Product Design and Development

This course will equip the students with basic understanding and fundamental knowledge about product design, new product development, and the management and strategic importance of these processes. The emphasis is on developing practical skills related to product management from the perspectives of industrial design and product engineering.

The course has an interdisciplinary base, which resides on innovation and then integrates concepts and methods of aesthetics, semantics, design functionality, technology management, user-led innovation, manufacturing, environmental sustainability, ergonomics, organization and strategy. The aim is to propose a balanced blend of creative, technical and managerial aspects of the subject matter.

The combination of pedagogical methods - lectures, exercises, case studies, visits and teamwork - cultivates the ability of independent student learning to understand the complexity of product design and development.

In particular, the course aims to:

• Offer a comprehensive understanding of product design and development, combining creative thinking, sensory awareness, technological logic, customer / market understanding and strategic thinking,
• Develop understanding, management and planning skills,
• Familiarize students with methods, tools and software to design and manage new product development,
• Instill awareness of the importance of designing products for innovation in general and in particular with regard to man-centered design, sustainable and eco-design and open innovation models,
• Develop skills to analyze technology, industrialization and market-related product design and development.