Professor Jan Detand obtained an MSc. degree in electromechanical engineering at Ghent University in 1986 and a PhD degree at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1993 on the subject of "a Computer Aided Process Planning system generating non-linear process plans". In 1996, he became professor at the University College "Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen" (HOWEST) in the domain of "industrial design engineering". In 2013, the department of engineering of HOWEST got integrated in the faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Ghent.
Jan Detand is professor in industrial design engineering at the "Industrial Design Center - IDC - University of Ghent, Campus Kortrijk". IDC is an open research community that focuses on trans-disciplinary research through design and change processes for open ended design. It utilizes methods as design thinking, creativity, co-creation, materialization and prototyping to interact with all stakeholders involved in different design stages.
Design has, since its advent in the early 20th century, evolved from a “product” perspective (constructivism), to a “design process” perspective (design thinking) and is now entering a new era that uses systemic design methods to solve complex societal “wicked problems”. Instead of designing artifacts (products) for the benefit of individual end-users, today’s design challenges are more and more shifting towards designing for communities, thus empowering people to find useful answers to the global sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
At Ghent University, designing for and with communities is a novel design method that is based on transdisciplinarity, co-creation and dialogue. It actively brings multiple stakeholders – experts from different specialties, designers and end-user communities – together in an iterative, collaborative change process (using methods of co-creation). Prototyping real-life experiences in a living space play a central role as integration and communication method throughout the development cycle. During every iteration, a “co-experience” is obtained through dialogues, and direct interactions with the prototype(s) in a “real local” context. The co-experienced thoughts, insights and opinions are shared to a “global” community. This design process gradually reveals affordances and disturbances by iterative adaptations.
