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This editorial presents the Special Issue for the 8.2 volume of the journal of Design, Business & Societytitled ‘Design Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives’. It discusses how design education intersects with the learning sciences and other disciplinary perspectives and introduces the selection of articles that present current design teaching and learning practices and perspectives from across the globe.

Interdisciplinarity collaboration is crucial for addressing contemporary challenges and driving innovation. However, interdisciplinary work is difficult in practice. How can we leverage design potential for more successful interdisciplinary practices and learning? In this editorial, we look into the entwinement between design and interdisciplinarity as a means to drive innovation.

Military contexts are rapidly changing and are facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty and complexity. The conception and formalization of ‘Military Design Thinking’ has arisen as a potential tool to encounter and address these complex challenges and support innovation at the operational level of war. However, the extant literature lacks extensive investigation into conceptualizations of military design thinking, particularly from the perspective of the design research community. As such, this article reports on a critical literature review in which we derive nine key attributes from the data and present two emergent, novel conceptualizations of the term military design thinking: a pragmatic approach that largely seeks to modify existing military operational art in a minimal manner, and a more reflexive practice that seeks to break free from traditional military modes of thinking and develop innovative approaches to the problems of the contemporary operating environment. This article seeks to clarify military design thinking and contextualize its place in the wider design field by highlighting the pressing need for greater depth and diversity in design research underpinning future conceptualizations of military design thinking.

With rapid advancements in technology radically impacting and changing current ways of working globally, many industries and sectors, including the Defence force, are implementing new approaches to respond to and address these challenges. Design thinking is one approach to assist in this response, as it provides a novel process for solving complex problems. This article presents a specific design approach for addressing contextual Defence problems in the form of a design thinking framework based on a review of the existing literature concerning design and Defence. The article contends with the role of design as a value-added methodology in Defence strategy and development, and it reports on a unique set of design thinking capabilities for a Defence-specific context that are not only essential for the implementation of a design-led approach to innovation but are of great assistance in overcoming its associated challenges. The Defence by Design framework works with an identified military objective that, when applied, overcomes the natural bias that Defence personnel may exhibit during routine gaps and opportunities analysis. By detailing the different stages of the framework, and demonstrating their iterative nature, through the documentation of a working example – ‘Man Overboard’ – this article presents a new approach yet to be realized in Defence globally.

ABSTRACTOver the last twenty years, tertiary education in Australia has radically changed. Major growth in the sector and federal government policy and funding changes have resulted in an increase of providers and a diversification of the quality of education available on the market, particularly in vocational education. Although change presents insecurity and ambiguity for education providers, it also presents an opportunity for proactive and adaptable providers to transform and disrupt the sector by designing an innovative value creation strategy to diversify or target their offering. To understand the current landscape, this paper explores the business models of 50 Australian tertiary education providers and groups these into seven business model typologies. Focusing on public vocational education providers, the paper identifies the ability of their current business model to meet skills-based gaps in the future, including their future customers, and states potential ‘white space’ opportunities for innovation.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.Through the examination of digital channels, this study explores the determinants impacting the quality of life (QoL) of ventricular assist devices (VAD) stakeholders. Using nonparticipant online ethnography and qualitative content analysis, data were collected from 56 digital channels (Facebook, blogs, Forum, Instagram, YouTube, and podcasts) designed for VAD stakeholders. Data were classified across existing domains of QoL determinants to identify 12 new QoL determinants which address VAD stakeholders’ specific needs. Inter-relationships between each stakeholder group’s QoL determinants were also identified and explored through the VAD stakeholder QoL framework. This framework provides a holistic approach to the assessment of QoL by considering that QoL determinants are inter-related between stakeholder groups, whereby factors affecting a QoL determinant of one stakeholder can positively or negatively impact the same or other QoL determinants of other stakeholders. Further qualitative and longitudinal research with a focus on the various stages of the VAD patient journey is required to confirm our findings of QoL determinants and inter-relationship between VAD stakeholders from a holistic point of view and explore opportunities to support the QoL of all VAD stakeholders.

ABSTRACTIn recent years, design research has increasingly focused on its use in the business model and innovation space. Despite this increased, little clarity exists surrounding the contribution of design in facilitating business model innovation outcomes. A literature review was conducted to answer the question: how does design contribute to business model innovation outcomes? 316 design and business model innovation (BMI) focused papers were reviewed, identifying five categories of design and BMI: functional design, outcome-based design, design as a methodology, design-logic orientation, and non-design. Reflection upon these 316 papers also highlighted a lack of repeatability and standardization amongst papers using design approaches to achieve BMI. This suggested a need to develop a clear, replicable design approach to achieving BMI outcomes in order to allow for the research field to build a consistent and rigorous evidence-base. Therefore, four meta-archetypes were identified for use as a first step toward building a consistent body of evidence for the contribution of design to BMI outcomes. The process describes the role of design in BMI processes, linking abstract and often external concepts, to tangible alternative business models – all in pursuit of better serving end-user needs and providing practitioners with replicable, transparent approaches to design and BMI.

The advent of design thinking as a tool for innovation has led to its adoption in a range of organizations. While proponents of design thinking continue to focus on the principles and practices of their method, little is known on the organizational conditions required for design thinking to attain a long-term impact. This article explores seven empirical case studies to identify the conditions required in organizations seeking to integrate design. It identifies four conditions—strategic vision, facilities, cultural capital, and directives—and examines their relationships.

Background: The evaluation of ankle–foot orthoses is primarily focused on biomechanical performance, with comparatively less studies pertaining to users’ quality of life and experiential factors.Objectives: To investigate how child users regard acquisition and use of ankle–foot orthoses through the perspectives of child users, parents/carers and practitioners.Study design: Inductive content analysis of secondary data.Methods: Child user and parent/carer perspectives, as communicated by them and by practitioners, were collected from online platforms and formal publications. Data and themes were analysed through an inductive approach. Investigator triangulation was used to increase trustworthiness and reduce bias.Results: We found and analysed 223 data points from 30 informal online platforms and 15 formal publications. These data clustered into five key themes relating to user experience with ankle–foot orthoses, including materials, structure, aesthetics, service and impact. Child users had mixed opinions about ankle–foot orthoses, reporting satisfaction with the functional improvements resulting from ankle–foot orthosis wear, while noting negative feelings from the experience of acquiring and using the device.Conclusion: This research suggests that considering the five themes in ankle–foot orthosis provision could improve the child user experience, inform future ankle–foot orthosis design, and improve clinical outcomes.

The popularity of design thinking is soaring, both as an approach to innovation and as a tool for non-designers seeking to gain a strategic edge over the competition. As more and more people take advantage of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to bolster their skill sets, it comes as no surprise that design thinking courses have cropped up across various disciplines worldwide, in formal and informal educational settings. In this article, we report on our research into design thinking courses available to anyone online. Our study explored and categorized the different types of design thinking MOOCs available in June 2017. It reveals the what (content), how (pedagogy and assessment), and why of online design thinking courses. The findings we discuss here can support design thinking education not only via the web, but also more generally.

The design-led innovation framework enables organizations to systematically develop the design capabilities they need to pursue their innovation objectives. When a design researcher works in tandem with organizational stakeholders to implement the framework, the dynamic they create is complex. This article relates our efforts to apply narratives as a tool to effectively drive this process forward, given their demonstrated ability to sustain organizational innovation and frame new possibilities. During an eighteen-month action research project, we implemented the design-led innovation framework inside an Australian Airport Corporation. Our research revealed that three narrative techniques—low-fidelity narratives, realistic narratives, and strategy narratives—particularly supported several key stages of this creative innovation process. Narratives enabled us to surface internally-held assumptions and beliefs and test their validity with external customers and stakeholders; they established common ground among various stakeholders during the innovation process; they served to convince managers to pursue design-led innovation outputs; and they facilitated the co-creation and implementation of a company-wide strategy. This article contributes new knowledge and practical guidance for developing and applying narrative techniques during design-led innovation.

The emergence of new technologies has revolutionized the way companies interact and build relationships with customers. This study aims to understand the emotion behind the company strategy and how they can be used to inform the design of digital channel engagements.A content analysis of 100 international companies from a range of industries and sectors was conducted with multiple data sources to develop an emotional coding scheme, for clarifying and refining the meaning behind a company’s strategy and its relationship to corresponding digital channels.This study identifies 10 distinct emotional channel typologies across 16 sectors through the analysed companies.This research contributes a theoretical and empirical understanding of emotion as a strategy. Outcomes guide practitioners on the selection and design of digital engagements based on the emotion code of their strategy as well as an industry sector.This article provides a novel approach to understanding and designing digital channel engagements by starting with meaning and purpose of the company.

The growth in digital channel adoption has allowed airports to gain competitive advantage through innovative offerings to passengers. This study aims understand the role of digital channel usage and airport ranking by exploring the one hundred (100) top-ranked airport's mission statements and digital channels. This study contributes to research by providing a bridge between these separate bodies of research, conceptually integrating company strategy to indicate appropriate digital channel usage. The findings suggest that airport technology usage does influence the overall service ranking. The results of this study also have several implications for both theories and industry by establishing a level of requirement for digital channels for airports and the development of the digital channel selection model. Providing information and recommendations on current digital channel use, thus enabling airports to benchmark their performance across digital channel platforms. The paper offers original insights into the growing phenomenon which is currently underreported in academic literature.

AbstractInnovation activities worldwide have been enhanced by the use of design, due to organizations utilizing it to create more effective methods of problem solving. Though there is evidence to suggest the concept of design-led innovation (DLI) is gathering momentum – both within design practice and academia, little has been published to assist in undertaking such an activity. Recent studies have categorized DLI as a perspective rather than an evidence-based practice. This paper reflects on both extant literature and seven longitudinal DLI case studies to produce 20 best practice principles aimed to serve as a set of ‘ground rules’ for DLI practitioners. Its purpose is to foster a common understanding of DLI as a research domain and process. Arrived at in consultation with DLI Catalysts embedded within various organisations over a 12–24 month project implementation timeframe, these 20 principles represent a set of capabilities analyzed as being not only essential for the implementation of DLI, but of great assistance in overcoming its associated challenges. The author presents future work in this newly established area, as well as highlighting the principles themselves as a focus of future research. This is the first paper which distils the principles of DLI from a non-literature perspective.

Purpose: Collaborative consumption firms leverage networked peers, communicating, collaborating and even delivering services to one another through a central marketplace channel. This raises questions as to the nature of this new form of digital channel strategy and deployment from a firm’s perspective. As a first step, this research seeks to help bridge the gap in knowledge by establishing an understanding of the digital channel usage of collaborative consumption firms. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative content analysis of 30 collaborative consumption firms was conducted using multiple data sources and coded into typologies against a predetermined coding scheme. These results were then compared against existing literature on digital channel usage in regards to a wider company usage. Findings: This study identifies the digital channel usage and digital channel typology of each of the 30 firms associated within the collaborative consumption domain. The study shows a distinct increase in the use of social and community digital channels between traditional firms and collaborative consumption firms. As a result of this study, a concise definition of a collaborative consumption firm is provided, the digital channel usage of collaborative consumption firms is detailed and insights are provided for each sub-type of collaborative consumption. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the understanding of the collaborative consumption phenomena, the business model of collaborative consumption firms and digital channels. This study assists in describing the shift from traditional firms to peer-to-peer systems. Finally, a theoretical model is provided that demonstrates the nuance of collaborative consumption channel choice within each subcategory for future researchers to test and reflect upon. Practical implications: This study demonstrates how collaborative consumption firms are allowing customers to drive interaction rather than traditional business-to-customer messages. A theoretical model is provided which shows contemporary marketers how to best dictate a digital channel strategy for a collaborative consumption style initiative. Originality/value: Contributions include: a definition of what a collaborative consumption firm and its channels pertain to and how to design a collaborative consumption digital channel strategy. This study presents a digital channel comparison between collaborative consumption firms and traditional organisations.

Organizations globally look to design to help them innovate, differentiate, and compete in a changing economic climate. Consequently, design is increasingly being regarded as a dynamic and central tactical business resource. Considering this, the question is raised: how can the specific knowledge and skills of designers be better articulated, understood, implemented, and valued as core components of strategic innovation in businesses? In seeking to answer this question, this paper proposes a new frontier for the design profession, coined the “Design Innovation Catalyst” (DIC). This paper reflects on both extant literature and the teaching of seven DICs embedded in industry, conducting innovation projects run over a twelve to twenty-four month period. This paper reports on a unique set of six capabilities analyzed as being not only essential for the implementation of design-led innovation, but of great assistance in overcoming its associated challenges. This paper outlines the role of these new design professionals, and discusses the value these novel capabilities provide organizations through employing DICs. Furthermore, questions surrounding how designers will develop these new capabilities, and how the design-led innovation framework in application can contribute to the future of design will also be presented.

AbstractElectricity distribution businesses across Australia are facing many market disruptions, such as the increasing demand from the rapid uptake of domestic air conditioners and the contrasting problematic generation from solar power connections to the grid. In this context, the opportunity to proactively leverage forthcoming technological advances in battery storage and electric vehicles to address the steeply rising cost of electricity supply has emerged. This research explores a design approach to support a business to navigate such disruptions in the current market.This study examines a design-led approach to innovation conducted over a tenmonth action research study within a large, risk-averse firm in the Australian energy sector. This article presents results describing a current foresight gap within the business; the response of the business to using design-led innovation to address this issue; and the tools, approaches and processes used. The business responses indicate their perception of the value of qualitative customer engagement as a path to addressing, and potentially benefiting from, disruptive innovation. It is anticipated that these results will further business model development within the company, and assist in leveraging disruptive innovations for this industry participant, thus limiting future increases in the cost of electricity supply for customers in Australia.

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AbstractContemporary food systems promote the consumption of highly processed foods of limited nutrition, contributing to overweight and obesity, diet-related disease and significant financial burden on healthcare systems. In part, this has resulted from highly successful design, development and marketing strategies for processed foods. The successful application of such strategies to healthy food options, and the services and business plans that accompany them, could assist in enhancing health and alleviating burden on health care systems.Product designers have long been aware of the importance of intertwining emotional experiences with new products. However, a lack of theoretical precision exists for applying emotional design beyond food products, to the food systems, services and business models that drive them. This article explores emotional design within the context of food and food systems and proposes a new concept – Emotional Food Design (EFD), through which emotional design is integrated across levels of a food system. EFD complements the dominating deductive view of food systems research with an abductive iterative design approach contextualized within the creation of new food products, services and business models and their associated emotional attachments. This paper concludes by outlining what EFD can offer to reorient food systems to successfully promote healthy eating.

AbstractAccess to nutritious, safe and culturally appropriate food is a basic human right (Mechlem, 2004). Food sovereignty defines this right through the empowerment of the people to redefine food and agricultural systems, and through ecologically sustainable production methods. At the heart of the food sovereignty movement are the interests of producers, distributors and consumers, rather than the interests of markets and corporations, which dominate the current globalized food system (Hinrichs, 2003). Food sovereignty challenges designers to enable people to innovate the food system. We are yet to develop economically viable solutions for scaling projects and providing citizens, governments and business with tools to develop and promote projects to innovate food systems and promote food sovereignty (Meroni, 2011; Murray, Caulier-Grice and Mulgan, 2010). This article examines how a design-led approach to innovation can assist in the development of new business models and ventures for local food systems: this is presented through an emerging field of research ‘Design-Led Food Communities’. Design-Led Food Communities enables citizens, governments and business to innovate local food projects through the application of design. This article reports on the case study of the Docklands Food Hub Project in Melbourne, Australia. Preliminary findings demonstrate valued outcomes, but also a deficiency in the design process to generate food solutions collaboratively between government, business and citizens.

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