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Impacting literacy through the power of a font: Design research for inclusive reading experiences
No full textStruggling with reading can feel like navigating an endless maze of confusion and frustration for some people. It can weigh heavily on their minds, fostering a sense of inadequacy, isolation, and fear of judgment by others. In the United States, a significant portion of both young and older individuals face these challenges, with statistics showing that 37% of fourth graders and 30% of eighth graders read below basic levels. This paper will detail the development and research of a web-based reading application that leveraged typography and technology to engage struggling readers with their favorite content while improving their foundational reading abilities. In essence, we developed a beta version of this web-based application for using typography as a supportive bridge between the written word and the reader, thus potentially creating an environment where reading becomes a more comfortable, motivating, and enjoyable experience for those who may find it challenging
Thought Experiments In The Ethics Of Designing For Future People.
No full textThe Non-Identity Problem (NIP) is a philosophical puzzle which challenges our intuitive assumptions and reasoning around the question of our moral obligations towards ‘future people’. This paper explores the significance of the NIP for design, an activity which is necessarily both future-oriented and ethical in nature. Through examination of two thought experiments proposed by philosopher Derek Parfit, this paper makes two contributions to the field of design ethics. Firstly, it raises the profile of the NIP as a topic of interest and for further study in design ethics research. The second is to propose that philosophical thought experiments can play a practical role in equipping designers for real-world challenges. When employed as thinking devices to disrupt our existing ways of thinking, thought experiments open up spaces of creative disequilibrium in which to nurture, exercise, and strengthen mental capacities for approaching the ethically complex challenges of future-oriented design practice
Connecting sustainable and well-being-enhancing behaviors: Reflections through daily practices of young adults
No full textAn experience sampling study was conducted to further understand daily activities of young adults with implications for Environmentally Sustainable Behavior (SB) and Subjective Well-being (SWB) simultaneously. Studies on SB and SWB are present in established bodies of design research, though connection across these strands appears limited. Analysis of 209 survey responses from 27 participants showed that while many activities were reported with mutually positive outcomes for SB and SWB, when there was conflict, individuals were more likely to prioritize their own subjective well-being over environmental sustainability. Activities that included designed products and environments that more readily supported SB and SWB without imposing an external conflict, and those that included social bonding and sharing of resources led to more mutually positive outcomes. The findings present avenues for design researchers and practitioners in developing designs that can address individuals’ well-being and environmentally sustainable behavior in a more positive and complimentary manner
Transforming futures together: time travelling with the Tomorrow Party
No full textWe need new methods for generating policy insights that ensure people\u27s lived experiences are not flattened and fixed to a moment in time and that visions of possible futures are not curtailed by a \u27crisis of imagination\u27. In response to this challenge, we have developed a creative, play-based method called the Tomorrow Party, which invites participants to travel forward in time and share co-created stories of the desirable futures they find themselves living in. As a future story-making process, the Tomorrow Party generates novel ways of sharing affective perspectives on possible futures so we can collectively anticipate what is at stake and work out what policy responses would contribute to the futures we want. We present the method as well as key findings and insights from a series of Tomorrow Parties commissioned by the Policy Lab at the Wellcome Trust, spanning locations across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom
A Co-Design Approach to Aesthetic Customization of Prosthetics
No full textThe symbolism of prosthetic limbs has predominantly been about restoring function. However, for prosthetic wearers, symbolism expands to include psychosocial meaning, which has been expressed in prosthetic customizations, collaborations, and artistic explorations. Therefore, an opportunity exists for designers to understand how psychosocial symbolism can be elicited and translated into pros-thetic visual and aesthetic language. The objective of the paper is to develop personalized prosthetics that reflect the principles and convictions of the individuals utilizing them. We conducted a co-design process with three Paralympian amputees to explore and visually represent the psychosocial meanings attached to their prosthetics. The results demonstrate how a collaborative process incorporating design process methods, including mood board creation and concept sketching, can elicit psychosocial meaning, which can then be applied to design. The process shows the potential that design can have for reimagining prosthetic limbs as symbolic objects for purposes of self-expression and advocacy
Reimagining care through evidence: Design research, patient centered solutions, and a culture of care for healthy societies
No full textThis session will explore patient centered evidence based design in healthcare, as a model of recovery, resistance, reflection, and reimagination. We are particularly interested in works of practice, scholarship, and research that put patients at the center of their care. Central to this session will be practices that invoke a culture of care and health both for patients and those that are caregivers (Evan & Fischer, 2022; Fuentes, 2020; Lightburn et al., 2005; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2020) Culture of care is a form of reimagination that calls on all actions to put care at their center for those in need (Evan & Fischer, 2022). Over the past 40 years in healthcare, as buildings, products, and services and the roles they play in our lives and the environment have become more intricate, our focus as designers has shifted to a deeply research-oriented practice (Chong et al., 2010; Wang & Groat, 2013). Due to the complexity of design practice, especially in the healthcare space, these human-centered and patient centered, approaches to design are increasingly necessary and are often called Design Research (Chong et al., 2010, 2010; Frayling, 1994). There is much work underway to undertake physical, virtual, and augmented reality simulations to study spaces, services, and products before they are built, this session will explore these practices and others that put patients at the center of their care, and prioritize a culture of care
Gulls on the move? Synanthropic design in the Dutch Delta
No full textThis article develops a synanthropic design approach. The Port of Rotterdam currently houses one of Europe’s largest colonies of the synanthropic species of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The thriving of this particular colony is entangled with human interventions and economic activities in the larger Dutch Delta. We map the managerial, legal, political, and economic interrelations and dependencies that animate the human and more-than-human contact zone. By including a gull\u27s perspective on the Dutch delta environment, this study aims to support the facilitated coexistence of humans and Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the Port of Rotterdam – now and in the future. The synanthropic design interventions and new governance model proposed in this study show how the Port of Rotterdam can be re-imagined as “Land of Gulls and Humans.
Towards a mapping of empathic design methods
No full textEmpathic design methods support designers in developing an empathic understanding of the people they design for. While researchers and designers use many of these methods, the literature falls short in providing an overview of these methods and what they contribute to the innovation process. We conducted two iterative workshops with 5 researchers in empathic design to define and map the properties of 10 selected empathic methods. By providing an overview, a mapping of empathic methods can support the deployment of empathic interventions. This mapping acts as a guiding tool to support designers in choosing the empathic methods that are the most relevant to their industrial context and audience needs. This work paves the way for further empirical research, inviting the design community to challenge these empathic properties and document how empathic design methods work in a variety of contexts for different audiences
Participatory design research, documenting the experience of Gainesville local drag performers.
No full textThis case study documents the process of research, identification, and co-creation —with members of the drag community— a visual ethnography of Gainesville\u27s drag culture. This study documented drag performance as an integral element of public-facing queer communities and took place during 2021 and 2022. Drag GNV aim is to contextualize the importance and nuance of drag as an activity supporting LGBTQ+ individuals and communities and as a publicly visible format for sharing elements of LGBTQ+ community identity with broader audiences. This research focused on conversations with the queer community (performers and allies) and centered reflections on drag venues as safe spaces, to build on the oral and visual history and promote the drag art form. The project weaves together past and present stories and contributes to the collective creation of safe spaces for queer people
Co-creating the spectacle: Identifying design dimensions of opening ceremonies to embed participatory approaches
No full textOpening Ceremonies of mega-events captivate a global audience and have the potential of nurturing a sense of community belonging among the population of the host country. From the visual identity to the stage design and its live media broadcast, such ceremonies unite different design practices. The underlying design processes usually depart from a top-down perspective, often prompted by specific social and political realities. As a result, inhabitants may experience a diminished sense of belonging. Participatory approaches are able to challenge oppressive power relations, and are increasingly deployed in mainstream media, yet the scale and complexity of the design of opening ceremonies demand a thorough understanding. Through a narrative analysis of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, and through interviews and co-creation sessions with 18 Chinese inhabitants that recalled their experience watching this event, we were able to extract a number of design dimensions to open up the opening ceremony