A Case Study Exploring the Role of Design in Maturing University-Developed Technology

DS 116: Proceedings of the DESIGN2022 17th International Design Conference

Year: 2022
Editor: Mario Štorga, Stanko Škec, Tomislav Martinec, Dorian Marjanović
Author: David Mesa, Linus Tan, Charlie Ranscombe
Series: DESIGN
Institution: Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Section: Design Education
Page(s): 2343-2352
DOI number: https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2022.237
ISSN: 2732-527X (Online)

Abstract

Universities struggle to commercialise scientific research. However, designers can help scientists bridge the research-market gap in different ways. Although the value design can bring to science is understood, how design outputs deliver value to scientific research remains unexplored. Our paper reports findings from a designer-scientist collaboration developing a graphene-based water desalination technology. By reflecting on this case study, we found that design outputs serve different purposes in developing technology and assist in progressing technology maturation efficiently.

Keywords: technology development, product development, collaborative design, designer's skills