Gamification Researcher, Industrial Designer, UX Designer, Brand Experience Designer
Dr. Dennis L. Kappen is a Professor at Humber College, where he teaches user experience design and human-centred innovation techniques within the realm of product design and technology applications. He teaches industrial design, interaction design studio courses, and computer-aided industrial design courses. His research focuses on the application of assistive technology to motivate older adults to empower their physical, emotional and cognitive skills. He has been involved in using Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed-Reality (MR) systems for multi-modal interactions in semi-autonomous vehicle design. Dr. Kappen has more than 25 years of hard-core product design and development experience in various fields including new technology, consumer products, kiosks, internet technology devices, medical products, wearable technology products and handheld electronic devices. He is a keen researcher in the domain of game science, persuasive technology, gamification, assistive technology and interaction modalities. He was the co-recipient of the Humber President’s Medal for Excellence in Research (2019) for his contribution towards the applications of AR in a parametric dashboard for onboarding paramedics in emergency vehicles. In 2020, he was also the co-recipient of the Humber President’s Extra Mile Award for helping the industrial design faculty team to create an online portal for the industrial design thesis show.
Current Research Projects:
- Application of assistive and persuasive technology to motivate older adults to empower their physical, emotional and cognitive skills.
- Gamification and persuasive technology applications
- AR and semi-autonomous/autonomous vehicles
- AR and MR applications in health and wellness domains
- Wearable technology and interaction modalities
- Games User Research methodologies
Research Interests:
• Human-Centred Design, HCI, HMI, Assistive Technology, Persuasive Technology, Gamification, Human Factors and Ergonomics, Research Methodologies, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, UX Design
Related links:
- Publications: Google Scholar
- Ph.D. Thesis
Past reinforces the present and future
An alumnus of the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, and IIT Bombay, I am a professional engineer and a professional member of the ACIDO. I have designed numerous consumer products, medical products and interaction devices. A postgraduate degree in Design (M.Des.) and a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Production Engineering, help with maintaining the fun of creating everyday products.
“Dennis has more than 25 years of hardcore product design and development experience with products for Brita Canada, Black and Decker, Bloomberg Financials, Perkin Elmer, MDS-Sciex and G-Tech Corporation, among others. These design projects have covered various fields including new technology, consumer products, kiosks and internet technology, medical products and handheld electronic devices.”
“Dennis is engaged in research projects and is a faculty member in the Industrial Design Degree program at Humber College, Toronto.”
Specialization:
Gamification, user experience design, user-centred innovation, ethnographic research, product innovation, strategic product design and development, CAD design using Alias Studio Tools and Solidworks, ergonomics and human factors design
Twitter: 3D_ideation