1,721,146 research outputs found
Applying an integrated sustainable design approach early in the design drocess: case study ARUP Ltd.
No full textThis paper investigates the way that the design process can be managed at the crucial early stages of product development. A summary trial of several current design tools has been applied to a live design project at ARUP Ltd, the architectural design and engineering consultancy, within their Product Design department (1). This work builds on the sustainable design tool evaluation that was presented by Christian Mclening at the 10th International Conference: Sustainable Innovation 05 entitled: Developing a new SPDS: Sustainable Product Design Specification tool (2). It is these early stages of commercial design projects that have a major influence on the direction a project takes, and on the overall effectiveness of the project. This initial stage is also when project costs are at their lowest so early decisions become more financially important as development progresses, such as tooling, prototyping, marketing and construction cost issues.By investigating this early design stage, often when stakeholders are forming the PDS (Product Design Specification) (3), best practice and opportunities for improved sustainable and efficient project management can be applied. Several design tools have been identified for this research, such as the Sprout Index of dematerialisation by the London based sustainable design consultancy SPROUT Ltd (4) and it is acknowledged that this early stage needs a thorough multidisciplinary approach. Traditional PDS tools can be used to establish the more immediate product requirements, while management and development process issues must also be integrated such as ISO:14062 (5). Tools such as TRIZ (6) (a creative problem solving tool) can be used to generate creative solutions and also allow stakeholders to communicate despite different backgrounds, and these can be combined with more traditional creative design tools and methods such as synectics and morphological charts.The combination of tools is important as they all contribute subtly different points of view and use different languages and perspectives. The objective is to use these tools to bring people, views, knowledge and the whole project together allowing all parties to understand how the project is developing and running through the various stages of product design and development. The paper will address the current tools that will be used, identifying their strengths, weaknesses and differences, and the stage of the design development process they may suit, as well as the knowledge and background of the user that they would be most appropriate for. Also to identify how each tool maybe used to identify sustainable opportunities to the development team be they economic, social or physical.The approach and combination of design tools and communication tools will also be linked to the legislation and best practice. These management, process, protocol and management consideration will be outlined to create a basic management model to allow the approach to be applied to a live project. A case study project will be show to evaluate the research. ARUP associates are a major global architectural and engineering consultancy. The Product Design department has the task of researching and developing projects and opportunities for ARUP in the Product related area. The London based studio will be the focus for the case study and the case study project will be tested during two periods in 2008. The first stage will be an evaluation of the current research and design approach employed by the ARUP Product Design team (March 2008) The second period will be the application and study of the new design approach on a live product at ARUP London (August-September 2008). Although the product has not been identified at the time of writing, recent projects include: Stadium seating, a modular barrier/handrail system and a seating system for the recently open Eurostar rail terminal. The trial project will have similar issues and scale, such as; mass production, manufacturing and development issues. Multiple stakeholders and contractors etc. Initial results presented will evaluate the effect of apply the new design approach and compare with previous approaches used by ARUP (as Identified in visit 1 in March 2008). These initial results of the case study will be presented at the Malmo Conference 2008.Areas for specifically analysis include:Ease of communication between team members and stake holders, suppliers, manufacturers, users, managers, etc.Effective development of the initial PDS: Product Design Specification stage. How the approach addresses sustainable issues, economic, social and technological.Identify best practiceReferences:1. http://www.arup.com/productdesign2. Mclening.C.(2005)Paper:‘DevelopinganewSPDS:SustainableProductDesign Specification tool’10th International Conference: ‘Sustainable Innovation 05. Global ‘state of the art’ in sustainable product/service development an..
Products with provenance: developing a sense of place in product design education
No full textWhat role does locale play in shaping design identity? How do designers see their own sense of place made manifest in their work? How can we encourage a sense of localism in young designers? Product design is particularly susceptible to globalisation; its relationship with technology links it to greater homogenisation. The nature of trends and notions of “good design” engenders a sense of place and localised design identities, but by definition design is a solution, and solutions cannot be divorced from the problems they address, from their context. This is where sense of place comes in and why it is important; it roots design in its most fundamental reason for existing. Without a sense of place, design can look great, work well, be interesting and engaging, but it can't truly be effective. This paper considers student projects over a 15-year period that trace the development of a methodology where place of design, manufacture and use become key drivers for design outputs. By focusing on immediate surroundings, a series of design projects question the nature of local materials, people and society, through local industry, football teams (from Potters, Glovers and Hatters to Chairboys) and social history. The outcomes help to inform students of their surroundings and encourages them to explore and engage with the localities. A defined sense of localism helps to place them, to settle them into new homes and workspaces, and to understand the nature, history and context of their new areas
Towards a framework of the sub-disciplines of product design to enable appropriate course selection for prospective students
No full textVariants of the discipline most commonly known as ‘Product Design’ are taught in over 80 undergraduate degrees at over 50 universities in the UK. There is an incredibly wide scope between the types of products, teaching content and approach to designing products between them due to the diversity of products required and/or desired by consumers. Some courses are closer to Applied Arts and the Crafts, and others are closer to Engineering and the embodiment of new technology, with the rest lying somewhere between those two extents. However, the majority of courses in the UK use the increasingly nondescript title of ‘Product Design’ which does not enable students to easily differentiate between them by course title alone. The use of different course designations (e.g. BA/BDes/BSc/BEng) are used by many universities to add more clarity to the priorities and approach of their course/s but there is no agreed framework which is in use that ensures consistency in the use of different designations between universities. Furthermore, where variants of the title ‘Product Design’ are used, they are also used inconsistently; even, in the case of ‘Industrial Design’, being at opposite ends of the aforementioned scale. These inconsistencies and contradictions add unnecessary complication for prospective students when seeking a higher education course on which to study. A framework of designations and degree titles could enable prospective students to more effectively filter courses to those which better align with their qualifications, abilities and interests, and simplify things for them at what can be an already unsettling and stressful time
DS137: Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Engineering (E&PDE 2025): Fostering Human-Centred Products and Services in Design (OUTPACE). University of Malta, Valletta Campus, Malta. 11th and 12th September 2025
No full textE&PDE 2025 Fostering Human-Centred Products and Services DesignThe 27th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE) with the theme ‘Fostering Human-Centred Products and Services Design’ was held at the Valletta Campus of the University of Malta (UM), Valletta, Malta, on the 11th and 12th of September 2025. The conference was hosted by the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering in collaboration with the Department of Technology and Entrepreneurship Education, Faculty of Education, UM. The conference was planned and arranged with the Design EducationSpecial Interest Group (DESIG) of the Design Society, and the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED).Since its inception in 1999 in the United Kingdom, the E&PDE conference has grown into a leading international forum. Established as a global event in 2004, it alternates annually between the UK and partner institutions abroad. Its mission is to connect educators, researchers, and industry professionals who are passionate about advancing engineering and product design education. The conference provides a platform to exchange expertise, explore contemporary and emerging methodologies, and discuss the evolving relationship between academia, industry, and society.In 2019, E&PDE introduced visual papers, in which sketched images play the central role in communicating insights, with text providing a supporting function. These contributions continue to expand the conference’s knowledge base by capturing ideas in ways that are particularly relevant to design education and research.Conference themeThe product as a technical system remains the core of engineering design. Due to the increasing demands by end users, products are becoming smarter, thereby creating opportunities for innovation, yet sometimes there are challenges and barriers in their use especially by certain strata of the society. Furthermore, the development of smarter products has to be taken into the context of the shift towards product-service business models intended to enable collaborative consumption of both products and services, thereby shifting the cost of ownership and to positively impact thecarbon footprint of products. Central to the shift towards product-service business models is the consideration of social, economic, environmental and experiential challenges that influence society. Designers are therefore entrusted to solve these impactful multifaceted challenges by developing products and services. This entails all of the human stakeholders (e.g. policymakers, factory operators, end-users) who interact with the product or service during some part of its existence. Within this context, engineering and design education needs to keep pace with the development of product-service systems (PSS), to ensure that prospective engineers are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills. Within this context, the theme of E&PDE 2025 conference focuses on topics which collectively aim at preparing engineering students to meet the demands of PSS in a continuously evolving globalised economy.The ProceedingsThe call for papers invited contributions that:• explore innovative educational concepts and strategies to prepare students and graduates for future design challenges;• share best practices in transferring knowledge between academia and industry;• identify and address skills gaps between higher education and professional practice;• provide a platform for diverse voices and perspectives within the design educationcommunityThis year’s conference sub-themes included:• novel assessment methods for multidisciplinary team-based students’ engineering design projects• challenges and opportunities for educators to foster human-centred product-servicesystems (PSS)• exploitation of systems design methods in product service systems education• fostering circular economy principles through engineering design educational methods• educating students in considering ethical and social issues in product service systemsdevelopment• integrating user experiences in different life phases of products and services• innovative approaches promoting sustainability principles in PSS• collaborative design education practices fostering multi-user, multi-perspective products and services• human-centred product-service system design education in the AI era• industry and academia collaborative models for fostering smart products and services• migration of students from the private sector to government and NGOs – impact on the development of PSSThe 2025 conference attracted 191 abstracts, including two visual contributions and 18 student submissions. Following a rigorous double-blind peer review process, 125 papers were selected for inclusion in these proceedings. Over the two-day event, more than 150 participants from 26 countries engaged in four workshops and 122 paper presentations, creating a vibrant space for exchange and collaboration.KeynotesThe conference featured two keynote speakers who provided compelling perspectives on design education in practice. James Attard Kingswell, NPD Officer at Toly Group Ltd., shared insights from his career in product innovation within the global cosmetics industry. Drawing on his academic background in Mechanical Engineering and Integrated Product Development at UM, he illustrated how design educationinforms real-world decisions across the full product lifecycle. His keynote highlighted inclusive packaging, multi-component systems, and customer engagement strategies, demonstrating how products are increasingly inseparable from the services they support. Amanda Azzopardi, Senior Principal Engineer at Baxter Malta, brought extensive experience in biomedical product development. Her keynote emphasised human-centred design practices and iterative methodologies applied to medical devices. She discussed navigating complex regulatory frameworks, the critical role of design tools in risk management, and emerging skills, including AI applications, that are essential for future biomedical engineers seeking to deliver safe, effective, andimpactful solutions
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Transfer Partnerships: A Live Case Study Approach for Undergraduate Design Projects
No full textThis paper draws on experience gained from a Knowledge Transfer Partnership currently being undertaken by the authors, and how it has been used to provide case studies for undergraduate design projects. It will highlight the good practice that has been identified, and also discusses the experiences of the adoption and implementation of this type of learning activity. Gaining feedback from students, staff and industrial partners is also reviewed. We have found the case-based approach through a knowledge exchange model to be a useful method to develop key transferable skills such as group working and individual study skills, information gathering and analysis, time management, presentation and practical skills. It is also hoped that the projects carried out will equip students with the skills to bring together the different elements of creativity, technology and business, enabling students from different backgrounds and with varying levels of experience to work together, a key outcome of the Cox Review 2005. Examples of student project work outcomes are shown alongside the commercial work from the KTP associate
The Effect of Personality on the Design Team: Lesson from Industry for Design Education.
No full textThis study examines the effect of individual character types in design teams through case studies at ARUP associates and five United Kingdom university design degree programmes. By observing an individual’s approach and contribution within a team, patterns of design behaviour are highlighted and compared within the industrial and academic examples. Initial findings have identified discreet differences in design approach and ways of working. By identifying these initial character clusters, design behaviour can be predicted to help teams and individuals to strengthen their design process. This research brings together:
1. The design process and how engineering and design teams work to solve problems.
2. The natural characteristics of individuals and how they approach problems.
This difference of approach can be viewed in relation to the design process where engineers and designers will recognise their preference for certain stages of the design process. This study suggests that these individual preferences are suited to different stages of the design process, and that industry uses teams to ensure a broad range of views, an approach design education would do well to apply by establishing collaborative input in the design process
Practice Based Learning Approaches in Collaborative Design and Engineering Education: A Case Study Investigation into the Benefits of a Crossdisciplinary Practice Based Learning Strategy
No full textThis study explores the ongoing pedagogical development of a number of undergraduate design and engineering programmes in the United Kingdom. Observations and data have been collected over several cohorts to bring a valuable perspective to the approaches piloted across two similar university departments while trialling a number of innovative learning strategies. In addition to the concurrent institutional studies the work explores curriculum design that applies the principles of Co-Design, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning, with both engineering and product design students working alongside each other through a practical problem solving learning approach known as the CDIO learning initiative (Conceive, Design Implement and Operate) [1].
The study builds on previous work presented at the 2010 EPDE conference: The Effect of Personality on the Design Team: Lessons from Industry for Design Education [2]. The subsequent work presented in this paper applies the findings to mixed design and engineering team based learning, building on the insight gained through a number of industrial process case studies carried out in current design practice. Developments in delivery also aligning the CDIO principles of learning through doing into a practice based, collaborative learning experience and include elements of the TRIZ creative problem solving technique [3]. The paper will outline case studies involving a number of mixed engineering and design student projects that highlight the CDIO principles, combined with an external industrial design brief. It will compare and contrast the learning experience with that of a KTP derived student project, to examine an industry based model for student projects. In addition key areas of best practice will be presented, and student work from each mode will be discussed at the conference
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN APPROACHES USING WASTE FURNITURE MATERIALS FOR DESIGN STUDENTS
No full textSustainability has become one of the core concerns of current designers and makers. However, it is still evident that not every designer considers a choice of sustainable materials, manufacturing methods, afterlife or second use of their designs for furniture and other products unless the client, brief, customer or user demands it. The lack of established research for practice-based design practice with waste materials for designers has led to the development of a naturalistic approach within this work which is both craft-based and commercially focused. The central aim of the study is to explore how designs are sustainably approached in the commercial context of young product design companies in the UK, and to propose a set of practical guidance through design outcomes to help design students deal with environmental issues via design and waste material reuse. This research functions as an articulation of a research journey that provides a discursive platform for dialogue and review, facilitating new insights into a creative practice that contributes to new knowledge by efficiently crafting objects in a commercial context using discarded materials. This then shows that this form of waste can be adaptable and practicable as the main material for upcycling into commercial products in repeatable batch production runs. As a result, a product collection was produced to help gain a practised understanding of reusing elements of furniture waste as a primary material source and make creative connections through a structured process of reflection and discussion on practice. This work may inspire designers and students to reconsider the use of waste materials in their practice, to rediscover the beauty and usefulness of these materials, and through a structured design process using the guidelines make attractive commercial products, raise awareness of material reuse, and help to make a net positive environmental impact
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