The purpose of lifelogging is to help users collect data for self-monitoring and reflection. We have in this study explored how lifelogging technology (a camera and a heart rate monitor) can change user experience (UX) research, and we describe a novel approach. Data was collected for three days with four participants, and a 4-6-hours co-creation workshop with stimulated recall interview was held with each of them to create an experience timeline. The timeline includes selfreported key experiences, lifelog stimulated experiences, heart rate, decisions, and valence. The results show that the number of experiences in the timeline that come from data points stimulated by the lifelogging, are as many as the self-reported data points. Lessons learned include that the use of lifelogging produces highly detailed UX research, but it is very time consuming, due to the sheer amount of data.
This paper discusses the impact ofservice design by zooming in on the case of serviceprototyping. It is suggested that prototyping servicesis different from prototyping in other disciplinesand shows how by discussing prototyping ondifferent levels. On the service level of prototyping,a technique called ‘service walkthrough’ can be away to understand whole service experiences. Theservice walkthrough was used in three cases. On anabstract level, what the service walkthrough addsis a technique for service design that allows explorationof the relationship between touchpoints suchas composition, continuity, and consistency. In thecases studied, the walkthroughs increased empathyfor different roles in the services while generating insightsabout e.g. technical requirements, transitionsbetween touchpoints, and expectations at variousmoments of the service. The paper ends with a discussionabout the relationship between touchpointsand the potential scope of the service walkthroughtechnique.
A defining characteristic of service design is the use of external representations, which support designers in making intangible aspects of services accessible and shareable. Both current and future states are externally represented, using different service design techniques, for the purposes of articulating insights, learning, communicating, collaborating, and maintaining empathy for customers. The purposes of, and techniques for, making external representations were compared with benefits of using external representations to think, suggested by the theory of distributed cognition. The analysis indicated that the service design techniques could be divided into two groups; definite and ongoing. The analysis also revealed that none of the included techniques explicitly supported designers in making multiple simultaneous representations of services. The research contributes knowledge about how the externalisations relate to benefits of making external representations, and about how to choose and use different service design techniques based on theories of distributed and situated cognition.
Taking our cue from the impact of Joseph Kosuth’s 1965 conceptual artwork One and Three Chairs, there has always been one and three museums-the cosmos is the museum of light, the city is the museum of space and given the job of the museum is to indefinitely accumulate time the museum today is the museum of time. In this paper we present a fourth-the museum of the future. The museum and the department store were concurrent designs of industrialization; one-the store-collected the here-and-now and sold it as what-might-become while the other-the museum-collected what-was and projected it as what-we-have-become. However, the manifest crises of the planet illustrate the limits of our capacity to persuade ourselves we can imagine a future in which we want to live, and cast urgency on the long-term design project of being together. And the project of being together in the urban age is driving us to change the entire terrain of thought and action. Where once ideas drove change, change now appears to be split between two projects whose temporal dimensions govern the notion of ‘future’. One is the busy sharing of digital records of the as-found, and counter to this digital archive is the revival of designs of what-might-become illustrated in the boom in digital imagery of fantasy futures. In order to now imagine a future it has become necessary to navigate the competing time frames of the digital archiving of the past and the digital reproduction of the future. But for Jacques Derrida the question of the archive is not a question of the past but a question of the future, the very question of the future, of a response, of a promise and of a responsibility for tomorrow. According to him “the archive-if we want to know what this will have meant we will only know tomorrow.” And Hal Foster disconnects the archive from the museum when he questions “Might visual culture rely on techniques of information to transform a wide range of mediums into a system of image-text-a database of digital terms-an archive without museums?” In this paper we propose this temporal disjuncture-archive and future-can be bridged by the design of what we call the Museum of the Future whose windows open onto the permanent present. The Museum of the Future is not a location for the sentimental accumulation of time in the form of tasteful objects. According to Cedric Price “neither knowledge nor value can be stored and contained in a particular place” therefore “the museum of the future initiates a process of constant revision that assures the contingency and non-solidity of a building”. Following from Price we propose the Museum of the Future is a continuous interior whose form, stretched to compass the cumulous cloud of digital sentimentality and reproduction, functions as a sedimentary layer for our imaginings of increasingly populous and proximate future relations.
Some products are considered ‘bad taste’ and therefore of less value. However, if we focus on what a product does with and for its users, rather than on what a product is, we can disregard superficial statements based on taste and instead get a better understanding of good design. This reasoning is based on the relationship between ‘good taste’ and ‘good design’, terms which are sometimes confused and treated as synonyms. In this article, we explore the tension between ‘good taste’ and ‘good design’ and how designers can use that tension in the design process. We consider ‘good taste’ to be rooted in a subjective context of inherent values, whereas ‘good design’ arises from competence and is based on professional skill. In this paper, ‘bad taste’ is exemplified by products associated with the lifestyles of rap artists and the subculture of bling. Our experience is that bling products often generate strong feelings and opinions and are dismissed by many as ‘bad taste’ because their appearance is incompatible with what is perceived to be ‘good design’. In the context of a course on trends, industrial design students were given the task of exploring how bling products are perceived in everyday life. Their views on bling were compatible with how bling is presented in the media. The students perceived bling products to be far from what is regarded as ‘good taste’ within their own culture. Consequently, they were unable to regard bling as a source of inspiration in their design work. However, when the students began to consider what the product does rather than what it is, they were able to use bling as a source of creativity. What other design opportunities are overlooked by regarding products as being in ‘bad taste’?
Interactive television (iTV) has the potential to revolutionize the way we consume broadcast media, but users still find both the notion of iTV and the services currently available problematic. This paper describes a project that investigates a representative group of users' aspirations, and barriers to iTV service engagement in the UK. This primary research informed the development of new User Interface (UI) and service solutions that addressed these barriers. Specifically, a second screen solution was developed to remove the need for iTV services to use on-screen graphics, dramatically improving the possibilities for effective interaction and navigation for iTV interfaces and services. The effectiveness of these solutions was evaluated through the testing of these new iTV services in a representative group of family homes.
To tackle global sustainability challenges of the Fashion Industry and ensure long-term viability, companies have slowly started integrating circular approaches. This paper explores if and how fashion designers can aid the transition towards a circular economy. For this purpose, 15 interviews with ten fashion designers working in medium and large international fashion companies and five key expert informants were conducted. The results are summarized in the ORFDCE model (Organizational Roles of Fashion Designers for Circular Economy) and suggests designers can take up three central roles in the transition process, if they expand their sustainability-related knowledge and are supported by four central systemic organizational changes. The model enables companies to identify their specific standing in the transition process and develop designer training and support measures aimed at realizing their designers' full potential. The article also issues several recommendations for further research, to enable the transition from linear to circular fashion.
Design-driven innovation focuses on the innovation of product meanings. This innovation is enabled by integrating knowledge on needs, product language and technological development. So far, it has mostly been studied in contexts where the buyer is the assumed end user. There has been little research about design-driven innovation in other contexts, such as business-to-business and public contexts. Here, companies need to create value for multiple stakeholders. In this study, these are defined as users, buyers and influencers. The aim of this study is to explore how companies consider the different stakeholders in the innovation of product meanings. Two companies participated in a case study. The results demonstrate that both companies mainly focus on addressing needs. However, while one case company prioritizes the perspective from the user, the other focuses more on the buyer. The results illustrate the increased complexity that companies need to manage in design-driven innovation in these contexts.
This paper highlights the important role that design plays when it comes to women’s overall experiences of ther gynaecological examination. It exemplifies how the examination can become renegotiable through the practice of a critical design. We will reflect this in the design of the contemporary gynaecological examination chair (GEC). We used women’s experiences as a starting point for the design of an Androchair (a conceptual male equivalent of the GEC), in order to make the experiences critically visible. Inspired by the view of the gynaecological examination as a performance where the Androchair is represented as a prop and was placed on a stage as a discussion object during a public seminar. The Androchair allowed for both critical and multiple readings of the GEC and through that, the gynaecology examination at large. Moreover, it stimulated a discussion about alternative ideas towards achieving a more positive experience.
This paper highlights the important role that design plays when it comes to women's overall experiences of ther gynaecological examination. It exemplifies how the examination can become renegotiable through the practice of a critical design. We will reflect this in the design of the contemporary gynaecological examination chair (GEC). We used women's experiences as a starting point for the design of an Androchair (a conceptual male equivalent of the GEC), in order to make the experiences critically visible. Inspired by the view of the gynaecological examination as a performance where the Androchair is represented as a prop and was placed on a stage as a discussion object during a public seminar. The Androchair allowed for both critical and multiple readings of the GEC and through that, the gynaecology examination at large. Moreover, it stimulated a discussion about alternative ideas towards achieving a more positive experience. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
It is often claimed that Computer Aided Design ( CAD) tools are unsuitable for design ideation as they are said to not support serendipitous interpretation, playfulness and creativity. However, this notion is based on anecdotal evidence and research that was done using CAD tools now considered obsolete. This study therefore aims to provide insights on the use of currently available CAD tools for design ideation. This was done by having three experts evaluate the use of pen- and- paper sketches and four different CAD tools for design ideation and discuss the results. The results from this study suggest that CAD tools have the potential to support serendipity and provide an environment for creativity and playfulness. There are several opportunities for the use of CAD tools in design ideation. This is certainly true in design fields where it is notoriously hard to make sketches, such as in lighting design.
In the design research community, diverse narratives and ontologies are discussed in relation to sustainability. Relational ontology is proposed as an alternative to the dominant dualist ontology as a way to reconnect people with their ecological embeddedness and responsibility. This work presents a dialogical tool called 'teatime' created to introduce diverse, immaterial perspectives on sustainability in a co-design project with youth and researchers. The study explores the role of the teatime design in eliciting diverse narratives and forming a dialogical space. The results show that the teatime supported reflections on immaterial perspectives, bringing out relational and social values related to the ecological crises. This study uses a systematic evaluation to reveal a micro-material perspective on ways in which the teatime design and facilitation supported the inquiry process. We propose that the design practitioners take on the role of crafting dialogical spaces that support social relationships and evoke immaterial perspectives.
In this paper, we present the history, the concept and the results of " Attempts, Failures, Trials and Errors" exhibition project which was first presented in the frame of Piksel Festival in Bergen, Norway (November 2017) and later on at " Salonul de Proiecte", Bucharest, Romania (February 2018). The project aimed to incite the e-textiles artists and designers to reflect upon the way they are engaging with their failures, as well as to the way in which they use these failures to better understand the context in which they are working and to continue to experiment. Our approach reverses the common R& D constructivist methods, by using deconstruction as a process of investigation in the field of wearable technologies and e-textiles. By questioning the ideas and the concepts of failure and success, the project puts an emphasis on art's capacity to be critical, while at the same time to poetically and self-ironically address contemporary challenges and concerns.
This article seeks to answer the question of how value proposition is created using a human- centred approach in the context of deservitization, in general, and service dilution, in particular. The article aims to describe the journey of a company which undertook service dilution and used human- centred design to create a new product- oriented value proposition. The study adopted a research through design approach in conjunction with a single case study of an engineering and manufacturing services provider that recently initiated a service dilution process. Within the framework of university- business collaboration, a design project was developed. The main insights of the study pertain to the role of human- centred design as a way of learning and surpassing the pure exploitation of existing capabilities during the service dilution process. Learning by design is also seen as a potential alternative learning process that fuels exploration during the service dilution process.
Eliciting specific intentions and seeking inspiration are important activities in the process of shaping a product’s visual appearance. A survey of the professional industrial designers was conducted to identify intentions (e.g. attributes, emotions) that they attempt to elicit, and also to identify inspiration sources and their media that they prefer not only in generating ideas to realise intentions but also in analysing and communicating intentions. The findings indicate that the designers frequently intend to elicit some specific attributes and emotions. Regarding inspiration sources and media, commonalities as well as differences were observed in the activities - analysing intentions, communicating intentions, and generating ideas to realise intentions.
The contemporary fashion industry is a broken system in need of reform,moving away from a dated linear model to adopt principles reflective of modernsocietal challenges. Through initial explorative studies and a thorough literaturesearch, a fundamental engagement gap with principles of circularity has beenidentified, which continues to challenge the application of sustainable innovationmethods. This paper focuses on the role design can play in the application of a circularmodel through product-life extension strategies. A multiple-stakeholder perspectivewas adopted during data collection, with a range of qualitative methods utilisedthrough the engagement with both consumers and companies. Conclusions supportthe need to consider design as a key tool for change, with methods such as cocreationand participatory design facilitating greater awareness levels in consumers.A holistic approach to responsible action and an increase in product value canfacilitate a move towards a circular model for fashion
Fab Labs, fabrication laboratories, are shared workshops where citizens can access digital fabrication equipment to design and make their own objects. They are proliferating rapidly and represent an alternative to mass production and consumption, an ideology whose environmental and social benefits their “makers” like to espouse. A longitudinal ethnographic study in a Fab Lab in a European design school examined the Lab’s ideology building, how ideals were enacted and where compromises were visible. Environmental issues were intertwined with other ideological concerns, but they were rarely promoted in their own right. Engagement with sustainability-oriented makers and stakeholders is recommended.
Entrepreneurship has traditionally been taught about entrepreneurship. However, teaching entrepreneurship requires practice and learning by doing. Entrepreneurship education requires education through entrepreneurship where the students feel the real life of being an entrepreneur. The process of Design Thinking offers a method for teaching through entrepreneurship. This paper studies the didactic experiences from a course at Orebro University School of Business where entrepreneurship was taught using Design Thinking as a method, enabling the through dimension. Results from a survey show that Design thinking as a method benefits entrepreneurship education. Some of the key elements contributing to the understanding of entrepreneurship and the iterative approach was a study visit and interaction with stakeholders, a target group of elderly people.
Designis about creating the‘real’ worldaround us. Real life is complex, dynami cand uncertain. Truth is difficult enough to know, even with the best science,but ‘reality’, the domain of human experience, can be overwhelmingly paralysing and beyond comprehensio nor understanding. Careful, accurate description, concomitant with clear explanation, is necessary but not sufficient in the quest for enough understanding to allow wise decisions to be made. The value of judgement is that it allows individuals to overcome their paralysis and engage with the messy complexity of lifeina way that, when done well, can bring function, beauty, and meaning to human existence. In this paper we will examine judgement, particularly design judgement. We argue that a better understanding of judgement is needed if we want to improve our designability in an intentional manner. Judgement is a key dimension in the process of design.The ability to make design judgements is what distinguishes a designer as a designer. The ability to make good design judgements distinguishes good design.
As more and more technology is added to the automobile interior it needs to be designed in a usable and efficient way: to facilitate safe driving. This paper reviews guidelines and visual design principles for automotive instrumentation. Guidelines were compiled, categorized and analysed in order to determine whether they were valid and usable for today’s design of information presentation in automobiles. By doing this, contradictory guidelines and gaps in knowledge were identified and discussed. However, there appeared a consensus within the different guidelines of best practice, and many are still usable by designers today.
It is well-known that the participation in a design process can be experienced as being so meaningful that the participation in itself overshadows even the result of that process. The participants in this design project represent a user group that often use products in which functional value is pre-eminent: people with disabilities. Thereby special attention has been given to the concepts of stigmatisation and meaningfulness. Three wheelchair users, aged between eighteen and twenty-five, have participated in a case study in the form of a design project. The aim of this project was developing a product that makes it easier for them to carry objects while simultaneously moving around. The participants met on five occasions in order to work with both visual and verbal stimuli. The result shows that the designer can enhance users’ products experience in relation to meaningfulness giving the participants opportunities to reflect over the value ascribed to products.
Design has been mentioned as potential support in the shift from a valuein-exchange to a value-in-use perspective that is part of servitization. However, thesediscussions pay little attention to the role of design(ers) for implementing 1) thechange in perspective of the organisation and 2) specific (product) service systems,which are both required for successful servitization.We argue that implementation as a concept needs to be part of service designprocesses in order to timely articulate how to implement new services, and whatresources need to be shaped in service system(s) involved for successful value cocreation.We analyse a workshop in a technology-dominant service developmentproject and show that using a service (process) perspective and concrete cases couldbe a way to integrate conversations about implementation in the design phase of PSSand service development. For technology-dominant services specifically, this canuncover factors for successful integration of technology and service.
Service implementation is complex and multifaceted. In this paper, wefocus on change of practices for actors in an organisation as one of these facets.Successful value co-creation requires different service actors to work together.Therefore, successful realisation of change of practices requires these actors to havea shared mental model of (consequences of) such change, both for themselves andfor the collaboration with other actors.We argue that collaborative development and use of a visual language can functionas boundary object that can facilitate conversations and development of sharedunderstanding regarding service implementation as change of practices, ifconnotative meaning of the words in the language is defined by those who use it.We use data from a workshop in the context of implementing a change of practicesto show how this can work and reflect on what role designers can have in thetransition towards service implementation.
In this paper, we describe the research-through-design process that led to the realization of the interactive exhibition Charged Utopia that took place in August 2016 at the Norrbyskars Museum. The design leveraged embodiment and active perception: visitors could activate the content by physically engaging with the space. These interactions were intended to trigger personal reflections on social coexistence, its paradoxes and challenges. The paper guides through the research-through- design process, from initial design direction and their theoretical grounding, to the design process and final event. The paper contributes with a reflection on the "wicked impact" of the event, suggesting that it is of relevance for design researchers that deal with societal issues, to discuss and expose the effects of their practice beyond immediate results.
To stay within the planetary boundaries, we have to take responsibility, andthis includes designers. This requires new perspectives on design. In this work, wefocus on a co-design project with indigenous communities. Within such communities,indigenous knowledge is central. Indigenous knowledge acknowledges that the worldis alive and that we, as humans, are merely a small part. Central in our approach isSheehan’s respectful design, which ensures a central place for indigenous knowledgein the design process. However, Sheehan’s approach does not state in pragmaticterms how such a design approach can be achieved. Some of the co-design processeswe engaged in led to respectful design spaces, others did not. This helped us toidentify patterns of dynamics that are essential for respectful design. At the core ofour findings lies the observation that in order to reach a respectful design space, inwhich indigenous knowledge is embedded, a shared dialogical space betweencommunity and designer is essential.
To stay within the planetary boundaries, we have to take responsibility, and this includes designers. This requires new perspectives on design. In this work, we focus on a co-design project with indigenous communities. Within such communities, indigenous knowledge is central. Indigenous knowledge acknowledges that the world is alive and that we, as humans, are merely a small part. Central in our approach is Sheehan's respectful design, which ensures a central place for indigenous knowledge in the design process. However, Sheehan's approach does not state in pragmatic terms how such a design approach can be achieved. Some of the co-design processes we engaged in led to respectful design spaces, others did not. This helped us to identify patterns of dynamics that are essential for respectful design. At the core of our findings lies the observation that in order to reach a respectful design space, in which indigenous knowledge is embedded, a shared dialogical space between community and designer is essential.
In order to deal with major climate challenges, different climate goals havebeen set. These goals are on an abstract, political level, making them difficult tounderstand for citizens. This is a problem, since in order to reach a sustainablesociety, all layers in society should be involved. We present a design process, in whichwe made invisible carbon emission goals tangible so that citizens can relate to them.By extracting different modes of carbon footprint feedback and translating those intoa network of objects, we have provided an alternative viewpoint on how to involvepeople into understanding complex data. By giving different modes of feedback,people can find different ways to relate to the data. This way, the designer providesthe tools, but people can use it to shape their own understanding. We consider thisapproach relevant in empowering citizens to voice their concerns in the climatedebate.
There is growing interest in service design to support transformation in mental healthcare. Early research in this area has shown some promising results, but has also revealed the contentious nature of this work. A better understanding of the complexity of design in mental health is needed to support the development of approaches that are appropriate for this context. As such, the aim of this paper is to examine areas of contention and related strategies employed when designing for mental health transformation. To realize this aim, a qualitative multiple case study of ten service design initiatives in mental health contexts was conducted. The analysis revealed five interconnected contentious issues: organizational constraints; ensuring meaningful participation; culture clashes; power dynamics; and systems approaches. These contentious issues are detailed and related strategies from various cases are put forward, providing a rich foundation for the ongoing development of service design approaches in mental health.
It has been highlighted how design engagement with the public sector risks being either irrelevant or instrumental to technocratic agendas due to a lack of understanding of the public sector’s nature. Based on the idea of public sector innovation as a matter of learning and adaptation for continuous improvement, this article looks at how participatory design approaches can be used to drive co-learning processes within the public sector, namely, collaborative learning processes about institutional aspects. It reflects on the authors’ engagement within a Swedish public organisation that relied on traditional design processes and co-learning processes. By analysing these processes, the article highlights how design as problem framing, by supporting collaborative reflexivity, can be a fruitful way to engage with institutional aspect. © 2022 The Author(s).
It has been highlighted how design engagement with the public sector risks being either irrelevant or instrumental to technocratic agendas due to a lack of understanding of the public sector’s nature. Based on the idea of public sector innovation as a matter of learning and adaptation for continuous improvement, this article looks at how participatory design approaches can be used to drive co-learning processes within the public sector, namely, collaborative learning processes about institutional aspects. It reflects on the authors’ engagement within a Swedish public organisation that relied on traditional design processes and co-learning processes. By analysing these processes, the article highlights how design as problem framing, by supporting collaborative reflexivity, can be a fruitful way to engage with institutional aspect.
Amid all the excitement about transforming social systems through design, there remains a lack of understanding about what design can uniquely offer to support this change. This conceptual paper contributes to the discussion by integrating research on design and systems thinking to develop the concept of aesthetic disruption, highlighting its connection to the alteration of mental models in social systems. With support from empirical illustrations of aesthetic disruption in the context of healthcare, we identify four core components of designing for aesthetic disruption: engagement of the senses, experience of dissensus, exposed assumptions, and reflexive actors. In doing so, we bring aesthetic knowledge to the fore of what design can contribute to social systems transformation and lay the foundation for further research and practice related to aesthetic disruption.
Over the last decade several projects and exhibitions have explored how crafts can play a central role for empowerment through social development, innovation and entrepreneurship. In order to facilitate this, there is a need to explore how craft practices can act as tools for empowerment, both in research and practice. The 'Power to the People' track at the European Academy of Design Conference in Gothenburg 2013 tried to answer on this challenge with a series craft-based seminars, each centred on a participant's proposed craft or 'Paper of Practice'. This formed a series of practice-based seminars that mixed hands-on activities and discussion, centred on and emerging from the very act of doing. (Author abstract)
This paper explores how designers’ core competencies relate to the emerging paradigmatic shift in design practice, and provides suggestions for design education. The shift is due to the increased interest from design in engaging with social and political contexts and issues the last fifteen years. Designers have several core competencies and in this paper prototyping and thereby the capacity to work with wicked problems are explored. More explicitly, we suggest that designers can design relevant propositions with the help of successive prototyping. Tightly integrating designing propositions with problem setting is necessary when dealing with wicked problems. This works well when designers deal with signs and things. However, in order to deal with increasingly complex contexts, we suggest that design students should get more relevant experience of prototyping in complex contexts and improved reflection by making use of theories from STS in order to deal with these complex contexts.