Design Lab guest lecture in Engineering 2025

Dr Ricardo Sosa

1. The University of Sydney
Design: Thinking & Practice
Ricardo Sosa, PhD SFHEA

2. The University of Sydney
We acknowledge the tradition of
custodianship and law of the Country on
which the University of Sydney campuses
stand. We pay our respects to those who
have cared and continue to care forCountry.
“Always Was, Always Will Be”

3. The University of Sydney

4. The University of Sydney
Methods and Tools
http://designthinkmakebreakrepeat.com 101designmethods.com bispublishers.com

5. The University of Sydney
Method: Worst Possible Idea
Unlock imagination
Permission to be playful
Then pause and think…

6. The University of Sydney
Method: Worst Possible Idea
Step 1: Choose the problem space you’re addressing.
Step 2: Think of worst possible ideas to solve the problem and record them on a
sticky note. Try to think of ideas that are extremely bad, terrible, silly,
impossible, and possibly illegal!
Step 3: Share your ideas with your team.
Step 4: Review the ideas and use them to prompt a new way of thinking about the
problem. Consider:
•What are their attributes, and why do they make it a bad idea?
•What is the opposite of the bad ideas?
•How can the ideas be merged or modified?

7. The University of Sydney

8. The University of Sydney
•What is design?
•“Design thinking”
•Design practices

9. The University of Sydney
What is design?
Image: Repro. of painting by Louis Emile Adan (1839
-1937), copyrighted by Braun &
Co., N.Y., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Image: Photo byKumpan Electric
onUnsplash
Established + Emerging
Old + New
Crafts, Technology,
Inventions, Art

10. The University of Sydney
Design
https://www.carparts.com/blog/parts-of-a-car-door/

11. The University of Sydney
Urban Planning
Industrial Design
Architecture
Graphic Design
Mechatronic Design
Experience Design Interaction Design
Systems Design
Social Design

12. The University of Sydney
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mars-helicopter-ingenuity-nasa- readies-first-flight/

13. The University of Sydney

14. The University of Sydney
What is design?
Mortati, M. (2022). New Design Knowledge and the Fifth Order of Design.Design Issues,38(4), 21- 34.
Expansive Field 

15. The University of Sydney
What is design?
Craftsmanship Top form, function, quality
Detail Design Improved aesthetic, quality, human factors
Concept Design
Innovative ideas, integration, experiences
Problem Solving Responses to wicked problems, complex systems
Strategic Design Improved human & planet health, sustainability

16. The University of Sydney
Interaction Design
https://image.chewy.com/is/image/catalog/146735_PT3._AC_SL1500_V1525449469_.jpg
https://www.hope-education.co.uk/product/stationery/pens/
https://www.mdsupplies.com/medical-supplies-Exel-Insulin- Syringe- 05cc-30g-x-516-FKK6HV74LT.html

17. The University of Sydney
Interaction Design
https://www.weitzlux.com/defective-drugs-and-devices/epipen- litigation/
https://www.auvi-q.com/hcp/about-auvi-q

18. The University of Sydney
Design decisions
https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/09/epipen-lack-of-innovation/
https://www.technologyreview.com/2016/09/20/157437/it-costs-30-to-make-a-diy-epipen-and -heres-the-proof/
“From 2007 to 2017 Mylan
jacked up the price of a two- pack
of EpiPens from $94 to $609”
“If you’re the monopolist… I don’t see why
there would be any pressure to innovate…
EpiPen’s flaws seem like features, not a bug” -
Nicholson Price, University of Michigan Law
School
https://www.vox.com/policy/23658275/epipen- cost-price-how-much

19. The University of Sydney
Transformations
Organisations,
strategies,
Systems
Information,
interface,
experience
Interaction
Objects,
products
Industrial
What is design?
Mortati, M. (2022). New Design Knowledge and the Fifth Order of Design.Design Issues,38(4), 21- 34.
Images,
symbols
Graphic

20. TheUniversityofSydney
Design problems: “wicked” framings
Wicked framings (not tame)
-The starting and end points are only partially defined
-Complex technological-human interactions
-Many stakeholders, agendas, interpretations
-Not neatly defined, knowledge across disciplines necessary
-Multiple causes-effects at multiple scales
-Impossible to fully anticipate future states
Image: Wahl (2017)
Wicked
(not Tame)
Problem
Framings
scale
mess
real
goals
causes
definitions
re-solve
Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), 155- 169.
Goel, V., & Pirolli, P. (1992). The structure of design problem spaces. Cognitive Science, 16(3), 395- 429.
Coyne, R. (2005). Wicked problems revisited. Design Studies, 26(1), 5-17.

21. TheUniversityofSydney
“Rocket Science” is tame (not easy!)
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/711790853/luxury-chess- board- solid-wood- tournament?pro=1&frs=1
Chess is “tame” ( vast solution space)

22. The University of Sydney
“Rocket Science” is tame

23. The University of Sydney
Tame Parking Problem =
More Spaces
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/vintage- photographs-of-early-vertical-parking- garages/https://www.melrosepaving.ca/4- important-steps-to-ensure- quality-commercial-parking- lot-paving- for-your-business/

24. The University of Sydney
Why do we need parking?
Who needs it? When?
How often? For how long?
Access needs?
How else may people commute?
When may they commute?
Schedules
Incentives & expectations
Real-time information
Shared modes of transport
Car sizes
Wicked Parking Problem
= ???
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/vintage- photographs-of-early-vertical-parking- garages/https://www.melrosepaving.ca/4- important-steps-to-ensure- quality-commercial-parking- lot-paving- for-your-business/

25. The University of Sydney

26. The University of Sydney
Student experiences of
sexual harassment and
sexual assault:
A university problem?
An education problem?
A parental problem?
A legal problem?
A police problem?
A cultural problem?
A mental health problem?
A technology problem?

27. The University of Sydney
Design as a mindset

28. The University of Sydney https://quotefancy.com/
Creative

29. The University of Sydney
Design Dispositions
No “definite list”, but often identified:
1.Identify your assumptions, Don’t rush to solve
2.Be curious and inquisitive: What? Why? How? Who?
3.Think in metaphors, generate analogies
4.Seek & interpret feedback constructively
5.Develop your initial ideas
6.Represent your ideas through storytelling
7.Examine your ideas through sketches & prototypes
8.Suspend disbelief to imagine ethical futures
9.Think of consequences, anticipate futures

30. The University of Sydney

31. The University of Sydney
Design as a process
H Plattner, C Meinel & LJ Leifer (Eds.), Design Thinking: Understand– Improve–Apply. Springer.

32. The University of Sydney
Fuzzy Front End
https://china.xavor.com/how-we-do-it/
Research Concept Development Design Outcomes
Embrace
ambiguity
Question
assumptions

33. The University of Sydney
https://www.halfords.com/advice/cycling/buyers-guides/bike- helmets-buyers-guide- video

34. The University of Sydney
https://hovding.com/

35. The University of Sydney
•What is design?
•Design thinking
•Design practices

36. The University of Sydney
Design thinking?
“A change in
worldview
facilitated
by dialogue”
(Wahl, 2017)
“It’s how it works,
not how it looks”
(S. Jobs?)

37. The University of Sydney
“The four pylons on the bridge are
completely decorative”

38. The University of Sydney
UX and Engineering
https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.c om /on-demand- webinars/overc oming-challenges-haptic-f eedback-
robotic-s urgery-platforms/
https://kronikare.ai/kronikare- how-does-it-work/
Surgical tools with haptic
feedback capability for training
doctors in remote areas
Patients get their wounds
scanned and assessed; it
captures wounds in UV, visible
light and thermal images.

39. The University of Sydney
“After the smartphone…”

40. The University of Sydney
User Experience
The perceptions and
responses that a person
experiences as a result of
using or anticipating use of
a product, system or service

41. The University of Sydney
What
people
do
What
people
say
What
people
think
Design

42. The University of Sydney
Dr. Ian Malcolm:
“Yeah, but your scientists were so
preoccupied with whether or not they could,
they didn't stop to think if they should.”
https://geektyrant.com/news/jeff-goldblum-says-dr-ian-malcolm-was-nearly-cut-from-jurassic- park
http://pluspng.com/jurassic-park-png-3840.html

43. The University of Sydney
Chindōgu (珍道具) are ingenious and humorous
solutions to everyday problems. They are “un-
useless” because they are intentionally absurd
but point to real problems. Chindōgu - Wikipedia
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yukaienginnering/nekojita-fufu

44. The University of Sydney
•What is design?
•Design thinking
•Design practices

45. The University of Sydney
Thinking:
Inventive
Applied
Problem solving
Practices:
Observation
Research
Testing
Collaborative
Evidence based
Iteration
Build
Design and Engineering
Engineering DesignShared
Deductive+Inductive Reasoning
Predictable conditions
(e.g. steel beam)
Hypothesis testing
Emphasis on tech requirements
Functional
Low-risk tolerance
D+I+Abductive Reasoning
Unpredictable agents
(e.g. people)
Assumption testing
Emphasis on user requirements
Emotional & Functional
High-risk tolerance

46. The University of Sydney
WRONG
(We use the whole brain to be creative)
We are all creative!

47. The University of Sydney
Design Specialists
Educated and
trained in design,
for example, as
product designers
or architects.
Design Integrators
Designers who have skills that go beyond the technical design domains
Design Multipliers
Advocates of design
who are specialists in a
non-design domain.
They can apply design in
their domain of work.
Designpreneurs
Owners or business developers of design products or brands who balance design
sensibilities with strong
business acumen.
https://www.designsingapore.org/resources/design- education- review-committee-report.html

48. Page 48The University of Sydney
Sydney Design Lab

Our research explores the role of design
for speculating on the future, and to
envision, define and inform the
interactions and experiences between
people and digital and emerging
technologies.
https://design.sydney.edu.au

49. The University of Sydney

50. The University of Sydney
•What is design?
•Design thinking
•Design practices
•Questions

51. The University of Sydney
Design:
Thinking & Practice
Ricardo Sosa, PhD SFHEA
Sydney School of Architecture, Design &
Planning