Biography
“Already has a kid I loved to build farmhouses by means of Lego. And I would construct whole living environments in the sandbox of our garden.” – Hans Kaspar Hugentobler
Hans Kaspar earned a Master of Design degree in Human-Centered Innovation Planning from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, a pioneer in research and teaching of design-based strategic planning. He holds a Diploma in Communication Sciences from the Berlin University of the Arts. He studied Information Sciences at the Free University Berlin and has lived and worked in Germany, USA, Taiwan, and China. He has consulted with corporations such as Deutsche Telekom, Hyundai Motor Germany, Victorinox, University of St. Gallen, Swiss Post, Unaxis/OC Oerlikon, Siber Hegner, and cooperated with organizations such as Bremen Innovation Agency, Taiwan Design Center and China Export Trade Development Council.
As a senior researcher at the Competence Center Design & Management, Hans Kaspar worked on research projects since 2007. Today, he is concerned with integrating business and design thinking into an advanced, methods-based approach to innovation planning. His current research seeks to understand design as a leadership practice to address organizational renewal and the reconfiguration of business systems. Today’s changes in the outer environment are forcing organizations and citizens to continuously change, escalating the need to find new answers to new challenges. Design in the above-mentioned sense is uniquely capable of imagining and bringing about more exploratory modes of leadership, organization, and interaction.
Hans Kaspar teaches in the BA Design Management International program since its launch in 2007 and is also a member of its management team. He held teaching positions at the University of Montreal, National Taipei University of Technology, Berlin University of the Arts, and Shanghai Creativity Center, and has lectured at Deloitte, among others. Hans Kaspar founded his own consultancy, Maloya Labs, through which he advises organizations in cross-functional innovation capacity building and human-centered strategies.
Academic Achievements
Most Recent Work
Shifts: Design Leadership for Organizational Transformation. A Program Platform. (unpublished document)
Academic Papers
Not Your Usual Kind of Design: How Design Introduces Organizations to New Ways of Working, Thinking, and Planning. With Catalina Jossen Cardozo, Sabine Junginger, Bettina Minder, Claudia Ramseier, Dagmar Steffen. Research at the Transitions. Number 8, May 2018. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. School of Design. 2018.
Hacking the Organization: Organizational Transformation by Design. Proceedings of the European Academy of Design (EAD) Conference (12). Rome: Sapienza University of Rome. 2017.
Design Science for the Optimization of Patient Pathways and Discharge Management: a Study from a Gynecological Clinic in Switzerland. With Dagmar Johanna Steffen and Ute Ziegler. Proceedings of the European Academy of Design (EAD) Conference 2015 (11). Paris: Paris Descartes University. 2015.
Design Science in Health Care: Co-Designing an Optimized Patient Pathway at a Gynecological Clinic of a Large Hospital in Switzerland. Proceedings of RSD3, Third Symposium of Relating Systems Thinking to Design. Oslo, Norway: Oslo School of Architecture and Design, October 15-17, 2014.
Design Science in Health Care: Design Science and Organizational Science as a Foundation for the Use of Design in the Health Care System. Unpublished Paper. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. School of Design. Lucerne. 2014.
Visual Sense-Making in the Innovation Process. Tools for Innovation Acceleration. Proceedings of CADMC 2nd Cambridge Academic Design Management Conference. Cambridge: University of Cambridge. 2013.
Design Thinking, Utopia and the ’Designer’: A Provocative Statement. Proceedings of the Design Business Conference. Istituto Europeo di Design. Barcelona. 2011.
Designing Learning – Learning Designing: Facilitation in Collaborative Learning and Designing. A Proposal. Doctoral Education in Design. Pre-Conference Proceedings. Hong Kong. 2011.
Design Science and Design Research: An Introductory Overview. Hans Kaspar Hugentobler et. al.. Unpublished Paper. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. School of Design. Lucerne. 2010.
Design Management for SME: Development of a DM-Guide for the Use of Design and Design Management within Corporate R&D and Decision-Making Processes. Co-authored with Acklin C.. IASDR Conference Proceedings. Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Hong Kong. 2007.
Design Theory for Design Management Education: Skills Development through Theories of How. Proceedings D2B The 1st International Design Management Symposium, Shanghai. A. Williams, D. Hands, M. O´Brian (Ed.). The University of Salford. School of Art and Design. 2006.
Design Planning Education and the Adaptive Economy: Towards the Next Generation of a Methodological Framework. Proceedings of the European Academy of Design (EAD) Conference (6). Bremen: University of the Arts. 2005.
Designing a Methods Platform for Design and Design Research. Co-authored with Jonas W., Rahe D.. Design Research Society. FutureGround International Conference. Vol. 2: Full Proceedings. John Redmond et al. (Ed.). Monash University, Faculty of Art and Design. Melbourne. 2005.
Toolbox for Integrated Design Planning and Design Management. Proceedings of the First Swiss Design Network Research Symposium. Zürich. 2004.
Design Research: Diversity, Relevance, and Ideology. German Society for Design Research and Design Theory, Second Symposium: How much Theory does the Profession need? Hamburg. 2004. Access: www.dgtf.de.
Book Reviews
A John Heskett Reader: Design, History, Economics. John Heskett (author) and Clive Dilnot (ed.). Journal of Design, Business & Society, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2017.
Academic Activities
Advisory Board Member
Journal of Design, Business & Society – Intellect Ltd.
Executive Committee Member
European Academy of Design, since 2003
Peer Reviewer
European Academy of Design, Conferences, since 2005
Design Research Society 2006 Conference, IADE, Lisbon
Peer Review Organizer
Swiss Design Network 2008 Conference, Focused, Bern
Language Exam Reviewer
In support of Ph.D. Faculty, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
Board of Trustees Member
Heilbronn University, Heilbronn, Germany
Program Evaluator
BA Design Management International, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne
Founding Member
Efficiency Club, Business Group Innovation Management, Zürich (Co-Founder)
Transfer Alumni Network, University of the Arts, Berlin (Co-Founder and First President)
Membershipsr
Systemic Design Association (SDA), Oslo
Design Research Society, London
European Academy of Design, London
German Society for Design Research and Design Theory, Cologne
Design Management Network, London
Swiss Design Network, Zürich
Transfer Alumni Network, University of the Arts, Berlin
Swiss-Chinese Association, Zürich
White Papers
DK/Labs: Student Project Hub and Entrepreneurial Design Lab: An internal and external connectivity hub of the Design department.
Agile Design Management for the Modern Organization: A Speedboat to Help Companies and Organizations Navigate the Complex Waters of Design and Innovation.
Design Management in the Light of China: Challenges and Opportunities for Design Management and Design Education.
From Design Briefing to Design Research and Design Planning Projects. System Innovations instead of Point Solutions.
Customer-Oriented Innovation Management: Planning New Solutions in a Forward-Looking Way.
Brand Experience: Getting Closer to the Customer.
Conversations
Design Thinking Explores the Full Range of Life Experience: When Smart Minds Enter New Territory. Der Bund. 2015. Access: http://derbund.ch/18222465.
Planning Design Management Rationally. Hochparterre. Zurich. 2007.
Publications
Design for and in China. Ruizhong. 2009.
Design Planning – How American Companies Combine User Research, New Design Methods and Business Strategies for Product Innovation. Co-authored with Denise Steiner. Innovation Management. 2007.
