Product Design and International Development

Introduction:

Rua Design carries out research, and provides information about the subject of product design in international development. This page contains a study on product design in development, and links related to the subject.

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Paper:

An examination of product design in both industrialised
and developing countries. Tony Murray, 1996/2005-2007

Contents:

0. Introduction
1. Definitions of R&D, Innovation, New Product Development and Design
2. Product Design, Innovation and Competitiveness
3. Design, Competitiveness and Developing Countries
4. Human Resources for Design
5. The Design Process
6. Product Design and Appropriate Technology
7. Product Design, Industrialisation and the Environment

The full paper is also available for download in PDF format

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Bibliography on product design and development:

• A searchable /browsable bibliography related to the topics:
  product design, industrialisation and development

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Websites:

Organisations that are working in the field of product design in developing countries:

• Design for the World
  www.designfortheworld.org
• Design that Matters
  www.designthatmatters.org
• Design Council (UK) About Product Design
  www.designcouncil.org.uk/webdav/servlet/XRM?Page/@id=6004&Section/@id=1535
• International Council of Societies of Industrial Design
  www.icsid.org/
• Core77: Industrial Designers' Online Community
  www.core77.com/
  
• Practical Action (previously, the Intermediate Technology Development Group)
  www.practicalaction.org

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Education

• MIT Open Courseware: Product Design and Development
  http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-783j-product-design-and-development-spring-2006/

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Articles:

• Reinventing Tech for the Emerging World
• Could donkey ambulances save lives in poor countries?
  Conference on appropriate medical devices for the developing world (September 2011)

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Websites - sustainability:

• What design can do conference
  www.whatdesigncando.nl
• The Centre for Sustainable Design
  www.cfsd.org.uk
  
• Reverse Garbage
  www.reversegarbage.org.au
  An interesting Australian organisation that promotes creative resource re-use of industrial and commercial off-cuts and over-runs, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill
• Ecofys
  www.ecofys.com
  A company, based in Utrecht, specialised in sustainable energy and climate issues.