Delft Design Stories

How to make a bike helmet desirable

How do we make bike helmets desirable among Dutch cyclists? Remco Bosch found a solution. "The safety argument doesn't work here, we already feel safe on our bikes," he says. For his graduation project, Remco looked at the needs and values of cyclists. That’s when he discovered that framing helmets as a lifestyle choice, not just a safety precaution could make the difference.

22 March 2023

From The Start: The Early Design Bird Gets The Remanufacturing Worm

The circular economy. Sustainability. Refurbishment. Remanufacturing. Recycling. We hear these buzzwords used all the time when talking about how humanity needs to lessen its impact on the planet. For her PhD research, Nina Boorsma looked into how to get companies to make more sustainable products and found that the process needs to start early.

02 March 2023

Circular composites - design is the missing link

Composite materials have a lot to offer in terms of fine-tuning material properties, optimising functionality, and ensuring a long-life span. Despite those advantages, they still leave a lot to be desired when it comes to reuse and recycling. For his PhD, Jelle Joustra explored strategies for making composite materials that support a circular economy, proposing that design is the missing link.

08 December 2022

IDE researchers launch open-source online emotion typology

IDE researchers have just launched one of the most comprehensive emotion resources in the world. The emotion typology is an open-access online database that provides detailed information on positive and negative emotions.
Atleet op een hometrainer, met technologie in snoertjes bevestigd aan sportkleding en op het lichaam.

03 November 2022

Using sensors to stop sports injuries

All athletes, from amateurs joggers to elite footballers, experience sports injuries. What if medical professionals could predict when those injuries were going to occur and stop the damaging activity before the injury happens? In her PhD research, Annemarijn Steijlen takes a step in that direction.

26 October 2022

Bubble Games: can we design for empathy?

Building a better society is no solo endeavour. It needs people to join forces and tackle problems together. But this can only happen if there is a foundation of trust and understanding. In an increasingly polarised world, a group of Dutch designers asked whether it possible to create this strong foundation? Can we design for empathy?
Podcast cover art

06 October 2022

Out of the Blue #26: Conversations on Design & AI

We have a fun one for you this time. Recently, our colleague Eric Gu hosted three Delft Design researchers in a conversation on design and AI. Alessandro Bozzon, Maria Luce Lupetti and Kars Alfrink talked about the needs and challenges of designing AI. About the role of the designer in its development and how the design practice itself can change through the relationship with AI.

05 October 2022

The expanding design universe

AI is turning static products into dynamic ones that change while we use them. This requires new design methodologies. The European network and PhD programme DCODE, coordinated from the TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, is all about rethinking the future of design in a world full of AI.

Delft Design Stories

Read the stories of researchers and students at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, and discover the scientific questions on which they work and the solutions they present.

Autonomous robots protect the lives of emergency services in disasters

Search and rescue robots play an important role in rescue missions following disasters. Dr. Jamshidnejad is trying to make these robots even more intelligent so that they can make decisions autonomously in complex situations, thereby relieving rescue workers of life-threatening tasks and making rescue operations more efficient.

Recycling mouth masks

In the fight against the increasing shortage of mouth masks, researchers from TU Delft developed in collaboration with Van Straten Medical B.V. a new way of sterilizing used masks and testing their quality. This could be a successful solution for the rising demand.

Project Safeguard

TU Delft students of Industrial Design Engineering and Technical Medicine have joined forces to develop a smart protective wall that enables testing of possible COVID-19 patients without using scarce personal protective equipment and in any desired location.

Unmasking the Mask

Everything that is designed influences our cultures and societies. Likewise, cultures and societies, with their respective belief systems and values, influence designers in terms of why they design, how they design, and what they design. There’s a continuous interaction between designing and being designed, between people and the designed world. What is the cultural significance of the defining - and sometimes divisive - symbol of the corona pandemic: the mask?

Mental health: from disorder to interaction problem

Waiting lists. Treatment coming to an end. The closure of clinics. Our mental healthcare system needs help. How can a design approach help deliver better care. Delft Industrial Design Engineering researcher Nynke Tromp is examining the future of the mental healthcare system from within the Redesigning Psychiatry programme.

Unmasking the Mask

Everything that is designed influences our cultures and societies. Likewise, cultures and societies, with their respective belief systems and values, influence designers in terms of why they design, how they design, and what they design. There’s a continuous interaction between designing and being designed, between people and the designed world. What is the cultural significance of the defining - and sometimes divisive - symbol of the corona pandemic: the mask?

Out of the Blue #18: Neutral is impossible

There is no universal design. Everyday objects and services that work in some parts of the world, are totally different somewhere else. Annemiek van Boeijen, assistant-professor Design, Culture & Society, argues for design creativity, context and richness in her new book Culture Sensitive Design. We’re also joined by special guest Timo de Rijk, Director of the Design Museum in Den Bosch, to discuss culture, design history and the stupidity of efficiency.
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In the IDE Podcast Series ‘Out of the Blue’, Teacher of Practice Ianus Keller and PhD candidate Frithjof Wegener talk with our designers, researchers, students and teachers about their stories. Thankfully, we’re allowed to listen in.