Technology-driven design process: teaching and mentoring technology-driven design process in industrial design education

The Industrial Design (ID) education offers numerous opportunities for students to learn the market and user-centered approach; however, in cases in which design students lack technical knowledge, they can have difficulty and lack confidence in technology-driven design projects. The purpose of this study is to answer a research question “how are design students and recent graduates currently educated to contribute their design ability to the technology-driven NPD process?” A grounded theory approach was used to understand how design educators and practitioners teach, guide, and mentor ID students and novice industrial designers. Primary (semi-structured interviews and surveys) and secondary (syllabi and class activities about technology-driven design process) data were collected and reviewed to understand (1) ID educators’ and practitioners’ teaching/mentoring experience in technology-driven design projects and (2) ID students’ and recently graduated students’ experience in technology-driven design projects. Synthesizing both primary and secondary data led to the development of a technology-driven process model that will help to guide how to teach and mentor ID students and novice designers within a technology-driven context.