Liran Elbaz Bloch

Liran Elbaz Bloch is Head of the DAN Department of Inclusive Industrial Design (named after DAN, for Creative Human Design) at Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College, an industrial designer, researcher, and educator with over two decades of experience in product development, design education, and innovation through design.

Her work spans academia, industry, and healthcare systems, developing solutions that connect human needs, technology, and design thinking. Her areas of focus include industrial design, design research, soft product development, toy and children’s product design, and play experience design.

Alongside her academic role, Liran continues to work with international companies on product development, bringing hands-on experience in research and development directly into her teaching. Her commercial work has earned international design awards including the Red Dot Design Award and has led to registered patents for toys and consumer products. She is a recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award at Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College for several consecutive years.

Lectures & Workshops Available

Workshop: From Volume to Pattern - Soft Product Design and Development

An intensive hands-on workshop exploring the design and development of soft, textile-based products. Participants begin with a three-dimensional object and work through a structured process of deriving two-dimensional patterns from it, then sewing, stuffing, and reconstructing it as a soft form with volume, structure, and presence.

Through this cycle of deconstruction and reconstruction, participants develop a hands-on understanding of how surface, material, and construction technique determine the final form and the experience of holding or using the object. The result is a volumetric, stuffed object that emerges directly from the logic of the original three-dimensional form.

The workshop also includes professional case studies from soft product development and infant and children's toy design, offering a behind-the-scenes look at pattern development, prototyping, and concept testing. Participants are exposed to considerations of safety, child development, sensory experience, play, and the emotional connection between user and object.

Format: Lecture + hands-on workshop

Duration: 3–5 days

Suitable for: Industrial Design, Product Design

Workshop requirements:

• Access to sewing machines for participants

• Basic textile tools and materials

• A workspace that supports hands-on group work

Design Thinking as a Tool for Innovation in Academia and Organizations

How do you change the system from the inside? This lecture draws on real experience leading a comprehensive curriculum reform process at the DAN Department of Inclusive Industrial Design, where design thinking methods guided every stage: mapping stakeholder needs, reframing the problem, generating and testing alternatives, and implementing changes that were formally approved and fully adopted.

Beyond the academic example, the lecture explores how the same tools apply in organizational contexts, using case studies from healthcare settings and industry projects to show how design thinking creates value in environments where it is not the default way of working.

Format: Lecture

Duration: 60–90 minutes

Suitable for: All disciplines 

Design for Innovation in Healthcare Systems

Healthcare systems face complex challenges that cannot be solved by clinical expertise alone. This lecture explores how human-centered design and inclusive design methodologies are being applied to improve patient experience, clinical communication, and service design in real healthcare settings. Examples are drawn from ongoing applied research projects, including co-design work with patients, clinicians, and students.

Format: Lecture

Duration: 60–90 minutes

Suitable for: Health sciences, management, social sciences, and design programs

Areas of Expertise

• Inclusive Industrial Design

• Human-Centered Design

• Design Thinking and Co-Design Methodologies

• Healthcare and Rehabilitation Design

• Design Research

• Textile-Based Products

• Toy Design and Children’s Products

• Product Design for Global Markets

• Studio-Based Design Education

International Experience

• Erasmus+ 

• External examiner, Department of Integrated Design, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

• Invited workshop and lecture, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

Open to Collaboration On

• Multidisciplinary research

• Design thinking in non-design education

• Healthcare innovation and patient-centered design

• Soft product development 

• Toy and children’s product design

• Interdisciplinary research and joint projects

Available Formats

• Guest Lectures 

• 1 Week Workshops

• Design Sprints 

• Studio Critiques 

• Collaborative Studios 

Contact

Email address: liranel@jmc.ac.il

Academic department: Inclusive Industrial Design

Portfolio Website link: https://designalba.com/

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liran-elbaz-bloch/