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🚀 From Figma to functional code – how Wilhelm Löfsten Oscarsson automated design workflows during his thesis project at Configura! At Configura, we love welcoming students who are eager to explore real challenges and bring fresh ideas to the table. Wilhelm joined us for his master’s thesis project, where he explored how to streamline the design-to-development process by translating Figma components directly into code. In this interview, he shares what he learned, what surprised him, and how the experience helped him grow both technically and professionally. 👉 Read the full story here: https://hubs.li/Q03tLPgY0 #LifeAtConfigura #Configura #thesisproject

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Last night I had the great opportunity to speak at IxDF Gothenburg about design. We had a very interesting discussion on "AI tools". And I felt something needs clearing up: A *tool* is something you control. A *service* is something that controls you – politely, with terms of use. If a product starts serving ads (hello ChatGPT! hello Gemini!), calling it a tool is no longer just wrong, it's just absurd. Imagine a hammer that: - Changes weight every week - Occasionally whispers, "You wanna buy some Acme Nails™?" mid-swing - Decides some nails are "misuse" and won't hit them Calling a service a tool is, however, rhetorically and politically convenient: because it lets vendors keep total control while offloading responsibility onto users (Grok users are just misusing the service when it generates child porn in seconds). "We decide how it works. You're responsible for what happens." Words matter. If we keep calling services "tools", we normalize a power imbalance where users are blamed for outcomes they cannot meaningfully control. The distinction is also useful when assessing things like courses. A course with long shelf-life is about things like value-creation using machine learning, user-centered design, business strategy... A course with very *short* shelf-life would be a course on "how to prompt ChatGPT". That's just a company service manual.

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Last week I gave a keynote lecture at Novo Nordisk's DesignHub Summit on prototyping with AI. Good chance to reflect on my craft and what kind of design process we are aiming for at Complexio. My core argument: the best utilization of AI for designing lies in prototyping – building throwaway manifestations of emerging concepts, “stabilizing” a problem space to get the organization on the same page, and use our output as discussion pieces (i.e., boundary objects). Yes, these may look like built-out MVPs, proof-of-concepts, sometimes even with full-fledged functionality. But the goal is working with *speed*, a bias-to-action to convert a morning commute thought into a demo – not mulling over it for another day or a week. Or at least convert the mulling over into a dialog with the stakeholders over it, and ripen the thoughts together. I'm afraid that hoping our tools connect to a design system or will eventually generate production-level frontend code is just a reaction to feed into larger software development processes. Meanwhile, these processes will be seriously challenged by what agentic AI programming means for software development. I do believe the main differentiator for designers lies in the abductive cognitive process of synthesizing available information and framing the problem and solution space in parallel*. If we accept that a core component of our craft is how we think and make sense of the world, then let's approach (and ask for) AI tools to serve such a process. This means building prototype products that envision possible futures, tools that serve our thinking within the problem space, tools that help us explore candidate possibilities in the solution space. [*] what a trick to protect our jobs: designing cannot be simplified into a search problem if we also move what defines an exact solution! Nevertheless, much thanks to Novo Nordisk’s DesignHub for the invitation and organization Mark Guarraia, Dea Buus Marcussen, Marko Plevnik, Camilla Damgaard-Sørensen, and the others involved! It was a great experience :)

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Our study on design integration in tech companies finally out at Technovation: Björklund, van der Marel (he/his), Rekonen & Keipi, “May I have your attention - Designers’ issue selling processes in design integration” ✨ In our research we found that advancing design in organizations is not only about top-down decisions. Rather, it requires continuous issue selling efforts across the company, from everyday interactions to formal processes. Designers actively use a combination of seeding, involving, and funneling strategies to build awareness, create commitment, and embed design into organizational practices. The findings highlight that resilient design integration happens when efforts span both leadership level and day-to-day collaboration with engineers, product managers, and developers. Read more here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gyyY3Ddf Aalto TUTA - Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Aalto Design Factory

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Design, business and engineering approaches to innovation complement one another, but design often occupies a minority position in companies. As such, design considerations can easily be crowded out in organizational decision making. We at Aalto Design Factory spent several years interviewing, analyzing and refining a study looking at how the designers can “sell” design issues internally to prevent such crowding out, and the study is finally out! We found that designers across the company, from interns to leads to global managers, actively use and combine different types of issue selling strategies: 🌱 Seeding strategies build initial awareness and goodwill, showcasing design benefits, offering first-hand experience of approaches, and making designers familiar, trusted faces 🤝 Involving strategies transform initial understanding to commitment, creating informal communities, steering groups and process involvement that expand the amount of people focused on design in the company – and who have skin in the game 📈 Funneling strategies convert initial access to aligned actions, encoding design issues into processes, guidelines and structures, covering and scaling narrow but key activities in the company All three strategies were required for resilient design integration. Furthermore, most efforts were targeted at product management, developers, sales and engineers rather than higher management, highlighting how successful integration needs to combine leadership actions with root-level actions to operationalize design into the daily decision-making of tech companies. Read more at Technovation: Björklund, van der Marel, Rekonen & Keipi, “May I have your attention - Designers’ issue selling processes in design integration” https://lnkd.in/g_vR4XS5 #research #design #aaltouniversity #aaltodf

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Everyone is building and relying on AI. Comapnies are cutting jobs because they rely on it so much. But what happens when AI is no longer subsidised? https://lnkd.in/d9qpuMkw

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Yesterday I attended a hands-on workshop on building AI agents using Atlassian Rovo here in Gothenburg. A big thank you to Björn Gullander for hosting such an insightful session. It was both interesting and educational to get a deeper understanding of how Rovo works in practice, and how you can create your own agents to simplify everyday tasks and workflows. From a UX perspective, I think tools like this have real potential when it comes to reducing manual work, supporting decision-making, and helping designers navigate complex systems more efficiently. I’ve already started exploring how AI agents can support different parts of the UX process, and I’m looking forward to continuing that work and applying it further in real product environments. Always fun to learn alongside others in the Gothenburg tech community.

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InstallatørGruppen is growing fast through acquisitions, but with 30+ companies on different systems, getting a clear view across the group was tough. Together with the great team at Pyne - AI made useful, we helped build a unified finance platform on Weld that now powers: ✔️ Onboarding of new companies in hours ✔️ Real-time financial and procurement insights ✔️ Scalable operations for €300M+ revenue, with just a 3-person finance team This is what modern finance infrastructure looks like. Proud to see Weld enabling it. Full case here: https://weld.link/4nF8PNq #dataplatform #financeops #erpintegration #privateequity #moderndatastack

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🤖💭 Are we still “programmers”… or have we become something else? As AI starts to write, refactor, and even architect code, many developers are asking a tough question: 👉 What’s my real value in this new era? The truth is — programming is evolving. 🧠 It’s less about typing syntax and more about understanding systems. 🧩 Less about features, and more about shaping interactions between people, processes, and technology. ⚙️ Less “I write code” and more “I design how things work together.” This shift isn’t a threat — it’s an opportunity. 💡 To focus on architecture, clarity, and decision-making. 🧱 To bring business context into every design. 🧭 To master the art of thinking in systems, not just lines of code. The new programmer isn’t defined by the keyboard — They’re defined by their ability to think, adapt, and guide complexity into simplicity. 🔥 The craft is changing — but its core purpose remains: building something meaningful. #SoftwareEngineering #DeveloperCommunity #AI #Architecture #Innovation #CodingLife #TechLeadership #ARGSoftware https://buff.ly/IfH2Mf5 #SoftwareEngineering #Craftsmanship #ProgrammerIdentity #TechLeadership #Architecture #Innovation

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How do we bridge the gap between sustainable product development in theory and practice? This is a core question we explore in the new course Sustainable design in theory and practice: from products to systems (TRA500), part of the Tracks courses at Chalmers University of Technology. Over the past year I had the pleasure of co-developing the course from scratch with Sophie I. Hallstedt. Halfway through the course, we’ve explored key concepts related to sustainable product development and circular economy, visited Stena recycling to understand how consumer products are separated and processed in Sweden, had a disassembly mapping workshop, and started design projects rethinking consumer electronics in collaboration with IKEA. Looking forward to the second half of the course, where students will prototype sustainable solutions for consumer electronics and present their work in an exhibition! A big thank you to everyone making the course possible: Pauline Léonard Jinhua Sun Katarina Lindh Weibull Erich Brandner Maya Ezzeddine, Ph.D. Read more about the course here: https://lnkd.in/eEuqF-Xh

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🚀 From Design Excellence to Quantum Mastery: Aalto University’s AaltoQ20 Aalto University has always been a pioneer in high-level technology and interdisciplinary innovation. Having participated in the Master of European Design Program during my studies, I’ve seen firsthand the caliber of talent the university fosters. Meeting so many bright minds and brilliant designer colleagues from Aalto left a lasting impression on me – and now, they are applying that same visionary thinking to the quantum realm. Aalto has officially unveiled AaltoQ20, a 20-qubit quantum computer that bridges the gap between cutting-edge hardware and the next generation of talent. Why this is a game-changer: - Hands-on Mastery: Students in Aalto’s Quantum Technology programs get direct, physical access to hardware – a rare luxury that moves education beyond the screen. - A "Glass Box" Approach: Unlike commercial cloud platforms, researchers can manipulate the microwave pulse controls inside the system, opening doors for experiments in physics that were previously unreachable. - The Finnish Quantum Engine: This wasn't built in isolation. It’s a collaboration with pioneers like IQM and Bluefors, and it's integrated with the LUMI supercomputer and the FiQCI infrastructure. - Strategic Autonomy: By owning the infrastructure, Aalto secures the IP and data within the academic ecosystem, ensuring that Finnish innovation stays in Finnish hands. The Quantum Landscape: Growth & Talent The global quantum market is projected to reach €90B by 2035. To meet this demand, Finland alone will need roughly 3,000 quantum professionals by then. A Quantum Insight: We are currently in the NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era. While 20 qubits may sound small compared to classical bits, quantum power scales exponentially. In a 20-qubit system, the computer can represent over a million states simultaneously. Mastering these "noisy" systems is the essential stepping stone to the fault-tolerant computers of the future. Investments like AaltoQ20 prove that Aalto continues to be a forge for "bright minds" in the technologies that will define the next century. 🇫🇮⚛️ #Aalto #AaltoUniversity #Finland #QuantumComputing #TechNews #Innovation #Computing

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Upcoming talks in our Future Interfaces Forum at Aalto University, Thursdays 16.00 at Aalto Startup Sauna   On November 6th we have Tero Sarkkinen, CEO of Basemark which builds Rocksolid AR—easy-to-use tools that let carmakers place helpful, real-time guidance on windshields and screens, and even on smart glasses. Tero will show what this looks like in practice—from AR navigation already on the road to what's next when cars and glasses share the same “live” view of the world. He'll also talk candidly about building a user-interface platform for automakers: fitting into existing vehicle stacks, working with partners, and earning the trust to operate a critical component the customer doesn't own.   On November 20th we have Olof Schybergson, Chief Design & Product Office at Accenture Song. Olof has spent two decades moving service design into the corporate mainstream—co-founding Fjord in 2001, scaling it globally, and bringing it into Accenture where design became a core lever for growth. In this talk, he examines what that shift changed inside large organizations. How services are conceived, governed, and measured, and what AI now adds: faster research and personalization, new off-screen, real-world experiences, and redesigned operating models.   No sign-up needed. Address: Aalto Startup Sauna, Puumiehenkuja 5 on the Aalto University campus These talks are part of the Future Interfaces Lab led by Christian Lindholm, executive-in-residence at Aalto TUTA - Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. The lab brings together students, faculty and companies and other organizations around AI and future technologies that are changing how humans interact with technology. These are exciting times, and at Aalto University we want to stay ahead of the curve and co-create the future.

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Why does NVIDIA GTC matter for the Nordic AI & Quantum ecosystem?​ ​ 🔹 Our industries are advanced — but increasingly compute-dependent​ 🔹 Our research is world-class — but needs faster paths to application​ 🔹 Our trust-based data models create a unique edge in areas like precision health, energy and manufacturing​ ​ For the Nordic AI & Quantum ecosystem, these questions are not theoretical. They directly affect industrial competitiveness, research leadership and long-term resilience.​ ​ The Nordic AI & Quantum Node will be in San Jose to engage with global technology leaders, connect Nordic actors across industry, startups and research, and identify where collaboration creates real advantage.​ ​ If you’re part of the Nordic ecosystem and attending NVIDIA GTC 2026, we should connect! Register your interest in our Nordic activities during the conference week on nordicnode.ai.

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Why does NVIDIA GTC matter for the Nordic AI & Quantum ecosystem?​ ​ 🔹 Our industries are advanced — but increasingly compute-dependent​ 🔹 Our research is world-class — but needs faster paths to application​ 🔹 Our trust-based data models create a unique edge in areas like precision health, energy and manufacturing​ ​ For the Nordic AI & Quantum ecosystem, these questions are not theoretical. They directly affect industrial competitiveness, research leadership and long-term resilience.​ ​ The Nordic AI & Quantum Node will be in San Jose to engage with global technology leaders, connect Nordic actors across industry, startups and research, and identify where collaboration creates real advantage.​ ​ If you’re part of the Nordic ecosystem and attending NVIDIA GTC 2026, we should connect! Register your interest in our Nordic activities during the conference week on nordicnode.ai.​

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How do you design entirely new features fast, while navigating the complexity of data, AI, and real human needs? This is a question that ŌURA’s Senior Product Designer Toni Järvinen will answer in his talk ”Designing Complex Product Features with AI” at Grand One AI Day on 23rd of October. In this talk, Toni shares how AI played a central role in building Oura’s Metabolic Health features, from disrupting traditional logging methods to unlocking deeper insights from health data. You'll learn how AI can expand the role of design, speed up iteration, and open the door to entirely new product possibilities. At Oura, Toni is pioneering the future of metabolic health. He leads the design of groundbreaking features including Meal Logging, Glucose Tracking, and AI-powered contextual health insights that transform complex health data into personalized, actionable guidance for users. Toni's path to Oura includes designing end-to-end glucose tracking experience at Veri (which Oura later acquired) and creating key athlete-focused features at Garmin, including Training Readiness and HRV Status. As a side project, Toni designs Framer website templates, which have been downloaded over 40,000 times worldwide in the past year alone — no small feat! ​👉 Don’t miss Toni and 12 other top speakers. Full program and Super Early Bird tickets (until Sep 2) available on our site — link in comments. #grandone #oura #genai #productdesign

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This is the moment everything clicked. During our recent AI Design Challenge livestream, Henrik Svanvig realized something important: AI wasn’t the limitation. Once he clarified his idea, the direction, and the intent behind the design…everything started to move faster. Better concepts. Clearer outcomes. More control. That’s the real shift…Breaking through the familiar and exploring innovative possibilities in new forms, materials and proportions. AI doesn’t replace the design process. It separates good designers from great designers. If you’re trying to figure out how to actually use AI in your workflow, comment “AI” and I’ll send details.

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If you have been waiting for the signal that "Physical AI" is moving from R&D labs to the real economy, this is it. Laura Horvath-Perge from Google Cloud just dropped a massive opportunity for the European tech ecosystem: The Google DeepMind Accelerator: Robotics is officially open for applications! We often get stuck in the "clickstream", optimizing pixels and conversion funnels. But the next frontier of data isn't digital-only; it's Embodied AI. This program offers access to the new #Gemini Robotics Models. We are talking about the convergence of vision, language, and action. The data structures and reasoning models being built here will define how brands interact with the physical world in the late 2020s. Don´t miss the opportunity: If you are a founder in Denmark or Europe building the next generation of physical agents, or if you know a startup that is ready to scale from prototype to production, this is the fast track. You get the compute, the mentorship, and the models. Check out Laura's original post below for the application details. 👇 And keep your data edge sharp: While the robots are learning to walk, make sure your data strategy can run. We are unpacking the latest in analytics, AI, and leadership at our upcoming Brand Leadership Community masterclasses. 👉 See the full schedule here: https://lnkd.in/d7j-WrVw #Robotics #GoogleDeepMind #Gemini #EmbodiedAI #FutureTech #WAWCPH #DataAnalytics #StartupEurope

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An agentically coded branch-and-cut solver for the Capacitated Profitable Tour Problem: https://lnkd.in/eDKdxGFP Based on old work of Mads Jepsen, Bjørn Petersen, David Pisinger and me (Jepsen et al., "A branch-and-cut algorithm for the capacitated profitable tour problem", Discrete Optimization, 2014), implemented fresh by coding agents from the paper. The solver runs on top of HiGHS, which required a few patches to support cut callbacks, propagation, and hyperplane branching. Great work by Julian Hall and HiGHS team for making it possible to patch into. Beyond the cuts from the paper, we explored propagation and reduced cost fixing guided by labelling lower bounds, hyperplane branching in several forms, an iterated local search primal heuristic, and shortest path inequalities using all-pairs shortest path bounds to derive covers. A lot of it didn't work, but it was surprisingly easy to test out ideas, from theory to implementation. We did a small comparison against PathWyse (Matteo Salani et al., "PathWyse: a flexible, open-source library for the resource constrained shortest path problem", Optimization Methods and Software, 2024). The labelling algorithm wins in most cases, but branch-and-cut has its merits: we solved 5 instances PathWyse couldn't. Overall, pretty impressed with how cleanly HiGHS got patched and how fast the agentic workflow let us move through algorithmic experimentation. #operationsresearch #mathematicaloptimization #branchandcut #agenticengineering #resourceconstrainedshortestpath

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