ABOUT US

Design is the key to support sustainable behavior

At AAU Design Lab we are a group of 16 researchers, ranging from Associate Professors to Research Assistants. Our work spreads across a wide range of research topics in industrial and product design – however with the focus on making design thinking the driving force behind a sustainable transition. We have a wide range of expert knowledge within the design field, from design expertise and design thinking to entrepreneurial and sustainable approach to design.

Our Mission

To support the transition to a sustainable lifestyle by developing knowledge and solution principles to help Design for Less short-lived products, transportation of goods and use of virgin materials.

Our Vision

A world where products are designed with due respect to the use of resources, while creating maximum and lasting value for multiple users and consumers.

The research team

LINDA NHU LAURSEN

Head of AAU Design Lab / Associate Professor

LINDA NHU LAURSEN

Head of AAU Design Lab / Associate Professor

Linda Nhu Laursen is Head of Research at the AAU Design Lab and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at Aalborg University. Her main research interests are Design, Circularity, and Innovation. Linda has extensive experience in research leadership of both national and international, as well as public and private funded research projects. Current research projects include: the 'Designed to Last' project funded by Spar Nord foundation, the ‘Circular Design’ project, and the ‘Strategic Alliance Project funded by the Danish Industry Foundation.

Phone:+45 20 18 75 10
Email:linda@create.aau.dk

CHRISTIAN TOLLESTRUP

Head of Industrial Design / Associate Professor

CHRISTIAN TOLLESTRUP

Head of Industrial Design / Associate Professor

Christian Tollestrup is Head of Industrial Design Section and Associate Professor at Aalborg University. He holds a Ph.D. in Concept Development in Integrated Design and is part of the Design Driven Innovation Research Group. He is an expert in design expertise and design education, especially how to stage the teaching of design expertise through the right challenges. He also has a keen interest in Design based entrepreneurship and promote entrepreneurial initiatives in educational programs. He has been researching team-based, early phase concept development and design expertise in user-oriented design-based innovation for the past decade through several projects and ventures.

Phone:+45 21 14 24 44
Email:cht@create.aau.dk

THOMAS ARVID JAEGER

Head of Study Board / Associate Professor

THOMAS ARVID JAEGER

Head of Study Board / Associate Professor

Thomas Arvid Jaeger is an Associate Professor, Ph.D. Educated architect at the Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture in Copenhagen 1984. Practicing architect and designer 1984-96. 1997 employed as a Ph.D researcher and teacher at the newly established civil engineer education in Architecture & Design at Aalborg University, Denmark. Today, Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology at AAU and researching in form theory within the field of Architecture and Design.

Phone:+45 21 14 24 45, +45 99 40 71 31
Email:arvid@create.aau.dk

MÁRIO BARROS

Assistant Professor

MÁRIO BARROS

Assistant Professor

Mário Barros' research addresses design problems through a systems-based and evolutionary approach, that is, taking interconnections and evolution over time as cornerstones of reasoning. Product morphology is his main research interest. He has researched generative design methods for computer implementation. Currently, his focus lies in understanding the evolution of design languages in companies and in specific product typologies.

Phone:+45 61 96 72 40
Email:mbar@create.aau.dk

LUKE EDWARD ERIC FEAST

Assistant Professor

LUKE EDWARD ERIC FEAST

Assistant Professor

Luke is from Wellington, New Zealand. His areas of expertise are design research, design theory, design education, industrial design, design for sustainability, design anthropology, collaborative design, and socially responsible design. Before joining AAU, he held academic positions at Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand), Aalto University (Finland), and Swinburne University of Technology (Australia). Luke's contribution to excellence in design education has been recognised by co-winning the Vice Chancellor's Commendation for Teaching Excellence Team Teaching Award at Auckland University of Technology in 2021, and the Innovation and Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Assessment Award at Swinburne University of Technology in 2014.

Email:leef@create.aau.dk

ESBEN BALA SKOUBOE

Assistant Professor

ESBEN BALA SKOUBOE

Assistant Professor

Esben Bala Skouboe is an Assistant Professors who is currently working on research in the field of critical design, digital fabrication, form giving, and he is currently building a theoretical framework for sustainable distributed design. Esben is working on several design projects both conceptual and practical design. The work includes literature reviews, to build a theoretical and operational framework to understand the full design potential and barriers for re-localized distributed production paradigm.

Phone:+45 40 47 73 74, +45 96 11 43 21
Email:ebsk@create.aau.dk

LENE FILTENBORG BUHL KEJSER

Project Coordinator

LENE FILTENBORG BUHL KEJSER

Project Coordinator

For the past eight years Lene has been engaged in sustainability through public-private partnerships. She comes from a position as a communications consultant at Network for Sustainable Business Development, where she has helped Small and medium-sized enterprises in their circular transition.

Phone:+45 40 47 73 74, +45 96 11 43 21
Email:lfbk@create.aau.dk

LEA BECKER FRAHM

PhD Fellow

LEA BECKER FRAHM

PhD Fellow

Lea Becker Frahm is currently working on her PhD research project about secondhand products. She is working on a mapping she calls ‘The Ecosystem of Reselling’. Her previous research project about inherited products revealed that there are quite specific product categories and characteristics, that makes a good inherited product. Lea is interested in specific product categories that are better for reselling than others. She is looking at if it is maybe even possible to design products, so they are easier to resell.

Email:lbfr@create.aau.dk

AYSEGÛL OZCELIK

PhD Fellow

AYSEGÛL OZCELIK

PhD Fellow

Aysegül is a PhD student who works on longevity of connected smart products. Her research interest lie in the sustainability and STS aspects of design. She has published on design for sustainability related subjects such as longevity, repair, second hand product exchange and small scale production.

Email:aoz@create.aau.dk

ANDREAS FENGER BENDIXSEN

Research Assistant

ANDREAS FENGER BENDIXSEN

Research Assistant

Andreas is one of our Research Assistants with a masters degree in Industrial Design. With a big interest in concept development, he is in charge of most of the courses involving various CAD- and rendering-softwares. Andreas is mostly present on the bachelor degree where he acts as co-coordinator and supervisor for several semesters. As part of the position he also works on several scientific projects as a product developer aiming to create meaningful products that makes sense for both the user, the business and the environment.

Email:afbe@create.aau.dk

AISHA SUSANNE HJORTH NIELSEN

Research Assistant

AISHA SUSANNE HJORTH NIELSEN

Research Assistant

Aisha Susanne Hjorth Nielsen is one of our research assistants and graduated with a masters in Industrial Design from Aalborg University. She is working on the affects and categorization of genders in childrens toys. Furthermore she co-coordinate a semester on industrial design.

Email:asahn@build.aau.dk

FREDERIK KIERSGAARD LUND

Research Assistant

FREDERIK KIERSGAARD LUND

Research Assistant

Frederik finished his Masters in industrial design fra Aalborg University in 2022 and is currently working on the online communication at AAU Design Lab. He has a passion for the entrepreneurial approach to design and has experience with Startups. Frederik is also a supervisor for groups on Industrial Design, and is working on several design research projects.

Email:fklu@create.aau.dk

LOUISE MØLLER HAASE

Pro-Dean / Associate Professor

LOUISE MØLLER HAASE

Pro-Dean / Associate Professor

Louise Møller Haase is a design researcher with focus on Circular Economy and in particular the slowing of resource loops through longer lasting products. She is part of the design lab and TECH Centre for Circular Economy. Before Louise became the Associate Dean at the Technical faculty of IT and Design, she was head of the Designed to Last research group. Louise has extensive experience in research management, among others as project manager of both national research projects, as well as with EU projects. Currently, she is principle investigator of the 'Designed to Last' project funded by Spar Nord fonden and the CircularTEX project funded by the Innovation foundation.

Phone:+45 61 46 93 72, +45 99 40 71 29
Email:prodekan-tech-udd@aau.dk

NIS OVESEN

Head of Studies / Associate Professor

NIS OVESEN

Head of Studies / Associate Professor

Nis Ovesen is vice head of department and associate professor in industrial design. His PhD concerned the challenge of scrum in integrated product development. Recently, his primary interests lies within design education and vocabulary of form in design.

Phone:+45 99 40 99 23
Email:nove@create.aau.dk

LINE SAND LYTHJE

Post Doctoral

LINE SAND LYTHJE

Post Doctoral

Line Sand Lythje is a PostDoc and is working on several projects. Circular Tex is a research project approaching the challenge of deadstock and premature disposal of textiles. It is a mission-driven partnership together with IKEA, HOLMRIS B8, Gabriel, Municipality of Hjoerring and Vraa dampvaskeri, which aims at creating new circular textile solutions that would lead to a slowing of textile resource loops. The project is one out of 14 initiatives in Denmark that aims to rethink production and consumption of plastics and textiles.

Phone:+45 99 40 79 44, +45 25 14 13 56
Email:lsknu@create.aau.dk

HELLE NØDSKOU VESTI

Research Assistant

HELLE NØDSKOU VESTI

Research Assistant

Helle Nødskou Vesti is a research assistant at the AAU Design Lab. Her main research interests are in design expertise and design methods. She has been researching disruption, design methods and design expertise.

Email:hnv@create.aau.dk

PETER BYRIAL JENSEN

PhD Fellow

PETER BYRIAL JENSEN

PhD Fellow

PhD Fellow Peter Byrial Jensen is currently working on his PhD. He just finished a series of 12 workshops conducted with 4 various smaller and medium sized companies in 3 phases. For his PhD he has developed a mapping tool that can determine and help companies understand their position and opportunities to produce long-lasting products. This tool was used in the workshops to help companies navigate through three levels of approaches based on product longevity.

Email:pbjen@create.aau.dk

THOMAS BROEN

Research Assistant

THOMAS BROEN

Research Assistant

Thomas Broen has been an independent designer since 2009 in the design consultancy Ideaal. Since 2022, research assistant at AAU Design Lab. During this time, he has worked on hundreds of products and projects for a big variety of clients and users. Both within product design, service design, and software development. Common for all projects is the focus on the Scandinavian design tradition, and an entrepreneurial mindset, combined with a problem-oriented engineering approach to solving complex problems. At AAU Design Lab, Thomas’ research areas include sustainable design methods and approaches, as well as design briefing - the process of, how clients and companies inform designers about new projects and products that need to be designed and developed.

Email:tbr@create.aau.dk