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Embodying the Driving Experience Through AI Driving Assistants as a Means of Noticing the More-than-Human
No full textOn the road, a shift of agency away from human drivers is taking place with AI-based roadside monitoring and driving assistants. This changes interaction both within the car and with the environment outside of it, mediated by driving assistant algorithms. It also changes encounters with the non-human, framing and evaluating them from a technological lens. This paper aims to show how the human experience of their environment during a car ride is shifted through AI, where encounters with non-human entities are observed and logged by technology, and how this can be used to remediate passengers’ experience of their environment during a car drive. The AI becomes a mediator which makes visible the agency of the non-humans in our environment and allows an immersion into the outside from inside the car by linking the driving assistant’s detection to sensual – auditory and olfactory – cues changing the car interior
Developing a Methodological Framework for Sustainability Transitions in the Built Environment
No full textTransitions towards sustainability involving technological, social, behavioural, institutional, and organisational change are urgently needed to address the complex environmental and societal challenges. While the built environment has a considerable environmental and social impact, design scope for sustainable architecture has been primarily limited to reducing the environmental impacts of individual buildings. To achieve net-positive natural and social outcomes for the built environment there is a need for more systemic approaches and design methodology that allows to reframe the task of design from solving isolated problems to contributing to system transformation. The article reviews transformational, systems-oriented process models and associated tools developed in the fields of regenerative design, systemic design and sustainability transitions, with the aim to define a methodological framework for sustainability transitions relevant for the built environment. A case study from a practice-led research is used to illustrate and discuss how such a process could be integrated in architectural practice
Communicating the use of generative AI to design students: Fostering ethics rather than teaching it
No full textThis paper presents a means of communicating to design students the appropriate use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in their studies. It underscores the need to consider broader aspects such as individual student identity and ethical considerations, given the emerging popularity of GenAI. The paper explores the necessity for students to acknowledge their use of GenAI. It draws parallels between GenAI and traditional design resources, likening the use of GenAI to leveraging other designers\u27 work and assistance received during projects. This analogy is employed as a strategy to link the decision to disclose the use of GenAI with the students\u27 designer identity. The delineation between contexts in which students are permitted to use GenAI and those in which they are encouraged to do so is tied to their intended learning outcomes. Several case studies, both hypothetical and real, are discussed and analyzed to support the points raised in this paper
Unraveling the sensorial properties in material identity innovation: a study on mycelium-based composite
No full textMycelium-Based Composites (MBCs) are promising bio-based materials. However, negative public perception of fungus-derived products due to fear of fungus and irregularity in surface and color remains a challenge. This paper explores the potential of MBCs in material driven design (MDD). It employs a comprehensive approach to examine the potential of sensorial properties for innovating material identity. The study utilized interviews and questionnaires conducted in a workshop setting, applying the Ma2E4 toolkit framework (Camera & Karana, 2018). The workshop had a diverse range of 27 participants from various disciplines. The research findings are used to enhance product design. The study affirms that increasing the softness and modifying odor of MBCs can provide users with positive emotions and therefore enhance their material identity. The findings offer a practical framework for applying these results to design solutions. The conclusions of the paper are consistent with the findings of related studies
Passageways and portals: a comparative analysis of transition spaces in physical, digital, and virtual environments
No full textThis study explores transition spaces across physical, digital, and virtual environments. From hallways to digital loading screens and virtual portals, these spaces serve as cognitive buffers, aiding users in navigating environmental shifts. Our comparative analysis reveals consistent human experiences across diverse environments, while also identifying distinct attributes of each transition space. We identify two main categories: transition-focused spaces, which emphasize efficient movement, and experience-focused spaces, which offer richer, immersive experiences. We also identify four core transition types: Environmental, Perspective, Identity, and Sensory transitions. Experience-focused spaces, such as lobbies and VR gathering areas, play a pivotal role in facilitating identity transitions. Sensory transitions are present in physical and virtual spaces, but often absent in digital spaces. Our findings highlight the potential of well-designed VR transition spaces, emphasizing their significant influence on immersion, user experience, and virtual social interactions
Ethics in/of/for Design
No full textWe frame design ethics as an invitation to care and argue against reducing it to a methodology, framework, checklist, toolkit, or an afterthought. This broad framing acknowledges that ‘ethics’ can carry multiple meanings in different contexts (e.g. responsible, critical, democratic) and can be approached from various theoretical perspectives (e.g. historical, cultural, speculative). Consequently, we recognize the need for a nuanced and reflexive discussion on why, where and how ethical questions and dilemmas intersect with design research and practices. For this, we aim to look back with critical historical awareness, while also looking forward with cautious optimism. We welcome both theoretical papers that unpack specific conceptual perspectives and practice-based explorations (e.g. in communities, organizations, policy-making). We invite submissions that are inspired by: Responsible design and innovation: What are the ethical and societal implications of design for innovation (processes, strategies, artifacts)? How to nurture an ethical awareness and accountability in design and innovation practices? The ethics of collaboration: What are the main questions concerning power, agency, and positionality that design should recognize and address in inter/transdisciplinary settings? Ethics in education: How to embed critical-ethical reflection in design education? Aesthetics of design: How do the value-laden imagery of design shape our perception of the world? What does this aesthetics say about design as a discipline? Ethics for social and climate justice: What is the role of design in preventing/perpetuating social inequalities and the exploitation of natural resources? The track will result in an edited book of selected papers
Flexibility is key: career exploration and vocational identity status among Design students
No full textThis study investigates processes of career exploration and vocational identity development for Design students. Establishing a professional identity is a central aspect for career construction and definition of academic, personal, and professional goals – and an essential process to promote success and accomplishment as students prepare to move from school to work.We surveyed 109 students enrolled in undergraduate design majors and minors and graduate design programs at a North-American university on career decision motivation and vocational identity status including measures of career exploration (in-breadth and in-depth), career commitment and career flexibility. Findings follow a developmental perspective suggesting that age and seniority relate to higher levels of commitment and in-depth exploration and lower levels of in-breadth exploration. Career flexibility, the ongoing consideration of alternatives and openness to change career choice as a consequence of learning and experience, emerges as a key aspect of career development in a rapidly changing environment
Translation as an Explicit Practice in Design Research
No full textTranslation as a practice, has many applications and histories. In a research context, the translation of knowledge from one domain to another brings scientific knowledge and critical ideas to people and industries. Translation between different forms of knowledge can enable collaboration between research, industry, policy and society to enable systemic knowledge co-production and impact. This paper explores the ways that design is intrinsically translational, and why translation is now becoming an expanded and explicit practice in design research. As the complexity of multidisciplinary and multistakeholder collaborative research increases, the translational nature of design could play a vital role in convening knowledge and creating impact through synthesis and interpretation into tangible artefacts and interventions. This raises the question: how might design explicitly define its role as a translator in new contexts of research and practice
Design for Office Health and Wellbeing: A Design Space Exploration
No full textWorkplaces are increasingly leveraging technological interventions to promote healthy working habits. While existing workplace health promotion designs have primarily focused on digital well-being applications and break-taking interventions, our work advocates for a broader exploration of relevant design strategies. Through an analysis of 40 unique designs, we distill seven innovative design strategies that hold the potential to foster healthier work environments. Each strategy is described, grounded in literature, and illustrated through relevant design exemplars. By delving into an array of alternative design approaches, this paper broadens the scope of workplace well-being and inspires researchers toward a more comprehensive understanding of how design strategies might be leveraged to impact office vitality
The heritage language and graphic landscape of London\u27s Chinatown
No full textThe preservation of minority heritage through language is widely recognised as an important means for safeguarding ethnic identity within multicultural settings. This paper investigates the visibility of heritage language through the lens of graphic heritage within the distinctive ethnic enclave of London\u27s Chinatown. Located in the City of Westminster, Chinese identity is officially designated on street nameplates that demarcate geographic boundaries as well as depict a shift in the cultural influence of this migrant community. In this study, the visual analysis of 209 retail signs displays 313 instances of language. The research findings indicate the extent of retention of heritage languages within the area, providing the basis for a case study that maps the linguistic codes and spatial distribution of graphic devices. From this, new insights are gained into the design literacy of Chinese migrants in London to provide a framework for thinking about how Chinese ‘designscapes’ have developed worldwide