This study investigates if, and in that case, how design theory is applied in practice in the web development field. Prior research has focused on methods used in the web development field. We wanted to study the designers role in a web design process by comparing existing designer roles with design theory literature. We did qualitative interviews with two practitioners at two different communication agencies in northern Sweden. Based on our qualitative data and literature review we have concluded that a designer has to devote a lot of energy on requirements engineering in order to develop a clear understanding of the design situation..

Today multi-touch technology is the basis for many new techniques designed to improve interactions with computers and mobile devices. It seems that multi-touch screen interface makes the user handling very natural in the sense that there is no need for a manual in how to interact with the object on the screen. The aim with this paper is to establish a fundamental set of design principles intended specifically for large multi-touch interfaces. To reach this goal we have implemented a couple of sub-goals beforehand: It was essential that we acquired a good understanding of the current state of the multi-touch interface and the different implementations that exist today. To make this possible we constructed a multi-touch display, "Rosie". Knowing how the hardware is produced today will help us understand the limitations and also the possibilities of the design implementations today and in the future. We also needed to devise a sound interaction design process that conveys the modern designers work.

The purpose of current paper is to identify the differences (ifany) between Swedish and Turkish consumers in terms ofproduct design perception and to identify the differences toproduct design in relating the four dimensions / characteristics:1.Aesthetical attractiveness, 2.Functionality, 3.Value and4.Quality.The findings of the study indicate the existence of a universal perception of design. Despite the culturally different countries that are examined the empirical material consistently display similarities between the two countries. Both the quantitative and qualitative data point to a very similar perception in terms of design. The possibilities of global design are discussed for companies as well as managerial implications and future research..

Research is a time-consuming endeavor which requires appropriate tools to manage often vast amounts of information. Militarization 2.0 is a research project aiming to explore Militarization in social media. The aim of this project is to design a user interface for supporting researchers in projects involving large amounts of data in qualitative studies. The project will follow the design process of the first version of the Militarization 2.0 research database interface. The design process involves user studies, interviews and design and testing of paper and digital prototypes.

Today multi-touch technology is the basis for many new techniques designed to improve interactions with computers and mobile devices. It seems that multi-touch screen interface makes the user handling very natural in the sense that there is no need for a manual in how to interact with the object on the screen. The aim with this paper is to establish a fundamental set of design principles intended specifically for large multi-touch interfaces. To reach this goal we have implemented a couple of sub-goals beforehand: It was essential that we acquired a good understanding of the current state of the multi-touch interface and the different implementations that exist today. To make this possible we constructed a multi-touch display, "Rosie". Knowing how the hardware is produced today will help us understand the limitations and also the possibilities of the design implementations today and in the future. We also needed to devise a sound interaction design process that conveys the modern designers work.

This study concerns a selection of prehistoric metal objects of animalistic design, published at the internet site of the Swedish Statens Historiska Museum. It seeks to give an impression of the design elements used, and to find likely models for the motifs among live animals. The method used is a qualitative hermenuetic comparative study of objects, where the distinct significant design elements are being identified and interpretated. Several significant design elements are identified, and some are interpretated as representing certain animals. The amalgamation of differentiating design elements in some objects however, leads to interpretations of compound animal motifs, where some motifs are considered ambiguous and some are rendered uninterpretated.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of the discipline Design Thinking in a project that aims to strengthen Sweden as a brand. The study will generate knowledge about Design Thinking, with the purpose to increase the understanding of how the discipline can be used as a strategic tool in the processes of strengthening Nation Branding. The authors have used a descriptive and qualitative approach where the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 was examined. The theoretical framework contains previous research in the field, data has been analysed in relation to Lockwood's ten principles of how an organization can become more design-minded and Anholt?s hexagon, which features the parameters that creates a country's Nation Branding.

This paper contains a study where we apply cross media and storytelling into the design process of a practical commercial campaign. The purpose is to learn more and deeper by using cross media and the ideal of storytelling practical. We applied a qualitative method for research of the project to provide a high-quality empirical work. The result shows that by using well-structured story early in the design process you will easily succeed with your cross media design..

A game designer has to consider several aspects when he or she is designing a game. One of those aspects is the perceived freedom in the game by the player. There exist several methods to facilitate this perceived freedom in the design phase of the game. This thesis presents, in a qualitative methodology, a number of these methods a game designer might utilize to give the player a heightened sense of freedom for an improved gaming experience. Included herein are such elements as indirect control, linearity, storytelling and level design..

A case study of professional interaction designers' usage of design materials was conducted. Five interviews were performed in order to gain insight in the systems used by designers, how these work, how they collaborate within them, and what they think of recent research about them. Design studios allow collaboration for several users at once. Digital material (mockups, pictures, etc.) are commonly used, but needs to be made analog, e.g. printed, to be usable in the design studio environment.

This study presents an alternate viewpoint to the strive to overcome the gap between research and practitioners within paper prototyping in interaction design. Earlier research identifies three aspects of this gap, which is:Practitioners being unaware of interaction design methods and theoriesPractitioners being aware, but choosing not to apply these methods and theories, due to time, budget and constraints of labourPractitioners and research having different perspective on similar design issuesOur study was done by carrying out qualitative interviews with interaction designers based on two digital design bureaus. One of the bureaus has an expressed link to research: the other has not. Our hypothesis is that the gap would manifest as a difference in work practice between the two bureaus.Our study shows that the two bureaus have similarities in work practice and that this work practice is based on scientific methods and theories, but is adapted to fit the client and/or the project. We conclude that the overcoming of the gap might not be necessary.

Design management är ett arbetssätt som har börjat tillämpas av allt fler företag de senaste åren, men det kan fortfarande vara svårt att förstå betydelsen av design management. I uppsatsen undersöks det vilken betydelse en design managers kompetens och position har för samarbetet mellan det designköpande företaget och en designkonsult under ett designinköp. Genom ett flertal intervjuer, utifrån både design managers och designkonsulters perspektiv, undersöks det hur samarbetet fungerar mellan dessa parter. En analys av intervjumaterial med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram bestående av design management-teori, design som en integrerad process och beslutsrollsteori har lett fram till ett antal slutsatser om design management. Några av slutsatserna är att design management, enligt teorierna, som arbetssätt inte är så vanligt och att det finns en viss samarbetsbrist enligt de intervjuade designkonsulterna, som i viss mån underlättas om design managern har kunskap om vad design innebär..

The purpose of this study is to examine which aspects of blogs and blog design that are important to blog readers but also to find new ideas for blog design. From a qualitative standpoint we have examined how seven users experience that blogs design, structure and functionalities affects the general experience of the blog. The study also examines how the users wish to interact with a blog. During two design workshops we let seven active blog readers imagine and sketch out the design and functionalities they would like in a blog. We put this in relation to theories about the anatomy of blogs, methods of design, social navigation and virtual communities.The major finding is that the aspects most important to blog readers are navigation, structure and social interaction.

The Landscape Architecture Program at SLU, Ultuna provide several design courses. Within these courses, students are mainly introduced to one type of design process, a process based on the specific site and its conditions, known as Genius Loci. This report presents a course and a design methodology from Cornell University which aims to provide students with tools for a more conceptual way of thinking about design and architecture. The design method is presented in two stages. First an introduction to the course description and objectives.

In today?s competitive market, design is an important element for the companies. They must succeed with delivering an increased value and an experience for the consumer to be able to survive. The Swedish company?s have become better in the design area, the higher standards the consumer?s demands forces the company to invest more in design.