u/NicoCorty02

I’m currently struggling to define a solid thesis project. My university assigns broad thematic frameworks each year, and for this cycle the focus is on mobility design and beach/ocean contexts (the school is located in a coastal city). Within those themes, we’re expected to develop a proposal that addresses a real, unresolved problem—or at least one that hasn’t been properly approached from a design perspective and is still handled in a makeshift or DIY way.

The issue is that I’m having trouble identifying those kinds of problems. I know they exist, but I’m not seeing them clearly. In terms of personal interests, I’m drawn to entertainment, play, and sports, but also to education through game-based and hands-on learning. On a different axis, I’m interested in exhibition and stand design. I’m not sure how (or if) these areas can converge into a viable thesis direction.

What I’m trying to understand is: how do you systematically identify problems that are genuinely unsolved or poorly solved through design? What methods, frameworks, or approaches do you use to “see” those opportunities that aren’t immediately obvious?

I’m currently in the final year of a five-year industrial design program, and over the past couple of years I’ve become increasingly disconnected from the design world. Early on, I was highly engaged, I followed designers, watched a lot of content, and kept up with podcasts and discussions around the field. That changed as I got more involved in real projects. Confronting how conventional “secure” and, in many cases, uninspiring many products are today led to a gradual loss of interest. At some point, that disengagement extended into a broader loss of motivation toward design itself.

Recently, I’ve become aware of that shift and want to actively reconnect with the discipline through content, conversations, and exposure to better references.

What are you currently paying attention to within industrial design?