This course will present design methods that focus on the conceptual and configuration stages of product design. Methods include: identification of unmet/underserved user needs through lead users; roles of function and affordance in products; fixation and cognitive biases as obstacles to creativity; concept generation methods (e.g., Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ/TIPS), use of stimuli and analogy); configuration design methods (e.g., design for transformation, manufacture, assembly, reuse, repair, and recycling).