Design for Innovative Technology

Book excerpt: Despite their often remarkable performance, new and ‘disruptive’ technologies often meet with resistance from the general public. Design – sometimes assumed to play a purely aesthetic role – is central in making revolutio­ nary technology acceptable to society. Mastering design allows technological breakthroughs to transcend the innovation stage and to enter daily life. In this clear and accessible book, Nicolas Henchoz and Yves Mirande offer a new vision for the discipline. A wide range of prac­ tical case studies examine how the principles discussed in the book can renew the interplay between design and innovation. Surprising results are found in projects as diverse as solar cells dye­sensitized with raspberry juice, digital archiving of the Montreux Jazz Festival, and developing uses of augmented reality which bring toge­ ther the creative liberty of the academic world and the competence of industrial partners. Design for Innovative Technology is the culmination of the groundbreaking research performed at the EPFL+ECAL Lab in Switzerland and its network of international institutions worldwide.