Product
design
methods

The first industrial design degree which fits into the pocket.

Based on methods used in 250 theses written by highly talented designers from around the world.

The estimated price of „product design methods“ is around $79.00, with delivery scheduled for the fall of 2022. Use the slider to tell the number of units you are interested in because larger batches are delivered first. Please add your email to the form and you will be notified when the product is available for purchase.

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250

Design Projects
Reviewed

112

Award Winners
Analyzed

96

Method Cards
Created

1

Innovative
Methodkit

Including thesis works of product designers from: 

 Microsoft, Bugatti, IDEO, McKinsey, Electrolux, Boston Consulting Group, BMW Designworks, Flir, Atlas Copco and many more. 

Swipe to check out some examples

Discover a brandnew method collection

Tab the sample cards to see the backside.

Swipe to discover more included methods

Packaging and several
features at a glance

Package Design

This is a publication about magnificent design, that is why its presentation is also exceptional. The packaging offers a beautiful unboxing experience, presenting the overall design process and its methods step by step. 

Double Diamond

At first, the way the famous Double Diamond works is explained. A graphical illustration shows each phase and the mindsets used in it. That gives a good overview to start with.

Method Organization

If the box is opened further, the cards become visible. They are sorted according to a clear information system that shows the design chapters and simplifies the search for the relevant methods.

Cards Front

If you pull out a card the front explains what the method is about. Underneath there are beautifully illustrated examples from the industrial design projects. 

Phases

Overall, there are four different phases: Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver. Each one has its own cover card, which includes a brief explanation and a diagram with the milestones that can be achieved.

Cards Back

Of course, every card has a backside.
Here you will find information about the individual steps that are important for the application of the method.

See the Story behind
What is the background?

This method card collection is born out of a research study that examined how high-potential students from some of the world’s best product design universities work during their degree projects. Many international young talents were looked over their shoulders in order to find out which design methods they use when inventing innovative products during their graduation. The compendium took two years to develop, 250 full-scale projects have been analyzed and many international product designers from companies like Microsoft, IDEO, or BMW Designworks provided their former degree projects to bring this innovative collection to life.

What is the background?

This method card collection is born out of a research study that examined how high-potential students from some of the world’s best product design universities work during their degree projects. Many international young talents were looked over their shoulders in order to find out which design methods they use when inventing innovative products during their graduation. The compendium took two years to develop, 250 full-scale projects have been analyzed and many international product designers from companies like Microsoft, IDEO, or BMW Designworks provided their former degree projects to bring this innovative collection to life.

What makes it unique?

Full of curiosity, research was started in order to find as many high potentials as possible and ask them to provide their degree project documentations for a method screening. In the search for these talents, the RedDot university ratings were a strong guideline. Among others, however, one university stood out in particular: The Umeå Institute of Design. Because since 2016 it is continuously ranked first as „the best design education in the Europe & Americas“. Tim Brown also mentioned it as the „MIT of design“.

Therefore the main focus with more than 80% project share was on UID. But there were also other interesting degree works considered. They came from TU Delft, Eindhoven University of Technology, FH Joanneum, HTW Berlin and Muthesius Kiel.

At the end of the research phase, more than 250 projects were collected. They involved BA and MA theses and short 6-week graduate projects. Each of these reports had a page count between 50 and 150.

Overall the gigantic amount of around 25.000 pages came together, waiting to be analyzed for the design methods included.

What is the outcome?

The result is a tool of exceptional quality. It contains brand-new Design Thinking methods directly from the academic field and comes in a set of 96 cards with more than 375 illustrations. They show how high-potential designers from around the world currently invent their products.

Of course, all the methods had to be sorted in a way. The observed thesis projects used similar mindsets, that’s why the deck is based on the guiding principle of Human-Centered Design and structured according to the phases of Design Thinking within the Double Diamond.

This collection brings together real-world methods from award-winning theses, which have proven to be very helpful. It is inspired by the best and developed for all those who invent highly innovative products or services. The synthesis of such a knowledge pool is a first of its kind and does not yet exist as a design publication. 

And since it’s a cross-section of 250 theses, it is literally an entire industrial design degree for the pocket.

 

The Use Cases
Workflow Development

If you are interested in the product design process, you can get a perfect overview of the methods to apply within your project. It’s like walking into a workshop and seeing all the tools at your disposal to create an outstanding product.

What can be researched? How can a situation be analyzed? How do I evaluate a concept? How do I present my draft? This deck answers these and many more questions. Stay up to date with the latest techniques from designers around the world and use the method kit as a library to get inspired.

Project Management

You can also use it to plan a project for yourself or together with a bigger team. No matter if you want to structure a 5-day design sprint, a degree project, or a 3-year research program: The cards enable everybody to pick the most useful methods and to arrange them according to the project requirements. It is intentionally not created as an app, because the physical appearance makes process changes for everybody easy, supports communication, and visualizes all the planned steps at a glance. If you add some post-its with detailed todos under each card you got a perfect agile management tool for your next project.

Interdisciplinary Communication

It is also a tool to start a conversation. Whenever different disciplines come together to work on a complex topic, the method kit helps make processes more transparent. Because each method is explained in short sentences and the processes are described briefly, everyone can participate in an exchange about the subject matter. Therefore the communication with internal as well as with external people will clearly benefit.

It is made for

Premium
Product Owners

Smart
Design Students

Tough
Teachers

Dedicaded
Design Thinkers

Fancy
Founders

Supreme
Service Designers

But its also for big brands, agile agencies, energetic enterprises and many many more.
In a nutshell: It is for all those who are developing highly innovative products and services.

Designers Voices


Omer Haciomeroglu
CDO Qwake Technologies – Silicon Valley

I think putting this kit together is a­­ t­re­men­dous help in education and education is the most important field in human life. I am more than happy to participate.


Jens Rehammar
Senior Product Designer McKinsey Design

The project seems like a great initiative and should be useful for young as well as senior designers for sure!


Simeon Ortmüller
Industrial Design Student
Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design

During my studies we were shown such decks but I couldn’t do much with the previous approaches – Therefore I am happy to see a much more helpful collection here.


Lena Pieper
Phd Candidate
Chair of General Psychology and Methodology Bamberg

Especially in the context of academic and business education, this project is a great bridge between practice and science, because it clearly shows proven methods using high-caliber examples.

With special thanks to all the designers, supporters and inter­national friends of this project.

Adrian Klewe – Berlin, Germany / Alexander Abele – München, Germany / Andreas Enebrand – Stockholm, Sweden / Anna Hing – München, Germany / Anna Maria Schneider – München, Germany / Anton Hoffman – Vällingby, Sweden / Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar – Annecey, France / Carlos Schreib – Berlin, Germany / Christopher Wright – Austin, Texas, USA / Cosima Pauli – Berlin, Germany / Darja Wendel – Bad Dürrheim, Germany / Elias T.Pfuner – Oslo, Norway / Florian Czack – Berlin, Germany / Huwan Peng –  Denmark / Jakob Dawod – Vastervik, Sweden / Janis Beinerts – Kocenu, Latvia / Jens Rehammar – Stockholm, Sweden / Jiajia Ding – Berlin, Germany / Jon Sommarström – Rättuk, Sweden / Jörg Walczak – Berlin, Germany /Juan José Foc – Lima, Peru / Karl-Otto Saarman – Malmö, Sweden / Kyle Krueger – Niagara Falls, Canada / Lina Trulsson – Bromma, Sweden / Lucas Balcilar – Marktredwitz, Germany / Malin Andersson – Huddinge, Sweden / Marinus Pfaffinger – Berlin, Germany / Mario Kapsalis – München, Germany / Martin Edlund – Stockholm -Sweden / Matteo Gentile – Roma, Italy / Milan Bergheim – Berlin, Germany / Ömer Haciömeroglu – Silicon Valley, San Francisco, USA / Philip Nordmand Andersen – Wicklow, Ireland / Simeon Ortmüller – Kiel, Germany / Susanne Duswald – München, Germany / Willian van Beek – Norwood, Canada

 Prof. Birgit Weller

Institutional support by