The purpose of this paper is to investigate how innovations in ship bridge design may benefit from design competency in the fields of e.g. industrial design. The Ulstein Bridge Concept (UBC) research project imply that having a strategic focus on design in a conceptual design process in front of a tradi- tional development process has led to a radical, award winning vision of a future offshore ship bridge, acknowledged by the maritime industry of Norway. Through active participation and observation in the project by the author, research findings suggest that applying design based methods and techniques sup- port the overall process of doing innovation in the maritime domain. The conceptual design process is here described in the core activities of domain insight, interpretation, translation, and presentation. The designed externalisations of future design visions also foster the important design discussion among the various disciplines of designers, engineers, management, and users, needed in order to fully understand the requirements for further commercialisation. The conceptual design proposals presented in the UBC project have initiated several patents, ideas for new products ready for launch, and a complete new understanding of how to design for the mariners work environment on a ship bridge.
