A Design Perspective for the Concepting Process in the Maritime Industry - Rationality and Aspiration

Design methodologies and versatile empathetic thinking are emergent practices among different industries. Due to high risks and the conservative nature of the maritime industry, the traditional product concepting process produces incremental technological innovations. The common understanding of design within the maritime industry is generally considered to be associated with the styling at the end of the process. This thesis compares design-driven and technology-driven approaches, introducing the idea of aspirational thinking within the partner company ABB Marine. The research conducted within the thesis follows a technologydriven product concepting process, and the outcome of the thesis was acquired by testing design concepting methods in practice. The research includes the organization and managing of concepting workshops within the R & D team, participation within concepting training at a design consultant agency, evaluations with project leaders and the development of concept presentation material for customer meetings and collaboration. Findings from this thesis show how design thinking and design concepting methods can encourage the process, enabling different areas of expertise to work cohesively when reaching the shared understanding and vision. The thesis offers an example of how a design approach can be taken into consideration within the processes in the maritime industry. The result incorporates a new model for the early phase of the product development process for the partner company. It discloses how a design perspective can improve the existing process in an area which has been predominantly driven by engineering