Good design and industry
by Professor, Director Kalevi Ekman
08.11.2010 13:30
However, when items like industry components - valves, gearboxes, production tools - or process lines, complex systems, mechatronic products or the like are under consideration, then many people tend to question whether it would truly make sense to invest in good design.
"Design" is both a very interesting as well as a complicated term. One category of goods could be defined as "high design" goods whose artistic values, appreciation or the creator's fame play a key role in a successful business. We can exclude this category from further examination, and still have most man-made items left. With this wide variety of goods, "good design" often means at least proper engineering design (e.g. mechanics, electronics, software, automation), industrial design (e.g. esthetics, ergonomics, user experience), and business concept design (e.g. marketing and brand management, logistics, rethinking of needs and value chain, related services).
Design thinking and the designer's toolbox
In design thinking, the problems and solutions come together. As a specialist, a professional industrial designer has some fine-tuned, useful skills, methods and tools that complement the skill sets of engineers and business developers. Combined with a thorough understanding of materials and manufacturing technologies, those that are most interesting from a manufacturing organization's perspective are:
• the fundamental ability to see the big picture, as well as the details (based on fine art elements being a part of education)
• special training for man-machine interface development
• a role as user's advocate - it's just the user's experience that makes a product real
• visual communication skills - sketches, illustrations, models, computer aided tools
• well-developed process skills
• design and brand management skills for enhanced communication between the company and customer as well.
There is strong evidence showing that the co-creation process of complex systems in which many kind of specialists are involved can be radically boosted by an early involvement of industrial designers. Better mutual understanding and common goals can be achieved by applying the aforementioned expertise. Successful projects have yielded achievements such as better usability and user experiences, reduced manufacturing costs, quality improvements, easy maintenance and cleaning, standardization and efficient modularization, less assembly or welding hours, a reduced number of hoisting operations, even a radically reduced number of semi-trailer trucks for transportation.
Trends in the manufacturing industry
There are lots of published reports and other material about globalization and the need for new management and strategies for successful business. In the interest of being concise, we can list some very common trends that resulted in the creation of typical challenges for companies and for their R&D and manufacturing:
• shortening of the life span of products and systems
• increasing complexity
• focusing on core business, outsourcing
• carbon footprint and sustainable development issues
• technologies are widely available - what makes the difference?
On the other hand, if we consider which philosophies, methods or tools have been the most popular or successful in manufacturing companies - especially in hard-core engineering businesses - the following list covers many of them:
• simultaneous or concurrent engineering
• systematic development process (stage gates or milestones)
• quality tools (house of quality, quality function deployment)
• DFX (design for manufacture, assembly, environment, ...)
• development of modules or product platforms
• computer aided engineering (modeling, rapid prototyping, simulation, manufacturing)
In short, development trends are setting extremely high demands for good communication and processes for co-creation. On the other hand, when considering the tools for success listed above, one common element shared by all is that they focus on making processes visible, effective and understandable. Correct documentation, clearly argued decision making, early involvement of necessary parties, double-checking the understanding of the customer's or user's needs - these are all instruments for better communication, understanding and the prevention of unnecessary mistakes, delays and unsatisfactory user experiences.
Professional designers with their skill sets can be exactly the urgently needed additional element that makes using the methods mentioned above easier and more successful.
The future is interdisciplinary
In R&D operations, there is increasing need for not just cooperation, but rather co-creation by various specialists from different fields. In other words, this means that in-house designers - as well as other specialists - are needed for continuous development and cumulative organizational learning. Design thinking is a powerful instrument for management and strategic planning. Good managers with insight rooted in a fully developed design thinking will grow best in environments where interdisciplinary co-creation is part of daily life.
Kalevi Ekman is a professor of Machine Design at Aalto University School of Science and Technology, with wide background of interdisciplinary product development. He is the director of Aalto Design Factory.