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Design thinking

Summary of the impact

Design thinking has benefited the economic performance of business and particularly the creative industries, changed awareness of design in everyday life, and informed public policy. Users and consumers have benefited from wider understanding of the genesis of products and services and effects on their quality of life. Design thinking research has been instrumental in forming a new business sector that provides design thinking expertise as consultancy. It has changed the processes of designers and design practices, and fed into UK design education policy. Design thinking has crossed discipline boundaries; for example framing new methods and processes in software engineering.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Design Practice and Management
Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Inclusive design

Summary of the impact

The i~design research programme, which has been running in the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) since 2000, sought to understand population diversity in order to better inform design decisions for mainstream everyday products and services. Impact from this programme, since 2008, includes: skills embedded in companies through direct training of over 280 designers and design managers from industry; direct involvement in the improved design of more than 10 new products and services that have gone into production; educational resources for teaching Design and Technology trialled in nine secondary schools; over 800 wearable impairment simulators sold; and extensive web-based guidance, methods and tools for inclusive design accessed in over 170 countries.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Information Systems
Built Environment and Design: Design Practice and Management
Education: Specialist Studies In Education

Improving the design of health care facilities for people with neural disabilities

Summary of the impact

Research at Kingston University led by Hilary Dalke has established the beneficial effects of colour design for application in long-term health care environments for people with neural disabilities. This work has led to the development of spatial design principles for improving the experience of service users, patients and staff.

Through her consultancy work with architectural firms, individual NHS hospitals, mental health units, independent charities and healthcare furniture and equipment suppliers such as Hill-Rom, Dalke has influenced their understanding of the issues involved, leading to improved design in hospitals, care homes and day centres, with consequent benefits for patients, staff and visitors in four institutions.

Submitting Institution

Kingston University

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Nursing, Public Health and Health Services

Designing for Emotional Durability

Summary of the impact

CHAPMAN's research into emotionally durable design has radically shifted the values and practices of global businesses, helping them to cut waste and to enhance product, material and brand value. Through publications, exhibitions, master-classes and films, this research has transformed understanding of sustainable design in professional (Puma, Sony), policy (House of Lords, UN) and cultural (Design Museum, New Scientist) settings, propelling the field beyond its focus on energy and materials, towards deeper engagements that link psychosocial phenomena with ideas about consumption and waste. Furthermore, it has contributed to public debate and policy with the effect that the term `emotional durability' has now entered the international design lexicon, providing valuable shorthand for complex phenomena influencing product longevity.

Submitting Institution

University of Brighton

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Anthropology
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Visual Arts and Crafts

DRed

Summary of the impact

Fundamental research undertaken by the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) on the decision-making process in design led to the creation of a software package called DRed. DRed was initially aimed at capturing design rationale, but subsequently broadened in its capability to become a `problem management' tool. DRed has been formally embedded in the Generic System Design Process at Rolls-Royce (R-R), which applies across the whole company such that all R-R engineering staff, including designers and service engineers, have access to DRed. During the period 2008 to 2013, DRed has played a key role in the understanding and resolution of two major aerospace incident investigations, and in the design and development of the Trent XWB engine for the Airbus A350 commercial aircraft.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Information Systems

Inclusive Design: Royal College of Art research creates significant, far-reaching impact in design, industry and education

Summary of the impact

A sustained programme of research at the Royal College of Art (RCA) since 1994, led by Coleman, Myerson and Bichard, has played a leading role in the emergence of Inclusive Design within design, industry and education, defining its theoretical principles and developing relevant real-world practice tools and business case studies. This research had made an impact in four key areas: it has influenced the public discourse and the ethics and methods of the design profession; contributed to national policymaking for older and disabled people; enabled economic prosperity through development of new products and services; and supported advances in design education.

Submitting Institution

Royal College of Art

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Design Practice and Management

Aynsley China Research and Impact via Flux Stoke on Trent

Summary of the impact

In late 2010 Professor Sanderson decided to form the Flux ceramics spin-out company at Staffordshire University in order to exploit a significant market gap he had discovered via his KTP research project for Aynsley China Ltd., Stoke-on-Trent. Flux has been able to exploit the market gap discovered in a way that Aynsley China was unwilling to pursue. Flux has produced cutting edge ceramic tableware design that has been successful in terms of both sales and recognition as a valuable contribution to contemporary tableware design. Flux won the Home and Gardens Design Award in 2012.

Submitting Institution

Staffordshire University

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Design Practice and Management

Improving strategic design management competence in small and medium sized companies through action and case-study research

Summary of the impact

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) has researched the extent and effectiveness of design management in companies for over 15 years. The research has combined an academic analysis with a practice based approach where findings have been implemented through a succession of industry-facing, large-scale, externally funded projects.

Through this sustained activity, design tools, methods and support strategies have been developed, delivered, tested and disseminated internationally. Additionally, the experiences are fed back into the continuing research that underpins the practical activity.

Since 2008, BIAD's business-facing projects have:

  • assisted over 300 companies (compared with 70+ in 2003-2008);
  • established 21 new businesses;
  • built a network of 400 companies;
  • secured over £3m of grant funding; and
  • been instrumental in shifting company culture from cost-driven to value-added.

Submitting Institution

Birmingham City University

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Information Systems
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Business and Management
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration

Making Histories: design curation and curricula in Britain and the USA

Summary of the impact

The two main impacts resulting from the research concern museum curation in Britain and educational curricula in the USA. The research has influenced museum curatorial practices around collections of 20th Century Design and collection development of the internationally significant Henry Rothschild Study Centre at Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead. The research has provided the basis for curriculum development at the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum and Parsons School of Design, New York. This large body of research has had an impact on museum professionals and their fund-raisers, researchers across the UK and US, educators, post-graduate students, practitioners and the general public.

Submitting Institution

Northumbria University Newcastle

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Design governance in the built environment: Facilitating the use of design codes

Summary of the impact

Work by Carmona et al has supported the national drive for better design in the built environment, helping to mainstream ideas about the importance of urban design and develop tools for design governance. A major strand of this research has focused on the use and potential of design codes in England, and has been a major contributor to their widespread adoption. As a result, by 2012, some 45% of local authorities and 66% of urban design consultants had used design codes.

Submitting Institution

University College London

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

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