With the research project “Discover Markets” a methodology and a model of procedure was developed that allows to integrate the wishes and needs of potential user groups into the development of new technologies and product innovations at a very early stage. The aim was to transfer new technologies into possible markets in a sustainable way through product and service innovations by involving users at an early stage. Various methods and instruments for idea generation and evaluation within technological development processes were developed and tested. The ideas generated in this process were evaluated by experts for their feasibility and further developed. This user-centred approach allowed technological research to focus on social requirements from the very beginning. The task was to develop formats and methods based on design approaches. The workshops were equipped as enabling spaces which, through their spatial design and media staging, made different creative situations possible for user-centered co-design processes. In the research project, various workshops on different thematic focuses such as material, climate, mobility and health were conducted, which were conceptually and creatively supervised over a period of 3 years. The pictures here show excerpts from the workshop on the topic “Cooling”.

funded by the BMBF, 2010 – 2013

Research project by Fraunhofer CeRRI

Design consulting, conception of the workshops, method development: Prof. Kora Kimpel