Background and experience
Jonathan Romm is a professor at the Institute of Design at AHO and serves as the chair of the Systems-Oriented Design (SOD) area of research and study. The SOD group is engaged in teaching, research, and development in Systemic Design, focusing on creating societal improvements in complex areas such as green transition, demographic changes, marginalization, democracy, and resilience.
Romm is originally trained as an industrial designer at the Danish Design School, with a specialization in design management and interaction design. He has practiced as a designer in various contexts throughout his career.
He began his journey as a consultant at Ergonomi Design in Oslo, where he was involved in several projects, including the development of the SL95 tram for Oslo's public transport. Later, he took responsibility for Telenor's usability laboratory and then became project manager in Telenor's R&D VISLAB unit. After this, he moved to Denmark, where he was employed as the editor responsible for the development of mobile media at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR.
After a few years in Denmark, Romm returned to Norway and led various design projects as a partner at the Norwegian design agency Halogen. Here, he held roles as head of knowledge management, studio leader, and design director. During his time at Halogen, Romm participated in several strategic design projects for clients such as SINTEF, Husbanken, OsloMet, NAV, Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA), the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB), Oslo University Hospital (OUS), the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the Municipality of Oslo, the Directorate of Health and the Ministry of Health.
Romm has previously held positions as head of the Institute of Design and has served as pro-rector at AHO. He was responsible for establishing the Center for Design Research at AHO and has led several research projects at the Institute of Design.
In his PhD, he explored the use and practice of Embedded Design Labs to enhance systemic service design capabilities and improve services in the Norwegian healthcare sector. His research includes the development of strategies and services for rehabilitation at Sunnaas Hospital, the Center for Elderly Medicine at Ahus, and hospital-at-home services at Oslo University Hospital.
Throughout his career, Jonathan has built up extensive practical experience in industrial design, interaction design, service design, systemic design, and policy design across the private, public, and third sectors. In recent years, he has contributed to both academic and popular publications related to innovative and interdisciplinary design and research projects.