Associate Professor

Joep Frens

RESEARCH PROFILE

Joep Frens is associate professor. He leads the New Futures squad and is chair of the Examination Committee of ID. Frens is interested in the research question ‘How can we design for rich interaction in growing systems?’, which he explores in a hands-on, making approach together with his students.

Frens is an accomplished designer and researcher whose work is internationally known and recognized.

Interacting with products usually means pressing buttons. A better way is rich interaction – starting with people’s skills and designing interfaces that unite form, interaction and function of the product.”

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Joep Frens has a background in Industrial Design (MSc from TU Delft) and obtained his PhD in Interaction Design from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 2006. Frens held the prestigious invited position of Nierenberg Chair of Design at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, USA, from 2014 to 2015. He also co-edited a special issue on making for the IxD&A Journal.