We present results from an EEG experiment EEG to measure neurophysiological activation to study novice and experienced designers when designing and problem-solving. We adopted and extended the tasks described in a previous fMRI study. The block experiment consists of 3 tasks: problem-solving, basic design, and open layout design. The block is preceded by a familiarizing pre-task and extended to an open design sketching task. Results from 36 sessions of mechanical engineers and industrial designers indicate significant differences in activations between the problem-solving and the design tasks.

As current vehicle development processes in the automotive industry are highly distributed, the interaction between design teams is limited. In this paper we use a simulation in order to investigate how the rate of design team interaction affects the solution quality and development cost. Results show, that in case of no limiting constraints, a low rate of interaction yields the best results regarding solution quality and development cost. If design activities are affected by constraints, however, the rate of interaction is subject to a conflict between solution quality and development cost.

In this analytical research, the dependency of trust on the user interface in e-commerce has been reviewed. The approach of this case study on payment gateways (PGs) was a combination of the cross-sectional analysis and empirical study. First, the situation of a PG was evaluated in the marketing campaign. Then, the UI of 8 famous PGs was redesigned and 160 volunteers ranked the credibility of each page. Finally, the highest-ranked page was implemented, and the campaign was repeated. Results showed the users who trusted increased from 23.4% to 54.5% due to a new UI design.

This study explores how two global brands (Starbucks and IKEA) design spatial experiences that are localised for diverse cultural contexts. Through a series of interviews with store designers, design and marketing managers, and brand experts from both companies, we identify two different ways a brand and design team can be organized and how each influences the process of the localisation of spatial experiences. Our findings highlight issues related to a team's structure, the use of different design processes and how these influence the building of strong, locally relevant spatial experiences.

The paper investigates the relationship between the forms through which products are represented and the outcomes of evaluations made by observers. In particular, the study focuses on perceived affordances of creative designs, meant as the capability of capturing original elements and corresponding functions, for products presented through static images or videos. Also thanks to the use of Eye Tracking, the experimental results show how dynamic effects that involve salient aspects of products, as well as creative features, are critical to observers’ capability of capturing design intentions.

Edible insects have been introduced as a novel protein source. Although the rationales for insect-eating highlight the urgency of changing diets into more sustainable solutions, there is still a need for better understanding how packaging design is related to adoption of insects. Much consumer research has been conducted to understand the acceptance of insects, but packaging design connected to practices has been given less focus. This article looks at packaging as a medium for stimulating adoption and links an empirical study on analogies for packaging design to practices of eating insects.

In an era of increased automation in commuters’ everyday life, addressing the disconnect caused by taking the human out of the loop is critical. This paper describes the development of two extreme Companions for a public autonomous bus interface in Singapore. Attributes were identified in a benchmarking study and tested in a survey to investigate local users’ key preferences for must-have and ideal-to-have traits and Companion qualities. Finally, two contrasting Companion concepts are proposed and design strategies considering user expectations of Companions versus humans are discussed.

The prosperity of any megacities heavily depends on smooth transport systems. In India, however, most cities are failing to keep in step with the growing demands. With new technologies, such as passenger drones, an alternate mode of intra-city transportation seems within reach. For successful development of passenger drones in a diverse country like India, understanding users’ needs are vital. This paper presents the results from a survey of potential users of passenger drones from across India. These are then used to derive concrete recommendations for passenger drones design parameters.

When assessing the sustainability of a product, an ideal life cycle is considered which could include the “Use” and “End of Life” phases. Does human behaviour affect the environmental sustainability? This paper intends to propose a methodological framework for assessing sustainable behavioural scenarios. The framework will be then developed in a specific case study on Compostable Single Use Products (CSUPs), with the aim of designing the identity of compostable materials for packaging in order to guide consumers to behave in a sustainable way in CSUPs disposal phase.

While designing and discussing exhibitions in science centers, common conceptual framework is needed. This paper provides a framework based on participation, virtuality, and collaboration, and two models - a Rubik's cube model and a Scatter plot space. They are suitable tools for analysis and overview of existing and planned exhibitions, as well as for conceptual analysis during the design process. The classification and the models for the interaction have been developed in a research by design process, where 45 prototypes have been designed, exhibited and tested.

The paper presents the original integration of ICT tools and e-learning platform into an infrastructure to support Project-based learning for a design class that is geographically distributed across different countries. 30 Mechanical Engineering students from 4 European countries tested the infrastructure prototype for the development of an innovative solution in the field of white goods. The results produced evidence about the suitability of the proposal together with strong and weak points of the infrastructure, that can support further development and adaptation into different contexts.

Augmented Reality (AR) is to be used extensively in today's digitized teaching in order to enable students to a more efficient learning. However, teaching content must not be only digitised, but must be communicated in a meaningful way. For this purpose, a generally valid flowchart has been developed, that allows lectures to choose the right content for AR experiences. In order to create this flowchart, empirical values from test runs were combined with pedagogically proven empirical values for good teaching.

Through a strategic learning process, prototypes unveil design directions. We provide a review of prototyping methods for novice designers to study and pedagogical practice for capstone design course faculty to juxtapose. Stanford University's ME310 graduate-level project-based learning course introduces students to various prototyping design techniques, such as Needfinding and Benchmarking, and prototyping methods, such as the Critical Experience Prototype, Critical Function Prototype, Dark Horse Prototype, Part-X is Finished, Funky System Prototype, and Functional System Prototype.

A testbed was developed aiming to contribute to further knowledge on what is required from a VR application in order to be useful for planning of assembly tasks. In a pilot study the testbed was tested on students. The focus of the study was to explore the users’ behaviour, and to gain a better understanding of their experience using VR. The students experienced a gap between the real world and VR, which confirms theories that VR is not a copy or twin of an object or environment.

This paper presents an experimental comparative study into the entrepreneurial mindset of engineering and business students at a Canadian University. The study wants to test if the discipline has an effect on students perceptions of their entrepreneurial mindsets, when engaged in a similar educational approach. Key findings show that entrepreneurship can be taught and that there are differences in mindset change related to the discipline.

The present study analyzes the impact of a Design Thinking course on undergraduate students during an academic term. The impact was measured on three key outcomes: teamwork, problem-solving and creativity; using VALUE rubrics. The evaluation was carried out at three different moments during the course. Three types of evaluators participated: facilitators, students (self-evaluation) and peers. The results show statistically significant improvement on the three outcomes comparing students’ initial and final performance. Despite the promising results, the current study has some limitations.

Prototyping is an essential activity in product development, but novice designers lack awareness and purpose when they prototype. To foster prototyping mindsets in novice designers, we introduce a prototyping support tool that structures prototyping activities. This paper outlines the Prototyping Planner's development, evolution, and evaluation by 125 novice designers. The majority of novice designers’ experienced that the Prototyping Planner helped them create purposeful prototypes and evaluate results from prototyping.

To respond to today's needs, engineers must be able to develop sustainable and environmentally compatible products and systems. To do so, they have to carry out new or changed activities and tasks within the product development process and therefore have to obtain new or changed competences. This publication examines which specific competences from the competence groups system thinking and communication are especially important for the development of Ecodesign products apart from technical know-how and should thus be included in a future higher education engineering course.

This paper aims to identify factors that influence creativity, and strives towards understanding the effect of representations, namely abstract and concrete design outcomes. Three conditions are compared; a control group, an abstract group, and a group provided with various example solutions. The implications of this work can strongly impact the formulation of design briefs, where the goal is to stimulate the creativity of design brief outcomes and examine their relationship to product awareness.

Though many engineering schools are integrating sustainability in the curriculum, most are still struggling, especially with social sustainability. The aim with this study was to test a process created to help students work systematically with these issues. Results show that students in the study did indeed benefit from structured process support as their general knowledge level of social sustainability issues as well as their understanding of how to integrate them in a product assessment was very low. Reflections from teaching staff on how to further develop such a process are also shared.