Interdisciplinary lessons in industrial design and marketing

The paper describes the inception, progress and successful completion of a knowledge transfer partnership between the University of Lincoln and a local SME specializing in the manufacture of storage solutions. The project aimed to establish an in-house industrial design and marketing function, and was directly translated into a Masters by Learning Contract. The direction taken by the project brings into question some of the orthodox assumptions regarding the relationship between design innovation led and market research led product development. Dealing with the dynamics and contingencies of the real-world context exposed the inadequacies of both methodologies. We argue that it is possible and desirable to foster an interdisciplinary sensibility by integrating marketing and design. The paper concludes with a suggestion for how the university might better organize cross-disciplinary curricula.The paper was generated out of a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership between University of Lincoln and Powell Plastics (Dyro Holdings), a manufacturer of injection-moulded storage solutions. Dr Matthews was the lead academic, Jason Forrester the Project Associate. The project sought to establish an in-house design and marketing function with product innovation capability. The project received a grade 2 rating putting it the top 25% nationally of KTPs completed in 2005. The paper makes important observations on the integration of functions in an SME and the implications this might have for developing cross-disciplinary postgraduate curricula