Renewing technology-driven materials research through an experimental co-design approach

Abstract

The design thinking approach and co-design methods have gained popularity in recent years. Also, design thinking is increasingly often applied to solve complex problems in different domains. This case study focuses on the issue of how to renew technology-driven materials research through an experimental co-design approach. The project under study is a material development project that ran for three and a half years. This project focused on emerging material technologies and therefore used a design-driven approach to further boost the material innovation aspect and to challenge the technological side of the project. Deductive analysis has been used to build an understanding of the constructivist learning that occurred in this case. The findings show that the experimental process influenced the materials research and that learnings occurred through knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. A new layer has been added through ‘soft’ knowledge into technology-driven materials research. Pivotal learnings occurred between disciplines and even serendipitous elements have been identified.