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A cAse study of best prActice in the integrAtion of mAteriAls technology And design to improve innovAtion

light.touch.mattersthe product is the interface

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Consortium

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Delft University of Technology (TU

Delft) was founded in 1842 and is now

the largest Dutch technical university

with over 19,000 students and 40+

Masters programmes. The design

faculty is based on a three-cornered

programme covering material science,

design and business, with courses in

Industrial Design, Product Innovation

Management and Design Engineering.

Their interdisciplinary approach has

led to collaboration with colleagues

specialising in materials technology,

architecture and technology policy

management, as well as business schools

including Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

TU Delft’s educational and research

programmes enjoy deep connections

with national and international

companies as well as the European

Commission. It helps that these

organisations tend to think over the

longer term since universities like TU

Delft are usually better at finding robust

solutions to difficult problems than

providing quick fixes.

For this InnoMatNet case study David

Peck, TU Delft Assistant Professor of

Industrial Design Engineering, shared his

views on solving 21st century problems,

business models for the circular economy

and the biggest gap in design education.

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best prActice in mAteriAls And design

“While it’s important for designers and

scientists to remain specialists in their

respective domains, T-shaped thinking

is spreading and everyone needs

to have some understanding of the

potential consequence of their actions,

which can be enormous.”

david Peck

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a number of forums to facilitate cross-

disciplinary discussion on research and

funded programme bids.

In addition, European Commission FP7

projects like ResCoM and Light.Touch.

Matters are beginning to define an

exciting role for product designers in

bringing common challenges, disciplines

and ideas to the table and developing

things in quite a different way.

Inspired by the EC’s working paper on “the

roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe”,

ResCoM aims to stimulate innovative

thinking about the conversion of product

waste into valuable resources. It proposes

closed-loop product systems in which:

• Designers have access to tools

which quickly model multiple

product lifecycles, and help them

design products for optimal closed-

loop performance

• Business models support economic

and ecological objectives

• Supply chains can handle the dynamics

of multiple lifecycle products

• Technical infrastructure incorporates

the best possible resource efficiency

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best prActice in mAteriAls And design best prActice in mAteriAls And design

How to solve 21st Century Problems “Renaissance-style, collaborative research

projects which bridge humanities and

science and involve companies are

the best approach to the complicated

problems of the 21st century.”

David Peck believes the silo thinking

and single discipline working methods

of the 20th century are no longer fit for

purpose. Tackling big and complicated

problems like resource efficiency

requires multiple stakeholders who

can address the development of new

materials, designs and business models

concurrently and imaginatively.

His team is aware of significant changes

in this direction, both at policy level

and among research organisations.

For instance, EC policy for a resource-

efficient Europe is looking for leadership

and pathfinders to bring the different

disciplines together.

However, multi-stakeholder collaboration

is never easy. Peck suggests a simple

solution: “start by talking to each other”,

citing a colleague in Materials Science who

after many years said, “I’ve never spoken

to a product designer in my life but you’re

the guys who use our materials, this is

fascinating”. It quickly became apparent

that they had similar interests and were

trying to achieve the same goals, and the

relationship blossomed from there. At

an institutional level, TU Delft now runs

• OEM companies are supported in

transforming their analysis tools,

product development methods and

manufacturing strategies to the

new systems

Light.Touch.Matters is led by Assistant

Professor Erik Tempelman, also of TU

Delft Industrial Design Engineering

faculty, and involves experiments in

collaborative working between designers

and scientists as part of smart materials

R&D. See part two of this case study for

more information.

Such approaches are thought to be less

common in the scientific community,

but individuals are emerging who are

great performers, communicators and

motivators. As well as working on the

microstructure of materials and thinking

of journal publication, they are starting to

ask, “where are these materials going?”

“how are they going to be used?” and

“what are the longer-term implications?”

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new business models for tHe CirCular eConomyPeck also believes that robust business

models are key to successful problem

solving and innovation – if these enable

companies to create new revenue paths

that can have a radical effect on materials

and products. This is demonstrated by

flooring company Desso, whose latest

products are inspired by the concept of

the Circular Economy.

www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/

case_studies/desso

The Circular Economy proposes that –

rather than a linear path from materials

extraction to disposal – options can be

created for the re-use, re-manufacturing

or recycling of products. New business

models emerging from this thinking range

from products lasting longer to lease-hold

as an alternative to ownership.

While ideas like Cradle-to-Cradle and

Limits to Growth go back to the Club

of Rome, the Circular Economy is a

reinvigorated approach, which is causing

organisations to see fresh opportunities.

European Commission materials

manifestos and the Horizon 2020

programme of strategic planning and

funding are further stimulating company

interest in ‘circular’ business models.

TU Delft see an exciting conjunction

emerging between what companies

want, what researchers are exploring

and what funders are able to provide.

They believe researchers should

respond positively, e.g. by working with

organisations such as the Ellen McArthur

Foundation or the Schmidt McArthur

Fellowship who are inspiring business,

engineering, product design and science

to find better, circular, solutions to

product disposal. The new products and

business models that emerge will need

rigorous testing in the real world.

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wHy designers need a greater understanding of materialsHistorically, new materials were

developed in the laboratory and then a

market was found for them. Peck contests

that product development processes

are changing this model, as designers

articulate what users need, what will

work, what will sell, and make unexpected

demands on material science. This has

been particularly noticeable in high-tech

applications, for instance when new

materials were commissioned to improve

the battery-life performance of touch

screen mobile phones.

Unfortunately, the resultant growth in

consumer demand has been matched by

increasing company uncertainty over the

price volatility of materials and security

of supply. The challenge for designers

is, therefore, to find solutions which

are exciting, marketable, technically

sound, and resource efficient. However,

if the designer isn’t fully aware of what

materials and elements are within the

product, problems may arise later on

when they will be much more difficult and

expensive to fix.

A further challenge is that TU Delft

research reveals considerable variation

in how different countries and regions

define which materials are at risk and

why. In future, they suggest, stakeholders

from mining engineers to material

scientists, product designers and business

leaders will need to build a common

understanding and agreement on where

problems and opportunities around

critical materials might lie. There may

also be a role for the EC and other policy

makers to help facilitate collaborative

solutions through selected open

innovation around critical materials.

In Peck’s view, the implications of these

developments are more profound than

many realise, and he points out that the

majority of product designers possess only

a superficial knowledge of materials

and processes. To remedy this he

proposes that, alongside their creative

training, designers are equipped to

understand where materials come

from and where they go to at the end

of product life. This is a big step and

will require careful thinking about how

designers of the future are educated.

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Professor david PeCkDavid Peck is Assistant Professor

of Industrial Design Engineering,

Delft University of Technology, The

Netherlands. After a first degree in

mechanical engineering and an MBA

he worked as a design-engineer in the

aerospace industry. He then moved into

industrial design, with posts at Coventry

University and The Open University.

The focus of his current teaching and

research at TU Delft is critical materials

– exploring links between resource

constraints, resource efficiency and

product design, and how design thinking

could help alleviate risks in those areas.

Light.Touch.Matters is a European

Commission research programme to

“develop a new generation of smart

materials that can sense touch and

respond with luminescence” in care and

well-being applications. It is funded by

the EC’s 7th Framework Programme

and runs from February 2013 until July

2016. According to project co-ordinator

Associate Professor Erik Templeman of

TU Delft in the Netherlands, “the base

technologies are novel piezo plastics

and flexible organic light-emitting diodes

(OLEDs). Being thin, flexible and formable,

these light touch materials promise to

revolutionise product interface design by

integrating luminescence and touch in

such a way that eventually the product

“The romantic notion of a designer

suddenly seeing what a highly

experienced and knowledgeable

material scientist hasn’t is unrealistic.

But designers could inspire very

interesting combinations of elements

and properties that together make

something special.”

Erik Tempelman, TU Delft

becomes the interface.”

What makes Light.Touch.Matters

particularly interesting is that it has been

constructed as “a unique cooperation

between product designers and material

scientists, with 17 partners from 9 EU

countries.” The project therefore provides

an unusual opportunity to experiment

with ways of involving designers in the

early stages of material development,

to document the benefits and pitfalls of

doing so, and to disseminate best practice.

These experiments in collaborative

working methods are as important as

the hoped for technological outputs, and

provide the main focus of this early stage

InnoMatNet case study.

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light.touch.mattersthe product is the interface

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ProJeCt obJeCtives Light.Touch.Matters is driven by the

following technical, commercial and

methodological aims:

1. To develop new smart materials to

a stage where, ideally, they could

be marketed. Business models will

be developed alongside an annual

cycle of new product design, to

see which concepts have the best

market potential before involving

manufacturing partners.

2. To show what the materials can

achieve by building technology

demonstrators for the care sector

and potential spin-off areas

such as automotive. In addition,

physical materials samples - not

just presentations or animations

- will become part of the Material

ConneXion Italy collection, enabling

potential users and researchers to

more easily interact with them.

3. To document the methodology of

design-led materials innovation

used throughout the project so

that it can be shared with others,

informing and inspiring future

industry practice. In addition to

standard forms of dissemination

such as the project website,

newsletters, blogs, Twitter and

other social media, Professor Mark

Miodownik and his team from the

Institute of Making (UCL) in London

will make a video showing how the

collaborative processes evolved

over the course of the project.

4. It is hoped that Light.Touch.Matters

will eventually lead to many kinds

of co-operation between materials

development groups, design firms

and academics, with or without EC

subsidy. Moreover that – as well

as speeding up their involvement

in materials innovation – designers

will become better informed about

existing materials and processes

which could be deployed in

new products thus positioning

themselves as technologically

outreaching specialists.

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tu delft

wHy aren’t design and materials sCienCe naturally more integrated? The EC call asked for researchers and

designers to work side-by-side, but

Tempelman notes several reasons why

this might be difficult to implement at

the start of an innovation process:

Personality Designers have to be outward looking

and in touch with society in order

to spot the multitude of trends and

opportunities which contextualise their

work. Whereas materials scientists tend

to be more inward looking and focused

on the processes and possibilities of

their laboratory work.

DeadlinesMaterial scientists’ work is driven by

quality and results – you can’t easily put

a clock on material innovation. Whereas

this is standard practice in design,

enabling clients to plan backwards from

delivery deadlines to the acquisition

phase. Similarly, while a design project

may typically last 6-18 months, 10 years

would not be unusual in materials science.

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ApplicationsDesigners’ work is all about the final

application, with materials and process

an important factor within that. For

material researchers it’s arguable that the

application is often less of a driver than

the scientific achievement.

ExpectationsIf the material scientists perceive

meaningful input from the designers they

will use it, if not the collaboration could

be over. With designers the danger is that

they may lose patience with the slow pace

of material development, which can be

seemingly unproductive at times.

TerminologyMisunderstandings can easily arise due

to differing use of language and terms,

as between TU Delft designers and a

chemical company for whom a ‘product’

was a molecule.

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How to reConCile tHe differenCes? Given all these differences between the

two communities it’s perhaps logical

that design and materials collaborations

don’t usually happen by themselves. By

initiating Light.Touch.Matters (as well

as two similar projects answering the

same research call), the EC has validated

the role of an experienced academic

in finding solutions, giving direction,

introducing methodologies and setting

up a constructive dialogue between

designers and materials researchers. Erik

Tempelman speculates that there could

be several ways of achieving this…

Role of the project co-ordinator Ensure that the co-ordinator

understands both sides’ cultures and

languages, sees how to make them

work together productively, and can

overcome any scepticism when they

first meet. Knowing what it takes

to complete a project, how to meet

deadlines and to judge when a project

is successful is essential background

experience. It may also prove helpful for

the coordinator to have invested time in

setting the project up so that he or she

has a clear understanding of objectives

and is involved in team selection.

Tempelman’s background in advanced

automotive materials and as a design

educator has helped him combine a

strategic and hands-on approach to

Light.Touch.Matters, which he will

doubtless need to keep adapting as the

project continues.

MotivationFind projects that people really want

to work for, that make a difference

to many people. Beyond the thrill of

designing a product, discovering a new

material, seeing a paper in a journal

or gaining a business idea, talented

people are motivated by the pleasure of

working on something that is societally

relevant. It helps therefore that Light.

Touch.Matters addresses care and well

being, stemming from the ageing of

society and budgetary pressures to keep

populations healthy and happy.

Team buildingSelect and bring together people and

personalities who are comfortable in

their own field and curious – ready to

reach out and do something different,

which they believe in and care about.

Considerable effort was put into

assembling an effective consortium

during the 2011/12 bidding process,

so that it had the best possible blend

of materials experts and top designers

with solid product portfolios and the

ability to tell an inspiring story. Partner

recommendations led to Professor

Roberto Verganti at Mälardalen High

School in Sweden, Material ConneXion

Italy, Van Berlo Design in Delft

Eindhoven, Professor Mark Miodownik

and colleagues at UCL and others from

industry, consultancy and academia.

Tempelman originally planned to

combine piezo plastics with bio-based

plastic resins but supply chain difficulties

caused him to look at fresh solutions.

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best prActice in mAteriAls And design TU Delft

A TU Delft colleague at Aerospace

Engineering suggested replacing these

with OLEDs and so the team was

completed by materials researchers from

the Holst Centre and Brunel University.

Inviting students to participate has further

increased the project resourcing. While

it is normally difficult to interest design

students in research projects and scientific

papers, Light.Touch.Matters enables

practical work to be done by design

faculties in support of the consortium’s

design agencies. Students have been

excited by the idea of pitching their ideas

to 20 potential employers at a consortium

workshop, and it is hoped this synergy

between research and education could

become as normal in the design schools as

it in materials development.

Note: The EC call had been for an

experimental design and small/medium

size enterprise (SME) led approach to

materials development. Consequently TU

Delft chose to avoid the overt commercial

pressures that major corporations might

introduce at an early stage. Their view

is that SMEs tend to drive innovation

more than large companies because for

them there is no alternative, but this also

makes them vulnerable to commercial

exploitation and prevents the benefits of

open innovation from being fully realised.

Tempelman suggests that it is vital for

governments worldwide to restrict cartels

and monopolies, and to devise systems

that protect SMEs from the financial and

legal challenges of cooperation.

Consortium partners: www.light-touch-

matters-project.eu/ltm-consortium

Laboratory visitsMake a priority of showing designers

the laboratories and clean rooms where

materials technologies are developed,

so that they can understand the

considerable amount of technology

and expertise needed to conduct e.g.

electronic printing or other experiments.

Samples Address the supply of samples to

designers early on. The first question

designers asked at the Light.Touch.

Matters start-up workshop was “when

can we have samples?” Samples certainly

inspire designers’ leaps of imagination,

but material scientists are often

constrained by the considerable costs

involved in making other than a limited

variety of sizes, textures, colours and

shapes available.

While the scientists in the Light.Touch.

Matters consortium have been keen

to supply samples, flexible OLED

demonstrators remain expensive

and hard to source. However, it was

discovered that this could easily be

overcome by substituting existing

electroluminescent foil and asking the

designers to imagine this lighting up like

glass OLED. That is the kind of mental

leap that designers routinely make, but

samples – real or substitute – remain a

key issue for the project.

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Freedom & constraintUnderstand and communicate where

design freedom makes sense and where

restraint is necessary. For instance,

exploring how the lighting element might

turn on and off could easily fall within the

Light.Touch.Matters brief, while diverging

into alternative applications such as

table lamps would not. Conversely, the

designers could be expected to steer the

project in areas such as thickness, so if

the materials researchers say “we can

make it 200th of a millimetre thick and

it will still work”, the designers might

respond “below 1 mm we’re not that

interested in thickness, but ruggedness is

something we care about deeply”

follow ligHt.touCH.mattersSince Erik Tempelman was interviewed

only a few months into the project

and initial results are not expected

until January 2014, the question “can

designers play a leading role in materials

development?” remains to be answered

in full. To follow progress and findings

visit the project website:

www.light-touch-matters-project.eu

about erik temPelman“I feel really grateful for getting a

chance to run this project and do

incredibly cool things with wonderful

people against what I can only say

is a rather limited amount of EC

bureaucracy. I’ve come to recognise that

Brussels really is on the same team as

we are and that’s quite a relief.”

Following his PhD on sustainable

transport and advanced materials,

Erik Tempelman worked in the

automotive industry for five years

and spent two years at TNO Science &

Industry. He joined TU Delft’s faculty

of Industrial Design Engineering in

2006 and in addition to leading Light.

Touch.Matters runs a national project

on design for sustainability (www.

natureinspireddesign.nl). Together

with the University of Cambridge and

Studio Ninaber, he is also working on an

undergraduate book on manufacturing

and design, to be released in spring 2014.

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Get togetherHold regular workshops and meetings

to help facilitate the growth of

understanding between partners. A four

monthly ‘show and tell’ workshop is built

into the Light.Touch.Matters consortium

agreement requiring everyone to

participate, whether they have results to

show or not. By spending time together,

sharing problems and successes, it’s

hoped that partners will get a feel for how

the other disciplines work and appreciate

the quality of the team members.

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Best practice in materials and design Best practice in materials and design

disClaimerThis report forms part of the

deliverables from the InnoMatNet

project which has received funding from

the European Commission’s Seventh

Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013

under grant agreement n° 290583. The

report reflects only the author’s views

and the European Commission is not

liable for any use that might be made of

the content of this publication.

The project runs from the 1 April 2012

to 30 September 2014. It involves

eleven partners and is coordinated by

Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI).

More information on the project can be

found at www.innomatnet.eu

The lead contractor for the case studies

was InnoMatNet consortium partner

the Institute of Materials, Minerals

and Mining, with delivery through

the Materials and Design Exchange

(MaDE), a group within the UK Materials

Knowledge Transfer Network.

www.iom3.org.uk

www.materialsktn.net/made

© innomatnet 2013 Images pp. 2, 6, 9, 10, 12 © John Bound.

We are grateful to the following individuals and organisations for their contribution to the InnoMatNet case studies: david Peck, TU Delft erik templeman, TU Delft

Case study suggestions taken from the InnoMatNet survey. Reviewed by: Claire Claessen and John Conti-Ramsden, Chemistry Innovation KTNJohn bound, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (MaDE, Materials KTN)

Research & editing: John bound, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (MaDE, Materials KTN)

Graphic design: lara Collins, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining

aCknowledgements

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Best practice in materials and design

ContaCtdavid Peck

Assistant Professor

Industrial Design Engineering

TU Delft

Postbus 5

2600 AA Delft

The Netherlands

www.tudelft.nl

erik tempelman

Associate Professor

Design Engineering

Delft University of Technology

Landbergstraat 15

2628CE Delft

The Netherlands

www.io.tudelft.nl

www.light-touch-matters-project.eu

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