Gunnar Kramp is an external associate professor at the Department of Design at the Aarhus School of Architecture. He also works at the Center for Pervasive Healthcare at the Alexandra Institute A/S.

Gunnar Kramp’s research topics are design strategies in relation to user-driven innovation and methods for incorporating user experiences into the development of IT-based products and environments. This work is a natural extension of his Ph.D. dissertation Mixed Media Devices for Support of Healthcare Professionals, which he successfully defended in February 2008.

The development and design of new technology and software often takes place in interdisciplinary collaborations that also include the users. In his Ph.D. dissertation Gunnar Kramp explored how designers can best apply professional design competencies in processes of that nature. Among other issues he focused on the factors that designers need to address and collect knowledge about when designing for the ubiquitous information technology. In his dissertation he proposes a method for addressing the complex conditions involved.

The Ph.D. project was part of the EU-funded interdisciplinary project PALCOM. Increasingly, devices, instruments, communication media and other everyday environmental elements and objects contain information technology. Furthermore, the devices are able to communicate with each other, but the many different software systems in use are not mutually compatible. That makes it difficult for the users of the devices and platforms to cooperate. An important purpose of PALCOM was to develop a new software architecture with a view to preventing this type of problem.

Gunnar Kramp’s Ph.D. project focused on developing IT-devices for use in emergency situations. Emergency efforts involve many parties, such as paramedics, doctors and police officers. Furthermore, the situation is typically characterised by urgency and a degree of chaos. Therefore, it is crucial that the gathering and exchange of information not be hampered by software compatibility issues or by devices that are difficult to operate. One of the specific elements that Gunnar Kramp worked on was prototypes for a biomonitor – a device that can be attached to the individual injured person, monitor their condition and pass the information on with a view to optimising treatment. Prototypes with a high degree of physical credibility are essential in the development process when technology and software are to be tested in a way that seeks realistic feedback from the users. See the article Getting a Handle on Invisible and Wireless Technologies in Mind Design No. 7, March 2008.

Gunnar Kramp graduated as an architect/industrial designer from Aarhus School of Architecture, the Department of Industrial Design in 2002, where he also earned his Ph.D. in 2008.