1,721,009 research outputs found
The satisfactory and (possibly) sustainable practice of do-it-yourself: the catalyst role of design
No full textContemporary self-production (i.e. DIY) phenomena are envisaged as a 'window of opportunity' to foster sustainable and satisfactory practices of consumption and production. This research addressed self-production to save products and prolong their lifespan once the end-of-life is reached by re-using, re-pairing, re-purposing, and re-appropriating. The resulting 'RE-DIY' practice was investigated through qualitative interviews with 15 practitioners in Italy and England (UK). Sociological theories of practices have been used to investigate the skills, material and meaning elements sustaining the practice under examination. Four different groups of practitioners were identified according to motivations and levels of commitment and interest. However, all interviewees seemed to perceive comparable levels of satisfaction from practising RE-DIY. Furthermore, some elements for a flow condition have been identified. Finally, the role of design professionals in boosting the sustainable potential of RE-DIY will be proposed. To this purpose the scale of action and typologies of collaboration for design are mapped
Sharing cities and citizens sharing: Perceptions and practices in Milan
Get PDFSharing economy is envisaged as an opportunity for economic, social and environmental impact, by enabling people to maximize the idling capacity of their assets. The key change of the contemporary trend regards the boundaries and types of connections that sharing economy is reshaping. The phenomenon is evident at urban scale, where digitally literate citizens may benefit from being connected through online platforms to strangers and their assets. Nevertheless, the integration of sharing in urban routines is influenced by individual perceptions, social practices and local dynamics. This paper introduces insights from a participatory process for the development of sharing urban services in the demonstration area of Milan ‘Sharing City’. Local citizens and stakeholders were engaged in workshops, focus groups and roundtables intended to mapping, understanding and assessing sharing services for daily practices (especially mobility, food provision and waste management, energy efficiency and the environment, social inclusion). This participatory process provided nuanced feedback on sharing, raising issues related to how such initiatives are known, perceived, used and integrated in their routines. This paper describes the most relevant themes emerged throughout the participatory process, to infer that sharing implies the negotiation of multitude elements, most notably citizens’ digital literacy, convenience, trust, social interactions
(Un)Conventional engineering tests to predict fabrics sensorial properties
No full textThe research investigates the possibility of objectively anticipating
the sensorial qualities of fabrics as an opportunity for competitiveness in
textiles’ fields. To this end, three meaningful subjective sensorial perceptions
for a specific sampling of fabrics have been associated with objective material
properties measured through both conventional and alternative tests. The
samples have been eventually assessed by three groups of panelists in three
different sensorial modalities, involving touch and sight. Data from the physical
and mechanical tests were then statistically related to these subjective rankings
in order to identify objective properties that best anticipate specific sensorial
information. Two are the main results: (a) subjective perceptions are
independent from user’s professional background; (b) a specific objective
property is a reliable parameter for softness sensorial anticipation. Finally, a set
of tools is proposed to exploit the potentiality of the obtained results
Il colore: una qualità espressivo-sensoriale dei materiali per il design
No full textIl colore dei materiali è un tema ampio e di difficile inquadramento se si prova a pensare a tutto quanto può essere incluso in una simile trattazione. L’uomo ha da sempre apprezzato i materiali anche per i loro colori e le loro sfumature, quelle delle pietre preziose, o dei marmi e delle rocce in genere, o le venature del legno.
Ci sono materiali che da sempre vengono presi a riferimento per il loro colore e altri materiali con i quali è possibile giocare sfumando il loro colore originario e dando vita a immagini originali dello stesso, si pensi all’oro e a tutte le sue varianti (oro bianco, oro giallo, oro rosso, oro verde). Ci sono materiali che possono essere riconosciuti per il loro colore caratteristico, il rame per il suo rosso e il grigio di un alluminio o di un titanio. Esistono materiali che non hanno colore, e non ci si riferisce alla trasparenza del vetro, che anch’essa è un colore, ma alla totale progettabilità cromatica che dalla loro scoperta hanno offerto i materiali polimerici al design.
Alcuni materiali infine sono più o meno pregiati a seconda del loro colore e sono sempre stati utilizzati dall’uomo per la produzione di artefatti, proprio mettendo in evidenza questa loro valenza estetica. L’uomo infatti vede a colori, cosa che lo accomuna più ad alcuni insetti, rettili, uccelli e pesci, che non ai mammiferi i quali non godono di questo privilegio.
Ogni materiale appare come colorato e questa colorazione è dovuta all’interazione della luce con gli elettroni e gli atomi costituenti la materia stessa. Il colore può essere quindi definito come proprietà intrinseca del materiale proprio per il suo essere manifestazione esteriore delle leggi che regolano i fenomeni della materia.
L’effetto cromatico quindi è dato dalla distribuzione spettrale della luce non assorbita e poi riflessa diffusamente dalla superficie colpita dalla luce. Questa proprietà può essere misurata sia quantitativamente, utilizzando lo strumento chiamato spettrofotometro, sia qualitativamente, riferendosi ai sistemi notazionali del colore quali il Munsell, il Pantone, il RAL e via dicendo. Esiste inoltre una ricca designazione verbale, semplificata però considerando le 11 categorie fondamentali condivise da tutti i vari linguaggi6: il bianco, il nero, il rosso, il verde, il giallo, il blu, il marrone, il rosa, il porpora, l’arancio e il grigio
Digitally making as an opportunity for skilling and empowerment
Get PDFThe current trend of digitally enabled self-production (i.e. digital DIY) is emblematic of the contemporary attitude to making and crafting. Although digital DIY has been seen as an opportunity for social and technological innovation, a major debate is taking place in research literature about its potential skilling or deskilling effect on practitioners.
For instance, on the one hand, focusing on the digital representation undermines the ability to experience materials qualities and manufacturability. The ultimate effect is the development of a creative process, which is led by a virtual idea disconnected from the material world. On the other hand, the machine itself is a manifestation of knowledge, skills and labour involved in its design, manufacture and maintenance.
The objective of this paper is to further unpack this debate and presenting our reflections from an ongoing research project on the potential of digital DIY as a skilling process through making collaboratively. We introduce a research model representing the dynamics enacting over three interdependent levels (i.e. social innovation, social practice and creative process) in which three factors of technology (e.g. digital fabrication), motivation (e.g. commitment) and collaboration (e.g. with peers) are envisaged as crucial for learning and skilling
Il progetto della Natura. Gli strumenti della biomimesi per il design.
No full textLa natura è assimilabile ad un pregevole progetto, frutto di processi evolutivi perpetuatisi per quasi 4 miliardi di anni, tali per cui la continua ottimizzazione degli organismi ha generato materiali, strutture e meccanismi di mirabile efficacia, spesso superiore ai corrispondenti artefatti umani, soprattutto dal punto di vista ambientale. Il libro, "Il progetto della Natura", è il risultato del percorso di ricerca per la diffusione dell'approccio biomimetico nella progettazione, che trae ispirazione proprio dagli organismi naturali per la realizzazione di prodotti e processi avanzati in molteplici livelli (prestazionale, tecnologico, ambientale, economico,...) e ambiti applicativi (prodotti industriali, tessile e abbigliamento, architettura e costruzioni). Le potenzialità dell'approccio biomimetico vengono illustrate attraverso una vasta esemplificazione dei casi applicativi ed espedienti più significativi. La trattazione del tema comprende inoltre una panoramica sugli approcci, le istituzioni di maggior rilievo e gli strumenti basilari per avviare la progettazione bioispirata attraverso l'indicazione di riviste specializzate, blog di divulgazione e scambio, nonché database mirati a sostenere i progettisti della prossima "era biomorfica
Design and creativity enhancing innovative educational processes
No full textThe 'Innovative Design in academic contexts' project addressed how learning and teaching changes after the introduction of digital technology in schools and how can design support this. The paper addresses aspects of the creative process and problem solving used to change the academic process and developing an innovative method that redefines the role of a teacher. The project involved 100 teachers at all grades across Italy, who contributed to the implementation of a formerly developed methodology (called IDEActivity) enabling the delivery of innovation across different contexts. The methodology and its toolkit has been applied into the project and eventually shared online with other teachers in Italy. The final outcome is a co-designed guide that takes inspiration from design approach and techniques to be used for planning and implementing learning activities in class
Nature’s contribution to design: biomimetic approach as a mediation between biological and engineering sciences
No full textThe aesthetic of interaction with materials for design: the bioplasticsʼ identity
No full textToday, thinking on sustainable artifacts become an obligation for companies oriented to sensitive and cultured market. Particular attention should be addressed towards the selection of materials compatible with natural cycle in order to accomplish also the necessity for “cradle to cradle” strategies. The material selection involves the definition of the raw material (natural or synthetic) and the resulting environmental impact when it returns to nature. In this view, bio-plastics appear particularly interesting for the environmental compatibility. Despite the reliable conditions, bio-plastics still struggling to be used in place of synthetic polymers on the commodities market, likely for problem of acceptance related to their lack of awareness and identity on which the people have small experience. The research aims at contributing to the investigation of bioplastics in order to allowing them in acquiring their own recognizable identity. In other words, we contribute to the affirmation of intangible features of matter defining the interaction between user and materials. Hence, industry can afford the whole potential of the studied bioplastics, well beyond the mere environmental advantage. The method is founded on the critical analysis on both aesthetic and processing point of view, to grasp the peculiar characteristics to design and to enhance. The configuration of its own identity is no more something defined a priori respect to design work, but it is the result of a dynamic relationship among three polarities: its own technical-aesthetic area, its own communication potential, and its own potential applications. To the purpose, a particular biopolymer has been considered, Arboform®, as a case study and as an occasion for considerations potentially useful for other biopolymers. The creative part accomplished the realization of both performances and sensorial profiles of the studied material. Finally we propose potential scenarios for both the substitutive and novel applications with the aim of assess the likeness of applying such advantageous materials in common applications
The Importance of Textiles Hand in Comfort and Emotional Design
No full textThe aim of this paper is to verify and evaluate the variable emotional response in interacting with a well-defined matter, fabrics, through different sensorial channels in order to allow designers to set or select textile parameters according to the emotion they would like to evoke in a specific sensorial condition.
The purpose is to create a universal and scientifically-based culture and language as a core for a quality control system of two fundamental elements: “hand” and comfort.
The research concerned several aspects of sensorial experience of textiles through the selection of the most influential sensations in textile applications and their relative possible correlation to mechanical properties. A group of subjects in different sensorial modalities was utilized in order to analyse transfer and anticipation phenomena.
Interesting deductions have been drawn by comparing objective parameters and correlated subjective sensations thereby opening up the potential to design emotional experience of textiles
- …
