Aligning industrial design education to emerging trends in professional practice and industry
by Paul W. Wormald, Michael Rodber
J. of Design Research (JDR), Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008

Abstract: Processes of creating wealth through commercial new product development have changed in recent years. This is having an effect on the business of industrial design, particularly in the UK and the West in general. The article identifies several drivers for change. The potential impact of these changes on the UK university-level product design education and specifically, the employability of product design graduates are discussed. Activities by the authors to address the educational impact of the changes are also described. These cover curriculum development, new module teaching and learning and areas of academic research. It is proposed that the university-level industrial design education should become more evidence-based and be more user-focused. Of most importance is the proposition that industrial designers might take the role of becoming accomplished 'opportunity identifiers' rather than solely 'problem solvers'.

Online publication date: Sat, 28-Mar-2009

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the J. of Design Research (JDR):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com