Understanding Sleep Challenges In Shared Dormitories: A Co-Design Inquiry,
2026
Lancaster university, United Kingdom
Understanding Sleep Challenges In Shared Dormitories: A Co-Design Inquiry, Zheng Wang, Adrian Gradinar, Lisa Thomas
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Shared dormitories are the most common living arrangement for Chinese university students and have a crucial impact on their sleep and well-being. Most studies on sleep among this group primarily focus on the physical environment and the individual person, giving far less attention to the interpersonal and social aspects of living in shared dormitories. To address this gap, this paper presents the findings of a co-design workshop with 23 participants which explored their experiences of shared sleeping spaces and involved them in prototyping interventions for improving sleep experience. Findings reveal interpersonal interference as a major factor behind sleep disruption. Even …
A Product-Service System Design Approach For The Frame Innovation Of Automated Robotaxi Interior Space Cleaning,
2026
College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, Shanghai, China;
Köln International School of Design, TH Köln, Cologne, Germany
A Product-Service System Design Approach For The Frame Innovation Of Automated Robotaxi Interior Space Cleaning, Zhiqian Hu, Yaojia Zhang, Peiyuan Ge, Leijie Ding, Mager Birgit, Li Zhang
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Robotaxi services are expanding rapidly, but interior cleanliness, valued by passengers, remains a critical weak link. This study examines embedding the Automated Robotaxi Interior Space Cleaning (ARISC) framework in existing operations via a product service system (PSS) architecture without reducing fleet availability. Methodologically, frame innovation is undertaken from companies’ internal processes and governance: first, the study benchmarks DiDi Autonomous Driving, Baidu’s Apollo Go, and SAIC Mobility Robotaxi, and maps existing Robotaxi service systems; second, eleven semi structured interviews with cleaning providers, company staff, and passengers yield 384 records indicating functional needs (air circulation, surface cleaning, waste removal) and value needs …
From Sustainable Campuses To Regenerative Governance: A Design Perspective On Participation And Institutional Learning In The Pays De La Loire University Ecosystem,
2026
University of Sapienza, Rome;
École de design Nantes Atlantique, France
From Sustainable Campuses To Regenerative Governance: A Design Perspective On Participation And Institutional Learning In The Pays De La Loire University Ecosystem, Rajmonda Zajmi Avignon
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Universities are increasingly recognised as laboratories for socio-ecological transition, yet higher education sustainability frameworks in France remain largely managerial, privileging compliance and infrastructure over participation. This paper examines how three national and regional instruments, including the Plan Climat–Biodiversité, the Note de cadrage TEDS, and the SRESRI 2021–2027, are translated into governance practices within two university campus ecosystems in the Pays de la Loire region: Chantrerie (Nantes) and Belle-Beille (Angers). Adopting a systemic design perspective, the study conceptualises governance as a process mediated through design practices involving feedback, coordination, and institutional learning. Through a comparative analysis of these models, it identifies …
Darker Affordances: Designing With Values As Vulnerabilities In An Age Of Disinformation,
2026
University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Darker Affordances: Designing With Values As Vulnerabilities In An Age Of Disinformation, Laura Knight
DRS Biennial Conference Series
In an age of pervasive disinformation, values function as conceptual anchors for comprehending complex information. Design-for-values approaches frame values as alignment opportunities. But the same values that enable ethical, resonant communication can be exploited for manipulative and unethical purposes. This paper argues that values in graphic communication design function as 'darker affordances' — relational properties affording both ethical communication and manipulation with equal reliability. Drawing on Master's students' reflections from a project in which they designed paired climate communication — one ethically aligned, one disinformation — it examines how contrastive pedagogy develops ethical literacy around values' dual nature. Analysis reveals …
Co-Designing Culture: A Grounded Theory Of Participatory Practice In Indian Folk Music,
2026
Anahad Foundation, New Delhi, India;
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
Co-Designing Culture: A Grounded Theory Of Participatory Practice In Indian Folk Music, Abhinav Agrawal, Mudit Chaturvedi, Gaurang Agrawal
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Prevailing accounts of co-design remain anchored in Western formal practice. This study repositions Indian folk music as a culturally embedded site of collaborative design. Drawing on Murphy’s anthropology of design and a grounded theory approach, we analysed 1,621 coded segments from interviews with 23 first-generation folk artists across 14 Indian states. We show that musicians function as cultural designers who translate lived experience and shared moral economies into adaptive musical forms through participatory routines: community observation, collective ideation, performance-based prototyping, and iterative calibration through audience feedback. We formalise these dynamics in the Cultural Co-Design Flow model, illuminating how layered semantics, …
Design For Dignified Longevity: Olfactory-Enhanced Vr Meditation For Sustained Mindfulness Practice,
2026
Tongji University
Design For Dignified Longevity: Olfactory-Enhanced Vr Meditation For Sustained Mindfulness Practice, Lei Xia, Xiaomei Li, Dan Li, Ling Fan
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Mindfulness meditation supports psychological wellbeing and stress regulation—factors closely associated with healthy aging and longevity. However, practitioners often struggle to sustain attentional depth over time. While virtual reality (VR) has been explored as a tool for immersive meditation, most systems rely primarily on audiovisual stimuli and overlook olfactory cues despite their strong influence on emotion and environmental perception. This study introduces ScentSync, an olfactory-enhanced VR meditation system integrating AI-generated environments with synchronized scent delivery. A controlled experiment with 54 experienced meditators compared traditional meditation (Non-VR), VR meditation (VR), and olfactory-enhanced VR meditation (VR+Olfactory). Results show that the VR+Olfactory group achieved …
Applying Ai Fine-Tuning And Vr 3d Sketching For Conceptual Design Proposals: A Case Study Of Footwear Design,
2026
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Applying Ai Fine-Tuning And Vr 3d Sketching For Conceptual Design Proposals: A Case Study Of Footwear Design, Hao-Yu Han, Ming-Huang Lin, Yun-Wen Lee
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Vizcom can produce creative 2D images, however, their stylistic appearances remain difficult to control. This study proposes a design pathway based on LoRA fine-tuning technique. First, a fine-tuning model of Nike A.I.R. concept shoes and automotive surface styles were trained. Then, these two different vocabulary elements were combined and generatively tested to explore their feasibility in footwear design. The process included dataset preparation, parameter adjustment, generation testing, and VR 3D modeling. Results showed that this method can effectively generate innovative forms within a given framework, making it particularly suitable for early design exploration. …
Plural Epistemologies In Systemic Design: Bridging Eastern Wisdom And Western Traditions,
2026
Tongji University, China, People's Republic of
Plural Epistemologies In Systemic Design: Bridging Eastern Wisdom And Western Traditions, Yi Song, Lei Zhang
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Systemic design is increasingly emerging as a foundational concept in contemporary design research, attracting growing scholarly attention. However, despite converging ambitions toward addressing complexity, the field remains characterized by diverse terminologies, conceptual framings, and methodological vocabularies. This plurality, while intellectually productive, often raises the entry barrier for new researchers and risks duplication of effort due to unclear conceptual boundaries and fragmented knowledge development. To address this challenge, this study traces the historical evolution and theoretical roots of systemic design, clarifying its conceptual scope, key constructs, and stages of theoretical formation. Building on this foundation, it further examines the historical trajectory …
Rethinking Our Relationship With Technology Through The Translation Of A Film Prop: The Case Of Pyle And His Rifle,
2026
Royal College of Art, United Kingdom;
Feng-Chia University, Taiwan
Rethinking Our Relationship With Technology Through The Translation Of A Film Prop: The Case Of Pyle And His Rifle, Nicolas Marechal
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This research is situated at the intersection of design and Science and Technology Studies, focusing on training as a form of mediation which provides a pathway to rethinking our relationship with smart technologies. It draws on a provocation from Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), with particular attention to the relationship between Private Pyle and his rifle during the training sequence. The rifle foregrounds the way that technology cannot be reduced to purely material, moral, or constructivist accounts, but is constituted through the mediating role of training. The analysis mobilises translation as a design method, treating the film prop as …
Bringing Characters To Vitality: Enhancing Credibility Of Original Characters In Narrative Works By Making The Oc A Generative Ai Agent,
2026
School of New Media Art and Design, Beihang University
Bringing Characters To Vitality: Enhancing Credibility Of Original Characters In Narrative Works By Making The Oc A Generative Ai Agent, Xiaozhan Liang, Ling Zou, Yong Hu, Siyu Luo
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This study examines how generative AI can transform original characters (OCs) into interactive agents that improve character believability in design contexts. We propose a human–AI co-creation workflow that integrates dialogue, image, and context modalities, stabilizing style and behavior through structured prompts and expert feedback. In a mixed-method evaluation with five expert creators and a general audience, the approach increased perceived realism and emotional authenticity, while psychological complexity changed little—indicating the need for longer-horizon design. Dialogue contributed most to credibility, with context reinforcing coherence and images showing limited gains. We distill design principles for cross-modal alignment, style stability, and progressive complexity, …
The Spectral Right To The City: Cartographies Of Care Through Ethnographic Projection,
2026
Technion, Israel
The Spectral Right To The City: Cartographies Of Care Through Ethnographic Projection, Roni Mero, Jonathan Ventura, Eliyahu Keller
DRS Biennial Conference Series
The smart city paradigm operates on data representation, meaning that communities not included in official datasets are not represented and therefore do not exist politically. This condition of systemic exclusion demands an ethical design intervention, mixing cartography, visual communication and graphic design. Our paper presents a dual methodological approach that constitutes a cartography of care. This methodological framework visualises undocumented functional dynamics, providing a data-driven basis for urban planning that reflects the actual, lived usage of the city. First, we introduce ethnographic projection, a participatory design methodology that creates protected representation within existing GIS systems. Second, we present chorematic visualisation, …
Where Regenerative Design Theory Meets Ground: A Case Study Of Xreef On Weizhou Island,
2026
Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Where Regenerative Design Theory Meets Ground: A Case Study Of Xreef On Weizhou Island, Chengjun Li, Valentina Rognoli, Fuqing Xu
DRS Biennial Conference Series
As the Anthropocene increasingly undermines natural systems, there is an urgent need for design to move beyond harm reduction toward active ecological restoration. Regenerative Design (RD) has emerged as a promising paradigm to complement sustainable design; however, fragmented knowledge and inconsistent terminology hinder designers’ systematic understanding. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, this study first reviews the philosophical stances and key approaches of RD, then examines its implementation in a coral reef restoration project on Weizhou Island. Reflection on the project revealed three major challenges: limited capacity for interdisciplinary collaboration, insufficient tools for stakeholder engagement, and inadequate dynamic …
Changing Systems From Within: Workarounds In Sociotechnical System Transformation,
2026
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Changing Systems From Within: Workarounds In Sociotechnical System Transformation, Tilda Berensson, Mia Hesselgren
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Systems are shaped by dominant mindsets that constrain which futures can be imagined or made possible. Supporting system transformation requires shifting temporal boundaries and revealing the hidden system logics. This study explores how design can contribute to understanding and reframing sociotechnical system change from within. In an empirical study conducted within a research consortium investigating the electrification of road freight transport, we, as design researchers, entered the system change as participants. Using a practice-oriented lens, we learned from riding in trucks, conducting contextual observations, and interviewing drivers and transport planners whose everyday work sustains the system. What is often portrayed …
Service Design In Practice,
2026
Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Service Design In Practice, Qian Sun, Carolyn Runcie
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Service design has evolved from a niche practice focused on improving customer experience into a transdisciplinary discipline driving systemic and societal transformation. Drawing on an online survey of 82 practitioners with formal training (MA Service Design) and a validation panel with eight experts, this study examines the current state of practice, identifying evolving roles, competencies, and emerging trends. Findings show a shift from tools to mindsets, grounded in curiosity, adaptability, and ethical, human-centred values. Practitioners increasingly engage in strategic and organisational transformation, adopting life-centred and planetary perspectives while integrating generative AI into research, ideation, and prototyping. The study also highlights …
Towards An Operational Framework For Design For Values: An Exploration Through Systematic Literature Review,
2026
College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, China
Towards An Operational Framework For Design For Values: An Exploration Through Systematic Literature Review, Yingjing Duan, Fei Hu*
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Design for Values (DfV) offers a robust approach for embedding values into technology, yet practitioners often face a “principles-to-practice gap” due to a lack of methodological guidance. To bridge this gap, an operational framework is developed, connecting abstract design processes with concrete practical methods. Through a systematic literature review, this research identifies 47 specific methods that explicitly support DfV practice. These methods are analysed from four dimensions—source discipline, methodological nature, operational characteristic, and practical purpose—to map the current DfV methodological landscape. This analysis informs the construction of a six-stage framework integrated with the Double Diamond model: discover, manage conflicts, conceptualise, …
Lifting Threads, Piercing Fabrics, And Tracing Stories Through Stitches: An Embroidery Inquiry Into Analysing Empirical Material,
2026
Department of Health Science, Innovation and Design, Mälardalen University, Eskilstuna, Sweden
Lifting Threads, Piercing Fabrics, And Tracing Stories Through Stitches: An Embroidery Inquiry Into Analysing Empirical Material, Andreea Strineholm, Jennie Schaeffer
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper investigates how textile-based practices can open alternative modes of inquiry into research material. Through an exploratory workshop, a multidisciplinary group of creative professionals and design researchers engaged with photo-elicitation data by embroidering directly onto photographs printed on fabric and wallpaper. This tactile and embodied engagement enabled a slower, more reflective encounter with the material, where meaning emerged through touch, rhythm, and collective making rather than systematic analysis. By lifting threads, piercing fabrics, and tracing stories through stitches, participants enacted a form of textile thinking: one that performs epistemologically through material interaction. This approach situates embroidery as a methodological …
Critical Minerals In The Body: Towards Re-Use In Orthopaedic Healthcare,
2026
Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom
Critical Minerals In The Body: Towards Re-Use In Orthopaedic Healthcare, Anne Schiffer, Anthony P. Cooper
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Recent years have seen an acceleration in efforts to secure global supply chains of ‘critical minerals’ for defence, digital technologies, energy and transport. However, this rapidly evolving geopolitical context also impacts other sectors including healthcare which rely on some of the same resources. In orthopaedics, metals including titanium and medical grade stainless steel are used for implants. Supply chain disruption and rising costs therefore pose risks to product performance in the body, affordability and quality of patient care. Firstly, this paper shares findings from a content analysis of grey literature by leading orthopaedic manufactures. Secondly, it presents an illustrative re-use …
Sustained Memory For Public Design In Latin America,
2026
Northeastern University
Sustained Memory For Public Design In Latin America, Sofia Bosch Gomez, Luca Gaspari, Tina Rosado
DRS Biennial Conference Series
Public-sector innovation units across Latin America increasingly use design methodologies to reimagine policymaking and service delivery. However, fragmented and inconsistent documentation continues to limit institutional learning and sustained impact. This study maps how public design is practiced through a multilingual literature review of 84 sources (from an initial corpus of 700 sources) analyzed across English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Coding findings at institutional, project, and individual levels reveals four critical patterns: inconsistent terminology hindering synthesis, uneven geographic coverage leaving vast regions underrepresented, superficial methodology documentation describing tools without unpacking adaptation or context, and striking temporal gaps with minimal longitudinal evidence …
Mapping Design’S Contribution To Policymaking: A Framework For Understanding Design’S Roles Across Policymaking Levels,
2026
Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Mapping Design’S Contribution To Policymaking: A Framework For Understanding Design’S Roles Across Policymaking Levels, Amy Hyewon Lee
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper examines how design is conceptualised within design and policy literature in public-sector contexts, contributing to the expanding discourse on design for policy. Despite the growing adoption of design approaches in governance, robust evidence of their contribution remains limited. Using a qualitative meta-synthesis of 24 publications spanning design studies, policy design, and public administration, the study identifies four interrelated logics through which design is conceptualised in policymaking: systems learning and reflexivity; legitimacy and relational effectiveness; structuring and coherence; and adaptation and delivery. These logics are reframed as epistemic, relational, systemic, and operational dimensions of contributive capacity that describe how …
Speculative Co-Imagination: Participatory Visualization Informed By Design Fiction,
2026
Tsinghua University, China, People's Republic of
Speculative Co-Imagination: Participatory Visualization Informed By Design Fiction, Moshi Wang, Yining Gong, He Wang, Zhi Geng, Zhuojun Hu, Aiwen Ding
DRS Biennial Conference Series
This paper proposes speculative co-imagination, a design approach that integrates design fiction with participatory visualization to explore alternative futures. In the post-AI era, as automation replaces standardized tasks, designers increasingly focus on framing critical questions. Design fiction creates plausible yet fictional scenarios to provoke reflection, but often lacks audience engagement. By incorporating participatory visualization, users become co-creators of speculative narratives through data input and interaction. Drawing on the project Sky Protocol, which imagines the urban sky as an algorithmic visual platform, the paper demonstrates how user-driven data shapes collective perception. The practice is guided by a five-stage framework consisting of …
