Art and Design Commons^™

Drs2024: Boston, Colin M. Gray, Estefania Ciliotta Chehade, Paul Hekkert, Laura Forlano, Paolo Ciuccarelli, Peter Lloyd

DRS Conference Volumes

Boston, a city renowned for its academic traditions and historical significance, is our setting for DRS2024. And Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media, and Design is our host institution, in partnership with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Morningside Academy for Design. The call for papers for DRS2024 resulted in a huge response, with 1184 abstracts and 869 full paper submissions—over a 47% increase from DRS2022. Of these submissions, 78 were desk rejected and 791 papers underwent rigorous peer review. Based on this review process, we are pleased to include 386 accepted papers …

Családi, Joelle Nagy

LSU Master's Theses

Családi (Magyar/Hungarian) adjective: related to the family; related to the home

CSALÁDI is a compendium of paintings and sculpture that narrate and itemize memories, mementos, and feelings from my childhood in relation to the home. It is an autobiographical agglomeration of objects and spaces that I am honoring and remembering through the act of creating. I am effectuating the feminine and maternal instinct of gathering and arranging my memories pertaining to personal history and inherited cultural identity through altar-making. Idiosyncratic items are collected and bound through color association and sensory memory. Constructing interior and exterior spaces of the home in …

Leveraging Play And Rube Goldberg Machines To Teach 21st Century + Design Skills, Anna Elyse Gilbertson, Alana Madison Aamodt

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In an AI-dominated landscape, creative, collaborative, and open-ended problem solving are increasingly critical skills. Traditional science and design toys pair stepwise instructions with single-configuration forms, while pixel-based building systems become an extension of the user’s existing capacity. By requiring creative re-imagination of everyday objects, chain reaction (rube goldberg) machines are a promising concept for practicing and expanding creative design skills through play. We calibrated formal and instructional constraints across two major design iterations, utilizing ethnographic interviewing, behavioral observation, and documentation of creative output to understand, quantify, and react to the impact of design changes. Paired with appropriate creative restraints, a …

“Another Eye For The Visually Impaired”: A Study Exploring The Experience Of Using Camera-Based Mobile Assistive Applications, Lizhou Niu, Arthi Manohar, Hua Dong, Weining Ning

DRS Biennial Conference Series

More and more visually impaired people rely on assistive technology to live independently, and camera-based applications are a typical technology used to capture and recognize objects. While the researchers have provided ample information on this technology, more studies are needed on user experience. To explore how visually impaired people perceive and resolve the issues in daily use and what factors may affect their usage intention, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 visually impaired participants based in London, and all the data was transcribed through thematic analysis. We identified three main themes in the study: i) recognition, ii) encouragement, and iii) …

Transformative Sketching: Unveiling Character Identity In Two Dimensions, Sanya Jain, Prasad Bokil

DRS Biennial Conference Series

We understand this world through our sense perceptions and past associations. The main objective of the study was to sketch the face of a character with a specific identity, so that it aligns with its intended description, thus ensuring it is perceived as intended. The use of shapes and features of animals have helped to derive characters that represent an archetype. The digital representations of these characters find their place along two distinct axes: (i) transitioning from elaborate to minimal and (ii) shifting between animalistic and human features. The methodology harmoniously merges diverse character appearances, eliminating fragmentation. We place significant …

Seaweaver: Integrating Cultural Craft And Materials Innovation For Artificial Reef Conservation Strategies, Leonardo Hummel

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Coastal reef environments foster biodiversity through their complex topographies, which offer substrate and diverse habitats across trophic levels. While artificial reefs can mimic these functions and results, implementation barriers have historically limited their ability to address coastal habitat loss at scale. This research presents a novel method for artificial reef construction that combines hand craft weaving practices with artificial reef construction innovations. The design framework, dubbed “SeaWeaver,” meets the ecological criteria for reef topography through complex geometries inherent to woven forms while retaining the cost-efficiency, material simplicity and parametric variability of weaving crafts. The integration of simple electrochemical processes presents …

Is Design Delightful? An Examination Of Design Students' Emotions When Designing, Hazar Taissier Marji, Paul A. Rodgers, Ross Brisco

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This research examines the emotional experiences of design students as they progress through a design project. The study presents how different emotions manifest themselves in the students' design processes, offering insights into whether the students' design experience is ‘pleasurable’ or otherwise, and beyond this, the spectrum of emotions that design students experience overall. Findings reveal a common positive emotional experience amongst students despite their very different backgrounds and cultures. The initial results show that positive emotions can be generated by the design project topic, which in turn has an important impact on the design process and the student’s performance. The …

Proposition Of A User Navigation Program For An Oncology Clinic: Customizing Patients’ Journey Through Experience-Based Design, Patricia R. Bohn, Claudia De Souza Libanio, Flavio Sanson Fogliatto, Leandro Miletto Tonetto

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The experience-based design (EBD) approach captures, measures, and improves user experience across their journey, aiming to establish efficient and friendly healthcare systems. In this study, the goal is to propose improvements for an outpatient oncology service through EBD. Methodologically, it involves a project-based EBD approach, rooted in co-design. Its implementation comprised data collection at two stages: (i) user journey’s mapping, and (ii) a codesign workshop with users. From the data analysis, we created a journey map describing users' interactions with the service, measured their experience and identified the critical points. For these points, a co-created solution was devised with the …

A Designer’S Lexicon: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Language In Design Practice, Madison Sabatelli

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Although a visual language often takes precedence as the main communicator in design, text can act as a fundamental medium of developing ideas. Writing not only has similar capabilities as sketching in order to externalize concepts, but also when developing cognitive thinking and communicate with others. Using instructional, social and reflective lenses, this ethnographic study catalogues and analyzes examples of written language present across several design studios at The Ohio State University. Artifacts presented include writing prompted by design instructors, written interactions between peers and student self-awareness delivered through reflective writing. Acting as a purveyor of language, writing serves a …

Exploring The 'Defining-Finding Dilemma' In Design Research: Insights From A Series Of Speculative Co-Design Workshops, Mayane Dore, Joseph Lindley, David Green, Jesse Benjamin

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper shares the results of a series of speculative co-design workshops that employed sketches and visual metaphors to facilitate collective discussions about a hypothetical Design Research database. The primary objective of these workshops was to explore the challenges related to documenting, sharing, searching, and discovering Design Research examples while simultaneously addressing underlying questions surrounding knowledge-making in the field. Following this approach, we identify six distinctive qualities that characterize Design Research, shedding light on what is referred to as the defining-finding dilemma. The paper finally suggests potential pathways for interaction design to navigate this issue through alternative modes of interaction.

Navigating Complexity: Design Facilitation For Collaborative Solutions To Urban Challenges, Justyna Starostka, Rike Neuhoff, Nicola Morelli, Luca Simeone

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As urban policy and governance challenges become increasingly complex, inter-disciplinary approaches and participatory methodologies are essential. The evolv-ing role of design affects the way it is practiced in these contexts. Instead of sole-ly providing solutions, designers are now expected to connect, navigate, and fa-cilitate collaboration between stakeholders from different public sector organi-zations. This paper aims to explore how multi-organizational design facilitation can contribute to addressing complex urban challenges, fostering and accelerat-ing adoption of sustainable solutions. We delve into three concepts that under-pin the creative facilitation process: the design mindset, futures thinking and ex-perimental attitude. The context of this study is …

Design For Manufacturing: Learning Processes Of A New Product Development Design Team, Linlin Yang, Linus Tan, Jiang Xu, Fei Fan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This research examines how a New Product Development (NPD) design team incorporated multidisciplinary knowledge to redesign a modular cab. Design teams that implement digital innovation often use cutting edge techniques, such artificial intelligence and big data, to inform their design decisions. However, these techniques are often managed by other teams with different knowledge backgrounds. Therefore, optimising learning processes between multidisciplinary teams is crucial to design new products effectively. This research reviews existing team learning processes, then conducted a case study to examine how a NPD design team learn from an interaction team to integrate knowledge into their design process. Aside …

Establishing An Experience Design Management Framework Through A Literature Review, Yu-Hui Lu, Shin-Yu Tsai, Shu-Yi Chen, Hsien-Hui Tang

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Since Pine & Gilmore (1999) introduced the concept of Experience Economy two decades ago, both academic and practical worlds have embraced the idea, with various frameworks and applications built and evolved around related concepts, design, and management. However, the concept of managing artifacts, which directly impact experiences, has received limited development. Through a literature review approach, this study defines experience design management as "the management of artifacts that can influence the perceived customer experience, to achieve business strategic objectives, balancing the resource capabilities of service providers with the value propositions of service recipients." Besides, this study summarizes the framework, processes, …

Thought Experiments In The Ethics Of Designing For Future People., Peter Buwert, Matt Sinclair

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The Non-Identity Problem (NIP) is a philosophical puzzle which challenges our intuitive assumptions and reasoning around the question of our moral obligations towards ‘future people’. This paper explores the significance of the NIP for design, an activity which is necessarily both future-oriented and ethical in nature. Through examination of two thought experiments proposed by philosopher Derek Parfit, this paper makes two contributions to the field of design ethics. Firstly, it raises the profile of the NIP as a topic of interest and for further study in design ethics research. The second is to propose that philosophical thought experiments can play …

A Theory Instrument For Reimagining Embodied Practices, Ayşe Özge Ağça, Jelle Van Dijk, Jacob Buur, Harun Kaygan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Embodied Sensemaking Theory describes how people make sense in ongoing interactions with the social and material world. It has potential in projects aimed at changing embodied practices. However, designers often find it challenging to use this complex theory. We build on recent research on tangible ‘Theory Instruments’ for designers. We designed a Theory Instrument for embodied sensemaking with design students who design for social interactions and with young people who investigate their energy consumption. Our analysis of 12 experimental sessions shows how Embodied Sensemaking Theory helps reimagine human practices towards more sustainable futures. Our contribution is two-fold: We show that …

Co-Design For Change: Propositions And Dilemmas, Geertje Slingerland, Gubing Wang

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Co-design has been widely applied to develop interventions supporting behavior change. While numerous co-design propositions have been developed, applying these in practice often leads to difficulties and tensions. This study aims to review the co-design propositions and understand the dilemmas when applying them. A literature review was conducted, and twelve co-design propositions were identified after qualitative analysis. The study found that some co-design propositions conflict because they align with an idealistic versus a realistic perspective. By studying these conflicts in-depth, seven dilemmas were identified at the intersection of realist and idealist propositions. Implications of the findings on design for behavior …

Workshopping The Textile Hand: Reimagining Subjective Assessment Of Textile Materials With Digital Technologies, Zhengtao Ma, Lissy Hatfield, Chipp Jansen, Boyuan Tuo, Elif Ozden Yenigun, Sharon Baurley, Stephen Jia Wang, Kun Pyo Lee

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Designers continuously move between analog and digital spaces in order to assess sensory qualities of materials to build comprehensive references when sourcing and selecting them. Material decision making in contemporary design practice is increasingly collaborative. However, traditionally, subjective assessment of textiles has been studied at the individual level, focusing less on group workshops. This paper analyses two workshops where participants assessed sensory properties of textile materials, one individually, and one in groups, to show: 1. the difference of subjective material collection between individuals or groups. 2. improvements to the subjective assessment process, comparing physical and digital tools. 3. validation of …

Intimate Data As Design Material: Designing Tracking Practices For Menstruating Athletes, Alina Wundsam, Alejandra Gomez Ortega, Nazli Cila

DRS Biennial Conference Series

There is a significant knowledge gap concerning the female body in sports partly due to research in sports physiology narrowly focusing on male athletes. It means hormonal changes around the menstrual cycle have been disregarded from critical considerations and recommendations about training and planning. Similarly, digital tracking technologies, which play an increasingly important role in sports, often overlook the menstrual cycle or invite athletes to reduce a situated and embodied experience into a discrete data point. In this paper, we use intimate data as material to design tracking practices for menstruating athletes. Specifically, we use the principles of Data Feminism …

A Third Place As A Space To Foster Citizen Participation And Their Empowerment: The Case Of “La Ruche À Projets”, Louise Masciarelli, Maxim Lamirande, Isabelle Dalimier, Audrey Mertens, Catherine Elsen, Clémentine Schelings

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This exploratory qualitative research underlines architectural properties of a res-idential house that was repurposed as a temporary creative space. Findings were compared against existing theory on third places (particularly creative spaces) and their relationship with citizen participation, empowerment, and social change. Overall, the “homey” character creates a sense of belonging and occu-pants seem eager to decorate and furnish with personal effects. Findings reveal tensions between large open and smaller closed spaces to reflect on how flow, accessibility, occupancy, and intimacy are affected. Occupant behaviors lead to wonder about the tensions between community, codesign, empowerment, and ownership. Findings help question how …

A Bottom-Up Transformation: Design Empowering Chronic Disease Management Types And Strategies, Renxuan Liu, Duan Wu

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As the population ages, chronic disease management (CDM) has become a challenge for current public health services. Previously, designing for patients with chronic diseases often saw them as passive objects of design, hindering their agency. Understanding patients' agency is very important for health management, but the empowerment approach in the health field is often a disguised paternalism. This study aims to use the empowerment theory to reframe the possibility of the design empowering CDM and propose corresponding means of empowerment. We identified four types of design empowerment in CDM and articulated specific empowerment strategies through case studies. Our study therefore …

W3c Web Accessibility Initiative Under The Microscope: Identifying Assumptions Of Users And Their Involvement In Digital Accessibility Design, Pia Karasjärvi, Juho-Pekka Mäkipää, Rebekah Rousi

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In addition to the well-known Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Web Accessibility Initiatives (WAI) also provide additional information and best practices for web practitioners on involving users with disabilities in their projects. Given the central role that the WAI possesses in the case of web accessibility, how they perceive and what they say about user involvement is regarded as significant. This paper examines how users with disabilities are represented, and more importantly, how they are treated in the recommendations. Critical close reading was performed on text produced by WAI regarding user involvement of people with disabilities. We found a reduction in …

The Effect Of Perceived Realism On The Usage Of Pre-Flight Safety Videos, Eunji Kang, Chajoong Kim, James Andrew Self

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Prior research and studies on aviation videos suggest that the transition from hand gesture demonstration to entertainment with diverse forms may positively affect the mood but negatively on the retention and recall of the memories. However, the methods used in the studies tend to focus only on individual elements of entertainment such as humor, which prevents the results from measuring the effect of entertainment on a video as a whole. In this study, we propose to evaluate the user experience and effectiveness of airline safety videos according to the perceived realism. Four videos were selected according to the dimensions of …

Icu Alarm Management Reimagined: Sound-Driven Design And The Role Of Acoustic Biotope, Idil Bostan, René Van Egmond, Diederik Gommers, Elif Özcan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Staff well-being and patient safety are undermined by false alarms in the ICU. This study focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of sound-induced actions in the ICU by assessing the distinctness and informativeness of alarm sound events as perceived by nursing staff. We investigated the alarm load in an adult ICU, with an emphasis on alarm durations and their impact on actionability. As a strategy to mitigate false alarms, we simulated the introduction of alarm delays and examined how this affected alarm characteristics across various vital parame-ters. Results demonstrate that the introduction of alarm delays reduce the num-ber of alarms remarkably, …

Playful Prototyping In Speculative Design Practices, Alberto Calleo

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Prototyping is a fundamental part of the design process. The iterative as-semblage and manipulation of shapes, textures, colors, and volumes generate re-flections not only about formal qualities but also about possible affordances, functionalities, and meanings. Prototypical artifacts emerge from the negotiation between the informed rational thinking coming from research, the mechanical behavior of the material, the human body ergonomics and dexterity, and the serendipitous discoveries happening in the process. Analyzing the creative dy-namics happening during prototyping, it is possible to observe similarities be-tween model-making and play. Such dynamics of reflection in action have the creative potential to foster speculative inquiry. …

Transitional Object As Empowerment Tool: Workshops For Latina Women To Persevere In Higher Education, Angelica Sibrian

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Thackara’s efforts to create spaces focused on wellbeing, and less on products, were invoked in this research. However, rather than simply abandoning the object, this work reassigns meaning to these objects—using them as empowerment tools—designed to become extensions of the body, thoughts, and experiences. This case study details the development and implementation of workshops designed to empower young Latina women persevere in higher education. The workshops brought awareness to structural barriers, coaching in self-reflective techniques, and the co-creation of transitional totemic (symbolic) objects that serve as aides-mémoires of the event. This paper highlights the workshops in three points: a) a …

An Integrated Theoretical Framework For Reflective Teaching In Chinese Design Education And Abroad, Danqing Meng, Wenjing Dong, Linlin Yang, Fei Fan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As Chinese higher education adapts to the changing landscape, heavily influenced by Western paradigms, design education also undergoes significant transformation. To enhance design teaching quality, teachers should employ innovative approaches; however, existing research lacks focus on reflective teaching techniques. This study, employing surveys and in-depth interviews with design teachers, unveils several key insights: confusion often arises between "reflective teaching" and "teaching reflection"; there's a prevalent focus on static content, neglecting dynamic teaching processes; pre- and post-lesson reflection is favored over in-action reflection; teaching methodologies are subject to various influences; teachers must acknowledge the inherent value of reflective teaching. Subsequently, drawing …

Co-Design Under The Bauhaus Of The Seas Light-House Project: A New European Bauhaus Case Study In Lisbon And Oeiras, Cristiano Pedroso-Roussado, Nicholas B. Torretta, Frederico Duarte, Luisa Seixas, Mariana Pestana, Yacooba Labs Lda, Redcatpig Lda, Ann Light, Nuno Nunes

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The Bauhaus of the Seas (BoS) is one of the Lighthouse projects of the New European Bauhaus initiative (NEB). The project promotes the application of the NEB values – sustainable, beautiful, together – to develop locally grounded De-monstrator Pilots and focus cities’ attention on the future of the oceans. A co-design approach is being applied in a series of participatory sessions with stake-holders, including nature/ecosystem experts, cultural institutions, local authori-ties and civic organizations, aiming at a consolidated collaborative approach. In this report we present the results from the co-design processes under develop-ment in Oeiras and Lisbon – two coastal territories …

A Llm-Augmented Morphological Analysis Approach For Conceptual Design, Liuqing Chen, Yiyan Tsang, Qianzhi Jing, Lingyun Sun

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Morphological analysis is often used in the conceptual design process because it provides a structured and systematic approach to decompose design problems, improving the completeness and diversity of creative solutions. However, it still relies heavily on designers' professional knowledge and experience when decomposing design problems and proposing solutions, which is a challenge for designers. In this study, we propose an LLMs-augmented morphological analysis approach for conceptual design. We refine the design process as three main stages: decomposition, generation, and combination, offering targeted guidance and support to designers when applying morphological analysis. In addition, we introduced a feedback mechanism to develop …

Dissecting Innovation Drivers In Business Design: A Sustainable System Transformation Theory-Based Approach And Visualization Tool, Ruiyi Cai, Simin Chen, Yang Yin, Qianwen Jia, Huiting Liu, Yiwu Qiu, Chunlei Chai

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In the domain of business design, innovation driver components are frequently charac-terized by their high complexity and dynamic interactions, rendering their extraction and analysis a challenging endeavor. This paper, leveraging the integrated theoretical framework of Design for System Innovations and Transitions (DfSIT framework), itera-tively proposes an analytical approach to dissecting innovation drivers. This approach results in the development of a corresponding visualization and analysis tool through four rounds of academic and industrial expert workshops, extensive literature review, and in-depth case studies. The approach facilitates the systematic extraction, valida-tion, structural localization, and in-depth analysis of innovation drivers in business de-sign. This …

Narrative Design Framework For Intelligent Cabin Development: Enhancing User-Centric Interaction In The Digital Manufacturing Era, Haowen Guo, Danhua Zhao, Jingming Ma, Zhongjie Xue

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In the digital manufacturing era of the automotive industry, high-level intelligent cabins are leading the shift towards software-defined cabins, driven by rapid advancements in in-cabin hardware. For the product development process of the future intelligent cabin, there is a lack of a humanized cabin design framework to help designers clarify user motivation and interaction process for design and development. This paper introduces an intelligent cabin narrative design framework and a tool named Spatio-Temporal Canvas , which provides guiding ideas for the design of Intelligent Cabins. The framework and the Spatio-Temporal Canvas are applied to a case study, providing a detailed …