Thesis (MTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / Design as a field of practice is constantly evolving and has predominantly
been used to stimulate and facilitate the humanisation of new
technologies, so that they are usable and desirable for the capitalist
economy (Boehnert, 2013, p. 14). With the evolution of the commercial
and economic systems, the role of the designer now needs a shift so that
it is able to facilitate new and appropriate interactions (Manzini, 2015, p.
180). This thesis explores what some of those interactions may look like
and the role that design may be able to play in assisting them.
Enabling society to be better equipped to communicate and collaborate
with industry and academia, and vice versa, may be beneficial. The more
society’s contributions can be heard, acknowledged and implemented,
the better the economy may function. Increasing the transparency and
understanding of these systems would potentially allow for less corruption
and greater collaboration within and between them, possibly allowing for
improved innovation. Once entrepreneurs are better equipped to
integrate and take advantage of the institutional structures that are in
place, this could drive economic development forward, and more
informed and effective decisions might be implemented. Institutionally,
through a better understanding of their resources and networks, such
research could also lead to the implementation of better management
and leadership strategies. This thesis focuses on the role of design as a catalyst for product
development in the Western Cape. The concept of enabling innovative
product ideas through design is analysed through an examination of three
current case studies being developed in this region. To contextualise this
a bit further, what is examined are the processes, developments and
relationships, within and across the structures of the university, civil
society and the design industry. This is explored to identify how each of
these groups may support the design process, and where they may
inhibit it. The primary objective is to provide a foundational road-map to enable
innovative ideas from which citizen projects, universities and the design
industry may benefit and continue to build upon. In this way, it may be
possible to create a more synergetic relationship between universities,
the design industry and civil society, or at least to make that relationship
more transparent and mutually beneficial.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/2407 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Wegmershaus, Luciano John Paul |
| Contributors | du Preez, V, M’Rithaa, MK |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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