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Change management by design. Design as a flow improver in turbulent times
No full text“One of the most significant facts of our time is the predominance of organizations. Perhaps this is the most significant. It will take time to fully understand its effects on individuals\u27 thinking and behavior. Only a few of them will not be affected by this conditioning process”. If we read this sentence today, for the first time, without knowing its context, date and source, we would first of all be struck by its timeliness. We could also assume that we are dealing with an extract from a publication in the field of economics or business organization aimed at investigating the complexity and speed of the phenomena that contemporary organizations today go through in terms of markets, technologies, people, knowledge. We\u27d be wrong on both sides. It was 1957 when George Nelson published these considerations in his essay entitled The Designer in the Modern World . Industrial designer and father of American modernism, Nelson had anticipated by many decades the discourse on the centrality of the organization understood as a complex social system and the main challenge for design for organizations and in organizations: identifying processes, practices, methods to influence them not only in terms of thought and expected behaviors of the individuals who are part of it but also and above all in the generation of a positive effect on human experience in a world of increasing complexity (Buchanan, 2015) . This paper aims at exploring the contribution of design in enabling the shape of organizational evolution and capacity building
Combining Evaluation Grid Method to investigate the attractions of traditional crafts in Taiwan
No full textThe study integrated the attractions of traditional crafts in Taiwan and explored the relationship among attractions. Results from eleven studies covering seven types of crafts, were summarized and classified using the Evaluation Grid Method (EGM) framework, which helped in creating an EGM chart outlining the attractions of traditional crafts in Taiwan. Additionally, we calculated the number of crafts that mentioned each attraction and investigated the connections among the Actual charm characteristics. The findings revealed that seven types of crafts referred to Unique material appearance, while six types of crafts were related to Creative. It was found that the attractions of materials involve different senses such as vision, touch, and smell, thereby emphasizing the importance of the material to the overall attraction of the craft. Besides, the relationships among the Actual charm characteristics were categorized into External attractions of handicrafts, Internal attractions of handicrafts, Attraction of making techniques, and Emotional attractions
Wearing Black when feeling Blue: An exploration of the relationship between clothing and mood.
No full textThe relationship between an individual’s outfit and their mood is complex and varies from person to person. Yet, every garment possesses characteristics that can influence, intensify, or conceal the wearer’s mood. This paper explores this relationship between outfits and the wearer’s mood, examining how clothing choices can affect mood and they can be used to alter it. Through a combination of a literature study and an exploratory questionnaire study that asked people to take photographs of their outfits, key garment characteristics have been determined for four distinct moods: tense, cheerful, gloomy, and relaxed. These characteristics were used to create a set of inspirational and layered outfits that make the wearer’s moods more tangible and understandable. The paper reports a summary of the literature review, the explorative questionnaire study, and the tangible outfits
Domestic infrastructure of food: thoughts on community engagement through food, furniture, and architectural exhibition
No full textOver the past decades, the attention towards fresh food ingredients has promoted the emergence of growing vegetables in domestic spaces and sharing homemade ingredients with neighbors. The introduction of producing and exchanging food in domestic territories not only creates new forms of recreation, but also foregrounds inhabitants\u27 anxieties concerning food security and community engagement, especially amidst global unrest during the pandemic. Within this imperative context, the pictorial essay intends to introduce food as a collective medium and a social act. By showing a series of representations and photographs of an installation project, the essay speculates on the performative and spatial aspects of food-related furniture in developing a collective, sustainable community. As the project was part of the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture, the essay is also intended to reflect upon the project\u27s disciplinary values and constraints, glimpsing into the future of architectural exhibitions through the lens of food
Differences in the use of analogies by designers at different stages of conceptual design
No full textIn recent years, analogies have been widely used in the design process as an effective means of accelerating product innovation. This study investigates the spontaneous use of analogies in conceptual design. We used the protocol approach to analyse differences in designers\u27 use of analogies during the three stages of the conceptual design process (exploration, development and forming). The findings show that designers\u27 analogy tasks and design tasks differ significantly in the proportion of design processes involving analogy. Their distribution also reflects the more frequent use of analogies in the exploratory and developmental phases of the designer\u27s design process. This will provide theoretical support for designers to make better use of analogies in conceptual design and for analogical design education
Fictional Brand Design. Evolution, Strategies, and an Attempt to a History of Visual Identities in Audiovisual Narratives.
No full textBrands tell stories to affirm their values, positioning, and identity. They tell stories that allow people to recognise themselves in them, to share them, to feel part of them. That occurs in the real world as in the world of fiction. The term fictional branding refers to the design and use of brands that do not refer to any existing service, product, company or organisation. They can include any brand referring to products or commercial services, political institutions, military organisations, and more. This paper aims to offer a comprehensive look at the topic through historical and theoretical research and analyse the state of the art of the practice. Specifically, we will deepen fictional brands’ role in building engaging, believable and memorable stories and narratives. In order to carry out a more precise and in-depth analysis, we defined a specific field of investigation: that of long-form narrative audiovisual works, thus including films, TV series and video games. The result of the research is currently merged into the Fictional Brands Archive. This website allows users to consult an extensive collection of fictional brands accompanied by information and visual material
Navigating circularity in practice: proposing a decision-making tool for guiding circular product development
No full textProduct design and development are considered to be essential in the transition toward a circular economy. Circular product design requires strategies and methods that support a holistic and systems approach considering the complete lifecycle of a product. In order to support designers and businesses in going circular, various theoretical frameworks, methods, and strategies for circular design have been conceived in recent years. Yet, the need for more evidence of how to help circular design in practice remains. This study aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the field of circular design by proposing a tool to help companies in the decision-making process toward circular product development. The proposed tool was tested during a workshop with an individual company that is dealing with the complexity of diverse product ranges and business units with often conflicting priorities. Workshop participants used the tool to navigate a plethora of circular product design strategies and engaged in active group discussions across business units to identify priorities for their company’s new circular product guidelines. The tool was deemed useful for comprehending the field of circular design practice worldwide, as well as for evaluating the circularity level of the own business. However, the interdependence of design strategies posed some challenges. Various design strategies remained rather abstract, and thus hindered mutual understanding. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of further refining the terminology and reexamining the user interface of the tool
Designing an interactive system based on pose-estimation to support rhythmic gymnastics basic coaches in enhancing their learning
No full textThis research aims to explore how to shape technology to enhance the educational learning path of Rhythmic Gymnastics basic coaches. These individuals feel that the formal training path is not enough to enable them to perform safely and professionally. Therefore, they try to compensate for this lack through informal sources. Starting from this background the questions that this exploratory research investigates are: How it is possible to support basic coaches in their learning path with technology, particularly pose estimation? Semi-structured and unstructured interviews with basic coaches and athletes, and user observations were methos used to frame the context and define the user requirements. Several qualitative surveys with basic coaches and athletes but also experts in different fields helped in defining the system concept. The research process involved the development of a mobile application using pose-estimation. The system was then tested to verify its overall usability and to validate the hypotheses that the system could increase coaches’ explanation and learning, could increase coaches’ level of confidence during the correction and improve athletes’ motivation. The results lend validity to these hypotheses and show that this technological approach could become a supportive tool for coaches who perceive its potential. We also discuss the limitations and future implementations of this research
Study on the Status Quo and Sustainable Renewal Strategies of the Zhoutie Historic District in Wuxi, China
No full textThe renovation of old historical blocks is currently receiving much attention in China\u27s urban construction and development, and how to protect the traditional texture and sustainable development has become a research issue. This article takes the historical block of Zhoutie in Wuxi, China as the research site. Through field research methods, the current situation of old historical blocks is studied from the outside to the inside, and three characteristics of old blocks are summarized: the first point is that the relationship between new and old buildings inside and outside the historical blocks is fragmented, and some groups are updated to erase historical traces; Second, the cost of protecting old buildings is high, and the sustainability of unprofessional and spontaneous renovation is poor; The third point is that the professional transformation led by the government is too fixed at a certain historical stage. On this basis, this article proposes to respect the authenticity of the original spatial texture; Protect the eyes of the eastern town; A new continuation of the water market; Create rich interactive activity scenarios, which are four thoughts and strategies for sustainable renewal. To form a way of protection and utilization with regional characteristics, and provide updated ideas for historical blocks thriving due to water
Unlocking the experience economy: Integrating design for experience knowledge into fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) product innovation
No full textThis paper addresses the question how design for experience can be integrated into the product innovation practices of fast-moving consumer products, to increase impact and deliver additional (emotional) value to consumers. To achieve this, theories of the leading experts in the field have been reviewed, key principles of designing for experience have been identified and reflected on the product innovation practices as a case study on Henkel Consumer Brands, a global leading fast-moving consumer goods company. The key finding is that many small and diverse actions need be taken, which can be clustered in three themes: 1) actionable behavior, 2) organizational matters and 3) strategic approach. Starting with qualitative consumer insights is essential in designing prototypes that can be used to evaluate the user experience in addition to technical workability and market research data. This entails a new approach to early-stage prototyping, testing a minimum viable product experience (MVPX) in addition to minimum viable products (MVP). On the organizational side, there needs to be a true collapse of the roles of researchers and designers. The innovation target needs to shift from pain point relief to positive consumer experiences. Measuring emotions at scale will be necessary to quantify consumers’ willingness to pay for them. On the strategic side, design for experience needs to become a conceptual activity, changing the innovation currency from consumers’ money spent on functionality (product) or convenience (services) to consumers’ time and money spent on emotional well-being to make experiences a distinct economic offer