Origin of School for IDE

The Industrial Design programme in Delft is the oldest of its kind and has existed as an academic programme for over 35 years. The history of the field is even older.

Since time immemorial, people have used utensils, often in large quantities. Craftsmen such as potters and tinsmiths provided our ancestors with plates and pans for household use. In general, they were both the designer and the manufacturer.

The industrial revolution in the 19^th century heralded the start of mass production. The arrival of mass production, large-scale trade and distribution and increasing division of labour made it necessary to involve a designer specialised in mass-manufactured articles in the production process. This industrial designer was given the assignment of developing useful and pleasant products for repeated use.

Initially, professional education for designers consisted of applied art schools. The first academic education programmes for industrial designers were at the Architecture faculty in Delft. This faculty trained not only architects, but also designers of furniture and everyday utensils. The first students of the ‘Technical and Industrial Design’ programme started their education with a foundation course in Architecture. In 1969, an independent programme in 'Technical Industrial Design’ was established with its own engineering degree. In addition to design, technical subjects played a major role. Ergonomics were also incorporated immediately and furthermore, market research was carried out. Finally, the management side was included in the programme. In 1981, the engineering degree and the interim department was renamed Industrial Design. When the Technical Polytechnic became the Delft University of Technology in 1986, Industrial Design finally became the Faculty of Industrial Design.