The value of Delft design lies in understanding people.
Understanding human needs, abilities and behaviour in an ever-changing world. And applying that knowledge to design for societal good.
In the past our focus was the individual user. Today we are also interested in how people interact as couples, families, communities and within societies. By understanding people on multiple scales, we can integrate this knowledge into design interventions across our three research themes of health, sustainability and health. Research at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) considers everything from ergonomics and user experience, to consumer acceptance and transformative social change.
If one thing can be said about design, it is that its relevance to the individual and to humanity at large - its purpose, meaning, success or failure - depends on the extent to which it satisfies people’s needs. Be it the need for relatedness, autonomy, purpose, or any other need, products, systems, buildings, technology, and all other 'artificial' phenomena envisioned and built by people are essentially instruments for need satisfaction.
Pieter Desmet
Professor of Design for Experience
