Explaining the design & styling of future products

In many industries technological innovation is the most important driver of competitive success. Within our master curriculum Industrial Design Engineering, we therefore implemented a course that is dedicated to the development of innovative technology. This course, called “Sources of Innovation”, provides insight in innovation processes regarding emerging technologies. One of the methods provided is Innovative Design & Styling. The shaping of innovative products is complicated, because the intended new objects have no real ‘predecessor’ in their existence. On the other hand, design and styling have a major influence on the perception and acceptance of such innovative product concepts. To support the complex process, a special workshop was developed, based on three principles supporting this task: the communication function of design, the balance between novelty and typicality (aka. the MAYA principle: most advanced, yet acceptable), and the proper application of metaphors