Research
Design at Brunel is a multidisciplinary and increasingly interdisciplinary activity, driven by human need, and our research approach seeks to integrate the human and the technological - combining human centred design investigation with the technological or systems dimension enabled by design thinking and processes. The distinctiveness of the subject area of Design (‘Brunel Design’) lies in its integrated and engineering approach to design: On account of its taught programmes, Brunel Design is a multi-disciplinary department, a spectrum of disciplines that spans electrical, mechanical, manufacturing and materials engineering and CAD, to inclusive and sustainable design, and design management. Brunel Design has a well established record of research excellence, with multidisciplinary, product related design research that is grounded on strong engineering design traditions.
Research in Design is coordinated under the Brunel Design Research Centre. The thematic streams within the Centre are aligned with current environmental, societal and technological imperatives. The Design research vision is to be a leading provider of design research that addresses the major societal questions of our age. Research in Design is organised according to following thematic priorities:
- Design and human wellbeing (through human centred design and inclusive design including ergonomics)
- Design and urban & environmental sustainability (including behaviour change; electronic materials, textiles, spatial design, virtual/VR space, transport)
- Design for the creative industries (including computer aided design; human modelling & simulation; open design & the digital economy; materials & manufacturing design; design policy & management)
The diversity of our expertise and research grant portfolio enables us to provide challenging research opportunities and experiences for our research students, and offer consultancy and research and development services to industry. Our research is funded through competitive peer-reviewed awards from a range of UK Research Councils (RCUK, AHRC, EPSRC, ESRC), The Technology Strategy Board (TSB), European Union and government, overseas and charitable foundations including NESTA. Research-led knowledge transfer projects also confirms our strong end-user and industry relationships with both major international firms (Ordnance Survey, Shell Ltd, Reckitt Benckiser, JaguarLandRover, Samsung) as well as SMEs in the regional economy, and also in patented and product-based designs for manufacture, e.g., in healthcare.
Brunel Design Research Centre
Brunel Design leads on one of Brunel’s designated university-wide collaborative research networks (CRN), the Creative Industries CRN, which is directed by Professor Graeme Evans, whilst Professor Joseph Giacomin leads the The Human Centred Design Institute (HCDI), a cross-university research institute.
For more information about the research carried out in Design and within the School, and programmes and studentships, please click on any titles of the following links:
- Brunel Design Research Centre
- Creative Industries Collaborative Research Network
- Human Centred Design Institute
- Research Programmes
- PhD Studentships
- BURA
Initial administrative enquiries to: sed-research@brunel.ac.uk
