Increasing e-waste demands design approaches beyond repair and recycling. This study explores adaptability, upgradability, and flexibility, as proposed to mitigate product obsolescence. Processes and guidelines are examined from legislative, academic, and industrial perspectives, complemented by a workshop (n=16). Applications show potential yet remain scarce and uncover rebound effects. A common framework for adaptable design is suggested. Future research is recommended to evaluate it, expand guidelines empirically and address barriers like consumer perceptions and business model challenges.

Knowledge management (KM) is crucial for efficient cross-sectoral R&D. Our study, performed with academic and industry experts (n=17), reveals a deep distrust in formal KM platforms and a high reliance on personal networks. Based on the findings of how the personal networks serve for knowledge management and exchange, we propose a concept and basic design requirements for an AI-powered ‘knowledge orchestrator’. Accounting the promise and the capabilities of the modern AI, this AI-powered ‘knowledge orchestrator’ may serve as a new generation of KM system for modern cross-sectoral R&D.

Transition Design has gained attention for sustainability, yet its cultural dimensions remain underexplored. This paper introduces Transition Design for Cultural Inclusivity, examining the halal ecosystem in Fukuoka, Japan, as a case of cultural transition in a non-Islamic context. Using a systemic service design approach, the study maps the current ecosystem, envisions a 2045 inclusive future, and outlines transition pathways. The research contributes by addressing a gap and extending Transition Design into the cultural domain, highlighting its role in fostering inclusive futures.

To enhance multifaceted and critical reflection, we developed the Dual-Advocate Reflection Cards tool and carried out an empirical study. The eighteen student participants worked in pairs to reflect on their experiences. Transcripts of their discussions were analyzed, and we counted the frequency with which each card and each level of reflection intensity were discussed. The results indicated a strong link between card usage and utterances of multifaceted and critical reflection, as well as the effect of the cards on the reframing of the evaluation or understanding of the design process.

CMF design goes beyond aesthetic enhancement by shaping the user–product relationship through functional, ergonomic, and symbolic dimensions. The qualitative analysis shows that colour and material primarily influence first impressions and emotional engagement, while surface finish reinforces perceived quality, symbolic meaning, and identity expression. Ergonomic performance is closely linked to material and tactile surface properties. Overall, CMF acts as a strategic design tool that strengthens brand identity, product desirability, and long-term emotional attachment.

Product teardowns are a common educational tool in engineering design courses, with many benefits such as hands-on experience and improved engineering knowledge acquisition. This exploratory study investigates the role of product teardown activities on students’ engineering education, specifically focusing on technical knowledge acquisition among industrial design students. Results indicate the teardown caused a qualitative increase in students’ understanding of product function, components, materials, and manufacturing processes.

This study presents a simulation-based framework to analyze resource consumption and cost effects of product family design strategies. Drawing on Extended Axiomatic Design (EAD) and 53 documented design cases, we simulate empirically grounded patterns that reveal denser, more homogeneous resource use than benchmarks from cost accounting literature. The findings (1) provide a reusable dataset; (2) demonstrate the value of EAD for standardized product family design and enhanced cost transparency; and (3) support broader generalization of cost accounting insights.

Engineering organisations increasingly aim to reuse historical BOM, CAD, and requirements data to identify recurring components. A key prerequisite is Entity Matching (EM), whose performance on heterogeneous engineering data is unclear. This paper evaluates classical models, zero-shot LLMs, and hybrid EM on Amazon–Google and a multimodal engineering dataset. Random Forest and XGBoost achieve near–state-of-the-art results; LLMs perform well but are costly, hybrids add little. EM transfers under controlled conditions and forms a foundation for reference architecture reconstruction.

This paper puts forward a novel argument for realism about corporate agents. We begin with the observation that philosophical theories of trust generally require that any putative trustee is a moral agent. We then consider sources of evidence from practice that suggest that people speak, behave, and theorise as-if they trust corporations. This amounts to taking a realist view about corporate moral agency. Corporations can thus be conceived as agents that emerge from, among other things, the individuals, rules, and the internal organisational complexity that constitutes them. Our methodological approach throughout involves arguing that our behaviour and our theorising about a particular kind of entity (the corporation) can be used to justify a position in social metaphysics.

Designers are often asked to state their assumptions. However, how assumptions are made is not well understood. We administered short and long versions of ill-structured problems to 22 students and analysed their responses using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants constructed analogies from recent experiences and distant memories. Interpretations in the short version often persisted in the long version, indicating assumptive inertia, a tendency to maintain initial assumptions. The findings offer insights into the process of assumption-making and its role in design decision-making.

This study investigates the challenges of dynamic value integration in complex innovation projects. Difficulties stem not from a lack of willingness, but from a persistent lack of re-openability in design governance systems. This study identifies a triple closure mechanism that filters out evolving stakeholder values. The paper reframes value integration from a technical problem to a political-institutional process, arguing for an Adaptive Governance Infrastructure designed to manage the necessary tension between static and re-opening.

Patents contain valuable design insights, yet manual analysis remains time-consuming and complex. This study explores Large Language Models’ capacity to automate patent analysis for engineering design. GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro were evaluated across Motivation, Novelty, and Key Invention Features using three patents and expert evaluators assessed outputs through Accuracy & Fidelity, Comprehensiveness, and Analytical Depth. Results indicate LLMs demonstrate proficiency in feature synthesis but exhibit inferential limitations in motivation analysis, underscoring the necessity for human oversight.

Generative AI (GenAI) tools are getting more and more integrated into creative workflows, evolving from assistants to collaborators, and reshaping human-AI interactions in the creative process. To better understand the human side of this co-creation, an interview study was conducted with 19 architecture students participating in a GenAI-supported design futuring course. The study identified 18 roles humans and AI can take during co-creation, along with tool-specific variations and insights into emotional dynamics, creative experiences, perceived agency, and control during the design process.

This paper reviews 89 studies on AI in product platform design, further focusing on 21 multi-domain contributions. The dominant archetype is AI as a Tool × Method × Solution Proposal, with AI mainly used for automation and optimization. Collaborative roles remain rare, especially in requirements and architecture phases. Robust evaluation of AI benefits is largely missing, revealing an automation-centric paradigm and key gaps for co-intelligent, cross-domain platform development.

Engineers need to connect knowledge, based on science and technology, with knowledge about humans and society. To operate in a sociotechnical context a variety of different people with different skills are needed. This paper argues that therein lies an opportunity for all who have the skills and interests to find a fulfilling role in engineering that aligns interests in technical task, their role, their identity, their personal strengths and their values, illustrated by women in engineering and sustainability.

This paper examines how ambient airflow, temperature, and humidity impact the print quality of upcycled biomaterials in Direct Ink Writing, and explores strategies for mitigation. A standardized pecan shell flour ink was used with optimized slicing parameters. Experiments in a controlled climate chamber involved sensor logging and statistical analysis. Airflow improved structural stability, overhang fidelity and bridging, but increased Z-axis shrinkage. Higher temperatures slightly improved bridging, while elevated humidity reduced stability and increased sagging, despite small bridging gains.