Pieter DesmetPieter Desmet is Full Professor of Design for Experience at the Faculty of Industrial Design of Delft University in The Netherlands. He chairs a research group that focuses on the fields of design for emotion and subjective well-being. Main research questions are: how does design evoke emotions and influence wellbeing-driven? How can the effects of design on emotion and wellbeing be measured? And how can we wilfully design for emotion and wellbeing? Desmet is board member of the International Design for Emotion Society. In addition, he is co-founder of the Delft Institute of Positive Design, a scientific institute that stimulates and initiates the development of knowledge that can help designers in their attempts to design for human flourishing.
With an MSc in industrial design and a psychology-based PhD, Desmet is passionate about bridging the gap between behavioural sciences and design practice. He published over 110 scientific (journal) papers and book chapters; edited three books, three special issues, and eight conference proceedings on a variety of aspects of experience-driven design, reaching an audience of both scholars and designers. Besides his research, he contributes to local community projects, such as a recently developed floating wellness neighbourhood park, and a cultural Rotterdam-based “House of Happiness.” His latest book (edited with Rick Schifferstein), From Floating Wheelchairs to Mobile Car Parks, presents a collection of 35 experience-driven design projects.