Department of Design, School of Design Industrial Design Course

インダストリアルデザインコース写真
インダストリアルデザインコース写真

Human-Friendly Design

This course fosters designers and researchers in general, including creators, planners, and engineers, who understand various aspects of human characteristics based on their connection with society to create safe, secure, and attractive "products," "living environments," "services," and "social systems" equipped with a new bird's-eye view from the consumer's perspective.

To this end, the curriculum is structured to systematize the theory and methodology of design for social implementation based on multiple perspectives, including sensibility, engineering, and science. The educational structure comprises lectures and exercises that complement each other to deepen studentsʼ understanding and equip them with knowledge and skills. Specifically, the curriculum is designed based on a core of creative design and ergonomics, which are the specialization foundation for a wide range of theories and practices and can be structured according to the interests and aspirations of students.

Curriculum

Fields of Study

  • Creative Design

    ·Product Design · Lifescape Design · Social Design

  • Human Factors and Ergonomics

    · Kansei Science · Physiological Anthropology · Ergonomics for All Ages and Abilities

  • 1 st year

    Developing the habit of “questioning”

    Through KIKAN Education, students will acquire the "way of seeing, thinking, and learning," which is fundamental to creating new knowledge and skills and solving problems, as well as learning the basics of creative design and Human Factors and Ergonomics as an introduction to specialized education. It enables students to rethink things from new perspectives and make it a habit of asking questions to challenge issues.

  • 2 nd year

    Acquire specialized knowledge and methods.

    Students will acquire specialized knowledge and methods of industrial design. In lectures, students will deepen their understanding of design practices and processes, Human Factors and Ergonomics knowledge for designing products and environments, and knowledge of engineering disciplines, while in practice, students experience experimental methods and design processes. Students can also take subjects from other courses’ Depth and Breadth Electives. International program are also available.

  • 3 rd year

    Acquire practical skills in planning and design.

    Students will deepen the specialized knowledge acquired by the second year and learn practical methods and techniques to utilize such knowledge and theories in specific planning and design. Students will be able to develop a wide range of expertise and use appropriate methods for planning and designing to solve specific problems. Students can also take Transdisciplinary Projects in which they work on a complex problem with students from other courses.

  • 4 th year

    Delve deeply into research theme.

    Students will work on more practical and advanced problem-solving by comprehensively relating the knowledge obtained in each field. Students are assigned to each laboratory, where they set their own research themes, delve deeply into them, and bring them to fruition in their Senior Project as the conclusion of their four years of academic studies. Senior Project can also be conducted in the laboratories of other courses if certain conditions are met, such as research content and grades.

Faculty Members

Faculty members in
Name Position Field of Specialization
FUJI Tomoaki Professor Machine Design
HIGUCHI Shigekazu Professor Physiological Anthropology, Chronobiology, Sleep Science, Kansei Science
HIRAI Yasuyuki Professor Interior Design, Office Design, Interior Product Design, Inclusive Design
MAEDA Takafumi Professor Physiological Anthropology, Environmental Ergonomics, Thermal Physiology
Melanie Sarantou Professor Strategic Design, Social Design
MURAKI Satoshi Professor Ergonomics for All Ages and Abilities
TAMURA Ryoichi Professor Design Systems, Design Management
AKITA Naoshige Associate Professor Interior Design, Interior Product Design, Science of Design, Inclusive Design
MATSUMAE Akane Associate Professor Social Psychology, Creativity, Participatory Design, Relationship Design, Social Innovation
NISHIMURA Takayuki Associate Professor Physiological Anthropology
SAITO Kazuya Associate Professor Digital Fabrication, Mechanical Engineering
SAITO Toshifumi Associate Professor Creative Direction, Art Direction, Advertising Design, Museum Design
SOGABE Haruka Associate Professor Design Process, Sign Design, Public Space Design
SUGIMOTO Yoshitaka Associate Professor Product Design, Industrial Design
ZHANG Yanfang Associate Professor Universal Design
LOH Ping Yeap Assistant Professor Physical Ergonomics, Occupational Therapy
MOTOMURA Yuki Assistant Professor Physiological Anthropology, Kansei science, Psychophysiology
NISHIMURA Eigo Assistant Professor Behavioral analysis
SAKOTSUBO Tomohiro Assistant Professor Public Transportation Design, Product Design, Industrial Design
SAWAI Kenichi Assistant Professor Mathematical Engineering, Mathematical Modeling of Perception

Prospective Career

Around half of these graduates go on to graduate school and another half go on to employment in their respective fields of study. Our graduates go on to successful careers in a variety of industries that include home appliance and automobile design and furniture manufacturing; space design, architecture, and urban planning; trading; advertising; printing and publishing; information technology; banking; and government and public service. Those who go on to complete their graduate studies often become researchers, either in-house at private research institutes or at educational and research institutions such as universities, or pursue careers in the industries listed above.

Prospective Profession
Industrial designers (product/public/interior/brand/service/business)
Creators (planning/research/engineering)
Ergonomists

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