esign has developed into a new way of solving problems. The methods employed
by industrial designers, architects and other users the design process receive
a great deal of attention today. There are many indications that the design process
can become an alternative way of dealing with complex problems connected with progress.
One of the best educational establishments for industrial design in the world is in Umeå,
a medium-sized city which is geographically quite remote, 300 kilometres south of the
Arctic Circle. Here an institute has grown up, delivering fifty knowledgeable and capable
industrial designers every year into a world, which to an ever greater extent is taking an
interest in design.
The institute opened in September 1989 and has been ranked as one of the very best in
the world by the American business journal Business Week. Students come from all over
the world and most of them are welcomed with open arms by the international job market
after receiving their degrees.
The book describes how the institute has developed, from the first meeting with ten
expectant students in 1989 to todays study programme and international activity that
has trained many successful industrial designers. In the book we meet both students and
teachers and in text and images we follow the creative process in close co-operation with
industry, from the first idea to the end result which may be a product or a service.
This is exciting reading about problem-solving in a seemingly chaotic process, which involves
constantly seeking and attempting to understand connections that seem incompatible,
pushing to find solutions to something that appears impossible at first glance. Also available in a Swedish edition