Digital Commons Network^™

The Phenomenon Of Low-Fidelity Prototyping – An Overview Across Design Practices Making Deliberately Simpler Models, Rolf Brändle, Paula L. Schuster

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

The phenomenon of low-fidelity prototyping is mainly discussed in HCI but is practiced in product design, architecture and speculative design as well under different terms. In this paper, we provide an overview of the disciplinary low-fidelity prototyping practices and discuss the overarching discourses among these fields. Starting with an expanded understanding of prototypes as tangible and concrete models we investigate the tactic of designing a deliberately simpler models for different purposes. Prototyping with simple means with high abstraction poses challenges. Yet, the lack of reflection of a low-fidelity tactic holds unexplored potential. We investigate whether it is advantageous to prototype …

Prototyping An Employee Experience Model. A Participatory Action Research Project To Support Organizations In Redefining The Working Routines Starting From Employee Experience Design, Michele Melazzini, Federica Colombo, Gianluca Carella

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

In the post-pandemic context, organizations are facing critical and systemic changes, particularly in people’s way of working and related processes. In the last decades, Design and Business Innovation literature presented the different ways Design supports organizations' innovation and transformation processes. This paper starts analyzing experimental approaches - namely design intervention - that Design may implement to support organizations in redefining working modes. The focal point of this contribution consists in the redefinition of working routines through the prototype of employee experience models. Furthermore, the existing literature presents a gap in the experimentation and implementation of prototyping activities in the employee …

Cultivating Ethics With Professional Designers, Sharon Lindberg, Petter Karlström, Sirkku Männikkö Barbutiu

Nordes Conference Series

Recent years have seen an increased interest in designers’ ethical responsibility. However, knowledge concerning how ethical practice could be cultivated in real-life settings is still lacking. In order to explore this issue, we formed a team with practitioners at a digital design studio. During 10 months, the team co-designed activities and materials intended to sensitize design practitioners at the studio to ethics. Our findings highlight the importance of presenting ethics in an appealing manner in order to engage designers, and this paper illustrates how we explored this in our project. Moreover, we discuss co-design as a collaborative space for engaging …

Pleasures, Participation Or Practices? Unpacking The Black Box Of Designing In And With Organizations, Alexandra Harder Lindek, Morten Krogh Petersen

Nordes Conference Series

As a contribution to the field of design management, this paper responds to the uptake of design in organizations by developing and fleshing out a relational approach. The dominating approaches are methodological and cognitive, putting the human designer and her capabilities front and center. In contrast, the relational approach pays close, empirical attention to how designerly contributions come into being as the designer relates to her organization. Thereby, the relational approach enables a more critical understanding of what organizations and designers can achieve together. We unfold our arguments through ethnographic accounts of crucial moments in a development project concerning workplace …

An Analysis Of Design Maturity Models Used In Design Organizations, Nandhini Giri, Erik Stolterman

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Maturity models are structures that help assess key performance metrics and provide guidelines for assessment and growth in various areas of an organization. In this paper we review some of the significant design maturity frameworks that are used by practitioners in design organizations. The field of design is ramifying with emerging forms of design practice and requires a need to study maturity models from the perspective of practitioners in design organizations. The pandemic has disrupted normal organizational operations forcing practitioners to discuss the need for maturity models in workplaces that follow the new normal. This necessitates a review of significant …

Design Innovation Strategy For An Iot Startup In Xiaomi Business Ecosystem: A Case Study Of Yeelight Technology, Jiao Song, Wei-Ken Hung, Lin-Lin Chen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Through case study and in-depth interviews, this research investigated the devel-opment process of an IoT startup company—Yeelight Technologies—to gain insights about resources sharing and co-creation between an IoT smart hardware startup and the Xiaomi business ecosystem. The research findings show that during the life cycle of a start-up venture, certain cooperative strategies were employed to create partnerships to lower risks, to provide expertise transfer in a complementary fash-ion, and to create value while mitigating competition in the vulnerable start-up phase. The initial support in design expertise from Xiaomi played a vital and indis-pensable role for Yeelight in strengthen its design …

Organizational Learning Through Collaborative Project-Based Service Design Course: The Flip Side Of The Coin, Suzan Boztepe

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Collaborating with public or private sector organizations in project-based courses equips design students with key skills to future-proof their careers, but this gives only one side of the story as the key feature of these partnerships is that they are mutualistic collaborations. However, the benefits to organizations of collaborating are not fully explored. This paper presents a case study of partnerships with four different public organizations in a service design course over a five-year period. It argues that collaborating in project-based courses serves as risk-free experimentation and paves the way for organizational learning. The paper first reviews the existing research …

Talking About Food: Reflecting On Transitions Of Practice In People With Lived Experience Of Food Poverty, David Perez, Roger Whitham, Gemma Coupe, Leon Cruickshank

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In this paper, we deploy a practice theory lens to explore how co-design activities have enabled individuals to transition to new and different advocacy, inquiry and engagement practices. The co-design project we describe sought to bring about change in a national network of organisations addressing food poverty in the UK. The aim of the project was to collaborate with young people and adults from different communities of the North of England to co-design tools for gathering stories and enabling advocacy relating to food insecurity. We use a practice theory lens to describe the relationships between co-design activities and transitions in …

Designers In Action: Insights And Design Opportunities For Supporting Embodied Learning In Climbing, Hakan Yılmazer, Aykut Coşkun

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Action sports have been under research spotlight due to increase in research opportunities and popularity. Though previous work focused on performance and success metrics, research on mental and emotional aspects, which make up an important part of the learning experience of action sports is still lacking. By focusing on climbing and climbers’ learning experiences, we aimed to extract user insights into learning practices of sportspeople and identify design opportunities to enhance these practices. Initially we gave climbing lectures to interaction designers, as a first-hand experience of learning processes. Then we conducted co-creation sessions with climbers and designers to identify learning …

A Study On Strategic Activities To Foster Design Practices In A Local Government Organization, Ahmee Kim, Mieke Van Der Bijl Brouwer, Ingrid Mulder, Peter Lloyd

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In recent years, governments have increasingly pursued innovation by embed-ding design into their organizations. One particularly common approach to em-bedding design in government organization is to establish public sector innova-tion labs. These labs are described as contributors and facilitators of innovation in policymaking processes; however, less light has been shed on the role of in-house designers (including these labs) in fostering and managing the changes made by design practices within government organizations. In the current study, design management has been used as a theoretical lens to study the strategic activities of in-house designers in a Dutch municipality to embed design …

Constructing A Critical Anthropology Of Contemporary Design Practices, Jocelyn Bailey

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper articulates a critical approach to researching design as a contemporary phenomenon that was developed through my doctoral research. The approach - critical anthropology of design - is a combination of anthropology of design, critical strategies borrowed from other fields, and a ‘Foucauldian’ theoretical toolkit, which together allow us to see design as a complex disciplinary apparatus. I advocate for such an approach – a switching of the disciplinary lens when studying design, and a more sceptical engagement between social disciplines and design – as essential for both robust critique and original insight. Such an approach is productive and …

Design Strategies For Resilient Organization, Ida Telalbasic, Sotiris Lalaounis, Sylvia Xihui Liu

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The chairs' introductory editorial for the theme track 'Design Strategies for Resilient Organization'.

Engaging With Competing Demands In Systems Through Design: Fostering A Paradox Lens, Rike Neuhoff, Olivia Harre, Luca Simeone, Lea Holst Laursen, Lene Nielsen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper aims to foster a paradox lens on competing demands to ensure their productive engagement in design. Competing demands are inevitable and ubiquitous features of today’s systems. Thus, being subject to competing demands is a pervasive and inherent feature of designerly work. Drawing from organizational studies, we first outline four main streams of competing demands underlying today’s systems; related to time, cognition, social interactions, and focus. We demonstrate the importance of a purposeful conceptualization of competing demands by exemplifying how different conceptualizations can lead to different responses. We suggest employing a paradox lens on competing demands, which stresses that …

Can Ritual Experience Be The Jam To Stick Consumers And Service Provider? The Case Study Of Ritual Experience In Disney Experience As Service Design Application, Derrick Yang, Tseng-Ping Chiu, Min-Yuan Ma

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Service design has dominated the marketing strategies in recent years. This study proposes a conventional ritual sandwich model that explores the ritual patterns hidden in service and the intermediate interaction between consumer and industry, enhancing user engagement and long-term recurring consumption. The study took Disneyland as an example and extracted the interaction model between consumers and industry, further interviewed for preliminary verification, found out that the core value of ritual experience is generating unique meaning to consumers through experience the script provided by the service provider, further transform to the internal trigger and participatory motivation into the next cycle. Hoped …

Two Approaches To Foresight-Driven Design, Anna Victoria Bredtved Mountford, Bo Christensen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As a response to rapid and uncertain environmental change, foresight has emerged as an approach offering a future-oriented framing to design practice. Using theory on foresight, design, and change management, this paper reports a case study on how companies engage with foresight combined with design at a strategic level to become more future-oriented in their process and better prepared for taking long term action in the present. Through observations and interviews, the study follows companies participating in the development program Future Now facilitated by the Danish Design Center. We identify two distinct company approaches to foresight-driven design, involving distinct types …

“What A Designer Does In A Municipality?” Different Approaches Towards Design In Three Danish Municipalities, Justyna Starostka, Amalia De Götzen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In recent years, design in the public sector has gained popularity amongst policymakers as well as among scholars. Design is perceived as a promising way to create more successful policies and public services. Out of many different approaches, design thinking (DT) has become significantly popular, as it promises to deal with wicked problems in a new way. Despite growing popularity, however, a critical reflection on benefits and challenges, as well as about different understandings of DT practices in public sector, are still lacking. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate different ways public organisations engage and introduce DT. In this paper …

Systemic Design's Guidelines To Implement Organizational Change, Caterina Rosini, Silvia Barbero

DRS Biennial Conference Series

: In the future, organisations must face sudden changes and increase competitiveness. Firms need to have resources and competencies to set a strategic advantage in the business context to survive. This paper describes two management models used to define strategy and implement benefits for the firm and compares them with a systemic framework and the Systemic Design Approach. The comparison highlights the necessity to analyse organisations considering their complexity in terms of resources and interactions between spheres and roles. This evidence led us to sustain that Systemic Design can provide a better approach to organisational complexity and could be able …

Learning Design, Co-Designing Learning: Collaborative Learning Design Workshops For Innovation In Teaching/Learning And Faculty Development Programs:, Stefano Perna, Pietro Nunziante

Learn X Design Conference Series

The paper explores the field of Collaborative Learning Design Workshops, a specific type of par-ticipatory workshop designed to facilitate the process of co-designing learning experiences by interdisciplinary teams of academics and educators from all backgrounds. An overview of the field of Learning Design or “Design for Learning” is presented. A specific case study is then pre-sented, The Learning Experience Design workshop a co-design workshop designed and run by the authors as part of the F.E.D.E.R.I.C.O. faculty development program for innovation in teaching and learning targeted to newly hired lecturers and researchers at the University of Naples Fed-erico II, Italy. The …

Jinan 2021: Engaging With Challenges In Design Education, Erik Bohemia, Liv Merete Nielsen, Naz A.G.Z. Börekçi, Yang Zhang

Learn X Design Conference Series

The year 2021 has been particularly special for the DRS Learn X Design (LxD 2021)1 organising teams. The conference series marked the 10th anniversary since the first event was held in Paris in 2011. The DRS Learn X Design 2021, 6th International Conference for Design Education Researchers took place online between 24–26 September 2021. It was hosted by Shandong University of Art & Design (SUAD) in Jinan, China. During this online international conference, the participants reflected on the ongoing challenges which have affected their practices. The process of sharing different perspectives with the international design education community members facilitated collective …

Beyond A Living Lab: Scaling Social Innovation, Signe Yndigegn, Lone Malmborg, Maria Foverskov, Eva Brandt

Nordes Conference Series

This paper reflects on experiences with practicing and scaling a social innovation concept that was co-produced between public and private partners and citizens in a living design laboratory in Denmark from 2009-2012. The concept is a public service supporting ad-hoc exercise communities for senior citizens in public parks, based on playful activities. This paper builds upon follow-up studies which have been made since the project ended. We discuss how practicing the service unfolded over time, and how two municipalities have attempted scaling the concept. We deepen the understanding of theoretical concepts of scaling with experiences from practice by e.g., discussing …

In Search Of (Organizational) Learning And Translation In Public Innovation Labs, Anna Seravalli

Nordes Conference Series

Public Innovation Labs are rapidly spreading with the aim of improving public sector responses to societal issues. However, labs are often struggling to embed their outcomes in ordinary activities. The article builds on the notions of organizational learning and translation and on the case of an innovation lab at the municipal level to articulate some of the challenges and limits of labs in relating to public organizations institutional dimension. It also describes possible formats and approaches to meaningfully engage with ordinary activities, structures and power dynamics within the public sector.

The Design Fiction Matrix— A Synthesis Tool For Grounding Fiction Scenarios In Real Facts, Peter Vistisen

Nordes Conference Series

This explorative paper presents a didactic synthesis tool to support designers and design students in adopting design fiction as a method for speculative design. We present the theoretical underpinnings behind the development of the framework and the logic of the tool itself while situating the tool among the current discourse on design fiction. Finally, we present a series of reflections upon the recent year’s application of the tool in a design educational setting, showing the different ways the tool can be applied and represented in practice.

Actionable Attributes Of Service Design For Business, Joanna Rutkowska, Froukje Sleeswijk Visser, David Lamas

ServDes Conference Series

The role of service deliverables in the early phases of service development has been studied both in academia and practice. We lack knowledge on the impact of service deliverables for the later phases of the service development process in which service designers are usually not engaged. In this paper, we aim to understand what attributes of service deliverables help business clients to act upon the deliverables on their own after service designers are gone.

To elicit actionable attributes of service deliverables, e.g., reports, we conducted semi-structured interviews with five leading and recognizable service design consultants from Poland who lead service …

Adopting A Service Design Approach In Financial Organisations, Virpi Kaartti

ServDes Conference Series

The purpose of the study is to increase knowledge of adopting a service design (SD) approach in financial organisations in Northern Europe. The study focuses on the strategic and corporate levels. The main purpose is specified by the following objectives:

To explore

• the motives, challenges and opportunities of adopting the SD approach
• the managerial approaches used in implementing change in an organisation, and their perceived success in adopting the SD approach
• the factors supporting/resisting the change in an organisation
• the role of organisational learning in the process of adopting the SD approach
• the manifestation of the adopted SD approach at …

An Application Framework Of Service Design For Servitization, Peng Lu

ServDes Conference Series

Einola et al. (as cited in Kohtamäki, Rabetino, & Einola, 2018, p. 186) pointed out that “the tensions that manufacturers face when transitioning from manufacturing products toward the provision of customized integrated solutions are often paradoxical in nature,” which could be taken as the cultural and corporate challenges of adopting a servitization business strategy (Baines et al., 2009; Viet et al., 2013). As an emerging design field, service design offers a holistic, human-centered, co-creative approach to developing new services (Costa et al., 2018), which has the potential to be embodied in the process of servitization. This short paper tries to …

From Product Centricity To Services: Design Workshops And Maps As Tools In Strategy Articulation, Olivia Harre, Lene Nielsen

ServDes Conference Series

This paper explores how an IT company wants to change from product- centricity to servitization. A cross-functional customer journey workshop mapped the current state from the customer’s point of view, and by identifying opportunities, it identifies gaps in becoming a service organization. Activities in the workshop focused on mapping a current customer journey and a proposition of a customer journey. The case explores how a service design workshop and tools can be used in strategic work, to support and facilitate a discussion on changes needed to be customer-centric, going beyond technology and features. The workshop and maps proved useful in …

Unblock The Tension While Implementing Service Design, Arthur Yeh, Yvonne Yam

ServDes Conference Series

The value of excellent service design can only be realized when it has an organization’s buy-in and is being implemented. Service Designers not only need to focus on designing excellent service but also need to be concerned with the implementation of design, in a smooth and sustainable manner.

In this highly practical and interactive workshop, we will introduce Ken Wilber's Integral Framework and AQAL map for a smoother implementation of the service design practice.

We encourage all participants to bring their real-life client/own scenario(s). We will uncover blind spots and explore new possibilities for creating project buy-in. At the end …

The Future Of Design Process Research? Exploring Process Theory And Methodology, Frithjof E. Wegener, Philip Cash

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Design processes are at the heart of design research. Current design research at the micro- and macro-level has led to profound insights about designing. However, missing are design process research approaches that are able to theorize between (meso-level) and beyond levels of analysis. This fragmentation of process research and theory across levels hampers research synthesis and theory development. In this paper we illustrate the limitations of current design research methodologies to analyse and theorize process. Specifically, the issue lies in the challenge of analysing and theorizing the temporal embeddedness of data in the overall design process. We introduce a Process …

Design Languages In The Design Space: Silicon Valley, Tarja Pääkkönen, Melanie Sarantou, Satu Miettinen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This interdisciplinary article explores the nature of language in design managers´ strategic contexts. Taken-for-granted assumptions behind language influence the way cues are selected and elaborated on through actors´ frames to ultimately become meanings. Language suggests and passes on cues and frames through which strategizing evolves. The design space is depicted as an entanglement of in-betweens where actors are immersed in language and materiality in their ongoing sensemaking. The hermeneutic analysis revealed that design languages partly extend managerial concepts, thus broadening horizons. Designers´ sensemaking in this longitudinal research showed traits of normalising and denormalising language use balancing between frame adoption and …

Towards Design-Driven Transdisciplinary Education: Navigating The Challenges And Envisioning The Role Of Design As A Facilitator, Jiaying Chew, Jung-Joo Lee, Miikka J. Lehtonen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The contemporary society deals with challenges that are complex, dynamic and networked, which requires different knowledge domains to work together beyond their knowledge silos. Transdisciplinarity is one of the responses to this mandate, and universities are increasingly trying to implement transdisciplinary education. Transdisciplinarity, however, is seen disruptive to existing university structures, and there is a need to examine the challenges to inform future directions. This paper presents an exploratory study into the existing challenges towards implementing transdisciplinary education through action research in one graduate degree program. Through a series of interviews, observations and co-design workshops accompanied with frameworks and tools …