Research profile

Department of Inclusive Industrial Design

Synopsis:

The Department of Inclusive Industrial Design conducts cutting-edge research across health and rehabilitation design, advanced manufacturing, information design, cultural and urban design, and innovation-driven product development. Through participatory methodologies, digital fabrication, ethnographic exploration, and research-through-design, faculty engage in multidisciplinary collaborations with hospitals, international design centers, NGOs, industry partners, and other academic institutions. Research outputs include medical devices, communication systems, exhibitions, patents, and award-winning products that promote accessibility, well-being, and meaningful user experiences.

Main Research Domains

• Design for Health, Rehabilitation, and Well-Being: focusing on the role of design in healthcare, rehabilitation, and inclusive environments. Projects address: assistive technologies, therapeutic product design, rehabilitation tools developed through participatory design, human-centered processes that involve patients, therapists, families, and clinical experts.
  Researchers investigate how design can improve treatment, communication, patient experience, and long-term recovery. Longstanding collaborations include rehabilitation departments, hospitals, clinical laboratories, and international design-for-health centers.
  Keywords: inclusive design, participatory design, rehabilitation design, patient experience, design after design, co-creation.

• Advanced Industrial Design, Manufacturing, and Material Processes: Additive and subtractive manufacturing, 3D printing and digital fabrication, Craft processes and material culture, Product development, R&D, and technological innovation, Mechanism design and functional engineering within consumer and medical products.
  Research merges technological expertise with deep knowledge of industrial practice and production, generating both theoretical contributions and practical innovations.
  Keywords: industrial design, additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, material culture, research and development, design methodology, innovation.

• Information Design and Data Visualization: transforming complex information into clear, accessible visual communication. Medical communication tools for pediatric oncology and clinical protocols, Public transportation information design, User interfaces and UX for digital platforms, Multilingual and multicultural information adaptation, Communication design for medical, public, and patient-facing environments. These projects often scale internationally and involve hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and NGO partners.
  Keywords: information design, data visualization, communication design, UX/UI, design for medical communication.

• Design, Culture, and Urban Space: how design shapes, and is shaped by, cultural and spatial contexts. Areas include: Urban design anthropology and observational research in public spaces, Material culture studies and conceptual design, Speculative design exploring future possibilities, Exhibition-based research and visual culture, Cross-cultural collaborations linked to contemporary design theory.
  Keywords: design anthropology, speculative design, conceptual design, material culture, urban space research.

• Innovation, Creative Processes, and Research-Through-Design: creativity, form-making, and experimentation. Research-through-design methodologies, Creative development of forms and structures, User-centered and ergonomic design, Innovation-driven projects in medical devices, robotics, autonomous systems, and consumer products
  Keywords: innovation, user-centered design, ergonomics, creative form generation, research through design, medical device design.