The proper use of methods is increasingly important as design challenges are more complex and involve more stakeholders. Such work also demands high reflective ability from designers. Reflective thought processes do not necessary produce positive outcomes for the process and the individual involved. Positive reflection is goal oriented while negative reflection is typically self-oriented. In design education, reflection by students is often treated as rather trivial or only rudimentary support is offered. Research in cognitive science shows that poor reflection can hurt students' well-being, abilities and confidence over time. Thus, there is a need to better understand method use and reflection in design education more specifically when done poorly. We take a theory-building approach and interviewed 12 design students and recent graduates and investigated instances of method use where these led to negative experiences and effects. In doing so, we show different types of negative experiences that students have when using methods, the effects that these experiences have and how they relate to problematic use of methods and poor reflection practices. We end with implications for design education and design research.

In Additive Manufacturing (AM), new generations of polymer composites presented as engineering- grade materials provide high-end mechanical properties with the design freedom AM provides. Interlayer anisotropy is the main challenge in both in-situ optimization and post-analysis in transitioning from prototypes to high-performance components in fused filament fabrication (FFF). Recent studies show a direct correlation between layer fusion temperature and mechanical properties. In this paper, we present synchronized position and temperature data and study how a component changes based on layer height and geometry. An IR sensor transfers data while printing a G-code generated by FullControllGcode, printing in a single direction and recording temperature in front of the nozzle. Results show that within each layer, a Δt of 20°C at thinner geometries, the heat loss will provide a reduction in mechanical properties and further heat loss occurs when moving away from the heated bed. By using the presented temperature mesh in further studies, post- printed anisotropic components can be analyzed by FEM, and the FFF process can be adaptively optimized based on location, size and geometry.

Citation is a key metric in academia, and it can help to understand how ideas travel between disciplines. In this article, we report on a citation analysis of forty-four articles identified during a systematic literature review of healthcare design research published in six leading design journals. Using the Web of Science's categorisation of journals, we analyse which disciplines cite these forty-four articles. We find that these articles are much more cited in technology and engineering journals than in health sciences. We discuss these findings and the limitations of the study.

This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the literature available in the field of External Technology Searching. Many methods exist to enable companies to take advantage of new technologies and apply them to achieve a competitive advantage. This literature review focuses on reducing complexity and providing clarity related to the numerous different terms and methodologies used throughout the literature. The main methods found in the literature include: Technology Foresight, Technology Forecasting, Technology Intelligence, and Technology Scouting. However, many additional terms have also been used to describe similar strategies, leading to inconsistency in the use of the terms, resulting in confusion and missed opportunities to innovate for those trying to navigate the field. Synthesis of the results assists in clarifying the differences and conflicts in the literature between the numerous terms. The results serve to display the state of the art on the field and present a basis for further research.

Design ideation is a critical early step in any design process and especially challenging for novice designers. This paper introduces the “Systematic Brainstorming Ideation (SBI)” method that, as part of a wider design ideation process, improves the range and number of design concepts generated by novice designers. In this paper we give a brief introduction to the design ideation method to set a context for SBI and then introduce SBI in more detail. Evaluation experiments with 101 novice designers, based in UK and South Korea, are reported. Results indicate a 30% improvement in the number of design concepts generated.

Aluminum foam sandwich (AFS) is an innovative material for lightweight structures due to its various advantages (e.g. low specific mass). Today, many material properties (e.g. strength) are still not well researched, which is why AFS is not yet considered in current material selection processes. Therefore, AFS has rarely been used in the past and its application potential remains unused. This paper presents an approach toward an appropriate method for considering AFS in material selection processes to assist designers in evaluating whether the use of AFS in an application is profitable.

When prolonging the physical lifetime of products, it is important to also consider the value lifetime, the time before customers discards the products because it no longer has any perceived value. In this paper we study design and marketing strategies known to be particularly relevant to enhance the value perception of consumers, hence lifetimes of products. To do so, we first review literature to build a framework, we then use to conduct case studies at five Danish product design brands. This let us to insights on design and marketing strategies relevant to enhance product lifetimes.

Sustainability is influencing the automotive industry. Car manufacturers are increasingly prioritizing sustainable materials. The production of these still pose environmental challenges. This paper addresses the trends related to sustainable car interiors. It emphasizes the importance of understanding how customers perceive these new materials. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted, followed by a survey with 106 participants to obtain generalized insights. The results will reduce the uncertainty regarding customer expectations for sustainable car interiors.

Digital artefacts call for new design challenges: they enable services, technology-driven and multidisciplinary never ended processes, uncouple form-function, in a social relationship that must be ecosystem-framed. Then, the usual design mindset is not proper and expected vs unexpected outcomes must be equally studied. A framework of methods, in view of the usual design variables and the new ones called by design of smart objects, is here offered. From that the seeds for the future aid to the design process of smart objects result. Then, Objectomy and one real application case are described.

The quick and accurate estimation of design effort can be make or break for all but the largest of product design consultancies. Traditional design project planning see designers being taken away from the metaphorical drawing board to spend time assessing project briefs and estimating workloads. Typically these designers base these estimates on their tacit knowledge and experience, and for the most part, they are accurate. However, this is time-consuming and therefore (indirectly) costly, as time spent planning, is not time spent designing. Many more sophisticated approaches for estimating design effort have been developed, but many require large bodies of past data and sophisticated analysis, such as artificial neural networks; and others have highly-specific use cases.

This paper proposes a new method to develop a design effort estimation tool for product design consultancies. This method captures the tacit knowledge and experience of design team members and the tool replicates it quickly and effectively; graphically modelling factors that influence design effort needs in product design projects.

Biological solutions are often used for developing technically innovative products in a biomimetic process. However, biological solutions do not always make it into a successful technical product, e.g. due to a lack of knowledge on the mechanisms of action. A new approach is presented for transferring biological solutions based on complex mechanisms of action. It is based on mathematical optimization methods and applied to the lightweight design of the musculoskeletal system. Finally, first technical implementations in the field of robotics, among others, will be presented.

Enterprises evolve continuously, usually gradually, but sometimes rapidly in the face of disruptive events. The purpose of this study is to analyze the transformation process of the design consultancy in the face of challenges presented by advanced technology, economic change, and systemic shifts by applying selected methods and tools from the ARIES (Architecting Innovative Enterprise Strategy) framework. The study uses IDEO as an example to discuss the organizational structure of design consultancies, and describes how IDEO has evolved in the context of change. This study illustrates some emerging challenges that the design consulting industry is facing now and will face in the future, and how these challenges will affect organizational culture and structure, the design consulting process, the recruiting criteria, and the designers, as well as envisioning possible paths for the future of design consultancy.

The influence of culture on design is reflected in many aspects, such as design creativity, communication within design groups, and individuals' creative performance. Culture has a profound impact on design. For example, studies have identified the positive effect of a higher individualism-collectivism value on design team performance. To examine the influence of individual cultural values on the experience of creativity in ideation, we experimented by recruiting participants from different counties to complete two ideation tasks. Moreover, we collected their cultural values and experiences of creativity through two questionnaires. We also examined the connections between individuals' cultural values and their experiences of creativity in ideation. The results show five correlations between individuals' cultural values and their experiences of creativity when the country setting was a control variable. Recommendations based on the findings include that explorations of cultural influence and the relationship between culture and design or other fields irrelated to the country or society level have to measure individual cultural values (with the country setting as a control variable) instead of adopting country cultural scores.

Conceptual design projects are increasingly known as an intense decision-making process. Much of the decision-making is comparing the degree of preference between choices. In the complex projects of the upstream business of oil and gas, good decisions are crucial for success. Decisions are typically made within a dynamic environment, wide range of uncertainty, and have to account for the asset life cycle. This paper reflects on the application of the decision quality framework with a focus on decision modelling. Using an industrial example, a systematic approach to visualise and improve decision making process is proposed. The approach applies a Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) and Decision Quality frameworks and identified opportunities for future research.

Fast fashion, with its focus on cheap clothing and everchanging trends, has an enormous negative environmental and social impact. Despite rising consumer awareness and slow fashion as an emerging trend, many consumers often still rely on fast fashion. This research aims to create insights into why customers keep returning to fast fashion and what is holding them back from buying sustainable fashion. This is done through a quantitative survey (n=521) and qualitative semi-structured interviews (n=9). Based on the findings, opportunities are defined for designers on how, where, and when to intervene, and on which target group to focus. The main obstacles that counter slow fashion are (i) a lack of understandable and clear information, (ii) the price or available budget, and (iii) the importance of social influence. Strategic design interventions should focus on educating eco-conscious and social-conscious customers based on their personal definition of sustainable fashion. By providing in-store information during time of purchase, designers can create new shopping experiences, educate customers using a positive note and build customer relations with the retailer. Further research should extend these insights with retailers' perspectives.

The discourse surrounding sustainable consumption and production has evolved to encompass sufficiency strategies in addition to efficiency and effectiveness. Product-service systems (PSSs) can promote sufficiency by replacing traditional product-intensive systems with dematerialized services and changes in ownership structures. Sufficiency-oriented PSS may, however, generate rebound effects which offset potential sufficiency benefits or even result in backfire. This paper examines the connection between sufficiency-oriented PSS and rebound reviewing 12 empirical studies addressing rebound.

Platform design has been firmly established in the automotive industry as a strategy to provide wider product variety while maintaining cost effective production. But this strategy can struggle to keep up with the pace and nature of emerging technologies. This paper reviews the existing approaches to modelling product platforms, and showcases the challenges at OEMs introducing new technological innovations in their platforms. A gap is identified in the methods to assess the ability of existing platforms to integrate new technologies whenever they become available.

Engineering design in new product development is a constant battle between creativity and strict structure. As researchers look to optimize the process, each stage is placed under a microscope to put designers in the best position to develop better products for companies in a cost effective manner. One idea in improving product development is the concept of incorporating the Human-centered Design into functional analysis. However, critiques of these functional analysis methods cite an unnecessary amount of resources needed to invest in these steps, a restriction in creativity, and a high necessary level of effort from the design teams. The goal of this research will be to address these critiques by incorporating theories from cognitive research and Human-centered Design into the functional analysis process. This work will propose a new method aimed to improve the quality of the function model of the design space, increase the creativity freedom of the designers, and be accessible to engineering students and industry engineers alike.

The study aims to identify the relations between creative design quality and content of the memorising precedents, association, and combination of information processes in a design context. 71 participants were recruited to finish a creative design task. Think aloud and interview were conducted during and after the creative design task to understand the content of the memorising precedents, association, and combination of information processes. The 71 creative designs were then assessed by five experts in creative design. The results from this study revealed that participants who generated high-creativity design tend to memorize various topic-related precedents, associate items based on topic-related information, and combine topic-related information with products. Participants who generated low-creativity design tend to memorize characteristics of a specific space of the design topic, associate items based on specific topic-related information, and add the topic-related pattern to a product.

The problem of plastic waste in research laboratories is a significant one, with an estimated 5.5 million tonnes generated annually worldwide. Reusable labware has the potential to reduce this waste significantly, but the design of such products must take into account quality assurance to guarantee the accuracy of experiments. Insights were gathered through the generation of an overview of the available techniques for verifying labware after use and decontamination. As during different design cycles verification of prototypes is needed, these techniques were evaluated and translated to be applicable in the specific context of a design lab. Therefore, this study presents a protocol which can be used as a verification tool while designing safe, reusable labware for chemical laboratories. This protocol consists of four different steps: (i) visual inspection, (ii) mass & size comparison, (iii) leak test, and (iv) chemical stability test.