Synne Geirsdatter Frydenberg

Associate Professor Institute of Design

Email: synne.g.frydenberg@aho.no
Phone: +47 23 52 71 54

Download business card

Background and experience

Synne Frydenberg is a design researcher, interaction designer, and lecturer with extensive experience at the intersection of design, technology, and human experience. She holds a master’s degree in Industrial Design from AHO (2011), with foundational studies at The Royal Danish Academy and an exchange at the Berlin University of the Arts. In April 2024, she completed her PhD at AHO with the dissertation "Cultivating Serendipity in Design Complexity", in which she explored how serendipity can be fostered in design processes and complex systems.

With over 13 years of experience as an interaction designer, Synne has spent the past seven years specializing in complex design for safety-critical workplaces. Her research focuses on how serendipity can be cultivated within design and in practice more broadly.

Currently, she is an associate professor affiliated with the Ocean Industries Concept Lab at AHO. She has contributed to several major research initiatives, including the EU project Safe Maritime Operations under Extreme Conditions: The Arctic Case (SEDNA), as well as the OpenBridge, OpenAR, OpenZero and OpenRemote projects.

Projects

Harmonising design of remote connected maritime workstations (OpenRemote)

Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter & Nordby, Kjetil (2022). Virtual fieldwork on a ship’s bridge: virtual reality-reconstructed operation scenarios as contextual substitutes for fieldwork in design education. Virtual Reality. ISSN 1359-4338. doi: 10.1007/s10055-022-00655-1. Full text in Research Archive
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter; Aylward, Katie; Nordby, Kjetil & Eikenes, Jon Olav H. (2021). Development of an Augmented Reality Concept for Icebreaker Assistance and Convoy Operations. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (JMSE). 9(9). doi: 10.3390/jmse9090996. Full text in Research Archive
Nordby, Kjetil; Gernez, Etienne; Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter & Eikenes, Jon Olav Husabø (2020). Augmenting OpenBridge: An open user interface architecture for augmented reality applications on ship bridges. In Bertram, Volker (Eds.), 19th International Conference on Computer and IT Applications in the Maritime Industries. Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg. ISSN 9783892207177. p. 180–195. Full text in Research Archive
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter; Eikenes, Jon Olav Husabø & Nordby, Kjetil (2019). Serendipity in the Field. Facilitating serendipity in design-driven field studies on ship bridges. The Design Journal. ISSN 1460-6925. 22(1), p. 1899–1912. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2019.1594948. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Field research requires openness to unforeseen insights and opportunities, especially when designing for complex and dynamic workplaces, such as a ship bridge. In this paper, we investigate how serendipitous outcomes may be facilitated in design-driven field research. We present a case study of two field research trips onboard Arctic-going vessels, during which we investigated the premises of designing augmented reality (AR) systems for navigators. We describe how an explorative and opportunistic mixed-methods approach facilitated serendipity and analyse which specific aspects led to serendipitous outcomes in three examples. Last, we discuss how practical support for designers and design researchers conducting design-driven field research can be developed and suggest how strategies to employ approaches that facilitate serendipity can increase the likelihood and awareness of serendipitous outcomes.
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter; Nordby, Kjetil & Eikenes, Jon Olav Husabø (2018). Exploring designs of augmented reality systems for ship bridges in arctic waters, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects Human Factors Papers 2018. Royal Institution of Naval Architects. ISSN 9781909024809. Full text in Research Archive
Nordby, Kjetil; Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter & Fauske, Jon Erling (2018). Demonstrating a maritime design system for realising consistent design of multi-vendor ship’s bridges, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects Human Factors Papers 2018. Royal Institution of Naval Architects. ISSN 9781909024809. p. 39–47. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA

Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter (2026). Cultivating the unplanned. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This lecture and workshop, Cultivating the Unplanned, explores how practitioners in art, craft, and design engage with unpredictability in material-based processes. Drawing on the author’s PhD research on serendipity and ongoing work on material-based knowledge, the session examines how unexpected events can function as productive drivers in creative practice. The lecture introduces a conceptual framework for understanding how knowledge emerges through interaction with materials, with particular attention to embodied experience and situated judgement. The workshop component invites participants to reflect on and articulate their own encounters with unforeseen material responses in ceramic practice. By combining theoretical framing with reflective and practice-based inquiry, the session contributes to ongoing discussions on process, uncertainty, and method development in creative disciplines.
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter (2026). Jeg gikk ut i skogen og kom hjem med leire – Harvest Magazine. Harvest : Mennesket & naturen. doi: https:/www.harvestmagazine.no/artikkel/jeg-gikk-ut-i-skogen-og-kom-hjem-med-leire?k=12a486e. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This essay explores how knowledge emerges in creative practice through direct engagement with materials. Drawing on the author’s experience working with locally sourced raw clay, it examines how unexpected material responses – such as cracking, resistance, and deformation – influence decision-making processes in artistic and design work. The text introduces the concept of serendipity as a methodological approach, focusing on how unforeseen events can become productive moments rather than disruptions. Through a combination of personal narrative and reflective analysis, the essay investigates how embodied experience, attention, and practical judgement shape the development of form. By situating material interaction as a site of knowledge production, the essay contributes to ongoing discussions in art and design about tacit knowledge, process-based work, and the role of uncertainty in creative practice.
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter (2025). Burnishing as Inquiry: Learning from the Surface of Wild Clay. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This essay examines burnishing as a method of material inquiry in ceramic practice. Drawing on experiments with wild clay sourced in Norway and Denmark, it explores how surface finishing can function not only as a technical process but as a way of generating knowledge through direct engagement with material behaviour. Through a series of trials involving different clays, tools, and surface treatments, the text analyses how variability in geological composition affects drying, cracking, and the development of polished surfaces. Particular attention is given to how burnishing reveals structural differences within the clay and records the movement of the hand as a visible trace. The essay situates these observations in relation to historical burnishing traditions and discusses how low-technology techniques can be reinterpreted as analytical tools in contemporary practice. By framing burnishing as both an aesthetic and investigative process, the text contributes to discussions on material-based knowledge, serendipity, and process-oriented methods in art and design.
Nordby, Kjetil; Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter & Fauske, Jon (2018). Demonstrating a maritime design system for realising consistent design of multi-vendor ship’s bridges. Full text in Research Archive
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter; Hareide, Odd Sveinung & Nordby, Kjetil (2018). Feltstudier for design av utvidet virkelighetsteknologi i navigasjon. Necesse. ISSN 2464-353X. 3(2), p. 67–70. Full text in Research Archive
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter; Nordby, Kjetil & Eikenes, Jon Olav Husabø (2018). Exploring designs of augmented reality systems for ship bridges in arctic waters. Full text in Research Archive
Frydenberg, Synne Geirsdatter & Nordby, Kjetil (2024). Cultivating Serendipity in Design Complexity. Exploring Designs of Augmented Reality Technologies for Ship Bridges. Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo. ISSN 9788254703700. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Designing augmented reality (AR) systems for ship bridges poses intricate challenges for interaction designers due to the unique complexities involved in working with this novel interaction material in a dynamic and unpredictable environment. The absence of established design precedents and guidelines for AR systems exacerbates these challenges, thereby reflecting a broader need for guidance in navigating the rapidly evolving digital landscape of interaction design. This thesis aims to explore and identify how design complexity can be effectively managed by introducing serendipity into the design process. Employing a research-by-design and research-into-design approach, this study utilises embedded case studies to contextualise design complexity within the specific context of designing AR technology for ship bridges. It develops conceptual frameworks, practical methods, tools, and approaches to illustrate how serendipity mechanisms and qualities can be cultivated and pragmatically integrated into the design process. Further, this research highlights that designing AR systems for ship bridges entails grappling with various complexities, including interconnected systems, unfamiliar environments, and the challenge of assessing efficiency, user experience, and situational awareness in highrisk domains. Limited research and practice in interaction design further emphasise the need for adaptable frameworks and establishment of design precedents. In this thesis, the navigation of design complexity is conceptualised through the deliberate cultivation of serendipity across different aspects of the design process. The case studies provide insights into an effective, pragmatic strategy that can be employed by interaction designers, stakeholders, and users in exploratory, practice-led design. This approach defines design complexity along two dimensions—design requirements and formgiving concerns—to support sensemaking and decision-making in a complex design landscape. Additionally, it conceptualises serendipity mechanisms, values, and qualities, thereby promoting attentiveness to serendipitous cues, recognition of patterns, seizing of opportunities, and creating of conducive conditions for serendipity. The outcomes of the case studies include conceptual frameworks and design exemplars that contribute to the development of design precedents and practical support for interaction designers working in the maritime domain. In addition, this research—conducted through design—also informs research in design by exploring how design complexity in real world cases are navigated and cultivated for serendipitous outcomes in various design processes. As the discipline of interaction design grapples with the challenges posed by novel interaction materials, including issues like unfamiliarity, technical complexity, and novel formgiving qualities, alongside the evolving digital ecosystem, there is a pressing need to establish new strategies for managing design complexity and harnessing the potential of unexpected discoveries. This thesis contributes to the ongoing evolution of interaction design by providing conceptual frameworks, practical tools, and design exemplars that not only describe but also contextualise the cultivation of serendipity within the complexities of real-world design scenarios, thereby empowering interaction designers to navigate the uncharted territories of emerging interaction materials and the everexpanding digital landscape.

View all works in NVA

Published Aug. 20, 2024 4:28 PM - Last modified Oct. 1, 2025 1:16 PM