Many of the Design for Development outcomes which are unsuited to the users and their environment are based on poorly defined needs and preferences. Product designers are trained to take the user perspective into account, but they are not specifically trained to conduct ethnographic research. Thereby, they have limited time and resources to explore the user context. A systemic approach that efficiently guides designers to develop a social needs inventory would therefore be valuable. An approach that urges designers to move beyond the investigation of product-user interaction and to look comprehensively towards their potential users’ context and their valued beings and doings. This book is about the development of such an approach. The Capability Driven Design approach guides product designers to conduct rapid, rigorous and comprehensive user context research, specifically in Design for Development projects. By using this approach, designers are guided to make informed design decisions and to improve the accessibility, applicability, acceptance and adoption of their designs. To develop this approach, analytic guidance was derived from Sen’s ‘Capability Approach’, and practical guidance was derived from the domains of Human-Centred Design, Design for Development and Rapid Ethnography. The Capability Driven Design approach aims to support designers in designing products and / or services that improve the well-being of their users by enabling them to choose the lives that they value.@en

Critical Materials are strategically important to societies, businesses and economies. They are essential to maintain and improve our quality of life. The world however faces problems of critical material supply, but these concerns are not translated into product design activity, even though current policy and history suggests that product design can play a role in fi nding solutions to the critical materials problems. This thesis reviews literature from the past and draws observations from historical cases, which show product design changes can help address scarcity. A 21st century critical materials literature review leads to a new defi nition of critical materials for product designers. In-depth interviews, conducted in 29 companies, show that most do not see links with product design and critical materials. This thesis concludes by producing a framework to help develop education on product design and critical materials. This framework also highlights policy actions within a circular economy transition.@en

After a human-centered design process crucial conditions were identified in the changing-process of development and growing of the European Megacities (overpopulation, limited amount of resources, congestion of infrastructure, penetration of new ITC, etc.) these situations created an ideal scenario for Motio Development to identify design opportunities in order to contribute to the sustainable development.