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An Intuitive Approach to Enstoriment during Demonstrator Design Process: A Pilot Case Study
No full textDemonstrators, versatile concepts that combine engineering, art, and design are commonly used to communicate technology research. Due to the high complexity and abstractness of such research, product development designers face challenges during the design process. One of the key factors is \u27enstoriment\u27, the process of turning concepts into stories and then making them visible through tangible artifacts. The authors of this paper have experienced this in their practice. They had to design a demonstrator without any information on how to do it. In order to see how other designers would approach a similar task without any prior guidance, a pilot study was carried out with first-year Master\u27s level students in product development. They were asked to design a demonstrator concept for a novel radar sensing technology, in collaboration with engineers from a technology research institute, but without any advice on how to tackle this challenge. Using reflective diaries, recorded discussions, and iterative feedback from the engineers, the study tracked the participants’ decision-making and ideation processes over three months. Although the designers came up with enstoriment methods such as using metaphors and analogies for the demonstrator design, and identified interactivity and engagement of the concept as their main priorities, it turned out that they mainly used intuition as a guiding tool when they lacked information and references to rely on. The analysis also revealed that the phase when designers have to make sense of their task and the project goal is problematic without support due to the high complexity of the topic. Therefore, further research should focus on the development methods and tools to support and facilitate the demonstrator design process
Exploring the Impact of Big Data and Thick Data on Collaboration Between Design and Business Professionals : A New Approach to Data-Informed Design
No full textThis study investigated how data utilization impacts collaboration between design and business professionals, and whether it ultimately leads to positive outcomes. To achieve this, we defined ‘Data-informed Design’ as a concept for data-integrated collaboration and tested it through a workshop-based empirical study. Eight teams participated, each consisting of four members: two designers and two business professionals with comparable experience and data literacy. In total, there were 32 participants: 16 designers and 16 business professionals. Four teams participated in a Data-Informed Design Workshop, utilizing both Big Data and Thick Data, while the remaining four teams took part in a Non-Data Design Workshop without using any data. The study revealed that teams in the Data-informed Design Workshop showed a rootlevel understanding of problems during the ‘Discover’ phase and collaborated more effectively in the ‘Define’ phase. Constructive conflicts were more prevalent among these teams, as opposed to the predominantly negative conflicts observed in the Non-Data Design Workshop teams. As a result, the Data-informed Workshop teams formulated goals for improvement that were both more specific and measurable. These findings indicate that intergrating data into collaborations between designers and business professionals can lead to more efficient processes and better outcome
The Future of the Footwear Industry: Bibliometric and Systematic Analysis of Literature from 2018 to 2023
No full textThe footwear industry in Portugal is one of the sectors with the greatest representation in national exports and a sector of high importance for the country\u27s economy. Although it is a mechanized industry, it is still very dependent on human labour and for which it is increasingly difficult to attract talent and captivate younger generations, putting this sector in danger in terms of its continuity. The digitalization of the footwear industry could be one of the alternatives to solve this problem, enabling cost reduction, greater autonomy, and production flexibility, as well as a closer approach to the demands of customers and consumers. This article presents a bibliometric and systematic analysis of literature in the footwear industry from 2018 to 2023. The study investigates the futuristic concept of footwear manufacturing, the integration of 3D printing technology in footwear production, the benefits of customization in footwear and perspectives for the future of the industry. The methodology used involved a five-step approach to collecting and analyzing data. Technologies such as 3D printing and 3D scanning, alternative materials to conventional ones and the use of seamless knits can contribute to a footwear industry where customization, control of smaller production, comfort and a unique and exclusive design can go to the next level, meeting a more sustainable industry prepared to face the future with optimism
Healing through collective textile-making: Crafting objects, places, and communities
No full textIntensifying social and environmental challenges demands restructuring sustainable design frameworks in which communities’ resilience and empowerment are at the forefront. This research draws insights into that by engaging with textile-making communities located across Northern Ireland and Umeå/Sweden to examine their role in creating and networking resistance. It contributes to recognizing social and collective dimensions of sustainability by exploring how textile-making practices foster agency and solidarity. To examine the textile communities’ making practices, the intersection of three key concepts is used: craftivism by Greer (2008), third places theorized by Oldenburg (1989), and communities of practice drawing on Wenger’s (1998) framework. These concepts create a unique lens to examine textile communities’ contributions to reframing sustainability that reflects on cultural and collective aspects. Discussions and empirical data gathered show that involvement in collective textile-making can heal the broken connections between production and consumption as well as increase the well-being of individuals and communities. The paper concludes by providing suggestions to reshape design practice that accommodates collectives as crucial actors of fashion production networks. By understanding the adaptiveness of the textile communities to uncertainties and complexities, design practice can embrace “dancing with complexity” and co-create alternative structures and relations
Becoming compost: Fostering soil care through design practices
No full textSoil is a complex and interconnected entity, essential for life yet constantly threatened by intensive human practices. Inspired by the Environmental Humanities, this contribution illustrates the experience of two workshops that, by immersing participants in the exchange of soil matter, aim to shed light on the fragility of our planet’s balance and promote greater ecological awareness. Through mixing soil samples, radial chromatography, and augmented reality technologies, Becoming Compost emphasises the importance of soil as a site of biopoiesis, chemical element transformation, and interspecies exchange. It also encourages participants to reflect on the significance of one of life’s fundamental elements, fostering an active role in shaping relational practices of care that consider the diverse entities inhabiting the planet
In the relational sandbox: Deep democracy and technology
No full textDesigning for democracy often emphasizes values but underestimates the role of relationships in shaping civic life. This workshop explores how relationality - our social ties, political agency, and economic conditions - affects grassroots democratic design experiments and the technologies they inspire. Grounded in deep democracy and participatory approaches, we engage in small-scale experiments using Relational Sandbox to explore how new technologies that support democratic values can reshape power dynamics and how locally rooted, tailored designs can counteract capital-driven technological development. By experimenting with relational civics, we will collectively imagine new design strategies that prioritize meaningful technologies for deep democracy over profit-driven ones. This workshop invites designers, activists, and researchers to co-develop strategies and design guidelines that place relationships at the heart of democratic practice
In Concert with Molten Glass: Social and material actors in glassblowing practice
No full textThe practice-led case study presented in this paper explores entanglements of social and material actors in a glassblowing practice. To understand the relationality of these actors, this study discusses how the models of reflection and diffraction can help in analysing a collective process of doing. In this study, video documentation was used as a method to accumulate information on the glassblowing process under scrutiny. The result, a multiscreen video, was analysed to identify social and material actors affecting the process, and to understand the sociomaterial doings of the practice. This study suggests that appreciating the sociomaterial constituents of glassblowing practice can help in sustaining the art of glassblowing, a craft to be safeguarded. This paper contributes to practice-led research by showing how PLR can be utilised when the unit of analysis consists of multiple simultaneously active social and material actors
Designing speculative probes: Narrating menstruation with cultural sensitivity and care
No full textThis paper explores the design of speculative probes as a situated, exploratory, and critical practice for engaging with intimate and stigmatized topics in specific socio-cultural contexts. It examines how designers navigate cultural sensitivities with care, demonstrating how speculative design can foster alternative spaces for dialogue rather than directly confronting taboos. Drawing on a case study in Tunisia, which addresses cultural stigmas around menstruation among young men and women, the paper highlights the importance of narrative-driven and culturally sensitive speculative design in fostering non-judgmental spaces for dialogue and mutual learning, thereby supporting systemic and cultural transformation. This paper advocates for design research practices that are deeply contextualized, and culturally sensitive, demonstrating how speculative design can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable futures
Everywhere, all at once: Speculative layering of multiple temporalities with Augmented Reality
No full textThis paper considers the design of Augmented Reality experiences that allow the interrogation of multiple temporalities, in order to foster engagement with More-than-Human worlds. While Augmented Reality has traditionally been used to layer different spatial contexts onto the physical environment, we explore its potential to visualize alternative temporalities, offering users unique ontological perspectives on time and its role in shaping interconnected human and non-human futures. Drawing from futures studies, experiential futures, and speculative design, we examine how Augmented Reality’s capacity to represent temporal layers can deepen understanding of More-than-Human interdependencies. We report on a pilot experiment where participants engaged with an Augmented Reality experience, analyse their reflections, and propose design insights for integrating Augmented Reality into speculative design practices