Research group
Design Driven Innovation Lab
Research group
Design Driven Innovation Lab
Research
Key research areas
In DDI lab we work with design as an approach to solving complex and strategic challenges. We explore for instance how expert design teams shape the strategy of large organizations by creating product designs that provide examples of how the company can renew itself, implement digital technologies or become more sustainable.
Focus
In many organizations design is only applied as styling, because we do not know enough about how to apply design at a more strategic level. There are some great examples of design teams who have managed to create designs that solved complex problems or helped companies overcome large strategic challenges. However, we do not know much about:
- how and why they work,
- what kind of methods and approaches they use,
- how they are best supported in the organization.
This is what we explore in the DDI Lab.
Education
Study related activities
The research groups teaching activities are centred around the program: Civil-engineering in Architecture and Design - with speciality in Industrial Design. Besides this, members of the research group also teach in the interaction design and entrepreneurial engineering specialities.
Collaboration
Who benefits from the research
Our research is particularly interesting to innovation managers in large organizations facing strategic and ambiguous challenges (e.g. finding ways to enter new markets where they do not know the rules or ways to differentiate in markets where competitors are starting to catch up) or small and medium sized companies who are looking for a way to compete against new types of products and services with a better fit to market demands or are struggling to find a way to approach digitalization or sustainability.
External partners
The research group has collaborated with companies such as: LEGO, B&O, DALI, Alfa Laval, TC Electronics, Red Cross, Daimler, Unilever etc.
Key projects
Designed to last
The aim of this project is to give small and mid-size companies some insight into what it would mean for their company, if they were to extend the lifetime of their products. The project is funded by Spar Nord Foundation.
Expert Creators
In this project we explored the top 5% designers at LEGO. That is the designers who work with strategic challenges and who have created major successes. The outcome is new approaches and methods for strategic application of design.
Design DNA
In this project we explored seminal products that renew companies such as B&O’s A9 and the renewed Mini Cooper. The outcome of this project is theories and methods on how to build the DNA of new products, while ensuring both traditions and renewal.
Contact
Read about more research groups
At the faculty, we have more than 30 research groups and sections with internationally recognized researchers who work in the areas of: planning, digitization, autonomous systems, communication and human touch.