Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 31 - 60 of 91
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
A Field Study Methodology Using Self-Photography Of Workplace Activities, E. Tamaru, K. Hasuike, M. Tozaki
A Field Study Methodology Using Self-Photography Of Workplace Activities, E. Tamaru, K. Hasuike, M. Tozaki
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The design of a new tool or technology for a workplace should take into account the broad range of activities that go on in a given work environment. This paper describes an observation methodology in which the users -those who actually work in a given environment - photograph their own activities, acting as their own investigators. In this methodology, some visual tools are used to enhance communication in the design process. During follow-up interviews of the workplace activities between designers and workplace users, the self-photographs serve an important role as a medium to help designers understand how users function in …
Design, Words And History, A. Tomes, P. Armstrong
Design, Words And History, A. Tomes, P. Armstrong
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Every dominant movement in art has depended upon the development of an accompanying critical discourse. Using the writings of design critics and design journalists, this paper suggests that there are similar, albeit under-developed, discursive dimensions to the reception of innovative design. Critics, advertisers and commentators offer vocabularies of appreciation analogous to the critical discourses of artistic avant-gardes. These suggest the manner in which a design should be used or experienced, the nature of experiences that should follow and the discontents with earlier forms that inspired it. A major implication is that the lukewarm enthusiasm of the UK public for good …
The Role Of Interface Mock Ups In Establishing Common Ground In A Distributed Development Team, A. Woodcock, S.A.R. Scrivener, S. Clark, X-H. Sun
The Role Of Interface Mock Ups In Establishing Common Ground In A Distributed Development Team, A. Woodcock, S.A.R. Scrivener, S. Clark, X-H. Sun
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper uses a software development project, comprising of end user representatives, evaluators and developers to consider the value of an interface mock up in establishing common ground within a large, distributed software development team. It introduces the scope of the project - to develop an integrated, web- based, platform to support team working (UNITE) - and then considers the role of the mock up of the interface in helping the team understand the underlying concepts behind the project, and in facilitating discussion, agreement and understanding between stakeholders. Lastly the paper evaluates the success of the mock up in achieving …
Desperately Seeking Common Ground: The Emergence Of Design Management In Greece, A. Yagou, V. Tsironi
Desperately Seeking Common Ground: The Emergence Of Design Management In Greece, A. Yagou, V. Tsironi
DRS Biennial Conference Series
“Common ground,” defined as the “ability to communicate across fields,” provides the background for this paper. Communicating across fields is very significant in the design domain in general and particularly in design management, as both areas are highly interdisciplinary. The paper traces the “common ground” theme in the contemporary practice of design and design management in the Greek context. The state of Greek design is briefly presented and then the issue of design management is discussed through a number of interviews with related professionals. The cultivation of a common ground, by all parties involved, appears to be a crucial factor …
A Very Strange Thing: Commodity Discourse In Cultural Theory And Design, P. Boradkar
A Very Strange Thing: Commodity Discourse In Cultural Theory And Design, P. Boradkar
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper attempts to bring to design dialogue an expanded meaning of the term “commodity” by revealing its presence and discussion in other disciplines via the writings of some of the predominant thinkers through history. Particularly germane to design are the notions of commodity fetishism and commodity aesthetics eloquently outlined in treatises by Karl Marx and Wolfgang Haug. Experiments in generating innovative forms largely perceived as imperative creative exercises in design are, according to Marxist thought, merely attempts to valorize capital. The redesign of product forms is labeled by Marxists as ‘aesthetic aging,’ and referred to as an activity with …
Barrier Free Bus Stop Design For Taipei Senior Citizens And Weaker Passengers, R. Chen, Z. Teng, K. Lee
Barrier Free Bus Stop Design For Taipei Senior Citizens And Weaker Passengers, R. Chen, Z. Teng, K. Lee
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The purpose of this project was to provide barrier free bus stops for Taipei senior citizens and passengers with traffic difficulties e.g. blind, deaf and people with moving problems. The improved solution of a barrier-free environment consists of three aspects, which are a waiting zone, an oncoming bus information and assistive devices for weaker passengers. This study began with the investigation of the present contextual situation of Taipei City bus transportation systems, by using methodologies of observation, interviews, and documentation of literature. In order to select the most effective solution, a well-defined Ranking and Weighting method was then developed to …
Design Behaviours: The Innovation Advantagethe Multi-Faceted Role Of Design In Innovation, R. Cooper, A. Wootton, D. Hands, M. Economidou, M. Bruce, L. Daly, R. Harun
Design Behaviours: The Innovation Advantagethe Multi-Faceted Role Of Design In Innovation, R. Cooper, A. Wootton, D. Hands, M. Economidou, M. Bruce, L. Daly, R. Harun
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design is a ‘good thing.’ “Use it well,” companies are often told, and you will reap the many rewards. But how exactly is design ‘used’ by the commercial organisation during NPD? As a complex activity that deals with at least as many intangible as tangible factors, how can design be constrained by any business process? And if businesses should adapt to gain more value from designers, in what ways should they change? Based on the results of Design Drivers, a three-year EPSRC-funded investigation, these are some of the questions that this paper seeks to answer. Examining the way in which …
Urban And Regional Design: A Practical Science, I. T. Klaasen
Urban And Regional Design: A Practical Science, I. T. Klaasen
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Widely held notions such as the uniqueness of each design and design situation and of learning the design craft in a studio with ‘apprentice’ and ‘master’ relationships, have hitherto left little room for thinking about urban design as a science. In this paper it is argued that urban and regional design is basically a practical science like medicine, applied psychology and other technical sciences. In a practical science the objective of research is the application of science : research is focused on ‘what is possible’, be it desirable or not (yet) desirable. Practical sciences differ inter alia from empirical ones …
A ‘Social Model’ Of Design: Issues Of Practice And Research, V. Margolin, S. Margolin
A ‘Social Model’ Of Design: Issues Of Practice And Research, V. Margolin, S. Margolin
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Compared to the “market model,” little theorizing has been done to produce a model of design for social need. This paper discusses a process of social service intervention that can address the product needs of vulnerable populations. This process follows a problem-solving approach whereby a professional or professional team works collaboratively with clients to improve their quality of life. A number of options for how product designers might work with such an intervention team are explored. The authors then outline a program of research. A multi-faceted approach to address questions related to social design would include survey research and interviews, …
The Design Of Product/Service Systems From A Designer’S Perspective, N. Morelli
The Design Of Product/Service Systems From A Designer’S Perspective, N. Morelli
DRS Biennial Conference Series
In the age of globalisation and information technology, corporate strategies are challenged to bring production in line with a complex demand, which requires a substantial shift from production of goods to the provision of knowledge-intensive systemic solutions. Such solutions usually consist product-service systems, i.e. a marketable set of products and services capable of jointly fulfilling a user's need. Given their strategic relevance, such solutions have rightly been widely discussed in management and marketing disciplines. In the Design discipline instead, the methodological implications of the design of PSS have rarely been discussed even though design components play a critical role in …
General Strategic Knowledge Models And Their Interaction With Domain-Specific Knowledge In Design, V. Popovic
General Strategic Knowledge Models And Their Interaction With Domain-Specific Knowledge In Design, V. Popovic
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This research concentrates on the modelling of general process knowledge that is understood to be represented as a common strategic knowledge relevant to the various design domains, such as product and information design. Its objective is to illustrate the connections between general knowledge and strategies and how they interact with the domain–specific design knowledge. The knowledge identification in this research is based on the study of designers' sketches generated during the early stage (conceptual stage) of the design process. The applications of general and goal–limited strategies are analysed and compared within the domain of product design and information design.The findings …
Sirn (Synergetic Inter-Representation Networks): An Approach To Design, J. Portugali, H. Casakin
Sirn (Synergetic Inter-Representation Networks): An Approach To Design, J. Portugali, H. Casakin
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Our aim in this paper is to examine the relation between design and cognition in light of two aspects related to these disciplines: (a) Cognitive science’s negative attitude toward artifacts. (b) The fact that artifacts are the subject matter and end product of design. In our paper we firstly discuss cognitive science’s attitude toward artifacts and show that it contradicts the reflective-interaction approach that currently dominates the discipline of design. We then introduce SIRN (Synergetic inter-Representation Networks) as an approach that resolves this contradiction by treating artifacts and their design as innately related to cognition. We close the paper by …
Developing A Method To Support Human Centered Designers In Forming Arguments: Intertwining Practice And Theory, M. Alrutz, B. Singer, T. Wahlig
Developing A Method To Support Human Centered Designers In Forming Arguments: Intertwining Practice And Theory, M. Alrutz, B. Singer, T. Wahlig
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper describes a design research project that was undertaken using a human-centered design approach. We first discuss why we believe our project combines an interesting mix of theory and practice. We then establish the locus of our research around one piece of the human-centered design process. To address a problem we call the “analysis-synthesis gap,” we present the Elito method as a solution. We then describe our process and results of testing a prototype of this new method. We conclude that our approach was one way of coming to rich conclusions about the theory and practice of the Elito …
The Rhetoric Of Research, M.A.R. Biggs
The Rhetoric Of Research, M.A.R. Biggs
DRS Biennial Conference Series
In 1993 Christopher Frayling, the Rector of the Royal College of Art in London, published an article about the nature of research in art and design. The present paper revisits his threefold distinction of "research-in art, research-through art and research-for art", and considers why Frayling found the third category to be problematic. The analytical methods used are linguistic (a constructionist approach to the rhetorical effect of construing various prepositions with "research"), and philosophical (a Wittgensteinian approach, distinguishing between socially agreed normative criteria, and non-normative indicators or symptoms). The paper argues that the instrumentality of terms such as "research" should be …
The Study Of The Uk Smes Employing External Organisations To Support Innovative Products, C. Bussracumpakorn
The Study Of The Uk Smes Employing External Organisations To Support Innovative Products, C. Bussracumpakorn
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Product innovation is a vital strategy for organisations to grow and survive (e.g. Coyne ,1996; Trott 1998). The recent study of 100 CEO’s found that ‘companies that did not keep creating novel products and depended on extensional products showed poor growth rates’ (PA consulting quoted by Perry, 2001). Unquestionably, product innovation is an activity which contains high risk and uncertainty. Either is it hard to define the final result or the achievement of the result is in market. The research aims to investigate general viewpoints of ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘with whom’ and ‘which way’ the UK SMEs link with other organisations …
Well-Defined Versus Ill-Defined Design Problem Solving: The Use Of Visual Analogy, H. Casakin
Well-Defined Versus Ill-Defined Design Problem Solving: The Use Of Visual Analogy, H. Casakin
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Analogical reasoning is considered to be an efficient heuristic for solving non-routine problems, and particularly helpful in design. It is during the design process, where a large collection of visual displays aid designers, in which the use of visual analogy is of specific importance. Few works have studied the effect of the use of visual analogy in design problem solving, and there is no research which has studied whether it plays a more significant role in the context of ill-defined problems or in well-defined problems. The objective of this study is to empirically compare and investigate the use of visual …
Automobile Instrument Panels For The Real World, D. Formosa
Automobile Instrument Panels For The Real World, D. Formosa
DRS Biennial Conference Series
A design research study was conducted to investigate a topic that many are calling an imminent crisis – the needs of older drivers. Undertaken in conjunction with the Ergonomics and Biomechanics Department at New York University and the Design Department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, this study explores automobile instrument panel design and the driving capabilities of younger and older drivers. The study looks at the following factors pertinent to the design of instrument panels: 1) the affect of deterred visual attention on vehicle control. 2) drivers' abilities to reach for the instrument panel without looking. 3) …
Design, Risk And New Product Development, S. Horne-Martin, B. Jerrard, R. Newport, K. Burns
Design, Risk And New Product Development, S. Horne-Martin, B. Jerrard, R. Newport, K. Burns
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Research that attempts to view prior investment in design as calculable risk is potentially important within an increasingly competitive new product development environment. An important aspect of such research was to identify investment in design as part of the financial and cultural risk within firms, in particular, the identification of critical decision points and their associated risks. Business success may now be related to a degree of risk involved in new product development decisions. The research described is currently being undertaken for the Design Council. Survey and analytical techniques have been used to elicit critical decision points in the development …
Distributed Design Teams: Embedded One-On-One Conversations In One-To-Many, A. Larsson, P. Törlind, A. Mabogunje, A. Milne
Distributed Design Teams: Embedded One-On-One Conversations In One-To-Many, A. Larsson, P. Törlind, A. Mabogunje, A. Milne
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Engineering design is fundamentally social, requiring a lot of interaction and communication between the people involved. Additionally, good design often relies upon the ability of a crossfunctional team to create a shared understanding of the task, the process and the respective roles of its members. The negotiation and bargaining for common ground are essential in the design process. It is important to provide tools and methods so that also geographically distributed design teams are given the opportunity to engage in such social interactions. This paper presents a study of interpersonal communication within the Distributed Team Innovation (DTI) framework; a joint …
Intervention Strategies For Alleviating Problems In International Co-Operative Design Projects, L-C. Lee, A. Woodcock, S.A.R. Scrivener
Intervention Strategies For Alleviating Problems In International Co-Operative Design Projects, L-C. Lee, A. Woodcock, S.A.R. Scrivener
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Small design teams engaged on co-operative work in the international arena typically find themselves beset by problems relating to time schedules, inadequate briefs, information flow and communication, project management, language and cultural issues. Such problems, when arising in projects of short duration, and not having the benefits of dedicated management, may increase project length, decrease the efficiency and satisfaction of project members (and reduce their willingness to participate in such ventures again) and reduce the extent to which the finished design meets the initial requirements. This paper outlines a series of low cost, high impact intervention strategies to assist design …
Building On Virtual Common Ground: Design Participation For The Network Age, S. Little, A. Ando
Building On Virtual Common Ground: Design Participation For The Network Age, S. Little, A. Ando
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper describes a set of action research initiatives intended to disseminate the technical skills necessary to participation in an increasingly globalised design discourse. It starts by examining the shifting relationship between design, production and consumption triggered by globalisation. An account of partnerships between a network of “experts” and a range of “users” follows. This is premised on the use of available infrastructure and the sharing of modest technical skills. This has allowed partners in peripheral locations to embark on the more rewarding process of social learning and exploration of available ICTs without first having to climb a steep technical …
A Research Into The Thinking Modes In Creative Design Process, Y. Nagai, H. Noguchi
A Research Into The Thinking Modes In Creative Design Process, Y. Nagai, H. Noguchi
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The authors made four design experiments to know how student designers create design solutions in translating goal description to its visual form. Firstly, in experiment 1 and 2, several thinking types were found in the sketches of the subjects, and then confirmed that they could sum up to two thinking modes (Metaphor mode and Form-making mode) depending on the difficulty in translating the goal description to its visual form. In experiment 3, it was found that the subjects took varied ways with changing thinking modes to reach final sketches depending on the difficulties of goal descriptions. Lastly, in experiment 4, …
Design Judgment: Decision Making In The ‘Real’ World, H. Nelson, E. Stolterman
Design Judgment: Decision Making In The ‘Real’ World, H. Nelson, E. Stolterman
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design is about creating the ‘real’ world around us. Real life is complex, dynamic and uncertain. Truth is difficult enough to know, even with the best science, but ‘reality’, the domain of human experience, can be overwhelmingly paralyzing and beyond comprehension or 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 judgment is that it allows individuals to overcome their paralysis and engage with the messy complexity of life in a way that, when done well, can bring function, beauty, …
Developing Design Research: The Study Of Research As A Tool For Research, S. Pizzocaro
Developing Design Research: The Study Of Research As A Tool For Research, S. Pizzocaro
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper will propose that learning - as occurring in all those circumstances whereby agents have an uncompleted understanding of the context in which they operate - has been an effective driving force that has characterised the reflection on design research itself. Some “forms of research” as “forms of learning” acquire even greater importance in those evolutionary environments - intended in the most generic terms - where heterogeneous agents display different forms of rationality, where there is a persistent appearance of novelties deriving from technological, behavioural and organisational innovations driven by the agents themselves, where out-of-equilibrium interactions may frequently occur …
Three Orientations Of Weaving Design, P. Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, K. Hakkarainen
Three Orientations Of Weaving Design, P. Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, K. Hakkarainen
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This study investigated expertise in the process of professional-level weaving design. A working hypothesis of the study was that the weaving-design process is best considered as a dual-space search between the visual, composition space and the technical, construction space, subject to external (environmental, contextual) and internally generated constraints. The study analyses expertise in weaving design by examining how professionally experienced designers (n=4) and advanced students (n=4) of weaving design solved a professional weaving-design task. The participants were asked to solve the task while thinking aloud in two design sessions. The data consisted of (1) verbal protocols, (2) video protocols, and …
Designing Philosophy, D. Sless
Designing Philosophy, D. Sless
DRS Biennial Conference Series
I start from two assertions: philosophy is our highest form of practical reasoning; design is our highest form of practical adaptation to our environment. I ask a question. What necessary conditions must exist for us to do both philosophising and designing? The method of argument I use is based on the philosophical methods of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations and the principle of parsimony or Occam’s razor: what is the simplest set of ideas necessary to answer the question. The area of design on which I draw most heavily is the area in which I have done most of my designing and …
Understanding Designing And Design Management Through Constituent Market Orientation And Constituent Orientation, B. Tellefsen, T. Love
Understanding Designing And Design Management Through Constituent Market Orientation And Constituent Orientation, B. Tellefsen, T. Love
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The paper builds on research undertaken in Norway and Australia in constituent market orientation and models of affective design cognition to develop a more coherent and integrated theory frame for modeling designing in organisations, particularly the increasing number of design organisations undertaking virtual multidisciplinary teamwork. Attempts to develop an integrated theory of the interactions between stakeholders have focused mainly on the properties of designed artifacts, the characteristics of the design problems and brief, or on the technical, social and communication processes. This has been less than fully satisfactory and resulted in a lack of adequate theoretical integration with underlying individual …
Managing Architectural Analyses In A Collaborative Context, B. Tuncer, R. Stouffs, S. Sariyildiz
Managing Architectural Analyses In A Collaborative Context, B. Tuncer, R. Stouffs, S. Sariyildiz
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The study of precedents plays an important role in design and design education. Architecture students prepare analyses of prominent precedents with respect to various criteria. Such design analyses are represented and communicated through abstractions. Collections of these abstractions are stored, related, managed, and presented in digital environments. Such web-based environments can serve as an extensible library of design precedent analyses. The use of an extensive library by a collection of students requires a flexible and extensible information model for relating and integrating the various contributions. We propose a methodology that establishes an information model for digital architectural analysis environments. This …
Telling Tales: Understanding The Role Of Narrative In The Design Of Taxonomic Software, S. Turner, P. Turner, C. Raguenaud, J. Kennedy
Telling Tales: Understanding The Role Of Narrative In The Design Of Taxonomic Software, S. Turner, P. Turner, C. Raguenaud, J. Kennedy
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper draws on concepts from the structuralist analysis of narrative to explore aspects of the role of stories in the small group design process. A brief review of relevant narratological concepts is provided. Their application in a preliminary analysis of case study data from a team designing taxonomic software is then reported. It is concluded that narratology, and in particular the notion of focalisation, has useful descriptive potential in this context, and may help to elucidate some difficulties in design communication and documentation. Suggestions for extension of the work are included.
Three Dimensional Models: A Study Of A Virtual Aquarium Simulation In 3d Www Environments, N. Wakabayashi, T. Watanabe, R. Takahashi, Y. Harada
Three Dimensional Models: A Study Of A Virtual Aquarium Simulation In 3d Www Environments, N. Wakabayashi, T. Watanabe, R. Takahashi, Y. Harada
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The purpose of this research is to investigate and propose an expressing method of information making good use of 3-dimensional space. Under the theme of information design on a 3- dimensional space, we treated a virtual aquarium as a subject matter. This research focuses on development of effective methods of designing techniques which can be utilized in making interactive content on the internet through the actual development of "Aqua Project". Focusing particularly on real time 3D graphics, we will propose a representation technique that utilizes words, images, and geometric models all integrated into 3D space. We searched for ways to …