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Imagining a Soft and Relational Smart Home
No full textThis paper presents three scenario-based speculations accompanied by material explorations of soft IoT for smart homes based on humidity data. Cycle Lines tracks and displays weekly patterns of humidity levels shown as colored lines in a woven display, Relationscape, a real-time tracker and knitted display of humidity showing the relation between two different households, and Eco-collective, embroidery IoT that changes color depending on the humidity levels of different objects in the household. Based on first-person engagements with humidity sensors placed in the authors’ homes, they imagine new types of soft IoT devices that sense and display relations to humidity data, suggesting a role for mundane,craft-based IoT for smart homes. They express the relational nature of humidity and how it is tied to well-being in the home, among household members and other human and more-than-human inhabitants, as well as the environmental conditions inside and outside of the home. The soft, craft-based approach to imagining futures of IoT for smart homes has feminist commitments and invites for further problematizing domestic labor practices and craft activism in the domestic context
Affect in more-than-human design practice: An anecdote-based exploration through dialogue
No full textIn an effort to respond to the contemporary environmental crises, Design strives to continuously define and develop more-than-human design practices. In response, this exploratory piece puts in dialogue two “affective anecdotes”: we discuss affective encounters with the ocean and the soil, foregrounding how these experiences have impacted our perspectives on the Design discipline and practice, exploring how, through a reflective dialogue, a relational understanding of these events emerges, while also allowing us to grasp the implicit nature of our more-than-human design practice better. This paper foregrounds the difficulty in expressing affective experiences through words, as well as the value of troubling feelings that can emerge when developing an understanding of more-than-human subjectivities while designing
Traces of Nature, a Dialogue in Memory and Art
No full textThe project explores participatory processes through an art exhibition of stories and photographs of nature, involving care home residents. The aim is to investigate the potential for health promotion by facilitating conversations about memories of past nature experiences. Residents, who often lack access to nature and art exhibitions, engage in dialogue with the artist about places in nature that are meaningful to them. The artist then visits these locations and captures them through photography, offering an interpretation of the chosen site. The resulting stories and images are exhibited at institutions, fostering discussions about memories, nature, and art among residents and care staff. The project integrates participatory and relational design with ideas from participatory art and relational aesthetics. It challenges design’s focus on solutions and the artist\u27s solitary process, creating a regenerative, empowering, and health-promoting space for storytelling. We believe our approach can revitalise the participants and the Nordes design community
Designing with rural mobilities: Attempts at relational design
No full textThis exploratory paper contributes to the development of relational design as a methodology by examining how relational design unfolds – or fails to unfold – within the context of the development and research project X. Mobilities both create and disrupt relations, making our engagement in the X project particularly suitable for investigating where and how relational design operates, as well as the effects it can achieve. Specifically, we analyze how relational design, when developed through fieldwork, within the particular project constellation of X, and through engagements with mobilities studies, is nurtured, constrained, and problematized. We emphasize that designing relationally is an act – a distinct way of designing with the world – and advocate for further research into the goods and bads of relational design as a methodology that supports design researchers in engaging with a troubled world
The facade as communication tool between brand identity, localism and sustainability
No full textThis article explores the intersection of localism and sustainability in retail design, analyzing how a strong connection with the context can contribute to achieving a more sustainable approach. Through the analysis of case studies, the article will specifically focus on the design of retail spaces, highlighting best practices in which local aesthetics, languages, and materials are integrated and reinterpreted through the use of technology to foster a sustainable design approach. In a historical period where environmental awareness and the importance of local identities are increasingly recognized, it is essential to understand the opportunity for collaboration between designers and brands to create spaces that are not only aesthetically appealing but also deeply rooted in the local context and environmentally responsible
Fashion brand extension processes in hospitality: The Bulgari Hotels and Resorts case study and the sustainable design strategies for future development
No full textThe paper introduces design-led brand extension processes from the fashion system to the hospitality sector that are able to define hospitality branded spaces as part of a complex product-space-service system. The design process that guides the definition of the hospitality branded systems provides a systemic, multi-disciplinary, multi-media, multi-sensory and multi-scalar approach to these brand extension processes with the aim of maximizing brand extension potential. Analyzing the defining aspects of these processes, including through the Bulgari Hotels and Resorts case study, the paper explains how these processes impact both the interiors and the entire product system, access to services and related experiences. At the same time, the paper emphasizes the importance of developing sustainable design strategies and new cultural relationships between the fashion and hospitality sectors concretely implementing the environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability of these processes for future developments. The paper highlights sustainable design strategies such as developing of sustainable oriented formats; spatial storytelling based on narrative coherence; design for longevity and timeless design; the value of adaptability, and guest involvement and awareness
The Resilience of Informal Trade: Lessons for Sustainable Retail Design
No full textInformal retail demonstrate resilience in the way they adapt to economic instability through spatial organisation, maximising limited resources and fostering strong community connections when creating functional retail spaces. This paper explores the lessons that formal retail design can learn from informal retail environments, particularly in contextual influences, spatial organisation, structural approaches and material selection as they align with the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. In Eswatini, a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa, informal traders successfully operate with minimal resources in their communities. Using a case study approach supported by observational analysis and photographic documentation of publicly accessible spaces, the research highlights the role of adaptability, flexibility, locally sourced materials and community integration in shaping resilient retail spaces. The findings contribute to sustainable retail design discourse by illustrating how informal trade environments balance practicality, affordability and cultural relevance. While the study is limited in scope to specific informal retail structures, it highlights valuable lessons for formal retail design. Informal retail design practices can teach us lessons in adopting more adaptable, resource-efficient and socially inclusive strategies. This is particularly true in contexts where sustainability and affordability are critical considerations
Proceedings of the 2nd Designing Retail & Services Futures Colloquium: Sustainable Retail and Services Futures
No full texthttps://dl.designresearchsociety.org/conference-volumes/1068/thumbnail.jp
Design for Dignity: A Designer\u27s Quest for Social Justice
No full textCaste based discrimination in India continues to deny dignity, equality and access to basic rights for Scheduled Castes especially in rural areas. This study investigates the underlying beliefs, economic dependencies and social conditioning that sustains these practices. Intervention included informal door-to-door surveys, focus groups, awareness campaigns and collective reflection. The study concludes that legal enforcement alone is insufficient, sustainable change requires inclusive, community led strategies that foster ownership, empathy and co-creation
A new generation of collaborative public services
No full textThis paper introduces the concept of collaborative public services, drawing on exemplary Italian prototypes. It begins by addressing the crisis of public services shaped by Dominant Service Design and outlines a first paradigm shift, where citizens move from passive users to active participants in global social innovation. However, this shift revealed limitations, often depending on the exceptional commitment of a few individuals. A second shift is emerging: collaborative public services sustained by a stronger role for the state and a participatory ecosystem that enables different levels of engagement, expanding involvement across society. The concept of a participatory ecosystem is explored through the lenses of infrastructuring and enabling platforms and illustrated by the Porta Moneta case study from Milan’s “School of the Neighbourhoods.” The paper concludes by highlighting key takeaways: designing different “intensities of participation,” prioritising marginalised groups, redefining the public sector as a cultural and social facilitator, and favouring co-production over co-design for more meaningful, satisfying involvement