Mithra Zahedi

• M.I.D., M.Ed., PhD
• Professor at Université de Montréal

Les pratiques en équipe sont bien répandues dans les activités quotidiennes, pourtant il reste encore beaucoup de défis à surmonter par rapport à la formation des futurs professionnels en ce qui concerne la collaboration lors d’activités de conception. Le présent article propose d’utiliser les forces de la modélisation pour éclairer notre compréhen...

La pratique et la recherche en design entretiennent des écarts qui tendent à freiner leur enrichissement mutuel. La présente recherche vise à partager une initiative de recherche explorant la théorie de l’activité et l’étude du design. Cette initiative a permis de démontrer la pertinence d’un tel cadre théorique pour structurer et enrichir les diff...

Schön used the metaphor of the swamp and mountain to express the divide between the problems tackled by practitioners and scientists. This research is concerned about the same persisting dilemma between design practice and design theory. In an attempt to discuss this dilemma, we propose to explore research through design (RtD) as a privileged appro...

This paper is based on empirical data obtained from two case studies whereby collaborative design of teams composed of four recent graduates with different backgrounds were studied. In both cases, the collected data is related to the interactions of team members toward the development of a design solution in response to a brief. Although the study...

Design education insists on the acquisition of a set of skills called “basic design” by first-year students. This set of skills is taught in studio classes and is often based on the fundamental Bauhaus pedagogical approach. However, contemporary issues and accelerated innovations call for the development of new skills and competencies for students...

Complex projects are often designed and developed through teamwork of different disciplines, which allows for the consideration of multiple perspectives and knowledge construction across specific expertise. Although this type of collaborative design has been granted many benefits, it is also known that multidisciplinary teams can encounter difficul...

A course on spatial geometry has long been a requirement of first-year students studying Industrial Design. However, given the aptitude of today's students to operate 3D modelling software, teaching spatial geometry as has been traditionally done seems increasingly less relevant. An experimental method based on learning-by-doing has been developed...

How do ideas evolve in the context of collaborative design? This research explores the framing strategies and tools involved in the co-­‐construction of a shared understanding in the early stages of a design project. We observed a team of four industrial design students working to design a popup shop. We found that, while the key design elements of...

A fundamental for first-year design students is to express ideas by drawing and creating volumetric models. Traditionally, this education includes spatial geometry and generation of forms whereby students learn to appreciate intersections of volumes and projections to describe three-dimensional (3D) forms in two dimensions. However, given the aptit...

This paper describes a case study in which communication frameworks were developed through close collaborations between the client and the design team. This collaboration at the outset of the project resulted in the development of ways of framing the project that helped the client/designer team to identify “the envisioned future state” in a user-ce...

Engaging in knowledge building that is collaborative and that integrates design thinking among interdisciplinary teams is increasingly a means to innovate in product and service design and in business. However, the actual ways this might be accomplished are challenging. These questions are important ones for design educators, researchers and practi...

This study aims to explore interface design in its early stages. It also seeks to explain how the designer can actively modify the vision of a multidisciplinary project team in order to promote the transfer of knowledge. This is to ensure that the design activity is focused on users. This reflection is supported by case studies from which we propos...

Our interactions with objects or/and systems through digital screens are constantly increasing. Industry and information technology have more and more ambition toward offering new functions and interactions through these computerized systems. At the same time as the complexity of these systems is escalating, the complexity in designing them also gr...