The Center for Design Research (CDR) is focused on interdisciplinary collaboration in the research and development of healthcare, consumer products and services. As a working laboratory, it unites University of Kansas students and faculty from diverse disciplines to design imaginative - yet practical – solutions to complex problems.
The CDR benefits the School of Architecture & Design, the University and local/national industries by developing new knowledge to advance design as a tool for strategic innovation, process improvement and customer satisfaction. Modern theory-based methodologies guide team discovery and focus the efforts of designers, engineers, scientists and business professionals in creating innovative products/services, technologies and consumer experiences. Our industry sponsors have included: Ford, Cerner, Bayer, T-Mobile, Intel, the University of Kansas Health System and more.
Ours is a time of complex, dynamic global challenges and finite natural resources. Yet design is inherently optimistic; it is, in the broadest sense, what the future is all about: original, productive activity. Our mission is to create new knowledge/new insights to advance the scope and power of design as a comprehensive theory-based professional discipline and to continually experiment and innovate.