-user interaction as a socio-cultural phenomenon is
proposed with the following question: how do the changes in the designer's perspective on
the user's physical and social experiences lead to design refinement or design innovation
sequences? Adopting Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a macro view, we interpret field as
rules of action, habitus as modes of action, and practice as situated actions as they exist in
the design process. Particularly, this research argues that the changes in the designer’s
habitus, as a result of newly acquired knowledge from user research, entail innovation of
practice and expansion of field. In addition, the concept of boundary object is considered
as a micro view to discover how the designer’s research activities assist them in acquiring
knowledge from various sources, and to translate / transform it across domain boundaries
during the process. Two stories of user research projects on retail shopping experience
design are presented as empirical evidence.

DRS 2012 Bangkok

Building Fabriken Design for Socially Shaped Innovation

Recently, there has been a growing attention to innovation processes based on the
involvement of diverse actors in co-creation activities. A new innovation model is evolving,
relying on collaboration, openness and participation as drivers for the development of novelty
in diverse fields. This model has a central role in social innovation, which is claimed to arise
from collaborations across various sectors and social structures. In trying to understand
how innovation arises in co-creation processes, this paper relies on the idea of socially
shaped innovation, according to which novelty emerges from local interactions through
tensions and argumentation.
In exploring how design could support socially shaped innovation, the paper discusses the
experience of designing Fabriken, a socially shaped infrastructure for socially shaped
innovation. Particularly, the focus is on the design process and on the shift from a design-in
the-studio strategy, based on a funnel model, to a design-in-use strategy, where some
participatory tactics such as prototyping, small-scale interventions and long-term
engagement are used by diverse stakeholders to explore the design space.

DRS 2012 Bangkok

Design Prototypes as Boundary Objects in Innovation Processes

In our paper we focus on how design prototypes can foster communications in
organizations that deal with the development of innovations. We distinguish the impact of
prototypes between two different organizational levels; we first conduct the impact of
prototypes at the level of organizational design teams that develop ideas and concepts for
solutions. We then focus on the impact of prototypes on the level of organizational teams
and departments that have not been part of the initial design phase but are responsible for
further developments in the innovation process, e.g. production, financing, and marketing.
Previous research has indicated that prototypes have a significant influence on both
organizational levels. Prototypes, in the best cases, can become so-called boundary objects
between different domains and stakeholders and may deliver positive effects within the
innovation process. However, the successful management of stakeholders in this context
remains highly challenging. In this paper we want to address these difficulties as well as
the current state of research in this field. We propose that a prototype does not only stand
for an important design technique but should moreover be regarded as a management tool
that can be integrated into a structured dialogue between stakeholders. We provide first
insights on what a structured dialogue, based on prototypes, can mean and what it thereby
should imply. We will synthesize prior research findings and begin to develop a concept on
how to utilize prototypes as boundary objects from a management perspective.

DRS 2012 Bangkok

From the Culture of Project to Spread Creativity: Mutations of design as a profession in the society of knowledge

Along with the transition to the 'new capitalism', which may be variously defined as
cognitive, flexible, post-industrial or post-Fordist, we are experiencing a new productive
scenario since the Seventies of the last century, where innovation and creativity are rising
as key factors for competitiveness and come to be the capital for the production system to
open a new stage.
If the industrial capitalism of modernity required the manufacturing of big quantities of
physical products, the mutation of the role of industry and production, the globalization of
markets and the emergence of communication in every social occurrence are changing the
nature and the tools of design, while enhancing all the immaterial and creative features.
Creativity, namely the capacity of developing innovative and bold connections, turns to be
the driving force of an economy where experiences and services are more strategic than
tangible and durable goods.

DRS 2012 Bangkok

Next Innovation Playground: A culturaloriented product design model

The emergence of cultural pluralism in today’s markets presents unlimited economic
opportunities and challenges in terms of industrial competition. Through effective designs,
intangible cultural features transform into tangible products with economic values.
Moreover, through the success of ethnic target marketing, products with cultural symbols
or traditions have differentiated themselves from other industrial products in the
increasingly homogeneous market. Embedding cultural relevance into product design does
not only tap into the regional feelings of potential consumers but also creates original
contexts for innovation. Thus, developing soft and emotional power through individual
cultural artifacts in industries that function as symbolic identities and meanings with origin
is crucial. The current study intends to generate the essential concepts of cultural products
to structure the potential development of design innovation. In the current work, we review
the related literature and existing design principles of cultural products. We then conduct a
series of empirical studies through an expert focus group. In addition, we perform a peer
review with card-sorting analysis, which examines 40 selected images of individual
products. Finally, we use expert interviews in examining the outcomes. The triangulation
concept is also used throughout the entire investigation process for validation and
verification. Based on the findings, a design model for a culture-oriented product as a
concentric circle is developed to provide designers with a culture-oriented product design
model when designing cultural contexts for consumers.

DRS 2012 Bangkok

Culture, Workplace and Design: The office code unveiled

The global business world has shed a bright light on cultural differences and generated
extensive examination of values and behaviors around the world. Yet despite obvious
differences in the design and utilization of office environments, little attention has been
given to the implications of culture on space design.
Multinational companies, unaware of the cultural ramifications of culture-specific design,
often transplant workplace layouts from their home locations to other countries around the
world, with little thought to local culture, climate and employees’ needs and expectations.
The results can be workplaces that are unappealing, dysfunctional and stressful.
What are the key trends in workplace behaviors and design in different countries and
cultures, and can companies leverage this knowledge to design effective work
environments? How can workplaces be glocal: reflecting the best of both the global
organization and local culture? Can space help reconcile cultural differences?
To address these issues, the Office Code project investigated the factors that influence the
design of workplaces in different countries and cultures. An international team of business
leaders, work process experts, and researchers in eleven countries in Asia, Europe, and
North America worked to understand typical workspaces and work cultures in those
countries, and the implications of culture for workspace design.
The goal of the study was not simply to establish an understanding of cultural similarities
and differences, but to provide actionable principles that help create culturally appropriate
workplaces. This paper describes how we translated cultural insights about work
behaviors, values and use of space into workplace design principles. The resulting
framework provides the basis for understanding and creating culturally attuned work
environments in a global business world.

DRS 2012 Bangkok