Design and New Product Development

Design and New Product Development is a multidisciplinary research area. Situated within De Montfort University’s Institute of Art and Design, its work embraces Product, Furniture and Interior Design; Fashion, Contour Fashion and Footwear; Design Crafts; and Social Dimensions of Design. The researchers in this area at De Montfort University invites applications to the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership. Members of the Centre and their research interests are listed below.  

The Design Unit

Sustainable design, new product development and new design ideas.

This is a multidisciplinary research and business innovation area at DMU. We embrace Product, Furniture and Interior Design; Textiles, Materials, Fashion, Contour Fashion and Footwear Design and Developments; Ceramics, Glassware, Jewellery and Crafts; and the Sustainable, Circular Economy and Social Dimensions of Design. 

The staff in this area are researchers, practitioners, innovators, technicians and business owners.  We have a strong record in working across the sector as part of the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership, Innovate UK, UK Research and Innovation Initiatives and Research Councils.

Areas we cover include:

  • Design, Digital Design, Design Practice, Engineering Design, Manufacturing, CAD, 3D printing, Holography
  • Additive manufacture in design research, co-creation, computational design, digital craft, direct digital manufacturing, generative design, rapid prototyping and manufacture 
  • Upcycling, sustainable design and production, sustainable behaviour, consumption and lifestyles, circular economy, systems thinking and innovation, product-service systems and service innovation, sustainable businesses. 
  • Materials and manufacturing processes and innovation for furniture design, materials and manufacturing history, design pedagogy, research methodologies for product and furniture design  
  • Silver, design crafts, Challenging Material Perception and Material Value, Function and context of traditional silver objects,
  • Design Craft pedagogy, craft’s values to society, health and well being
  • Museum and exhibition design, the narrative space, Holography and Digital representations
  • Collaborations on live projects set by businesses linked with industry for all subjects
  • Design thinking, retail design, learning application design and accessibility and web design, UX and UI

Formal M4C Application Process

Make an application online

Product Design

Dr Robert Chen – rchen1@dmu.ac.uk

Industrial design, orthopaedic footwear technology 

Dr Lionel Dean – ldean@dmu.ac.uk

Additive manufacture in design research, co-creation, computational design, digital craft, direct digital manufacturing, generative design, rapid prototyping and manufacture 

Dr Kyungeun Sung – Kyungeun.sung@dmu.ac.uk

VC2020 Lecturer in Product Design

Upcycling, sustainable design and production, sustainable behaviour, consumption and lifestyles, circular economy, systems thinking and innovation, product-service systems and service innovation, sustainable businesses. 

Stuart Lawson – smlawson@dmu.ac.uk

Associate Professor, Associate Head of School of Design

Materials and manufacturing processes and innovation for furniture design, furniture design history, materials and manufacturing history, design pedagogy, research methodologies for product and furniture design  

Craft (glass, metalwork, ceramics, computational design)

Rajesh Gogna – rajesh.gogna@dmu.ac.uk

Silver, design crafts, Challenging Material Perception and Material Value, Function and context of traditional Silver objects, Identity Theory 

Interior Design

 

Nicola Harding – nicola.harding@dmu.ac.uk

Museum and exhibition design, The narrative space, Collaboration on live projects linked with industry 

Alex Stothard – alex.stothard@dmu.ac.uk

Design thinking, retail design, learning app design 

Make an application online