English | 一橋大学商学部・大学院経営管理研究所データ・デザイン研究センター

March 24, 2025: We have updated the page on the Design Organization KPI Survey.
January 28, 2025: We contracted with Japan Institute of Design Promotion
January 9, 2025: Theme 1: Design Organization KPI Survey Phase IV is now open.
December 22, 2023: The 1st International Workshop on Data & Design Education and Practice: Changing behavior through data-driven design
October 10, 2023: We contracted with NEC Corporation.
June 8, 2023: Researchers were updated.
April 30, 2021: We conducted a press release on the development and research of common evaluation methods for design organizations.

The evolution of AI, IoT, and other new technologies has created the need for a new breed of managers. The future will require that we educate more entrepreneurs capable of creating new value in this new era and promote research in new fields to a greater extent. Hitotsubashi University has assembled a body of knowledge on design thinking and design management as well as informatics for big data, social data, and other data sets. In the Data Design Research Center’s activities, we aim to combine these perspectives and foster design innovation.

At Hitotsubashi University, we launched a cross-faculty educational program (Data Design Program) in 2021 that integrates perspectives from informatics, including data science, and “design thinking” and “design management.” This program has already produced many talented individuals, and its graduates are actively contributing to society. In addition to developing education programs that contribute to the betterment of society, the Data Design Research Center serves as an institution traversing faculties and graduate schools, conducting research on platform businesses and the formulation of standard KPIs for design management.

SONY Creative Center
Panasonic Design Center
Fjitsu Design Center
NEC Corporate Design Department
SEPTENI
Japan Institute of Design Promotion

Yuichi Washida: (Director: Professor at School of Business Administration: Innovation Studies, Studies for Management by Design)
Naohiro Shichijo: (Professor at School of Business Administration: Information Science, Engineering)
Haruaki Fukuda: (Associate Professor at School of Business Administration: Cognitive Science, Information Science)
Tohru Yoshioka Kobayashi: (Lecturer at Innovation Research Center, School of Business Administration: Intellectual Properties)
Kazufumi Nagai: (Professor at Department of Integrated Design, Tama Art University, President at HAKUHODO DESIGN: Design Studies)
WENZHEN XU: Hitotsubashi Univ. Graduate School of Business Administration
Nanami Furue: Hitotsubashi Univ. Graduate School of Business Administration
Toshikazu Shinohara: (Chief Director of Human Centered Design Organization)
Hiroaki Goto: Kikaku-G

The Data Design Research Center’s policy is to advance research predominantly on the following five themes.

Theme 1:

Research on Formulation of Standard KPIs for Design Management

DESIGN ORGANIZATION KPI

Research is carried out on the standardizing and verifying the effectiveness of KPI measurement methods for design organizations which are based upon 360-degree stakeholder surveys.
In addition, research seeks to gain a better understanding of the actual state of design-related business in the public sector and relevant solutions to social issues. (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) Grant Number 20H04471)

January 2025, the fourth survey on design organization KPIs has begun. We are currently recruiting corporate design departments to participate.

→ [D-KPI project]

Theme 2:

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology "Mathematical, Data Science, AI Education Program Certification System"

Theme 3:

Advanced creative human resources basic program development: How can we educate people who have no knowledge or interest in design so that they can understand design?
A program by Professor Kazufumi Nagai of Tama Art University to answer this question. In addition to the basic design by experts on various designs, the latter half consists of the application of design by practitioners. Now that creative human resources are required, the first step is to understand design literacy and the possibilities of design. Design in this lecture refers to the overall act of designing the entire product / service and its user contact points. The reason why it is necessary to learn design is that the value for users changes depending on attractive products and services, and profitability and corporate management are greatly affected. Design is also important for creativity education to come up with new businesses.

Theme 4:

Diffusion research of "design thinking" as a method: "Design thinking" is not just a method. However, on the contrary, there is also an aspect that the number of people who understand deep concepts will increase by daring to spread it widely as a method. Research will be conducted on the development of various teaching materials and the development of a certification system for method understanding in collaboration with the HCD-Net.

Theme 5:

Data science and design thinking for behavior change

We will participate in the International conference on persuasive technology 2024. At this conference, we will co-organize a workshop with researchers from Taiwan and Sweden.

> more info >

On a bimonthly basis, the Data Design Research Center holds research report and study forums led by Hitotsubashi University researchers, graduate students in addition to researchers from participating companies and others.