Multidisciplinary Design Approaches

A designer’s role in multidisciplinary creative collaboration In the world of product development, the most innovative solutions often result from intense collaboration across diverse perspectives Diversity comes in many flavors… cultural, gender, specialties, disciplines, skillsets and more Let’s talk about the designer's role in a multidisciplinary setting As designers, we're more than just creators We’re the translators, mediators, and catalysts that bring different perspectives together to shape meaningful products and experiences When we worked on the John Deere 1R electric tractor at BMW Designworks, our core team consisted of designers, engineers, product marketers, and model makers We were a small but accomplished group of around six people, united by one common goal… to design, engineer, and convert a 1R combustion tractor into a drivable 1R electric tractor Looking back, my roles as the creative director and lead designer wasn’t just about designing and building the tractor… it became a lot more than that… _Translator... Acting as the bridge between engineering, marketing, and business strategy, turning complex ideas into tangible, user-centric solutions. Clear communication was crucial to ensure everyone understood the project's vision and goals… and stay on track _Holistic Problem Solver... Integrating insights from various disciplines allowed us to approach problems from multiple angles in real time. It's about finding solutions that are both innovative and feasible, balancing creativity with practicality _Rapid Prototyping & Iteration... True innovation requires rapid iteration with input from all corners. By involving designers, engineers, and model makers in the prototyping phase, we could address real-world constraints while keeping the user experience front and center _Aligning a Shared Vision... Design isn't just about aesthetics… it's about empathy. By aligning with other disciplines on a user-centric goal, we ensured every aspect of the product resonated with the people it was designed for _Mediating Ideas and Realities... Navigating the delicate balance between bold ideas and practical limitations was key. We had limited time, and our role was to champion creativity while mediating conflicts, ensuring the final product was both innovative, viable and on time _Championing Innovation Together... Collaboration is about co-creation. By combining diverse expertise, we were able to push boundaries, generate breakthrough ideas, and build products that truly stood out _Building a Collaborative Culture... Great design emerges when we acknowledge and celebrate diverse contributions. It’s about fostering a collaborative culture where every voice is heard and every idea is valued The magic happens when we bring together minds from different disciplines to create something that none of us could have achieved alone. In your experience, how has cross-disciplinary collaboration impacted your design process?

Great design isn’t just about vision, it’s about execution. Not that kind of execution... 🤣 Without collaboration, even the most inspired design can become a poor execution of one person's idea. The best products emerge when multidisciplinary team’s designers, engineers, and manufacturers come together to push boundaries while working within real-world constraints. Throughout my career as an industrial designer, I’ve seen this play out time and time again. The key to success? Understanding design for manufacturing (DFM) and embracing the realities of production. It’s not just about aesthetics it’s about making things that can actually be made. So how can we, as industrial designers, better equip ourselves to maintain design intent while navigating the manufacturing “wash cycle”? Here are a few ways: 1.     Design with supplier capabilities in mind – Know what your manufacturing partners can (and can't) do. 2.     Account for draft – Your mold maker will thank you. 3.     Reduce complexity-Always look for ways to reduce part count and assembly complexity. 4.     Reduce waste-From cradle to grave. Always. 5.     Don’t just design for the sake of design-Be deliberate about the choices you are proposing. 6.     Become DFM-savvy – Learn the constraints, materials, and processes that shape your design. 7.     "Say you’re an engineer without saying you’re an engineer" – Speak the language of engineering to bridge gaps. 8.     Understand material constraints – The right material choice can make or break a design. 9.     Ask “dumb” questions – They often lead to the smartest solutions. I do it all the time.. 🤪 10. Iterate, iterate, iterate – The first idea is rarely the best one. 11. Prototype early and often – Nothing replaces hands-on learning. 12. Get fresh eyes on your design – A different perspective can reveal the unexpected. 13. Stay humble – No one has all the answers, and that’s okay. 14. Be willing to compromise – And yes, that means you too, engineers! 🫢 At the end of the day, great products don’t happen in isolation. They are the result of trust, teamwork, and a shared commitment to making something exceptional. If you are looking for someone to partner with for either contract design work or a full-time role, feel free to reach out. I love designing new things. #IndustrialDesign #DFM #Collaboration #Manufacturing #DesignThinking #ProductDevelopment

🌮 Food for thought 🧠 #PublicHealth is complex. This has already been discussed in plenty of papers. Consequently, the use of #digital tools to achieve typical Public Health Goals (aka #DigitalPublicHealth) could not be less complex. Right? Together with my colleagues Hans-Henrik Dassow, Daniel Diethei, Merle Freye, Jasmin Niess & Stefanie Do, I worked on mapping the fields related to Digital Public Health. The result is this colourful sunburst diagram ☀️ 🔎 What did we find? 🔍 1) Digital Public Health (DiPH) - as for our purpose defined as the overall field - includes the clinical & individual-centered #DigitalHealth 🎯 2) DiPH is colourful! It consists of the overarching fields: Humanities, Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering & the Natural Sciences. These can be split into individual disciplines, which also come with their subfields (we kept the figure simple and did not portray every subdiscipline here) 🖍️ 3) Due to this, DiPH is extremely #interdisciplinary - but also the individual subdisciplines are interdisciplinary (especially in the Environmental Sciences). 💫 💥 What does this mean for public health practice?💥 1) The interdisciplinarity of DiPH-related projects should be reflected in the aim, methodology, and selection of team members 🪞 2) Multidisciplinary & interdisciplinary teams may use different language & methods --> be inclusive and communicate clearly! 💬 3) Allow for (in-)formal exchange between team members. Different approaches spark interest. Talk about this! 🥂 4) Be open towards different approaches from another field of research or practice. Your gold-standard methodology might not be the best fit for a specific aspect of the project 🤗 5) Be patient! All these different approaches combined in one project will take longer than projects from one discipline. BUT they have the power to produce more robust & holistic results 🦾 📚 Read more on our thoughts in our open-access handbook here: https://lnkd.in/eeaFS83V