Creative Design Engineering: Introduction to an Interdisciplinary Approach presents the latest information on a field that has traditionally been primarily concerned with how to make things. However, as technology has advanced, and we have no shortage of things, a new challenge for today’s engineers is what to make. In tackling this, our approaches to engineering design have come under the spotlight.
This book presents solutions to this topic in different sections that highlight the basic concerns associated with innovation. First, design is considered a kind of universal human act. Second, it is an interdisciplinary approach that brings together perspectives from fields such as cognitive science and science of knowledge is adopted. Third, the scope of the discussion also includes the process of creating an initial idea for a new product (called the pre-design phase), as well as the use of the product in society (the post-design phase).
Design engineers and researchers in engineering design will find this a user-friendly route to understanding the importance of creativity to engineering and how to implement new techniques to improve design outcomes. The book has been translated from the original Japanese book titled Sozo Dezain Kogaku [Creative Design Engineering] (published by the University of Tokyo Press 2014).
- Draws on research in industrial design, art, and cognitive science to present a concept of creativity which breaks free of traditional engineering thinking
- Deconstructs design as a human activity to increase our understanding, helping us create outstanding engineering projects and systems
- Includes discussion points to help the reader not only explore the concepts in the book, but also apply them to their own design contexts
Toshiharu Taura is the dean and a professor at the Organization of Advanced Science and Technology, and Mechanical Engineering Departments at Kobe University. He started studying what is known as engineering design based on his experience as a mechanical engineer, but with a particular interest in including the viewpoints of industrial design, art, technology, and cognitive science. He is a key figure in the Design Creativity academic field and has led interdisciplinary discussions on this topic. In particular, he founded the Design Creativity Special Interest Group, as part of the Design Society, in 2007. He established the conference on Design Creativity and organized the First International Conference on Design Creativity in 2010 in Kobe, Japan. The series successfully continued to the Second Conference in 2012 in Glasgow, U.K., and the Third Conference in 2015 in Bangalore, India. He also launched the International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation in 2013, and serves as its editor in chief. Taura was a member of Advisory Board of the Design Society from 2007 to 2013, and is a fellow of the Design Research Society.
