Science without Borders - Design
Umeå Institute of Design has been ranked number one in the prestigious Red dot Institute ranking of design schools in the world. We offer not only one, but four separate course packages in design; Industrial Design Intensive, Advanced Product Design, Interaction Design and Transportation Design.
Industrial Design Intensive: (basic level)
Industrial Design Intensive aims at giving an introduction to the methods and processes used in the field of industrial design. The course format is work-‐ and content intensive, and while starting with the fundamentals on a basic level, the pace and study methods in IDI support students in the possibility of reaching a high level of design skills and competence during the study year.
Studies are mainly conducted in project form where theory and practice are combined. The course is open for students from other disciplines than industrial design who wish to specialise within the design field. Many of the students on the course have degrees in non-‐design disciplines and are looking to either broaden their competence in design in order to collaborate with industrial designers or to change study direction and specialise within the field of design.
Upon completing the course, students can work in design related professions with a special competence in industrial design work methods and processes, and will have produced a portfolio which enables them to apply for other educations within the design field.
Interaction Design: (advanced level)
Developments in information technology have challenged industrial design tradition by demanding a shift of emphasis from the idea of "product-‐as-‐object" towards the notion of "product-‐as-‐event". The dynamic and interactive qualities of products and services need to be better understood in the context of human behaviour. This shift of focus has inspired us to develop our Interaction Design courses and to initiate new areas of research in the design field.
It has become a major challenge for industrial designers to design useful and easily comprehensible products and therefore this has become an increasingly important part of industrial design education. The convergence of computing, communications and media has given rise to products and services ranging from mobile telephones to social media environments where functional and technological complexity have often resulted in confusion and frustration for users.
Our interaction design education offers exciting opportunities for designers to extend their existing skills into new territory where the focus is on people's needs rather than technological capability. Our vision for interaction design is not only about the design of the object but also about the object of design.
Advanced Product Design: (advanced level)
The course package in Advanced Product Design is a solution-driven education that focuses on the advanced treatment of design – using user studies, problem identification and analysis, new technologies and materials, and above all, an emphasis on innovative and new thinking – to find the best possible solution for a given problem or identified design opportunity.
A future technological perspective is often adopted in the program's term and degree projects, offering students and external collaborative partners opportunities to explore converging technologies together with new user and market scenarios, and develop a variety of conceptual solutions, based on a solid foundation of professional tools, and analytical and creative work methods.
The philosophy of the courses is to combine the knowledge and insights of today's hard core product design with the possibilities that arise when applying both the physical and digital technology of tomorrow, induced with an universal approach and respect for human and nature that characterize the Scandinavian design tradition. With this as a starting point, the next generation of industrials designers have all the possibilities at hand to build new knowledge and to broaden the scope of product related functionality and experiences.
Transportation Design: (advanced level)
During the last century man has come to depend on transportation as a social and lifestyle necessity. The world has evolved with the desire and need to use vehicles. Cars, for instance, have become an integral part of our culture.
Today, population growth and environmental issues are challenging the transportation industry. New solutions to vehicles and transport systems must be found. Innovation for mobility is required globally. Designers have a major role to play in developing functional, safe and ergonomic products and systems which will include qualities that are desirable and appealing to an increasingly intelligent and discerning group of users. Designers have the digital tools to give an insight into the future possibilities of transport. The advancement and availability to powerful 3D software and rapid prototyping tools mean that designers are able to quickly visualise future life situations involving vehicles. At the Umeå Institute of Design, students have the opportunity to quickly explore their design ideas and bring them closer to reality with the help of such tools. Our Transportation Design course package is unique in its scope of interest, dealing with the whole transportation design field in cooperation with industry. Students are educated to have an open mind on both conceptual ideas and detailed realistic design solutions. They are encouraged to have a balanced thinking process where form and function work together.
