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.

16 October 2023

A new home for the Black-backed Gull

The complicated relationship between humans and gulls is resulting in a declining gull population. A major cause is the disappearing wasteland in the port of Rotterdam, home to the bird. IDE student Joanna van der Leun designed a nest for the gulls which can be installed on the roof of harbour sheds. This protects them from weather and foes, and keeps them away from the city.

11 October 2023

Disassembly: Essential to repair

Legislation can stimulate repair. But screws hidden so deeply in a product that they are nearly inaccessible are a repair nightmare. Bas Flipsen encourages circular product design by developing tools for designers and engineers.

21 September 2023

Let there be light! How to design your own lamp in 1, 2, 3

Are you tired of seeing the same old lamp designs everywhere you go? Have you ever dreamed of designing and creating your own original lamp? With a material of your choosing? Then good news! Thanks to former IDE student Dino Liao and the rise of AI you can. Discover how in this Student Story.

15 September 2023

New tool shows accessibility of public areas for different population groups

What is a restaurant without its dining guests? What is a park without people walking their dog or kids playing? We are social beings and socializing is essential for our wellbeing. But how do we assess whether people from all walks of life are able to meet at these public places? This question motivated Vasileios Milias, PhD Candidate at TU Delft’s Industrial Design Engineering faculty to design a mapping tool which measures the concept of ‘co-accessibility’.

30 August 2023

Contestable AI gives citizens more control over smart technology

The use of AI is on the rise across society, including by governments. For example, AI is used in the scan cars that drive around cities and use machine vision to monitor public space. AI increases efficiency, but can we, as citizens, trust its decisions? With Contestable AI, we design decision-making systems that allow citizens to express disagreement throughout their lifecycle. This is a way to ensure that government AI is worthy of people’s trust.

29 August 2023

Dashboard sparks the growth of urban greenery

Greenery makes cities more liveable. But how do you ensure urban greenery flourishes? Sanne Keizer devoted her graduation project to unearthing this answer, and in doing so designed a dashboard that monitors and predicts the evolution of urban greenery. "Urban greening needs more than a four-year policy period to be flourish," she says. Sanne’s project received a perfect score.

28 August 2023

Data and the transformation of design research

The rise of data technologies is changing the game for design researchers. As design moves towards complex societal challenges, design tools need to evolve by integrating the benefits of both humans and advanced technologies. For her PhD, Jiwon Jung explored how designers can work with data scientists and machine learning in developing digital health solutions, proposing that there is a lot to learn from each other.

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.

Can things design things?

All objects that we use on a daily basis are connected to each other and designers should be conscious of that. That’s the point of departure of the Connected Everyday Lab of Elisa Giaccardi, Professor and Chair of Interactive Media Design. She studied philosophy in Turin (Italy), but soon found herself immersed in the world of new media, interaction and design.

‘Service design without technology is no longer an option’

Dirk Snelders is professor of Organising Product and Service Development. At IDE his research focuses primarily on the future of service design. In 2011 he published articles with PhD student Fernando Secomandi about the essence of service design in the academic journal Design Issues. The article was received with moderate enthusiasm internationally. But as it turns out, Snelders was years ahead of his time.

'Internet of Things is all about valuable data'

As professor Internet of Things at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Gerd Kortuem specialises in the interaction between humans and computers, smart cities and data-enabled design. Kortuem is originally a computer scientist, but above all else he views the technology of the Internet of Things as an instrument. For him, it’s all about making sensible use of data.

Design for a circular economy

How do you keep a product that has minimum impact on the environment but high economic value in circulation for as long as possible? For that, you have to look beyond just the design and start looking at value drivers and business models. After working at Philips for two years, Ruud Balkenende has now been professor of circular product design since 2015.

Passengers at the centre for enhancing flight experience

Summer has started, and so has the holiday season. The further away the better, seems to be the motto nowadays. As a result, increasingly more people are choosing to go on holiday by air, often resulting in long queues, delays and annoyed passengers. Although we must guard against the fallacy that science can solve all problems with overcrowded airports, researchers from the Faculty of IDE are certainly doing their bit.

'Medical consultations should be like a symphony orchestra'

It took IDE alumnus Jesse Beem some time to get used to being the only Delft engineer among the doctors and medical researchers at VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam (VUmc). He designs and modifies special meeting rooms in which doctors from various medical specialisms can consult with each other as efficiently as possible before deciding on a patient's diagnosis and treatment.

Innovating innovation

What exactly is innovation, and how do you innovate an innovation process? These fundamental questions have occupied associate professor Frido Smulders’ mind for years. He and Unilever-funded doctoral candidate Eva Frese are working on a research project to help Unilever Research & Development in Vlaardingen to innovate in a new and complementary manner. He hopes this will also provide answers to his fundamental questions.