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Destabilizing the quotidian: Urban recipes for cultivating care in the more-than-human city
No full textThis paper explores how everyday practices can be an inspiration for novel designerly ways of relating to others and cultivating care in response to the prevalent lack of care in our precarious world. We present Urban Recipes, an ongoing project that combines the spatial exploration of drifting with the recursive practice of recipe-making, opening up a space for new ways of relating to both humans and nonhumans in everyday urban environments. Applying the metaphors of cooking to this paper, we trace the evolution of the project, starting from the recipe and developing it into the cookbook and the test kitchen. Finally, as we gather our reflections at the table, we meditate on how the transformation of the personal, the destabilization of the quotidian, and the creation of the joyful through Urban Recipes facilitate a new way of noticing and caring
Speculative designs in educational settings: Tension-patterns from a (mostly) European perspective
No full textThe study of speculative designs (such as futures, critical design alternatives, or catalysts for reflection) is well documented in the design research community but the literature lacks attention to speculative designs in the service of a pedagogical practice. This paper reports on a two-year cross European research project investigating speculative designs in higher education contexts. We reflect on a broad data set including interviews, surveys, case studies and workshops involving educators and students. Our contribution draws on the results of this study to propose eight tension-patterns, each an interplay between opposing tendencies that educators and students need to address, more or less explicitly, when creating speculative designs. We then discuss how these tension-patterns can support the design and analysis of speculative designs in educational settings while accommodating different disciplinary, methodological and material constraints. Finally, we conclude by examining two important challenges: balancing creativity and criticism and moving beyond specialized courses
The designer\u27s role in fashion system transitions: A critical review of transition design
No full textBased on the literature review, this paper discusses the role of designers in organizing designs that intervene and facilitate transitions in the fashion system. Four interventions are identified from the literature review and discussed in detail concerning multi-stakeholder collaboration and textile fashion design. A critical analysis of designers and the design process in production reveals that the place and time of design activity and experience are expanding. However, there needs to be more research that designs projects and analyzes their long-term outcomes. Finally, this paper makes recommendations regarding the role of designers in fashion system transitions. Further research on design processes and designer education on place-based design is needed to develop models that challenge the fashion system paradigm
Cocreate: a co-design toolkit to design with and for adolescents together
No full textDesigning for children can be challenging as they often have difficulty expressing their wants and needs. Consequently, designers and creators may overlook their input and correct them instead. However, children possess unique and creative ways of thinking, making them ideal co-creators. Therefore, we should expand their role to include them as co-designers or co-creators. We developed coCreate for this purpose. n. This experiential tool aims to offer a fun, creative, and constructive way to design with and for children by empowering them to take a more active role in design, and involving their creativity from the start. coCreate exists out of 3 parts: Show and tell, Reflect, and Create. Each of these parts focuses on different aspects of co-design with children
Taller than the trees: Growing a biophilic sensibility in a photo-graphic design studio course
No full textInformed by Edward Wilson’s (1984) concept of biophilia, this paper describes a biophilic approach to teaching an introductory visual communication design course built specifically around the theme of tree stories. Drawing upon various subject matter experts and disciplinary perspectives, this course demonstrates high-impact teaching practices, including collaboration, experiential learning, and developing long-term projects. This paper describes the course design, includes a selection of student work produced in the course, and highlights student reflections. End-of-course reflections show that students developed an awareness of the impact trees have on humanity, and vice versa. Students grew to better understand their role and identity as designers in relation to sustainability concerns. Students tied these lessons to greater insights into the mentally restorative effects of nature, especially against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Future plans include revisions in the course design to more effectively address similar themes in future iterations of the course
Using cultural probes to understand students’ mental wellbeing
No full textWe report on the design and execution of a probe as an anonymous self-reporting tool to investigate the perception of mental well-being and support services for university students. The pictorial describes a six-day probe study with students. The study focuses on students’ perceptions, struggles and coping strategies to maintain their mental well-being. Our contribution is multifold. We detail the design and deployment of the probe for HCI practitioners and designers to adapt and adopt it, while we reflect on the data, deriving sensitizing concepts and personas to support the design practice for students’ mental well-being
Bio-Brutalism; five case studies framing the emergence of new raw aesthetics at the intersection of material regeneration, environmental design, and craft
No full textAs we move towards a regenerative paradigm for crafts, with new objectives, methods, and practices, questions arise regarding the aesthetics of these emerging forms. To address this issue, the main author developed a module aimed at exploring furniture design at the intersection of regenerative materials, structures, and aesthetics in greater depth. In this context, five cases have been selected to frame the quintessential characteristics of these new raw aesthetics.These case studies showcase varying approaches, with some generating new aesthetic qualities by introducing novel processes, while others embrace a strictly analogue approach to highlight literal aesthetics.The resulting aesthetics have been categorised in this paper as Bio/Brutalism. This emerging aesthetics retains the essential elements of traditional Brutalism, such as stripped-down, raw, monolithic appearance, non-treated finished surfaces, and a commitment to preserving design heritage. However, it also diverges in significant ways, with three core elements identified: subtractive locality, time-based dynamic aesthetics, and nature-human hybrid collaborative processes. The paper argues that the regenerative paradigm presents an opportunity for traditional crafts to evolve, and that diverse approaches offer intriguing avenues for the future of craft at the intersection of emerging sustainable practices
Designing the interaction between humans and autonomous systems: The role of behavioral science.
No full textIn recent years, the use of autonomous systems has grown rapidly in both the industrial and military sectors. These systems have the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work, from self-driving cars and drones to automated factories and military equipment. However, it has been argued, for this to happen, researchers and designers need to (re)consider the interaction between humans and machines, as it plays a significant role in ensuring the safe and efficient operation of autonomous systems (De Regt & Gagnon, 2020; Janssen et al., 2019). In this paper, I will argue that a closer integration with applied behavioural science could be beneficial for both researchers and practitioners involved in the design of the Human–machine interaction. To that effect, I will discuss a number of insights from behavioural science and how they could inform the design of human-machine interaction
Exploring diverse dimensions of design research and innovation in the changing world
No full textIn today\u27s fast-changing world, the design field has expanded to encompass many dimensions and applications. Starting with an analysis of the short papers proposed in the context of the IASDR 2023 conference, this essay delves into the fascinating range of topics, approaches, and formats covered and presented. This analysis has shed light on the different aspects of design research and innovation that drive progress in various design-related sectors. These papers collectively underscore the multidisciplinary and transformative nature of contemporary design research, demonstrating how innovation in technology and design, coupled with attention to social concerns and education, can shape a brighter and more sustainable future. Specifically, this essay discusses the evidence emerging from the current changes in design research, including its contents, research actions, and methods of dissemination, from the point of view of young researchers (Ph.D. candidates and junior researchers in academia). The results present not only a change in design research contents – emerging from the broad range of short paper topics featured in each conference track – but also a tendency to adopt emerging and engaging formats for research dissemination (short papers, posters, exhibitions, podcasts, etc). They underline the importance of exploring different dimensions of research and dissemination of design and innovation that are consistent with our changing world
The challenge of hyperdistraction for Design Education
No full textThis paper explores the concept of hyperdistraction, a cognitive state where a person constantly changes focus from one digital task to another and has a consistently low tolerance to boredom. The paper presents several studies that show that hyperdistraction is prevalent among younger generations, resulting in increased anxiety, poor mental health, and academic decline. Next, we highlight the challenges that design educators face to help students learn how to design in the face of a constant stream of information arriving at a rate the brain cannot process. We argue that managing attention is crucial for creative disciplines like design, which require a sophisticated balance of mind-wandering and concentrated focus at different moments of the creative process. The paper proposes that the design studio offers a blueprint for a humanistic way of learning. Design educators can help students learn how to manage their attention by encouraging reflective practice, even in the face of relentless digital distractions. The paper concludes by arguing that to nurture future designers and tackle the pressing problems of our time, the design community must challenge the culture of hyperdistraction and recover a sense of time that recognises the limitations and abilities of the human min