About Delft Design Labs
“We unite scientists, students and societal partners to catalyse knowledge development and design innovation.”
What is Delft Design Labs?
The Delft Design Labs originated in 2017 as platforms for design innovation and knowledge development in which staff members of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE), students of TU Delft and external partners work together. One of the underlying motives for establishing the labs was to involve more IDE students in the faculty’s research, so that the student work would contribute more to knowledge development in design research.
A creative breeding ground addressing societal challenges
Driven by the personal passions of individual educators and researchers, the themes of the DDLs showcase the variety of spices and flavors of research efforts within the IDE portfolio. While the portfolio provides a general overview of the areas of interest, the lab topics are more focused and show concrete examples of how issues are studied, insights are gathered and challenges addressed through design interventions. The open attitude allows for unexpected collaborations to arise between labs, crossing disciplinary boundaries and involving external organizations.
Within a few years, the number of DDLs has grown considerably and they have developed into a creative breeding ground for the development of scientific ideas in the area of design research. Many IDE employees have taken the opportunity to start their lab from scratch, by building a theoretical foundation for their lab and attracting students and external partners to tackle interesting societal challenges. By creating an open environment where the sharing of ideas and the collaboration between people of different backgrounds and levels of expertise fuels creative power, they seek to come up with new insights and solutions that can change the world we live in, either on a small or large scale.
Theme-based knowledge development
Driven by the personal passions of individual educators and researchers, the themes of the DDLs showcase the variety of spices and flavors of research efforts within the IDE portfolio. While the portfolio provides a general overview of the areas of interest, the lab topics are more focused and show concrete examples of how issues are studied, insights are gathered and challenges addressed through design interventions. The open attitude allows for unexpected collaborations to arise between labs, crossing disciplinary boundaries and involving external organizations.
Because the projects within DDLs are driven by research interests, the topics may change over time due to changes in staff and funding opportunities. Therefore, the DDLs form a dynamic structure that moves with developments in society to address momentary challenges, while developing a knowledge base about underlying principles and developments.
Faculty Research Mission
Delft Design Labs follow the scientific mission of the TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering to increase our understanding of how design can be used to tackle the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
Research at IDE focuses on three main societal challenges (health, sustainability and mobility) and develops knowledge, tools and methods that integrate three main disciplinary perspectives (people, technology and organization). The central ambition is to support and develop the designer’s ability to act as a bridge between stakeholders and technology.
The Labs
Write us
delftdesignlabs-io@tudelft.nlFind us
Delft Design Labs
Faculty of Industrial Design
Engineering
Landbergstraat 15
2628 CE Delft
The Netherlands