This thesis project explores combining interactive technology and the natural world, through a more-than-human design approach. This project aims to step away from an industry-driven design by valuing plants as equal in the design process. Throughout this report, an overview of the relevant theory and examples are elaborated on. This overview has informed the project in two ways. It formed the foundation of a concept aiming to improve the user’s interconnectedness with nature and it formed the foundation of an evaluation tool developed for aiding designers in design for plants by addressing three design fields: Design for Care, Design for Cohabitation, and Design for Noticing. The concept and the evaluation tool have been developed in parallel and informed each other throughout the project. The final concept contributes to the discussion about addressing more-than-human actors in design. In this case by addressing plant blindness. The evaluation tool contributes to more-than-human design as a tool to evaluate ideas and projects. This project included an extensive analysis of a design collection, workshops regarding the materiality of living plants and assessment of the evaluation tool, an interdisciplinary design approach, and a prototyping phase during which assumptions regarding the concept were tested.

I mitt examensarbete har jag undersökt hur man kan designa en bekväm sittmöbel för offentlig plats, så att den kan produceras och brukas på ett hållbart sätt. Detta är extra viktigt i miljöer där möbler slits i hög takt, och där man i dagsläget bortprioriterar reparation och låter möbler stå och förfalla. I projektet har jag arbetat platsspecifikt med Stockholms stadsbibliotek, men designat med tanken att den kan passa i flera olika miljöer. Detta examensprojekt presenterar ett förslag på hur företag och kommuner kan ställa om till ett mer cirkulärt sätt att bruka möbler. Designförslaget som presenteras är ett alternativ till en stoppad fåtölj. Bind är designad för att kunna produceras och brukas på ett hållbart sätt, så att den kan få ett långt och värdigt liv och bidra till en cirkulär ekonomi.

2045 a progressive European city is banning driving and BMW has to respond. Technological evolution, and a culture used to new interfaces leads to the option to recreate the relationship between human and car. But how to interact with our new friends?

Talking to experts in the fields of science fiction, environmentalism, horse riding and piloting helped in first constructing a future and then tailoring an interface-vision for its inhabitants and their autonomous cars.

The result is a tactile bond connecting driver and machine. Working together with your car doesn't have to mean loosing control, it's just another quality of control.

This work investigates the expressive quality of the negative form of ready-made garments through the method of making impressions. The work aims to explore how imprints of garments created in alternative materials such as flour and plaster could be used as a trompe l’oeil print motif in fashion design. It is an exploration about how our pre-existing perception of archetypal garments expands when the garments are represented through their imprint in a new material, colour and slightly different form. The study was conducted using experimental methods such as making impressions of garments in a layer of flour or capturing their negative form in plaster or clay. The created impressions were photographed and then digitally printed on different textile qualities with sublimation or reactive dyes. The printed fabrics were then transformed into three-dimensional garments through the technique of draping and with consideration of the garment’s traditional placement. Selected imprints were altered in scale or printed as a fragment, that in turn, affected the final form of these garments. What is presented in this work is a variety of garments that demonstrate how negative impressions of archetypal garments are used as a decorative visual texture as well as a suggestion for form.

This work investigates the expressive quality of the negative form of ready-made garments through the method of making impressions. The work aims to explore how imprints of garments created in alternative materials such as flour and plaster could be used as a trompe l’oeil print motif in fashion design. It is an exploration about how our pre-existing perception of archetypal garments expands when the garments are represented through their imprint in a new material, colour and slightly different form. The study was conducted using experimental methods such as making impressions of garments in a layer of flour or capturing their negative form in plaster or clay. The created impressions were photographed and then digitally printed on different textile qualities with sublimation or reactive dyes. The printed fabrics were then transformed into three-dimensional garments through the technique of draping and with consideration of the garment’s traditional placement. Selected imprints were altered in scale or printed as a fragment, that in turn, affected the final form of these garments. What is presented in this work is a variety of garments that demonstrate how negative impressions of archetypal garments are used as a decorative visual texture as well as a suggestion for form.

This report started with the guideline project that revolved around two problems in the game industry, the hypersexualization of female characters and their stereotypical designs in games, and a wish to solve these problems. Fashion was chosen as a new approach to solving them and the question formulation for the guideline project was: how can we incorporate fashion in order to strengthen a female characters personality, role and overall design in games? 

Three methods were used; firstly a systematic literature review to gather knowledge about the fashion industry as well as the game industry’s character design process. Secondly, the creation of the guideline, “The design handbook – how to improve female character design”, which would serve by presenting a solution to the problem. Thirdly, qualitative interviews to test whether or not the guideline could serve as a possible solution against the problems of sexist and stereotypical designs and if it could overall improve female character design in games.   

The results of the qualitative interviews deemed the project a success; nine out of ten interviewees answered that it would serve as a solution against the problem of both hypersexualization and stereotypical designs. The results of the guideline project and the interviews answered the bachelor’s thesis’ question formulation about how to improve female character design through fashion in the following way:  

• Be inclusive. The priority should be to design interesting characters, regardless of gender.
•  Know who your character is. Give the character a complex and interesting personality and design with that personality in mind; it should be strengthened through all the other design choices (be it color, silhouette or outfit details).  
• Make it believable. The outfit needs to work like a second narrator and should not contradict the setting, the personality or the character’s role.  

This paper is about save systems and will analyze save functions in various games. Save systems in games are usually blamed for harming the suspension of disbelief as it is an act taking place outside the game and should only be used for its intended purpose: letting the players store their game data, and progress whenever they need.

The game save function developed as rapid leaps of technology were made, with the beginning era of home consoles and home computers allowing players to spend more time playing, creating a demand for longer play sessions in games which lead to a need of methods for storing game data.

The analysis of save systems is carried out in this paper by using MDA Framework (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics), a tool used for documenting game design. This framework can be used to analyze a game from a designer‟s or player‟s perspective. By reversing the framework ADM (Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics) one can analyze the user experience, which is how the player perceives the game‟s aesthetics to be, depending on the dynamics and mechanics.

This analysis aims to provide knowledge of how consistency in game design and the save system can be used to create a cohesive game world that facillitates the player's experience and immersion.

In a future vision for rail travel, trains will be designed as an activity-based whole space, with different areas for various activities, such as relaxing, socialising or family bonding. My degree project, in collaboration with SJ, proposes a concept carriage dedicated to work, analogous to spending a day at a mobile coworking space. By recognising the new ways of working, this carriage will cater for the needs of different individuals and various types of work and will include private digital meeting spaces, group compartments, collaborative open spaces and cocoon-like seating options in quiet areas. Unlike other modes of transportation, trains allow for passengers to navigate and experience different spaces. By enhancing the use of space and incorporating amenities that improve the user experience, I aim to transform the perception of long train journeys from tedious to exciting and allow a more seamless and efficient way of getting work done while travelling. Ultimately, this degree project encourages sustainable travel through user-centred design. 

Introduktion: Nuförtiden strävar mänskligheten efter en utveckling inom olika vardagliga områden. Målet med detta är att nå en miljövänlig, ren, modern, samt hållbar värld. Denna studie belyser vikten av arkitektur för att förbättra inlärningsmiljö. Denna rapport beskriver en typ av arkitekturdesign. Den kallas för biofil design vilket betyder att sammanfoga naturen med byggnader. Denna undersökning handlar om biofil design specifikt i skolbyggnader.

Metod: Tre olika metoder inkluderades för att kunna utföra denna undersökning. Första metoden var en enkät som skickades till högskolestudenter, och gymnasielever. Den andra metoden var intervjuer som genomfördes med erfarna arkitekter inom ämnet biofil design, och sista metod var litteraturstudier.

Resultat: all data som samlades av enkäten, intervjuerna samt litteraturstudier sammanfattades enligt följande: Majoriteten av högskolestudenter och gymnasieelever var överens att ju närmare naturen är desto bättre mående blir. Dessutom kan detta hjälpa med att förbättra inlärningsprocessen. Arkitekter som intervjuades tyckte att biofil design i skolbyggnader hade både för-och nackdelar. Allmänt stödjer de idén att använda och sprida tanken om biofil i skolbyggnader i Sverige.

Analys: Den analyserade data visade att det går att implementera biofil design på insidan och utsidan av en skolbyggnad på olika sätt. Många eventuella problem kan uppstå vilket i sin tur gör att man måste ha förmågan och benägenhet att fortsätta underhålla dessa material. Det visade sig att om man har dessa naturelement i skolan så kommer det att bidra med en positiv effekt på inlärningsmiljö. Till exempel mer kreativitet, lugn och avstressande miljö.

Diskussion: Denna studie har fokus på hur kan man implementera biofil design i en skolbyggnad, och vad den har för påverkan på inlärningsmiljön. Studien tog upp vad som krävs för att integrera naturens kvaliteter på rätt sätt med syfte att kunna maximera dess effekter. Att kunna studera biofil design samt naturen och hur den påverkar arkitektur kan leda till klarare resultat.

This research focuses on the emergence of 'digital walls' that can project images onto almost all or even the entirety of interior (and perhaps exterior) walls, and what implications this might have for how we arrange our rooms. It demonstrates the arrangement, i.e., the way that domestic products are arranged physically, of rooms changes in the domestic environment in a complex scenario when using large screens. Due to the fast-growing demand for large screens, this product could potentially be available to be used by people in their home environments; however, it does not yet exist in reality at this scale. Constructing large screens can be carried out using different production methods. Here, this concept is called the digital wall, a very thin wall-sized interactive screen. The characteristics of the digital wall will vary to be able to create different scenarios. One such scenario is a space in the home where the surface of the wall is covered with screens, which allows multiple possibilities to experience and interact with digital content. 

In this research, the social gathering space of homes, nowadays called the living room, is considered as a highly relevant space for installing the digital wall. In this space, the conceptual framework outlines the basic elements of the research and demonstrates the relationships between people’s interactions with the digital wall and domestic products in the domestic environment. I show two examples from design history to understand how arrangement changes impact the home environment: the transformation of the parlor to the living room, and entry of the television into the living room. These two examples are focused on the place in the home where people gather for socializing. The discussion of these examples led to the elaboration of the relationships between the elements in the conceptual framework.

I explored relevant design research methodologies to bring this future scenario into the present to understand the relationships between people and the digital wall. I applied research through design and the constructive design research approaches to frame the design research methodology. In this thesis, I set up seven series of design studies in two cluster groups: Supportive studies and Main studies. All of the design studies were conducted in the Design Research Lab, the actual space for carrying out the design experiments, prototyping the digital wall, and the setting of the experiments for user participation. The Lab was fully equipped with relevant technology and allowed me to use multiple methods to collect data while people were experiencing the design study sessions. The Lab was useful as a platform to understand user experiences, barriers for interactions as well as people's experiences in a simulated space of a domestic environment. 

The main contribution of this research is to understand the forms of arrangement changes when people use the digital wall in homes. The research demonstrates two significant implications that are seen in two forms of arrangements: tangible arrangement and imperceptible arrangement. These findings are useful for both designers and users of the elements of domestic contexts and the relations that can be shaped by the presence of a digital wall in home environments. This understanding may provide design guidelines in future scenarios in which the digital wall is used in homes. The findings are also beneficial for designing the domestic environment, improving the arrangement of space, and raising the requirements for designing domestic products.

This paper presents the possibilities of a design lab that can be used in evaluation processes for different design subjects in design education. Three student projects from different domains are studied to explore how utilizing a design lab for user involvement can affect the design process. The Design Lab is situated at Mid Sweden University and can project images, video and online materials on three walls and provide sound. Different tools to collect data are available, such as video cameras, equipment for psychophysical measurement and software for analysis. The studies show that design students can use the lab to prototype different scenarios or environments as well as to display large subjects at an appropriate scale. The study found that the Design Lab offers possibilities to involve diverse groups of users, such as people with disabilities, the elderly and even dogs, which gave the students the possibility to obtain feedback from the specific users that could provide the most valuable input.

To understand how different design solutions affect users, designers traditionally use different evaluation methods that mainly rely on conscious feedback from the users. However, the complexity of human behaviour, where a large part is unconscious, point to a need for an extended tool box addressing the part not accessible to human conscious knowledge. Here, we describe a design research lab where traditional methods are complemented with tools to measure physiological signals influenced by emotional and sympathetic responses. These tools include galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiograph (ECG), and electroencephalograph (EEG). Typical sessions with acquired data of conscious and unconscious user reactions are described. The large body of data collected, which also require non-design expertise for interpretation, suggest that a further development towards simplified output data of the unconscious reactions is needed to allow wider use within industrial design work.

To understand how different design solutions affect users, designers traditionally use different evaluation methods that mainly rely on conscious feedback from the users. However, the complexity of human behaviour, where a large part is unconscious, point to a need for an extended tool box addressing the part not accessible to human conscious knowledge. Here, we describe a design research lab where traditional methods are complemented with tools to measure physiological signals influenced by emotional and sympathetic responses. These tools include galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiograph (ECG), and electroencephalograph (EEG). Typical sessions with acquired data of conscious and unconscious user reactions are described. The large body of data collected, which also require non-design expertise for interpretation, suggest that a further development towards simplified output data of the unconscious reactions is needed to allow wider use within industrial design work.

Orthopedic surgery is dangerous, especially for the surgeon! Tool failures belong to the ten most frequent causes of operation delays. Nowadays, hospitals are pressured to optimize procedures and lower costs. Especially, orthopedic surgery is physically demanding for the ergonomics of the surgeon and tools wear out more quickly.

Could the evolution of a surgical power tool be used in these scenarios to ease and support the surgeons work, increase the efficiency and flexibility of usage and at the same time offer more control and knowledge about the condition of the tools?

Can we change the way we imagine and relate to the risks of our common world, such as plastic pollution, nuclear threats, climate change or economic crisis? With this question at heart, this thesis discusses our interaction with the mediated, and often distant, global complexities and risks.

Following the perspective of the spectator and consumer, this study weaves together literature with stories from culture, media, design and entertainment. It examines the relationship of the personal to the global by outlining five critical looking lenses focused on distance, emission, contact, disruption and invisibility.

The resulting project articulates speculative design strategies for reconfiguring our relation to two select global risks; the nuclear contamination threat and plastic pollution. What if these scenarios were real, what if we felt these values, how would the world be different? By questioning the rational, these narratives aim to trigger the imagination of alternative possibilities, and requestion our current global dilemmas.

In my BA project, I travelled to Tanzania with a MFS stipend and experienced humanitarian architecture up close - by following architectural group Asant Collective´s project in Tanzania: a new Children Centre for a small non-governmental organization called ECONEF. 

I have worked with social questions / responsibilities regarding our role as interior architects in developing countries - often feeling like a anthropologist.

In my design part, I have re-drawed the layout for ECONEF´s planned new orphanage after a analyse of the existing orphanage, culture and traditions.

This paper examines how wine brands use emotional branding and narrative identities to connect with customers on Instagram. The research questions were as follows: How do winemakers use emotional branding in their communication on Instagram? How does the narrative that the company tells about itself relate to the customer's identity? To answer this, a semiotic analysis was made where three different wine producers were examined. For each wine producer, a profile overview and three posts were analyzed. The findings show that all three wine producers created content that corresponds to emotional branding for instance by trying to emphasize a connection to sentimental memories, socialization, lifestyles and ideals. By trying to create a narrative around the brand, they intend to attract consumers whose narrative identity corresponds to the identity of the brand. This is relevant knowledge for designers and marketing people in order to connect with consumers. Since the wine business has a great economic relevance, this knowledge can also be considered to be of general interest.

Möten i stadsrummet är ett examensarbete i informationsdesign med inriktning mot rumslig gestaltning. Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka hur det går att bidra till att en outnyttjad plats i stadsrummet kommer till användning, samt vilka kriterier som bör eftersträvas för att möjliggöra en trevlig vistelse på platsen. Mina studier utgår från Stockholms stadsbiblioteks terrasser som på grund av dess utformning och avsaknad av funktion ofta står tomma och outnyttjade.

Arbetet syftar till att generera ett designförslag som understödjer ett ökat flöde av människor till terrasserna samt får besökarna att vilja stanna. Målet är att fler besökare ska få ett större utbyte av stadsbibliotekets terrasser och att platsen ska komma till större användning.

Genom rumsanalys, observationer, notationer av rörelsemönster, intervju och samtal har det framkommit att terrasserna är outnyttjade på grund av dess avsaknad av funktioner samt dess utformning. Genom teoretiska studier inom bland annat rumslighet, formelement, offentliga platser i stadsrummet och kognitionspsykologi framkom att val av formelement och placering av rumsliga element kan bidra till att människor väljer att vistas på terrasserna. Det i sin tur kan skapa förutsättning för ett ändrat rörelsemönster och ett ökat flöde till platsen.

Ett gestaltningsförslag har tagits fram utifrån teori och empiri. Det syftar till att genom rundade och svängda former, ett tydligare och mer enhetligt formspråk, samt genom tydligare funktioner väcka besökarnas uppmärksamhet och bidra till ett ökat flöde till terrasserna. 

Modul system HH deliver modular storage systems and electrical solutions that can be combined according to the customer's wishes. This thesis combines argues for the importance for companies to keep improving their organization and production to remain competitive. By relating to a holistic view of the development of production environments, the project focuses on improvements for efficiency and social sustainability in the development of production. The project became relevant as the company has discovered difficulties in balancing production in the event of capacity changes and wants to develop rational flows and increase its flexibility. The project is limited to exploring three assembly stations and the operations and flows that belong to the assembly. The project spiral's iterative 3-step development process was chosen for strategic planning. This methodology allowed the work to continue forward despite the lack of data. The first step deals with planning and processes where technology and users were examined. In this planning phase, a Gantt schedule was used in the ClickUp program to plan the project and to-do lists and deadlines could be set. A literature study was conducted to strengthen arguments and raise new ideas. The theoretical overview focuses on areas around production development with a focus on the development of layouts/assembly stations, psychosocial work environment and organizational management. In the second phase of the project, requirements and wishes were mapped. This was done together with the company, the results from this step were then used to evaluate concepts before detailed development. The project also has several parts of the framework that Muther & Wheeler developed called Systematic layout planning. It provided the tools to understand important connections through relationships and proximity analysis. These methods were also used to evaluate the results. Interviews, observations, and 3D modelling were also performed in this phase to gather information and to understand different production structures. Semi-structured interviews were performed with product managers, production designers, production planners. From these methods, I was together with some employees able to conclude that customer order-driven product development is the focus. That production places demand on rapid implementations in production and that modularity means great flexibility needs and fast lead times. We also found opportunities to minimize repetitive and time-consuming steps through development based on the operator's point of view. Concepts were developed through a development process based on proximity analysis, time studies and results from more subjective interviews. The concepts were then evaluated through an evaluation matrix based on formulated future requirements and wishes. The winning concept was developed in more detail and developed iteratively together with staff from the company. The final concept combines a new, more compact layout that considers proximity requirements between stations as well as flows of materials and operators. The final layout also introduces new types of material buffers and action proposals for improved collaboration and communication for increased flexibility.

I det här projektet har jag som mål att bryta ner och visualisera ämnet konsumtionssamhälle med hjälp utav motion design. Mitt syfte är att skapa förståelse, diskussion och väcka tankar kring ett samhälle som ofta tas för givet. Genom research letar jag efter starka koncept att visualisera, jag bryter ner ämnet i tre kategorier (varför, effekter, lösningar). Resultatet är ett antal animationer som ska kunna ses individuellt eller som en helhet. Jag redovisar min process och återkopplar till projektet. 

An introductory undergraduate textbook on the design of computer and video games.

Studien är ett designdrivet forskningsprojekt som besvarar frågeställningen: Vilka materiella designkvalitéer finns det i svenskt vildsvinsläder och hur kan dessa appliceras i produktdesign? Frågeställningen undersöks främst genom en material driven designmetod och resultatet analyseras genom teorier om design för hållbar utveckling och design för emotionell varaktighet.

Den material drivna designmetoden inleddes med fri utforskning av materialet, första intryck dokumenterades och hypoteser kring materialet dömdes inkorrekta. För att undersöka de tekniska egenskaperna utfördes materialtester. Materialupplevelsen utforskades genom ett metodverktyg där 10 deltagare besvarade frågor kring materialets performativa, sensoriska, affektiva och tolkande egenskaper. Testerna avslutades med en reflektion av materialets positiva, negativa och unika egenskaper.

Kunskapen av vildsvinslädrets designkvalitéer används sedan i en idégenerering process för att skapa en hållbar produkt med emotionell varaktighet. Idégenerering mynnar ut i studiens designförslag, en stol med dyna och ryggstöd av vildsvinsläder. Studien avslutas med en slutsats som bekräftar designkvalitéerna i vildsvinläder och en diskussion som belyser insikter som uppkommit under studiens genomförande.

"Guolaosi" eller död från överarbete är ett fenomen som i regel uppkommer bland utvecklingsländer. Dödsorsaken är huvudsakligen genom stroke. Offrens yrken varierar allt från professorer, IT-arbetare till läkare. De delar dock en sak gemensamt; att arbeta under långa perioder stillasittande. Projektets mål var att utveckla en produkt som minskar dödliga följderna av sedentära överarbete, genom att förebygga en av de tre orsakerna för att utveckla blodproppar; saktad blodström. Målgruppen var då kineser av de yrken som hade tidigare drabbats av fenomenet. För att samla informationsrika data om fenomenet genomfördes en kvalitativ studie i Kina under två månader. Genom att göra en omfattande strukturerad provtagning kunde informationsrika data samlas under en kort tidsperiod. Fältstudien bestod av observationer, frågeformulär och en intervju, som då tolkades till kundbehov och eventuellt produktspecifikationen. Den slutliga produkten kom att bli ett par byxor med en inbyggd dynamisk komprimeringsmekanism, som kan komprimera venerna under sittande aktiviteter, för att förhindra saktad blodström. Kompressionsmekanismen fungerar som den kinesiska fingerfällan. Den komprimerar blodkärlen medan personen sitter och sträcker benen framåt. Produkten är konstruerad på så sätt att den kan tillverkas endast av polysackariders tråd, från bomull och majs. Vilket är lämpligt för Kinas lokala resurser.

This study investigates the feasibility of enhancing community engagement through gamification, using a prototype third-person 3D adventure game called Harmoni. The research targets international students in Gotland, Sweden, aiming to reduce cultural barriers and promote community involvement. By integrating game elements such as altruistic missions, language learning, and historical exploration, the prototype seeks to motivate real-life participation in community activities. Data collected from pre- and post-surveys and follow-up interviews with a small sample size (n=10) suggest that gamification can positively impact community involvement. Despite the limitations of sample size, the findings indicate that thoughtfully designed gamified experiences can foster a sense of belonging and encourage active participation in community life. The study underscores the potential of gamification in educational and social contexts, offering insights for future applications and improvements in game-based community engagement strategies.

With the rise of Hallyu, or the global export of Korean culture also commonly known as ‘The Korean Wave’, South Korea has become a big trendsetter in recent years: whether it be within fashion and K-Beauty skincare or Korean movies and drama series, to Korean popular music, also known under the umbrella term K-pop. What these categories have in common are their strong ties to visual aesthetics and K-pop is known for its very colourful and maximalist design, which is also a key characteristic to why K-pop as a phenomenon has been particularly attractive and has managed to captivate fans all over the world. In the marvelling K-pop universe, the goal is to engage all the senses for a complete and interactive sensory experience, making the visual just as important as the auditory, and this can also be applied to the physical album design. Physical K-pop albums sell better than ever despite the digital streaming services dominating our digital age. A visual analysis was conducted on selected contemporary K-pop albums together with a survey on Swedish K-pop fans, in order to discuss how packaging design of K-pop albums can influence consumer behavior. The study showed that interactive packaging design and extra album inclusions like photocards, photo books, postcards etc. makes the fans more likely to want to collect albums and merchandise, which on its own can be viewed as a collectible item. The packaging design both facilitates and encourages fans to interact with the design not only visually, but also in a tactile way, by engaging in participatory behavior such as filming unboxing videos and posting them on social media, and it can also be associated with identity making, i.e. how they identify themselves as fans in relation to their favorite artists or towards other fans. Lastly, it is interesting to discuss how K-pop design can be heavily influenced by American and Western concepts despite being marketed as a Korean phenomena and innovation; from the visual analysis it could also be concluded that contemporary design trends draw inspiration from Western concepts such as the y2k millennium bug, retro and technology. 

With the rise of Hallyu, or the global export of Korean culture also commonly known as ‘The Korean Wave’, South Korea has become a big trendsetter in recent years: whether it be within fashion and K-Beauty skincare or Korean movies and drama series, to Korean popular music, also known under the umbrella term K-pop. What these categories have in common are their strong ties to visual aesthetics and K-pop is known for its very colourful and maximalist design, which is also a key characteristic to why K-pop as a phenomenon has been particularly attractive and has managed to captivate fans all over the world. In the marvelling K-pop universe, the goal is to engage all the senses for a complete and interactive sensory experience, making the visual just as important as the auditory, and this can also be applied to the physical album design. Physical K-pop albums sell better than ever despite the digital streaming services dominating our digital age. A visual analysis was conducted on selected contemporary K-pop albums together with a survey on Swedish K-pop fans, in order to discuss how packaging design of K-pop albums can influence consumer behavior. The study showed that interactive packaging design and extra album inclusions like photocards, photo books, postcards etc. makes the fans more likely to want to collect albums and merchandise, which on its own can be viewed as a collectible item. The packaging design both facilitates and encourages fans to interact with the design not only visually, but also in a tactile way, by engaging in participatory behavior such as filming unboxing videos and posting them on social media, and it can also be associated with identity making, i.e. how they identify themselves as fans in relation to their favorite artists or towards other fans. Lastly, it is interesting to discuss how K-pop design can be heavily influenced by American and Western concepts despite being marketed as a Korean phenomena and innovation; from the visual analysis it could also be concluded that contemporary design trends draw inspiration from Western concepts such as the y2k millennium bug, retro and technology.

The Umeå Pantry was a five-week long public art event held in Umeå, Sweden, aimed at making concerns about food production public and supporting local communities interested in food related practices.

The event consisted of a series of performances where participant communities were invited to a dialogue on food concerns and practices in the region. The performances took the form of communal activities such as food harvesting, cooking, workshops, debates and demonstrations.

The making of the art event highlights the practice of creating forms for engagement and participation of disparate communities around social issues.

In the broader picture, this project contributes to the understanding of community participatory design and design for social innovation.

The case study presented here is an intensive nine day community participation project in a Swiss town, aimed at fostering community food production. The approach to participatory design presented here seeks to emphasize the in-situ improvisatory ‘doing' of collaborative activities.

Using notions such as diffusing, reifying and catalyzing the study describes the iterative movement of the project that is bound up in material arrangements and social relations.

Through a reflection in action approach, the author unpacks how the designer's agency is understood through social interactions and acts of summarizing, materialization and translation.

The paper concludes by discussing power and agency, both as an outcome and central to the design process. This reflective exploration through the lens of agency seeks to encourage the reflexivity of designers in collaborative practice.

I detta projekt har ett koncept garage för Red Bull Racing F1 Team tagits fram inför säsongen 2023.

Designutmaningen i projektet var att studera nuvarande koncept och hitta lösningar för ett fortsatt flow för personal men också ett stort fokus på hur man på bästa sätt kan hitta en designlösning på hur man kan visa upp varumärket och bilarna inför 2023 och framtiden.

Uppgiften togs fram av mentorn från Red Bulls sida på detta projekt, Stefan Bridges, head of creative design. Under hela samarbetet har kontakten med Red Bull vart stor och de är en stor del av utvecklingen av garaget.

Projektet följde en industridesign process med tre faser, analysfas, kreativ fas och en presentationsfas.

In recent times sustainability is a leading characteristic of textile fashion products. Textile fashion companies are focusing more on sustainable products these days, so that they can meet the environmental and social aspects. For getting competitive advantage in fashion business the companies have to take care of social, political and economical issues, and they must be aware of current trends of the market. Sustainable fibres provide solution for the companies facing issues regarding environmental problems; these fibres are also favorable to meet the market demands of quality products these days. The main objective of this report is to use the sustainable materials in fashion garments; the report contains rich information about two natural sustainable fibres (organic cotton and Bamboo), that describes the brief history, biography, development, processing, application and uses of these fibres. This report briefly describes the advantages and disadvantages of these fibres and underlines the usage of these fibres by famous designers, and by many top brands and fashion companies for their competitive advantage and brand image. The report highlights the potentials of using these materials in textile fashion products and describes that high fashion and quality products can be made by these products to guarantee the environmental and social standards

Konkurrensen i klädbranschen växer och blir allt intensivare. Det krävs idag mer från ett företag för att kunna skilja sig från mängden. En rad olika faktorer påverkar en konsuments beteende och attityd gentemot ett företag och en butiks val av varumärken och sortimentsutbud spelar en betydande roll för att kunna kommunicera ut ett budskap som lockar den tänkta målgruppen. Det blir allt vanligare att detaljistföretag som erbjuder etablerade varumärken integrerar bakåt och producerar egna märkesvaror. Lager 157 är ett företag som på senare tid har följt denna trend. Vår studie undersöker kombinationen av etablerade och egna varumärken och fokuserar på vilken påverkan Lager 157:s varumärken har på konsumenters attityder och beteenden. Vi har även undersökt vilka positiva och negativa effekter som kan uppstå genom varumärkeskombinationen och hur sortimentets inriktning, djup och bredd styr konsumenters efterfrågan. Studiens innehåll är baserat på primärdata i form av en marknadsundersökning och en intervju och sekundärdata i form av litteratur, vetenskapliga artiklar och elektroniska källor. Marknadsundersökningen har utförts i enkätform med 13 frågor i Lager 157:s butik i Gällstad och intervjun har genomförts med butikens chef Maja Brolin. För att kunna analysera och tolka aktuell information har vi använt oss av tre teoretiska modeller, ”Kommunikationsprocessen”, ”Varumärkesprocessen i en tjänsteverksamhet” och ”Faktorer som påverkar konsumenters köpbeteende”, i kombination med teoretiska begrepp. Det vi har kommit fram till är att företagets varumärken har en stor påverkan på konsumenters åsikter, attityder och beteenden sett från både ett personligt och ett socialt perspektiv där identifikation med företagets koncept är en viktig del. Genom Lager 157:s kombination av etablerade och egna varumärken kan företaget nå en större målgrupp, locka fler besökare och skilja sig från mängden, men också förlora försäljning på grund av konkurrerande varumärken som också kan dra ned helhetsintrycket. Ju bredare och djupare sortiment ett företag som Lager 157 erbjuder, desto större chans är det att en konsument kan hitta det den eftersöker och få sitt behov tillfredsställt, vilket leder till en ökad efterfrågan. The competition in the clothing industry is growing and becoming more intense. It currently requires more from a company to stand out. A variety of factors influence a consumer's behavior and attitude toward a company and a store's selection of brands and range selection plays a significant role in order to communicate a message that attracts the intended audience. It is becoming increasingly common for retail businesses that offer established brands to integrate backwards and produce private label products. Lager 157 is a company that has recently followed this trend. Our study investigates the combination of own and established brands and focus on the impact that Lager 157's brands have on consumers' attitudes and behaviors. We examined the positive and negative effects that may occur through brand combination and how the assortments focus, depth and width controls the consumer demand. The study is based on primary data in the form of a market survey and an interview and secondary data in the form of literature, scientific papers and electronic sources. The market investigation has been conducted in the form of a questionnaire with 13 questions in Lager 157's store in Gällstad and the interview was carried out with the store manager Maja Brolin. In order to analyze and interpret current information, we used three theoretical models, "Communication Process", "Brand process" and "Factors affecting consumers' purchasing behavior", in combination with theoretical concepts. What we have found is that the company's brands have a major impact on consumers' opinions, attitudes and behaviors as seen from both a personal and a social perspective. Identification with the company's concept is an important part. With Lager 157's combination of established and own brands, the company can reach a larger audience, attracting more visitors and stand out, but also losing sales because of competing brands that can also reduce the overall appearance. The wider and deeper range of a company like Lager 157 offers, the more likely it is that a consumer can find what they are looking for and get their needs satisfied, leading to increased demand.

Tänk vad mycket vi missar. Så många människors konstnärskap, historier, kunskap, ljudbilder som inte ges utrymme i vår värld.

I Sverige är två av tio låtskrivare (Sveriges Radio 2022) och tre av tio av de anställda inom techbranschen (Statistiska Centralbyrån 2020) kvinnor. Hur låter de ljud vi ännu inte hört? Unheard Sound vill göra de ohörda ljuden hörda.

Jag har i detta projekt, med personlig erfarenhet av musicerande, undersökt hur kvinnor, ickebinära och transpersoner kan bjudas in att delta i den elektroniska musikscenen för att göra musik- och techbranschen mer jämställda. Projektet har resulterat i en hårdvarusynth som vill utmana dagens normer kring hur en synth ska vara utformad. Ett fokus på tekniken gör att makten över hur ljudet ska låta tilldelas användaren.

Designprocessen har styrts av intervjuer med kvinnor verksamma i musikbranschen samt workshops med en grundskola och en HBTQ+-ungdomsgård.

Gym finns i alla dess former i stora delar av världen, de är grundade och ägda av enskilda personer med olika perspektiv och är därför utformade på olika sätt.

Utifrån metoder som omvärldsanalys, participant observation och intervjuer med personer som använder rullstol så skapades en helhetsbild av hur dagens form på gymmets entréer kommunicerar tillgänglighet. Detta gav förståelse för vad som skulle kunna vara ett problem och vad som behöver förbättras för att bli mer tillgängligt för rullstolsanvändare.

Med hjälp av studien skapades ett gestaltningsförslag på hur man kan förbättra och kommunicera tillgänglighet på ett gyms entré.

What if fibres were strings of numbers, arrays of digits turned into threads, not taking a specific form but constantly evolving. An increasing online presence and virtual experiences are shifting the understanding and definition of materiality. This work starts with a focus on textile expressions in a virtual world. It is built on new ideas on material thinking, with an emphasis on the divergence of aesthetic expressions. It explores the crossing between traditional craft and complex computer-generated structures. The idea is to reimagine how textiles are designed and made. The aim is to broaden the textile design field by exploring the definition of textiles through digital materiality, focusing on computer-generated images and surfaces in 3d software. 

This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach to research how design rationale may improve practices for participatory design in urban planning. Knowledge on sustainable development, participatory planning in public sector, design rationale and innovation are brought together to form a cohesive understanding for the matter of citizen dialogue and participation. 

To further gain knowledge on the subject a case study is done following the planning of a consultation at the urban planning office in Norrköping by participatory observations. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews are conducted with civil servants from Norrköping and Norrtälje, discussing the theme of citizen dialogue and municipal capacity and competence for its performance.

The knowledge contributions addresses the specific case study at first hand, but are also applicable in some general sense. The study shows that design rationale can be of use and inspiration to address issues of culture and mental models in public sector, as these as believed to stand in the way of forming a more innovative and adaptive public sector that can design better practices for dialogue and participation. Design thinking and attitude can bring openness and human centred perspectives, among other things, to public organisations. 

For the case study in question it is suggested that the urban planning office would benefit from implementing and trying out ways of working that are more in line with design thinking and attitude. It is also suggested that they might benefit from employing an experienced designer to be part of planning procedures, as expert designers can adapt methods and tools for participation to design case specific activities. To employ a more case specific and local approach to participatory practices is proposed to bring better results, both in terms of its democratic breakthrough as well as its impact on social sustainability. 

Overall, this thesis offers contributions to design knowledge, knowledge that in turn can be important for the area of sustainable development at large. 

Detta är ett undersökande arbete som vänder sig både inåt och utåt. Det är en djupdykning i Mark Rothkos konstnärskap som sker parallellt med en personlig reflektion. Inledningsvis handlar det om att arbeta i gränslandet mellan konst och design och hurdet kan se ut. I förlängningen handlar det om hur den konstnärliga historien kan fungera som inspiratör och vägledare för innebörd och uttryck i formgivningen.

Genom att studera den abstrakta expressionismen och Mark Rothko söker jag svar på hur känslomässig kommunikation kan ske genom färg och form. Förutom litterär research utför jag också en praktiskt undersökning där jag använder måleriet som en metod för att förstå mitt studieobjekt; Mark Rothko. Målet är att översätta Mark Rothkos konst till min design. Det handlar om att studera, internalisera och applicera.

Resultatet bjuder in till en diskussion om handlagets, färgens och intentionens betydelse för formgivningen, där jag hävdar att dessa aspekter är viktiga för ett emotionellt berörande resultat, men att kommunikationen förblir individuell.

Steampunk är en subgenre av science fiction. Genren steampunk handlar om alternativ historia under den industriella revolutionen och kännetecknas av en utbredd användning av ångmaskiner. Genren existerar i alla typer av media såsom böcker, film, spel, etc. Steampunk har många fans i hela världen.

Det finns många undersökningar som har steampunk som tema, som till exempel en undersökning om ett fantasyelement i steampunkgenren (Karlsson, 2013) eller en analys av steampunkdesign och historia (Tanenbaum, Tanenbaum,  Wakkary, 2012). Samtidigt finns artiklar som flyttar fram genrens gränser och till exempel visar steampunk under vildavästerntiden (Miller & Van Riper, 2011). Liksom dessa undersökningar kommer denna undersökning att studera steampunkgenren och dess ”fanbas”.

Syftet med undersökningen är att analysera steampunkgenren och datorspelande i relation till denna genre. Grundidén är att skapa en implementation av sci fi-element i en steampunkkaraktär och visa upp karaktären såväl för personer som känner till genren som för dem som inte känner till steampunk för att se om informanternas reaktionsmönster är likartade. Ska informanterna känna igen sci fi-elementet och ska de acceptera det när det sitter på en steampunkkaraktär? Vidare fokuserar undersökningen på interaktion med karaktären. En enkät kommer att göras för att se huruvida det finns olika reaktionsmönster hos informanterna när de analyserar steampunkkaraktären dels genom 2D-bildmaterial och dels genom en 3D interagerbar artefakt.

Undersökningen använder en kvantitativ (Østbye m.fl., 2008:157) nätenkät med kvalitativa (Østbye m.fl., 2008:101) element i form av textsvar. Nätenkäten ska visa informanternas gensvar på de olika kontexterna som visas i bilderna och hur informaterna reagerar på en interaktiv avatarkaraktär. På samma gång ska enkäten visa hur steampunk-fans och icke-fans reagerar på implementationen av sci fi-element på steampunkkaraktären.

This Bachelor of Science thesis has been carried out during the spring of 2023 as a part of thecourse Degree Project for Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design Engineering atKarlstad University. The degree project comprises 22,5 credits and the responsible student isAgnes Agardson with Johan Strandberg as supervisor and Leo De Vin as examiner.

The project is performed in collaboration with the consulting company Rejlers on behalf ofone of their clients. In earlier stages of this cooperation, a machine has been developed andthis project is about further development within that same area. The purpose of this thesiswork is to create a solution on how to implement this machine in a commercial vehicle andadapt it to the user's needs and wishes and then perform a product development process withthe goal of developing a proposal solution that is presented with sketches, a prototype and CAD models.

The main parts of the process has been divided into phases, a start-up, exploring, define,develop, deliver and a final phase that include a summary of the deliver phase, a writtenthesis, a final presentation and an exhibition. Some elements that were important in thisproject under these headings were, among other things, project plan, feasibility study, problemformulation, requirement specification, idea generation, concept selection, conceptdevelopment and construction.

The process resulted in a concept proposal of a machine stand that is presented primarily via aCAD model but also with the help of sketches and a simple prototype. This concept proposalsolves the project’s main problem formulation and meets all predetermined requirements. Thesolution involves a foundation made of bent stainless steel sheet that is attached to the floor ofthe cargo compartment of a van. In this foundation, rails can be attached at different heights toadapt to the user’s height and position of the product, in turn a plate is attached to the rails, towhich the machine is attached. A locking function prevents the machine from moving wheninside the car and also allows the solution to be pulled out in several positions, a user modewhere the machine is only pulled out enough to enable use and a so-called service modewhere the machine is pulled out to the maximum to enable maintenance.  

Globally in the medical and healthcare field, due to technological advancement and higher success rate of life-saving procedures, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of blood stem cell transplants performed each year. Consequently, the demand for blood stem cells from the donors is continual. The process of acquiring these cells from donors has its obstacles. Once volunteers are willing to donate and are identified as a potential match to the patient, they go through various stages, involving a long waiting period for the donors. 

The aim of the project  is to apply and combine interaction design practices in the healthcare and medical world: how it would affect and shape specific experiences for the blood stem-cell donor. I would propose a digital service design that provides strategies to enhance the donation journey experience for the volunteer donors and the stakeholders involved in the process.

The thesis project explores how we might design alternative ways to enhance a donor experience through digital services. 

Uppsatsen grundar sig i den hävda domen inom aborträtten i Amerika. Där vi har tittat närmare på hur designaktivism genom designelement brukas för att nå ut med budskap. Vi har tittat på de två största organisationernas Instagramkonton, en för och en mot aborträtten.

This is a personal project about a fed-up woman who sits down on the chair by the pottery wheel simply because she craves it. It is about conducting a non-result oriented design process. A process where the making, the closeness between the mind and hand, is both the research and mediation. It is a project that acknowledges the potential care has in relation to design, while it's dealing with the controversial aspects of a woman caring for herself. The project is a snap, a feminist snap, represented and materialized through the objects of clay. Where a collapsed bowl, a blob, becomes a materialized revolt against everything women are being told to endure. It is a project that brings design and poetry together. Aiming to explore how objects can gain agency and be in dialogue with society. How objects can materialize both the resistance against, and the result of, the patriarchal structure.