– Fields of focus & selected projects, Dept. Product Design
The Department of Product Design at NTNU is among the best in the world in the field of product development and design. Our objective is to further develop the expertise, methodology and tools within the different branches of the product design engineering, and to aid Norwegian companies in becoming more competitive in terms of their product development and design.
Our key areas:
DESIGN METHODOLGY: DESIGNERS MUST WORK in a systematic and re-examinable manner, in an integrated product development process. We wish, through action research, to develop work methods that support creativity, technological demands, estethical sensibility and social understanding. Key areas include: design methodology, structured design processes, creative concept development.
INTERACTION DESIGN: KNOWN ALSO AS Man-Machine Interaction (MMI). New products create frameworks for how we think and how we experience the outer world. When one looks at the design process we must begin with one's motivation for action, and then create products that support desirable interplay between people. Key areas: user integration in the design process, user analysis and testing, design of user interfaces.
DESIGN STRATEGY / MANAGEMENT: PRODUCTS are an integrated part of culture building related to brands. We examine how designers should work with the communicative ability of products. Key areas: Identity, design managment, strategic use of design in product development.
ECODESIGN: SHOULD DESIGNERS UNCRITICALLY contribute to a materialistic consumption culture? We examine how designers can advocate the ecological considerations in the product development process, and influence consumer behaviour and culture through the products and services that are created. Key areas: life cycle analysis, sustainable development, future scenarios.
Research Projects
A selection of recent research projects and topics
The department cooperates with a number of other NTNU and SINTEF departments, as well as with research insitutions around the world. Our partners include among others: Norwegian Design Council, The Norwegian Research Council, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH), BI, Danmark's Designskole, the Design Management Institute in Boston, UIH and TU in Delft. A selection of recent project titles follows:
Framework for strategic use of design and Identity in SMB
Design in complex socio-technical systems - Development of a better user interface for the Energy Management Systems of Statnett
Wood's distinctive character and esthetic
Creative Energy and Innovative Design - Dialogue on leadership and health in building organizational learning, transforming, and knowing capacities
Emballasjedesign
Ecological Industrial Design - A useroriented approach for eco-innovation and design
Space For Action - Methods for efficiency and improved product development in merchandice production
Productivity 2005 (P2005)is a Research Council initiative to strengthen the competitiveness of the Norwegian manufacturing industry
Fifth year students author research articles as part of their program specialization (PD9). The article collection can be purchsed from the department or browsed here in PDF.
