3983 research outputs found
Sort by
Design methods for accessing the pluriverse
Get PDFIn recent years, the feld of Design and human-computer inter-action (HCI) research has expanded to engage with nonhuman perspectives and contexts alongside the human. However, these ex-plorations often remain largely theoretical or small-scale and local. We argue that developing constructive pluriversal perspectives in complex design processes requires more diverse and adventurous experimentation. This one-day workshop explores and proposes methods for pluriversal art and design practice, with methodolog-ical guidelines of invoking intuitive and systematic perspective-building within an emphatically relational and social context. Our goal in this workshop is to explore, share and map emerging methods that allow designers to think through multiple perspec-tives. We aim to bring together designers who embrace heightened sensitivity towards entities beyond the human realm and support relational approaches in design. This workshop will explore how design interventions, visual mapping, and other-than-human HCI can become ‘enabling methods’ that contribute to understanding others’ perspectives and relations. Through experience with a case of temporalities in human-plant interaction, we will discuss how these methods can contribute to broader goals of developing rela-tionality and endorsing eco-centric approaches in design practice
Interview with Rachel Garfield. 4 January 2019, Swiss Hotel Chicago
Get PDFIn 2018, I invited Rachel Garfield and David Brauner to be part of a panel at the Modern 5 Language Association Annual Conference – to be held in the early part of 2019 in Chicago. The panel was entitled: ‘Blackness in Convergence/Tension with Jewishness in Contemporary Art and Literature.’ I had been very interested in Rachel Garfield’s work for some time (and would like to thank Nadia Valman for encouraging me to explore Rachel’s work for a project on Jewishness and Blackness). After the panel, we spent some 10 time discussing the trajectories of her fascinating projects at the Swiss Hotel. This is a revised version of the transcript of this intervie
My goddess vibes
Get PDFMy Goddess Vibes, 2024 Softcover 46 pages Publisher: SupaStore In Print ISBN: 978-1-0685003-0-5 Dimensions: 160 x 120mm Edition 500 £12.00 My Goddess Vibes is a slim volume containing a 3000 word short story by Sarah Staton, edited by Oliver Corino, enhanced with a visual essay of collaged images produced by the graphic designers Duo Impair. Published on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Fresh Window, the Art of Display, the Display of Art’
Textile robotic interaction dataset for designer robot collaboration (HRI 2024)
No full textThis repository stores the scripts and text-based data for a collaborative experiment conducted in July 2023 between two research projects, Intelligent Design Systems for Innovation (RP2-5) at the Royal College of Art, London, UK and Human-centred AI Design (RP2-4) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic. Both projects are funded by the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design under the InnoHK Research Clusters, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. There were two robotic experiments. Both had the general aim of scanning and recording image-based / video data of textile materials. The set of 12 novel sustainable textile materials used in these experiments was provided by the RP2-5, sourced from via Sustainable Angle from their Future Fabric Material Library. RP2-4 provided access to UFactory xArm7 robot arms at the human-robotic collaboration lab
Affordances as tool for ecosystem mapping in a context of regenerative ecologies
Get PDFEnvironmental concerns and the compelling need to operate within planetary boundaries result in the search for novel approaches and solutions to support the transition to materials and processes which are ecological and regenerative to achieve holistic sustainability. Regenerative frameworks suggest the adoption of a holistic vision where all different ecosystems actors’ humans and non-humans are comprehensively considered in their interconnections. Wool is a natural renewable fiber with invaluable intrinsic characteristics produced by sheep whose grazing offers a regulatory service to the ecosystem, if not bred intensively. If sheep are farmed according to regenerative farming standards, the extracted wool can achieve carbon neutrality thus becoming a well-equipped beneficial player in a regenerative context. In addition, wool is one of the purest sources of keratin, a remarkably useful protein. Its recovery from end-of-life and low-grade wool presents worthwhile applications in different industries. Wool and wool keratin processing cover a vast array of transformation methods ranging from rural and craft-based approaches to cutting-edge biotechnologies, resulting in a plethora of applications which can address different societal needs. All these aspects require a new level of attention to take into consideration the reverberation of action and decision by industry stakeholders in the wider ecosystem, human and non-human, thus including the planet as stakeholder in the process. The concept of affordances, firstly theorized by Gibson, has been adopted in multiple disciplines and some scholars suggested that the concept of affordances could aid individuals to harness the resourcefulness of the environment. By drawing from a literature review across different disciplines, affordances can be defined as relationships between the offerings of the environment and the abilities of a form of life to harness them. As such affordances are characterized by being relational and hence highlighting the potential interconnection between two entities and generating mapping. Ecosystem mapping enables context unpacking and the concept of affordances - due to its broadness - could facilitate the generation of eco-system mapping to the level of details necessary to follow a regenerative framework by signposting interconnections between different entities. Firstly, by deploying participatory design approaches I aim to investigate how the concept of affordances can be translated into a tool for ecosystem mapping in the context of regenerative ecologies. Secondly, by investigating the translation of the concept of affordances into a mapping tool applied in the context of wool ecosystems I aim to extend knowledge to the design field about the translation of theoretical concepts into regenerative design tools. Thirdly, my research aims to develop a tool which could facilitate regenerative practices in the wool ecosystems and thus supporting different actors in producing mapping of their ecosystem to guide informed decisionmaking process by visualizing the wider impact of potential operations in their ecosystem
Reverse alchemy: Creative proposals for sustainable AI and XR futures
No full textReverse Alchemy was a collaborative, research-led project developed through a partnership between the Royal College of Art (RCA) and the Korean National University of the Arts (K-Arts). Bringing together researchers and students across institutions and continents, the project explored emerging synergies between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR), positioning art and design methodologies as critical tools for shaping the trajectories of these technologies beyond conventional research and development frameworks. Framed by the metaphor of “reverse alchemy,” the project invited students to intervene in complex technical systems in order to reorient them towards more organic, ethical, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes. Through speculative inquiry, critical making, and experiential design, students explored themes such as human–AI collaboration, social and collective intelligence, training AI within virtual environments, advanced visualisation, authorship and ownership, and the role of immersive technologies in amplifying marginalised voices. The programme was supported by contributions from experts at Meta Reality Labs and industry partners, who led talks and workshops providing technical insight alongside critical perspectives on emerging tools and infrastructures. The project culminated in two public exhibitions. The first was presented at Hyundai Motors ONSO in Seoul, engaging industry professionals, academics, and public audiences. The second took place at the Hangar space on the RCA’s Battersea campus in London and featured immersive installations, interactive demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and two panel discussions. These events brought together researchers, technologists, curators, artists, and educators to critically examine the cultural implications of AI and XR, including questions of sustainability, documentation, archiving, and the evolving role of immersive media in cultural production. Collectively, Reverse Alchemy demonstrated the value of international, design-led collaboration in imagining and materially testing more resilient and equitable technological futures
Imag(in)ing Bigbury Camp: Documentary Imaging Group (DIG)
Get PDFFormed by longtime collaborators Mireille Fauchon, Leah Fusco, and Gareth Proskourine Barnett, DIG is a space to collectively and critically engage with visual methods of the representation of people and places through practice-research. Imag(in)ing Bigbury Camp is the inaugural project and exhibition at the Daphne Oram Gallery, Canterbury Christ Church University. Responding to an Iron Age hillfort in Kent, the works explore the intersection of ancient history and contemporary imagination and the ways we construct meaning from archaeological traces. Through an open access digital publication, the works are contextualised through the research process encompassing field trips, archive visits, and public engagement events
The usefulness of imperfect design
Get PDFWe documented hundreds of projects many of which might have saved lives. All were produced as quickly as possible with designed outcomes getting more and more rudimentary – imperfection was irrelevant. Use was king. Lifesaving designs, absolutely essential and useful but all imperfect. Perfection would have been deathly!. In our book – A Design History of the COVID-19 Virus – we documented the COVID-19 crisis as it evolved every day from the 1st of January 2020 to 31st May 2020. This temporal span encompassed; the outbreak; the first lockdown and reopening. We looked at all of this care and caring from the point of view of design and, by the sheer volume of design interventions we have documented, illustrate that design really does care
The form-affordance-function (FAF) triangle of design: Interactions of affordances with form and function in industrial design
Get PDFFor centuries, the relationship between form and function has been a point of debate in the communities of architecture and design, leading to the development of various theories which have attempted to establish a tangible relationship between these two entities. Besides, the concept of affordance, adopted from Gibson’s ecological psychology theory, has appeared as a widely-used concept in design practice and research. Nevertheless, while it is generally accepted that these concepts have close dependencies and interactions, it appears that there is no explicit theoretical framework that relates three of the most fundamental concepts of design, namely form, function, and affordance. This paper aims to analyze the concept of affordance in the context of industrial design, where we attempt to develop insights into the role of affordances in relation to form and function. To this end, we define the form-affordance-function (FAF) triangle of design as a major contributor to the establishment of a partial product design specification (PDS) in the design process. We present several examples to investigate the position of affordances in competition with other design considerations such as engineering performance, ergonomics, and aesthetics. The insights into these relationships could have potential implications for designers in making informed early-stage design decisions