DFM NEWS + INSIGHTS
We are always excited to share our approach, experience and thoughts in creative problem solving and innovation at every opportunity. Browse our thought pieces, news, case studies, past projects from the DFM team and community below!
Putting people first to drive innovation – key ingredients for staff capability building
Capability building is a common way to increase the competence of an organisation. Workshop design plays a major role on the type of benefits you gain from training as a participant and from an organisational perspective. This article outlines some of the benefits in two different staff training scenarios.
Discovering a safety net in disruption: My time at Design Factory Melbourne
A place to call home and a home away from home. A community of like-minded individuals, ready and willing to challenge the status quo. Industrial designers, engineers, mad makers, disruptors, all creators in their respective field… and all somewhat gastronomically obsessed or curious. This is how I would encapsulate the brilliant couple of years and the incredible people I worked alongside during my time at Design Factory Melbourne (DFM).
Semester 1 Snapshot: What a semester this has been!
We are sure many of us have found and built a new resilience and capability to adapt in the past few months. This certainly has been true to our students, working in interdisciplinary teams together with industry partners on complex societal, environmental and business challenges.
The paradox between the value of spending time in unpacking challenges and the urge to jump into solutions ‘to get things done’
The ability to unpack and scope problems is essential to creating innovative solutions and outcomes. However, there is a tension between the value of spending time in unpacking challenges and pressures of having immediate answers and providing solutions quickly. This thought piece outlines some of this tension and shares our key insights on how and why we should focus on unpacking challenges and flipping them into opportunities to drive action.
Swinburne and Aalto University Joint PhD
Established by Design Factory Melbourne (DFM) Director Prof Anita Kocsis at Swinburne, with Prof Tua Björklund from Aalto University, the Design Factory joint PhD program started last year.
Design Factory Melbourne Aligns Design, Science and Tech in Philadelphia
Design Factory Melbourne joined Design Factories in the Global Network in November for the annual International Design Factory Week (IDFW) to share best practice and plan future international design collaborations.
Redesigning Scientific Research Spaces at the Australian Synchrotron
In the first collaborative project following the signing of an MOU between Design Factory Melbourne (DFM) and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), two honours students in the DFM global program have redesigned beamline user cabin spaces, used by scientists at the Australian Synchrotron.
Clever Ideas to Reduce Tyre Dust in Our Waterways
Swinburne design students have created concepts to reduce tyre dust levels and micro-plastics found in our waterways.
Farming tool reduces time and labour for organic farmers
A collaboration with Japanese manufacturer Yanmar, the Kyoto Institute of Technology, the SUGAR Network, and Design Factory Melbourne has created a time-saving product for organic farmers.