Martin Ryan

Biography
Martin is programme director for the Product Design degree, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Design Innovation and editor of Ireland's only design journal, Iterations. Martin lectures on a number of post graduate programmes and to industry groups on topics of entrepreneurship, design thinking, service design and innovation. His research interests centre on Design Thinking and early stage innovation processes.
Outside of academia, Martin is a multi-award winning designer and entrepreneur. In 2012 Martin founded BUA saddles – A revolutionary equestrian saddle which he conceived and developed to improve performance and comfort for horse and rider. Bua saddles launched its first product to market in 2015, quickly establishing a customer base in 18 countries. Martin is also a founding Partner at Actionable Innovation consultants (www.thinkactionable.com) and advises on innovation processes, design thinking, [product and service design across a variety of organisational sectors. Over the years Martin has acclaimed a number of awards, notably including, the Irish Dyson Design Award, IDI Graduate Designer Award, and finalist in the International Volvo Sports Design Award.
Outside of academia, Martin is a multi-award winning designer and entrepreneur. In 2012 Martin founded BUA saddles – A revolutionary equestrian saddle which he conceived and developed to improve performance and comfort for horse and rider. Bua saddles launched its first product to market in 2015, quickly establishing a customer base in 18 countries. Martin is also a founding Partner at Actionable Innovation consultants (www.thinkactionable.com) and advises on innovation processes, design thinking, [product and service design across a variety of organisational sectors. Over the years Martin has acclaimed a number of awards, notably including, the Irish Dyson Design Award, IDI Graduate Designer Award, and finalist in the International Volvo Sports Design Award.
Research Interests
Design Thinking, Innovation Strategies, User Centered Design, Early stage innovation processes, Entrepreneurship and startups
Peer Reviewed Journal
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2018 | Kiernan, Alen; Robbins, Peter; Devitt, Frank; Vaugh, Trevor; Ryan, Martin; Koffel, Rachael (2018) 'How Irish design consultancies align with Ireland's Innovation 2020 priorities: a preliminary study'. ITERATIONS Design Research and Practice Review, (7):18-25. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2018 | Ryan, Martin; Vaugh, Trevor (2018) 'Design-driven Entrepreneurship; An interview with four Irish designer-founders'. ITERATIONS Design Research and Practice Review, (7):36-43. [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2018 | Ryan, Martin; Vaugh, Trevor (2018) 'Design thinking, the driver of innovation in Irish industry; An interview with Denis Hayes, Managing Director of the IRDG'. ITERATIONS Design Research and Practice Review, (7):46-51. [Link] [DOI] [Full-Text] | |
2015 | Vaugh, Trevor and Ryan, Martin (2015) 'Getting the right design or getting the design right; An observation of 18 projects progressing through a structured design thinking process'. 1 (1):14-21. [Full-Text] |
Conference Publication
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
2017 | Devitt.F, Ryan.M, Robbins.P, Vaugh.T (2017) The ISPIM Innovation Summit – Building the Innovation Century . In: The ISPIM eds. Unlocking Design Thinking’s Potential Melbourne, Australia, 10/12/2017- 13/12/2017 [Full-Text] | |
2014 | Martin P. RYAN and Frank DEVITT (2014) Design Management in an Era of Disruption: Proceedings of the 19th DMI: Academic Design Management Conference . In: Erik Bohemia, Alison Rieple, Jeanne Liedtka, Rachel Cooper eds. An Investigation into Design Thinking Behaviours in Early Stage Radical Innovation London, 02/09/2014- 04/09/2014 [Full-Text] |
Conference Contribution
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Honors and Awards
Teaching Interests
PD102/PD152 Design modelling: material and virtual
PD402C Final year individual project proposal
PD402B Final year individual design project
PD608 Applied innovation lab
PD620 MSc Level 9 Masters Dissertation
Previous
PD206 Computer aided design & visualisation
PD212 Innovating radical products and brands
PD304 Design for environment and sustainability
PD106 Design conceptualisation and model making
PD402C Final year individual project proposal
PD402B Final year individual design project
PD608 Applied innovation lab
PD620 MSc Level 9 Masters Dissertation
Previous
PD206 Computer aided design & visualisation
PD212 Innovating radical products and brands
PD304 Design for environment and sustainability
PD106 Design conceptualisation and model making