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School of Art and Design

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Dr. Aija Freimane

Image for Dr. Aija Freimane

Lecturer

Email: aija.freimane@TUDublin.ie

Tel: +37129409860

Dr Aija Freimane is a full-time academic faculty member at TU Dublin School of Art and Design, where she lectures in design theory, design research, and creative industries. Her academic work emphasises human-centred value creation through design, combining elements of design anthropology, sociology, universal design and strategic thinking.

As a practising design researcher and expert, Dr Freimane specialises in human-centred design methodologies, creative and strategic thinking, socioeconomic impact of design, and the integration of design in process innovation, service development, and product strategy. Her research focuses on the user-centred value of design, exploring themes such as design anthropology, design sociology, design for happiness, sustainable social well-being, and the broader implications of social and cultural capital in design.

Since 2012, Dr Freimane has regularly published peer-reviewed academic papers indexed in major databases such as Scopus, EBSCO, ProQuest, EconBIZ, Web of Science, and EconLit. Her work is widely recognised for advancing the theoretical and practical understanding of the perceived value of design.

Her research contributions include:

  • Defining the perceived value of design indicators that decode how users perceive design impact in Latvia.
  • Creating a self-assessment design maturity matrix for enterprises to identify and integrate design practices in new product and service development.
  • Advocating design as a methodology that enhances societal well-being, promotes collective happiness, and supports the development of sustainable, fulfilling communities.

Dr Freimane’s postdoctoral research (2018–2020), titled "Identification System of Design Socioeconomic Impact towards the Transformation of Knowledge-Intensive Economy in Latvia", was funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The outcomes were published in the award-winning book “Perceived Design Value”, recipient of the A' Design Award in 2021 in the Meta, Service, and Strategic Design category. Her research findings have influenced policymakers, educators, entrepreneurs, and community developers.

Another significant contribution is the “Design Footprints” timeline, a comprehensive visual research mapping 168 historical design events and facts across technological, political, social, and economic contexts from 1588 to 2015. This timeline encourages designers to consider systemic and historical influences in contemporary design practice. It emerged from her doctoral thesis (2010–2015), "Design for Sustainable Social Wellbeing: Paradigm Shift of Design", the first academic degree in design research in Latvia.

From 2021 to 2023, Dr Freimane led the Design Expert Group for the Tuning-CALOHEE Erasmus+ KA3 project, contributing to the development of the General Qualifications Reference Frameworks for short-cycle, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral-level degrees in design education across Europe.

Dr Aija Freimane’s international academic pro-bono roles:

  • International Scientific Board member of peer-review panels for the Design Research Society and the International Design Research Journal since 2013.
  • Member of the Society of Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) Academic Task Force since 2021.

Dr Aija Freimane’s research contributes to the advancement of design theory, dissemination of novel methodologies, and enhancement of design education and policy frameworks. Her open-access publications are available on ResearchGate and Academia.edu, and are indexed by platforms like Scopus, EBSCO, CPCI, EconLit, and Academic Search Complete. She is also actively involved in academic networks such as SEGD, CUMULUS, and AMPS.

 

SELECTED SENIOR-AUTHOR PUBLICATIONS

  1. Freimane, Aija. (2020) “Identification system of Design socio-economic impact towards the transformation of the knowledge-intensive economy in Latvia”, Postdoctoral study; Art Academy of Latvia, PDF ISBN 978-9934-541-54-4; DOI:13140/RG.2.2.21414.55365
  2. Freimane, Aija. (2021) "Decoding Design Value." Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal—Annual Review 15 (1): 45-54. doi:10.18848/1833-1874/CGP/v15i01/45-54; ISSN: 1833-1874 (Print); ISSN: 2473-5736 (Online)
  3. Freimane, A., Perceived Design Value. The socio-economic impact of Design, Art Academy of Latvia, ISBN 978-9934-541-51-3; PDF ISBN 978-9934-541-52-0

A’ Design Award Winner in Meta, Strategic and Service Design category, 2020-2021

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

  1. Freimane, Aija. (2023) "How do you feel? Emotional well-being in distributed learning environments in design studies.", International conference on engineering and product design education, 7-8 September 2023, ELISAVA University School of Design and Engineering, Barcelona, Spain
  2. Freimane, Aija. (2022) “Designing for personal happiness: an empirical case study”, Proceedings of International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education London, UK
  3. Binde, Māra; Freimane, Aija. (2022) “Is there zero waste in a fashion design?”; Proceedings of International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education London, UK
  4. Freimane, Aija. (2020) “Perceived Design Value. The socio-economic impact of Design”, Postdoctoral study; Art Academy of Latvia, ISBN 978-9934-541-51-3; PDF ISBN 978-9934-541-52-0
  5. Freimane, Aija. (2020) “User preferences in Experience economy” at the 51st International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development - Rabat, Morocco; Economic and Social Development, 51st International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development, Book of Proceedings; Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency and University North 2020; ISSN 1849-7535; 28-38.pp
  6. Freimane, Aija. (2020) “System of Decoding Design Value”, AMPS Proceedings Series 17.1. ISSN 2398-9467; AMPS conference Education, Design and Practice – Understanding skills in a Complex World, Stevens Institute of Technology, New York / New Jersey, USA; AMPS C.I.O.; 54-62.pp
  7. Freimane, Aija. (2019) “Perceived design Value through the Lens of Generation Z”, CUMULUS Bogota conference The Design After, Bogota, Colombia “The Design After”, Cumulus Conference Proceedings Bogota 2019; ISBN 978-958-774-912-0; ISSN 2490-046X; Universidad de los Andes, School of Architecture and Design, Bogota, Colombia; 302.-311.pp
  8. Freimane, Aija (2019) “Decoding the Use of Design in Public Services”, 6th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts SGEM Vienna Art 2019, Vienna Social Sciences and Arts Extended Scientific sessions, Vienna, Austria, ISBN 978-619-7408-75-1; Science & arts, issue 6.1; 465.-472.pp
  9. Freimane, A., “Perceived design Value through the Lens of Generation Z”, CUMULUS Bogota conference The Design After, Bogota, Colombia; “The Design After”, Cumulus Conference Proceedings Bogota 2019; ISBN 978-958-774-912-0; ISSN 2490-046X; Universidad de los Andes, School of Architecture and Design, Bogota, Colombia; 302.-311.pp
  10. Loza, I, Freimane, A. (2019) "Differences in Visual Perception of European and Islamic Design Communication in the Twenty-first Century in the Context of Cultural and Religious Systems." The International Journal of Design in Society 13 (3): 45-56. doi:10.18848/2325-1328/CGP/v13i03/45-56
  11. Freimane, A., “How to Witness Design”, E&PDE 2018, 20th International Conference on Engineering &Product Design Education, London, UK, ISBN 978-1-912254-02-6; 211.-216
  12. Freimane, A., “Design footprints for mining the future” Edukacija mene, menui, per mena (education in, for and trough art), ACTA Academiae Artium Vilnesis, ISSN 1392-0316; ISBN 978-609-447-279-4; 105.-116
  13. Freimane, A., “Case Study: Design Thinking and New Product Development for School Age Children”, 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers: “LearnXDesign, 2015”; 28. – 30.06.2015, Chicago, USA; Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers, ©2015 Aalto University, DRS, CUMULUS, Design-Ed and the authors; pp.187-199; v-1; ISBN 978-952-60-0069-5 (vol. 1- 4)
  14. “Design Footprints” (“Dizaina pēdas. Notikumu un dizaina mijiedarbības laika līnija”), Aija Freimane, Matīss Zvaigzne, Biedrība “Radošā partnerība”, 2016; ISBN 978-9934-14-790-6
  15. Freimane, A., “Dilemma of ethical & social aspects in design”, Engineering and product design education conference “Great expectations: design teaching, research & enterprise”, 3. – 4.09.2015, Loughborough University, Design school, Loughborough, UK, 232.-237. pp., ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
  16. Freimane, A.,„Design for well-being in the era of liberal sustainability paradox”, The 16th conference of the European roundtable on sustainable consumption and production (ERSCP) & 7th conference of the environmental management for sustainable universities (EMSU) „Bridges for a more sustainable future uniting continents and societies­, Istanbul, Turkey, 04-07.06.2013
  17. Freimane, A.,„Discourse of Design and Art Education”; 2012; The 14th International Conference on Engineering & Product Design Education: “Design education for future wellbeing”, University of Antwerp, Artesis, Belgium, 6.-7.09.2012; pp.381-386; ISBN: 978-1-9046670-36-0
  18. Freimane, A.,„The user values as indicators of sustainable consumption shift”; ERSCP 2012 (European Roundtable of Sustainable Consumption and production), Bregenz, Austria, 2.-4.05.2012”, www.erscp2012.eu; pp.172.-176.ISBN: 978-3-901269-00-4

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1004-3912

Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55779913100

Website: https://www.aijafreimane.com/

Academia.edu: https://tudublin.academia.edu/AijaFreimane

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aija-Freimane

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