Proceedings of DRS 2016 Volume 5

ISSN 2398-3132
PROCEEDINGS OF DRS
2730 JUNE 2016
VOLUME 5
50th Anniversary Conference

Brighton, UK
Design + Research + Society

Future-Focused Thinking
EDITED BY:
PETER LLOYD
ERIK BOHEMIA
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Proceedings of DRS 2016

Design + Research + Society
FutureFocused Thinking
50th Anniversary International Conference
Brighton, UK, 2730 June 2016
Volume 5
Editors
Peter Lloyd and Erik Bohemia
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Proceedings of DRS
2016 International Conference
2830 June 2016, Brighton, UK
www.drs2016.org
Volumes 5 of 10
Cover and conference identity design by Gavin Ambrose, Nikki Brewster and Seamus White
Proceedings compiled by Kaajal Modi
Editors: Peter Lloyd and Erik Bohemia
Section-Editors: Harriet Atkinson; Leonard Bachman; Giovanni Baule; Michal Berghman; Noemi Bitterman; Alison Black;
Rebecca Cain; Elena Caratti; Rachel Cooper; Anne Cranny-Francis; Tejas Dhadphale; Hua Dong; Bianca Elzenbaumer;
Carolina Escobar-Tello; Luke Feast; Tom Fisher; Aija Freimanee; Lorraine Gamman; Valeria Graziano; Camilla Groth; Marte
Gulliksen; Paul Hekkert; Derek Jones; Sarah Kettley; Tore Kristensen; Sylvia Liu; Geke Ludden; Jamie Mackrill; Maarit
Mkel; Betti Marenko; Andrew Morris; Kristina Niedderer; Nithikul Nimkulrat; Maya Oppenheimer; Elif Ozcan; Verena
Paepcke-Hjeltness; Ann Petermans; Philip Plowright; Tiiu Poldma; Hendrik Schifferstein; Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen; Qian
Sun; Michael Tovey; Rhoda Trimingham; Kim Trogal; Nynke Tromp; Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer; Sue Walker; Alex Wilkie;
Alex Williams; Seda Yilmaz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0

International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Proceedings of DRS 2016 International Conference: FutureFocused Thinking

ISSN 2398-3132
Published by the Design Research Society
Loughborough University, London
3 Lesney Avenue, The Broadcast Centre, Here East
London, E15 2GZ
United Kingdom
Design Research Society Secretariat

email: admin@designresearchsociety.org
website: www.designresearchsociety.org
Founded in 1966 the Design Research Society (DRS) is a learned society committed to promoting and developing design
research. It is the longest established, multi-disciplinary worldwide society for the design research community and aims to
promote the study of and research into the process of designing in all its many fields.
DRS Special Interest Groups

Design for Behaviour Change
Design for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness
Design Innovation Management
Design Pedagogy
Design for Sustainability
Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies
Experiential Knowledge
Inclusive Design
Objects, Practices, Experiences, Networks
DRS International Conference Series

DRS 2002 London; DRS 2004 Melbourne; DRS 2006 Lisbon; DRS 2008 Sheffield; DRS 2010 Montreal; DRS 2012 Bangkok; DRS
2014 Ume
DRS 2016 Programme Committee

Conference Chair
Peter Lloyd, University of Brighton, UK
Conference Co-Chairs
Tracy Bhamra, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Stephen Boyd-Davis, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Jonathan Chapman, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Peter Childs, Imperial College, United Kingdom
International Scientific Review Committee
Erik Bohemia, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Lin Lin Chen, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Nathan Crilly, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Paul Hekkert, TU Delft, The Netherlands
Peter Lloyd, University of Brighton, UK
Debates, Conversations and Workshops Chairs
Stella Boess, TU Delft, The Netherlands
Carlos Peralta, University of Brighton, UK
Cameron Tonkinwise, Carnegie Mellon University, US
Conference Experience Chairs
Dan Lockton, Royal College of Art, UK
Veronica Ranner, Royal College of Art, UK
PhD by Design
Bianca Elzenbaumer, Leeds College of Art, UK
Maria Portugal, Goldsmiths University, UK
Alison Thomson, Goldsmiths University, UK
DRS Special Interest Group Chairs
Erik Bohemia, Loughborough University, UK
Rebecca Cain, Warwick University, UK
Hua Dong, Tongji University, China
Tom Fisher, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Sarah Kettley, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Kristina Niedderer, University of Wolverhampton, UK
Nithikul Nimkulrat, Estonian Academy of Arts, Talinn
Michael Tovey, Coventry University, UK
Rhoda Trimmingham, Loughborough University, UK
Executive Advisors
Carl DiSalvo, Georgia Institute of Technology, US
Kees Dorst, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Janet Mcdonnell, University of the Arts London, UK
Johan Redstrm, Ume Institute of Design, Sweden
Erik Stolterman, Indiana University, US
Anna Valtonen, Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Finland
International Board of Reviewers

Tom Ainsworth, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Katerina Alexiou, The Open University, United Kingdom
Manola Antonioli, Ecole Nationale Suprieure d'Architecture Paris La Villette, France
Rina Arya, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Harriet Atkinson, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Stephen Awoniyi, Texas State University, United States
Jeremy Aynsley, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Leonard Bachman, University of Houston College of Architecture, United States
Betsy Barnhart, Iowa State University, United States
Giovanni Baule, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Nigan Bayazit, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Michal Berghman, TU Delft, Netherlands
Richard Bibb, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Noemi Bitterman, Technion, Israel
Alison Black, Reading University, United Kingdom
Janneke Blijlevens, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia
Anne Boddington, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Stella Boess, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Erik Bohemia, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Casper Boks, NTNU, Norway
Elizabeth Boling, Indiana University, United States
Andy Boucher, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Simon Bowen, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Stephen Boyd Davis, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Jamie Brassett, Central Saint Martins, United Kingdom
Philip Breedon, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Charlie Breindahl, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark
Patrick Bresnihan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Cheryl Buckley, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Jacob Buur, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Rebecca Cain, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Elena Caratti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Philip Cash, DTU, Denmark
Tom Cassidy, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Julia Cassim, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan
Jonathan Chapman, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Chien-Hsiung Chen, Taiwan Tech, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Chun-Chih Chen, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Chun-Di Chen, National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Kuohsiang Chen, I-Shou University, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Lin-Lin Chen, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Peter Childs, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Wen-Ko Chiou, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Bo Christensen, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Henri Christiaans, UNIST, School of Design & Human Engineering, South Korea
Abdusselam Selami Cifter, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Turkey
Nazli Cila, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
Mollie Claypool, University College London, United Kingdom
Stephen Clune, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Tim Cooper, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Anne Cranny-Francis, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Nathan Crilly, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Odette da Silva, TU Delft, Netherlands
Massimo De Angelis, University of East London, United Kingdom
Michel de Blois, Universit Laval, Canada
Cees de Bont, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Christine de Lille, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Jakki Dehn, Jakki Dehn Materials, United Kingdom
Federico Del Giorgio Solfa, National University of La Plata, Argentina

Claudio Dell'Era, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Samuel DeMarie, Iowa State University, United States
Halime Demirkan, Bilkent University, Turkey
Gaurang Desai, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Pieter Desmet, TU Delft, Netherlands
Emma Dewberry, The Open University, United Kingdom
Sarah Diefenbach, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen, Germany
Ingvild Digranes, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway
Orsalia Dimitriou, Central Saint Martins, United Kingdom
Hua Dong, Tongji University, China
Dennis Doordan, University of Notre Dame, United States
Kees Dorst, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Shelby Doyle, Iowa State University, United States
Alex Duffy, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom
Delia Dumitrescu, University of Bors, United Kingdom
Abigail Durrant, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Thomas Dykes, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Wouter Eggink, University of Twente, Netherlands
Bianca Elzenbaumer, Leeds College of Art, United Kingdom
Magnus Eneberg, Konstfack - University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden
Alpay Er, Ozyegin University / Istanbul Institute of Design, Turkey
Ozlem Er, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Pia Geisby Erichsen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Carolina Escobar-Tello, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Juhyun Eune, Seoul National University, South Korea
Mark Evans, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Luke Feast, Aalto University, Finland
Thomas Fischer, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China
Tom Fisher, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Kate Tanya Fletcher, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Jodi Forlizzi, Carnegie Mellon University, United States
Lois Frankel, Carleton University, Canada
Jill Franz, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Biljana Fredriksen, University College of Southeast Norway, Norway
Ken Friedman, Tongji University, China
Jennifer Gabrys, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Loraine Gamman, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, United Kingdom
Nick Gant, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Philippe Gauthier, Universit de Montral, Canada
Aysar Ghassan, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Katherine Gibson, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Carolina Gill, The Ohio State University, United States
Steve Gill, Cardiff Met University, United Kingdom
Maria Goransdotter, Ume University, Sweden
Colin Gray, Purdue University, United States
Camilla Groth, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Finland
Marte Sreb Gulliksen, Telemark University College, Norway
Ian Gwilt, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom
Robert Harland, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Dew Harrison, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Steve Harrison, Virginia Tech, United States
Marc Hassenzahl, Folkwang University of the Arts, Germany
Anders Haug, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Tero Heikkinen, independent / University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland
Tincuta Heinzel, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Paul Hekkert, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Bart Hengeveld, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands
Ricardo Hernandez, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Ann Heylighen, KU Leuven, Belgium
Clive Hilton, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Michael Hohl, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Chung-Ching Huang, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Karl Hurn, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Praima Israsena Na Ayudhya, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Robert Jerrard, Manchester Metropolitan Univ/Birmingham City Univ, United Kingdom
Wolfgang Jonas, Braunschweig University of Art, Germany
Derek Jones, The Open University, United Kingdom
Peter Jones, OCAD University, Canada
Rachel Jones, Instrata, United Kingdom
Guy Julier, University of Brighton/Victoria and Albert Museum, United Kingdom
Sabine Junginger, Hertie School of Governance, Germany
Lorraine Justice, Rochester Institute of Technology, United States
Faith Kane, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Helen Kennedy, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Tobie Kerridge, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Richard Arthur Kettley, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Sarah Kettley, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
Jinsook Kim, Trinity Christian College, United States
Lucy Kimbell, UAL, United Kingdom
Holger Klapperich, Folkwang University of Arts, Germany
Maaike Kleinsmann, TU Delft, Netherlands
Ben Kraal, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Ksenija Kuzmina, Loughborough University London, United Kingdom
John Langrish, Salford University, United Kingdom
Keelin Leahy, University of Limerick, Ireland
Helmut Leder, University of Vienna, Austria
Ji-Hyun Lee, KAIST, South Korea
Yanki Lee, Hong Kong Design Institue, Hong Kong
Eva Lenz, Folkwang University of Arts, Germany
Pierre Levy, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Debra Lilley, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Rungtai Lin, National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Stephen Little, Asia Pacific Technology Network, United Kingdom
Sylvia Liu, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Peter Lloyd, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Kathy Pui Ying, Lo, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Dan Lockton, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Vicky Lofthouse, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Lian Loke, University of Sydney, Australia
Nicole Lotz, The Open University, United Kingdom
Rachael Luck, The Open University, United Kingdom
Geke Ludden, University of Twente, Netherlands
Rohan Lulham, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Ole Lund, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Alastair Macdonald, Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom
Fiona Maciver, Norwich University of the Arts, United Kingdom
Jamie Mackrill, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Anja Maier, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Maarit Mkel, Aalto University, Finland
Betti Marenko, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Ben Mathews, The University of Queensland, Australia
Tuuli Mattelmki, Aalto University, Finland
Ramia Maz, Aalto University, Finland
Sanjoy Mazumdar, University of California, Irvine, United States
Janet McDonnell, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Chris McGinley, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Tomislav Medak, Multimedia Institute, Croatia
Wellington Gomes de Medeiros, Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil
Brian Mennecke, Iowa State University, United States
Paul Micklethwaite, Kingston University, United Kingdom
Karen Miller, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Val Mitchell, Loughborough University, United Kingdom

Kathryn Moore, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom
Michael Moore, Ulster University, United Kingdom
Sarah Morehead, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Nicola Morelli, Aalborg University, Denmark
Mariale Moreno, Cranfield University, United Kingdom
Andrew Morris, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Andrew, Morrison, AHO, Norway
Jeanne-Louise Moys, Reading University, United Kingdom
Tara Mullaney, Ume Institute of Design, Sweden
Yukari Nagai, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan
Ki Young Nam, KAIST, South Korea
Kristina Niedderer, Wolverhampton University, United Kingdom
Liv Merete Nielsen, Oslo and Akershus university college, Norway
Nithikul Nimkulrat, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
Conall Cathin, Past Chairman DRS, Ireland
Arlene Oak, University of Alberta, Canada
Maya Oppenheimer, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Elif Ozcan, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Kursat Ozenc, Stanford, United States
Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, Iowa State University, United States
Eujin Pei, Brunel University London, United Kingdom
Carlos Peralta, University of brighton, United Kingdom
Jos Prez de Lama, University of Sevilla, Spain
Oscar Person, Aalto University, Finland
Ann Petermans, Hasselt University, Belgium
Daniela Petrelli, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom
Doina Petrescu, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Ida Nilstad Pettersen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
Sarah Pink, RMIT University, Australia
Silvia Pizzocaro, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Philip Plowright, Lawrence Technological University, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, United States
Anna Pohlmeyer, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Tiiu Poldma, University of Montreal, Canada
Lubomir Popov, Bowling Green State University, United States
Vesna Popovic, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Thomas Porathe, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Ruben Post, TU Delft, Netherlands
William Prindle, Iowa State University, United States
Charlie Ranscombe, Swinburne, Australia
Yaone Rapitsenyane, University of Botswana, Botswana
Ingo Rauth, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Kirstine Riis, University College Telemark, Norway
Paul Rodgers, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Zoe Romano, WeMake, Makerspace, Italy
Jose Antonio Rosa, Iowa State University, United States
Seymour Roworth-Stokes, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Robin Roy, The Open University, United Kingdom
Keith Russell, University of Newcastle, Australia, Australia
Daniel Saakes, KAIST, South Korea
Noemi Maria Sadowska, Regent's University London, United Kingdom
Miguel Said Vieira, Independent, Brazil
Fatina Saikaly, Co-Creando, Italy
Filippo Salustri, Ryerson University, Canada
Liz Sanders, The Ohio State University, United States
Rick Schifferstein, TU Delft, Netherlands
James Self, UNIST, South Korea
Nick Senske, Iowa State University, United States
Matt Sinclair, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Kin Wai Michael Siu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Dirk Snelders, TU Delft, Netherlands
Ricardo Sosa, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Chris Speed, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Jak Spencer, The Sound HQ, United Kingdom
Kay Stables, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Pieter Jan Stappers, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
Shanti Sumartojo, RMIT University, Australia
Krt Summatavet, Aalto University, Estonia
Qian Sun, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Helena Sustar, Aalto University, Finland
Gunnar Swanson, East Carolina University, United States
Ben Sweeting, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Keith Tam, University of Reading, United Kingdom
Hsien-Hui Tang, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Toshiharu Taura, Kobe University, Japan
Damon Taylor, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Sarah Teasley, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Adam Thorpe, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Clementine Thurgood, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Jeremy Till, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
Oscar Tomico, Eindhoven University of Technology, United Kingdom
Cameron Tonkinwise, Carnegie Mellon University, United States
Mike Tovey, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Rhoda Trimingham, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Nynke Tromp, TU Delft, Netherlands
Darren Umney, Open University, United Kingdom
Louise Valentine, University of Dundee, United Kingdom
Anna Valtonen, Aalto University, Finland
Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Johann van der Merwe, Independent Researcher, South Africa
Mascha van der Voort, University of Twente, Netherlands
Karel van der Waarde, Graphic Design - Research, Belgium
Susann Vihma, Aalto University, Finland
Andre Viljoen, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
John Vines, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Bettina von Stamm, Innovation Leadership Forum, United Kingdom
Sue Walker, Reading University, United Kingdom
Renee Wever, Linkping University, Sweden
Alex Wilkie, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Alex Williams, Kingston University, United Kingdom
Garrath Wilson, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Heather Wiltse, Ume University, Sweden
Christian Woelfel, TU Dresden, Germany
Martin Woolley, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Paul Wormald, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Artemis Yagou, Macromedia University for Media and Communication, Germany
Joyce Yee, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Susan Yelavich, The New School, United States
Seda Yilmaz, Iowa State University, United States
Robert Young, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
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Table of Content
Editorial................................................................................................................................................................................................... i
Volume 1
SECTION 1
50 YEARS OF DESIGN RESEARCH
Design Research: What is it? What is it for?............................................................................................................................................. 5
Victor Margolin
Schns Legacy: Examining Contemporary Citation Practices in DRS Publications ................................................................................... 17
Jordan Beck, Laureline Chiapello

The Idea of Architecture, The User As Inhabitant: Design through a Christopher Alexander Lens ........................................................... 31
Molly Wright Steenson

Design Research for Sustainability: Historic Origin and Development .................................................................................................... 43
Astrid Skjerven
The Design Methods Movement: From Optimism to Darwinism ............................................................................................................ 51
John Z. Langrish
User Design: Constructions of the user in the history of design research ............................................................................................ 65
Theodora Vardouli
60 years of creativity in business organizations ..................................................................................................................................... 83
Ricardo Sosa, Pete Rive and Andy M. Connor

20th Century Boys: Pioneering British Design Thinkers .......................................................................................................................... 97
Emma Murphy and Martyn Evans

Design Research and Design Participation ........................................................................................................................................... 111
Robert Aish
The Design Research Society in the 1980s and 1990s: a memoir .......................................................................................................... 125
Conall Cathin
SECTION 2
AESTHETIC PLEASURE IN DESIGN
Introduction: Aesthetic Pleasure in Design .......................................................................................................................................... 139
Michal Berghman and Paul Hekkert

Measuring design typicality a comparison of objective and subjective approaches ........................................................................... 145
Stefan Mayer and Jan R. Landwehr

Most Advanced yet Acceptable: A case of referential form-driven meaning innovation ....................................................................... 157
Seong geun Lee, James Self and Ekaterina Andrietc

Extracting Design Aesthetic Heuristics from Scientific Literature.......................................................................................................... 179
Ana Cadavid, Stefany Ruiz-Crdoba and Jorge Maya

Putting product design in context: Consumer responses to design fluency as a function of presentation context ................................. 203
Laura K. M. Graf and Jan R. Landwehr

The Value of Transparency for Designing Product Innovations............................................................................................................. 215
Peiyao Cheng and Ruth Mugge

A comparison between colour preference and colour harmony taking athletic shoe design as an example........................................ 233
Li-Chen Ou
Creating Novel Encounters with Nature: Approaches and Design Explorations..................................................................................... 245
Thomas J. L. Van Rompay and Geke D. S. Ludden

Introducing Experience Goals into Packaging Design ........................................................................................................................... 259
Markus Joutsela and Virpi Roto

The beauty of balance An empirical integration of the Unified Model of Aesthetics for product design ............................................. 277
Michal Berghman and Paul Hekkert

SECTION 3
DESIGN EPISTEMOLOGY
Introduction: Design Epistemology...................................................................................................................................................... 295
Derek Jones, Philip Plowright, Leonard Bachman and Tiiu Poldma

Mapping design knowledge: 36 years of Design Studies ...................................................................................................................... 303
Kathryn Burns, Jack Ingram and Louise Annable

I know this one, but the answer is complex ...................................................................................................................................... 321
Simon Downs
Source domains of Architectural Knowledge: Mappings, Categories, Validity and Relevance ............................................................... 339
Philip D Plowright
Using Rhetoric in Persuasive Design: What Rhetoric? .......................................................................................................................... 355
Danny Godin
Design Fiction: Does the search for plausibility lead to deception? ...................................................................................................... 369
Paul Coulton, Joseph Lindley and Haider Ali Akmal
Graphicality: why is there not such a word? ........................................................................................................................................ 385
Robert Harland and David Craib

Design as Anticipation and Innovation: Co-creating a future by learning from the future as it emerges ................................................ 401
Markus F. Peschl and Thomas Fundneider

Volume 2
SECTION 4
Design EDUCATION AND LEARNING
Introduction: Design Education and Learning ...................................................................................................................................... 419
Michael Tovey
Dis-course is Killer! Educating the critically reflective designer ......................................................................................................... 425
Veronika Kelly
Design Culture and Contemporary Education ...................................................................................................................................... 441
Therese Uri
Promoting an emancipatory research paradigm in Design Education and Practice ............................................................................... 455
Lesley-Ann Noel
Design Thinking: A Rod For Designs Own Back? .................................................................................................................................. 471
Aysar Ghassan
Designing the unknown: supervising design students who manage mental health issues ..................................................................... 483
Welby Ings
Using Design Thinking to create a new education paradigm for elementary level children for higher student engagement and success 501
Lesley-Ann Noel and Tsai Lu Liu

Design Research in Interior Design Education: A Living Framework for Teaching the Undergraduate Capstone Studio in the 21st Century
........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 513
Charles Boggs, Helena Moussatche, Catherine Pizzichemi and Meghan Woodcock

Designing Universities of the Future .................................................................................................................................................... 525
Anna Valtonen
Dexign Futures: A Pedagogy for Long-Horizon Design Scenarios .......................................................................................................... 539
Peter Scupelli, Arnold Wasserman, and Judy Brooks

Design and Interdisciplinarity: the improbable introduction of fundamental physics in a design school ............................................ 555
Annie Gentes, Anne-Lyse Renon and Julien Bobroff

Card Games Creation as a Learning Method ........................................................................................................................................ 569
Birgit S. Bauer
Spend another day in our class talking about this research please: Student insights from a research-based design thinking exercise 593
Cynthia J. Atman, Arif Ahmer, Jennifer A. Turns and Jim Borgford-Parnell

Communication is not collaboration: observations from a case study in collaborative learning ............................................................ 609
Iestyn Jowers, Mark Gaved, Gary Elliott-Cirigottis, Delphine Dallison, Alan Rochead and Mark Craig
The use of argumentation in design research ...................................................................................................................................... 625
Stella Boess
Digital Sketch Modelling: Integrating digital sketching as a transition between sketching and CAD in Industrial Design Education ....... 637
Charlie Ranscombe and Katherine Bissett-Johnson

Prototyping in the in-between. A Method for Spatial Design education ............................................................................................... 653
Jennie Andersson Schaeffer and Marianne Palmgren

Global Flows of Materials: Design Research and Practice in Architecture ............................................................................................. 669
Janet McGaw
Evaluating Living and Learning on Campus: A Community Engaged Research Model ............................................................................ 685
Rebekah Radtke
What is sought from graphic designers? A first thematic analysis of job offers for graphic design positions in the United Kingdom ...... 705
Paulo Roberto Nicoletti Dziobczenskiand Oscar Person

LIVD: An Avant-Garde Publication with Pedagogical and Epistemological Aims .................................................................................... 719
Meredith James
Design Studio Desk and Shared Place Attachments: A Study on Ownership, Personalization, and Agency. ........................................... 729
Peter Scupelli and Bruce Hanington

Online Reflective Interactions on Social Network Sites in Design Studio Course ................................................................................... 751
Simge Hough
Junior designers awareness of personal values and their employment choices ................................................................................... 767
Anna Jonkmans, Julia Wurl, Dirk Snelders and Lenny van Onselen
Knowledgeability culture: Co-creation in practice................................................................................................................................ 781
Alicen Coddington, Colin Giang, Alexander Graham, Anne Prince, Pauliina Mattila, Christine Thong and Anita Kocsis
Visual Thinking Styles and Idea Generation Strategies Employed in Visual Brainstorming Sessions ...................................................... 795
Naz A.G.Z. Breki

The Future of Product Design Utilising Printed Electronics ................................................................................................................... 813
Nicola York, Darren Southee and Mark Evans
Project Contribution of Junior Designers: Exploring the What and the How of Values in Collaborative Practice .................................... 835
Lennart Kaland, Annelijn Vernooij and Lenny van Onselen

Exploring framing within a team of industrial design students ............................................................................................................. 853
Mithra Zahedi, Lorna Heaton, Manon Guit, Giovanni De Paoli and Marie Reumont
Volume 3
SECTION 5
AESTHETICS, COSMOPOLITICS AND DESIGN
Introduction: Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics and Design ............................................................................................................................ 873
Alex Wilkie
Framing Values in Design .................................................................................................................................................................... 881
Marta Gasparin and William Green

The Prototype as a Cosmopolitical Place: Ethnographic design practice and research at the National Zoo ............................................ 895
Martn Tironi, Pablo Hermansen and Jos Neira

The Role of Participation in Designing for IoT ...................................................................................................................................... 913
Anuradha Reddy and Per Linde

Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics and Design Futures in Computational Fashion ............................................................................................. 927
Laura Forlano
Designing diagrams for social issues .................................................................................................................................................... 941
Michele Mauri and Paolo Ciuccarelli

iPhoneography and New Aesthetics: The Emergence of a Social Visual Communication Through Image-based Social Media ................ 959
Eman Alshawaf
A Creative Ontological Analysis of Collective Imagery during Co-Design for Service Innovation ............................................................ 969
Priscilla Chueng-Nainby, John Lee, BingXin Zi and Astury Gardin

Post-critical potentials in experimental co-design................................................................................................................................ 985
Sissel Olander
Collaborative Imaging. The communicative practice of hand sketching in experimental physics ........................................................... 997
Judith Marlen Dobler

The Aesthetics of Action in New Social Design ....................................................................................................................................1013
Ilpo Koskinen
Designing Debate: The Entanglement of Speculative Design and Upstream Engagement ....................................................................1025
Tobie Kerridge
SECTION 6
DESIGN AND TRANSLATION
Introduction: Design and Translation .................................................................................................................................................1039
Giovanni Baule and Elena Caratti

Towards Translation Design A New Paradigm for Design Research .....................................................................................................1047
Giovanni Baule and Elena Caratti

Design as translation activity: a semiotic overview .............................................................................................................................1061
Salvatore Zingale
Word to Image Image to Word The Contribution of Visual Communication to Understanding and Dialog ........................................1073
Michael Renner
Perception, Meaning and Transmodal Design .....................................................................................................................................1089
Mathias Nordvall and Mattias Arvola

The Ways of Synesthetic Translation: Design models for media accessibility .......................................................................................1101
Dina Ricc
The narratives and the supports. Remediating Design Culture in the translation of transmedia artefacts. ...........................................1111
Matteo Ciastellardi and Derrick de Kerckhove

Rules of Thumb: An Experiment in Contextual Transposition ..............................................................................................................1123
Damon Taylor, Monika Bscher, Lesley Murray, Chris Speed and Theodore Zamenopoulos
Juxtaposing Chinese and Western Representational Principles: New Design Methods for Information Graphics in the Field of
Intercultural Communication .............................................................................................................................................................1139
Ruedi Baur and Ulrike Felsing

Elucidating perceptions of Australian and Chinese industrial design from the next generation of industrial designers .........................1163
Blair Kuys and Wenwen Zhang

Translating picturebooks: Re-examining interlingual and intersemiotic translation.............................................................................1179
Anne Ketola
Long Kesh: Site - Sign - Body...............................................................................................................................................................1191
Ola Sthl
SECTION 7
DESIGN FOR DESIGN THE INFLUENCE AND LEGACY OF JOHN HESKETT
Introduction: Design for Design The Influence and Legacy of John Heskett .........................................................................................1205
Tore Kristensen and Sylvia Liu

Doing qualitative studies, using statistical reasoning ..........................................................................................................................1211
Gorm Gabrielse and Tore Kristensen

Design as Driver for Understanding Sustainability and Creating Value in the Fur Industry ...................................................................1223
Irene Alma Lnne, Else Skjold

Design Awareness: Developing Design Capacity in Chinese Manufacturing Industry ...........................................................................1237
Sylvia Liu
Design Expanding into Strategy: Evidence from Design Consulting Firms ............................................................................................1253
Suzan Boztepe
Volume 4
SECTION 8
Design for Behaviour Change
Introduction: Design for Behaviour Change ........................................................................................................................................1271
Kristina Niedderer, Geke Ludden, Rebecca Cain, Andrew Morris and Aija Freimane
An alternative approach to influencing behaviour: Adapting Darntons Nine Principles framework for scaling up individual upcycling 1277
Kyungeun Sung, Tim Cooper and Sarah Kettley

Assessment of the Co-creative Design Process ...................................................................................................................................1291
Pratik Vyas, Robert Young, Petia Sice and Nicholas Spencer

The potential of Design for Behaviour Change to foster the transition to a circular economy ..............................................................1305
Laura Piscicelli and Geke Dina Simone Ludden

Developing a theory-driven method to design for behaviour change: two case studies .......................................................................1323
Anita Van Essen, Sander Hermsen and Reint Jan Renes

What a designer can change: a proposal for a categorisation of artefact-related aspects ....................................................................1339
Anneli Selvefors, Helena Strmberg and Sara Renstrm

Exploring and communicating user diversity for behavioural change ..................................................................................................1357
Aykut Coskun and Cigdem Erbug

How I learned to appreciate our tame social scientist: experiences in integrating design research and the behavioural sciences .........1375
Sander Hermsen, Remko van der Lugt, Sander Mulder and Reint Jan Renes
A Design Approach for Risk Communication, the Case of Type 2 Diabetes...........................................................................................1390
Farzaneh Eftekhari and Tsai Lu Liu

Metadesigning Design Research How can designers collaboratively grow a research platform? .......................................................1412
Mathilda Tham, Anna-Karin Arvidsson, Mikael Blomqvist, Susanne Bonja, Sara Hyltn-Cavallius, Lena Hkansson, Miguel
Salinas, Marie Sterte, Ola Sthl, Tobias Svensn and Ole Victor
SECTION 9
Design for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness
Introduction: Design for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness .................................................................................................................1434
Rebecca Cain, Noemi Bitterman, Geke Ludden, Jamie Mackrill, Elif Ozcan, Ann Petermans and Carolina Escobar-Tello
In the moment: designing for late stage dementia..............................................................................................................................1442
Cathy Treadaway, David Prytherch, Gail Kenning and Jac Fennell

Design for Ageing-in-place: Evidence from Australia ...........................................................................................................................1458
Naseem Ahmadpour and Alen Keirnan

Supporting healthy behaviour: A stages of change perspective on changing snacking habits of children .............................................1473
Geke D.S. Ludden and Laura H.J. de Ruijter

Co-creating narratives: an approach to the design of interactive medical devices, informed by phenomenology .................................1487
Rowan Page and Mark Richardson

A Design Primer for the Domestication of Health Technologies ..........................................................................................................1499
Paul Chamberlain and Claire Craig

Disentangling complexity: a visualisation-led tool for healthcare associated infection training ...........................................................1515
Alastair S. Macdonald, David Loudon, Susan Wan and Colin Macduff

Exploring Design for Happiness in the Home and Implications for Future Domestic Living ...................................................................1529
Emily Corrigan-Doyle, Carolina Escobar-Tello and Kathy Pui Ying Lo

Using symbolic meaning as a means to design for happiness: The development of a card set for designers .........................................1553
Mafalda Casais, Ruth Mugge and Pieter M. A. Desmet

Designs with benefits: hearth fire nights and bittersweet chores ........................................................................................................1573
Stella U. Boess and Anna E. Pohlmeyer

Happy moments: A well-being driven design of a Car2Go ...................................................................................................................1589
Tessa Duste, Pieter Desmet and Elmer van Grondelle
SECTION 10
DESIGN FUTURES
Games as Speculative Design: Allowing Players to Consider Alternate Presents and Plausible Futures ................................................1609
Paul Coulton, Dan Burnett and Adrian Gradinar

An approach to future-oriented technology design with a reflection on the role of the artefact .......................................................1627
Tiina Kymlinen
Future Product Ecosystems: discovering the value of connections ......................................................................................................1643
Tim Williams and Marianella Chamorro-Koc

Vision Concepts within the landscape of design research ...................................................................................................................1659
Ricardo Mejia Sarmiento, Gert Pasman and Pieter Jan Stappers

Visual conversations on urban futures. Participatory methods to design scenarios of liveable cities ...................................................1677
Serena Pollastri, Rachel Cooper, Nick Dunn and Chris Boyko

Volume 5
SECTION 11
Design Innovation Management
Introduction: Design Innovation Management ...................................................................................................................................1701
Rachel Cooper, Alex Williams, Qian Sun and Erik Bohemia

Emerging Trends of Design Policy in the UK ........................................................................................................................................1709
Qian Sun
Resourcing in Co-Design .....................................................................................................................................................................1725
Salu Ylirisku, Jacob Buur and Line Revsbk

From Participation to Collaboration: Reflections on the co-creation of innovative business ideas .......................................................1739
Cara Broadley, Katherine Champion, Michael Pierre Johnson and Lynn-Sayers McHattie
Bridging service design with integrated co-design decision maker interventions .................................................................................1759
Sune Gudiksen, Anders Christensen and Pernille Henriksen

Exploring framing and meaning making over the design innovation process .......................................................................................1779
Clementine Thurgood and Rohan Lulham

The making of sustainable cultural and creative cluster in Hong Kong ................................................................................................1795
Kaman Ka Man Tsang and Kin Wai Michael Siu

An exploration of Service Design Jam and its ability to foster Social Enterprise ...................................................................................1811
Ksenija Kuzmina, Chris Parker, Gyuchan Thomas Jun, Martin Maguire, Val Mitchell, Mariale Moreno and Samantha Porter
Fiction as a resource in participatory design .......................................................................................................................................1829
Eva Knutz, Tau U. Lenskjold and Thomas Markussen

Space as organisational strategy ........................................................................................................................................................1845
Pia Storvang
The value of design: an issue of vision, creativity and interpretation ..................................................................................................1865
Mariana Fonseca Braga

A Multilevel Approach to Research Obscure Innovation Processes and Practices ..............................................................................1883
Emmanouil Chatzakis, Neil Smith and Erik Bohemia

Coordinating product design with production and consumption processes .........................................................................................1905
Anders Haug
How Companies adopt different Design approaches...........................................................................................................................1921
KwanMyung Kim
Challenges in co-designing a building .................................................................................................................................................1937
Min Hi Chun
SECTION 12
DESIGN PROCESS
Form as an abstraction of mechanism ................................................................................................................................................1953
Lewis Urquhart and Andrew Wodehouse

Integrating Nanotechnology in the Design Process: An Ethnographic Study in Architectural Practice in Egypt .....................................1971
Ramy Bakir and Sherif Abdelmohsen

Of Open bodies: Challenges and Perspectives of an Open Design Paradigm. .......................................................................................1987
meline Brul and Frdric Valentin

Provocative design for unprovocative designers: Strategies for triggering personal dilemmas ............................................................2001
Deger Ozkaramanli and Pieter M. A. Desmet

A case based discussion on the role of Design Competences in Social Innovation................................................................................2017
Tamami Komatsu, Manuela Celi, Francesca Rizzo and Alessandro Deserti

Riding Shotgun in the Fight Against Human Trafficking .......................................................................................................................2031
Lisa Mercer
Could LEGO Serious Play be a useful technique for product co-design? ...........................................................................................2045
Julia Anne Garde and Mascha Cecile van der Voort
Intuitive Interaction research new directions and possible responses. .............................................................................................2065
Alethea Blackler and Vesna Popovic

Skilling and learning through digital Do-It-Yourself: the role of (Co-)Design ........................................................................................2077
Giuseppe Salvia, Carmen Bruno and Marita Canina

Design Research, Storytelling, and Entrepreneur Women in Rural Costa Rica: a case study .................................................................2091
Maria Gabriela Hernandez

Temporal design: looking at time as social coordination .....................................................................................................................2109
Larissa Pschetz, Michelle Bastian and Chris Speed

A Physical Modeling Tool to Support Collaborative Interpretation of Conversations ...........................................................................2123
Piotr Michura, Stan Ruecker, Celso Scaletsky, Guilherme Meyer, Chiara Del Gaudio, Gerry Derksen, Julia Dias, Elizabeth
Jernegan, Juan de la Rosa, Xinyue Zhou and Priscilla Ferronato
Volume 6
SECTION 13
DESIGN INNOVATION FOR SOCIETY
Introduction: Design Innovation for Society .......................................................................................................................................2143
Nynke Tromp and Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer

The Challenges of Human-Centred Design in a Public Sector Innovation Context ................................................................................2149
Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer

Activating the core economy by design ..............................................................................................................................................2165
Rebeca Torres Castanedo and Paul Micklethwaite

On presenting a rich picture for stakeholder dialogue ........................................................................................................................2183
Abigail C. Durrant, Wendy Moncur, David S. Kirk, Diego Trujillo Pisanty and Kathryn Orzech
Design and the Creation of Representational Artefacts for Interactive Social Problem Solving ............................................................2203
Richard Cooney, Nifeli Stewart, Tania Ivanka and Neal Haslem

Appreciative Co-design: From Problem Solving to Strength-Based Re-authoring in Social Design ........................................................2221
Tasman Munro
Design Tools for Enhanced New Product Development in Low Income Economies ..............................................................................2241
Timothy Whitehead, Mark Evans and Guy Bingham

Redesigning governance a call for design across three orders of governance....................................................................................2257
Tanja Rosenqvist and Cynthia Mitchell

Involving stakeholders in cross-border regional design .......................................................................................................................2273
Annet Kempenaar
From the specificity of the project in design to social innovation by design: a contribution .................................................................2287
Marie-Julie Catoir-Brisson, Stphane Vial, Michela Deni and Thomas Watkin

SECTION 14
EFFECTIVE INFORMATION DESIGN
Introduction: Effective Information Design.........................................................................................................................................2303
Alison Black and Sue Walker

Informing the design of mobile device-based patient instructions leaflets: the case of Fentanyl patches ............................................2309
Myrto Koumoundourou, Panayiotis Koutsabasis and Jenny S. Darzentas

Design methods for meaning discovery: a patient-oriented health research case study ......................................................................2327
David Craib and Lorenzo Imbesi

Expectations and prejudices usurp judgements of schematic map effectiveness .................................................................................2343
Maxwell J. Roberts and Ida C.N. Vaeng

Data Visualisation Does Political Things .............................................................................................................................................2361
Joanna Boehnert
The information designer through the lens of design for learning .......................................................................................................2381
Eden Potter
A user centred approach to developing an actionable visualisation for balance health .....................................................................2393
Shruti Grover, Simon Johnson, Ross Atkin and Chris Mcginley

SECTION 15
Design Thinking
Introduction: Design Thinking ............................................................................................................................................................2417
Seda Yilmaz, Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness and Tejas Dhadphale

From Technology-Driven to Experience-Driven Innovation: A Case from the Aviation Industry using VIP ............................................2425
Wan-Jen Jenny Tsay and Christine de Lille

Critically Exploring the Development of a Conceptual Framework for Building Innovative Brands .......................................................2447
Xinya You and David Hands

United We Stand: A Critique of the Design Thinking Approach in Interdisciplinary Innovation ............................................................2465
Fiona Maciver, Julian Malins, Julia Kantorovitch and Aggelos Liapis
Designing Creative Destruction ..........................................................................................................................................................2483
Ashley Hall
Blending Hard and Soft Design via Thematic Analysis .........................................................................................................................2495
Vasilije Kokotovich and Kees Dorst2495

The cycle of interdisciplinary learning and theory-solution building in design research .......................................................................2507
Young-ae Hahn
Dont Look Back: The Paradoxical Role of Recording in the Fashion Design Process ............................................................................2521
Helen McGilp, Claudia Eckert and Christopher F Earl

Contrasting similarities and differences between academia and industry: evaluating processes used for product development..........2535
Nathan Kotlarewski, Christine Thong, Blair Kuys and Evan Danahay

What is the Nature and Intended Use of Design Methods? .................................................................................................................2551
Colin M. Gray
Becoming a More User-Centred Organization: A Design Tool to Support Transformation ....................................................................2565
Lennart Kaland and Christine de Lille

Volume 7
SECTION 16
DESIGN RESEARCH HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE: HISTORIES FOR FUTURE-FOCUSED THINKING
Introduction: Design Research History, Theory, Practice: Histories for Future-Focused Thinking .......................................................2585
Harriet Atkinson and Maya Rae Oppenheimer

The Structure of Design Processes: ideal and reality in Bruce Archers 1968 doctoral thesis ................................................................2593
Stephen Boyd Davis and Simone Gristwood

Closing the circle ................................................................................................................................................................................2613
Douglas Tomkin
Re-integrating Design Education: Lessons from History ......................................................................................................................2627
Peter A. Hall
(Re)working the Past, (Dis)playing the Future. Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at MoMA, 1972 ...................................................2639
Ingrid Halland Rashidi

Recommendations to rebuild the body of feminist work in industrial design ......................................................................................2655
Isabel Prochner and Anne Marchand

Design practice and design research: finally together? .......................................................................................................................2669
Kees Dorst
Design Research is Alive and Kicking ................................................................................................................................................2679
Paul A. Rodgers and Joyce S.R. Yee

Reverse Innovation: How Has Design in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region Changed the World ......................................................2701
Ningchang Zhou and Tao Huang

Beautiful Nerds: Growing a rigorous design research dialogue in the Irish context ..............................................................................2711
Adam de Eyto Carmel Maher, Mark Hadfield and Maggie Hutchings

Design Research in the East at Universities and the Board of Industrial Design of the GDR between the 1960s and 1990 ..................2723
Sylvia Wlfel and Christian Wlfel

International Norms and Local Design Research: ICSID and the Promotion of Industrial Design in Latin America, 1970-1979 ...............2739
Tania Messell
SECTION 17
DESIGN-ING AND CREATIVE PHILOSOPHIES
Introduction: Design-ing and Creative Philosophies ............................................................................................................................2757
Betti Marenko
Probing the future by anticipative design acts ....................................................................................................................................2761
Annelies De Smet and Nel Janssens

Making polychronic objects for a networked society ..........................................................................................................................2795
Jane Norris
Responsibility in design: applying the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon ...............................................................................................2809
Sander Mulder
Space as a Becoming: Fresh Water Expo Pavilion as a Creative Practice for an Architecture to Come ..................................................2825
Emine Grgl
The Foam: a Possible Model for the Motion Graphic Design ...............................................................................................................2837
Anamaria Galeotti and Clice Mazzilli

Experience A Central Concept in Design and its Roots in the History of Science ................................................................................2869
Johannes Uhlmann, Christian Wlfel and Jens Krzywinski
SECTION 18
EMBODIED MAKING AND LEARNING
Introduction: Embodied Making and Learning ....................................................................................................................................2889
Marte S. Gulliksen, Camilla Groth, Maarit Mkel and Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen

The role of sensory experiences and emotions in craft practice ..........................................................................................................2895
Camilla Groth
Learning to learn: What can be learned from first-hand experience with materials? ...........................................................................2911
Biljana C. Fredriksen
Why making mattersdeveloping an interdisciplinary research project on how embodied making may contribute to learning ..........2925
Marte S. Gulliksen
Physiological measurements of drawing and forming activities ..........................................................................................................2941
Marianne Leinikka, Minna Huotilainen, Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Camilla Groth, Mimmu Rankanen and Maarit Mkel
Code, Decode, Recode: Constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing knowledge through making ................................................2959
Anna Piper
Experience Labs: co-creating health and care innovations using design tools and artefacts .................................................................2965
Tara French, Gemma Teal and Sneha Raman

Volume 8
SECTION 19
DESIGN FOR TANGIBLE, EMBEDDED AND NETWORKED TECHNOLOGIES
Introduction: Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies .......................................................................................2985
Sarah Kettley and Anne Cranny-Francis

Designing from, with and by Data: Introducing the ablative framework..............................................................................................2991
Chris Speed and Jon Oberlander

Feel it! See it! Hear it! Probing Tangible Interaction and Data Representational Modality ...................................................................3005
Trevor Hogan and Eva Hornecker

Designing Information Feedback within Hybrid Physical/Digital Interactions ......................................................................................3019
David Gullick and Paul Coulton

Harnessing the Digital Records of Everyday Things .............................................................................................................................3033
Dimitrios Darzentas, Adrian Hazzard, Michael Brown, Martin Flintham and Steve Benford
A Toaster For Life: Using Design Fiction To Facilitate Discussion On The Creation Of A Sustainable Internet of Things .........................3049
Michael Stead
Making Service Design in a Digital Business ........................................................................................................................................3069
Piia Rytilahti, Simo Rontti, Titta Jylks, Mira Alhonsuo, Hanna-Riina Vuontisjrvi and Laura Laivamaa
Ad Hoc Pairings: Semantic Relationships and Mobile Devices .............................................................................................................3085
Jason O. Germany
Serious Play Strategies in the Design of Kinetic and Wearable Devices................................................................................................3103
Lois Frankel and Ellen Hrinivich

Tangibility in e-textile participatory service design with mental health participants............................................................................3121
Sarah Kettley, Anna Sadkowska and Rachel Lucas

Wearable Sensory Devices for Children in Play Areas .........................................................................................................................3133
Cai-Ru Liao, Wen-Huei Chou and Chung-Wen Hung

Intuitive Interaction in a Mixed Reality System ..................................................................................................................................3149
Shital Desai, Alethea Blackler and Vesna Popovic

From nano to macro: material inspiration within ubiquitous computing research...............................................................................3165
Isabel Paiva
SECTION 20
Experiential Knowledge
Introduction: Experiential Knowledge ................................................................................................................................................3177
Nithikul Nimkulrat
Double-loop reflective practice as an approach to understanding knowledge and experience.............................................................3181
John Gribbin, Mersha Aftab, Robert Young and Sumin Park

Designing little worlds in Walnut Park: How architects adopted an ethnographic case study on living with dementia ......................3199
Valerie Van der Linden, Iris Van Steenwinkel, Hua Dong and Ann Heylighen
Bonding through Designing; how a participatory approach to videography can catalyse an emotive and reflective dialogue with young
people ...............................................................................................................................................................................................3213
Marianne McAra
Capturing architects designerly ways of knowing about users: Exploring an ethnographic research approach ....................................3229
Valerie Van der Linden, Hua Dong and Ann Heylighen

SECTION 21
INCLUSIVE DESIGN
Introduction: Inclusive Design ............................................................................................................................................................3247
Hua Dong ...................................................................................................................................................................................
Designing for older people: But who is an older person? ....................................................................................................................3251
Raghavendra Reddy Gudur, Alethea Blackler, Vesna Popovic and Doug Mahar
Towards designing inclusion: insights from a user data collection study in China ................................................................................3263
Weining Ning and Hua Dong

Difficult packaging for older Chinese adults ......................................................................................................................................3279
Xuezi Ma, Hua Dong

Crafted with Care: Reflections from co-designing wearable technologies with care home residents....................................................3295
Christopher Sze Chong Lim and Sara Nevay

To Shed Some Light on Empowerment: Towards Designing for Embodied Functionality .....................................................................3313
Jelle van Dijk and Fenne Verhoeven

Measuring Product-Related Stigma in Design .....................................................................................................................................3329
Kristof Vaes, Pieter Jan Stappers and Achiel Standaert

Towards more culturally inclusive communication design practices: exploring creative participation between non-Indigenous and
Indigenous people in Australia ...........................................................................................................................................................3349
Nicola St John
Designing meaningful vehicle for older users: culture, technology, and experience.............................................................................3373
Chao Zhao, Vesna Popovic and Xiaobo Lu

Towards Innovative and Inclusive Architecture ..................................................................................................................................3393
Sidse Grangaard
Hidden public spaces: when a university campus becomes a place for communities ...........................................................................3407
Davide Fassi, Laura Galluzzo and Liat Rogel

Volume 9
SECTION 22
FOOD AND EATING DESIGN
Introduction: Food and Eating Design.................................................................................................................................................3427
Hendrik N.J. Schifferstein

Designing with Empathy: Implications for Food Design.......................................................................................................................3435
Hafds Sunna Hermannsdttir, Cecilie Dawes, Hanne Gideonsen and Eva De Moor
Designing for sustainability: a dialogue-based approach to the design of food packaging experiences. ...............................................3449
Zoi Stergiadou, Jenny Darzentas and Spyros Bofylatos

Towards a sensory congruent beer bottle: Consumer associations between beer brands, flavours, and bottle designs .......................3467
Anna Fenko, Sanne Heiltjes and Lianne van den Berg-Weitzel

SECTION 23
OBJECTS, PRACTICES, EXPERIENCES AND NETWORKS
Introduction: Objects, Practices, Experiences and Networks ...............................................................................................................3479
Tom Fisher and Lorraine Gamman

Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design ........................................................................................................3485
Deborah Maxwell, Liz Edwards, Toby Pillatt and Niamh Downing

Uber and Language/Action Theory .....................................................................................................................................................3503
Michael Arnold Mages

Emotional Fit: Developing a new fashion design methodology for mature women..............................................................................3521
Katherine Townsend, Ania Sadkowska and Juliana Sissons

From Afterthought to Precondition: re-engaging Design Ethics from Technology, Sustainability, and Responsibility ...........................3539
Jeffrey Chan
Design for Resourceful Ageing: Intervening in the Ethics of Gerontechnology .....................................................................................3553
Elisa Giaccardi, Lenneke Kuijer and Louis Neven

SECTION 24
REFRAMING THE PARADOX EXAMINING THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN AND DESIGN FOR THE PUBLIC
SECTOR
Introduction: Reframing the Paradox Evidence-based Design and Design for the Public Sector.........................................................3569
Luke Feast
Open Practices: lessons from co-design of public services for behaviour change .................................................................................3573
Simon ORafferty, Adam DeEyto and Huw Lewis

Capturing the How: Showing the value of co-design through creative evaluation ............................................................................3591
Arthi Kanchana Manohar, Madeline Smith and Mirian Calvo

Design in the Time of Policy Problems ................................................................................................................................................3605
Lucy Kimbell
The introduction of design to policymaking: Policy Lab and the UK government .................................................................................3619
Jocelyn Bailey and Peter Lloyd

Problematizing Evidence-Based Design: A Case Study of Designing for Services in the Finnish Government ........................................3635
Helena Sustar and Luke Feast
Designed Engagement .......................................................................................................................................................................3653
Gemma Teal and Tara French

Public design and social innovation: Learning from applied research ..................................................................................................3669
Caroline Gagnon and Valrie Ct

Design as analysis: examining the use of precedents in parliamentary debate. ...................................................................................3687
Darren Umney, Christopher Earl and Peter Lloyd

Exposing charities to design-led approaches through design research. ...............................................................................................3705
Laura Warwick and Robert Djaelani

Volume 10
SECTION 25
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Introduction: Sustainable Design .......................................................................................................................................................3725
Rhoda Trimingham
Design for Sustainability: An Evolutionary Review ..............................................................................................................................3731
Fabrizio Ceschin and Idil Gaziulusoy

Consumer Product Design and Innovation: Past, present and future...................................................................................................3755
Robin Roy
Product-Service Systems or Service Design By-Products? A Systems Thinking Approach ...................................................................3771
John Darzentas and Jenny Darzentas

Supporting SMEs in designing sustainable business models for energy access for the BoP: a strategic design tool ...............................3785
Silvia Emili, Fabrizio Ceschin and David Harrison

Extending clothing lifetimes: an exploration of design and supply chain challenges. ...........................................................................3815
Lynn Oxborrow and Stella Claxton

The effect of consumer attitudes on design for product longevity: The case of the fashion industry ....................................................3831
Angharad McLaren, Helen Goworek, Tim Cooper, Lynn Oxborrow and Helen Hill
Framing Complexity in Design through theories of Social Practice and Structuration: A comparative case study of urban cycling ........3847
Tobias Barnes Hofmeister and Martina Keitsch

Integrating Sustainability Literacy into Design Education ....................................................................................................................3861
Andrea Quam
Design of resilient consumer products ...............................................................................................................................................3873
Anders Haug
Designing for Sustainable Transition through Value Sensitive Design ..................................................................................................3889
Luisa Sze-man Mok, Sampsa Hyysalo and Jenni Vnnen

Mixing up everyday life - uncovering sufficiency practices through designerly tools ............................................................................3913
Miriam Lahusen, Susanne Ritzmann, Florian Sametinger, Gesche Joost and Lars-Arvid Brischke
Give car-free life a try: Designing seeds for changed practices ............................................................................................................3929
Mia Hesselgren and Hanna Hasselqvist

A sociotechnical framework for the design of collaborative services: diagnosis and conceptualisation ................................................3943
Joon Sang Baek, Sojung Kim and Yoonee Pahk

Moving Textile Artisans Communities towards a Sustainable Future A Theoretical Framework .......................................................3961
Francesco Mazzarella, Carolina Escobar-Tello and Val Mitchell

Sharing 10 years of experience with class AUP0479 Design for Sustainability ...................................................................................3983
Maria Ceclia Santos, Tatiana Sakurai and Verena Lima

SECTION 26
THE POLITICS OF COMMONING AND DESIGN
Introduction: The Politics of Commoning and Design ..........................................................................................................................4005
Bianca Elzenbaumer, Valeria Graziano and Kim Trogal

Commons & community economies: entry points to design for eco-social justice? .............................................................................4015
Fabio Franz and Bianca Elzenbaumer

Design Togetherness, Pluralism and Convergence ..............................................................................................................................4029
Monica Lindh Karlsson and Johan Redstrm

Designing participation for commoning in temporary spaces: A case study in Aveiro, Portugal ...........................................................4045
Janaina Teles Barbosa, Maria Hellstrm Reimer and Joo Almeida Mota
From Rules in Use to Culture in Use Commoning and Infrastructuring Practices in an Open Cultural Movement ...............................4063
Sanna Marttila
Index of Authors .. 4080
Editorial
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.651
The 50th Anniversary conference of the Design Research Society is a special event at an
interesting time for Design Research. The Design Research Society was formed in 1966
following the Conference on Design Methods held at Imperial College London in 1962. In the
lead up to DRS2016 we contacted the secretary to the 1962 conference, Peter Slann, who
now lives in Scotland, and who sent us the original reel-to-reel audio tape recordings of that
conference. Listening to those tapes it is striking not only how similar some of the
discussions are about design and design research, but also how much has changed. In 1962
every voice is a male British voice. One comment at the end of the conference stands out as
significant. Thanking people for coming to the conference and looking towards the future at
the end of the closing session, John Page, then Professor of Building Science at Sheffield
University, asks the audience three questions (the quote is verbatim):
if one agrees that there are bodies of knowledge that have been raised here, which
need further exploration particularly a case in point would be the terminology of
design is there any point in trying to get some kind of inter-disciplinary working party
going on these problems? In this question of disciplines, is there any machinery or any
way of arranging for an interchange of information between specialists and people
working at Universities? Lastly, is there any point in making the whole thing more of a
formal entity, a society, or something of that kind?
Fifty years later it is clear that there was a point. The DRS as it exists today can trace its
origins to the affirmation of that last question in 1962, and the some kind of
interdisciplinary working party that Design Research has become owes its identity to that
1960s future-focused thinking.
Since the Conference on Design Methods in 1962 many Design Research conferences have
been held, with the DRS often as a key organiser. Certainly in the earlier days, defined subfields of research originated from these conferences. Design Participation in 1971 started
the participative design movement that has grown into present day co-design. Design for
Need, held in 1976, and taking a global view of the population, started both sustainable and
inclusive design, and Design Policy held in 1980 introduced a much needed social, political
and international dimension to the design research field as Design itself lurched into the
consumerist 80s.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Peter Lloyd
From almost every conference comes a thread that leads to the present day, so the fiftieth
anniversary conference represents a point to gather these threads together, see how they
complement and blend with one another, and consider what kind of textile they might
weave in the coming years. Indeed, the early advice that many gave was not to spend too
much time looking back and to concentrate on the future. For DRS2016, as well as the
Design Research field more generally, the increasing number of PhD researchers is a sign
that this future is set to be a healthy one. A significant number of papers in these
proceedings are the result of doctoral research projects and organisations like PhD by
Design, who had a strong presence at DRS2016, ensure that todays PhD Researchers will
become tomorrows Design Research leaders.
The DRS Conferences have always looked to develop new formats for people to engage with
one another, over and above the standard paper presentation. The 1973 Design Activities
conference aimed at:
the provision of an extension of media forms beyond the normal verbalized media of
the average conference with the idea that such extensions were significant
contributions to dialectical form, and not just entertainments.
The 2014 DRS conference, in Sweden, continued that tradition by introducing

Conversations and Debates alongside the more traditional academic paper presentation.
It feels entirely appropriate that the field of Design Research is at the forefront of
conference design, appropriating new technologies in developing more productive formats
for discussion, networking, and presentation. And rightly so, because in an age when
research papers and keynote presentations are available online we need to ask whether a
conference, with all the travel, expense, and carbon involved, is still the most effective way
of energizing and invigorating a research field.
DRS2016 is no exception and continues this ongoing conference prototyping activity. We
have tried to develop a discursive conference that leans both towards the academic, in
research papers, but also towards the practical in Conversations and Workshops. So this is a
conference that presents existing research, projects, and discussions not as fixed end points,
but as ongoing dialogue. To do that we have tried to balance the online conference with the
offline one, and the ephemeral with the enduring. Partly this approach helps to provide a
continued legacy for the conference, but it also helps to include as many people as possible
in (re)directing the dialogical flow of research activity.
As an organising committee we met in January 2015 to talk about key questions, conference
themes and conference design. From that discussion the three individual words of the DRS
Design, Research, and Society were felt to define an interesting area for a conference; one
that was about the practice and doing of design but also about designs societal impact and
the moderating role that research plays between the two. Design + Research + Society
perhaps represents a larger area than that of the Design Research Society, but as these
proceedings demonstrate the appetite is clearly apparent for Design Research to embrace
ever-wider concerns.
ii
Editorial
The underlying premise, however, was that 50 years of design research has provided us with
a sound understanding of design and a solid foundation upon which to build. The interesting
questions, then, appeared to us as not so much how we do more of the same though that
of course has its place but in how we use what we now know. Hence the three broad
questions that the papers in these conference proceedings respond to:
How can design research help frame and address the societal problems that
face us?
How can design research be a creative and active force for rethinking ideas
about Design?
How can design research shape our lives in more responsible, meaningful, and
open ways?
The DRS has a number of established Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which the organising
committee thought important to prioritise but we also wanted to find a way to add
additional emerging and complementary research themes to these. This resulted in a call for
additional themes in June 2015 and a selection process that resulted in 15 further themes
(from 25 proposals) alongside the 9 themes represented by the Special Interest Groups. The
idea of a conference of conferences began to emerge, with theme papers managed by subchairs, but consistency of peer-review overseen by a central review committee across all
themes.
The systems currently available for managing paper submission, in the case of DRS2016 the
excellent ConfTool system, now provide comprehensive integrative platforms to conduct
sophisticated submission, peer-review, rebuttal, discussion, communication, and
programming of papers, which means we can be more confident than ever about the
academic quality of the final papers accepted for DRS2016. In total we received just under
500 paper submissions all of which were reviewed by two, and sometimes three reviewers,
as well as being managed by theme chairs. In total 939 reviews were written by 290
reviewers with 200 papers being accepted, and a further 40 accepted following revision. This
represents an acceptance rate of 49%.
The 240 papers in these proceedings have been grouped under 26 themes, 23 of which have
been closely managed and developed by theme chairs (the other 3 themes derived from an
Open Call). In these proceedings you will find an introduction to each theme by the relevant
chair(s), outlining the background to the theme and putting the papers that were finally
accepted and published into a wider context. Nine of the themes are the result of calls from
the Design Research Society Special Interest Groups, which are active throughout the year
and that report to the DRS council regularly. Many Special Interest Groups hold their own
conferences, supported by the DRS, so the papers in these proceedings, responding to the
overall theme of Future-focused Thinking, should be seen as a sample of those specialisms.
Fittingly for a 50th Anniversary conference there is a strong historical thread of papers the
field of Design Research now becomes a subject of historical study in the themes of Histories
for Future-focused Thinking, 50 Years of Design Research, and Design for Design: The
iii
Peter Lloyd
Influence and Legacy of John Heskett. This is a useful development, and shows the maturity
of the field now, with early work not just a familiar citation in reference lists, but something
that can be looked at in a wider cultural and historical context.
Many of the new themes bring a more critical and speculative approach to Design Research,
framing research questions and practices in ways other than what some see as more
traditional evidence-based approaches to research. These are papers that argue for a
particular position or approach to understanding design or practice. Examples of these
themes include Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics & Design; Design-ing and Creative Philosophies,
and Reframing the Paradox: Evidence-based Design and Design for the Public Sector. The
emerging area of Social Design is well represented in the areas of Design Innovation for
Society and The Politics of Commoning and Design and shows the importance of Design
Research to discussing and achieving concrete outcomes for social good.
The idea and limits of Design and Design Research are explored in many themes, but in
particular Objects, Experiences, Practices & Networks; Design and Translation; and Design for
Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies take a more systemic view of design,
placing it within a network of activities and technologies. In contrast to this other themes
focus much more on the individual and collective experience of designers and others
involved in the process of design, for example: Experiential Knowledge; Embodied Making
and Learning; Aesthetic Pleasure in Design; and Food and Eating Design.
Of course there are themes that have been ever-present in DRS, and in other Design
Research, conferences understanding design process and the nature of design knowledge
are the subject of the Design Epistemology and Design Process themes. The practical impacts
that design can have on all types of organisations are explored in Design Thinking, an area of
continued and increasing interest, and Design Innovation Management. Design Education
and Learning, now with its own large biennial conference series, was the most popular
theme for DRS2016, with 28 papers accepted from 53 submissions.
Finally, there are a set of well-developed themes, organised as part of DRS Special Interest
Groups, that broadly explore the welfare of others both in a small and large sense embracing
ideas of person-centredness, responsibility and ethics. These themes include Design for
Health, Wellbeing, and Happiness; Inclusive Design; and finally Sustainable Design.
As in any research field the definitions between sub-areas often blur and overlap, and there
are themes that contradict and conflict with one another, strongly arguing against a
particular approach or theoretical grounding of another area. The DRS2016 keynote debates
were designed to explore some of these issues and fault lines but more generally this should
be taken as a sign of health and maturity. For many years we have heard that Design
Research is a new field, still finding its feet, but as an organising committee we think the
definition and extent of the themes in these proceedings demonstrate precisely the
opposite. In Fifty years we have built up a strong and diverse research field that is widely
applicable, broadly inclusive and, in 2016, more relevant than ever.
iv
Editorial
There is a sense in which design research sits at the crux of a false dichotomy; between on
the one hand research in a pure form (which values objectivity, subjectivity, experiment,
discourse, history, analysis) and on the other the active engagement in shaping future forms
by suggestion, prototype, speculation, practice, and intervention at all levels, from the
molecular to the political, from the anthropological to the computational. In an increasingly
fragmented and atomised world Design Research is a field which reveals the falsehood of
the dichotomy. It is a field that collectively links disciplines, audiences, and technologies in a
critical but productive way. The design of a conference with its implicit value systems,
partiality to statistical analysis, but with an emergent structure and representation is no
bad example of a future-focused design research that shares what knowledge is known and
explores what knowledge is possible.
Finally, we would like to thank all people the local organisation, the international
programme and review committee, and all the reviewers involved in organising DRS2016
and who have contributed to such a huge collective effort. The valuable time that has been
given in helping to shape and deliver the conference has been very much appreciated.
Thanks should also go to the Design Research Society, for supporting the conference so
effectively; to the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London for providing time and
resources as partner Universities; and to the University of Brighton, particularly the College
of Arts and Humanities, for enabling the early vision of a 50 th Anniversary DRS conference to
be fulfilled.
Peter Lloyd
DRS2016 Conference Chair
Vice Chair of the DRS
Brighton, UK
Peter Lloyd
Previous Design Research Society and Associated Conferences

1962 Conference on Design Methods, London, UK
1964 The Teaching of Engineering Design, Scarborough, UK
1965 The Design Method, Birmingham, UK
1967 Design Methods in Architecture, Portsmouth, UK
1971 Design Participation, Manchester, UK
1972 Design and Behaviour, Birmingham, UK
1973 The Design Activity, London, UK
1974 Problem Identification for Design, Manchester, UK
1976 Design for Need, London, UK
1976 Changing Design, Portsmouth, UK
1978 Architectural Design, Istanbul, Turkey
1980 Design Science Method, Portsmouth, UK
1982 Design Policy, London, UK
1984 The Role of the Designer, Bath, UK
1998 Quantum Leap, Birmingham, UK
1999 CoDesigning, Coventry, UK
2002 Common Ground, London, UK
2004 Futureground, Melbourne, Australia
2006 Wonderground, Lisbon, Portugal
2008 Undisciplined!, Sheffield, UK
2010 Design And Complexity, Montreal, Canada
2012 Uncertainty, Contradiction and Value, Bangkok, Thailand
2014 Design's Big Debates, Umea, Sweden
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Volume 5
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SECTION 11
DESIGN INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
Introduction: Design Innovation Management

Rachel Coopera, Alex Williamsb, Qian Sunc and Erik Bohemiad
a
Lancaster University
Kingston University
b
Royal College of Art
b
Loughborough University, London
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.629
b
1. Introduction
The aim of this section organised by the Design Innovation Management Special Interest
Group with themed track on the Design Policy was to explore Changing Design Policies and
Practices.
Design has played a vital role in the development of economies, societies and cultures
globally. Governments in nations such as Korea, Denmark and the UK have long
recognised the contribution design makes towards success and have employed a wide
variety of approaches to create environments conducive to design. Different national
contexts have called for differing tactics to encourage companies to use design more
strategically but have met barriers. Yet research into those policies (defined here as political
visions into programmes and actions to develop national design resources and encourage
their effective use (Raulik-Murphy, 2014) and their ability to unlock the potential of the
design industry to respond to social challenges is both recent and scant.
This section starts by identifying and critically examining national and regional design
policies, which guide the interaction of design capacities, seen as a stimulus for economic
and social change. Looking to the future, there is significant interest in how design policies
may be instrumental in catalysing national responses to global challenges re: poverty, ageing
and health; conflict and security; climate change; and in the movement of everything
(Cooper, 2015).
The section then moves on to consider how design approaches address this. One of the
triggers for, and consequences of, this change is an incorporation of co-design as a process
in which designers and users collaborate as equals to develop innovative solutions. The UK
Design Council is, for example, advocating the use of co-design methods to support the

International License.
development of practical innovative solutions to social problems such as increased cost of

elderly care or tackling child poverty (Design Council, n.d.).
The involvement of users in developing solutions acknowledges that their take up is
dependent on the ways users make and negotiate meanings of objects and services
(Vossoughi, 2013). Research suggests that a move to incorporate co-design processes will
have significant implications on future designers and researchers practices (Sanders &
Stappers, 2008). So we proposed to explore the following question: how we design, what we
design, and who designs?
This leads to questions as to how we best facilitate, resource, and grow such cooperative
practices, in both the cultural and organizational senses. This leads us consider issues of
support, co-location and clustering, and ultimately back to consideration of policy, and the
extent to which this is/should be top-down (market failure driven) or bottom-up (ecological).
Authors contributing to this section consider points such as:
Emergent trends in design policy
Understanding how such policies might be embedded within the private,
public and service sectors
The value of design, its dimensions and influences, and how differing design
approaches address this
An exploration of sense-making and meaning within innovation
Evaluations of participatory methods which facilitate co-design processes
The challenges for stakeholders within co-design, and the support needs of
local communities and start-ups
The significance of resourcing and clustering, and the implications best practice
has on policy formation.
Unpacking this discourse in more detail, the papers are presented under four sub-themes:
emergent thinking in design policy; the value of design and how design approaches might
address this; the emergence of co-design in addressing social challenges; and the
significance of resourcing and clustering.
2. Emergent Thinking in Design Policy: Wherefore Leadership?

Sun in her paper titled Emerging Trends of Design Policy in the UK investigates the key
organisations involved in developing and delivering policies that impact on design in the UK
by reviewing their missions and strategies; from these, she identifies opportunities,
challenges and trends. She argues that the proliferation of national design promotion bodies
has changed the landscape of design agendas at national, international and organizational
levels, particularly where design is considered as an important tool for achieving competitive
advantage.
A lack of understanding as to how design adds value at both organisational and national
levels has necessitated government interventions informing citizens, companies and public
1702
organisations about its benefits. However, her paper argues that these interventions should
address systemic failures rather than market failures, and calls for a holistic approach to
understanding the system of design policy to be adopted. With the shift away from a
design-centric approach, there is a need to integrate design into wider innovation systems.
Moreover, with substantial growth in interest in design for social and public challenges,
there needs to be stronger design leadership in central government. This can be seen in the
UK in the increase in design capacity, and commissioning of further, across government
through training, aggregation of quality information, and building of capabilities in the
design sector itself to respond to such challenges. She cites the emergence of the UKs Policy
Lab as marking a fundamental shift from policy for design to design of policy, in which
design principles and methods are piloted re improving the pace, quality and deliverability
of policy in the Civil Service.
Amongst the trends she identifies, three resonate with the discourse presented here the
importance of championing design; the need to integrate design within innovation (albeit
not from a design-centric approach); and the growing significance of design for social
challenges.
Whicher and Swiatek paper Past and Future of Design Policy develop this theme,
identifying that Design is progressively moving up the policy agenda at all levels of
governance local, regional, national and European - with the integration of design into
innovation policies and smart specialization strategies, whilst local government are building
design capacity by appointing design managers to innovate public services. Terminology has
evolved from Design Infrastructures through National Design Systems to Design
Ecosystems, marking a shift from top-down regulatory environments to ones in which
design-driven innovation is instigated from the bottom-up. They propose a Design
Innovation Ecosystem construct to examine the interplay between the elements of the
system and inform tangible policy action. They perceive design support programmes as
becoming more specialised; but signal that design promotion needs to be recognised as a
strategic investment, and design adopted as a method for inclusive policy-making.
Nonetheless, they recognise that more needs to be done to capture the economic and social
value of design, as the associated data is still limited and fragmented.
3. The Value of Design and How Design Processes Address This

Bragain the paper titled The value of design: an issue of vision, creativity and interpretation
seeks to clarify the value of design, its dimensions and its variables from a fragmented
literature, which includes economics, marketing, business, management, value engineering,
design domains, social and environmental sustainability. She identifies the difficulty in
isolating design from other variables that impact firms performance, particularly as the
measurable results of design only become more evident through time. Assuring the impact
for innovative design is an incoherent approach, as is market behaviour forecasting,
particularly for disruptive innovations unfamiliar to users. Given that Design Management
seeks to identify patterns of good design, past studies have explored organizational culture
1703
in design-centric firms and the cultural change in perspective as they climb the design
ladder. However, it is not clear when and how a non-design-oriented company develops the
capacity to absorb design. What are the preconditions/prior knowledge to recognize the
value of new information, assimilate it, and apply it? In addressing this, Braga identifies a
need to deal with the creative process and tacit knowledge, rather than focusing solely on
measurable and visible assets.
Haugs paper Coordinating product design with production and consumption processes
partially approaches this by focusing on the importance of coordinating product design with
production and marketing processes. To this end, he offers a framework that connects
product design to four central processes related to the production and consumption of
products and their communication, through a study of 16 empirical examples of commercial
failures caused by inadequate alignment of the design function.
In a related approach Kims paper How Companies adopt different Design approaches
explores different types of combined design approach that companies adopt across
industrial design and engineering design. He identifies the inherent conflicts between the
two groups, due largely to the constraints they impose, and hypothesises the need for a
cooperative approach.
In contrast, Chatzakis et als paper A Multilevel Approach to Research Obscure Innovation
Processes and Practices introduce Activity Theory and propose a multilevel framework
which aims to reveal obscure practices. Their premise is that organisations struggle to
sustain an organic and long-term growth and resilience in increasingly hypercompetitive
market conditions because they lack agile practices which better leverage their knowledge.
Activity Theory provides a means of analysing social and contextual activities within practice;
exploring the roles and activities of members within the NPD process identifies the key
influencing factors, and hence where decision-making and value lie.
Thurgood and Lulham in their paper Exploring Framing and Meaning Making over the
Design Innovation Process take an alternative, more-semantic approach, focusing on
innovation within (or the initiation of new product) meaning and how this results in
sustained changes in market behaviour. They articulate a framing model which provides
insights into how understanding of problems emerges, meaning changes arise, and what
experiences and forms they take. They speculate that the capacity to construct meaning
creates new opportunities for a more integrated understanding of the whole innovation
process.
Knutzs paper Fiction as a Resource in Participatory Design reverses this association,
exploring the relation between participation and fiction. Her study presents three case
examples of participatory prototyping that make use of play or games as a means of
engaging participants in make-believe to create a design space. Her case studies provide
particular insight into areas where such fiction is invaluable: gaining more direct userinvolvement in product development; stimulating critical reflection; and in increasing multistakeholder collaboration.
1704
4. The Emergence of Collaboration and Co-Design (in addressing

public and social challenges)
Developing the participatory theme further, Broadley et als From Participation to
Collaboration: Reflections on the co-creation of innovative business ideas suggest that
design-led innovation interventions are predicated on establishing complex disciplinary
collaborations, and reflect on the effectiveness of different co-design methods to support
knowledge exchange, drawing on data collected from sandpit style events. They propose
that a more nuanced range of methods, tools and techniques can strengthen
multidisciplinary engagement and participation, arguing that such approaches can be
enhanced by designers and researchers shifting focus from co-design methods to
supporting collaborative mind-sets in knowledge exchange.
Sune Gudiksen et als paper Bridging Service Design with Integrated Co-design Decisionmaker Interventions presents a similar treaties, developing the idea of what co-design is
capable of. This evolves into something that not only encompasses product and service
design, but challenges organisational culture and the mind-set of decision-makers, resulting
in more successful embedding of a project within the organisation. Their paper investigates
how the development of a new service design project - through integrated co-design
interventions - has created a shift in mind-set and viewpoints, enabling design to intervene
in and, significantly, gain influence over differing organisational levels.
Chuns paper Challenges in Co-designing a Building also explores the challenges faced in
implementing co-design approaches, this time in relation to building design. However, Chun
raises concerns as this radically changes how we design, what we design, and who designs.
The paper compares participatory approaches to others, and identifies a number of
challenges in co-designing a building, including: changes in the role of actors in the design
process, and issues around managing conflicts between the interests of different users in a
multi-user building project. If co-design approaches are to be successful, she argues that
architects need to be able to effectively integrate users lived experience. Moreover, she
questions what kind of skills architects need to successfully co-design a building with users
and how that differs to that required in more traditional approaches.
In contrast, Ksenija Kuzmina et als paper An Exploration of Service Design Jam and its ability
to foster Social Enterprise investigate the use of (Service) Design Jams as a means of
fostering Social Enterprise recognised as the building blocks of local economies and
communities within the UK. Whilst jams (or co-creation sessions) typically enable
individuals to free-think - in the case studied, these are used to identify socially and
environmentally focused issues and formulate service solutions - there is a recognition that
these solutions require significant nurturing and support. These are crucially reliant on
individuals who are already willing to engage in entrepreneurial activity, but few approaches
cultivate the willingness and motivation of these individuals to engage. Against this
backdrop, the authors propose the combination of collaborative design activity with
enterprise workshops as a means of inspiring entrepreneurship.
1705
This effectively leads our discourse to considerations of resourcing, support infrastructures,

and ultimately, clustering.
5. The Significance of Resourcing and Clustering

Ylirisku et als paper titled Resourcing in Co-Design introduce the concept of resourcing to
describe the fundamental activity of negotiating the use of what is available for co-design,
particularly in unfolding of co-design in complex responsive conversations. The authors focus
on how co-designers make use of what is available, and hence, how these are turned into
resources. They assert how integral design facilitation is to the unfolding action of codesigning, arguing that the quality of bringing together different stakeholders relies on both
the facilitators and participants abilities to diversify resourcing - using different kinds of
tools for guiding attention, attuning response-sensitivities, structuring presumptions and
supporting the generation of ideas. The key issue here is how may facilitators prepare
greater relevance for an emerging topic?
Storvangs paper Space as Organisational Strategy looks at this issue from a spatial
perspective, identifying a strong link between physical space and its ability to enhance
creativity, create change and stimulate interaction. Her investigation explores how space can
support organisational strategy, particularly in terms of how space can influence people. The
challenge in generating interaction and new relations is an interesting one - with
implications for design, design management, management and organisational learning.
The theme concludes with a paper by Tsang et als paper The Making of a Sustainable
Cultural and Creative Cluster in Hong Kong, which reviews their experiences in clustering
organisations rather than individuals. They consider the setup of creative clusters, against a
backdrop in which governments often follow prescriptive models imitating successful
practices in other regions, but failing to sustain these clusters. Their paper endeavours to
identify the fundamental factors in developing a sustainable cluster in a densely populated
city. Rather than considering spatial setting as the most significant factor, they argue that
the formation of community and creative happening are integral factors for creative
production. They develop a three factor model for the evaluation of sustainable clusters,
evaluated through an empirical case study in Hong Kong. They conclude that clusters do not
simply refer to the co-location of creative groups or solely describe the geographical location
and proximity of similar businesses. Ultimately - in common with Stovang the generation
of synergies (based on cluster, community and creativity) must be the final goal, effectively
bringing us back full circle to the consideration of policy, and as Whicher and Swiatek note, a
shift the Design Ecosystems in which the conditions for design-driven innovation are
instigated from the bottom-up.
5. References
Cooper R (2015) Future Cities and Design Imperatives, Keynote Address, International Design
Congress, Gwangju, South Korea
1706
Design Council. (n.d.). The Knee High Design Challenge. Retrieved from
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/knee-high-design-challenge
Raulik-Murphy, G (2014). Design Policy into Practice, WDC Design Policy Conference, Cape Town
Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign:
International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts, 4(1), 518.
doi:10.1080/15710880701875068
Vossoughi, S. (2013). A Survival Guide for the Age of Meaning. In R. Martin & K. Christensen (Eds.),
Rotman on Design: The Best on Design Thinking from Rotman Magazine (pp. 5559). Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
About the Authors:

Rachael Cooper is Distinguished Professor of Design Management
and Policy at Lancaster University. She is currently working with The
Creative Exchange. She is a member of the FUSE board, a nonexecutive Director of the Future Cities Catapult, and a Lead Expert for
the UK Government Foresight programme on the Future of Cities,
and is on the Academy of Medical Sciences Working group
addressing the health of the public 2040.
Alex Williams is an Associate Dean of Enterprise at Kingston
University. He is interested in Design Policy & its implications in:
International Development, New Business Models for the Creative
Economy, & Mechanisms for Knowledge Exchange. He is currently PI
on an AHRC-funded mapping of Knowledge Exchange networks.
Qian Sun is a senior tutor in Service Design at the Royal College of
Art. Her research interests include Design Management, Design
Policy, Design Thinking, and Service Design. She is the Principal
Investigator of the UK-China Design Policy Network project funded
by the AHRC.
Erik Bohemia is the Programme Director in the Institute for Design
Innovation at Loughborough University, London. He is interested in
Design as a cultural practice and the material effects of design. He is
currently researching the construction of the user and how this
guides the design process.
1707
Emerging Trends of Design Policy in the UK

Qian Sun
Royal College of Art
Qian.sun@rca.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.113
Abstract: This paper reviews design policy in the UK. As the UK does not currently
have any written and acknowledged statement of cross-governmental design
strategy, this article investigates the key organisations involved in developing and
delivering policies that impact on design in the UK by reviewing their missions and
strategies, thereby identifying opportunities, challenges and trends in British design
policy.
Keywords: Design Policy, Design Industry, UK, Innovation
1. Introduction
Following the Second World War, many countries including Great Britain, Germany, South
Korea, and more recently Taiwan, Brazil, Finland, and China have developed their own
national design policies and design promotional organizations. The proliferation of national
design promotion bodies has changed the landscape of design agendas at national,
international and organizational levels. This dynamic, at least to some extent, also implies
that national design policies have started to become popular across the world (Woodham,
2010).
In these countries, design is considered as an important tool for achieving their competitive
advantages. Therefore, governments actively seek to create an encouraging environment so
that design may prosper. The need to develop national design policies is based on the
rationale that a lack of understanding of how design adds value at both organisational and
national levels requires government intervention to inform citizens, companies and public
organisations about the benefits that design can offer and how to take full advantage of the
latter (Raulik-Murphy et al., 2010). In some countries, government intervention has resulted
in exceptionally positive outcomes. For example, the Korean governments manifesto in
1988, which placed design at the centre of the national strategy, has been instrumental ine

Qian Sun
rise of Samsung and LG, while also boosting the national economy; meanwhile Denmarks
position as a creative country in the international market has been supported by an official
government resolution passed in 2007. More recently, while China aims to transform its
economy away from a reliance on low-skill and resource-intensive manufacturing, and via
the accelerated formation of human capital and increased investment in science, technology
and innovation, the central government has recognised the urgency of design innovation in
terms of this transformation and has placed the highest priority on promoting and
supporting design as shown in its 12th five-year-plan.
2. The Subject: Design Policy

Design policy, a concept that has emerged in the recent academic literature, appeared as
early as 1985 when the Design and Innovation: Policy and Management conference was
held at the Royal College of Art, London. At the conference, Auberts paper A Review of
Design Innovation Systems in the UK: The essentiality of design policy (1985) explicitly used
the term to describe the systems and related policies that nourish design and innovation in
the UK. The paper did not distinguish between design and innovation; as such, innovation
policy and design policy were seen as interchangeable. In his contribution, the effort
required to develop policies for technology innovation was used as a reference point. Aubert
considered that innovation systems and related policies should fulfil the following three key
functions: means of development; the establishment of an appropriate institutional and
regulatory framework for innovators; and helping to formulate focal points or clear targets
in order to structure technological efforts at a national level. Since then, design policy has
become a distinct concept that concerns design professionals, the government and wider
industries and societies. DeEP (2013) has defined design policy as the sets of rules, activities,
and processes to support design through the reinforcement of design capabilities at all levels
of the policy cycle (p.4), while Murphy (2014) has characterised it as The process by which
governments translate their political vision into programmes and actions in order to develop
national design resources and encourage their effective use in the country (p.11).
In the design policy literature, the most frequently debated questions are concerned with:
(1) why governments should promote design; and (2) how governments best promote
design (Swann, 2010). In relation to the first question, the issue has been why the design
sector should receive preferential treatment over other sectors, just as Woodham (2010) has
critically remarked that design policy emphasises the priorities of the design profession
rather than those of society as a whole. Suns (2010, 2011b) design policy model
conceptualises the dynamics between key stakeholders in a knowledge supply chain, and
she underlines that those policies stressing the design sector as the key beneficiary (e.g.
through subsidising design) would lead to a long term imbalance between design supply and
demand, and further cultivate the design sectors dependence on government subsidies,
thereby placing the sector in a vulnerable position and subject to political changes. This in
turn would mislead the design sector into developing certain capacities in order to meet the
needs of this non-sustainable demand.
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This aligns with a widely-shared view amongst political theorists (Lundvall, 2007, 2010) who
have initiated a shift in the justification for policy intervention in favour of innovation away
from neo-classical market failure theory, thereby embracing a broader systems failure
theory. Design policy literature, e.g. Love (2007) and Swann (2010), also examines the
rationale of design policy in terms of addressing systems failure which seeks to identify
failures or weaknesses in a particular innovation system, and corrects these via policy
interventions. Swanns report to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (2010),
was aimed at reviewing the market failure and other, cogent, rationales for a national
design promotion policy and it scope of applicability, with some reference to the purpose
and roles for a national design policy body (p.1), and concludes that there are many areas of
design activity (e.g. creating national design assets, design for complex systems and
standards for design, and strengthening the design profession) that are eminently worthy of
support from public funding.
Given that government intervention is needed in tackling system failures, the second
question, namely, how government intervenes, has wider practical implications. The recent
literature has observed a paradigm shift. For example, Amir (2004) has proposed
transforming an industrially-oriented design policy into a human-centred design policy that
takes into account the transformation of orientation, the users, and the initiators of design
policy. This proposal is based on the premise that social and economic problems cannot be
solved solely through the materiality of design, but a structural solution that involves
political factors in its implementation is required. Similarly, Raulik-Murphy et al. (2010)
suggest that the current most important shift is the integration of design policy into crossdisciplinary policies for innovation and sustainability involving social innovation rather than
focusing solely on economic competitiveness while also moving towards a holistic approach
addressing systemic failures rather than market failures. Along with this shift, scholars e.g.
Love (2007), Whicher et al. (2012), Raulik-Murphy et al. (2009), and Swann (2010) have
developed a range of models to indicate the form of policy intervention needed. Taking the
model as a benchmark, Whicher et al. (2012) through the SEE (Sharing Experience Europe)
platform have produced a number of reports profiling design policies in SEE network
countries.
However, it is arguable that if a systemic approach to design policy is the backbone, it is
important to have a good understanding of the system prior to the identification and
formation of policy interventions. There is a need for more research in this area of design
policy in order to understand the scope of design promotion, to identify references, to
question current practice and to develop new thinking that will help to advance the field
(Raulik-Murphy, 2014). Meanwhile, it is also important to improve our knowledge of the
systems where design policy is situated. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion by
improving our understanding of the political context of design policy in the UK from a system
perspective. In particular, this article attempts to understand who are the policy makers in
this context, what their political agendas are, and how they intervene in terms of the
development and delivery of design policies.
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3. The Context: Design Policy in the UK and The Design Council

In the UK, design is considered an important and integral dimension of innovation policy
(Hobday et al., 2012). The UKs move from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy
(evidenced by a fall in its share of manufacturing output and a shift towards higher-skilled
professions) has reinforced the importance of innovation and value-added design.
Historically, the British government was the first government in the world that recognised
the power of design.
The Design Council and its work over the past 70 years has played an important role in
implementing the political vision of the UK government (the Council celebrated its
70th anniversary in 2015), and it has since pioneered a wide variety of approaches to create
environments conducive to design, including design education, infrastructure, funding and IP
exploitation. One of the most influential Design Council documents has been The Cox Review
of Creativity in Business: Building on the UKs strengths (2005), which investigates the
contribution of design, innovation and creativity to the UK economy. It is considered the
fundamental document that set out the agenda for UK design policy. In the report, Cox
made a range of recommendations to central and regional government, businesses,
broadcasters and educational institutions. These include: raising awareness and the profile
of creativity; targeted support and incentive schemes; building capacity in higher education;
and utilising the power of public procurement to encourage innovation. Following the
review, a number of projects and programmes have been initiated in line with its
recommendations, including, for example, Designing Demand which was launched in 2006
to support SEMs use of design; the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Councils 6.5 million investment in creating the Designing
for the 21st Century Initiative as a vehicle for supporting design research over a five-year
period from 20052009; the Design Councils Blueprint and Higher Skills/Higher Value review
focusing on skills development; UKTIs Strategy for Design Consultants on global promotion;
and its Science and Innovation Investment Framework 20042014. As a result of the
review, the Design Council also initiated pioneering new thinking about design-led solutions
to social as well as economic problems, such as the initiation of the Designs of the Time
project (Dott), the development of RED (an in-house research and development
interdisciplinary team), and the launch of its Design Challenges open competitions.
Although partly as a result of the austerity measures introduced following the credit crunch
in 2007, the Design Council was reconstituted as a charity and merged with The Commission
for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), while the vision and agenda set by the
Cox Review is still fundamental to contemporary British design policy as reflected in the
recent reports by the Design Commission: Restart Britain 2 (2014a), Design and Public
Procurement (2010), and Design Research and Public Policy (2014b), all of which suggest
pushing for much stronger design leadership in central government through increased
design and commissioning capacity.
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As remarked by Woodham (1995), in historical, national and international terms the Design
Council was by far the most significant state organisation concerned with the promotion of
design in industry. With the changing role of the Design Council in UK design policy, the
leadership role that the Council used to perform has, seemingly, been distributed to various
different organisations. As the UK does not currently have a written down and
acknowledged statement of cross-governmental design strategy, this study aims to
understand the landscape of UK design policy and its opportunities, challenges and trends by
investigating the political system.
4. The Approach: Systemic Approaches and Stakeholder Analysis

This paper argues that government interventions should aim to address systemic failures
rather than market failures. Therefore, a holistic approach to understanding the system of
design policy is adopted here. Lundvall (2010) believes that it is crucial to understand the
specific systemic context in which a government intervenes, otherwise government policies
might either reproduce systemic weaknesses or introduce mechanisms incompatible with
the basic logic of the system. In particular, Swann (2010) suggests that the systemic
approach is based on a much richer interactive model where there are many channels from
invention to wealth creation and many feedback channels too, and moreover where a wide
variety of institutions, actors and intermediaries play an essential role (p.15). A range of
tools are relevant to the analysis, including, for example, Porters Five-Forces model (Porter,
1998), the Triple Helix (Etzkowitz 1993), the National System of Innovation (Lundvall, 2010,
Lundvall, 2007), and stakeholder analysis (Brugha and Varvasovszky, 2000).
This study combines these tools with a particular focus on stakeholder analysis which has
strong roots in the policy sciences. Stakeholder analysis was developed as a tool or set of
tools to map stakeholder power, interest and influence around a policy issue. In turn it was
also concerned with where the distribution of power and the role of interest groups in the
decision-making and policy process was located. In this context, stakeholder analysis widens
and shifts the attention of policy analysts away from a rational policy-making model and
towards system-wide dynamics with multiple actors who try to influence policy by utilising
multiple resources and venues (Varvasovszky and Brugha, 2000). The increasing popularity
of stakeholder analysis reflects a recognition of the central role of stakeholders (individuals,
groups and organizations) and the structure of power in decision making (Brugha and
Varvasovszky, 2000).
Instead of developing an overall stakeholder map to include individuals and policy
beneficiaries, this study focuses on the political context of design policy in the UK. As the UK
does not currently have any acknowledged statement of cross-governmental design
strategy, this study looks at how key organisations and their missions and strategies are
involved in developing and delivering policies that have substantial impact on design in the
UK as well as examining key documents that mark certain milestones in the countrys design
policy evolution. Based on a stakeholder analysis, it then discusses the trends, opportunities
and challenges faced by the UK design industry and its policy makers.
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The study started by identifying key organisations considered important in shaping and
delivering design policy in the UK, based on reviewing their websites and relevant
documents (including publicity, reports, and academic literature) in order to understand
their missions, strategies, policies and actions in relation to design.
4.1 An Analysis Framework

These key organisations are then mapped in a Triple Helix innovation map where three key
stakeholder groups are identifiable: the government, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs),
and industry, as shown in Diagram 1. On the right-hand side of the diagram is industry. Here,
industry comprises two key players in a knowledge supply chain: design supply and design
demand, following Porters Five-Forces model. The supply can be considered as all forms of
design capacity, from freelance designers to design consultancies and in-house teams; and
demand as constituting all design clients in both the private and public sectors. On the lefthand side are HEIs, where research, teaching and learning, and knowledge transfer as three
key pillars of academic activities.
Diagram 1
In the UK, a number of public sector bodies are involved in promoting and developing
design. The key governance departments relevant to design are: DBIS (the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills) and DCMS (the Department for Culture, Media and Sport).
Other agencies include UKTI (UK Trade and Investment), NESTA, Innovate UK, AHRC (The
Arts and Humanities Research Council), HEFCE (The Higher Education Funding Council for
England), and the Design Commission. There are also trade associations and professional
bodies, e.g. DBA (Design Business Association), D&AD (Global Association for Creative
Advertising and Design), and the Chartered Society of Designers, all of whom play key roles
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in the promotion of design in the UK. The organisations identified in this article are
consistent with Swanns list (2010). Although this is not an inclusive list of relevant
organisations, it is representative of the landscape of UK design policy.
The organisations that are considered relevant in informing and delivering design policy are
mapped onto the diagram to see how they influence the formulation of design policy and to
ascertain what impact their policies have on the landscape of the design industry. As
illustrated in the diagram, these organisations have their own particular strategic foci placing
them closer to some stakeholder groups within their areas of interest than others.
At the top of the diagram are the two departments (DBIS and DCMS) representing the UK
government. In the UK, design is classified as one of the 13 sectors composing the Creative
Industries in the UK; whilst design seems to be more closely linked with business and
innovation, and thus is more connected with DBIS a ministerial department responsible for
the UKs economic growth. For DBIS, design is considered as part of the innovation
infrastructure (together with IP rights), and also a key UK strength with a vital role and
driving business revenue; whilst there are parts of the economy where design awareness
remains low, including amongst SMEs, and scientists seeking to commercialise new ideas
(DBIS, 2014).
On the right-hand side of the diagram is the design client, namely the wider industries that
use design either through developing in-house capacity or commissioning. They can be from
either the private or public sectors. We see that UKTI, Innovate UK and Nesta are amongst
the most important organisations that influence how design is applied to innovation in wider
industries. Innovate UK aims to fund, support and connect innovative businesses to
accelerate sustainable economic growth. In its report Creative Industries Strategy (TSB,
2013), Innovate UK underlines that its support in design aims to: (1) continue to encourage
the use of design earlier in the R&D process; (2) build up a body of evidence and success
stories in collaboration with the research councils and other bodies to demonstrate the
value of the early use of design in the innovation process; and (3) support UK business
innovation by building a community of designers and technology innovators to engage with
design in innovation activities (p.11). UKTI, responsible for international trade and
investment, considers design as a major and growing contributor to the UK economy and
overseas market (UKTI, 2009); therefore UKTI focuses on helping designers discover new
markets overseas (Runcie, 2015). Nesta is an independent charity sponsored by the Nesta
Trust (transferred through the National Lottery endowment) which has a Protector
appointed by Government. Nesta considers that design has always had a significant role in
innovation as it can help to better understand people's lives, to generate and visualise new
ideas, and to test ideas in practice through a rapid process of trial and error (website). Nesta
has been a major source of original and influential research and policy work in the field of
innovation.
In the centre of the diagram is the design sector comprised of design businesses, freelance
designers, and in-house design teams. The latter two overlap with HEIs and client sectors, as
indicated in the diagram. The Design Council used to be the sole organisation linking the
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design sector with the government. When it was established, the government had a very
clear vision of design in terms of economic recovery (in particular industrial design), and the
Council was positioned to achieve this mission. Alongside the restructuring of the Design
Council early on in this decade, the Design Commission was established in 2010 by the
Associate Parliamentary Design and Innovation Group, to promote intelligent debate on
design policy. It is endorsed by 13 government departments and composed of
parliamentarians and leading representatives from business, industry and the public sector
(Design Commission, 2015). It produces research papers and reports on important issues in
relation to design. Within the sector there are a range of trade organisations, for example,
the DBA, a trade association promoting design in the UK with a mission to promote
professional excellence through productive partnerships between commerce and the design
industry [in order] to champion effective design which improves the quality of people's
lives. It is a membership organisation offering support to its affiliates, the majority of whom
are design consultancies and freelance designers.
The third area key to the design landscape is HEIs which supply the industry with skills and
capabilities in design through teaching and learning, knowledge transfer and research
activities. This is located at the right-hand side of the diagram. The AHRC and HEFCE are the
two key organisations that link this sector with the government. Both are sponsored by DBIS.
For the AHRC, design has been identified in its 2011-2015 delivery plan (AHRC, 2011) as one
of the strategic priority areas (alongside language and heritage), and reiterated in its
Strategy 2013-2018 (AHRC, 2013). In contrast, the HEFCE (the organisation that funds and
regulates universities and colleges in England) has a strong focus on science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) (DBIS, 2010). Design, along with other humanities
subjects, has been affected by the governments reform of higher education finance
(Business Innovation and Skills Committee, 2011). As described by Loveys (2011), the least
popular non-academic courses 'soft subjects' that offer poor employment prospects have
had to close down.
Based on the findings of the analysis, this study reveals a range of trends, opportunities and
challenges for UK design policy.
5. Discussion: Trends, Opportunities and Challenges

5.1 The importance of leadership in championing design nationwide
The analysis reveals that the government and its intervention play a significant role in
shaping the dynamic of the design landscape in the UK. The Design Council is viewed,
especially in its early years, to have significantly altered how design is perceived nationwide,
and has proved the value of design in boosting the economy and improving the quality of
consumers lives. The UK currently enjoys a prestigious reputation internationally for its
creativity and ability to innovate. The recent agenda in promoting design in public
innovation has also started to show its impact we have seen more and more projects set
up to use design in developing and delivering policies and services in the public sector. This
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will definitely lead design into a new area that will probably change the professionalism of
design and further the industry dynamic. Although the approach is still aligned with the
historical development of design-oriented policies (which can be characterised by a
movement from Europe and the US to the rest of the world, and from there up the design
ladder (Bitard and Basset, 2008)), these examples imply the importance of leadership in
championing design nationally.
However, the nature of the Design Council has changed and it generates most of its funds
through its advisory services. Its activities are increasingly involved in, for example, bidding
for research funding and pitching for design projects (especially from the public sector).
Although it still has influence over the UKs political agenda in partnership with other
organisations such as the Design Commission and Innovate UK, its role in policy has changed
significantly. As a result, it is unclear what the leadership of design will be like in the UK and
the potential impact on UK design in the future.
5.2 Moving away from a design-centric model

For the same reason that the governments intervention is so powerful, how design policies
are put forward and delivered is crucial. Many of the design policy proposals have been
criticised for an exclusive emphasis on design professionals instead of on wider social and
economic development. Over the past decades, the design sector in the UK seems to have
expanded significantly. This leads us to questions as to, first, how design leadership should
be positioned in relation to other stakeholders and, secondly, how government should best
support the use of design in wider industries.
The UK currently has the largest design sector in Europe. As discussed by Cooper et al.
(2009), the design sector in the UK was a typical example of a saturated market where the
supply of design services was significantly surplus to demand. The UKs design industry was
characterised as made up of: a majority of small consultancies (with less than five
employees), a majority of whom work as freelancers; short lifespan of design businesses; a
wide span of design services; and incredibly low entry barriers. On the other hand, Art and
Design is the sixth largest educational subject with a total of 172,860 students registered on
these courses in 2012-13. As Sun (2011a) states, a majority of design graduates often find it
difficult to start their careers and take longer to establish themselves compared to students
from other disciplines. They normally have complex career paths, managing several jobs in
different fields, often simultaneously, with a trend for graduates to move towards selfemployment as their careers progress. They show high transfer rates to other disciplines
(especially retail, marketing and advertising), and are more likely to work in a broad range of
jobs. This partially explains why art and design-related subjects in particular lead to
enterprise pathways (PACEC, 2015).
The continuous cuts to HEIs funding (150 million for 2014-15 and 2015-16) (Morgan, 2015)
will unavoidably lead to a downsizing of the design sector in terms of student numbers. This,
together with the withdrawal of financial support from the Design Council, to some extent
indicates that the UK government has reflected on the previous model of delivery. As the
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then Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer was quoted as saying, our
challenge is not just to encourage creative industries, our priority is to encourage all
industries to be creative (DTI, 2005, p.44). To avoid developing design-centric policies
and programmes, it is important to acknowledge the supporting role of design in the wider
economy. This allows the intention of any proposals to shift from design professions to
wider beneficiaries. As Swann (2010) suggests, design policy should use less intervention
into market failures, as discussed earlier in this article, but needs instead to focus on those
areas that are eminently worthy of support from public funding, such as creating national
design assets, design used for complex systems and standards for design, and strengthening
the design profession. As such, the mission of promoting design has been distributed into
various public agencies, e.g. Innovate UK, UKTI, ESRC, instead of through the Design Council.
Given that the strategic agenda of these organisations is to support DBIS, and hence
economic development in the UK in general, the way design is positioned in relation to their
strategic proprieties (e.g. innovation, research and international trade) is essential in
establishing the integrity of design in this space.
In this manner, design policies are not just those policies and programmes directly referring
to or benefiting design, but also encompass those issues that influence the dynamic of the
design sector through intervening in the system that design is part of. Thus, design policy
concerns all policies shaping how design is perceived and engaged with at a national level.
5.3 A stronger need to integrate design with innovation policy

With the shift away from the design-centric approach, there is a need to integrate design
into wider innovation systems. Therefore, the link between design and innovation is
essential in this process (MacGregor et al., 2007). In the Cox Review (2005), innovation is
defined as the successful exploitation of new ideas and design as what links creativity and
innovation that shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or
customers and may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end (p.2). This view is
widely shared in the literature, including Green et al. (2013) and Bitard and Basset (2008).
Cunninghams (2009) view has added a new dimension namely the user and he sees
design as the link between technology, creativity and the user, and thus an important tool to
increase the scope of innovation. Similarly, both Innovate UK and Nesta consider the
people-centred approach as a key element in that design contributes to innovation
practice. Innovate UK views design as a way of thinking, that brings a people-centred
approach to technology-based innovation which uses proven and replicable methods for
solving problems and discovering new opportunities through creative enquiry (Innovate UK,
2015); thus design can be a key differentiator for businesses, effecting the desirability,
usability and feasibility of systems, services and products. Nesta considers that design has
always had a significant role in innovation, as it helps to better understand people's lives, to
generate and visualise new ideas, and to test ideas in practice through a rapid process of
trial and error. The UKTIs view (DTI, 2005) emphasises the links between creativity and
competitiveness and highlights the importance of creativity for increased business
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performance. Given all these perspectives, in many countries design policies are put forward
as part of wider innovation policies.
However, innovation policy makers and analysts have traditionally paid little attention to
design; as suggested by Hobday et al. (2012) design has either been absent or a poor second
cousin within the broader field of innovation policy which tends to privilege research and
development (R&D). On the other hand, from outside of the design sector, the problem is
that the sector itself is difficult to reach. For example, DBIS (2014) suggests that the reason
for the low awareness of design especially amongst SMEs and scientists may be because the
UK design sector is difficult to navigate; The Big Innovation Centre (2012) also considers that
despite the importance of design to innovation, the nature of design-intensive industries
the businesses that practice and sell design is remarkably hard to pin down (p.1). Because
of this ambiguity and uncertainty, it is challenging for the government to develop clear and
consistent policies to support design.
5.4 A substantially growing interest in design for social and public challenges
Along with the need to integrate design in innovation, design for social and public challenges
has been a substantially growing interest in the UK. The Cox Review (Cox, 2005) has
recommended (among other things) utilising the power of public procurement to encourage
innovation. Following this, the Design Commission has produced a range of reports
promoting the use of design in the public sector, for example, Design and Public
Procurement (2010) and Restarting Britain: Design and Public Services (2014a). The later
publication looks into designs role in public service renewal. The report showcases
examples of good design thinking being applied, with positive results, to public or
governmental challenges often involved in reconfiguring public services in places where
resources are diminishing, or need is growing, or both (p.1). The report suggests ways of
normalising design practice in public sector. The recommendations included pushing for
much stronger design leadership in central government; increasing design capacity (and
commissioning further capacity) across government through training, aggregating good
quality information, and building capacity in the design sector itself to respond to social and
public challenges. In particular, it recommends that the Cabinet Office take responsibility for
developing design capacity across government, specifically trialling a multi-disciplinary
design studio method for originating policy, and calls for a wider drive to equip policymakers with design skills. As a result of this report, the UKs first Policy Lab was launched at
the beginning of April 2014. The Policy Lab is the first its kind in the UK and works with policy
teams to test how design principles and methods can improve the pace, quality and
deliverability of policy in the Civil Service (Design Council, 2014). Similarly, local government
appears more aware of the use of design in developing public services. Although it is too
early to predict any increase in demand for design from the public sector over a longer term,
what is certain is that this new development opens its door to design being used meant the
area of public services, which will significantly change the dynamic of the design sector and
its level of professionalism.
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5.5 A need for an evidence-based approach to inform policy

For the same reason, the urgent need to develop a clear evidence base to support design is
widely shared. Whicher et al.s (2012) report has identified a gap regarding what data would
best inform design policy-making and what is currently available and therefore attempts to
encourage policy-makers to collect data on design, analyse their design systems, conduct a
needs analysis of the sector and industrys use of design, identify the barriers to the better
use of design and develop policies and programmes that tackle the deficiencies (p.17).
Following the Hargreaves Review (Hargreaves, 2011), which has recommended that more
research is needed to develop a clear evidence base for improving the intellectual property
system in terms of design, the Big Innovation Centre (2012) has developed a report forming
part of the evidence base to examine how UK design figures in the global economy, and
considers how the intellectual property system can best support its growth. Similarly, the
Design Councils new research The Design Economy assesses the contribution of design to
the UK economy using a set of key measures, including gross value added, productivity,
turnover, employment and exports of goods and services. The report shows that design
contributes 71.7 billion to the UK economy (7.7% of GVA) and design as a discipline
benefits and cuts across the whole UK economy, rather than a single industry (TBR,
2015). Putting the validity issue to one side, it could be argued that design has moved into
new territories such as social innovation, which will generate a more tangible impact on
society and the environment, as well as on the economy. In this sense, designs economic
value on its own probably has limited worth in terms of evidencing the value of design. A
need to shift from evidencing economic benefits and to concentrate attention on the impact
of design on wider societal and environmental issues is necessary.
6. Conclusion
This paper investigates the political context of design policy in the UK. By mapping key
organisations including administrative departments, public organisations, and trade
associations that influence the development and delivery of design policy onto the
national innovation system, the paper has identified five trends that have emerged in the
design policy landscape. They are:
The importance of leadership in championing design nationwide

Moving away from a design-centric model
A stronger need to integrate design with innovation policy
A substantial and growing interest in design for social and public challenges
A need for an evidence-based approach to inform policy
The analysis provides an updated review of the landscape of design policy in the UK. By
mapping relevant organisations onto the national innovation landscape, the analysis has
contextualised the practice of design policy in the UK and revealed a range of trends. It
demonstrates the complexity and dynamics in the system where design policy is situated.
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Each of these trends also implies a distinct area of research in design policy. Given that
design policy is an important yet emerging field in the design research literature, this
encourages the research community to explore gaps in our knowledge.
It is recognised that the trends identified in the analysis are unique to the UK context.
Because design policy is a highly contextual concept, it cannot be considered in isolation
from economic, social, cultural and political conditions. It is suggested that future studies
investigate the extent to which these trends are shared with other countries; what trends
might be identified in other countries; and how differences related to individual conditions
can be ascertained. These questions are important to evidence the essentiality of
government intervention in terms of unpacking the relationship between how design is
applied and promoted at a national level and its conditions.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research
Council [AH/L015676/1].
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Qian Sun
About the Author:

Qian Sun is a senior tutor in Service Design at the Royal College of
Art. Her research interests include Design Management, Design
Policy, Design Thinking, and Service Design. She is the Principal
Investigator of the UK-China Design Policy Network project funded
by the AHRC.
1724
Resourcing in Co-Design
Salu Ylirisku*, Jacob Buur and Line Revsbk
University of Southern Denmark
* ylirisku@mci.sdu.dk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.342
Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of resourcing to describe the

fundamental activity of negotiating the use of what is available for co-design. Even
though resourcing is an ever-present undertaking in all co-designing, no theoretical
concept has thus far addressed the constitutive practices in collaborative design
processes. We define the concept of resourcing on the basis of pragmatist process
theories and complexity theory perspectives of social life, which enable us to
explicate the gap between managerial thinking that understands resources as
objective entities to be planned and controlled, and the actual unfolding of co-design
in complex responsive conversation. Through the analysis of three co-design events
we illustrate how the different response sensitivities of co-designers can diversify and
enrich resourcing. The analyses also reveal that resourcing is a dynamically evolving
process that changes in response to what emerges in the complex interplay of
intentions between people involved in co-design.
Keywords: Resourcing; co-design; design facilitation; complex responsive processes
1. Introduction
A deeply rooted belief in design management is that success is largely the result of
managerial excellence in the planning and use of resources in productive and innovative
ways, e.g. (Hamel & Prahalad, 1989; Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Traditionally, management
literature has seen resources as objective entities, such as people, facilities, money, and
materials, which can be used, mobilised, allocated, or deployed for some operative roles,
(Hamel & Prahalad, 1989; Oakley, 1984). This thinking has led to a managerial practice
where resources and capabilities are identified, developed, protected, and deployed in a
way that provides the firm with a sustainable competitive advantage and, thereby, a
superior return on capital (Amit & Schoemaker, 1993, p. 33). This form of thinking entails
that resources exist independently of those who consider these as resources.

Co-design has a long-standing tradition of using a wide range of tools and materials to
enable users and other stakeholders to collaborate with designers with the goal of creating
new products and services that better fit user needs, e.g. (Agger Eriksen, 2012; Bdker &
Buur, 2002; Sanders & Westerlund, 2011; Ylirisku & Vaajakallio, 2007). There is a significant
uncertainty connected with deploying resources (like field observations, user peronas,
mockups) in collaborative endeavours, as materials prepared for an event may not come
into play as expected, and conversations around them may shift in ways not anticipated. In
co-design events the available materials are subject to processes of sensemaking and
sensegiving (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). When the materials are adopted into these
processes, their meanings and values are collaboratively negotiated, and they may be used
as resources in unexpected ways. Therefore, we define resourcing as the negotiated use of
what is available for co-design. This stands in contrast to the objectivist view of resources in
which they are assumed to have an independent identity. According to G. H. Mead,
Although external objects are there independent of the experiencing individual,
nevertheless they possess certain characteristics by virtue of their relations to his
experiencing or to his mind, which they would not possess otherwise or apart from
those relations. These characteristics are their meanings for him, or in general, for us.
(Mead, 1934:131n)
Whether something becomes a resource is thus shaped by those relating to it. Materials,
when applied for unexpected purposes, may reveal novel and valuable characteristics that
are only revealed as new purposes emerge. For example, a potato can be used to replace a
cars condenser, which is not apparent until someone does it (www.mirror.co.uk, 2015). A
potato is seen as a resource very differently by the chef and by the gifted electrician whose
car fails to start. Different qualities of the potato are responded to, and thus signified-in-use
differently by people with different professional sensitivities and expertise. The perception
of the available potato therefore differs between the chef and the electrician, and the
potato functions as a different resource for cooking than for car fixing. The potato is
resourced differently by these different professionals, and once made visible to others, the
novel view (of the potato) becomes available for everyone else as a possible way of making
use of a potato, or of resourcing a potato.
Resourcing reflects peoples ability to notice, to make use of, and thus to signify aspects of
what is available to them in specific situations of creating, accomplishing, or constructing
something (together with others). It hence reflects what we have termed peoples response
sensitivities. Resourcing involves the act of signifying something that is available as useful,
and it may happen through talk, bodily gesturing, and by taking something into use. For
example, when participants in a co-design session are creating a mock-up of an idea, they
resource the available materials in their construction, and by doing so, they signify these
materials as resources.
Resourcing also reflects the interplay of intentions (Stacey 2011) of those involved as they
implicitly and simultaneously negotiate both their participation and the what that they are
creating together. The process is dynamically evolving, not only because of the emergent
1726
forms that are created, but because the back-talk of the materials (Schn, 1983) may cause
co-designers to re-frame their intent and, therefore, re-shape what is resourced in some
later incident. This has implications for how the facilitation of co-design, should be
understood.
We portray co-design facilitation as an enabling practice aimed at setting up proper
conditions for co-designing and ensuring productive co-design processes. It is at the same
time social, material, and conceptual, embedded in locally occurring and continuously
negotiated resourcing happening in unfolding participation. Through the analysis of three
co-design incidents, we explicate aspects that co-design facilitators need to attend to: 1)
participants different response sensitivities matter for what they design and how they
argue, 2) the dynamically evolving interplay of intentions between the participants changes
(the identity) what is resourced, and 3) the physical materiality of resourcing can challenge
the flow of ideation in the negotiation between participants.
2. From resources to resourcing

Our argument to shift the vocabulary from resources to resourcing begins with a critique
of the traditional resource-based view of management. Wernerfelt (1984, p. 172) defined
resources in a very broad manner as anything which could be thought of as a strength or
weakness of a given firm. He (ibid.) also proposed a more formal definition of resources,
based on the work by Caves (1980), as those (tangible and intangible) assets which are tied
semi-permanently to the firm in a given moment. Wernerfelts examples were brand
names, in-house knowledge of technology, employment of skilled personnel, trade contacts,
machinery, efficient procedures, and capital. Grant (1991), extending Wernerfelts concept,
identified six categories of resources: financial resources, physical resources, human
resources, technological resources, reputation, and organizational resources. For Grant
(1991) resources were the enablers of a firms capabilities, which in turn enable achieving a
competitive advantage in the market. This view underlines the role of management in
recognising and exploiting resources as well as identifying resource gaps and then filling
these.
Seeing resources in an objective way was also adopted in design management vocabulary,
and resourcing was conceptualised as an activity for middle managers to ensure that
necessary resources were available for designers to work with. Design management involves
approving costs and providing designers with facilities, equipment, and environment to work
in. It includes providing access to appropriate specialists in R&D and to external advisors and
specialists. Contracting external consultants, agreeing on budget, and ensuring the
appropriate individual and organisational facilities that would enable the consultants to
undertake the work that they were contracted to do were also part of making the objective
resources available (Davies-Cooper & Press, 1995).
The concept of resource has, nevertheless, turned increasingly ambiguous in design
management literature. Lockwood (2004) recognised design as a resource, and identified
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design as a strategic resource, meaning that design management is integrated with the
corporate management, as well as a business resource, i.e. that design functions as a means
of reaching business objectives. The proliferation of design thinking as a strategic asset sees
design similarly as a resource (Brown, 2008, 2009; Cooper & Junginger, 2009). The notion of
design thinking is a blurred concept, and it is sometimes associated closely with sensemaking
(Rylander, 2009).
According to Weick et al. (2005), sensemaking is about organising a flux of initially chaotic
experiences, noticing and bracketing off those signs that matter, labelling these, and
reflecting in retrospect as well as in prospect. The process is sociomaterial (Carlile, Nicolini,
Langley, & Tsoukas, 2013), and its study needs to address context, flux, and temporality
(Langley & Tsoukas, 2010). Guided by the theory of complex responsive processes of relating
(Stacey, 2011), which accounts for the complex dynamics and emergence in organisations
and portrays human interaction in its processual and responsive nature, we draw on the
works of G.H. Mead (1934) as well as (Elias, 1991). They are both pivotal to Staceys (2011)
account of complex responsive processes in collaboration. According to Mead (ibid.), any
object gains its meaning from the response of the organism to the characteristics of the
object. Hence, the response sensitivity of an individual towards an object and to his or her
environment, based on his or her culturally-mediated and personal history of interactions,
shapes the meaning of the object and the environment in the continual relationship to the
individual:
What we term meaning of the object is found, specifically, in the organized attitude
of response on the part of the organism to the characters and the things (Mead
1934:131)
Meads (1934) process ontological worldview reminds us of the world-constituting dynamics

of the relationship between the organism and its environment, which is what we here
conceive of as the response sensitivities of the involved. Our personal response sensitivities
influence which aspects of a situation will appear significant, important, and interesting to us
having bearing on what we choose to resource for what we are doing. And, in addition to
individual response sensitivities, the dynamically evolving interplay of intentions (Elias, 1991;
Stacey, 2011) influences what becomes resourced and how. When co-designing is seen as a
complex process of relating, it makes sense to speak of resourcing as the negotiated use of
what is available for co-design.
3. Resourcing in interaction
We investigate resourcing in three co-design events facilitated by authors one and two. The
events were documented on video during design workshops and later analysed using
interaction analysis (Jordan & Henderson, 1995). We use the notion of response sensitivity
to explain why different participants noticed different aspects of the available materials. The
first example illustrates that response sensitivities are dynamic and develop during the
course of involvement in co-designing. The second co-design example shows how the
dynamically evolving interplay of intentions changes what the participants will resource. The
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last example depicts challenging subtleties related to the negotiation of resourcing with
physical props in co-designing.
3.1 Response sensitivities in resourcing

The first example investigates the role of a surprising field video in resourcing. It stems from
a project on Sustainable Energy for De-Mining Operations in Angola. The project goal was to
develop a sustainable energy generator that can replace noisy and fault-prone diesel units in
camps in developing countries. The team brought together a relief aid coordinator from a
non-governmental organisation (NGO), energy specialists from one university, designers
from another (the second authors) university, and engineers from four small manufacturers
of alternative energy sources, like solar panels and fuel cells. The project was organised as a
participatory innovation effort (Buur & Matthews, 2008), albeit with the core dilemma that
the distance between de-miners (users) in Angola and development engineers in Denmark
was as large in kilometres as in perspective.
The designers edited a set of eight short videos in the hope that they could facilitate a more
grounded discussion of solutions, even before the team had the opportunity to do field
studies in Africa. Each video provided concrete background for crucial requirements
decisions: User operation, maintenance, transport, instructions, etc. They were compiled
from footage shot by a TV photographer, who had visited demining camps in Congo a few
years earlier. These were called video specs to indicate to the engineering team members
that they could be seen as specs, albeit presented as video rather than text (Buur et al.,
2010). The designers then undertook to organise a co-design workshop. At this event, which
was the second time the team met together, the company representatives each presented
their technologies first. Then the designers organised two 1-hour design sessions where the
participants worked in two groups to develop first ideas for the sustainable energy
generator. Each group had 6-7 members in a mix of company engineers (PV, LN, MO, PH,
JLB), energy researchers (LR) and designers (JP). The following conversation was recorded
after the participants had watched a video called Daily Struggle, where people were
carrying packs on their heads:
JP: Then a string of people could carry it.
LR: So maybe we should include an indent in the bottom side of the box to carry it on
your head!
PV: But then suddenly we are not talking about one big box with everything inside, but
a number of smaller ones.
The surprising observation that people are transporting equipment to locations by carrying it
on their head triggered this group to reconsider the concept of one big box they initially
preferred, and to think of a modular system instead, Figure 1. Similarly, the other group
sketched an energy generator as a boat with wheels in response to having seen transport
along flooded roads. And, after a motorbike transport and bicycle-packing video was shown,
the group also sketched a portable motorcycle generator. We observe that the field video
1729
challenged the response sensitivities of the members as it influenced what they began to
work on, i.e. transport becomes an issue. They also resourced the video images into their
design work.
Figure 1 Video is resourced in the co-design event: The participants sketch ideas and make scale
models of a sustainable energy generator for de-mining camps after having seen surprising
field videos. Rather than one big box transported by truck, they start to consider small
modules portable by people.
A later incident illustrates how such an observation from a video spec challenges the
negotiation in a group. The video Pack me Up showed a range of scenes, bordering on the
grotesque, of how much you can pack in a boat, on a truck, on a motorbike, or on a bicycle in
a developing country (dimensional requirements). In our recordings, this group discusses
the dimensions of the solar panels with the marketing manager LN from the solar panel
manufacturer who incidentally arrives late and has not seen the videos:
JP (while cutting a cardboard solar panel in two pieces): Do you work with folded
solar panels?
LN: No, you cant do that. Its tempered glass. They are completely impossible to fold.
LR: Yes, but cant you break it down into smaller elements? For instance 0,5 x 1
meter? ()
LN: What is wrong with a 1 x 2 meter solar panel? How big is the container you've
planned?
PV: Well, maybe there isn't going to be a container...
MO: Weve seen examples where there are no roads!
LNs assumption about a container for transport is challenged by the surprising observation
that the team has made in the video spec. JPs initial question about folded solar panels is
triggered by the observation of the versatile packing styles, and PV and MO are using what
1730
they have learned from the video spec to develop an argument against the need for a
container.
In terms of resourcing the participants select particular surprising, yet recognizable,
incidents in the video specs (i.e. people carrying things on their head, people packing simple
means of transport), and then respond to these in what they produce. Their response
sensitivities are influenced by what the participants already know and assume about the
reality that their design addresses, and these assumptions are being informed, challenged
and alternated by the activities displayed in the video specs.
3.2 Resourcing as continuous responding

The second example illustrates resourcing as a process of constructing through negotiation
where material traces of previous conversations play an important role. It stems from a twoyear project on the Future of Multi-Channel Map Services for Outdoor Use. The project team
consists of 9 people with different professional backgrounds and roles. Our investigation
covers the interactions between (GM) the responsible manager of the project and a geospatial information systems researcher, (DF) an interaction designer and concept design
researcher (the first author), and (SE) a geo-spatial information systems researcher and
software engineer.
The project team is gathered to crystallise the design concept for a multi-channel map
service. The incident takes place one and a half year after project kick-off and the
participants of the co-design event have worked together in the project for more than a
year. The following incident takes DF and the SE into a disagreement about a notion of
core.
DF
Map service now means that we have one service. As we are now talking
about the design of a multichannel service. I would see that in some way we
have one core. (holds his hands up in a ball shape)
SE
Since this goes into web application and mobile phone application we cannot
in any way use the same core.
GM
Lets back up a little. This, well, the use of terminologies. This is totally
terrible as depending on the point of view the exact same word may mean
quite different things. But I think, what we may here adopt as a way to think
about this map service is some kind of a service where the end user, in the
same way as you buy the phone carrier plan. And then you also check (makes
a gesture in the air as if to draw a check mark) which options you will turn on
with it. Shall you turn the iPhone option on. Shall you take the web option.
And shall you take the multitouch option. And shall you also take the map
printing option. So in a way it is the service now what the end user in a way
experiences in this connection.
SE
Yes.
DFs statement on one core can be interpreted as an intention to bring the team together
around 'one service' concept, i.e. to simplify the concept. His intention seems in line with the
aim of the project stated in the original project plan: To develop a new concept for a multi-
1731
channel map service for outdoor use. SE, with his software background, cannot see how
technically all the applications can be thought of as using the 'same core'. His intention
seems focused on implementing a prototype.
GM suggests seeing the service in terms of user experience, and this changes the
conversation. As the responsible manager he is apparently working to keep the process
productive. Introducing the idea of seeing the service in terms of user experience, GM refers
to an understanding of mobile phone carrier plans. All the team members have mobile
phones and they know how these plans work. GM also shares an understanding of the
different technical parts of the planned service, namely the iPhone option, Web option,
Multitouch option, and Map printing option, and he articulates these in terms of how the
user experiences the service. By drawing the analogy GM relies on the participants abilities
to associate with their own experiences and make these resourceable, i.e. noticed,
articulated and relevant for further conversations.
Later, DF writes on the flip chart: visually same, same data sets, same symbols, and map
contents. This provokes a response from GM.
GM
Visually same is actually nothing. Data sets, servers and interfaces clearly
belong to the core. But visual appearance of contents and user interface are
matters of implementing things in certain way. What do we mean by the
word core?
DF
Well, one possible way to try to see the issue. So, well, we have here a user.
We have here a computing engineer. Then we have this geoperson. (Draws
three stick figures on the flip chart, see Figure 2)
Figure 2. DF draws three stick figures on the flipchart with the labels user, software engineer, and
geoperson (left) and later points at the chart when asking GM to elaborate how he sees
the service in terms of these figures (right).
In response to GMs question, DF uses the person figures to explain the emerging
conception of the multi-channel service now in terms of how someone experiences it. Later,
when the team discusses the example of Google Maps as a multi-channel service, DF points
1732
at these figures on the flip chart, faces GM and asks him to describe how he would define
the Google example through the perspectives of the stick figures.
GM
Well, definitely you get, well, the same maps. And these maps have, um, partly
the same appearance, partly the same interfaces back there. The same map
projections are utilised through and through.
In this exchange, terms that refer to the perspectives (the three different persons) and the
visualisations that have emerged before, are refined and resourced for further work. We
observe a continuous process of responding, refining, and resourcing grounded in the initial
articulation that make the intentions of the co-designers available to the others to interpret.
In terms of co-design facilitation the active labelling of what is noticed, and the drawing on
previous examples appear to serve the continuous attuning between the involved and the
responsive progress of choosing what becomes resourced in the project.
3.3 The subtly negotiated nature of resourcing

The last example will look at collaborative use of materials for mockup building. It will show
how subtle negotiations between participants can make or break the resourcing of design
materials. We are back in the workshop in the demining project case. During the sketching
session it became clear that a major trade-off between power, size and weight of the
sustainable energy generator was necessary: To design a combination of energy devices (like
solar panels) of sufficient size to provide the required energy level, yet still easily
transportable in difficult terrain. In planning the workshop the designers anticipated that the
groups would want to discuss quantitative requirements: Dimensions, weight, etc. We had
prepared cardboard pieces in scale 20:1 of solar panels, batteries, fuel cells etc. These
materials were placed at the centre of each team table in what we thought would be easy
reach for all, Figure 3.
Figure 3. Scale materials turn into resources in the co-design activity albeit with some difficulties.
PH (middle right) suggests an idea, but while JLB on the left tries to build it, the other
members move on to talk about different ideas, as talk is faster than building.
1733
We then asked the two groups to build a model to scale of their favourite generator
concept. While the video specs were resourced without the usefulness being questioned,
the building material had a more troublesome resourcing trajectory with the members. We
will use the following transcript to demonstrate the complex responsive nature of
resourcing.
PH: Would it make sense to combine the two ideas (points to board with sketches)
to does the modular concept combine with the trailer concept? Meaning that you
can somehow have a a fixed platform, but you can transport it in modules?
JLB: So your solar panel stack looks like this (picks up a stack of cardboard solar
panels)
PH: Yes
JLB: and you make a (starts spreading out the panels in his hands, then pauses)
PH: Just like a kind of
PH: Have you seen the Donald Duck, where they flip out the eh van chk chk chk
(gestures with his hands that something is unfolding)
(laughter from others)
The participants talk about various ideas, until PH suggests that one might combine the
trailer (one box) concept with the modular concept. JLB picks up on this idea and begins
building, but then turns silent most likely because of the Schnian (1983) backtalk: The
physical material makes it clear that he hasnt formed the idea sufficiently to demonstrate it
with 3D materials just yet. PH fills in the break with another flash of inspiration from a
cartoon movie that draws laughter from all (except JLB, whos still struggling with his model).
Other participants suggest other ideas, and soon JLB gives up on the building. We observe
that talk is simply easier and less committal for suggesting ideas quickly. While JLB meets
strong supportive response from PH when starting to build, the relations shift when he
pauses to think, and conversation moves into other directions. The subtle local interactions
between the participants seem to discourage JLB from completing his building intent. While
the facilitators made the materials available to participants, in this instance they dont seem
to turn into resources, as they are too slow to keep up with the shifting relations between
the members. Later both groups do get down to building their concepts as 3D scale models,
but in both groups we observe difficulties in transiting from talking to building. This example
demonstrates that facilitation intentions will inevitably be met with responses from the
participants in a way where resourcing cannot be fully planned or anticipated.
4. Discussion
The three co-design incidents presented above illustrate resourcing from the point of view
of co-design facilitation. The first incident showed how a field video challenged the
presumptions of the co-designers. It involved acts of noticing and bracketing in reliance
on presumptions to guide action that are characteristic to sensemaking (Weick et al., 2005,
p. 413). When designers resource artefacts, such as field study videos, the meaning of the
1734
artefacts for the project is modified on the basis of how the artefacts are brought into the
conversation, e.g. as examples of user practices that the design project should serve.
Surprises turn into possible resources for design, once the co-designers articulate their
responses triggered by the artefacts. The surprises happen only for the particular individuals
involved in this process. If the co-design event would have involved the people displayed in
the video, they most likely would not have experienced similar surprises, and thus, they
would not be able to produce similar expressions upon their experienced surprise relating to
the fact that people actually transport things by carrying them. Hence, it is the combination
of the materials, the people, and the conversations grounded in the material that matter for
the progress.
The second incident showed how the interplay of intentions (Stacey, 2011) unfolded in
interaction. The three different intentions of the co-designers could be interpreted on the
basis of what they articulated as to simplify the concept, to implement a prototype, and
to keep the process productive. In addition to resolving the conflict, the active articulation
of experiences, user perspectives, and images enabled others to express what they found
related. In terms of co-design facilitation the active labelling of what was noticed, and the
drawing in of previous examples, appeared to serve the progress as well as the continuous
and responsive attuning between the involved. The incident also highlighted what happens
when co-design brings people with different response sensitivities together. When they
become exposed to what the others in the situation find relevant, it becomes possible for
each of them to take the attitude of the others toward the collective doing (Mead, 1934).
Hence, as a team, they are enabled by a wider range of response sensitivities (see also
Hoever, van Knippenberg, van Ginkel, & Barkema, 2012).
The third incident showed interactions where the physical materials appeared to interfere
with the flow of co-designing through talk. This appears to challenge the reliance on tangible
materials for co-design facilitation as tangibles are said to enable everyday people to
express their needs and thoughts (Sanders, 2006). Co-design facilitators often use different
kinds of tools for guiding attention, structuring presumptions, supporting generation of
ideas, etc. It could be argued that these models help design facilitators to attune codesigners response-sensitivities in project-relevant manner. However, the process of
resourcing physical materials through tangible manipulation appears to develop slower than
the resourcing of experiences and thoughts through talk. Nevertheless, the permanence of
the physical material may be a key reason why the co-designers later overcome their initial
hesitation and returned to expressing their thinking with the tangible materials.
5. Conclusions
We introduced the concept of resourcing to deepen the analyses of co-design interactions.
The focus was on how co-designers make use of what is available, and hence, how these are
turned into resources. The analysed incidents showed how co-designers rely on their
response sensitivities to select particular materials and experiences and then integrate these
into their articulation while contributing to the ongoing co-designing. These sensitivities
1735
appear to be partly based on the co-designers expectations to the project at hand, on what
they already know and assume about the intended context of their designs. These
assumptions may be challenged by the activities and negotiations that take place during codesigning.
With the concept of resourcing we render design facilitation integral to the unfolding action
of co-designing. Facilitation is not something that can be completely planned ahead outside
of the interactions, and objectively implemented according to plan. Clearly it is impossible to
foresee what will be used as resources in a co-design event due to the complex forms of
collaborative response sensitivities and emergent materials. Perhaps the most important
consequence of our concept of resourcing is that facilitators need to reconsider their role in
the co-design event from one of managing to one of participating.
From a complex responsive processes perspective, the practice of effective leadership
and management is that of participating skilfully in interaction with others in reflective
and imaginative ways (Stacey 2010:xi)
The concept of resourcing opens several important new research avenues. The quality of
bringing together different stakeholders to co-design relies on the facilitators and
participants ability to diversify the resourcing by drawing on the variation in response
sensitivities of the different participants. Facilitators need to develop a sense of when to
explore the diversity of resourcing and when to condense emergent issues, and they need
sensitivity for both the inclusion and exclusion dynamics of the flux. Furthermore, the
question of how facilitators can better prepare better relevance for an emerging topic is an
interesting research avenue to explore further.
Acknowledgements
We are indebted to our industrial partners in the two innovation projects for engaging
with our co-design experiments and to colleagues at the Complexity and Management
Group at Hertfordshire University (UK) who initially introduced us to the traditions of
process theory.
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About the Authors:
Salu Ylirisku is an associate professor at SDU Design where he
theorises collaborative design practices. He has background in usercentred design, interaction analysis, and conceptual design.
Jacob Buur is professor of User-Centred Design and directs SDU
Design, a centre that brings together researchers from Humanities,
Social Sciences, and Engineering. He has pioneered tangible methods
and video techniques for involving users in design.
Line Revsbk is an assistant professor at SDU Design. With a
background as an organizational psychologist her research is in social
dynamics of co-creation and innovation, introducing the process
theory turn to ontology in theorizing about co-design, organizational
innovation and research methodology.
1738
From Participation to Collaboration: Reflections on

the co-creation of innovative business ideas
Cara Broadleya, Katherine Championa, Michael Pierre Johnsonb and Lynn-Sayers McHattiea
a
Glasgow School of Art

University of Abertay
* C.Broadley@gsa.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.191
b
Abstract: Design-led innovation interventions are predicated on the importance of

establishing complex disciplinary collaborations. This paper reflects on the effects of
different co-design methods to support knowledge exchange and the co-creation of
new business ideas with multidisciplinary participants. It draws on data collected
from sandpit style events entitled Chiasma, undertaken as part of the knowledge
exchange hub, Design in Action (DiA) in which co-design methods were used to bring
designers, entrepreneurs, and academics together to develop innovative business
ideas in Scotland. Employing a thematic analysis of idea generation, team formation,
and idea development, we suggest that a more nuanced range of methods, tools, and
techniques can strengthen multidisciplinary engagement and participation. We argue
that such approaches can be enhanced by designers and researchers shifting focus
from co-design methods to supporting collaborative mindsets in knowledge
exchange towards innovation.
Keywords: co-design methods; knowledge exchange; collaboration; design-led innovation
1. Introduction
The research presented in this paper is drawn from a case study of the Design in Action (DiA)
knowledge exchange hub, which has been in operation since June 2012. DiA is one of four
UK hubs, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and draws together six
universities and art and design institutions across Scotland. The key focus of DiA is
investigating design as a strategy for business growth in Scotland and the chosen approach is
the Chiasma method, which is a sandpit-style event for open innovation (Kearney &
McHattie, 2014). The term Chiasma is taken from genetics meaning the exchange of
information between two chromosome strands, which is here used analogously to mean the
exchange of ideas at the point of creation (Ballie & Prior, 2014). Chiasma brings together
multidisciplinary teams, from a range of business, design, and academic backgrounds, to

stimulate knowledge exchange and develop commercial ideas. At these 23 day residential
events, participants form teams around ideas aimed at addressing particular societal issues
and develop pitches for presentation before deciding to apply for up to 20,000 funding to
prototype and take the idea to market. During the Chiasma participants are introduced to
design-led thinking and provided with design methods, tools, and techniques, which aim to
support the co-creation of innovative business ideas.
The paper begins with a brief review of the literature regarding the growth of interest in
design-led innovation activities and their strategic use by Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)
in the development of SMEs. Attention is then drawn to a range of co-design methods
aimed at enhancing collaboration amongst multidisciplinary teams and supporting them in
developing solutions to creatively address complex societal challenges. Following the
presentation of a case study of the very first Chiasma event, a thematic analysis of the codesign methods used across the subsequent twelve Chiasma events is presented. The paper
concludes with a summary of the initial research learnings, before highlighting limitations
and making recommendations for future research.
2. Scope of Context
2.1 SMEs and Knowledge Exchange
SMEs constitute more than 99 per cent of all private sector businesses, and, as well as
making a disproportionately large contribution to job creation, play a key role in driving
competition and stimulating innovation. They face considerable barriers to growth and
sustainability, however, and these have been identified as particularly acute for smaller
businesses as they have fewer resources available to overcome them (BIS, 2013).
In recent years the role of universities in economic growth and innovation has been
emphasised with increasing encouragement for them to become strategic actors in the
knowledge economy (Deiaco, Hughes, & McKelvey, 2012). Despite this, it has been argued
that the art, design, and humanities subjects have been somewhat neglected by formalised
knowledge exchange programmes between higher education and industry, with their
traditional focus being on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
subjects (Comunian, Gilmore, & Jacobi, 2013; Crossick 2006). The very linear models of
innovation which have emerged from models of technology transfer, associated with these
subject areas, are also seen to neglect the reality of virtuous cycles of multiple engagements
and new knowledge generated through the act of collaboration, often across disciplines
(Davenport, 2013).
Unsurprisingly, developing fruitful exchanges of knowledge between universities and
industry is complex, and multiple barriers to engagement are apparent. Within the Dowling
Review (2015) it was found that there is a degree of commonality in the barriers faced by
both businesses and academia when becoming involved in knowledge exchange, but due to
their operation in spheres with distinct financial and cultural pressures, there were
1740
From Participation to Collaboration: Reflections on the co-creation of innovative business ideas
differentiated attitudes towards collaboration (BIS, 2015: 28). Some of the common barriers
related to a lack of mutual trust and understanding, different timescales and limited
resources for collaboration (BIS, 2015, p.29). Further challenges can be seen around
bringing together diverse teams; different languages; negotiating power relationships;
promoting the exchange of tacit knowledge; balancing risk and trust.
Although the nature of work within the design discipline is often naturally collaborative with
an emphasis on interdiscipinarity, there has been limited progress in finding ways to capture
methods, tools, and techniques for promoting good exchanges in order to replicate
successful relationships (Cruickshank, Whitham & Morris, 2012). Comunian et al. (2015)
advocate third or shared spaces as a crucial component for embedding people and
knowledge from academia and specialist knowledge in particular places. One key example
they give of such interventions was the 2011 Arts and Humanities Research Council funding
of Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy, which included the DiA Hub, from
which this papers focus is drawn.
2.2 Design-led Innovation

In 2005, former chairman of the UK Design Council, Sir George Cox, underlined how designled creativity can propel business strategies and help to revive the British economy (Cox,
2005). To implement new ideas and bring about innovative change, Cox emphasised the
social and commercial benefits of the design process, explaining that it shapes ideas to
become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers (2005, p.2). Eleven
years on from Coxs assertions, the Design Councils evaluations of the impact of design in a
number of sectors across the UK (2015) propose that ongoing economic growth can be
supported by integrating increasingly diverse perspectives and skills into design processes
(2015, p.4).
Design-led Innovation establishes creative coalitions of design practitioners, design
researchers, multidisciplinary experts, entrepreneurs, users, and communities (Norman &
Verganti, 2014). Drawing from the democratic, inclusive, and creative principles of codesign, participatory design, and design thinking (Ehn, 1989, 1993; Sanders & Stappers,
2008), groups of people with a shared interest or collective motivation to address a complex
set of challenges collaborate together through stages of exploration, ideation, and iteration.
In their recent reflections, Sanders and Stappers assert that these practices allow for teams
to share and develop insights and ideas, which in turn can enable collective creativity to
inform innovative products, services, and systems (2014).
In unpacking design-led innovation in its introductory phase, Sanders and Stappers visualise
the fuzzy front end as an entanglement of complex, spontaneous, and iterative activities
(2008, p.6). They recognise that this broad and open-ended phase offers an exploratory
space for scoping the design context and clarifying research aims and questions. The fuzzy
front end supports designers in aligning their project with the needs of prospective end
users and thus frames and directs the process towards increasingly defined co-design stages
of concept development, testing, and production (Sanders & Stappers, 2008, p.67).
1741
2.3 Supporting Collaboration: Methods, Tools, and Techniques

From these perspectives on the design process, success depends on the teams capacity to
approach the problem from a user perspective (looking), visualise information (make things
visible), and rapidly evaluate ideas (prototyping) (Burns, Cottam, Vanstone, & Winhall, 2006,
p.1819). Grounded in design practice, these approaches have spawned a wealth of creative
and generative methods constituting drawing, illustration, and three-dimensional making to
enhance communication and strategic idea generation within multidisciplinary teams and
render the design process more open to participation and development from a range of
stakeholders (Hanington & Martin, 2012; Sanders & Stappers, 2014).
Bjgvinsson, Ehn, and Hillgren (2012) cite various designed artefacts including prototypes,
mock-ups, and models as stimulating shared understandings between designers and
prospective end-users, and providing a route towards their framing of responsive design
solutions. This notion of collective knowledge is framed methodologically and materially by
Lucero, Vaajakallio, and Dalsgaard in their dialogue-labs studies (2012). Here, the designers
appropriate Eriksen's participatory design tools as basic materials (paper, clay, and pens) and
pre-designed images and artefacts (printed cards and models) (2009). Lucero et al. observe
that a diverse array of materials with varying levels of specificity and provocation gave way
to a relaxed atmosphere since participants are not forced into activities they are not
comfortable with, and stimulated a structured but flexible way in order to spark dialogue
between the co-design participants and thus support idea generation (2012, p.1920).
Investigating participatory design games, Vaajakallio notes that the ambiguity of her codesign workshop tools allowed their seamless adaptation in future sessions with diverse
participant groups (2012, p.83). Following these distinctions, tools and techniques can be
generic and transferable to subsequent design projects, or actively designed as field/project
specific (Eriksen, 2009; Lucero et al., 2012, p.6).
With these design-led innovation principles, practices, and methods in mind, we go on to set
out the methodological underpinnings of our approach.
3. Methodology in Practice
As shown in the diagram presented in Figure 1, this paper draws on data gathered from
multiple Chiasma events, thirteen in total, in order to reflect on the co-design methods
created for and used in the process. For the purposes of this paper a case study is applied to
the first Chiasma, as it can deal with multiple causation and complexity (Bell, 2005). A
further twelve Chiasma were delivered by DiAs institutional partners according to their
agreed sectors: one in the sport sector, three in the food sector, three in the ICT sector,
three in the rural economies sector, and two additional in the wellbeing sector. The
methods, tools, and techniques used within these later events are used as subsequent case
examples and provide material from which to carry out a thematic analysis on their effects
within Chiasma. This follows the distinction drawn by Yee (2010) who argues that such
snapshots can provide examples to help find underlying principles of the research methods
being used.
1742
Our methodology concurs with Biggs' views of the case study as bridging creative practice
and research (2004). Building on concepts of experiential knowledge and the role of the
artefact in practice-based research, Biggs deconstructs this iterative interplay of research
approach and research context, and values generalisations derived from artists' and
designers' experiences of practice (2007, p.184). Advocating the case study method, Breslin
and Buchanan encourage design researchers to carefully and critically evaluate their practice
in order for universal ideas to be extracted (2008, p.38).
Figure 1 Methodology in Practice: drawing on data gathered from thirteen Chiasma in order to reflect
on the co-design methods created for and used in the process. Diagram by DiA (2016).
3.1 Data Gathering

The first event was held in February 2013 in Glasgow, and targeted the wellbeing sector,
focusing on the topic of type 2 diabetes. As part of designing this initial Chiasma, methods
of data capture were also prepared to best support the understanding and delivery of future
Chiasma. These included methods of observation by facilitators, providing each participant
with stickers identifying them by a colour and number, which participants attached to the
tools they had used during the Chiasma. The Chiasma Moodwall shown in Figure 2 was
employed to document participants emotional responses to each stage in relation to the
accompanying tools and techniques. This was supported by Exit Polls taken at the end of
each day on which participants wrote reflections on their high point, low point, most
valuable and most challenging moments they had experienced.
1743
Figure 2 Chiasma Moodwall: timeline of activities, emotional scale, and colour-coded stickers used to
track participants experiences across the Chiasma. Photograph by DiA (2013).
The model of activities for the initial Chiasma was designed to take the participants through
three key stages, largely based on the Design Councils model of the stages of the design
process, The Double Diamond (2007): 1) idea generation (discover/define), 2) team
formation, 3) idea development (develop/deliver). These provided the initial themes from
which to perform thematic analysis of the tools and techniques used in subsequent Chiasma.
Thematic analysis is particularly useful for researchers as it is a flexible method well suited to
large data sets and allows categories to emerge from the data collected (Creswell, 1994;
Miles & Huberman, 1994). Our reflections on the tools and techniques applied across the
Chiasma allow us to identify emergent themes that evaluate the impact of different codesign methods in supporting collaboration for innovative business development.
4. Chiasma 1.1
For Chiasma 1.1, part of this process involved scoping the context of type 2 diabetes and
finding ways for activities to best represent these issues to the participants, who had a mix
1744
of understanding and experience on the topic. As this was the first iteration of a Chiasma, a
variation of co-design methods were prepared and brought together to establish an initial
model.
4.1 Idea Generation

In the discover/define stage, participants were split into four rooms for an activity called
Design Whispers. Each room had a theme learning, eating, living, treating around which
participants were encouraged to discuss and map facts and statements in the context of
type 2 diabetes, develop user personas representing key issues, explore their hopes and
fears of living with diabetes, then brainstorm ideas on sticky notes responding to these
motivations. Participants moved between rooms for each of these stages to contribute to
each theme.
In the Exit Polls carried out, many participants cited the intensity of these activities and the
idea generation that followed as a high point of the first day of the Chiasma. Among
participants comments was recognition of a positive atmosphere, enjoying learning
about how diabetes can affect people (Chiasma 1.1 Participants, 2013), and valuing the
mapping and development of ideas from a person with diabetes perspective. Difficulties
were cited by participants in being able to focus during ideation, just when ideas were
flowing, as well as lacking the understanding of diabetes to fully represent people with the
condition.
The key concerns of the co-design methods at this stage of the Chiasma consisted of
representing issues around type 2 diabetes for discussion whilst allowing participants to
build relationships and generate ideas. The considerations designed into the activities
aimed to reinforce a visual flow from engaging with the topic of type 2 diabetes, to setting
user-centred briefs and opportunities that the ideas generated would address. As the ideas
were only briefly formed and written on sticky notes, they only provided a divergent process
of rapid idea generation.
4.2 Team Formation

The ideas were taken from each of the rooms and clustered into new emerging themes for
plenary discussion and team formation. Facilitators from each room presented the themes,
highlighting key ideas constituting potential briefs, before participants were asked to vote
for the most inspiring ideas with stickers. After protracted group discussion, the lead
facilitators asked for explicit teams to be set out by encouraging participants to commit to
headline themes; ensuring a designer was present in each emerging team. The teams were
then designated a separate room each and continued to develop the idea together.
Many participants cited this activity as a low point in the day as it was seen as lacking
structure (Chiasma 1.1 Participants, 2013), moved away from the previous activitys focus
on core problems and needs around diabetes care, and was underpinned by a sense of
disparity amongst participants knowledge of the surrounding issues. This led to clashing
views within teams, overlaps of expertise in some teams, and gaps in skills for others, all of
1745
which could be argued to have disrupted each team. Dividing the group into individual
rooms also had mixed effects. Some participants identified this separation as creating a
competitive dynamic between teams, inhibiting knowledge exchange, yet others felt that
the opportunity to focus on a specific idea was the most productive point in the day.
Aiming to stimulate connections and inspire team formation, the key concerns of the codesign methods at this stage of the Chiasma were to expose participants to a range of
themes, support them to identify their own key areas of interest, and enhance their
awareness of participants with a common interest. Whilst the facilitators provided sticky
notes to cluster ideas and the participants voted with stickers in an attempt to demonstrate
visual thinking and democratic decision-making, participants commented that teams formed
without a useful understanding of the individual areas of expertise comprised by their
members, or their shared interest in the theme.
4.3 Idea Development

Following their formation, teams were encouraged to expand on their ideas and consider
their potential impact in contributing to diabetes care. The progress of idea development
differed greatly across the teams, but a suite of design tools including storyboards,
network mapping exercises, and user personas were provided on the second day as
printed templates, with instructions provided within a slideshow on a monitor. During idea
development, facilitators visited the teams for critical feedback and support in preparing
their final presentations.
A proportion of designers and participants demonstrated their familiarity with the tools and
completed the templates provided, applying their own methods in tandem. Other
participants were less confident when using the tools, often struggling to complete them or
to recognise their value in relation to their own expertise. These tools were largely used for
refining the teams concepts, but only partly informed how each team chose to present.
Participants also reflected that tools were introduced at too late a stage in the activities;
teams desired early idea refinement from which more considered business proposals could
be presented.
The key concerns with the co-design methods at this stage of the Chiasma were to enable
teams to explore, refine, and model aspects of their concepts. Having simple pre-designed
templates for complex activities allowed participants familiar with design tools to use them
with relative confidence, however those unfamiliar with them needed tutorials, and this
turned out to be a protracted process for facilitators. The focus of activity for these teams
appeared to be on questioning the rationale of co-design methods, tools, and techniques,
rather than developing the idea according to their own expertise. The variety of progress
made from team to team in their final presentations heightened a sense of skill gaps and the
lack of attention paid to the capabilities of the design participants.
1746
5. Cross-Chiasma Reflections on Co-design Methods

An overview of the subsequent twelve Chiasma in chronological order of their delivery is
presented below in Table 1. The table lists the key co-design methods used within the
previously identified stages of idea generation, team formation, and idea development in
order to provide a consistent framework for comparison during thematic analysis.
Table 1 Co-design methods used across stages in subsequent twelve Chiasma.
Chiasma
Co-design methods within Chiasma Stages

Idea Generation
Team Formation
Idea Development
1.2 Food: Building

Opportunity Without
Losing Sight April
2013
Film clips to
represent issues.
Brainstorming on sticky
notes.
Clustering themes.
Drawing and
pitching ideas.
Paper prototyping
materials.
1.3 Rural: Made in

Scotland June 2013
Likert scale
provocations.
Card prompts and
statements.
Future headlines.
notes.
About.me profiles.
Clustering themes.
Paper prototyping
materials.
1.4 Sport: Inclusion

Outdoors September
2013
Video animation to
represent issues.
Card prompts and
statements.
User personas.
Future headlines.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant
profile cards.
Paper prototyping
materials.
Knowledge
exchange cards.
Assigned design tools.
1.5 ICT: Beyond Mobile

February 2014
Likert Scale
provocations.
Floppy disk prompts.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant
profile cards.
Assigned design tools.

Knowledge
exchange cards.
2.1 Food: The Canny

Consumer April 2014
Card prompts and

statements.
User personas.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Business model canvas.

Paper prototyping
materials.
2.2 Wellbeing: Ageing

Well June 2014
Likert scale
Provocations.
Narrative drawing.
Card prompts and
statements.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Participant avatar
groupings.
Paper prototyping
materials.
Assigned Design tools.
1747
Flag ideas over

narratives.
2.3 Rural: Sustaining
Rural Scotland
October 2014
Likert scale
provocations.
Knowledge bank.
Inspiration cards.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Team roles.
Hat critical personas.

Idea library card.
Design tools.
2.4 ICT: Technology

Accelerator Chiasma
January 2015
Likert scale
provocations.
Knowledge bank.
Fast idea generator.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Team roles cards.
Participant feedback
cards.
3.1 ICT: Creative

Currencies February
2015
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Participant feedback
cards.
Paper prototyping
materials.
3.2 Rural: Zero Waste

Scotland March 2015
Likert scale
provocations.
Knowledge bank.
Inspiration cards.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Team roles cards.
Critical hat personas.

Idea library card.
3.3 Food: Food Futures

October 2015
Likert scale
provocations.
Knowledge bank.
Inspiration cards.
notes.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Critical hat personas.

Idea library card.
3.4 Wellbeing:
Surviving and Thriving
November 2015
Likert scale
provocations.
Knowledge bank cards.
Brainstorming on black
canvas.
Clustering themes.
Participant profile
cards.
Knowledge bank cards.
Paper prototyping
materials.
The following section summarises the methodological decisions and alterations made across
the subsequent twelve Chiasma. Reflecting on the information presented in Table 1, we
articulate three key findings revealing participant insights and concerns, aligning interests
and expertise, and sharing the vision that demonstrate the value of iteratively and
responsively developing co-design methods.
1748
5.1 Revealing Participant Insights and Concerns

From the first Chiasma presented above, there was a key shift in approach in how the
contextual challenges were represented to participants. Prior to each Chiasma, the DiA
team carried out an intensive scoping period to gather key facts, trends, issues, and
organisations relevant to the chosen theme. Applying their design skills, the DiA team then
represented these through animated videos, fact cards, posters, and other tools, such as the
Sports Chiasma Fact Cards shown in Figure 3, and explored user perspectives within these
issues. This focus on explicating defined contextual issues surrounding each Chiasma theme
became less important to the wider process due to the DiA teams recognition that
participants often had strong associations, experience, or expertise in relation to the sectors
and issues.
Figure 3 Sports Chiasma Fact Cards: artefacts created by DiA team to represent key issues around the
Chiasma theme, and encourage participants insights in response. Photograph by DiA
(2013).
Representing the issues dynamically and authentically, expert speakers were also invited to
present at all Chiasma. As a result, later Chiasma activities focused on drawing out the
knowledge of participants through Likert Scale Provocations and discussions. Represented
by signage and printed statements, this activity, shown in Figure 4, allowed participants to
reflect in action on contextual issues and reveal their insights and concerns to the wider
group through physical movement. The dynamics of this activity provided participants with
an overview of the knowledge and expertise in the room, the positions of participants in
relation to the context, and skill sets that could be useful for developing ideas.
1749
Figure 4 Likert Scale Provocations: activity designed to stimulate participants discussions around
contextual issues. The DiA team printed textual provocations and read these aloud, before
encouraging participants to move to the corner of the room that best represented their
response strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree and engaging the group in a
collective discussion on their varying perspectives. Photograph by DiA (2015).
5.2 Aligning Interests and Expertise

One of the major challenges within Chiasma was learning how to support effective team
formation towards successful funding applications for business development. In early
Chiasma, team formation was driven by issues expressed through service design tools and
techniques, which often led to service design solutions within teams that contained
disciplines unable to deliver such concepts. By introducing Participant Profile Cards and
Knowledge Bank Cards shown in Figure 5, the DiA team shifted the approach to render
participants knowledge, experience, skills, expertise, and interests more visible and
tangible. These tools aimed to reveal participants assets and empower them to strategically
construct their team to converge on a defined idea. As the Chiasma presented limited time
or scope for prototyping or testing ideas, facilitators commented on how the co-design
methods applied were often more effective in supporting participants to think divergently
rather than focusing on convergent processes. The challenge for teams in Chiasma was
therefore to demonstrate the potential for convergence in their final presentations. The
onus moved from facilitating activities for individual participants to engage with, to
providing the space and materials for participants to become active collaborators. While
this has not been uniformly successful across all the teams and presentations within
Chiasma, it is expressed here as a learning from DiA in delivering effective facilitation.
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Figure 5 Participant Profile Cards and Knowledge Bank Cards: tools given to participants during day
01 and day 02 of Chiasma to assist in introductions, knowledge exchange, and making
connections. Photograph by DiA (2015).
5.3 Sharing the Vision

One of the major aims within Chiasma was to integrate designers into the process from the
start of idea generation to enhance design-led innovation throughout. Designers have
accounted for at least a third of all participants within each Chiasma. Prior to the event,
they are provided with a distinct brief to lead creative activities and distribute themselves
between the teams formed. Upon reflection, the dispersal of designers allowed for some
bespoke methods to be created within Chiasma, such as the Narrative Drawing activity
shown in Figure 6, as it was felt the design participants would be comfortable to visually
engage in drawing. Tools and techniques for idea development were provided within each
Chiasma, but whereas in the first few cases these were introduced as ways of developing
ideas, they were backgrounded in later Chiasma as potential methods to introduce if
needed, according to the design capabilities within each team. As in the first Chiasma, some
design participants demonstrated a familiarity and capacity to use the tools, others struggled
to appreciate their value, and a limited number sought to actively learn about and apply the
tools presented. Later Chiasma would replicate and repeat tools and techniques that were
intended to represent an identifiable DiA Chiasma toolkit, which focused on the emerging
importance of Participant Profile Cards and Knowledge Bank Cards.
1751
Figure 6 Narrative Drawing: black paper table cloths, white marker pens, and flags used to stimulate
participants collective responses to contextual issues and represent their shared
perspectives. Photograph by DiA (2014).
Figure 7 Floppy Disk Prompt Cards: bespoke cards designed for ICT Chiasma to metaphorically
connect Chiasma tools and techniques to Chiasma theme. Photograph by DiA (2014).
These bespoke methods, such as the visual Narrative Drawing activities, Floppy Disk Prompt
Cards used in the first ICT Chiasma (Figure 7), and a range of playful icebreaker activities
1752
were often differentiated as resonating activities within each Chiasma. Whilst this learning
was not explicitly applied across later Chiasma, the experiential differentiation from simply
completing sticky notes is seen as a valuable asset to co-design methods. The caution is that
this highlights a need for careful facilitation, such as demonstrating the activity beforehand,
allowing an iterative understanding of the purpose and effect of such visual methods. This
also brings the design and preparation of such methods into play, rather than rolling out a
prescriptive toolkit. The design and facilitation of such co-design methods brings much
more of a performative dimension (Johnson, 2016), tuning into more suitable appropriations
of such methods according to, not just participation, but active associations of interest,
collaboration and, ultimately, enrolment towards new business development.
6. Learnings on Knowledge Exchange within Design-led Innovation

From our case study descriptions and thematic analysis we have attempted to demonstrate
the conceptual and material nuances of the co-design methods applied across the thirteen
Chiasma held by DiA. Reflecting on the potential value of these tools and techniques for
participants and facilitators of knowledge exchange events, we go on to discuss the key
learnings gleaned from this research.
6.1 From Participation to Collaboration

Participants were encouraged to tailor their experience by integrating their skills,
techniques, and knowledge; therefore an ethos of openness was essential for the Chiasma
process. Set out in our presentation of Chiasma 1.1, the introduction of user-centred design
tools exposed the participants varying levels of familiarity with such methods, which
reinforced disciplinary boundaries and disrupted team collaboration. Critiquing the
proliferation of a range of toolkit resources that prescribe the use of creative methods
within defined stages of the design process (Aldersey-Williams, Bound, & Coleman, 1999;
Hanington & Martin, 2012; Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, 2013; IDEO, 2002; Tassi, 2009),
we believe that participants sustained engagement is predicated on their ability to identify
with the aims of the process, interpreting and adapting each method in ways that are
meaningful for them.
Returning to Sanders and Stappers conceptualisation of the complexity and ambiguity
characterised by the fuzzy front end (2008) and Comunian et al.s emphasis on the need for
shared spaces for knowledge exchange (2015), the openness of the Chiasma process sets the
scene for participants to jointly explore contextual challenges. As Chiasma coordination and
delivery progressed, the visual, material, and performative dimensions of the co-design
methods blurred the boundaries between the idea generation and team formation stages by
providing participants with opportunities to build relationships and articulate ideas through
iterative dialogue and reflection (Sanders & Stappers, 2014, p.6).
For idea development to take place as a largely autonomous process, participants need to
discover a clear rationale for each stage and activity, integrate their own perspectives from
the offset of the design process, and draw from the shared reflections of the wider group
gleaned from enacting design as a collective activity (Vaajakallio, 2009, p.8). The iterative
1753
development of accessible and inspiring co-design methods contributes to empowering

participants to form teams and work as collaborative partners.
6.2 From Generic to Bespoke Techniques

Varying levels of specificity and provocation embodied the co-design methods used across
the thirteen Chiasma. Recalling Eriksens distinctions of basic and pre-designed materials
(2009) and Lucero et al.s discussions of methodological transferability (2012, p.6), we
propose an additional distinction of resonant materials those in which the content and
format are intrinsically entwined with elements of the innovation context. Exemplifying the
bespoke qualities of resonant materials, the Floppy Disk Prompt Cards symbolic connections
to technological innovation in the first ICT Chiasma, and the Visual Narrative Drawing
activity, created in anticipation of the number of designers attending the second Wellbeing
Chiasma both sparked participants engagement in idea generation stages and functioned as
artefacts to relay stories of their ideas in development.
Accounting for both transparency and readability in participatory design processes,
Schoffelen, Claes, Huybrechts, Martens, Chua, and Moere (2015) affirm that visual
representations engage people to interact with complex issues, and aid both sense-making
and reflection. In turn, they propose that representations of an issue are never finished
and should allow for unforeseen and unpredictable uses by unknown users, and be flexible
to evolve over time in asynchronous participative processes separated in time and space
(Schoffelen et al., 2015, p.12).
The presence of designers within the participant groups and the DiA delivery team enabled
design expertise to be embedded within the teams that formed. Dorst voices concern that
desires to rationalise design processes have overshadowed designerly skill and agency and
dismiss the practitioner as the missing person in design research (2008, p.8). We do not
put forward the methods applied in the Chiasma as a dogma of design-led innovation
efficacy. Instead, we oppose the view of the seemingly impartial facilitator as a trainer,
rather than a player, a social connector, and an agent of change (Julier, 2007, p.208;
Manzini, 2009, p.11; Morelli, 2007, p.6; Sanders & Stappers, 2008, p.1314). We argue that
facilitators are immersed, relational, non-neutral collaborators in the innovation process,
denoting Steens notions of reflexivity as a means of constructively combin[ing] practice
and analysis (2008, p.69; Broadley, 2013). This dual role is invaluable within fostering
effective knowledge exchange and echoes Press, Bruce, Chow, and Whites proposition that
a liberation from methodological constraints enables our valuing of the sensuous and
creative qualities of design knowledge and the confidence to use this in new and appropriate
ways to develop new solutions (2011, p.9).
7. Conclusion: From Methods to Mindsets

In this paper we have acknowledged the growth of interest in design-led innovation
activities for the development of SMEs through knowledge exchange between HEIs and
industry. Design in Actions Chiasma method was presented, firstly through a case study of
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delivering the very first Chiasma process, followed by a thematic analysis of the co-design
methods used across the subsequent twelve Chiasma events. Key concerns, reflections, and
learnings were then presented around how co-design methods can reveal participant
insights and concerns and align their interests and expertise, towards sharing their visions of
innovation in ways that could engender meaningful collaboration.
This paper has argued for the recognition of more nuanced, resonant materials in co-design
methods, and proposes these as opportunities for translating design knowledge to a wider
range of stakeholders. From our perspective of delivering and reviewing co-design methods
to support collaboration, stronger resonance came from establishing a constructive platform
for participants to identify and engage their knowledge and skills in line with the chosen
context (Sanders & Stappers, 2014; Vaajakallio and Mattelmki, 2014). The balancing act
rests on the ability for such co-design methods to serve the purpose of activity, yet prove
bespoke and creative enough to facilitate new connections between participants.
Concurring with Acklin, Cruickshank, and Evans (2013), we recognise through the
development of Chiasma that a shift in focus from co-design methods to the role of the
designer in supporting collaborative mindsets was critical.
Acknowledging the papers limitations, we point out that without being directly involved in
the coordination and delivery all thirteen Chiasma, we are unable to reflect fully on the
rationale underpinning each activity or the participants interactions with the corresponding
co-design methods. In future similar processes, we would recommend the integration of
methods to actively capture participants experiential accounts to more fully evaluate the
impact of co-design methods. As we embark on an extensive phase of evaluation, we point
out that our accounts of Chiasma in this paper provide only a snapshot of the breadth and
depth of activity carried out across the hub. There is limited evidence at this stage of
Chiasmas impact in delivering economic growth through design-led innovation, yet as
Chiasma is an innovative concept, we feel these learnings around co-design methods and
knowledge exchange are of interest to the design community.
Acknowledgements: We thank all our collaborators from Design in Action, and the
participants who attended the thirteen Chiasma. Design in Action is funded by the Arts
and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). We gratefully acknowledge their ongoing
support.
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About the Authors:

Cara Broadley Dr Cara Broadley is a Research Fellow at The Glasgow
School of Art. In 2013 she completed her practice-based AHRCfunded PhD exploring the role of participatory design approaches,
visual methods, and reflexivity in engaging with organisations and
communities.
Katherine Champion Dr Katherine Champion is a multidisciplinary
researcher currently employed as a Research Fellow within the
AHRC-funded Knowledge Exchange Hub Design in Action (KEHDiA)
programme. She holds a PhD from the Urban Studies Department at
the University of Glasgow.
Michael Pierre Johnson Dr Michael Pierre Johnson is a post-doctoral
design researcher interested in the effects and viability of design
innovation approaches. His AHRC-funded PhD was awarded in 2016
at The Glasgow School of Art as part of the Knowledge Exchange Hub
Design in Action.
Lynn-Sayers McHattie Dr Lynn-Sayers McHattie is Programme
Director at the Institute of Design Innovation at The Glasgow School
of Art. Her research focuses on multidisciplinary practice-based
inquiry towards exploring complex socio-cultural challenges, which
enhance collective wellbeing and can inform policy.
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Bridging service design with integrated co-design

decision maker interventions
Sune Gudiksen*, Anders Christensen and Pernille Henriksen
Aalborg University
* sunekg@hum.aau.dk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.475
Abstract: In recent years, co-design research has moved into the heart of business
and organisational matters of concern. As a consequence of that fact, the idea of
what design is capable of evolves into something that does not only encompass
product and service design, but also at the same time changes organisations way of
doing things or in other words, it challenges the organisational culture and the
mindset of the decision-makers as a way towards the successful embedding of a
project within the organisation. This paper investigates how the development of a
new service design project together with integrated co-design interventions might
raise the chances for creating a shift in decision-maker mindset and viewpoints.
Additionally, we take a closer look at what consequence this has for the structure of
the design process and the investigations and actions taken. Drawing on the
empirical data from a three-month-long collaborations between students and
companies, this paper presents the findings on ways to elicit decision-maker codesign interventions that enable and sustain the necessary support for a specific
service design concept. In the end, we argue that, as a matter of course, a new
service design will lead to significant organisational changes; therefore, this might as
well be addressed from the very beginning. This creates a path for design to
intervene in and gain influence over various organisational levels in support of a
specific service design project, hence becoming a stronger interventionist force.
Keywords: Service design; Co-design; Design intervention; Design games
1. Introduction
Over the years, we have experimented with several course set-ups in which masters
students collaborate with companies on a specific business service design case problem or
opportunity. This has resulted in at least at the outset and based on feedback successful
service design concepts that the decision makers could bring into the organisation. Based on

these courses, we observed the tendency that those groups who took into consideration the
decision-makers viewpoint and attitude, as well as challenged them even in the fuzzy front
end of the project, were most successful; at least this was the case for those groups that
went for a new, radical service design rather than optimisation. In various other company
collaboration projects, we have demonstrated how co-design interventions can be fairly
strong as an enabler of shared communication, mutual understandings and initiate
reframing (Buur & Gudiksen 2012; Gudiksen 2014). Based on these initial observations and
the co-design research conducted, we wanted to further explore how to assist students in
raising the odds for a successful organisational decision-makers adoption of a new service
design.
It seems that we are not alone in having this promising agenda. In a recent article, influential
design thinkers Tim Brown and Roger Martin discussed the importance of design
interventions within organisations as part of the development of new product-service design
projects. They particularly expressed the need to initiate iterative interaction with the
decision maker. They further elaborate by calling these interventions with the decision
makers more critical to success than the design of the artefacts themselves (Brown &
Martin 2015, pp. 5861). Also, in Dorsts seminal work on designers frame creation process,
he notes that a key issue is to crack open and investigate assumptions of stakeholders
(Dorst 2015, p. 52). However, Brown, Martin and Dorst provide few concrete examples of
how and when to approach this, and, in earlier books by IDEO-related authors, this was not
an explicit concern (See Kelley & Littman 2006; Brown 2009; Kelley & Kelley 2013).
Additionally, dealing with the viewpoint of the decision-makers and taking into
consideration the organisational change perspective have, in design research over the years,
been an afterthought that is first addressed when a new service design concept is presented,
or it has simply been dealt with separately. This might leave it up to the service design
concept itself to create all the changes in the final delivery to the company.
However, it is emphasized from various organisational change researchers that to create a
successful transformative organisational change involves challenging fundamental
assumptions, beliefs and values as part of the organisational culture (Argyris et al. 1985;
Rosseau 1995; Argyris 2010). According to Junginger and Sangiorgi service designers need
to re-think the organisation elements around the new service experience (Junginger &
Sangiorgi 2009, p.8).
As a consequence of the underexplored intersection between service design and
organisational change, we developed an ambitious three-month-long masters student
collaboration with companies in which we relied on both service design approaches and codesign interventions. Each group was assigned a service business case. The collaboration
included three co-design intervention hubs with the decision-maker. With point of departure
in these collaborations we explore the research question:
How can the development of a new service project together with integrated co-design
interventions in organisational change raise the chances for creating a shift in decisionmaker mindset and viewpoints?
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Bridging service design with integrated co-design decision maker interventions
As part of this, we also take a more concrete look at the co-design interventions in the
development hubs and investigate whether they trigger a new framing or investigative
action and why this might happen.
The paper is structured as follows: We begin with a theoretical outline of the similarities and
differences between service design and co-design in relation to the specific field of concern.
The research method is then presented in detail before we turn to the two cases. Lastly, the
two service business cases are compared, and we conclude with the initial findings.
2. Service design & Co-design

In order to understand why we took this point of departure in the course, we first need to
investigate the research fields of service design and co-design, which currently have begun
to overlap and intersect with one another.
2.1 Service design

A major difference between service design and, for instance, product design is whether one
is designing for a single interaction with one product, object or digital device or if a series of
events, cues, interactions or touchpoints take place, leading to interactions across time and
space. For instance, Shostack introduced the notion of touchpoint thinking by stating that
the design of service should therefore incorporate the orchestration of tangible evidence
everything the consumer uses to verify the services effectiveness (Shostack 1984, p. 136).
Carbone and Hackel (1994) likewise argue that the role of the service provider, producer or
designer is to orchestrate clues. Several subsequent articles echo this aspect of service
design, sometimes calling it service encounters, experience points or cues as synonyms
for the popular, broadly used term touchpoint (Bitner et al. 2008; Chesbrough 2010;
Zomerdijk & Voss 2010). The service design begins at the moment a customer comes in
contact with the organisation and continues until the customer ends contact.
A specific service design, with its many touchpoints, involves many stakeholders
management, research and development employees, marketers, partners and
customers/end-users. It seems that, inevitably, introducing a new service design project
requires the support of many stakeholders and, in particular, the management; otherwise, it
will probably be short-lived. This adds to the increased need to iteratively work with the
various stakeholder viewpoints, the current organisational culture and the decision-makers
willingness to support a new service design perspective. However, as of yet, a great deal of
the service design research has focused on the relationship between company and
customers.
2.2 Co-design
In co-design and in the overlapping field of participatory design, users have been important
partners in this area of the design process for decades (Simonsen & Robertson 2012).
Specifically, participatory design began as a political response to the then-current system
1761
design approach where researchers or engineers created the system, but the workers were
not included before the system was launched. The resulting design solutions were thus not
ideal for the workers. As the use of co-design and participatory design spreads through
service, business models and organisational change, and is integrated into the general
innovation agenda (Buur & Matthews 2008), the technology perspective might remain
implicit, but it is only a part of a broader agenda. In a complex meeting of many
professionals expertise, a central aspect of co-design projects is the creation and application
of tools and techniques for stakeholders to collaboratively experiment with reframing and
design directions (Gudiksen 2015) as well as create space for collective creativity and
surfacing tacit knowledge (Sanders & Stappers 2012; Polanyi 1962). In these new co-design
application areas the assumption is that tools and techniques must be designed with specific
stakeholders in mind and thus can differ from previous co-design and participatory design
mock-ups, design games, participatory sketches and prototypes. Moreover, these co-design
interventions might incorporate principles from organisational change theory, which deal
with the history of the organisation, the various stakeholders viewpoints and the previous
attempts to solve a particular problem (Kotter 1995). Additionally, key attention is given to
creating a linkage between the present system and the future system (Maurer 2010). In light
of this, it can be argued that one must return to first principles in crafting these co-design
tools and techniques.
3. Research method
This work is based on design-based action research that is, intervention experiments in
design workshops in which students, through guiding principles, engaged participants in
dealing with the potential decision-maker mindset shift and organisational change
consequences of the service design initiative. This type of intervention experiment is in the
same family as Schns notion of exploratory experiments, in which an action is undertaken
only to see what follows, as well as move-testing experiments, in which there is a possible
end in mind (Schn 1983).
The results are further based on research-through-design (Frayling 1993; Archer 1995) and
an experiential inquiry cycle composed of four steps (Kolb 1984): (1) designing the
interventions, (2) conducting design interventions through design tools in the hubs, (3)
observing the action and (4) reflecting based on relevant theory with the purpose of
extracting design intervention principles and propositional knowledge. We report from
experiments with two service business cases. They were chosen for deeper analysis partly
because they moved beyond the optimisation of an existing service design and, in part, they
showed the potential to move discussions in radical new directions. Therefore, the cases
function as design exemplars (Binder & Redstrm 2006).
The analysis is based on empirical materials, such as notes and observations from the
interventions days, as well as video recordings of the entire activity. Video can be considered
a vital addition to the direction of research-through-design, because it helps document and
communicate the results, thus preventing the results from being a mere gathering of
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reference materials (Frayling 1993). The video recordings were transcribed and analysed
through the use of interaction analysis (Jordan & Henderson 1995). In the cases, we go
directly to the crucial and decisive moments in the design intervention sessions. By
comparing incidents across the sessions, we are able to propose how the design intervention
scaffolds the discussions of decision-maker change issues related to the service design
initiative.
4. Course set-up
The three-month-long collaboration between the students and the companies was divided
into three hubs with time to investigate in-between them, to both develop the service
design concept and the supporting change actions.
4.1 Hub 1 Mutual understanding & Shared communication
The first hub focused on the first meeting between the service business company owner and
the students. The students were presented with various communication and mapping tools
that they could use to help move along the first dialogue. The first meeting is central to
reach shared communication and create an initial framing of both the service design
initiative and the past and current organisational business aspects and culture.
4.2 Hub 2 Framing & Reframing
In the second hub, the students were introduced to co-design tools that are vital for
reframing a specific design and for exploring and explicating otherwise tacit knowledge
(Polanyi 1962). The co-design subfield of design games was used at this point as inspiration,
as these games have proved useful in challenging a specific frame and in initiating reframing
in previous research (Brandt 2006; Author 2015). Still, the students had to take into
consideration the decision-maker, other stakeholders and the organisational culture.
4.3 Hub 3 Conceptualising & Sustaining
In the last hub, the students used digital platforms and mediums, which can showcase
concepts and establish a strong frame as well as argumentative points. In this hub, the focus
was more on sustaining and furthering the work through sense-giving than through sensemaking so that the company owner could understand the service design concept and the
underlying organisational consequences.
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Hub 1
Hub 2
Hub 3
Mutual Understanding
Shared communication
Framing
Reframing
Conceptualising
Sustaining
Service design problem
Business model and

organisational culture issues
Understanding decision maker
Investigative service actions
Service design (re)framing
Investigative service actions
Service design concept
Investigative organisational
actions
Business model and

organisational culture changes
Investigative organisational
actions
Investigative decision maker

practises
Challeging decision maker
Investigative decision maker

practises
Business model and

organisational culture changes
Surprising decision maker
Figure 1 Illustration of the course set-up with the three hubs and the investigations and
actions in-between these.
5. Case one Gourmet Tea Company

In the first case, a student group dealt with a small Danish business that sells gourmet teas
and tea accessories online. The company's values included trust, authenticity and joy, and its
vision was to provide pauses for relaxation and joy for its customers. The company's owner
had a wish to reach a younger target group in the 2030-year-old age range through the
digital platforms already used: Facebook, Instagram and a website.
After conducting research on the different platforms, it became clear for the student group
that the company's website (which also is the only place customers can buy the products)
was fairly anonymous and had a classic 'sales-website' feeling to it. Since the number of
online stores is exponentially rising, this lack of appeal was clearly an unsuitable and
unfavourable situation for the company. From the perspective of experiential service design
(Zomerdijk & Voss 2010), a company should pay close attention to the ways by which a
brand image can be differentiated and create cues through which the customers can interact
with the brand identity. Thus, this became the initial focus for the student group working
with this case that is, how a redesign of the website could create user experiences that
could potentially convey the company's values to its customers.

In the first meeting with the company owner (abbreviated to CO), the group decided to take
a more in-depth look at the current business model of the company, since there was a lack
of information on the value delivery (internal value chain) and value capture part (revenues)
in the company that is, the internal value chain and the current revenues. Furthermore,
creating a shared understanding of the business model was a prerequisite in dealing with the
case, as the group anticipated that they would possibly have to change aspects of this.
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To involve the CO in dialogue about the business model, the group used Osterwalder and
Pigneur's (2010) Business Model Canvas as a mapping tool. The group found it useful since it
gives a good overview of the structures that exist in a business model in general, and further
it functions as a concrete framework for the CO to relate to. In this way, the group tried to
avoid a situation in which the first meeting would become merely unfocused, rather 'loose
talk' about her business; however, the group also bore in mind that the canvas might only
work as an initial frame-setter and not as tool for reframing.
During the meeting, the CO was to map the nine sectors of the Business Model Canvas (see
Fig. 2). Through the first meeting, it became clear to the group that the CO had much
ambition for the company, especially related to value propositions she could offer
customers. The group noticed that she found it difficult to commit to a concrete value
proposition strategy. Another observation the group noticed as part of the dialogue was that
she had an incredible amount of tacit knowledge (Polanyi 1962) about tea and the values
she attributes to it. The first meeting had two main outputs that triggered two actions for
further work with the case.
Figure 2 The tea company's business model canvas
The first was that the group had to investigate more into 'the world of tea', which they did
by preparing a questionnaire that was distributed to potential tea-drinkers. The focus of the
questionnaire was the values which the respondents connected with tea, allowing the group
to gain deeper insights into the values associated with this phenomenon. In total, the group
received approximately 300 responses within a week. The values in relation to tea drinking
from the questionnaire were categorised into nine themes in affinity diagrams (Kolko 2011),
from which the group could see that there was greatest consensus on the following values:
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the flavour of the tea itself, the social aspect, the coziness and the relaxation all of which
the group indirectly tried to support through the new website.
The second action was related to the company owners reluctance to make concrete choices
about the company's future, why the group discussed how to reduce the many options she
would continuously bring into play. As we shall see in the next hub, the group took this into
consideration as they prepared the next co-design decision-maker intervention.

The second development hub was based on a design game that the group developed for the
CO. The reason the group chose to develop a game was so that they would have an element
of play what Huizinga (1949) defines as 'not serious' since it stands outside of the
ordinary world. As well, design games are a way to create a partly open structure for the
dialogue through the procedures, rules and materials (Author 2015). The group found this to
be ideal because, by creating a game, they could get the CO to 'play' her way through
choices, thereby dealing openly and creatively with the challenge as well as enabling an
alternative way to reach controlled convergence (Pugh 1991) that is, creating a decision
route. The game involved a fictional journey, which was dubbed 'from passion to vision' by
the group. The game comprised four main areas that, in short, represented the segments
which the CO had employed to build the company from scratch and in which she regularly
had to make specific choices.
The first area was the 'tea-fields', through which the CO was to talk about how her passion
for tea started. The reason for doing so was to allow the group to obtain elements of the
storytelling that could later be applied in the design of the website. In the second area, she
had to choose between a selection of various personas (Goodwin 2011), which the group
had developed beforehand, and place them in a hierarchical triangle with the main persona
on top. This was again to get the CO to make a definite choice and so that they could target
the terms of the website to the selected personas.
In the third area, the CO was to connect her products with different value words. The reason
for this was so that the group could identify the values behind the products so the website
could make use of these indirectly. The last area was the most interesting. Here, the
representative was to make an important choice: whether she would walk the same path as
her competitors in relation to marketing and branding or whether she would take a chance
and go a radically different way.
Student: the choice is whether you will go, somewhat, the same way as your
competitors, or whether you want to take a chance, and go a little more in an
uncertain direction try something new in relation to your company's image.
Company owner: I have to come down here (in the uncertain road, ed.), because up
here (at the competitors, ed.), there are some very different means and knowledge
about the tea business. So I have to differentiate my business in some way.
Student: Do you have any idea how to differentiate your business?
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Company owner: That is the big question I have been thinking a lot about. But I want
to do it a bit different than the others. I am thinking about the visual and personal
aspects of my business. I can do it a lot more personally than the competitors.
Through the design game, the main finding was that CO was motivated to do something
different from her competitors and thereby try to differentiate the company in the market.
Also, the design game led to several decisions and directions for the upcoming service design
concept.
Figure 3 The company owner playing the design game making decisions on how to differentiate.

After the second development hub, the group had enough data to begin the redesign of the
website. The collected data from the questionnaire was sorted with an affinity diagram
(Kolko 2011) by the group, so they could see the patterns of which value words most
respondents related to drinking tea. After the affinity diagram, the tool insight combination
(Kolko 2011) was applied to explore ideas for the website design. Here, the data from both
the design game and the questionnaire were used to initiate ideas and for the qualitative
judgment of these ideas (Nelson & Stolterman 2003). The idea which was found to be most
suitable through the data and the abductions was that the website should be designed as a
planet with four sub-sites, each with its own world (see Fig. 4). Rapid-prototyping was used
(Cao et al. 2014) to develop the website continuously so that the group could quickly make
additions and corrections as they analysed the data.
Therefore, the third development hub was a presentation of a more or less functional
version of a final website that differed significantly from other tea-websites, although in a
less detailed form. The prototype was posted online on a test site so that the CO had the
opportunity to explore it further. The group found it useful to have a prototype with actual
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interaction opportunities so that the CO could provide feedback on these. Moreover, the CO
could provide the group with more constructive feedback, as she had a clear picture of what
the student group thoughts behind the design were.
Figure 4 The final redesign of the website. Centre: The main site. Corners: The four sub-sites.
5.4 Company owner feedback and what happened next

The CO was, in general, positive about the design, because she could relate it to her own 'tea
universe'. After the third development hub, the group held user tests of the website using
the DECIDE-method (Preece et al. 2002), since the focus in their case was on branding
through user experiences. Overall, the CO was pleased with the redesign of the website.
However, she stated that it would not be used in its full form since it would be costly to
implement. She said, however, that the group had given her an eye-opener in terms of what
one might do to differentiate a brand. In relation to the interventions, she particularly
credited the design game from hub 2, since she could see the value in the structure it
provided, resulting in concrete choices in relation to the company's future.
5. Case two Art supplies company

The second case concerned a Danish company that develops, produces and sells high-quality
office and art supplies with some of the products being well known for decades. The
company had 25 employees and a turnover of 25 million Dkr. annually. The initial contact for
the group was with the CEO and owner of the company. The initial description of the
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problem as perceived by the CO pointed to problem areas concerned with the establishment
and maintenance of a relationship with the customers of the future, defined as people under
30, who did not grow up with pen and paper the same way their parents did due to the
technological evolution of information technology.

The student group prepared a structured interview in two rounds, first using the Business
Model Canvas (Osterwalder & Pigneur 2010) and secondly using The Strategic Pyramid
(Neumeier 2012). As communicative tools, these models provided a common context for the
group and the CO to speak about his business and gave insights into both the organisational
structures and strategies of the company. The strategic pyramid was added to touch upon
strategic elements rather than merely the business model issues.
As the interview progressed, it became clear to the group that CO had much to say and that
he had trouble sticking to simple, clear answers which was a similar issue for the group in
the first case. This made it difficult to work through the proposed models, and it seemed to
require stronger facilitation to conduct the interview. Even with structured questions, the
CO told many elaborate stories, and the interview shifted into a more narrative interview
form (Mishler 1986).
Despite a lack of overview, the interview yielded much data, which, given the narrative
interview form, would require structuring before further analysis. Among the insights the
group noticed an expression from the CO that seemed very central to his strategic way of
dealing with new ideas:
Company owner: In my drawer, I have many ideas that lie far above and beyond ... but
yes, I really do my best to not think about it, because when I do, I get all confused
As we shall see, this was later used in the next co-design intervention. Through the analysis
of the interview data and subsequent affinity mapping in this case, the KJ-method
(Kawakita 1975) and a modified Business Model Canvas for structure the student group
achieved a more nuanced understanding of the company. Both its internal structure and
processes had become discernible, and it became clear to the group that the company was
at the beginning of a greater organisational change.
Within the last year they had replaced all their IT systems with open-source systems, they
had built an in-house storage facility with a shipping area and they were also in the process
of changing both business name and business identity. Meanwhile, there was an on-going
increase in customers. The on-going changes and increase in orders created problems in
terms of keeping up with orders and at the same time dealing with the changes the company
was undergoing. Furthermore, the interview provided insights into the mindset and attitude
of the CO and what impact he had on the company. After the initial interview, the group
decided to step back, disregard the initial problem as perceived by the CO and move forward
with uncovering the multifaceted problem area.
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To explore the now-identified problem areas and to identify others, the student group
created a design game with offset in the expression used by CO in the first intervention: the
drawer where future projects are kept. The game was inspired by the negotiation &
workflow oriented design game. Brandt uses this type of design game to identify and
develop new work processes (Brandt 2006), though here it was used for exploring the
companys strategies with the drawer metaphor as an opener. With this type of design
game, the group sought to establish a common language to talk about the existing tasks as
well as future developments.
The group also constructed the game as a framework with artefacts to promote facilitation
in order to prevent the CO from deviating onto other topics, as experienced in the initial
interview. Although the group considered other stakeholders at this stage, the CO was the
only participant since he was responsible for the business strategy and had the primary
decision-making authority. By applying his own metaphor of the drawer, the group aimed
to invite the CO into the design game to generate co-decisions on which route to follow. The
game materials comprised a game board with a drawer placed on top and tokens in the
shape of Popsicle sticks to be written on with a sharpie as the projects in the drawer were
identified. On the game board, three rings marked the steps leading to the implementation
area, which was regarded as the goal zone. The first round of the game was for the CO to
move tokens from the drawer through the rings on the game board to the goal zone (Fig. 5).
Figure 5 The drawer with the three circles
The second round of the game was to capture that which had come to light during the first
round of the game. For this, the students created a second game board constructed as an
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oversized coordinate table with the axes Interest and Time. By having the CO prioritise the
Popsicle sticks by placing them in the table, the group expected to see a visual
representation of the problem areas through a time-interest perspective. When it was
disclosed to the CO that he had to write out the future projects he had in the drawer, he had
an unexpected reaction. He expressed feeling both uncomfortable and anxious talking about
future projects:
CO: It is a little anxiety-provoking sort of.Im I suppose to stand here or what?
Student: Yes, you can stand wherever you like.
CO: It is anxiety-provoking in the sense that I have made an effort to put away (ed. in
the metaphorical drawer) ideas that surface yet have no relevance within three years.
Those ideas will be put in the drawer because they could disturb. I should not talk to
my employees about them as they will just get confused. I should also be very careful
about what I might think of because but what is it called I would like to talk
about it, it is exciting.
Student: But that is actually not the point. How should I explain this we will have to
figure out what it is what the three most important issues are for something to
come out of the drawer. The things you have written here (student points to the
drawer) define what will be written here (students points to the three circles).
This caused the group to immediately adjust the game in order to make the CO feel safe by
changing focus to the existing projects underway instead of future projects. After
adjusting the game to better accommodate the CO it progressed as planned. A few times he
darted off into non-relevant anecdotes, but he willingly complied with efforts to bring him
back into the game by use of the artefacts. It can be proposed that the reason these
moments of anxiety occurred was the inquisitive attention from the group; however, the
group might also have needed to partake actively in the process instead of passively
watching the CO, which was what happened next.
The second course of the game offered a breakthrough not just for the group but for the
CO as well. The finished visual representation on the second game board was an external
snapshot of his companys current strategies as he saw them in his head. He expressed
surprise at seeing it outside his head his tacit knowledge had surfaced (Polanyi 1962). The
second course of the game also made it clear to the group which problem areas required
attention, as observed in the companys time-interest game board (Fig. 6).
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Customization
Values
Figure 6 Analysis of the priorities in the second game board: interest vs time. The focus on
customization and co-creation.
Based on these findings, the group explored the processes of B2B and B2C orders by
conducting a go-along (Kusenbach 2003) collecting data regarding stakeholders and touch
points in the value chain. A modified service blue print was applied (Bitner et al. 2008) for
analysing the data collected in the go-along.

The solution developed was an interactive digital concept for optimising and simplifying the
customised order flow for the B2B segment the internal part of the value chain. The
objective was to uncover the internal handling of both B2B and B2C customizing orders. In a
typical service blueprint both customer actions and front-end has high priority since the way
in which Bitner et al. (2008) defines services revolves around the customer. The group
considered the video recordings from the go-along as physical evidence and the basis for the
following analysis. Therefore physical evidence was not included in the visual
representation, as it was the empirical data for analysis. Since the group point of interest
was in identifying the actual order flow with the order in focus, they modified the visual
representation to accommodate this point of view. The customer then became a
stakeholder in the order flow along with the internal stakeholders, and the group could
visually monitor and log how orders moved through the company, as documented in the
recordings (see service blueprint Fig. 7).
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Figure 7 The Status quo in the company (top). The new edition from the group with the co-created
meeting through a new plugin (bottom).
The group decided to present the identified problem, the status quo and the new solution in
a short animated video, creating a narrative to convey the full concept and to highlight by
comparison how the solution differed from the status quo in the company and how these
changes could benefit the company. The video medium has several characteristics that the
group found useful in communicating the concept one of which is the ability to tell
complex stories in a simple and fast manner (Berger 2012). By using whiteboard animation,
music, sound effects and speech, the group created a short video with a high impact.
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Figure 8 Screenshot from the final video presentation in which the group demonstrated the new
service blueprint
The solution was designed to increase value for both company and customer by customising
through co-creation, where the company and the customer design a product in a mutual
collaborative process around a virtual table. With reference to Prahalad and Ramaswamy
(2004), the group focused their solution on co-creating unique experiences with customers
through the new service design concept.
6.4 Company owner feedback and what happened next

The video was well received by the CO. In the feedback he expressed excitement and
verbalised high interest in the solution. In the following in-depth discussion with the group,
he however expressed a reluctance to fully give up decision-making authority in the design
process, objecting to the very core element of co-creation.
7. Comparison & Conclusions

In both cases the student groups succeed in provoking a new mindset and viewpoint from
the COs that they accept to a large extent. Even though the COs choose not to proceed
with the full solutions they value parts of them, and use them for further inspiration. They
also note that the process proves just as important as the final solution because it helps
them to think differently about their own practices one could call this a collaborative
reflective practice session (adding to Schn 1983). In both cases the groups could have paid
even more attention to the concerns of the decision-maker, or benefitted from further
design interventions with the COs. For instance, the first group could have investigated
budget and cost, and the second group could have included the stakeholders. However, it
also comes down to deliberate choices from the groups to showcase the experience
potential in a website and demonstrate the effects of a major change in the service value
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chain, thus the intention was not necessarily for the company owners to take everything
from the proposed solutions. Both groups indicated that it in future work it would be
interesting to involve the decision makers a higher number of times during the design
process. We are keen on creating collaboration that are even better at challenging the
mindset of the decision maker and creating effective interventions. For this to happen, we
learned several things to consider in future endeavours from these two cases:
(1) In both cases the groups pay attention to the decision makers attitude and practices that
triggers actions and investigations that designers in the past usually paid little attention to
for instance the unique website differentiator based on decision makers knowledge.
Dealing with both past, present and the future state of a company is a complex matter, and
contemporary design thinking and co-design might have to be inspired from research within
organisational change. Understanding the practices of the decision makers and the
organisational culture becomes a key point of attention as design breakthroughs might be
found here as well as in the specific service design. We see an enormous potential in
bringing co-design and organisational change theory closer together to create strong, vital
and decisive design interventions interventions that elicit change in decision makers and
the organisational culture, and create the necessary support for a service design concept, or
any other artefact, to be accepted and adopted.
(2) Brown and Martin (2015) emphasise that iterative interaction with the decision maker is
important, however this may not be enough and in so far it might be possible a project could
benefit from inviting other stakeholders as well to gain support and joint ownership of the
project from the very beginning. In case two the CO was aware that the project had taken
the direction of an internal process optimization. However, the group could see from the
feedback that although he was positive during the presentation, which may be due to a
video with high impact and a surprising solution, he still found it difficult to accept the
complete change in the company's operation, which was reflected in the oral feedback. In
reflection, the group saw this as a trait for the CO that could have been taken more into
account. The challenge here lies in convincing the decision maker that this is important both
in student-company collaborations and in other cases so that access to stakeholders can be
given. We know from co-design interventions in other projects that inviting diverse
stakeholders as well as outside experts into the co-design interventions can challenge
decision maker viewpoints and create the space for positive conflicts (Buur & Larsen 2010;
Author 2015). However, positive conflicts and reframing in co-design interventions is only
fruitful if it triggers actions and investigation for this to happen, someone has to become
form-shaper in transition between interventions, a role suitable for the designer.
We suggest that the classic designer role becomes more integrated with co-design
interventionist activities. With continuously more complex artefacts they are better off with
an integrated relationship with a focus on both the designer as a shaper of co-design
interventions and shaper of form in transitions.
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Shostack, G. L. (1984). Service design in the operating environment. Developing new services, 27-43.
Simonsen, J., & Robertson, T. (Eds.). (2012). Routledge international handbook of participatory
design. Routledge.
Zomerdijk, L. G., & Voss, C. A. (2010). Service design for experience-centric services. Journal of
Service Research, 13(1), 67-82.
About the Authors:
Sune Gudiksen has worked with co-design and especially design
games as a medium for initiating development, change and reflection
in organisations and businesses. He has written several conference
and journal papers, as well as a Ph.D. on the co-design of business
models.
Anders Christensen has a focus on service experience design and
tools and techniques for this area of study. Through several projects
he has worked with this agenda and continue to explore it.
Pernille Henriksen has a focus on co-design and participatory design
in relation to digital media and technology, as well as organisational
change.
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Exploring framing and meaning making over the

design innovation process
Clementine Thurgood* and Rohan Lulham
University of Technology Sydney
* clementinethurgood@uts.edu.au
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.218
Abstract: It is well established that key to achieving innovations is to innovate on

meaning; however, most discussion is limited to the meaning of the end product to
the user. We argue that meaning changes should be explored throughout the design
process. We contend that framing is intrinsically related to the creation of new
meaning due to its capacity to provide a new standpoint from which to approach
problems and subsequently direct novel solutions. We provide an analysis of framing
and meaning making by studying three design innovation methods that span social,
product, and business design. We arrive at a common model of framing in which we
explore how meaning changes are initiated and in what form they manifest. We
contend that the act of framing creates new meaning by providing a new
interpretation of the problem (to the designer) and/or an interpretation of the
solution to the user.
Keywords: design innovation methods; meaning; framing; design process
1. Introduction
It is increasingly recognized that design can be used to achieve innovations through creating
a change in (product) meaning (Verganti, 2008, 2011). By innovation we refer to the
introduction of a new product or service into the market that results in sustained changes in
behaviour of that market (Dong, 2013). Meaning within the design literature is often
considered broadly as the purpose of the product1 or service as held by the user (Verganti,
2011; Verganti & berg, 2013). Meaning can include both technical or utilitarian intents,
and other more experiential characteristics or qualities, and, likewise, a change in meaning
can refer to the product having a different use-scenario or a different perception, or
1
We will refer to products, solutions, or situations throughout this paper to include any type of outcome of the
design process including physical products, but also services, experiences, and so on.

interpretation, by the user. Design is particularly suited to creating innovations of meaning

because its methods and practices of finding new approaches to problems or opportunities
enables the generation of novel solutions. The creation of these new approaches, or
perspectives, in a design task constitutes the design activity of (re-) framing and is seen as an
integral part of the practice of expert designers (Cross, 2007; Dorst, 2011; Scho n, 1983). We
argue that the act of (re-) framing supports changes in meaning because taking a new
approach to a problem inevitably changes the qualities of both the problem itself and the
types of solutions that are subsequently generated.
Most academic discussion concerning meaning and innovation is restricted to that focusing
on the end product of framing the final design and its meaning to the user. In this paper
we seek to examine how these meaning changes occur, specifically, we examine meaning
changes both in terms of the value of the end product to the user, but also in regards to the
meaning changes during the problem re-formulation stages for the designer. Thus, we
explore the role of framing in creating changes of meaning over the design process. We
examine three design innovation methods that share in common this act of (re-) framing and
cover a broad range of case studies and applications within the domains of social, product,
and business design, namely, Frame Creation (Dorst, 2015), Vision in Design (Hekkert & van
Dijk, 2011), and Design Led Innovation (Bucolo, 2015), respectively. We studied example
projects from each method in order to ascertain a common model of framing in which we
can study meaning creation from the problem conceptualisation through to solutions. Our
common model of framing enables the exploration of both how meaning changes are
initiated (what we term, meaning prompts) and in what form they manifest (meaning
attributes).
The paper proceeds as follows: We present a brief overview and exploration of the concept
of meaning, offering our own articulation of what meaning could be throughout the design
process (section 1.1 Meaning). We then begin our analysis of framing and meaning change
by introducing each of the three (re-) framing methods and our approach to analysis (section
2. Methodology). We then present our common model of framing and meaning making in
which we compare and contrast the three methods (section 3. Analysis). Within this, we
articulate the steps of framing common to each method, and we present an abstracted
model of these steps in which we identify and describe specific instances of meaning
change. We finish with a discussion where we reflect on interesting insights derived from
analysing the three innovation methods with the common model of framing, and then
conclude with suggestions for future research (section 4. Discussion).
1.1 Meaning
Meaning as understood in the literature
The idea of innovation of meaning is well established and numerous accounts abound. For
instance, the leading Italian product design firm, Alessi, created their Family Follows
Fiction line of kitchen products whereby the visual appearance of common kitchen items
was modified to appeal to the users inner sense of child. Similarly, Artemides Metamorfosi
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Exploring framing and meaning making over the design innovation process
lamp took the concept of lighting from lamps as merely beautifully designed objects, to
lamps that create atmosphere and ambience. These examples, and others, clearly illustrate
how a product (or service) can have a change in meaning, or value, that goes beyond a
simple change in function or technological improvement. However, this notion of meaning,
or creation of new meaning, within the domain of design is ill-defined. Several different
attempts at creating taxonomies of meaning have already been put forth (e.g. Crilly, 2010;
Fournier, 1991; Krippendorff, 1989). Here, meaning is discussed (for example) in relation to
purpose, function, symbolism, emotional associations, and so on, both at the personal and
the shared social cultural level. Further, meaning can relate to perceptions, feelings,
thoughts, or actions. As can be seen, no consistent conceptualization of meaning exists, and
most discussion is limited to end user value, with meaning changes during the design
process relatively overlooked.
An account of meaning as an interpretation of a situation
For sake of simplicity, here we offer a broad conceptualization of meaning as an
interpretation of a situation, whereby this can be an interpretation of the problem (to the
designer) and/or an interpretation of the solution to the user. Changes in meaning in the
first instance the problem could manifest as a new understanding of the problem, and a
new way of looking at the problem; while changes in the second instance the solution
can manifest as a new experience of a product/situation in its context. We can label these
interpretations, or manifestations of meaning change, as meaning attributes; that is, what
form or quality the meaning change possesses. We can also label how these meaning
changes manifest as meaning prompts the activity that sparked or initiated the change in
interpretation of a situation. We will explore the nature of these attributes and prompts
and their relationship to the framing process throughout the remainder of the paper.
2. Methodology
In order to understand meaning changes over the design process, we need to clearly
understand the nature of framing, as we believe it is the act of framing that is central to
meaning creation and is a key feature common to most design innovation methods. We
analysed three current design methods, namely, Frame Creation (Dorst, 2015), Vision in
Design (Hekkert & van Dijk, 2011), and Design Led Innovation (Bucolo, 2015). We explored
several example projects of each method that span the domains of social, product, and
business design. By studying multiple example projects we could abstract from them
specific qualities and steps involved in framing which allows us to build a general model of
the framing process, shared across methods. This approach builds upon that described in
Vermaas, Dorst, and Thurgood (2015) in which different forms of framing (framing, reframing, and goal-reformulation) were described in order to determine instances in which
framing can go wrong. Within our own broad model of framing presented here, we also
interject our analysis of meaning making: its prompts and attributes. In the remainder of
this section, we introduce each method with a brief background and then an example
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project of each.1 We then will begin our detailed analysis of these examples in the section to
follow (section 3. Analysis).
2.1 Frame Creation

Method
The Frame Creation (from now on, FC) method was developed by Dorst (2015) as a means to
address complex problems that involve many different participants with often conflicting
values and needs. These tensions make the problem hard to solve; it cannot move forward
in its original terms because it is seemingly stuck in a deadlock. The designer seeks to
abstract the deeper underlying values and themes governing human behavior (in the
problem field) in order to open up the problem space and find new approaches for solving it.
Comparisons are drawn with existing situations in which these themes and values are
realised. These situations, or frames, provide a new way of looking at the problem, and
therefore open up a range of new potential solution directions beyond what the original
situation presented. Next we present an example project of a re-design of a dangerous
nightspot, Sydneys Kings Cross. The full description of the project and the method can be
found in Dorst (2015).
Example project: Kings Cross nightspot
We describe a night-time entertainment district in Sydney Australia that became a setting
for antisocial behaviours and escalating crime. High volumes of young people attend on
Friday and Saturday nights, and activities were predominantly concentrated into only a small
stretch of nightclubs. Some of the problems that occurred include drunkenness, violence,
petty theft, and drug dealing. Previous attempts at solving the problem included the
implementation of strong-arm tactics aimed at increasing police presence; however, the
additional security measures only served to reinforce the grim atmosphere. The designers
involved were called in to find alternative approaches to solve this problem. After extensive
interviewing of people involved, they realised that the situation had previously been treated
as a law-and-order problem requiring law-and-order solutions; however, the people involved
were not actually criminals. Instead, they were just young people looking to have a good
time. The unpleasant events that occurred were likely due to boredom and frustration
resulting from the lack of structure of the nightspot together with the sheer volume of
young people. The designers proposed a simple analogy in which large volumes of people
already successfully come together and interact in a harmonious fashion: a music festival.
They then took the analogy further and approached the problem as if they were dealing with
a well-organised music festival. By reframing the problem in this way the designers stepped
away from law-and-order solutions and asked themselves what they would do if they were
organizing a music festival and this triggered new scenarios for action, as a well-organised
music festival offers many facilities that are not currently available in the Kings Cross district
1
We analysed three example projects of each method, but due to constraints of the length of this paper, we present here
one example each. We did, however, find very similar patterns across projects for each method.
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but could easily be designed in. The designers worked in conjunction with the local
government authority for Sydney to execute a variety of solution directions. Some examples
included extra transport options to get people home after the usual train services end, chillout spaces to break up the crowd, mobile public toilet blocks, friendly guides, and so on.
Since the project in Kings Cross, the local government authority for Sydney has implemented
similar changes in other areas of the city, thus reinventing itself as an active conductor of life
in the city.
2.2 Vision in Product Design

Method
The Vision in Design (from now on, ViP) method was developed by Hekkert and van Dijk
(2011) as a means to develop innovative products and services that have a meaningful
reason for existing. By drawing upon techniques from the social sciences, the designer can
create a future context in which to situate their design based on an analysis of trends,
developments, states, and principles. The designer then decides what value they want to
offer the world, and what interaction qualities they want people to have with their design
within their proposed context. Products and services are then designed to realise these
goals accordingly. We now describe a ViP project involving a re-design of a retail store from
Dutch Railways. A more detailed account can be found in Hekkert and van Dijk (2011).
Example project: Dutch Railways (Servex) retail system
Dutch Railways (Servex) contacted the design firm KVD for a re-design of their old-fashioned
office window type of convenience store. The original shop had been showing a decrease
in sales and consequently Dutch Railways wanted to see how a new real, walk-in shop would
fare in its place, while keeping traffic-flow in mind. Through analysing the context it was
discovered that the shop itself was not the central component of this task; people want to
have a relationship with the products they are buying, but not necessarily the shop they are
buying them from. The design task, therefore, was rephrased in terms of what product
portfolio the store could offer. It was further found that people in semi-public environments
behave differently at different times; that is, they play different roles depending on their
current concerns. They might want to do things with other people at one time, and distance
themselves at another time, and so on. Thus, Dutch Railways claimed that they wanted to
enable people on the railway platform to be supported in the behaviour they wish to
embody as a means to attain their current social goals. Four groups of product categories
were envisaged to support the following different social roles: enjoyment in a group (called
bond), entertaining oneself (disconnect), identification with socially accepted behaviour
(role play), and imitating other people on the platform (flow). To readily distinguish
between categories and facilitate fulfilment of the appropriate social role, the railway
travellers need to be instantly directed towards the appropriate product category. Drawing
upon analogy, the designers proposed that the shop should function as a typecasting coach:
a kiosk with a corridor created by two walls of products leads the shopper through a
transition from self- to full-service (the coach). The products are clearly grouped into their
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respective social categories and each category contains items that emphasise different social
roles: for example, a six-pack of beer was placed in the bond category to reinforce
connection to others, while magazines were placed in the disconnect category to allow
people to entertain themselves. Thus, while the final design deliberately facilitates platform
traffic-flow as requested in the initial brief, it also realises a completely different goal,
namely, to support peoples behaviour in addressing their different social concerns.
2.3 Design Led Innovation

Method
The design led innovation (from now on, DLI) method was developed by Bucolo (2015) as a
means to create strategic advantage for organizations over their competitors. It involves
innovating across the entire business model rather than simply at the product level. This is
achieved by developing value propositions based on deep customer insights and then
aligning strategy and branding to these accordingly. These value propositions are devised by
envisaging future states or experiences that the business could one day strive to offer.
These futures are tested with customers until an accurate representation of their true needs
is obtained. Then, using these refined insights, new, risk-mitigated solution directions are
used to bridge the current towards the desired state. We now describe an example of a
manufacturing company, Centor, that participated in a design-led innovation program.
More information on their development can be found on their website (Centor, 2015) and in
Bucolo (2015).
Example project: Centor windows and doors
Centor started out as a manufacturer of high-quality hardware components for the door and
window industry. After the global financial crisis hit they realised they needed to reinvent
themselves in order to grow and compete in the new economic climate. Through a designled program, they were encouraged to find new opportunities through envisaging an
alternative future their business could strive to provide. The idea of moving into designing
and manufacturing the full production of windows and doors provided this opportunity to
scale up and make much larger sales. Importantly, they realised they needed to correctly
identify a new customer, and, similarly, to make sure they deliver a product that is relevant
to them. Thus, they set out to identify their purpose and their new customer, and therefore
the right sort of product for that customer. They converged on a persona of a new
customer, Wendy; a homeowner looking to do a new build, the decision-maker in her
house. They embarked on interviews with potential customers around the world to learn
about Wendys potential expectations and motivations. The interviews revealed that people
want to be connected to the outside world; they love inside-outside living, in every season.
Thus, rather than focusing on selling windows and doors per se, Centor turned their
attention towards bringing the outdoors inside to expand and improve living spaces. This
was afforded by the full production of bi-fold, screen, and sliding doors that slide back
completely to reveal the outdoors. The structure and culture of the workplace also changed.
As an example, they reinvented their business model to accommodate moving from the
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manufacturing of components towards an entire system the components and the windows
and doors. They used the business model as a common communication platform in the
workplace to deliver quality products. Furthermore, the CEO recognized the importance of
empowering staff. Through surveying staff regarding behaviours that had impressed them
and that had upset them, they managed to distill their company values. These values were
published in a book that is used among existing and future staff as a means to reinforce and
impart their values and to keep up morale. Centor are now the recipients of numerous
awards and are on a continual design-led journey.
3. Analysis
3.1 A model of framing: Analysing meaning changes across methods
Now that the three design innovation methods are described, in this section we use the
example projects to deduce specific steps of framing in order to arrive at a common model
shared between methods (displayed in Figure 1). Within this, we analyse how and what
changes in meaning occurred for each method at each step. The section concludes with a
table (Table 1) that presents an abstracted overview of this analysis, thus allowing direct
comparisons between framing and meaning making across methods.
Figure 1 Common model of the framing process from problem through to solutions.
Start frame
By start frame we refer to the start-point of the project: the current situation, either in the
form of a problem or an opportunity. The description might be articulated by the client, e.g.
in the case of FCs Kings Cross, the situation was described as one of a crime scene. In the
ViP Dutch Railways example, the start-point was a failing window-style shopfront serving as
a convenience store. And in the case of DLIs Centor, the starting position was as a
manufacturer of components for windows and doors. Alternatively, the designer
themselves might already have labelled the situation as being of a particular type (of
frame) based on their experience and knowledge. Furthermore, the start frame might fit
into any number of domains; for instance, a social problem (e.g. the Kings Cross situation in
FC), a business problem or opportunity (e.g. Centor in DLI), or a new, or updated product
(e.g. the kiosk in ViP). Inherent in the start frame are particular meanings about the
situation that determine how the problem or opportunity is currently being approached.
Goal
The goal is the initial aim or purpose, or state of affairs to be achieved. In the case of, for
example, social problems, the goal might be expressed as a value to be realised, rather than
as an exact product or service. For instance, it could be a negative behaviour to be
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diminished, and/or a positive behaviour or effect to be achieved. In these instances it is

likely to be formulated by the client as it is related to the problem as they have presented it.
In the case of FC and Kings Cross, the initial aim was to reduce the antisocial behaviours. In
the case of business model transformation, the goal is the purpose or offering the business
serves to the customer. The start frame and goal here could be combined to form the value
proposition or the promise of value to the customer that sets it apart from competitors.
For DLIs Centor, the initial offering was to provide high quality hardware components to
manufacturers of windows and doors. For product design it might be the intention to create
an entirely new product that improves the current situation, or an improved version of the
current product. In the ViP Dutch railways example, the aim was to create a real shop in
place of the existing old-fashioned window-style store that takes traffic flow on the platform
into account.1
Re-frame
During the re-frame, the problem-solver attempts to reconsider the problem at hand by
delving deeply into the problem situation. It involves a process of broadening out of the
problem-space to go beyond the current understanding of the problem as new information
is acquired. This can be achieved by abstracting or deducing true, or core underlying values
or needs, as in the case of FCs Kings Cross. Through techniques such as thematic analysis,
the designers realised that the criminals were in fact just young people who were bored
and looking for a good time. The new frame conveyed new meanings about the personal
and social intentions of the young people attending Kings Cross. Another approach is
through creating a new future context or proposing a future need as in the examples of both
ViPs Dutch Railways, and DLIs Centor. The designers associated with Dutch Railways
borrowed techniques from the social sciences to understand the factors (principles,
trends, and developments) governing human behaviour. With this new information, they
were able to build a new future context with new embedded meanings and thus propose a
different problem than the one initially at hand: they observed that peoples concerns and
needs change throughout the course of the day and they want this to be reflected in the
products that they buy. Centor, on the other hand, sought to create a new future context by
considering the potential needs of a future customer, namely, they considered the
possibility of selling directly to a homeowner. When considering the needs of a homeowner,
it could be imagined that they want to purchase the full system of windows and doors, and
that they want these to afford the feeling of being seamlessly connected to the outside
world. This was a new meaning, essentially social in nature, that provided Centor with a way
of reconsidering how they relate to their customers. In all these instances, the meaning
1
In each of these examples, while the goals might seem reasonable and straightforward, they cannot be realised in their
original form; hence the need to re-frame. In each instance there is a state of deadlock or tension. Competing tensions keep
the problem from moving forward (see Dorst, 2011, for a discussion of paradoxes). In FCs Kings Cross, previous law-andorder solutions had failed to reduce violence (and in the re-frame step it will be revealed that it is because this was not
actually a law-and-order problem). In DLIs Centor example, external pressures from the global financial crisis meant that
they would have to find a new goal and scale-up in order to stay competitive. Similarly, in ViPs Dutch Railways example, it
would become apparent the shop should not actually be central to the project, but that the relationships people want with
their products should instead take centre stage.
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change in reference to the start frame manifests in the form of a new understanding, or a
revision, of the problem.
Re-formulated goal
With the problem space now opened up beyond that presented in the initial start frame, a
new, refined goal, or value to attain, is proposed. In the case of FCs Kings Cross, the new
goal was to occupy and entertain the young people. For ViPs Dutch Railways, the new goal
was to create a store that supports peoples behaviour in realising their social goals. And for
DLIs Centor, they sought to create customer experiences of connection to the outside
world. Adequate resolution of the new goals should in effect subsume the original goals as
well, whether deliberately or incidentally, and will be discussed further in the solutions
section.
End frame
After this new understanding of the problem has been established, the next step in moving
forward is to find a new approach, or new way of looking at the problem (a frame). This
might be achieved through drawing upon metaphors in order to comprehend the less welldefined problem situation. By considering the desirable values and needs identified in the
preceding re-frame step, it is possible to look for similar situations in which these values and
meanings are realised. For example, in FCs Kings Cross, the designers compared the
troubled nightspot to a musical festival. A musical festival shares in common many elements
with the troubled nightspot (large volumes of young people, alcohol consumption, and so
on), yet they seem to function relatively harmoniously, conveying different social and
cultural meanings, such that it can be used as a source of new ideas. Similarly, in ViPs Dutch
Railways, the designers knew the type of future shop they wanted to create namely one
that assists people in realising their current social goals so they drew upon a metaphor of a
shop as a typecasting coach for facilitating appropriate interactions. A typecasting coach
would serve the role of directing people around a shop. In the case of both the FC and ViP
examples, the meaning change here (from the start and re- frames) is essentially initiated by
seeing or looking at the problem in a different way. The form in which the changes manifest
is that of a new perspective on a problem that creates new meanings about how participants
could experience the context. A new frame might also take the form of a new value
proposition as in the case of DLIs Centor. Here, the re-formulated goal could be combined
with the end frame to provide a value or offering to the customer, in this instance,
integrated indoor-outdoor living that joins indoor and outdoor worlds to expand and
improve living spaces. Again, like FC and ViP, the meaning change here is initiated by seeing
the problem in a different way, but instead of drawing upon metaphor, the new value or
perspective is established and confirmed by proposing and testing it against customers until
an accurate representation of true needs is obtained. In all instances, the development of
the end frame involves narrowing back in and defining the problem in a new way so
opportunities for making new meanings emerge.
Solution
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The solutions refer to the products and/or services that should realise the initial goal as a
consequence of addressing the re-formulated goal. The end frame directs solutions by
drawing upon their working principles (in the case of the FC and ViP examples) or comparing
and bridging future desired and current states (as in DLI). In FCs Kings Cross, an array of
solutions was put into place, including extra public toilets, extra entertainment, extra
transport, and so on, that changed the meanings associated with the precinct. These
solutions were designed to occupy, entertain, and assist the young people (re-formulated
goal) so that they do not get into trouble in the first place (initial goal). In ViPs Dutch
Railways, a shop was created with embedded meaning that directs people to different zones
(addressing an initial goal of controlling traffic flow), containing different types of products
corresponding with their current social concerns (re-formulated goal). In DLIs Centor
example, the company extended their offering from the simple production of door and
window hardware components (initial goal) to the full production of window and door
systems that fold away completely to reveal the outdoors and expand living spaces (reformulated goal). In all instances, the solution is intended to manifest as a new user
interpretation, or experience, of the product, situation or service.1 This new meaning might
be implicit or explicit, and can fall into any of the categories of individual (personal), social
(cultural), or utilitarian (literal). For instance, in Kings Cross the solutions directed by the
musical festival frame hold personal significance in terms of creating a sense of identity, and
they also clearly have social meaning in that the solutions change peoples interactions and
relationships with others. The Dutch Railways example can be seen particularly as creating
new social meanings in the store environment by providing product portfolios that
deliberately support the type of interaction-style people want to have with others. Lastly,
Centors integrated indoor-outdoor living could be considered as influencing users personal
and social meanings related to how they can use and experience the home environment.
3.2 Framing and meaning making over the design process

Following this analysis, Table 1 provides a general overview of our assessment of how, using
each of three design innovation methods, new meaning is typically created and the nature of
the new meaning. Shaded in grey in the table is the analysis of the new meanings at the reframe, end frame, and solution steps of the framing model. In the first re-frame step, our
analysis indicates that although each method uses different processes to prompt the new
frame or meaning, the attribute of the new meaning across methods is generally in the form
of a new understanding about the problem context. At the end frame step both the FC and
ViP methods appear to restructure how they see the problem through the use of analogy
and metaphor, while in DLI the view of the problem is changed by proposing and testing
assumptions about new future customers. The new meaning created through the end frame
1
Here we are discussing the prompts of the designer (e.g. using working principles of the frame) and its intended effect on
the perception of the solution to the user (the attributes perceived by the user). We are particularly interested in the design
process here; however, we acknowledge that the actual user would likely have their own set of prompts in experiencing a
new change in meaning for example, e.g. detecting a difference between old and new meaning in terms of a new set of
qualities or use-scenario.
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in both FC and ViP is generally a new transformative perspective on the problem, whereas in
DLI it is a new validated business proposition. At the solution stage, again there are
similarities with how the FC and ViP methods create solutions with new meaning (e.g. using
working principles to deliberately convey meanings of the new frame), while DLI seeks to
create strategies to bridge current and future states. In each method the key meaning
attribute of the solution is a new relationship or experience with the situation/product in its
context.
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4. Discussion
4.1 Overview of aims and findings
It is widely recognised that a key feature of achieving innovations is to innovate on meaning;
however, most academic discussion focuses on the value of the end product to the user,
with little discussion regarding how the creation of new meaning is initiated. In this paper
we sought to examine meaning creation over the design process both in the problem and
solution spaces. We examined three design innovation methods in which framing plays a
central role. We reasoned that framing is intrinsically related to the creation of new
meaning due to its capacity to provide a new standpoint from which to approach problems
and subsequently direct novel solutions. From observing patterns across methods and
example projects, we were able to articulate a common model of framing which revealed
important insights regarding how meaning changes arise (meaning prompts), and in what
form, or quality, they take (meaning attributes). We found that meaning changes did
occur both within the design process (during the re-frame and end frame) and in the
solution stage. This capacity to investigate the nature of both the design process and the
end solution using the common construct of meaning creates new opportunities for a more
integrated understanding of the whole innovation process from framing through to the
successful implementation and use of the product. We will now briefly discuss these
changes of meaning in turn, situating them in a discussion of more general human ways of
knowing, or thought processes and activities, that align with the design processes outlined
in our framing model.
4.2 Reflecting on the analysis

We have broadly conceptualised meaning in this paper as being the interpretation of a
situation. We argued that this can be an interpretation of the problem (to the designer)
and/or an interpretation of the solution (to the user). We have examined the relationship
between innovation processes, framing, and meaning to identify how meaning is made
throughout the innovation process, and in what forms it manifests. While we found the
methods to differ in their procedural steps and in the individual nuances by which meaning
changes are initiated or prompted, we observed some commonalities in the broad
representation or form in which these changes manifested (or in the interpretations of
meaning at each stage in the design process). In the problem space, we argued that
meaning change manifests firstly as a new understanding of the problem (during the reframe stage), and then as a new perspective on the problem (during the end frame stage).
In the solution space, to the designer, meaning change first manifests as the designing of
new product-context relationships (drawing from the meanings in the end frame). Then
once the solution space is designed or prototyped, there is the users experience of the
product (solution stage) as having new meaning (presumably) consistent with achieving the
initial and reformulated goals.
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In reflecting further on the nature of meaning change at each step of the design process, it
appears there is a logical purpose underlying each interpretation of transformed meaning
that can be explained in more everyday, non design-specific language. That is, the steps of
the design process and their associated representations of meanings can be mapped to
more general human thought processes or behaviours; or, ways of knowing (as presented
in Table 2). Broadly, we suggest that new meaning is created in the design process by firstly
forming a new understanding of the problem, and then subsequently seeing it in a new way.
Then, new meaning is further developed by acting in such a way to direct the creation of
novel solutions. Finally, new meaning is then appreciated through the user experiencing
these new products/situations.
Table 2 Framing, meaning, and human ways of knowing.
Human Process
Design Process
Nature of the Interpretation
Understanding
Re-Frame
New meaning as an understanding of

the problem that provokes
reconceptualization
Seeing
End Frame
New meaning as a way of seeing the

problem that opens up opportunities
for resolution
Acting
Solution-Design
New meaning as a way of articulating

the solutions drawn from approaching
the problem in a new way
Experiencing
Solution-Product
New meaning as the users experience

of the innovative product in its context
4.3 Directions for future research

Although there is a general recognition within the design innovation literature that the
creation of new meaning is fundamental to innovation, there are still many issues requiring
clarification. We have provided an analysis of framing and meaning making across three
prominent design innovation methods, and argued that implicit in a new frame is new
meaning. Our reflections suggest creating new meaning is a feature throughout the design
innovation process often leading, at different stages, to changes in understanding, seeing,
acting, and experiencing. The research presented in this paper, while promising, is, however,
initial and exploratory. Questions remain regarding aspects of the individual nature of both
framing and meaning, and the generalizability of how they interrelate. Future research will
extend to a greater number of research projects from these and other design innovation
methods to further develop and establish the nature of the relationships between framing,
meaning, and innovation.
In this paper we described some of the mechanisms regarding how meaning changes occur
across three design methods (the meaning prompts). There are likely to be other prompts
that deserve attention, and questions remain regarding which prompts lead to the most
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innovative and/or successful solutions; the two might not be the same thing. Furthermore,
we have assumed the designers intentions are successfully realised by the end user in terms
of the desired meaning that is conveyed. However, questions remain regarding whether the
intended frame is always successfully embodied in the solutions as perceived by the end
user (e.g. see Vermaas et al., 2015).
Last of all, we call into question the exact nature of meaning. We have offered a broad
conceptualisation of meaning as the interpretation of a situation whereby this interpretation
can be in the problem space (a new way of understanding and seeing) and in the solution
space (a new way of acting and a new way of experiencing). The qualities of these
interpretations need to be examined further. Within each level of interpretation, there are
likely to be further subcategories for more intricately understanding the nature of meaning.
For instance, at any of the levels of processing, meaning might be further classified as
utilitarian-literal (the technical function that something is produced and reproduced for),
individual-personal (the locus of meaning pertains to personal experiences such as
emotions, and aesthetics), and social-cultural (meanings are embedded within interpersonal
relationships with others such as through expression of identities, statuses, and values).
These, or other potential subcategories will need to be further explored.
In conclusion, it is intended that this paper opens up the scope for further research into
studying framing and meaning making and that it may be useful in creating a better
understanding of innovation processes generally. We have taken a purposefully structured
approach in this study by using our common model of framing to identify similarities and
differences between innovation methods. We believe this structured approach has
considerable potential for further research by providing a means of comparison across
design innovation methods and projects that will help elucidate the relationships between
framing, meaning, and innovation. As such, we believe this approach also has utility for
education and training purposes and has practical implications for guiding designers in
achieving innovations.
Acknowledgements: We wish to thank Kees Dorst, Sam Bucolo, and Paul Hekkert for
many helpful discussions regarding their methods and for general advice on framing and
meaning. We also thank Patrick Forrest for his assistance with the visual images in this
paper. And we thank the reviewers for their helpful feedback on an earlier version of the
manuscript.
5. References
Bucolo, S. (2015) Are we there yet? Insights on how to lead by design, BIS Publishers.
Crilly, N. (2010) The roles that artefacts play: technical, social and aesthetic functions, Design Studies,
31, pp. 311-344.
Cross, N. (2007). Designerly Ways of Knowing, Birkhauser.
Dong, A. (2013) Design x Innovation, Consilience and Innovation in Design: Proceedings of the 5th
International Congress of International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR), Tokyo,
Japan, pp. 0234-0245.
Dorst, K. (2011) The core of 'design thinking' and its application, Design Studies, 32, pp. 521-532.
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Dorst, K. (2015) Frame innovation: Create new thinking by design, MA: MIT Press.
Fournier, S. (1991) A Meaning-Based Framework for the Study of Consumer-Object Relations,
Advances in Consumer Research, 18, pp. 736-742.
Hekkert, P., & van Dijk, M. (2011) Vision in design: A guidebook for innovators, BIS Publishers.
Krippendorff, K. (1989) On the Essential Contexts of Artifacts or on the Proposition That "Design Is
Making Sense (Of Things)", Design Issues, 5, pp. 9-39.
Scho n, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books, Inc.
Verganti, R. (2008) Design, Meanings, and Radical Innovation: A Metamodel and a Research Agenda,
Journal of Product Innovation Management, 25, pp. 436-456.
Verganti, R. (2011) Radical Design and Technology Epiphanies: A New Focus for Research on Design
Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28, pp. 384-388.
Verganti, R., & berg, . (2013) Interpreting and envisioningA hermeneutic framework to look at
radical innovation of meanings, Industrial Marketing Management, 42, pp. 86-95.
Vermaas, P., Dorst, K., & Thurgood, C. (2015) Framing in design: A formal analysis and failure modes,
Design for Life: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED15),
Milan, Italy, pp. 133-142.
About the Authors:

Clementine Thurgood is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the
University of Technology Sydney. Her research interests include
design innovation, design methods, design aesthetics, psychology,
psychophysiology, and visual perception. She is currently
investigating how framing supports changes in product meaning.
Rohan Lulham is a Research Fellow at the University of Technology
Sydney. His research interests include design for social innovation,
design innovation methods, design and affect, environmental
psychology and design innovation in justice contexts.
1794
The making of sustainable cultural and creative

cluster in Hong Kong
Kaman Ka Man Tsang* and Kin Wai Michael Siu
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
* kamansd@gmail.com
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.202
Abstract: The setup of cultural and creative cluster became a trendy practice for
generating economic revenue in the post-industrial era. Many state governments
imitates those successful prescription in the setup of cluster, however, it could not
guarantee the sustainable development of the cluster. This paper endeavors to
identify the fundamental factors in developing a sustainable cluster in a densely
populated city. Rather than considering the spatial setting as the most important
factor for cluster, this paper argues that the formation of community and happening
of creativity are the integral factors for creative production. A three factors model
has been generated for the evaluation of a sustainable cluster. The applicability of
model was examined through an empirical case, Easy-Pack Creative Precinct, in Hong
Kong. Data were drawn through direct observation and semi-structured interviews.
The result reviews the meaning of cultural and creative cluster in the highly
condensed city.
Keywords: creative industry; cultural and creative cluster; creative community; creativity
1. Introduction
In the post-industrial era, the rises of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) become a key
factor to profit making and a new convention for bringing urban viability. Creative industries
situated in a physical space and formed geographical cluster (Lazzeretti, Boix & Capone
2008; Scott 2005; Siu 2012). Basically, cluster refers to geographically defined space where
cultural activities occur or where businesses assemble to produce products and services for
domestic or international consumption. (Keane, 2013, p.3) Setting up of creative clusters
becomes a trendy practice to support the creative industries agenda in the restructuring
economic condition of cities in worldwide context. Especially after the influential geographic
economists Alfred Marshall (1975) and Michael Porter (1998) established the cluster theory

on highlighting the profit generation of cluster, a strong momentum of clusters was found in
different counties; various forms and scales of creative clusters have been erected across
the globe. In order to guarantee the successful making of these sites, different
governments make reference to the successful cases and recite similar formula in setting up
the sites i.e. providing space with cheap rent for the start-up creative practitioners. Such
formula is assumed as an uncritical strategy in sustaining the creative industries. However,
the complexities of cultural and creative clusters were largely overlooked in both theoretical
and empirical manner. Cultural and creative cluster had its own logic in operation; the
homogenous practice in running the industrial clusters does not ensure the sustainable
development of creative clusters (Kong 2009; Mommaas 2009). However, the highly
condensed cities like Hong Kong where land is the most valuable and expensive resource,
the Western operation mode may be inapplicable due to the lack of space and the
skyrocketing rents. This research aims to explore the essential factors for a sustainable
cultural and creative cluster in the highly dense city.
Theoretically, the emerging concern on cultural and creative cluster gained scholarly
concern. Issues like profit generation and product innovation system (Lazzeretti, Boix &
Capone 2008) are still the main focuses of researches. Apart from concentrating the nature
and function of creative cluster, growing number of literatures concerning the relationship
between cluster and other attributes were found e.g. relation between cluster and network
formation were the key concerns for the works of Harvey, Hawkins & Thomas (2012) and
Kong (2009). Another group of scholars focused on the relationship between cluster
development and creativity (Drake 2003), while scholars Adler (2012) & Capaldo (2007)
highlighted the close relationship between community and creativity. Definitely, it was
fruitful to see the connection of cluster with creativity and community. However, the
dualistic preposition towards the cluster development could not totally explain the
complexity of operation, function and meaning of clustering.
Emphasis on the relationship between community formation and spatial quality of cluster
might lighten the unique mode of creative production; these studies would be similar to
those researches on other industrial clusters. While those stressed on the relationship
between cluster development and creativity, the mutual support generated within the
creative community might be overlooked. For those who focused on community formation
and happening of creativity might neglect the qualities of place for creative production.
Thus, this paper hypothesizes the importance of co-existence of three factors i.e. (a) Spatial
quality of cluster, (b) formation of community and (c) happening of creativity for a
sustainable cultural and creative cluster. The three factors should be regarded as the
fundamental components as they are interrelated. Healthy and sustainable development of
the cluster requires an intricate and complex mixing of all three factors.
In order to demonstrate the importance of three factors for a sustainable cluster and its
applicability in the highly dense city, one creative cluster from Hong Kong, the Easy-Pack
Creative Precinct had been examined under the three factors framework. The case was
selected because it was a typical as well as special cultural and creative cluster in Hong Kong.
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The making of sustainable cultural and creative cluster in Hong Kong
Similar to other clusters formed in an organic way, Easy-pack Creative Precinct is located at
the old industrial area where it provides large studio space with reasonable rent. However,
in order to maintain the rent at an affordable level, the spatial setting of cluster is in the
form of subdivided flat, which is a new form of housing residence in Hong Kong due to the
high-priced rent in the highly dense city.
2. Sustainable cultural and creative cluster

Among the studies of cultural and creative cluster, Kong (2009, 2012) conducted detail
studies on the sustainability of clusters in Asian context and she defined sustainability in
terms of cultural, social and economic aspects. According to Kong (2012), cultural
sustainability refers to the continued ability for cultural workers to engage in their cultural
work, and the conditions that support the specific nature of that cultural work.(p.186) This
paper basically agrees with the Kongs understandings, but as her research target was more
about artists while this study focus on the creative practitioners i.e. designer. So the cultural
sustainability refers to the continuous ability to produce new creative works. For the social
sustainability, Kong related it to the sense of support that derives from social interaction
within the space (p.187). This paper will echo the importance of community and regarded it
as one of the fundamental factors of sustainable cluster. To reveal the effectiveness of
formation of community, the dropout rate under affordable rent is an important indicator.
The economic sustainability could be understood as the happening of commercialization
from Kongs sense, this study therefore pinpoints the commercial activities found in the
cluster. Thus, sustainability of cultural and creative cluster could be reflected from two areas
:( 1) dropout rate and (2) collaboration and production of new works.
3. Cultural and creative clusters in Hong Kong

Hong Kong government had realized the economic potential of Cultural and Creative
Industries (CCIs) since 2005. A number of measures had been suggested to develop Cultural
and Creative industries, which was regarded as one of the Six industries of the city. (Policy
Address 2009-10, 2009) An official body Create HK was established in 2009 to drive the
development of creative industries with clear vision to build Hong Kong into Asias Creative
Capital (Create HK 2009). To realize such vision, the official body Create HK drove the
creative industries in different approaches. Apart from providing $300 million financial
support to develop the creative industries in Hong Kong, one of its major directions is to
develop creative clusters in the territory to generate synergy and facilitate
exchanges (Create HK 2009). In such a small city, there are seven planned clusters
supported by Government, NGO and education institutions. However, negative feedbacks
and complaints had been resulted even the official bodies had poured huge resources in
constructing the clusters and providing rent subsidy to tenants. Those instituted clusters
neither attained popularity nor were welcomed by the creative practitioners. Complaints
and negative feedbacks had been frequently voiced out from tenants of different sites (CNN
Go, 14/01/2010; SCMP, 18/04/2014). For example, many practitioners complained that the
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operation of the clusters did not match well with the working pattern and lifestyle of
creative groups; and the space did not encourage communication and interaction between
tenants. Agglomeration of creative practitioners was able to promise the vibrancy cultural
and creative clusters.
Therefore, lots of creative practitioners prefer to set up their studio outside the subsidized
cluster even they have to pay for high rent with similar or even poorer environment/
facilities. The old industrial areas normally become the alternative for them to set up their
studio; different cultural and creative cluster has generally formed in such an organic way.
4. Easy-Pack Creative Precinct

Easy-Pack Creative Precinct locates at a 40 years old industrial building in Kwun Tong district.
With the busy traffic, air pollution and messy alleys of Kwun Tong district, the surrounding
environment of Easy-pack Creative Precinct does not provide delighting atmosphere. In
2011, the landlord renovated the upper three floors and turned it into the Easy-Pack
Creative Precinct. In order to remain an affordable rent for the practitioners, the gross floor
area was divided into small premises with shared toilets and pantries; the format of the
cluster was in the style of subdivided units. Size of each premise is different, ranging from
200 to 1200 sq. ft., for meeting the affordability of tenants. Currently there are 16 creative
groups from various disciplines of creative industries.
Fig. 1. Location of Easy Pack Creative Precinct

Image source: Google map
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Fig. 2. Faade of Easy Pack Creative Precinct.
Fig. 3. The surrounding environment of EasyPack Creative Precinct.
Fig. 4. The main entrance of Easy Pack

industrial building is located at the
back alley. ( Day and Night )
5. Research methods
Data of this paper emerged from the research conducted from October 2012 to January
2015. Direct observation and semi-structured interview had been applied as the research
methods. This research agreed with Berger (1998) observation finds out what goes on in
the subcultures or organizations being studied and to gain some insight into their operations
(especially hidden aspects not easily recognized) and how they function (p.105). This study
made reference to the work of Hall (1966), Alexander (1977) and Zeisel (2006) on
observation, focus was placed on three aspects i.e. (i) physical setting, (ii) social setting and
(iii) cultural setting for examining the physical traces and social behaviour in the site.
Observation at Easy-Pack Creative Precinct was conducted at different timeslots on both
weekends and weekdays. Observation was also carried out for activities outside the site like
visiting the music shows organized by tenants.
Semi-structured interview was selected in this research because it allows the respondent to
develop and qualify his or her ideas in the interview setting and in addition allows for the
introduction of contradictions which in them can provide valuable insights into
consciousness (Hobbs & May, 1993, p.102). The data was derived from the semi-structured
interview with 10 creative groups who work in different disciplines (i.e. product design,
furniture design, graphic design, music production, leather workshop, design services,
multimedia art/design) at Easy-Pack Creative Precinct. Also, additional interview with
landlord and the caretaker of the site had been conducted. All interviews were undertaken
in a face-to-face format at the studio of interviewees. Each interview lasted for
approximately one and half hour. The interview was aimed to collect primary data on (i)
usage and expectation of cluster (ii) social interaction between the creative practitioners,
and (iii) happening of creativity within the cluster
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6. Findings: Three factors for the making of sustainable cultural and

creative cluster
Based on theoretical discussion and empirical study, this paper proposes three factors (i.e.
Quality of cluster, formation of community and happening of creativity) are the integral
elements for building a sustainable cluster fulfilling the economic, cultural and social aspects
(Kong 2009). These three factors do not function independently but they are interwoven to
support the creative practitioners (Refer to fig 5).
In the first place, cluster is not only a physical site; it also refers to the spatial settings that
support the special nature of creative production. It is important to concern the quality of
cluster in terms of its basic needs, disciplinary needs and even the psychological needs, so
that it could support the wellbeing of the practitioners. Formation of community among the
practitioners is very critical that it allows frequent interaction and information exchange of
the practitioners. Especially for the nature of creative production, which often highlights
teamwork and collaboration, the cultivated sense of belonging and mutual trust among the
creative practitioners help the creative work in a positive way. While creativity is the core for
cultural and creative production, generation of inspirations, stimulation and diversified idea
are expected to produce in the cultural and creative cluster. In order to make the
requirements of a sustainable cluster explicit, further details of the three factors are listed as
follows:
6.1. Quality of Cluster

A breath of academic literatures have pinpointed the spatial setting of cluster is influential to
the practice of creative users .The scholars have stated the importance of geography or
spatial setting of the cluster (Cunningham 2002; Scott 2006; Kong and OConnor 2009). To
most of the creative practitioners, the studio in the cluster is more than a purely working
space for temporary stay; it is essential to see how the cluster could meet the needs as well
as the wellbeing of users. As reference to the classic theory Hierarchy of need by Maslow
(1943), there are different levels of attainment in order to support the wellbeing of people.
Similarly, the quality of cluster could be evaluated in different levels as (a) Basic need, (b)
Specific need based on design disciplines and (c) psychological need. Basic need refers to the
basic condition and amenities that retain the stay of creative practitioners. Specific needs
are about different needs relating to design disciplines like the requirement on the ceiling
height for photographic shooting. If the cluster could not provide certain freedom and
amenities, it limits the variation of creative domains found in the site. The psychological
level is more than supplying the primary conditions, it is about the fulfilment of
psychological needs like the sense of security, sense of belonging and sense of community, it
may largely raise the level of satisfaction that support the creative production.
Empirically, the existing spatial quality of cluster was examined through direct observation.
Through the question What are the requirements for the selection of cluster? and What
are the expectations on the cluster? in the semi-structured interview, the interviewees
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listed down all their needs and expectations of the cluster. They commented on different
needs and data had been categorized based on the mentioned three levels.
6.2 Formation of Community

This paper sees the importance of the spatiality-defined communities is important due to
the practice of the creative job. Project-based, freelance or contracted works normally
require last-minute workers with instantaneous access to skill sets. Job referral through the
established social network is a win-win situation that helps the collaborative nature of
creation works. Without prolong socialization at the physical location, the network of trust is
difficult to develop. Sources of support, comments and collaboration would only happen
after the development of mutual trust. As mentioned by Belussi & Staber (2012),
spontaneous & informal networks are the central organizational form in the arts domain,
and formal project-based research networks are the locus of creative activity in science.(p.
xvii) Only with the presence of creative people in the same place, the spontaneous and
informal interaction will be possible. This research would further highlight the importance of
face-to-face interaction which is the truly way for long-term relationship and trust building.
In the operation of the community, Brint (2001) came up with the concept of community
through the study of Durkheim and identified the (a) structural variables and (b) cultural
variables for examining the formation of community. Structural variables are about the
dense social tie, the social attachments to and involvements in institutions and the group
size, while the cultural variables refer to the similarity with the way of life and common
beliefs in an idea system.
In this research, the structural variable could be evaluated through the interview question
What kind of activities you will have with creative practitioners in this site? Besides the
interview, the tenants often upload the photos of the joint activities with other tenants to
the social media i.e. Facebook or Instagram, it could also evident their social attachments to
and involvements in the cluster. The similarity with the way of life could also be revealed in
the semi-structured interview on the everyday life pattern.
6.3 Happening of Creativity

Clustering of Motley crew, as stated by Cave (2002), diversity of different people has positive
effect as the creative industries need each others support for survival, from the idea
generation to the product valorisation. This research adopts the sociocultural approach
towards the creativity by Amabile (1983) that creativity includes two key factors :(a) Novelty
and (b) appropriate to some domain of human activities (Sawyer, 2012, p. 214)
In the empirical study, the number of domain of creative industries in cluster could reflect
novelty as diversity of creative practitioners increase the chance for producing novel ideas.
Also, the new creative works and collaboration could be examined by their company profile,
official website and online promotion. Similarly, the chance of exposure, which helps to
measure the appropriateness of cluster, could be discovered in the interview as well as the
online promotion.
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Fig. 5.Three factors model for the making of sustainable cultural and creative cluster
7. Examining the sustainability of Easy-Pack Creative Precinct

7.1 Quality of Cluster
Easy-Pack Creative precinct does not have a very pleasure environment as it located at the
old industrial district with automotive repair shops and hardware stores nearby. The traffic is
busy and the frequent loadings of Lorries create traffic jams during peak hours. For the
cluster itself, as it is in the format of subdivided studio unit that some premises are very
small and without window. Due to the limited size of gross floor, there are very limited
supporting facilities for creation and testing. Ironically, all interviewees were satisfied with
the spatial settings of the Easy-Pack Creative Precinct and the provision of better
environment would be something nice to have. They agreed that the site had some
drawbacks, but they could bear with in general and had their own strategy in dealing with
the difficulties. For example, one interviewee shared that though the rent was his major
concern, he was highly motivated by the fact that he had to pay the rent monthly. All
interviewees believed that the flexible management and freedom in use of space were very
crucial. For example, they could have some temporary storage spaces at the lift lobby if
needed or they would not be accused of making noise or doing some testing by hand tools.
7.2 Formation of Community

According to interview and observation, the dense social ties could be found among the
creative practitioners. The small group size (only 16 creative groups) and intimate spatial
setting encourage the interaction between tenants. Through the day-to-day encounter at
the corridor, lift, toilet and rooftop garden, the tenants get familiar with each other. Most
interviewees reported that they had frequent interaction with each other including
chitchatting, going out for meal, playing TV game or even joining together to go out for
music show. Also, the active participation of the events held/organized by cluster (i.e. flea
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market, rooftop music show, BBQ and hotpot gathering) showed that they had formed the
creative community with good sense of belongings. The strong social tie actually helps the
creative practitioners in a number of ways. For instant, one interviewee highlighted that he
preferred to collaborate with tenants in this cluster. Even he knew some practitioners at
some occasions or events but he never knew exactly ones ability and knowledge without
prolong observation. Many people just boasted of their talents and covered by brilliant
presentation skills. Only through day-to-day observation, he knew what others ability,
strengths and weakness. It was so risky to work with people that you were not really sure.
Obviously they had built up mutual trust among tenants. Half of the interviewees mentioned
the reason for their stay owing to the concentration of the creative groups. They believed it
was vital to stay with the mind alike, as they had similar belief and would share and support
each other. One interviewee specially highlighted that they could seek the instant but
professional advices from people around them. Also, the prolong working hours or even
overnight work was so common for creative practitioners, the average working hours was
around 10.5 hours per day for tenants in the site, all interviewees emphasized the value of
others presence.
In order to meet the deadline, I usually work very late and very stressful; sometimes I
work overnight at my studio. The feeling of loneliness makes me feel bad, but knowing
your buddies in this building who are still workings just like you make me feel better.
Even though they work at their units, you can hear the sound of hammer or you see
dim light outside their door is good enough. (Interview with interviewee K,
08/09/2013)
7.3 Happening of Creativity

Even though there are only 16 creative groups in this small cluster, there are 7major
domains of creative industries. In the interview with the landlord, he emphasized he had
carefully selected the specialism of tenants as he wanted to balance the dynamic in the site.
He further highlighted that many tenants asked him if there were similar creative groups in
his building, as they wanted to minimize competitions and conflict of interest between
tenants. The co-location of homogenous creative groups would not bring synergy to the
creative cluster. One interviewee recalled the process of collaboration between the tenants.
I have collaboration with the furniture maker in this building, just a moment when I
wait for the lift and have casual chat with designer J, we come up the idea of making a
leather chair. I am a teacher on leather design, and his buddies also join in with
furniture design background. After spending few nights, we finally get the design done.
But we are not sure about the production, so I just go upstairs where a curator has her
own studio. She then link up with the factory in mainland, and now the leather chair is
available in the market. (Interview with Y, 04/06/2013)
Therefore, Leonard and Sensiper (1998) even concluded that innovation, to a large extent,
was a social and communicative process. The exchange of idea and information flow among
the creative group and face-to-face interaction should not be neglected. However, the lack
of place for regular retail and showcases was one of the drawbacks of the site. In order to
1803
compensate it, some tenants initiate the bazaars and flea markets to have more exposure of
their works. Also, the site had organized the joint exhibition and worked with different
commercial brands in order to let people know their works.
Table 1: Sustainability of cultural and creative cluster an evaluation of Easy-Pack Creative Precinct
Cluster
Basic need
Subdivided studio unit

Shared toilet
No subsided rent
Not all premise has windows
Split air-conditioning system (24 hours available)
1 elevator ( for both cargo and passenger use )
Convenient transportaiton ( MTR, minibus, bus nearby)
Inexpensive meal nearby ( staff canteens of factories, local restaurants )
Speicific need
Flexible use of space

No formal exhibiton and event venue
Limited supporting failicites for creation , testing , produciton(rooftop
garden for small scale testing or woodwork )
Psychological
Need
A number of places in the cluster have been identified by the users for
casual meeting, gathering, entertainment &relaxation
Flexible management
Mid level of security (No security guard and security company, CCTV,
entrance locked after 8pm)
The cluster was unknown to the public due to the lack of promotion
Air pollution due to busy traffic and concentration of factories
Noisy and chaotic traffic with frequent loading of lorries
Next to the automotive repair shops and hardware store
Community
Creativity
Structure
Dense social ties formed among the creative practitioners (e.g. frequent
encounter, chitchat, meal, TV game, appreciation of music show at live
music house)
Frequent day to day interaction
Active participation of the events organized by the site
(e.g. flea market, rooftop music show, BBQ, hotpot and other festival
activities)
Appropriate size in forming relation tie
Culture
Importance to stay with creative people with common belief

Similar working pattern i.e. Prolong working hour (10.5 hour/day)
Novelty
7 major domains of creative industries in the site

Self initiated bazaars and events
New creative works/activities through collaboration with tenants in the
cluster
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Appropriateness
Lack of place for regular retail and showcase

Occasional self initiated bazaars and events for exposure
Low popularity due to the lack of professional promotion and marketing
8. Discussion: evaluation of sustainability of the cluster

In order to reflect the applicability of the model, two significant evidences: (1) dropout rate
and (2) collaboration and production of new works had been obtained to demonstrate the
sustainable development of the Easy-pack Creative Precinct.
8.1 Dropout rate

Sustainable growth first of all needs the stay of creative practitioners, whether the cluster is
healthy enough to support the sustainable growth of creative practitioners. The dropout
rate of tenants shows if the cluster could retain the stay of creative practitioners. Without
any financial support from government, the dropout rate of Easy-Pack Creative Precinct was
at a low level i.e. 11.1% during the research period. Two units of tenants moved out from
the buildings due to business expansion and changing location for business purpose. The
figure showed that the cluster actually supported the work of creative practitioners that
they could afford the rent and run their business.
8.2 Collaboration and production of new works

As highlighted by the official body of Hong Kong government Create HK, the aim of creative
cluster in Hong Kong was to facilitate the synergy and exchange of creative practitioners. In
fact, practitioners at Easy-Pack Creative Precinct actually exercised such practice that they
worked closely with each other. Apart from exchanging information and discussion, tenants
had various types of collaboration projects. Collaboration normally involved more than two
units of creative groups and they involved in both commercial activities and creative works.
During the research period, there were 2 large-scale joint exhibitions, 2 self-initiated flea
markets, 4 workshops and 2 rooftop music shows. Also, a new brand for selling snacks at
bazaar was even founded by three creative groups who came from the area of music
production, product design and leather workshop. Collaboration did not only illustrate the
good relationship between tenants, but it also demonstrated the active happening of
creativity and the synergy between tenants.
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Table 2: Some examples of collaborative projects at Easy-Pack Creative Precinct

Nature of Work Date
Commercial
activity and
Creative work
Commercial
activity
Creative work
Project
Description
Number
of unit(s)
Involved
10/10/2015 Weekend Pantry

03/10/2015
31/08/2015
Two product designers, one leather

workshop and a musician form the
group Weekend Pantry to produce
the Handmade dessert and snacks
for different weekend events held
in/outside the site
28/01/2015 Music Critique

workshop
One leather workshop, two product

designers and online music
magazine organized music critique
workshop
26/10/2015 Nomad Nomad

rooftop market
Leather workshop, product design,

the newly formed group and media
artist participated in the rooftop
market fair
06/2013
Lee UNION-ALLS
100th
Anniversary x
Easy-Pack Union
The fashion brand Lee invited 10

creative groups of Easy-Pack to
design the new denim outfit for
celebrating the 100th anniversary
of Lee Union-Alls. The woks were
showcased at the Lee flagship store.
10
04/2013
Days of Being
exhibition
A group exhibition with 12 creative

units displaying their works at HAJI
Gallery
12
10/2012
Detour 2012
Participation in the production of

the Detour programme
9. Conclusion
In order to express the sense of geographical concentration, a number of similar terms like
quarter, agglomeration, village, district or region could be found and sometimes they were
interchangeable with the notion cluster. However, the notion cluster, which was developed
in the end of the nineteenth century, has very special implications. Cluster does not simply
refer to the co-location of the creative groups or solely describes the geographical location
and proximity of similar business; benefits on the efficient use of transportation,
infrastructure, and utilities localized networks of specialized firms would be expected.
Ultimately, generation of synergy effect is the finial goal for clustering. Moreover, there are
numerous clusters in the world under the creative industries agenda, but whether the
cluster could maintain its sustainability is in doubt. This research therefore suggests the
1806
importance of taking the three factors (i.e. cluster, community and creativity) into account in
constructing the sustainable cluster. Just like the Easy-pack Creative Precinct; it could be
regarded as a sustainable cluster as it has very high attainment of the formation of
community and happening of creativity. The synergy effect could be clearly evidenced in the
quantity and range of creative productions.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank School of Design, The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University for the partial research support and the research postgraduate
research fund. This research is made possible through the help and support from the
tenants, caretaker and landlord of the Easy-Pack Creative Precinct.
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About the Authors:

Kaman Ka Man Tsang is a PhD candidate at the School of Design, The
Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include
creative industries, cultural and creative cluster, creative community,
urban studies, design and culture.
Kin Wai Michael Siu is Chair Professor of Public Design, The Hong
Kong Polytechnic University. He is Leader of the first Public Design
Lab. His research interests are in public design, design and culture,
user reception, design research methods.
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An exploration of Service Design Jam and its ability

to foster Social Enterprise
Ksenija Kuzminaa*, Chris Parkerb, Gyuchan Thomas Juna, Martin Maguirea, Val Mitchella,
Mariale Morenoc and Samantha Portera
a
Loughborough University
The University of Manchester
c
Cranfield University
* k.kuzmina@lboro.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.460
b
Abstract: Social enterprises (SE) are valued as innovative solutions to complex

problems but require conditions to nurture and support them. Most support systems
rely on individuals who already have an SE idea, and there is very little research on
understanding what conditions can support to cultivate the willingness and
motivation to engage individuals in this activity. An exploratory study was led to
understand whether a particular event, Service Design Jam, can provide such
conditions. The paper introduces the study of the Lufbra Jam, organised at
Loughborough University, from which two social enterprises, Crop Club in 2013, and
FrenPals in 2014 emerged. Through literature review desirability and feasibility were
extrapolated as key variables to the formation process of social enterprises. A focus
group with three Lufbra Jam organisers was led to identify important organisational
elements of the Jam that were perceived to have an impact on the formation of the
successful SE thus influencing the perception of desirability and feasibility of SE in
individuals. The integration of the two created a thematic matrix that was used to
analyse findings from the research with the participants of the two successful SE
Cases. The research findings suggest that Lufbra Jam enabled individuals to identify
socially and environmentally focused issues and formulate service solutions that they
deemed to be desirable and feasible. It also provided an insight that winning and an
enterprising workshop were important SDJ elements that helped teams to recognise
their service ideas not only as feasible solutions but as SE opportunity for the team to
take forward.
Keywords: service design, social enterprise, social innovation, social value

Ksenija Kuzmina, Chris Parker, Gyuchan Thomas Jun, Martin Maguire, Val Mitchell, Mariale Morenoc
and Samantha Porter
1. Introduction
In the UK, social enterprises (SE) have been recognised as building blocks of the local
communities and local economies (Teasdale, 2011; Kennell, 2013). Particularly SE have been
actively providing products and services where private and public sectors have failed to
provide for the needs of others (Chew and Lyon, 2012). Thus, politically they have been
valued as innovative solutions to the increasingly complex social and environmental issues
with a focus on the local regeneration (Teasdale, 2011).
Recently there has been a recognition that these solutions require nurturing and support
(Nesta, 2012, Chew and Lyon, 2012). Various means of providing financial support to
implement social entrepreneurial ideas or scale up existing ventures have been emerging.
For example, consecutive governments have been developing policies and budgets such as
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) in 2013 to encourage organisations and individuals to
invest into the start-ups and organisations. Oxford Hub and Beyond Business are a few
examples that have been arising as support systems to provide funding to individuals with
best social entrepreneurial ideas (ibid.).
In most of these cases the support systems rely on individuals who are already willing to
engage in an entrepreneurial activity and have solution concepts to the identified problems.
However, there is less emphasis on creating conditions that will cultivate the willingness and
motivation of an individual to engage in an entrepreneurial activity. NESTA identified the
importance of intermediaries to develop safe spaces (NESTA, 2012) where individuals,
resources, and ideas can be connected to initiate and grow innovative enterprising solutions.
Examples of these are Innovation hubs and research institutes that are usually permanent
spaces and require a large amount of resources to be set up and managed.
In this paper the potential of Design Jams that are taking place at the grassroots level to
provide such support for individuals in a form of a safe event is evaluated. The literature is
reviewed to identify what motivates individuals to pursue setting up a new social enterprise
venture and what are the processes and variables that enable it. The process of the three
Lufbra Service Design Jams conducted at Loughborough Design School as part of the Global
Jam event and entrepreneurial outcomes from these Jams, two live social enterprises; the
Crop Club and FrenPals are considered. In the conclusion the processes and variables of
the Design Jam that support individuals in engaging with SE activity are identified.
2. Background Literature
A common way to define social enterprise is a business solution to social [and/or
environmental] problem (Teasdale, 2011: p. 8). It is a unique type of business that is not
driven by economic value alone, but has greater moral intentions. Stevenson and Jarillo
(1990), suggest that moral intention presupposes an activity that is pursued by an
individual. They therefore place the social entrepreneur at the core of social enterprise
definition, and redefine it as a process that involves individuals engaging in innovative use of
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An exploration of Service Design Jam and its ability to foster Social
resource combinations leading to solving problems that constrain the creation and
sustaining of social/environmental benefits.
Researchers have been focusing on identifying processes and variables that enable this
activity. They show that individuals explore desirability and feasibility of the social enterprise
idea prior to engaging with it full time (Forster and Grichnik, 2013, Mair and Noboa, 2003).
The outcome of this process is based on personal and situational variables (Renko et al.,
2012) that act as enablers or barriers to the initial social entrepreneurial activity.
2.1 Desirability and feasibility of setting up a social enterprise

Willingness to take part in social entrepreneurial activities begins by identifying the
desirability and feasibility of the new venture (Forster and Grichnik, 2013, Mair and Noboa
2003). Desirability refers to the perceived attractiveness of forming the enterprise, where
an individual perceives a problem space and is willing to solve it through an enterprising
activity. The problem space or an opportunity that is seen as desirable for an individual
relates to their motivation to discover and explore a particular type of opportunity (Mair and
Noboa, 2003). Whereas for-profit entrepreneurs are mostly driven by economic goals (Bacq
et al, 2014), the motivations of social entrepreneurs are more complex (Boluk and Motiar,
2014; Ross et al, 2012) and may include solving problems that are social, self-developmental
and economic (Bacq et al, 2014).
2.2 Social Entrepreneurial Motivations

Successfully solving a social or environmental issue is considered to be a primary motivation
for social entrepreneurs (ibid.). For some entrepreneurs these issues are derived directly
from the needs of others (Ross et al, 2012). In this case, as Mair and Noboa (2003) suggest,
empathy, an ability to intellectually recognise and emotionally share another persons
emotions and feelings, is triggered to enable a helping response (p. 10). Ross et al. (2012)
research found, that the problem space can also reflect the needs of the social
entrepreneur, for example being unsatisfied with the status quo of a product or a service.
However, a social entrepreneur will seek to develop a solution that will bring social or
environmental value, rather than value to self only.
Another motivation of social entrepreneurs in starting a new venture is self-development. A
study reported by Xavier et al (2012) describes personal growth as one of the factors that
individuals pursue in starting a new venture. In line with these findings Ross et al. (2012)
identified learning a new skill to be a motivational factor. In addition, they found that social
entrepreneurs were motivated by the opportunity to creatively use ones hobby or technical
skills to address a new problem space.
Creating enterprise has also been identified as a desirable goal for social entrepreneurs. Ross
et al (2012) note that it is not a primary aim of social entrepreneurs, and lack of business
skills and managerial knowledge has been a barrier for many to successfully develop SE
(Bacq et al, 2014). Yet, motivation for social entrepreneurs is to make their new venture
commercially viable, thus sustaining the social/environmental impact (Ross et al, 2012).
1813
and Samantha Porter
2.3 Social norm

In addition to individual motivation, perceived social norm is another aspect that leads a
social entrepreneur to act (Forster and Grichnik, 2013). In this case an individual perceives
social pressure to perform or not to perform a particular behaviour, in this case engaging in
enterprising activity. The individual makes the decision to act based on their perception, of
whether their activity is viewed as appropriate by the leaders within their community,
organisation or their close group of family and friends (Krueger and Brazeal, 1994). Thus a
social norm within any given group may influence whether entrepreneurial activity is
perceived as an opportunity or not.
2.4 Feasibility, Self-Efficacy

Feasibility refers to whether one believes that they are capable of putting together the
required resources to forming the enterprise (Forster and Grichnik, 2013). Perceived
feasibility is grounded in self-efficacy, the conviction of ones capability to successfully
perform the task. This perception develops with time through development of knowledge,
skills both physical as well as cognitive (Hostager et al, 1998). This evaluation of ones
capabilities does not necessarily mean that the task will be performed well. However, the
conviction is required for an individual to engage in the activity in the first place.
2.5 Context of Social Support

In addition to self efficacy, social support also relates to the perceived feasibility, as it is
recognised that entrepreneurs require external help and cannot operate on their own. Social
support is provided through collective action by various stakeholders connected to the
entrepreneurs (Corner and Ho, 2010), who are able to provide entrepreneurs with various
resources that are needed to facilitate the emergence of the enterprise. Thus social support
may range from friends and family, for example small social entrepreneurs usually rely on
their friends and family to identify the social and environmental needs of others. Works by
Corner and Ho (2010) and Ross et al (2012) points out that identified problems are complex
and the solution rarely resides with an individual entrepreneur. These wicked problems
(Rittel and Webber, 1973) need a collaborative approach, thus entrepreneurs coalesce with
other stakeholders whose knowledge they require to co-create feasible solutions. Finally,
entrepreneurs can establish community of users (Ross et al, 2012) who are willing to test out
the initial ideas, provide user feedback and increase the perception of feasibility of the initial
ideas.
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Table 1 Process and variables to support social enterprise activity

Category
Enhancing Perception
of Desirability
Motivation
Seeing social/environmental issues as an enterprise

opportunity (Teasdale, 2011)
Personal dissatisfaction with the status quo (Ross et al.
2012) / Social Norm (Forster and Grichnik, 2013)
Self-development (Xavier et al., 2012)
Creating enterprise (Ross et al., 2012)

Enhancing
Perception
Self-efficacy Physical / Cognitive (Hostager et al, 1998)
of Feasibility
Social
Network/resources (Corner and Ho, 2010) support

Co-creating solution with others (Rittel and Webber, 1973)
Community of users (Rittel and Webber, 1973)

Whilst social support is seen as essential by many, one of the barriers expressed by
individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity has been time and resources to develop such
social support and networks). In particular, participating in the wrong networks has been the
most frustrating for these individuals (ibid.).
Both the individual and environmental variables, summarised in Table 1, are needed for
individuals to engage with social enterprising activity. To cultivate social entrepreneurial
activities Forster and Grichnik (2013) suggest that to enhance the perception of feasibility as
well as desirability can be achieved by developing a context within which this can happen.
2.6 What is a Design Jam?

Design Jams are a recent phenomenon that followed Hackathon events (Vezzani and Tang,
2014) that brought together programmers, graphic, interface designers, and project
managers to work intensively on a software project with a digital output (Briscoe and
Mulligan, 2014). Design Jams, are conceptually similar, but do not require a digital output,
and usually belong to a discipline (ibid.).
2.7 Emerging area of Service Design

Service Design is an emerging area of design that seeks to apply design process, methods
and principles to the design of service organisations, services, and other social systems,
supporting and facilitating their development and improvement (Holmlid, 2007 and Mager,
2004). It is an outside in approach (Holmlid, 2012) where its process may be described as
an iterative process of inquiry and action (Steen et.al, 2011). It couples understanding of the
1815
and Samantha Porter
past and current situation with exploring and envisioning possible futures (Steen et.al,
2011). Methodologically Service Design engages with theories and methodologies of service
management, marketing, human-centred design (HCD), user-experience design, product and
interaction design (Polaine, 2012) in order to create new or improve existing services.
2.8 Service Design and Design Jams

Recently Service Design community has used Design Jam format to create a Global Service
Design Jam (globalservicejam.org, 2015). The Global Jam is a community-supported event
and is run on voluntary basis with no staff and no budget. Instead, it relies on a small group
of global organisers who provide online central platform, basic rules, and inspiration to the
regional Jams that in turn are run by local hosts, volunteers passionate about service design.
The aim of each regional Design Jam is to bring people with various backgrounds together,
on a voluntarily basis, to dedicate 48 hours to co-designing new services that could make the
world a better place to live. The focus of the Jam is on the use of human-centred, service
design-based approach to problem solving: the problem is introduced to the participants by
the global organisers as a secret theme that requires re-interpretation from the jammers.
Participants are expected to form teams during the event, and discover, develop and
prototype solutions through the event, rather than come with a prepared idea. Throughout
the 48 hours, participants are supported by the organisers and mentors, who usually have
expertise in innovation, creativity, service design, and project management. The expected
outcome of the jam is a physical functioning prototype of a service, ranging from low tech to
high tech, and a plan of action that the team can take forward.
2.7 Literature Conclusion

To further support emergence of social enterprise a safe environment where individuals can
nurture their willingness to engage in social entrepreneurial activity is needed. While the
core purpose for the Design Jams is in providing an opportunity to collaborate, share and
learn, many aspects of the Jam make it a potential safe event for increasing the desirability
and feasibility of the participants to engage in social entrepreneurial activity.
For example, the process of the Jam aims to motivate individuals to be creative in
developing solutions that are of value to the world through the human-centred design
process. It also encourages them to test the feasibility of their ideas by developing physical
prototypes and testing them with their teams. The global dimension of the Jam and an
expected outcome of a service with a plan of action makes an idea of the service prototype
becoming a real SE a norm within the Jam community. Finally, the community-supported
approach to the Jam generates social support that potentially increases self-efficacy and
further feasibility of the individuals to pursue SE.
SE knowledge or interest is not a pre-requisite for the Jam and there is no real evidence that
the Jam does provide a supporting context for individuals to nurture their willingness to
engage in an SE activity. The aim of the study is to reflect on the process of the Lufbra
Service Design Jams and the two social enterprises that have been developed as a result, to
1816
identify whether a Design Jam, may be defined and designed in the future as a safe event
to support SE activity.
3. Research Methods and Analysis

As the research objectives of this study were exploratory, seeking to understand how Service
Jams may help inspire, foster, and grow social enterprises, an inductive research approach
was selected. Importantly, this research was an exploration of people, their thoughts,
feelings and reflections, encapsulated within the scope of user research; focusing on the
persons subjective perception rather than an objective or definitive expression of
predetermined criteria (Rose, 2003). The insights that could help to understand the broad
range of activities and experiences, from participants perspective is a unique focus to the
SDJ environment that could foster enterprise activities.
As such, it was necessary to understand which organisational elements of the 48 hour event
at the Lufbra SDJ influence desirability and feasibility (see Table 1) of the social enterprise
process the most. A focus group with Lufbra SDJ organisers was conducted to define these
elements and their relationship to the concepts of desirability and feasibility. Then a case
study research took place with Jam participants that have been able to set up a social
enterprise from the ideas that came out of the event. These were conducted to validate the
influence of the organisational elements on the SE process. Due to specific nature of this
research project, participants were chosen using a purposive sampling.
To analyse the focus group and case studies, transcripts were produced and analysed
following an open coding process with the aid of NVivo (QSR, 2014). A thematic analysis
process was followed in which the researchers recognised themes and patterns across the
participant experiences and opinions, leading to further sub-themes to be compared and
contrasted (Aronson, 1994).
3.1 Focus Group: SDJ Organisers

Three members of Loughborough University Design School academic staff who have formed
the core of the Lufbra SDJ were selected as participants for this papers focus group. The
focus group lasted 45 minutes, and conducted within the Loughborough University Design
School in a semi-public setting by the principal author of this study. In order to address the
research aims, the interview questions were generated to identify the core organisational
elements before, during and after the Jam.
3.2. Case Studies: SDJ Participants

Two enterprises that came out of previous SDJs were included within the case studies for
this paper; The Crop Club and FrenPals. Interviews with the founders of these enterprises
were conducted based on the outcomes of the initial focus group, primarily targeting the
organisational elements of the Jam with the desirability and feasibility of their new venture
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and Samantha Porter
as highlighted by Foster and Grichnik (2013); see Table 2. The two social enterprises that
were used as case studies are the following:
The Crop Club led by Dr Rose Deakin (interviewed) grew from the 2013 SDJ at
Loughborough University Their focus is on creating a service to connect
communities and individuals through sharing of grown produce such as
vegetables or orchard/ hedgerow fruit. Over the last two years, The Crop Club
has won several awards for enterprise, including Think Big Social Enterprise,
Marketest Market Research, and Try It/ Do It from HEFCE and Unltd.
FrenPals was created by Ibrahim Abdulkarim (interviewed), Siting Yang, and
Jaydeep Gandi during the 2014 SDJ at Loughborough University. Their focus is
on helping international students settle into university life within a new
country through connecting with student volunteers (buddies), offering
comprehensive support in a variety of contexts.
3.3 Results
A summary of the findings within this study is presented within Table 2 below. Table 2 is a
matrix integrates the organisation elements from the Jam (across) and the desirability and
feasibility variables that are part of the social enterprise process (down). The Xs indicate the
answers from the two Case studies where participants felt the Jams organisational elements
support their SE process. Section 4 expands on the thematic analysis of these results.
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Table 2. SE Process and Lufbra Service Design Jam matrix
4. Thematic Analysis
Thematic analysis introduces the findings from the research. In particular it highlights service
design process and service design tools within the Jam event and its relationship with the
Social Enterprise process that the participants experienced.
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and Samantha Porter
4.1 Motivation to attend the Jam event

The main motivations to attend the Jam event by the participants were to do something
different, to self-develop and to socialise. The event was marketed as a 48 hour design
challenge and participants, in both cases from art and design, saw this as an opportunity to
practice applying their existing skills to the new discipline of design. The Jam positions itself
as a social collaborative event where participants work in teams, participants were
motivated by this opportunity to be in a social environment, collaborate and network whilst
solving problems through design, and therefore doing design together. In neither of the
cases, was developing an enterprise a motivation to join the Lufbra Jam.
4.2 General motivation and self-efficacy throughout the Jam

The original motivations were supported by the organisation of the Jam. The selfdevelopment in both cases was high. The Jam not only allowed for the application of the
existing design skills to the problem, but also introduced new design process, methods and
tools that participants found valuable. The design process that the participants were
presented with and formed the basis of the Jam is known as Double Diamond (Design
Council, 2006). It is the process of problem inquiry and solution generation, and within
service design is appropriated to the context of services. The tools and methods introduced
support this process. For example, the inquiry tools and methods introduced to the
participants focused on understanding the use situation as it is experienced by the
stakeholders themselves. Participants engaged in research through contextual interviews,
capturing and synthesising their understanding in brainstorming sessions, using personas
and mind mapping (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1 Lufbra Jam participants interviewing allotment owner (left) Persona tool used by Case 1
participants (right)
Further generative tools were introduced to the Jammers in order to co-create service
visions. Examples of the tools participants engaged with were customer journey maps and
storytelling. These tools helped jammers to create consensus on their vision, build visual
narratives and communicate their ideas to others (Figures 3 and 4).
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Figure 3 FrenPals initial customer journey (left) and Participant is sharing first service concept with
the mentor (right)
Finally, jammers were presented with quick prototyping techniques. These were used by the
jammers to collaboratively build their visions, to get as close to the real version of the
service as possible, modelling the service and evaluating it. Desktop walkthroughs as well as
digital tools such as PopApp were used by the jammers to build their service visions (Figures
5 and 6). This learning opportunity increased self-efficacy of the participants as they
developed their solution.
Figure 5 CropClub high fidelity app prototype (left) and FrenPals low fidelity prototype (right)
Other unexpected opportunities for increased self-efficacy occurred at the Jam. For
example, Lufbra Jam invited mentors from the industry who were eager to find new talent.
During the Jam one of the participants was invited to a job interview, which increased her
self-belief for the duration of the event. The overall social and collaborative environment
was created and maintained at the Jam, which helped teams to stay motivated. At the venue
the digital screens displayed tweets by the Jammers around the world. This visual
representation of the Jam has been noted to give participants a feeling that they are part of
a global event, which was motivational in itself. Neither Case 1 nor Case 2 were very much
driven by winning the Jam. As the participant in Case 2 says, the prize was not something so
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and Samantha Porter
big that it was worth fighting for, instead during the Jam the teams were motivated by the
service design process and by the need to develop an innovative solution.
4.3 Recognition of the social problem space

The two problem spaces that the participants chose to work on during the Jam were
particular issues that they were aware of or experienced themselves prior to the Jam. In the
first case a group member observed a pattern within her community that she felt was
problematic and felt strongly about. In the second case the problem originated around a
personal bad experience. During the Jam these issues were brought to the surface through
the global theme and the initial speed dating brainstorm session that Lufbra Jam ran
around it. In the first case the theme triggered an idea for a solution to the wider social
problem, in the second, it triggered discussions that allowed for the personal issue to be
identified. Once groups were formed, these ideas became more permanent. In Case 1 the
group members recognised the solution and the wider social issue to be timely and
important, with two group members already involved in the activities that were the concern
of the identified problem. This prior knowledge of the problem space helped the team to
focus on the design of the solution. In Case 2, the group identified the problem space to be
important because several group members shared a similar bad personal experience. In the
next stage of the event, the teams were supported and encouraged to carry out user
research, which was in line with the human-centred approach of the service design
methodology and the event. For the team 2 this was an important stage as by doing it, they
began to validate the problem space as something that was important to others outside the
group. It is also at this time that they became motivated by wanting to help solve that
problem for others.
4.4 Enhancing desirability of social enterprise solution

The Lufbra Jam criteria set out a vision for the service solutions to be innovative, userfocused, to have a social impact and to be commercially sustainable. Yet, participants in both
teams focused on developing the solutions that would cover the first three variables, with
less attention to the business case. Both teams felt that although the Lufbra Jam set
business case as one of the criteria, the overall atmosphere and the ethos of the Jam was
based around generating the value for society and social change. Both teams felt that being
run by volunteers and marketed as a creative event, the Jams organisation was imperative
to the outcome being a social enterprise. If it was set out as a business workshop it would
be different (Case 2).
Throughout the Jam service design tools were introduced to the participants, including
personas and customer journey (see section 4.2), with less emphasis on service business
tools such as business canvas. These tools are user-centred by their nature, which drove
both teams to focus on value their service creates for the user. Case 1 identified business
case to be the least of the topics to be covered over 48 hour period by the organisers and
mentors.
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4.5 Perceived feasibility of the idea

Both teams agreed that the 48 hours of the Jam were spent developing their service solution
and building confidence in their idea. Participants discussed doing it through having an
opportunity to gain greater understanding on the subject of services, for example, Lufbra
Jam featured keynote speakers from the design industry, who helped participants to
contextualise what service innovation is. In addition participants built knowledge and
experience around service design tools and methods. These were introduced by Lufbra Jam
organisers (see section 4.2) and applied with the support of Jam mentors to generate service
ideas.
At Lufbra Jam each team had a mentor from the design industry. Mentors found their
teams organically throughout the first hours of the event, thus finding a relational fit with
the rest of the team. In both Cases mentors played a really important role in building the
teams confidence in their design capabilities and solution feasibility. Service design is an
iterative process, and participants were encouraged to begin with low fidelity prototyping
and move on to high fidelity as a result of the several feedback cycles. In both cases this
allowed mentors to be involved with the teams service visions, to question them and give
feedback whilst allowing the ownership of the ideas to stay with the group.
The collaborative ethos of the Jam also permitted participants to build upon each others
ideas and develop solutions that the whole team believed in. Case 1 participant shared: The
overall vision felt like mine, but how it was developed and delivered wasnt because we did
it as a teameven the vision, we discussed and built on it together.
4.6 Perceived feasibility of the enterprise

During the 48 hour challenge, both teams noted that they were focused on the idea
generation and building capacity in their teams to generate those ideas. At every Lufbra Jam,
winners received the prize of an enterprise workshop for one hour with the Glendonbrook
Enterprise Office at Loughborough University. The winning of the prize played an important
role in providing teams with an additional level of recognition for their ideas. For the team in
Case 2, winning was the turning point at which they felt that their idea was feasible enough
to be taken forward. For t Case 1, winning was not enough. It was at the workshop, when
they received the positive feedback on their idea from the enterprise experts and were
introduced to some strategies on developing an enterprise that they began to believe their
work could be turned into a real life project. In both cases the winning prize of the Lufbra
Jam, not only gave a brief introduction to the business elements of the social enterprise, but
motivated the teams to take their work further. Both teams sought and received external
funding, and are currently hosted by The Studio, a professional space at Loughborough
University that not only provides access to physical facilities but also business support and
guidance.
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and Samantha Porter
5. Discussion
This paper highlighted that Lufbra Jam is an event that can support several elements of the
successful social entrepreneurial development. It provides an insight into how in a very short
period of time individuals can be supported to generate and develop ideas for the services
that are socially focused and recognised as desirable and feasible. It also provides an insight
into the need for the structured support of taking a developed design solution and
increasing its feasibility as a social enterprise, which Lufbra Jam does not achieve.
The findings show that participants had personal motivation to join the event, mainly to selfdevelop. This expectation was met by the Jam, which provided space to learn, do practical
design, and network. However, the motivation to develop services that were socially and
environmentally focused was partially directed by the ethos of the Jam. This ethos or social
norm (Forster and Grichnik, 2013) of the Jam was focused on the creation of the social value
and emerged through such elements as the criteria, user research and organisational set up.
During the event the teams worked on formulating their problem-solution spaces and
confirming their desirability on the wider scale. The findings suggest that the problems and
solutions that teams worked with already pre-existed within some individuals. The Jam was
able to tease them out (Corner and Ho, 2010) through such activities as provision of the
Global theme and brainstorming. In addition to teasing out these ideas from the individuals
the Jam, encouraged collaborative teamwork, as well as user research, which helped teams
to identify the problem-solution spaces with the wider needs of the society.
Further into the 48 hours, participants developed some self-efficacy in working within their
team on a design project and in their own capability as designers. The feasibility of their
solution ideas was also tested through the social support that included mentors, users, other
participants and judges.
However this was not enough to convince the teams that these solutions are desirable and
feasible as social enterprise. It is the winning of the Jam in combination with the enterprise
workshop that helped the teams to recognise their solution as an entrepreneurial
opportunity. An hour entrepreneurial workshop, an opportunity exclusively developed for
the winning teams, introduced teams to the basics of an enterprising activity. The workshop
was led by the individuals who were passionate about turning ideas into enterprise
opportunities, motivating the teams. Thus the winning of the Lufbra Jam based on its
winning criteria and the subsequent enterprise workshop supported the teams perceptions
of their solutions to be desirable as an enterprise solutions.
However, what the Lufbra Jam did not facilitate was the teams service ideas to develop into
feasible social enterprises. However, at that stage the team dynamics changed with some
team members leaving and the more prominent members arising. The self-efficacy of some
of the teams was strong enough to take the ownership of their solutions and seek further
support including external funding or a membership in an enterprise hub, such as the Studio
at Loughborough University.
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6. Conclusion
This paper explores Service Design Jam, as a support system to facilitate development of the
social enterprises. It looks at Lufbra Service Design Jam, organised by Loughborough
University for three consecutive years, from which two social enterprises emerged. Findings
from the research suggest that various Lufbra Jam elements were able to support individuals
in developing desirable and feasible socially and environmentally solution. The winning and
the prize contributed to individuals increased self-efficacy and recognition of their solution
to be further developed as SE. However, participants relied on external support systems to
increase the feasibility of their solutions to become SEs
There is little research on how SE opportunities develop and this paper contributes to this
discussion. However, this study is limited by the purposive sampling but is indicatory of the
wider phenomenon, further research on other Jams and Hackathons is needed.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank the participants from the Crop
Club and FrenPals social enterprises for their contribution to this research. They would
also like to thank Loughborough University for their ongoing support of the annual
Lufbra Service Design Jam event.
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About the Authors:
Dr Ksenija Kuzmina is a lecturer in Design Innovation and
Management at the Institute for Design Innovation at Loughborough
University, London. Her research investigates issues around service
design methodology, social innovation, systems thinking, sustainable
design and organisational change.
Dr Christopher Parker is a Lecturer in CAD at The University of
Manchester . His research interests are consumer behaviour, service
design, anthropometrics and ergonomics.
Dr Gyuchan Thomas Jun is a Lecturer in Human Factors and Complex
Systems at Loughborough Design School. His research interests
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include participatory design, systems thinking and healthcare service

design.
Dr Martin Maguire is a lecturer and a research fellow at
Loughborough Design School. His main research interests include the
design and usability of interactive systems including the needs of
inexperienced users, older people and people with disabilities.
Dr Val Mitchell is a senior lecturer at Loughborough Design School
specialising in the development of methods and tools for User
Centred Design (UCD). Her research encompasses service design, co
design and the use of creative methods to study the home.
Dr Mariale Moreno is a research fellow at the RECODE Network at
Cranfield University. Her work focuses on user-centred design,
consumer behaviour, sustainable production and consumption, and
business opportunities towards achieving a Circular Economy.
Dr Samantha Porter is a Senior Lecturer in Design Ergonomics at
Loughborough Design School. Her research interests include. Product
pleasure, tools and methods for designing for emotion, the design of
the person/product interface of medical related products,
personalisation and product attachment leading to sustainability and
the design of bereavement services.
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Fiction as a resource in participatory design

Eva Knutz*, Tau U. Lenskjold and Thomas Markussen
* evakknutz@gmail.com
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.476
Abstract: In this paper we are exploring the relation between participation and
fiction with the aim of investigating how fiction can be a resource for participatory
design and can shed more light on the participatory value of fiction. We describe how
fiction has been taken up and conceptualized in contemporary design research and
argue that different strategies for applying fiction may be seen as a resource for
evoking various forms of participation. Furthermore this paper present three case
examples of participatory prototyping, that makes use of play or games as a way to
engage participants with a particular use of make-believe. We discuss these cases
with the purpose of identifying how participatory design can benefit from a more
articulate notion of fiction.
Keywords: Fiction; Participatory prototyping; Participatory Design, Social Games.
1. Introduction
Over the last decade, increasing attention has been devoted to understanding how fiction
can be a resource for design research. Consequently, a number of themes and areas have
occurred as being worth exploring using fiction either as a conceptual framework, method or
practice-based tactic: from the democratization of innovation and instigating of a new DIY
culture (Tanenbaum et al. 2012), to the fostering of critical debate (Dunne & Raby, 2013)
and encouraging people to reflect on how new technologies would eventually reconfigure
everyday life and cultural rituals (Auger, 2013). Interestingly, some scholars have also argued
that fiction could hold a potential for increasing user-involvement and collaboration in
participatory design processes. However, with few exceptions (Blythe, 2006; Dindler &
Iversen, 2007), the question of the relationship between fiction and participation remains
largely unexplored.
Admitted, in participatory design, fiction artefacts such as games, role-play or story-making
tools are often used as a part of a collaborative design process. But the notion of fiction is
strikingly absent from the vocabulary, discourse and theorization of participatory design.
Hence, the value of fiction for methods and practices central for participatory design is only
vaguely understood.
In this paper, our aim is to explore how fiction can foster participation and be utilized as a
resource for Participatory Design. This entails examining how the frameworks on fiction shed
light back on the fictional aspects of tools and techniques traditionally used in participatory
prototyping.
We begin by describing an inexhaustible array of strategies for how fiction has been taken
up and conceptualised in contemporary design research. In the second section we outline
the function of playfulness in contemporary participatory design and how this relates to
forms of participation. This is followed by three case examples of fiction as means to explore
user experiences in participatory prototyping. All three cases involve play. Finally we turn to
an analysis of fiction as a resource for participatory prototyping.
2. Strategies for a provisional framework on fiction

In our account, we have chosen to focus on how authors claim fiction to be a resource for
evoking various forms of participation without them necessarily using the language and
vocabulary of participatory design. Fiction has figured prominently in recent attempts to
conceptually ground approaches such as discursive design (Tharp & Tharp), design fiction
(Sterling, 2009; Bleecher, 2009; Markussen & Knutz, 2013; Knutz, Markussen & Rind, 2014)
and speculative design (Dunne & Raby, 2013; Auger 2013). In this section, we will bypass the
discussion of the details that constitute these fields and instead focus on how fiction is
argued for generally as a resource.
In critical design, the notion of value fiction (Gaver & Dunne, 1997; Dunne & Raby, 2001,
p.63) has been introduced to help reversing the relationship between technology and social
values in interaction design. Whereas technology is often portrayed as futuristic, social
values are likely to be conservative, reflecting existing societal conditions. In reversing this
relationship realistic and mundane technologies are employed to develop scenarios
embodying fictional social or cultural values of how the everyday life situations could be
different. A vivid example of this is Dunne & Rabys Technological Dreams Series: No.1
(2007); a series of robots crafted as wooden modernist-like furniture. To operate the robot
the user must engage intimately with it by holding it in the arms and staring concentrated at
it. Here value fiction is used as a resource to provoke reflection and suggest alternative
design ideals (contrary to efficiency and usability) if robots were to be incorporated into
the domestic spheres of life.
For Dunne and Raby the material manifestation of value fictions (e.g. as prototypes) is
important because it amplifies the perceptual double exposure of being situated in the
here-and-now, while belonging to another yet-to-exist (2013, p.43). When executed
successfully this will evoke what Dunne & Raby (2001, p.63) paraphrasing British novelist
Martin Amis term complicated pleasures, compositing multiple and perhaps even
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contradictory emotions. We suggest that pleasures in regard to the analysis undertaken here
could be aligned to the somewhat more encompassing notion of playfulness, capable of
harbouring and negotiating a host of different emotions, beliefs and wishes for the future.
In line with Dunne and Raby, Auger introduces the valuable term perceptual bridge to
underline the importance of rooting speculative design proposals in peoples everyday life. If
fictional design speculations become too unfamiliar or distant from reality, it will be too
difficult for people to relate to them. The perceptual bridge is meant to be a guideline to
designers offering ways to balance fiction and reality in various ways, as Auger explains:
These perceptual bridges can then be stretched in precise ways: this might be a
technical perception such as extrapolating how they think a technology is likely to
develop; a psychological perception such as not breaking taste or behaviour taboos; or
a cultural perception such as exploiting nostalgia or familiarity with a particular
subject. In this way the speculations appear convincing, plausible or personal, whilst at
the same time new or alternative. (2012, p.180)
If a perceptual bridge is well established people can be willing to accept proposals that
appear at first sight to be unfamiliar. An example of this is Auger & Loizeaus After Life
Battery (2009), a battery stored with energy made from the acid in the stomach of deceased
family members. In this instance, Auger & Loizeau established a perceptual bridge by asking
some of their colleagues how they would want their own after life battery to be used. In so
doing, the speculation becomes personal and plausible.
A third way of utilizing fiction in design research is what we shall refer to as narrative
anthropomorphism. This technique consists in attributing fictional personas and
autobiographic narratives to technology or organisms in order to understand the complexity
of a given ecology. Morrison (2014) exemplify this when they attribute a female character
named Adrona to a military Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) - colloquially know as a
killer drone. An asserted aim of such a discursive design approach is to give voice and inner
emotions to a politically contentious artefact and thus enable both critical and analytical
reflections. Adrona is but one in a line of similar anthropomorphised fictional personas from
Morrison and associates that also counts Rumina, a wifi enhanced Bovine-machine hybrid
that roam freely through a future city space (Morrison 2011). What makes Adrona and her
kin of anthropomorphic-discursive constructs interesting in regards of this paper is that they
enable the combination of rhetoric devises such as irony, pastiche and satire with a
performative and collaborative mode of enunciation whereby a collective of different voices
can act and re-act through the anthropomorphic persona to changing circumstances. This
allows for sharing multiple divergent points of view in a collaborative research process.
Pastiche scenarios are introduced by Blythe & Wright (2006) as a technique for writing
fictional scenarios where popular characters from well-known novels and films are used
instead of traditional personas. The term pastiche refers not only to the re-use of
characters, but also and more precisely to the mimicking of the narration and verbal style
of this character. For instance, Blythe & Wright (2006) make use of the character Alex from
Stanley Cubricks A Clockwork Orange(1971) that is based on Anthony Burgess novel
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(1962). Alex is the main character of an ultra-violent gang of criminals that communicate
in a language of their own. In their writing of a pastiche scenario, Blythe & Wright let Alex
react against a new protective technology called the cambadge, a wearable lightweight
webcam, which elderly people can use to inform the police if they feel unsafe or threatened
in public space. By using the literary technique known as stream-of-consciousness their
pastiche scenario gives us access to the inner feelings and thoughts of Alex and what victims
need to be aware of when confronted with offenders of his type. Blythe and Wright contend
that because pastiche scenarios present us with deep characters that we feel as if we
already know, they hold a much richer potential for increasing user-involvement than
traditional scenarios where personas tend to be somewhat flat and stereotyped.
Dindler (2010) introduces the term fictional space as design space. He borrows the term
game-of-make-believe from Kendall Walton (1991) to explain his concept of the fictional
space. In Waltons conception of this term, the fictional space is constructed through the
games of make-believe. Here props can act as either prompters for imagination (I see a fast
car, I imagine my self in that car); they also might be the object of imagination (I imagine
that my car could be that of James Bond) or they can assist in generating fictional truths (the
fact that all cars in Harry Potter move in their air is true in that particular harry-potterworld). Dindler argues that the production of a fictional space may be understood in terms
of participants practicing games of make-believe mediated by props. In other words the
fictional space is something that emerges when participants engage in a game-of-makebelieve (e.g. defined by the design/researcher) mediated by props (e.g framed by the
design/researcher) that gives mandate to imagination (elicited or enacted by the
participants)
Fictional re-framing of social innovation is introduced by Emilson as critical technique for
questioning the very foundation of design for social innovation and sustainability. Following
Schn, Emilson suggests that framing like the act of naming is related to the idea of seeing
somethings as something else and the concept of metaphor (2015, p. 255, italics in
original). Here, it is the tacit use of generative metaphors that enable us to grasp an
unfamiliar situation by transferring familiar experiences to a different domain and thus
generate a new perspective on the world (Schn in Emilson, ibid.). It is often through the
variety of problem-setting stories people tell each other pertaining to a given situation, that
the different frames and their implicit generative metaphors become visible.
Emilson suggests dark and soft fiction as two strategies for re-framing the debate on
sustainable development. The soft predicate denotes a reconnection with the organic part
of life and humans as part of nature (ibid. p, 313), whereas dark indicates realism without
false pretends of future absolution. The societal scale, on which this approach to fiction is
operating, aims at opening a design space where narratives can inform and inspire design
(ibid., p.316). In this, it shares an affinity with the recasting of societal utopias as both
attainable and real (Wood, 2007; Wright, 2010) and point to the role of fiction as a means of
critically re-framing design work in accordance with overarching concerns and values.
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In this section we have identified fiction being a resource for design in the form of i) means
for increasing critical reflection and peoples engagement in speculative design proposals
(Dunne & Raby 2013; Auger 2013, 2012); ii) techniques for writing narrative scenarios for
enhancing multiple cross-disciplinary reflection in research teams (Morrison et al.) or for
increasing user-involvement in product development (Blythe & Wright, 2006; Dindler 2010);
and iii) a re-framing of large-scale socio-economic conditions for design.
The direct relevance of fiction for participatory design oriented approaches is most clearly
pointed out by Blythe and Wright and Dindler. But the relationship between fiction and
forms of participation in design remains largely unexplored. Following from the fiction
strategies extrapolated above, we contend that each strategy displays qualities that may
evoke specific forms of participation (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Fiction strategies and corresponding forms of participation
3. Playfulness and games in participatory design

Almost from the beginning of the Scandinavian tradition of participatory design, participants
have been invited to take part in ways of telling, making and enacting (Sanders, in Halse,
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Brandt, Clark & Binder, 2010, p.116-122). For example, in the UTOPIA Project Ehn and
colleges (1988) developed a design by playing approach inspired by Wittgensteinian
language-games, to engage newspaper pre-press workers in sharing stories (Ehn et al. 1990).
Since the 90s design games and playfulness has been widely expanded and used as a
methods of participatory prototyping; as something that can frame and stimulate design
participation (Brandt, Binder & Sanders, 2013). Design researchers within the participatory
design community have since developed various design game formats to accommodate
different situations and aims, e.g. Brandt et al. 2008 (participatory design games); Bang 2013
(stakeholder games); Halskov & Dalsgaard, 2006 (inspiration card games) or Buur &
Sndergrd, 2000 (the video-card games).
Narrative elements are often used within participatory prototyping to scaffold what-if
prompts in order to boost collective imaginings, explore, enact or disrupt possible futures
through development of future user scenarios (see Kyng 1995; Binder 1999; Caroll, 2000;
Brandt & Grunnet, 2000).
Playfulness and game activities thus provide what Brandt calls a dream material (Brandt, in
Halse, Brandt, Clark & Binder, 2010, p.132) that helps participants play out and rehears
various versions of the future. Brandt asserts that for such an approach to be successful,
participants have be able to see a purpose and must be able to influence the progression
and outcome (ibid.). Fiction, in this respect, is predominantly utilised as a means to an end.
However the question of the relationship between participation and fiction as a resource
that harbours its own agencies and possibilities, we argue, has remained largely unexplored.
In the following section, we will turn to three cases that all involve children or teenagers as
participants in either a game-based or playful (participatory) design activity. Following
Sanders and Stappers distinction between generative toolkit, prototype and probe (Sanders
& Stappers, 2014) the projects utilize the format that may be characterised as generative
toolkit (case 1), a prototype (case 2), or a probe (case 3). Here generative toolkits consist of a
variety of components that stirs decisions to be made; prototypes are materially manifested
ideas (e.g. physical objects, video prototypes or experience prototypes) that explore user
involvement or user experiences; and probes are used as research material to understand
peoples experiences or dreams.
4. Three case examples of fiction as means to explore user

experiences in playful participatory prototyping
4.1 Case I: A playful toolkit as framework for expressing needs & concerns
Hussain and Sanders (2012) describe the use of a generative co-design tool in relation to
Cambodian children, who uses prosthetic legs. In order to facilitate the childrens
involvement in the design process, Hussain & Sanders uses paper-doll toolkits to understand
the childrens concern and needs related to the type of prosthetic leg (and garment) they
find suitable to certain situations (being at home, at school, in town, at the market). Thus,
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the paper-doll kit offer the children an opportunity for communicating and expressing
opinions about needs and concerns, through the act of play.
The paper-dolls are designed as different girl/boy-characters with different face expressions
and hairstyle that the children can choose from and give self-invented names (figure 2).
Figure 2: The paper-doll kit
The research team visits the same children several times. Through the use of the paper-dolltoolkit the researchers discovers (during the first visits) that it is important for the children
to have at least one prosthetic leg with a naturally looking foot. In a following visit, one girl
chooses a flower-patterned cover for her dolls prosthetic leg - and one boy expresses a
desire to have two prosthetic legs to choose from: one with a naturally looking foot (for all
situations) and another one brightly coloured (for special occasions). In that way the
researchers creates a fictional space that allow the children to engage themselves in a gameof-make-believe mediated by the paper-dolls. It can be argued that the paper-dolls in this
case create awareness and give mandate to the imagination of multiple (future) prosthetic
appearances.
4.2 Case II: A narrative as framework for prototyping museum experiences

In 2008 Dindler and his colleagues were invited to create new engaging experiences for the
Kattegat Marine Centre in Denmark. Here they sat up a workshop that involved a family of
two adults and two children (age 9-11).
The workshop began with fictional narrative in the style of a letter in a bottle: A letter from
the king of the sunken city of Atlantis pleading the Kattegat Marine Centre to create new
fantastic experiences. The design researchers then tasked the family to come up with
ideas for new experiences using a magic toolkit (containing a flute, an apple, a magnifying
glass, a mirror and a pen with a humming sound). In the ensuring game of-make-believe, the
1835
magnifying glass become an instrument for exploring certain species in the aquarium in
detail and the pen become a tool to locate hidden treasures under the floor (figure 3).
Figure 3: Workshop with visitors: The family explores new experiences in the Kattegat Marine Centre
In this case the researchers used what they term fictional inquiry, materialized in the letter
from the king of Atlantis and the content of the magic toolbox. The narrative-framework is
concrete in that sense that is conveys interpersonal emotions, such as a plea for help and
the magic properties of the toolbox objects, through which to enact the role of bringing
relief to the fictive citizens of Atlantis by inventing real experiences for the Kattegat Marine
Centre.
4.3 Case III: A game-world as framework for probing teenage dreams

In the project Social Games against Crime the long-term aim is to develop social games that
can help children build resilience towards many of the personal and social problems they
experience as a result of parental incarceration (Markussen & Knutz, forthcoming). With the
purpose of gaining a deeper understanding of the issues involved a series of social games
has been devised to probe the children, their parents and the prison-system The example
provided in this paper is one such, a pilot game workshop with 7 children (age 10-14).
Figure 4: Game workshop with 7 children age 10-14; the children makes their own dreams, main
characters and game elements.
The purpose of this particular workshop is to probe teenagers wishes & dreams for the
future and to explore how dreams can be played out in a fictional game world with fictional
as well as non-fictional helpers and opponents in an actantial set-op. Thus, the game
1836
world offer the participants an opportunity for expressing dreams and concerns through the
act of play (figure 5).
The workshop starts with the children creating an alter ego character; defining a dream or
future wish; build a set of helpers to fulfil the dream. The helpers consist of either
people/characters, things/technologies or abilities/skills and these must be crafted
with the use of a toolbox with coloured clay, cotton balls and other material (figure 5).
Figure 5: Gameboard and toolbox with self-created dreams, barriers, people, things and abilities
During gameplay the participants will have to negotiate barriers and formulate experiences
that will either help or inhibit progression. A set of black disruptions cards ensures an
element of chance into the gameplay. The winner is the player who manages to aggregate
the most helpers in pursue of her dream.
During the workshop the participants formulated a dream or wish and created a fictional
world around it. One girl, for instance wished that she one day could stand on the top of
the Eiffel-tower. This participant chose her dad, a doctor and a second life as helpers.
She explained that she needed her father and a doctor to support her and a second life
to help her if she fell down from the Eiffel-tower. As a barrier to achieve her dream she
formulated fear of heights. Another participant filled in the wish I would like to (be able to)
fly. The helpers in this case was wings, wing-technology and rocket boots and her
barrier was gravity.
In this workshop fiction is used to create a game world; a city with cars, bus stops, streets
and graveyards, etc. The narrative-framework, however, is not pre-conditioned but only
come into being as the relations between dreams, fictional characters, helpers and
opponents are imagined, built and placed in the game world (the city) by the participants.
5. Analysis and discussion

The central aim of this paper is to examine how the presented fiction strategies are
beneficial for participation in relation to the three cases. In the following we will analyse
which use of fiction is already in place in the three cases and how these are beneficial for
1837
participation. Furthermore we will discuss which fictional strategies the three cases could
learn from and use as a resource to stimulate other forms of participation.
The strategy of value fiction manifests itself most strongly in relation to case 1 (paper-doll
toolkit) and case 3 (game based probing). Value fictions, as proposed by Dunne and Raby,
seek to reverse the relationship between technology and social values with aim of provoking
dialog about different emotions, beliefs and wishes for the future.
In case 3 one participant pursued the dream of being able to fly. Technology (wings,
racket-boots, etc.) became merely practical devices to help her change and adapt to life in
a world inhabited by flying people. Another participant dreams about standing on the top of
the Eiffel-tower; that dream seems more probable than the future-wish of being able to
fly. Yet, it is a complicated dream to achieve since the participant also suffers from fear of
heights. She encompasses this in the game by reflecting on existing societal conditions (her
father, and a doctor that can help her) which she combines with a fictional scenario that
enables a second life. In allowing the participants to weave freely between fictional and
"real" worlds, value fictions like these can be used as a resource in participatory prototyping
to negotiate contradictory emotions and wishes for the future between the here-and-now
and the yet-to-exist.
This also counts for case 1 (paper-doll toolkit) where the participants play with possible
futures in relation to their choice of prosthesis. Here two of the participants use the paperdoll-kit to negotiate contradictory emotions about the concern and need concerning the
choice between a natural-looking prosthesis and a completely different-looking leg
(something else than natural).
The strategy of the perceptual bridge manifests itself most strongly in the Kattegat Marine
Centre project (case 2). Here the perceptual bridge, proposed by Auger, is used to root the
unfamiliar (the fiction) in some kind of familiarity (the daily lives of the users) to make it
appear convincing, plausible or personal. The story of Atlantis that exists under the sea
appears convincing because it relates to what the visitors are looking forward to experience,
namely the underworld of the sea. In that way the sunken city of Atlantis can be seen as a
perceptual bridge because the myth gives this project familiarity with the Kattegat Marine
Centre. The sunken city of Atlantis expounds a sense of nostalgia tied to the perception of
a particular subject: the underworld of the sea. Perceptual bridges are powerful fictional
resources. Clearly, a narrative framing with a perceptual bridge that connected to the film
JAWS by Steven Spielberg (1978) would have created completely different possibilities for
engaging visitors in the Marine Centre - especially since one of its main attractions is an
aquarium full of sharks.
A project that could benefit from a perceptual bridge in the further development of the
project is that of case 3 (game based probing). The purpose here is to develop social games
that can be played in the visiting room of a prison and that can help teenagers of imprisoned
parents to build resilience towards problems related to parental incarceration. By using a
perceptual bridge and by rooting the fictional narrative (of the game) in a real life context (of
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the prison) connections could be made to articulate and play with social hierarchies, power
and unspoken norms and rules (inside and outside the prison system) that could stimulate a
fruitful conversation between prisoner and teenager concerning deprivation of freedom.
None of our three cases uses narrative anthropomorphism as a resource for participatory
prototyping. As explained earlier narrative anthropomorphism seeks to attribute fictional
personas and narratives to engage complex and/or troublesome technologies. Never the less
we see several possibilities for how the participatory community could learn and benefit
from that approach. In case 2 (the Kattegat Marine Centre) one participant uses a pen with
a humming sound as treasure finder to find hidden treasures under the floor. In order for
designers/researcher/participants to co-explore and understand this concept further narrative anthropomorphism could have been applied to give this humming technology a
voice of its own in the same way that Adrona the killer drone (Morrison et. al) was given
a fictional persona and a reflective mind; this could enable critical and humorous reflection for instance about why and how technologies could help us find things through the use
of humming. Anthropomorphism as a framework could in this case be applied to stimulate a
multi-stakeholder exploration between the design researchers, the participants and perhaps
the marine biologists at the Kattegat Marine centre.
Similar to narrative anthropomorphism, none of our three cases above makes full use of
pastiche scenario as a fictional resource. The strategy of pastiche scenario gives the
designer/researcher/participant the possibility of exploring the inner felt-life aspect of a
user-experience by imitating fictional characters. Case 1 (the paper-doll toolkit) could
benefit from this approach. This project makes use of generic paper-dolls, which might be
difficult to relate to for the children. Using a pastiche as a framework could in this case be
applied to give the fictional-character-as-user richness and depth and thereby avoid flat
personas.
All three cases activate fictional space as design space as a resource for participatory
prototyping. As argued by Dindler (2010) fictional space is something that emerges when
participants engage themselves in a game-of-make-believe mediated by props that gives
mandate to imagination.
In case 1 (paper-doll toolkit) the researchers creates a fictional space that allow the
participants to engage themselves in a game-of-make-believe mediated by the paper-dolls.
Here the paper-doll kit act as prompters for imagination (the child imagines it self being that
doll) and offers the child an opportunity for forming (and perhaps modulating) its opinion
about the need concerning the choice of prosthetic leg.
In case 2 (the Kattegat Marine Centre) the fictional space for the participants emerges when
the family engage themselves in the pre-conditioned narrative framework of Atlantis. And
here it is the letter in the bottle that gives mandate to imagination by generating a fictional
truth (the fact that the King of Atlantis needs fantastic experiences is true in that particular
Atlantis-world).
In case 3 (game based probing) the fictional space emerges only when teenagers engage
themselves in the game-world, by populating the game with their own dreams and
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experiences. In so doing they expand the existing game world - a city - to include a city
with people, dreams, things, relations and experiences. What mandates imagination is the
self-created dreams that act as props in the form of being the object of imagination
The last strategy on fiction that might have a potential resource for participatory prototyping
is that of fictional reframing of social innovation which indicates that fictional stories can
become frames (backdrop-stories) or generator - of social change.
Case 1 and case 3 both deals with a vulnerable and under-privileged end-user; that of
Cambodian children using prosthetic legs and that of teenagers of imprisoned parents and
in that sense they are part of larger societal condition that needs social change. Cambodia
and its children have a long history of violence and poverty and children with prosthetic legs
are being stigmatized as different; they have no voice in the Cambodian society.
Children of incarcerated parents have difficulties learning in school, building social
relationships, and many suffer in similar fashion (as the Cambodian children) by being
marginalized. Using Fictional reframing of social innovation as a strategy for participatory
prototyping in these two cases, allows the participants to develop a voice of their own and a
critical awareness of their societal situation.
Figure 6 below provides an overview of which fictional strategies are used as a resource in
relation to the three cases as well as which fictional strategies the three cases potential
could learn or benefit from and which could open up new perspectives to the design
process.
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Figure 6: Utilized versus potential fiction strategies to evoke participation across the three cases
Through our case analysis we have identified at least five areas and notions of fiction
that could increase participatory involvement. We are proposing that fiction may be used as
a resource in participatory prototyping to:
gain more direct user-involvement in product development;

stimulate critical and humorous reflection;
increase multi-stakeholder collaboration;
engage with deep characters;
root the unfamiliar in a real life context.
1841
By exploring these areas we might be able to further craft fiction as modes of engagement
that encourage participation, which in turn could open up new perspectives on the design
and development process.
6. Conclusion
In this paper, we have explored the hypothesis that fiction holds value as a resource in
participatory design, in excess of its current applications. With regards to the rich existing
tradition of using playfulness and games as part of participatory prototyping, we have shown
how the staging of make-believe scenarios, by different modes of engagement (e.g.
generative tools, prototypes, probes), has elucidated the participatory potential of crafting a
fictional space as design space. However, by drawing out a select number of examples of
fiction strategies originating in areas of design research adjacent to participatory design, we
demonstrate that (1) fiction holds a wider potential to encourage participation and (2) that
the current use practices do not exhaust what games-of-make-believe might contribute to
participatory prototyping. We have argued that (3) fiction strategies open up new
perspectives on participation in three existing cases. Future work will be needed to
investigate in greater detail how fiction, with regards to games and play, may strengthen
social relations and social growth.
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About the Authors:

Eva Knutz is post-doc researcher at Department for Design &
Communication at University of Southern Denmark. In her research,
teaching and work, Knutz focuses on social design, design fiction,
game design and politics of participation within constructive Design
Research.
Tau U. Lenskjold is post-doc at University of Southern Denmark. His
current research follows two avenues: The first investigates how
speculative design practices engage with political and societal issues.
The second avenue concerns participatory approaches in social
design.
Thomas Markussen is Associate Professor at SDU Design, University
of Southern Denmark. In his research Markussen is interested in how
citizens be can involved in processes of societal change. He works
with social design, activism, social games and design fiction.
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Space as organisational strategy

Pia Storvang
pia.storvang@sam.sdu.dk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.443
Abstract: More and more companies use physical space as a way to enhance
creativity, create change and stimulate interaction. There seems to be a strong link
between work practice, learning and innovation in an organisation. This research
investigates how space affects this interrelationship and explores how space can
support organisational strategy. This is investigated by exploring three cases from an
educational, a cultural and an industrial setting to illustrate how space can be used to
support an organisations policy and help it's strategic intentions. The theoretical
framing takes its departure point in design literature on workspace planning and
creative spaces for learning. The paper also builds on literature from design
management, organisational change and psychology to explain how space can
influence people. The findings demonstrate how space can be used to enhance
organisational strategy and demonstrate how closely the creation of space can be
related to the development of that strategy.
Keywords: Space Strategy, Design Management, Organisational Change, Interaction
1. Introduction
Research on organisations has shown that there is a strong link between work practice,
learning and innovation (Brown & Duguid, 1991) as well as having the capability to initiate
change in an organisation (Hatch & Cunliffe, 2012). Dale & Burrell (2008: 232) also indicate
that the organisation of space can have a profound social affect which emphasises the need
for research to take a closer look into how space can influence an organisations attempts to
either support or change their organisational strategy.
The importance of investigating space has been seen in different settings such as office
layout (Grangaards, 2009; Leonard, 2012; Luck, 2014), urban spaces (Munro and Jordan,
2013) spaces in the educational sector (Oblinger, 2006; Nussbaumer, 2014). More and more
international companies use physical space as a way to enhance creativity, create change

Pia Storvang
and stimulate interaction among employees (Kristensen, 2004; Doorley and Witthoft, 2012).
Preliminary studies from the project Design to Innovate have shown that Danish
companies as GJD, Royal Copenhagen and Khler use workspace and company areas to place
themselves in a specific league to attract certain types of customers and collaboration with
other companies (www.d2i.dk, 2014). This trend of companies towards using space as a way
to tell stories about who they are and how they work in order to attract customers and the
right employees has been seen in companies like Google, Lego, Nike, Virgin, Johnson &
Johnson and Innocent (Groves & Knight 2010). At the same time only few papers from
Product Management and Lean Production have looked at industrial space and examined
how a spacial layout could be effectively arranged to support the companies production
strategy (e.g. Weber, 2012). But no published papers have looked at how space can support
an organisations management and business strategy.
Research has shown that there is a need for organisations to be more concerned about how
to create spaces for interaction (Paludan, 2010; Luck, 2014). This is supported by Hatch and
Cunliffe (2012) who indicate loose ends in organisation theory concerning learning,
knowledge management and identity in relation to organisational culture and physical
structure (p. 303). Taylor and Spicer (2007) also indicate that now more than ever the time is
right to acknowledge space as a key dynamic in understanding management and
organizations (Taylor and Spicer, 2007).
Much of the literature on company design and organisational strategy is more often
concerned with managerial challenges in relation to goals, performance, system, structure,
economy and processes (e.g. Mansfield, 2013). At the same time Cooren, et al. (2008: 1163)
point out that there is every reason to believe that organisational research will continue to
study organisations and organisational phenomena through sociological, economic,
discursive or psychological lenses, which leaves little concern for other issues such as
communication, interaction and strategies on the use of space. This is further supported by a
review of organisational and management literature that shows a relative paucity of studies
of space Fayard (2012:179).
This research will investigate how space can be used to support organisational strategy. It
will look into the ways in which organisations can use the creation of space in their strategic
considerations in generating interaction, learning and new relations.
In order to explore this, three cases with maximum organisational variation in special scale
and organisational levels (Taylor & Spicer, 2007: 336) from an industrial, an educational and
a cultural setting have been chosen to illustrate how a special layout can endorse the
organisations policy to encourage and back its strategic intentions for what, why, and how
they want the organisation to be developed (Sinek, 2009) to support its organisational
strategy. The what, why, and how is in this research developed into a framework to analyse
the organisational strategy and the design of space supporting the strategy.
The paper is structured into five main sections, including this introduction, to explain why
research into organisational theory on strategy is of interest in understanding an
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organisations policy of change, interaction and the creation of new relations. After the
introduction, section 2 takes its departure point in design literature to explain theory on the
creation of spaces and theory from organisational studies that relate to strategic
considerations involved in developing an organisation. In relation to the aim of this paper,
which is to investigate how space can support organisational strategy, section 3 explains
how the data was gathered in order to present, evaluate and discuss the data. This section
will further assess the quality of the data according to the claims of the research and the
methods used. In section 4, the findings will be discussed, ending with section 5 with
conclusions and some perspectives for future research.
2. Literature and theory

It has already been stated that some of the literature concerning new ways of working,
planning and re-arranging of space to support various kinds of working activities has been
richly studied in the design literature as different ways of arranging physical space (e.g. Laing
et al., 1998; Grangaards, 2009; Bakker 2012; Plunkett & Reid, 2014). The tendency to create
extraordinary spaces in workplaces has led to research and experiments with re-design and
the creation of social spaces that can enable increased collaborative working (Luck, 2014)
and the need to establish physical environments that can accommodate personal and
individual workspaces within open spaces (Grangaards, 2009). Documentation of studies on
the human factor in the built environment has been found, in which certain types of users,
e.g. the elderly, children, and disabled, have been subject to studies (Nussbaumer, 2014;
Rengel, 2014).
The design literature also includes reports on how space can set the stage for creative
collaboration (e.g. Doorley and Witthoft, 2012) and how new spaces influence work
processes (Borges et al., 2013). Similarly, the design literature investigates how the physical
context, the confined space, can restrict and enable interaction and how the induced
emotions of this framing can facilitate or reduce creative processes and interaction
(Kristensen, 2004). Furthermore, various types of case studies on the shaping of interior
spaces have been located including studies on the different use of architectural elements
e.g. material, form, patterns, expression, order, balance and enrichment (e.g. Rengel, 2012;
Plunkett & Reid, 2014; Rengel, 2014).
In the development of architecture design of spaces have often been debated as the physical
structure with an aesthetic or technological perspective. But also space has been
investigated on the evolution of buildings and how buildings adapt to changing requirements
over time with different kind of use (Steven, 1994; Myerson, 1998). Physical structures are
likewise discussed as playing an essential element of organisational life whether we think of
physical environments or places (Fayard, 2012: 178) or as an understanding of public life
between spaces (Gehl, 2006; 2013). Basically this means that people are not only influenced
by whom they are working with and what they are doing at work, they are also affected by
the physical buildings, the workspace and the geographical locations of their organisation
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(Fayard, 2012). At the same time research has also indicated how both materials as
artefacts, arrangements and infrastructures and the use of technology has an impact on
organisational life and how practices are performed (Orlikowski, 2007: 1436). Orilikowski
suggests that we can get considerable analytical insight if we stop treating the social and
material as distinct and largely independent spheres of organisational life (ibid.: 1438)
because people in an organisation and the identity of organisational life can be affected by
space (Storvang and Dalby, 2015).
But nowhere in the design literature is the focus on how people in organisations can use
space in at strategic way to create an organisation because space is often viewed as how it
can be used in terms of business and commercial building (e.g. Duffy, 1999) but not as the
impact space has on an organization.
With this departure point in design literature on workspace planning, creative spaces and
spaces for learning, the theoretical framing for this paper will also build on literature from
design management and organisational literature to explain learning and organisational
change. Duffy, Laing and Grisp (1993:164-214) has pointed out that the organisation can
have impact on their workplace but the aim of this article is to discuss how spaces can
support organisations from a strategic perspective. Due to its multidisciplinary stance the
paper will regard an organisation as a frame for peoples working and learning, a notion that
we consider neither as a living organism nor as an absolute metaphor.
Concepts of organisational change and learning are rooted in human resource and
management literature and focuses on how people can be used as change agents to make
improvements in an organisation. But really to change life.we must change space (Lefebvre
1991: 190). Storvang and Dalby, (2015) have also suggested that space can create an impact
on how people in an organisation relate and interact in their collaboration internally and
with external organisations. So in this sense space matters because it is a living system, a
collection of interacting, and adjacent patterns of events in space(Alexander, 1979: 74).
With regard to management literature, Cooren et al. (2008) argues that in shaping
organization, theory on firms are mainly associated with economics, management, and
social psychology to guide research and practice in their work (ibid.: 1157) which leaves little
concern for other issues such as strategies on the use of space. Other research on
organisational theory has explained how the creation of identity is important to an
organisation in relation to organisational culture and physical structure (ibid.: 303). Dale &
Burrell have also looked at how identity, power and materiality are important both to the
spaces of organisation and the organisation of physical space. In their examinations they go
beyond an exploration of physical settings by looking at how the social and the material are
entangled with modern life, which calls for a rethinking of mainstream theoretical
approaches (ibid.: 203). In doing this Dale & Burrell (2008: 203) argue for the reconceptualisation of theory by including materiality and embodiment as part of the social
production of space. Some of the concepts they discuss are the use of different spaces over
time and the different use of space during the day (ibid.: 241 243). Another concept is
having alternative spaces for various purposes to create change and dissimilar working
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patterns (ibid.: 243 244). Concepts for opening up spaces to be more transparent in an
attempt to pull down barriers and division of work (ibid.: 257) or to engender a more
democratic approach to work in an organisation (ibid.: 258). Dale & Burrell (2008) also point
to the concept of private property and power as an alternative to organising space (ibid.:
269 - 278). As pointed out the relationship between property and space is linked to what is
the individual, the local, the civic or the state level at which the concept and reality of
private property is critqued (ibid.: 276). This is similar to how Taylor & Spicer (2007: 336)
have adapted Lefebvre (1991) in defining special scale and organisational levels as 1) a public
space (Macro), 2) a semi-public space (Meso) and 3) a private space (Micro). These three
levels will later be used in selecting the cases.
But so far, this research has found that none of the management or organisational studies
focus on what, how and why space can influence and support organisations in their strategic
considerations for organisational development. Finally, Dale & Burrell (2008: 326) argue that
further conceptual development towards defining organisational spaces is needed.
In this line of thinking, the paper will in the following look into how an organisation can use
the creation of space as strategy in generating interaction, learning and new relations.
3. Method and Data

The choice of using case studies in this research is related to the notion that the interaction
between a phenomenon and its context is best understood through in-depth case studies
(Dubois and Gadde, 2002, p. 554). Attention was also given to variation (Miles and
Huberman, 1994) in terms of illustrating spaces with maximum variation at three different
organisational levels: a public space, a semi-public space and a private space (Taylor &
Spicer, 2007). The case studies present: 1) A new university campus hosting Faculties of
Humanities, Engineering and Business and Social Sciences; 2) A culture and production
centre for performing arts, visual arts and literature and 3) A private manufacturing
company of air-laid technology for non-woven fibre production. All the cases are from a
Danish setting. The studies consist of three semi-structured interviews with management
and/or architects as well as a serious of observations on the different locations. This also
included regular visits at the premises and meetings on site as well as a serious of
unstructured conversations with employees and researcher about space and how space
matters both as conceptual discussions and talks about how the observed spaces matters in
relation to their work and use of the facilities.
The case of the campus and the manufacturing company has both been followed as a
longitudinal study by participating in on-going discussions with people in the organisation
about space considerations in relation to the development of their organisations. The
researcher of this paper has in the case of the university campus participated in several
formal and informal meetings discussing strategies on workplace and spaces for learning.
Further, the case of moving the campus to the new university facilities has been used by the
researcher as a teaching case, in which groups of students facilitated interviews with
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stakeholders and other students concerning issues in relation to the move to the new
campus. Finally, all the data includes secondary data from Web pages and other
organisational documents.
To some extent, this diverse data collection is an advantage, but on the other hand the data
is very uneven and sometimes lacks consistency and would perhaps have benefitted from a
more systematic way of collecting. The data was at times collected when least expected, as
the author visited the locations many times and was also a member of one of the
organisations involved.
After all, man is, in his ordinary way, a very competent knower, and qualitative
common-sense knowing is not replaced by quantitative knowing . . . This is not to say
that such common sense naturalistic observation is objective, dependable, or unbiased.
But it is all that we have. It is the only route to knowledge--noisy, fallible, and biased
though it be (Campbell 1975)
In the following the three cases will be presented and after each case the design of space
and organisational strategy will be analysed as well as three themes will be identified as: 1)
Space as an organisational meeting place in the University campus, 2) Space as a
network organisation in the Culture and production centre and 3) Space as a cell
organisation
Case 1: The new university campus
The first case is the open space of a new university campus that hosts Humanities,
Engineering and Business and Social Science faculties. The idea for the campus is, according
to the Associate Dean and former Head of Campus, a main station for open knowledge
that could facilitate cross-disciplinary work. The campus is designed as an equilateral
triangle, in which classrooms, offices and open terraces line the perimeter. The core of the
building is a triangular atrium twisted as it ascends from the ground floor to the 6th floor.
The decks leave a variation of space for student areas: circular sofa areas provide private
areas for group work and long desks placed with a view over the open atrium provide study
areas. The open space in the centre also offers a variation of additional spaces for
interaction, meetings, contemplation and learning. Each floor is designed in order to create
crossovers between teachers, researchers and students by giving all users a legitimate
presence on all floors as well as areas of immersion and quietude (se figure 1).
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Figure 1 One of the six floor plans of the university campus
The red dots represent the different departments and units within the departments, but also
studio facilities for specific groups of students and different spaces as meeting, class and
other supporting rooms. The smaller black dots characterise different individuals attending
courses, meetings and other types of activities as collaborators, guests or visitors.
Analysis of design of space and organisational strategy in the university campus
The co-operation across faculties is the overall profile of the campus along with the strategic
focus on interdisciplinarity as an initiative to enhance Design Research. Encouraging
students and researchers from different fields and departments to work together by
embracing interaction and student centred learning is the core idea of the new campus. If
research is supposed to concern the real world, it is a good thing that the university and the
real world meet (Associate Dean). This design approach to learning also plays a significant
role in education, research and in the co-operation with public institutions and companies in
the region.
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Figure 2 The Pubic space at the university campus
Figure 3 The Pubic space at the university campus
The challenge of collaborating and working together across disciplines in the different
departments, interacting and learning from each other, has in many ways been translated
into the huge, open six storey high space in the centre of the new campus. Internally, the
open space is transparent as it is possible to look across the space to the other departments
at all floors. It is also possible to extend the more private department spaces into the big
open space to share and exchange knowledge. Since the open space is a student working
area, the students to a large extent act as agents across the space and they also represent
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the ways of working in the different departments. The more private areas of the various
offices along the perimeter of the building have glass doors, so the transparency is extended
into the offices and further out into the city.
Case 2. Culture and production centre
The second case is a public space organised as open workshops for performing arts, visual
arts and literature (www.godsbanen.dk, 2015). The spaces are a re-design of an old closed
rail freight facility that is located close to the city's other cultural places such as music
scenes, venues, theatres, museums and art exhibitions. The aim of the centre is to create a
multifaceted cultural production complex across the arts to develop talents, but also to
make the city visible and strengthen the citys position as a cultural, national and
international centre for innovative art and cultural production.
According to manager of the workshops the centre functions as an idea factory for
creative people, who wants to design their ideas, makes projects, create exhibitions and
events or test themselves in a creative and open environment. He describes the facilities as a
transformation factory where dreams can become reality and he also explains how the
open workshops can create stars that can earn their own living from their talents (Hansen,
2015a). The workshops have 20 volunteers who serve as facilitators for users so they can
operate the machines and tools to develop their ideas. Among other facilities the workshops
offer is one of the worlds most advanced laser cutter for wood, plastic, textile and metal
that can also be used to engrave stone and glass. The place is open 28 hours a week and in
addition the super users and seniors who are professionally trained have all received a
course in how to operate the machines outside opening hours (Hansen, 2015a).
The spaces at the centre are designed as a series of workshops placed in a long row
connected through a pedestrian area. This is the buildings main street, which in principal
operates as an extension of the city streets from where the various workshop spaces can be
entered (figure 4). In addition to the complex there is an open scene, which groups of users
can hire for various types of artistic activities. Joint events, seminars and exhibitions are also
organised in the many common areas.
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Figure 4 Diagram of how the spaces in the centre is organised as various workshop spaces.
The red dots in figure 4 represent different users at work who either come from various
organisations or are working there independently and the smaller black dots show different
individuals attending events and other types of activities as guests or visitors.
Analysis of design of space and organisational strategy in the cultural production centre
The idea behind the design in the culture and production centre is rooted in the idea of
railway tracks where people visiting the centre can go into different compartments to work
or to participate in activities, exhibitions or other types of events. The comparison to a
railway is also reflected in the name of the rooms as: Train Remise, Boiler, Railway Wagon,
Platform and Railway Track etc.
Figure 5 Pubic and semi public spaces in cultural production centre. The spaces at the centre are
designed as a series of workshops placed on a long row connected through a pedestrian
area.
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The complex includes predefined spaces for particular artistic groups, and open workshops,
and project facilities for graphics, laser cutting, textile, montage, wood and metal
workshops. The supplementary spaces outside the building are further extended along the
old railway tracks with alternative workshops, additional spaces for subcultural activities and
other types of open street events. The organisation of the place is community driven and the
idea is for people to meet, create networks and new organisations and to put the citys
culture on track. In this sense the centre has an event driven space strategy where people
can jump on and jump off when activities pass by and people are on the move to create
new opportunities and learn together in their production and creation of art and new types
of cultural events.
Case 3: Private manufacturing company
The third case is a private engineering company working with air-laid technology for nonwoven fibre production for all kinds of natural and synthetic fibres. The company holds a
couple of worldwide patents for their technology, which can either be used for different
customer production processes of non-woven fibre or for the cutting techniques of their
products. The company also has a pilot line with a testing facility where the company can, in
cooperation with their customers, develop their production. Their customers are mainly very
big companies in other industries where they are experts, specialists or lead users in their
field.
This means the company is really keen on learning and working together with their
customers since they are specialists. Equally the company is an attractive partner to
collaborate with as they are able to work with the restrictions, contractual constraints and
strict specifications from user requirements. On the other hand collaboration is difficult to
initiate as the company has to be extremely careful about revealing what they are
developing together with their customers. In order to do, as the Managing Director points
out it is important to create a long-term trust relationship with our customers and the
customers need to be able to trust the company in their collaboration in order to protect
their business secrets and visa versa. In their collaboration with the different customers they
therefore need to separate the different types of customer collaboration, which also
demands the separation of production technologies and types of fibre production. In order
to do this the mother company divides the company into closed cells as different smaller
organisations (figure 6).
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Figure 6 Diagram of how the spaces are organised as cells in the manufacturing company
The red dots symbolises the different customers that the mother company works with in the
different business areas.
Analysis of design of space and organisational strategy in the manufacturing company
When the company develops new products by working with a customer, it hires spaces as
new storage or warehouse space in the nearby surroundings that are within walking
distance from the mother company area.
The warehouses are then turned into different production areas with one big space for the
production line and the additional areas on the location functions as storage for what is
produced and tested on the specific production line. As such the company only needs to
have supporting facilities such as offices and meeting room etc. in one location. This makes it
possible to run different kinds of productions and tests with different kinds of materials but
also to alter the production line according to the material that is tested.
But it also means that the customers and business can be separated into different
organisational cells even though the technology is fundamentally the same.
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Figure 7 Organisation of space in the manufacturing company
At the same time this approach also reduces the need for employing new staff every time
they go into a new market, since the same employees can be used in the various production
areas regardless of which customers they are working with. This also makes it possible for
the company to grow without hiring new and untrained staff or making large investments
before entering a new market. In principle the technology is the same in spite of customer
segments so basically whenever they want to enter a new market they just hire some more
space.
In the following the analysis of design of space and organisational strategy of the three cases
will be further discussed
4. Discussions
In the cases three approaches as to how to work with space to support organisational
strategy have been presented: 1) Space as an organisational meeting place in the
University campus, 2) Space as a network organisation in the Culture and production
centre and 3) Space as a cell organisation in the private manufacturing company. As
already introduced the what, why, and how the organisation is being developed to support
its organisational strategy (Sinek, 2009) is in this section developed into a framework to
analyse the organisational strategy and the design of space supporting the strategy (table 1).
The organisational strategy of space in the three cases of the University Campus, the Culture
and Production Centre and the Private Manufacturing Company are compared in the
following:
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Table 1 The organisational strategy of space in the three cases.

Case:
University campus
Culture and production

centre
Private manufacturing
company
What - is the
strategy?
Space as an
organisational meeting
place
Space as a network
organisation
Space as a cell organisation
Why - this
strategy?
A main station of
knowledge to create
collaboration and
learning across different
faculties, researchers,
students and external
organisations.
A transformation factory
where dreams can become
reality to create
collaboration,
entrepreneurship and
learning between creative
people cross different arts in
an idea factory
To create a long tern trust

relationship to be able to
innovate, develop and learn
together with customers
that are specialists, experts
and lead users from other
industries.
How - is the
strategy
implemented?
Open space with visual

interactive spaces and
possibilities to look into
all spaces such as offices,
reading rooms, library
and canteen to make the
spaces transparent with a
focus on interaction and
collaboration in an
interdisciplinary
environment where
students act as change
agents in the meeting
between teaching,
research and external
collaboration partners.
Semi open multiple creative

environment designed as a
series of workshops
combined with various large
meeting, event, exhibition
and restaurant areas where
people can occasionally
meet. An event driven space
strategy where people can
jump on and jump off or
they can work together for a
period of time while they try
out different professional
opportunities.
Closed spaces to create

separation between
customers and knowledge
sharing. Business areas are
thereby not dependent on
each other and it is
therefore also possible for
the company to enter new
types of markets. By
splitting their customers
into different locations it is
also possible to work with
them to understand their
needs and how to act,
organise and sell in the new
and sometimes emerging
market
Strategy:
Space as an organisational meeting place

In the case of space as an organisational meeting place in the University campus the space
has according to the chief architect the intention to be the main station of knowledge
from the very beginning. The new building should help facilitate new approaches to teaching
and make the organisation more transparent, making it easier to see and get inspired by
each other.
Right from the start, the heart of the new university has centered on the concept of
collaborative space. As the chief architect states: the job of the architects has primarily been
to provide a lot of different spaces for collaboration with each other. The architects design
intentions were to to ensure intimacy by making the distance between spaces short in order
to engender the feeling of cohesion and enable people to see each other across the spaces.
The glass box meeting rooms, the desks along the perimeter of the atrium, the lounge areas,
the stairs ascending from a large open space at the bottom of the building, the reading
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rooms and the visual lines into the library and canteen are elements introduced as answers
to how to make a transparent building with focus on interaction.
As well as an effort to break down the traditional academic boundaries the campus is further
designed to open up for collaboration with the outside world and accommodate
collaboration with external organisations.
In this sense the university campus has a space strategy both to enable the organisation to
change in the new facilities created as a meeting place for interaction and collaboration, and
also to learn together to create new opportunities.
Space as a network organisation
In the case of space as a network organisation in the culture and production centre the
space is about community driven learning. The idea is for people to meet, create networks
and new organisations in a sub cultural environment. Here they can tap into the community
to learn as they grow their talent.
An example of this a design company which grew out of the production centre to develop
their own store where they sell Scandinavian Design in a high class shopping district. As the
owners of the design company explains, he has learned and got to know how to do this from
his experience in the the cultural production centre. As the company grew there was a need
for them to have their own store to get into closer contact with their customers and study
them in order to understand what they were thinking about the products (Hansen 2015b).
Although they now have their offices in the store they still use the cultural production centre
as a factory for new ways of thinking and as a laboratory for development. At the
production centre they have facilities they can use to learn from others in order to make
inspiring projects with them.
Space as a cell organisation
In the case of space as a cell organisation in a private manufacturing company, the
organisation is divided into smaller cells. Businesses and customers are separated when the
company collaborates and tests new products and processes with their customers. From this
they can use the business-customer interactions to learn and generate adequate knowledge
and legitimacy in a new market. In this way they can also learn about the industry and its
product application and create the credibility and position necessary in order to become
known in the new market.
The Managing Director explains that they are dependent on their cooperation with the
customers in order to learn about their needs. They need to work closely together with them
to understand how they act in the emerging market including how they sell and organise in
order to penetrate that new market.
In order to work with this type of sidestepping the company needs to divide the different
collaboration partners into closed cells, which are not dependent on each other, so they can
operate with them individually. This also means that different business areas and customers
are separated to different locations. Equally, as the different customers do not collaborate
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or interact, and as the business areas are not dependent on each other, it is also possible to
sell off a business area if it is not interesting enough for the company portfolio.
Findings across the cases
All three cases have learning and space as a change agent as central issues in their strategy.
It is therefore interesting to compare and look at how space can influence an organisations
learning and willingness to change. It is also important to explore how learning is facilitated
and mediated as a social practice, as this is one factor among many in a complex relationship
that engenders learning outcome (Oblinger 2006). This understanding is in line with Brown &
Duguid (1991) who have pointed out the need for more research into organisational learning
in order to understand, how people communicate in organisations (e.g. Orlikowski, 2007;
Ashcraft et al., 2009). In the three cases it is also seen how space is organised to generate
learning, create new relations. This is in line with what Duffy, Laing and Grisp (1993) have
found that the organisation can have impact on the workplace. But in this research we have
also seen how space can have impact on how people in an organisation interact with each
other and the surrounding organisations. In the three cases the spaces have been closely
related to organisational strategy. In two of the cases (the cultural centre and the private
company) the organisations have turned existing spaces to fit the organisations strategic
intension and in the university case the space was design for the purpose of the new
campus. The university was build to fit changes in the organisation. The purpose of the new
building was to help facilitate student centred learning, new approaches to teaching and
transparency in the organisation. But also to make it easier for staff and students to interact
and collaborate both cross faculties and with external partners such as private companies,
local political systems in a multi-disciplinary environment. The opportunity to change the
organisation both in a new campus and in existing facilities found in the two other cases
were also found by Myerson (1998: 32) who has learned from the studies at DEGW that
change in location may act as a catalyst for change but, more often, change has to take place
on an existing site and within the confidence of an existing building.
What is also interesting in the university case is that the original plans for the campus
changed already before it was taken into use since a faculty from another campus was
relocated to the new campus in order to create synergies in the directions for change that
the top management wanted for the new campus. Therefore some of the original plans for
spaces had to change. The need for change of plans is supported in an interview with the
former head of campus who says that he does not believe in the complete solution because
it is not possible to imagine all kinds of situations: the task is now to take it in (author: the
building) and make it better. But it is also in line when Myerson (1998) quotes architect
Frank Duffy as he say he has learned that client organisations are in a constant state of
change. This means that organisations will also change over time and therefore they will
have changing needs for space.
Despite all challenges, the move to the new campus has initiated a change process and
influenced the identity and self-understanding of the employees as some of them have
started to work in new ways by collaboration cross faculties and introduction new teaching
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.
methods. The analysis have further shown that the new building made it possible for people
to unfold a new identity, evolve the vision and slowly change their culture. The campus is an
aesthetically pleasing building, but it is designed as a place for classic thinking and
interaction performed as dialogue. It is not designed for alternative ways of interaction and
a designerly way of learning e.g. experimenting with messy prototyping, large scale
visualizing and organisational theatre. Therefore some new workshop facilities and lab space
has been leased in a close-by external building. The question is now whether the
arrangement is going to be permanent. The debate is now whether to make yet another
new building in a nearby location to the campus to fit the needs for alternative spaces or will
the existing campus space change over time to be able to accommodate the requirements
for use (Steven, 1994; Myerson, 1998: 40-53). The issues of time and how the space will
change over time will as Myerson (1998) points out influence the management of space.
In the case of the cultural production centre debate is going on for how to be more selffinanced in the future as some public funding may come to an end. In the near future the
local school of Architecture will also be building a new architectural school in the close by
area of the cultural production centre.
One can therefore only speculate what will happen when the school is moving to the nearby
location in terms of synergies between the two organisations. Will this for instance create an
opportunity to combine the two organisations in order to develop a better economy for
both institutions? And if, how will such a strategy change direction for the use of space?
What will change the direction of the strategy and evolve the spaces will in the public and
semi public organisations depend on the political situation but also in the private
organisation outside factors such as changing performance rules on technology,
environmental credentials and/or changing economic conditions may influence the
organisations use of space.
5. Conclusion and perspectives

The research in the three cases has shown how space can be used to enhance organisational
strategy and demonstrates how closely the creation of space can be related to the
development of that strategy.
The cases have shown how space can influence an organisations learning to create change
and new relations and how an organisation can reinforce its identity, generate interaction
and strengthen collaboration with internal and external partners. The cases have also shown
how space can have impact on how people interact, whether the strategy of space is an
organisational meeting place, a network organisation or a cell organisation.
The case studies have shown three different models for change but there might be more as
it is seen organisational change have impact on space. But the risk factors associated with
literally setting an organisational management system in stone may ultimately be a
significant risk in terms of how and whether architectural and spatial organisation can be
both flexible and impactful.
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Pia Storvang
But the argument in this paper is the challenges in organisational strategy, creation of space
and use of space as a change agent to generate interaction and new relations is interesting
for the field of design, in particular when it comes to actually creating new spaces for
interaction and learning, as well as designing the right spatial challenges to support an
organisations strategic intentions.
The research is also interesting for managers of strategic processes in organisations to help
define the spatial challenges and the means to support and perform the changes needed
and, as the cases shows, design of spaces could be one of those means. But also the issues of
time and how the space will change over time will influence the management of space and
how management can work with space to fit the organisational strategy.
The findings are also of interest to applied research on design, design management,
management and organisational learning literature and for designer on spaces for learning
and organisational change. The case deals with the relation between the design of physical
space and its impact on the practice of organisational interaction and learning.
The findings are vital in understanding, diagnosing and analysing the connection between
space, strategy and design as organisational practice. The study has shown that the design
and operationalization of spaces can influence organisational strategy, as space influences
relations between people. That organisations can use space to support their strategic
intentions seems to have been overlooked in the literature.
Although the research is based on a limited sample of cases, they do however present some
interesting insights as to how space can influence an organisations strategic intentions,
interaction, learning and the building of relationships within different sectors on various
organisational levels in a public space, a semi-public space and a private space. The
usefulness of the research needs further investigation based on a larger sample of cases
within the three levels of spaces. It might perhaps also be interesting to test whether there
are some typologies of strategies within the different levels of spaces.
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About the Author:

Pia Storvang is associate professor in Design Management at SDUDesign Research, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship
Management, University of Southern Denmark where she is affiliated
with the research project "Design to innovate (D2i), Reframing the
Future. She holds a Ph.D. in Participatory Design and Innovation. Pia
Storvang research is related to Design Innovation, Management
processes, Design Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking,
Architecture, Creativity and the intersections between the areas.
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The value of design: an issue of vision, creativity and

interpretation
Politecnico di Milano
mariana.fonseca@polimi.it
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.129
Abstract: What is the value of design? Why should firms invest in design? The paper
aims at clarifying the value of design, its dimensions and its variables (qualitative and
quantitative) throughout a literature review and analysis. The premise is that firms
invest in design to create value. Design has evolved, becoming closely related to
innovation, and the need to clarify its dimensions and relationships to value within
firms and society rises. Despite the global growing interest in design, it is not fully
understood how it brings benefits to the company. The concept of value is found in a
fragmented literature including economics, marketing, business, management, value
engineering, design domains, social and environmental sustainability. In conclusion,
the value of design still is under-researched and new dimensions emerge. It is shaped
by designers and companies visions, creativity and interpretations. Better crossfertilization is required to identify the mechanisms of value creation by design.
Keywords: value of design, vision, creativity, cross-fertilization
1. Introduction
The paper is organized in four sections in order to provide a framework to develop the
analysis that draws the answers for the questions and the conclusion. It starts pointing out
design definitions, and the evolution of the term and activity is provided in order to
contribute to the understanding of the relationships between value and design, as well as its
enlargement.
The value of the design section lies in clarifying the concepts of value reported in several
domains and their limitations referring to the design perspective. Topic 4. Why should
companies invest in design? elaborates on the motives to adopt design, describing some
reported studies that have approached the economic benefits generated by design in the
companies and highlighting qualitative dimensions related to competitive advantage.
The discussion and conclusion topics are presented in two parts. The first part summarises
the value of design dimensions and variables according to the different perspectives
reported that can be related to design.
The second part emphasizes the need to grasp designs nature and practices to better
achieve cross-fertilization. In this sense, the paper extends the Cross (2001), DIppolito
(2014) and Heskett (2009) concerns about the importance of understanding design practices
and theories. Design and its value are perceived as a question of vision (Borja de Mozota
2006, Danish Design Centre 2003, Heskett 2009, Trueman and Jobber 1998, Walsh 1996),
creativity and interpretation.
2. Design: definitions, approaches and potential

Design is all around you, everything man-made has been designed, whether
consciously or not (Hunter 2014)
The word design has its origin in the Latin term designare which means mark out, devise,
choose, designate, appoint," where de- means "out" and signare means "to mark," from
signum "a mark, sign" (Online Etymology Dictionary).
Leonardo Da Vinci is considered the first designer, but his legacy refers more to invention
(Brdek 2006). The beginning of the industrial era (XVII-XVIII) separates design and
manufacturing in the company (Brdek 2006, Forty 2007). Design starts taking on a mediator
role between producers and users to convey social aspirations to products designs in a
European perspective (Forty 2007).
Two main streams of Design can be identified: (1) the inclusive one, that considers the
multiplicity of design regarding arts and craftwork and (2) the polytechnic culture, where
design is a branch of architecture and interacts with engineering, being called industrial
design (Trocchianesi and Guglielmetti 2012, p. 39).
The polytechnic culture is related to approaches that are close to product development and
product engineering involving product design at the project level (e.g. Baxter 1998, Pugh
1991, Ulrich and Eppinger 1995). Baxter (1998) defines product-design as the set of project
activities, which can be overlapped, systematically planned and managed to approach each
project context.
The inclusive perspective can be observed in the Italian cultura del progetto1 (Munari 2008,
Paris 2014), where the immersion in design is part of the culture and history and emerges
from diverse relationships framed in the company throughout its experience and its
relationships to diverse stakeholders, generating meanings that are conveyed to and valued
by people.
The idea of design culture conceptualizes design as a mediator between the production and
consumption worlds (Deserti and Rizzo 2014, Forty 2007). The designer is seen as an
The term is not considered synonymous of design culture.
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The value of design: an issue of vision, creativity and interpretation.
interpreter of social aspirations and serves as a means to convey values through products,
services, experiences and so on.
Verganti (2008) introduces the concept of design driven innovation, a top-down approach to
design. Instead of a user-centered design approach, the strategy of design driven innovation
is used by design intensive firms based on their visions about possible new product
meanings and languages that could spread in society (Verganti 2008). The design intensive
company uses external interpreters to understand, anticipate and influence the emergence
of new product meanings (Verganti 2008). According to Verganti (2008, p. 450), this
process is more knowledge based than creativity based.
Bottom-up (or user-centered) approaches such as design thinking (Brown 2008) and
emotional design (Norman 2008) are emergent in North-America, especially in the USA,
where the focus on market and consumer-related needs are perceived throughout their
industrial design history and culture (Paris 2014).
Norman (2008) describes the design expertise as the one responsible for discovering the
users needs that they cannot express by themselves. Several ethnographic methods and the
use of inter-disciplinary teams have been suggested to achieve users needs through design
thinking (Brown 2009). Norman (2008) develops the argument that emotion plays a
fundamental role in better products use; people feel more motivated to solve problems or
to grasp products use as a consequence of the emotional relationship established through
product's aesthetics.
Figure 1 Top-down and bottom-up approaches to design. The inspiration flow.
Top-down approaches emphasize designers as interpreters who bring the disruption, which
could not be imagined by users who are used to behave according to a referable context,
presenting difficulty to create breakthrough concepts. In this sense, top-down approaches
have been considered more useful to achieve disruptive (or radical) innovations and bottomup approaches to incremental innovations or improvements (Norman and Verganti 2014).
Design creates more than a tangible world composed of goods, driving the development of
new ideas, strategies, services, brands and users experiences. The emphasis on innovation
changes from technology, R&D (e.g. Clark and Wheelwright 1993) to design principles:
inspiration, ideation and implementation (Brown 2009).
The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID 2015) acknowledges design
as a fundamental means of innovation:
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Industrial Design is a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds

business success and leads to a better quality of life through innovative products,
systems, services and experiences.
The Design Council (2015) broadly defines design as:

a way of thinking that helps large organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises,
social enterprises and charities change the way they work.
Design Council (2015) definition assumes that design plays a fundamental organizational role
related to the human-resources evolvement and its ability to change. Heskett (2009, p. 82)
highlights the design activity as a source of innovation, stressing the role of design to
envision change.
Design potential has enlarged as well as its definition, being studied in several domains and
being considered as an important competence to achieve innovation in enterprises (Brown
2009, Design Council 2007a, 2007b, ICSID 2015, Maeda, et al 2015, Verganti 2008) with its
own ways, practices, knowledge and language (Cross 2001, Deserti and Rizzo 2014, Zurlo and
Cautela 2014).
The complexity of evidencing design roles, modes of use and benefits for organizations
becomes visible. Design management, business, design and competition are examples of
fields that try to accomplish this clarification.
Exploring the design role in business success, Walsh (1996) interpreted design as an activity
which overlaps with R&D and technological innovation, and can also contribute to the
business of the company. She provides the insight that the way design is led by the company
is a crucial issue along with resources invested (Walsh 1996).
The growing interest in design benefits for firms leads to the development of models and
tools, such as the Design Management Staircase model from the Design Management
Europe survey (Kootstra 2009) and the design ladder tool shown in Figure 2 (Danish Design
Centre 2007), in order to grasp the design phenomena in companies, according to the ways
companies see and use design.
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Figure 2 The design ladder (Danish Design Centre 2007). Retrieved from:
http://www.seeplatform.eu/casestudies/Design%20Ladder
Zurlo and Cautela (2014, p. 35) assume that design can contribute to the company in several
ways and levels of innovation, from styling to the change of ecosystems of product-services
and business models.
From the argument of design and competition, DIppolito (2014, p. 721) underpins that
design has the potential of bringing into the picture some non-technological dimensions of
new products that firms had not considered before, emphasizing design as a creative
activity and a social phenomenon that has been studied across various domains.
In the context of management and business, design is considered a strategic resource (Bruce
and Bessant 2002, Celaschi, et al 2012, DellEra and Verganti 2007). Design adoption and its
mode of use are a question of enterprises behavior, ethos or vision (Borja de Mozota
2006, Calabretta, et al 2008, Danish Design Centre 2003, Verganti 2008, Walsh 1996).
Borja de Mozota (2006) introduces the concept of the four powers of design in the
management science. Two powers suggested by Borja de Mozota (2006) are of special
interest in this papers discussion: design as an integrator, which undertakes design as a core
competence, and design as a transformer, which brings the design contribution to the
learning processes and to the ability to deal with change in organizations, creating new
business opportunities.
Design potential depends on the individual creativity, talent, experience of the designer
(DIppolito 2014, Gemser and Leenders 2001). Besides the designers skills, the development
of competencies and ability to deal with change (Borja de Mozota 2006) are important
potentials which can be fostered by design in the organization. On the other hand, the
companys vision about design (Borja de Mozota 2006), its cultural imperatives (Heskett
2009), and the adopted design strategy (Gemser and Leenders 2001, Roy and Riedel 1997) or
1869
stage (Danish Design Centre 2003) define the limitations of design potential exploration by
the firm.
Another stream that design has strongly embraced refers to social and environmental issues
(e.g. Bonsiepe 2011, Manzini 2007, Manzini and Vezzoli 2005). The interest in the social
dimension comes from the Bauhaus and Ulm schools, which started working on design and
its social contributions. Papanek (1971) introduced the idea of design responsibility in his
book Design for the real world. Design starts exploring the ways towards social responsibility
throughout ecodesign, Design for Sustainability and social innovation.
3. Value of design
3.1 The evolution and fragmentation of value concepts
Several domains have studied the value concept (Ulaga and Chacour 2001). Among them,
marketing (Kotler 1972, Ravald and Grnroos 1996) and economic (Heskett 2009, Smith
1776) disciplines have stressed the importance of value and presented a range of definitions.
In the modern economics, the value in exchange comes from the concept of money, which
arises because of the need to have a common element and measure to exchange things
among different producers. It started as a question of a commodity becoming the universal
instrument of commerce (Smith 1776).
Smith (1776) suggests two different meanings for value: value in exchange and value in use.
Scant things have a higher value in exchange and a lower value in use (e.g. diamond). Goods
which have a greater value in use (e.g. water) usually have no value or have a lower value in
exchange (Smith 1776). Both concepts are restricted to the monetary value, to the idea of
price defined by productive dimensions (labour and capital), in the neoclassical theory.
The concepts of value generated throughout economic theory do not fit the design
dimensions regarding the context of use, the role of products, communications,
environments, services and systems in the lives of people (Heskett 2009). Heskett (2009)
argues that the economic theory generally stops at the point-of-sale and the new economic
concepts such as value should be elaborated from the design perspective. The Austrian
School explores value concept closer to the marketing ideas in which the users behaviour
plays an important role in purchasing (Heskett 2009, p. 75).
Marketing concepts are related mainly to the idea of customer-perceived quality and
customer satisfaction, where the customer perceives benefits relative to perceived
sacrifice, taking into consideration suppliers offers and price (Ulaga and Chacour 2001). In
business-to-business, value has also been related to psychological benefits such as risk
reduction and reputation (Hinterhuber 2008). Hinterhuber (2008) highlights that the concept
of value still is ill-defined and an under-researched subject, despite the importance of
providing value to customers to foster their loyalty. Ravald and Grnroos (1996) emphasize
that marketing perspective carries on the idea of value, adding that it can lead to adding
1870
technical products improvements or increment of services that are not perceived by the
customers anymore.
The value engineering (Csillag 1991) and the product-design (Baxter 1998) approaches to
value are similar, stressing value in terms of money as an outcome of a combination of
different types of value or functions, representing how much money the consumer is willing
to pay for functions in the market by comparison. Baxter (1998) considers two productdesign functions: utility and esteem1.
Krucken (2009) relates value to the perceived product quality, suggesting different value
dimensions such as functional or practical value referred to the mode of use; emotional
value related to subjective factors as feelings, users experience, memories; environmental
value represented by nature preservation; and symbolic and cultural value expressed by the
social identity.
Borja de Mozota (2006) says that value in management science is achieved when a result
superior to that of the competition has been achieved, when a greater ratio between the
profits and the capital invested is realized.
The Economic Value Added (EVA) comes from two types of value: substantial value based on
customer value, performance value and strategic value; and financial value that is gotten
through finance, investment or mergers (Borja de Mozota 2006). The substantial value
includes the value perceived by the market (competitive rationality), and the value created
and shared by human resources (process improvement, individual creativity, knowledge
management, the performance of projects) that is referred as organizational rationality by
Borja de Mozota (2006).
The perspective of value engineering and of product development narrows the design
strategic values related to the corporate image, language and meanings, innovation, human
resources and possible social contributions. Marketing perspective bounds the issue to a
profit, focusing on the customers viewpoint (Kotler 1972, Ravald and Grnroos 1996, Ulaga
and Chacour 2001), presenting the shortcoming of an innovative logic to achieve disruptive
ideas or to deal with change.
3.2 The scenario of design value within companies: the management of design
complexity
Design has been emphasized as an important factor for economic growth by several
governments and institutions throughout Europe and North America (Aalto University, et al
2012, Barcelona Design Center 2014, Borja de Mozota 2006, Danish Design Centre 2003,
Design Council 2007b, European Commission 2012). The need to demonstrate design
benefits for business has generated reports, website platforms (e.g. SEE Platform) to share
design experiences and policies. Governments have focused attention on design as policy for
national economic growth and to foster innovation.
1 Esteem function represents social, cultural and commercial effects throughout beauty, shape, appearance.
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Despite all the emphasis that design has recently received (Borja de Mozota 2006, Brown
2009, Bruce and Bessant 2002, Danish Design Centre 2003, Design Council 2007a, 2007b,
DIppolito 2014, Gemser and Leenders 2001, Hunter 2014, Maeda, et al 2015, Norman 2008,
Roy and Riedel 1997, Verganti 2008, Walsh 1996), it is still considered an uncertain activity,
where we cannot be sure of the results (Bessant 2002, Trueman and Jobber 1998). On the
other hand, design management makes an effort to explain how we can achieve better
performance by design in the firms throughout skills, organizational and managerial
practices, to attain an effective design (Chiva and Alegre 2009).
The value creation by design can be regarded as a complex phenomenon. The intangible
values have strongly emerged and impacted firms in several ways. Brands have become
more valuable than the physical and tangible aspects of business. Creativity, knowledge and
ideas related to design are highlighted as sources of value creation in organizations,
improving competencies and skills to deal with a change towards innovation.
In this scenario, design expertise contributes to the companys challenge, but it is still
considered an uncertain practice and it is not grasped at all in enterprises that use design
according to their own visions. The nature of design activity is tacit-based, relying on
creativity to achieve unique solutions. Design is not a science, design is a reflective practice
in a constructivist paradigm where we do not expect something repeatable, despite the fact
that it can be seen as a discipline and can be studied as a phenomenon (Cross 2001).
The design practice is related to subjective factors such as empathy and intuition, presenting
an experimental character of trial and error practice (Brown 2009) despite methods and
tools that can be systematically employed. To source a designer, for instance, companies
consider personal recommendations (Bruce, Cooper and Vazquez 1999). In addition, looking
at the identity of design at the organizational level, design still is undefined in terms of
responsibility, budget source, guidelines and power, presenting a non-clear form to manage
compared to R&D or technology developments (DIppolito 2014).
All the subjective and tacit dimensions make design difficult to grasp, and the risk of
disruptive ideas is higher than improvements proposals enabled by market research1. Design
is future-oriented and the future is uncertain, which leads to the representation of customer
value as a range of expected values, rather than a single (certain) number (Hinterhuber
2008, p. 390). It seems more comfortable for the company to invest in things that are the
right things, that are possible to forecast in terms of return on investment and profits in
short run strategies. On the other hand, companies that acknowledge design as a source of
innovation challenge forecasts and market research (which can be observed in the history of
Apple and Sony e.g. Ipad and the Sony walkman).
1 It is important to emphasize the difference between market research and design research. Market research is statistically
valid and shows opportunities for improvements considering similar behaviour among groups. Design research tends to
more innovative solutions starting from users and establishing relationships with cultural anthropology and sociology (as
cited in Zurlo 1999, p.35).
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4. Why should companies invest in design?

Gemser and Leenders (2001) and Roy and Riedel (1997) show that more innovative design
strategy leads to better results (e.g. turnover growth and exports) from design at the
product development level. However, first-to-market innovation strategy does not always
lead to more success than using a follower strategy (see for instance Teece (1986) who also
describes ways in which some enterprises profit from others innovations).
Gemser and Leenders (2001) suggest that other qualitative aspects influence competitive
performance such as the designers reputation, experience, skills, and talent, and the market
segments a company tries to serve.
The Danish survey: The Economic Effects of Design (Danish Design Centre 2003) was a
pioneer in studying the effects of design on national and business economics. The study
shows that companies that work systematically with design, using professionals internally or
as consultants, have higher earnings and exports than companies that do not use design.
Gross revenue performances and exports are higher the higher on the design ladder those
companies rank (Danish Design Centre 2003). However, the research does not identify the
precise share of the economic growth that can be directly related to design.
After that, United Kingdom has strived to measure design impacts on companies. The public
policy has approached design as a fundamental factor for economic growth. The Design
Council (2007b) report contributes to show the design impact on business performance. The
report states design advantages in business such as (Design Council 2007b) turnover growth
and shares outperformance.
The recent Design Council (2015) publication, The Design Economy, demonstrates the design
contribution to the financial performance of the business in the United Kingdom. The
publication widened the scope of design activities approaching a wide variety of industries,
compared to their previous report. It identifies a concentration of design workers and design
intensive firms in London, evidencing the fact that design is underused and its benefits can
be broadened in other locations.
Borja de Mozota (2006, p.46) relates design to the competitive advantage, presenting
multiple interpretations to design by the firm, from design as differentiator when the
company sees design in the context of reputation or brand to design as a core competence,
or a resource-based view difficult to imitate in terms of organizational competencies.
Chiva and Alegre (2007) emphasize that the relationship between design investment and
company performance is not unconditional. The authors describe the importance of design
management and its skills to achieve design effectiveness and good results to the firm (Chiva
and Alegre 2007). The way the company uses design investment to obtain or improve design
management skills affects performance (Chiva and Alegre 2007).
Most studies focus on the relationship between commercial success, competitive advantage,
economic performance, and design to demonstrate benefits that design can generate for
companies. However, the reasons to invest in design are not reduced to commercial success
in firms. The development of unique organizational competencies (Borja de Mozota 2006)
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and of learning skills (Roy and Riedel 1997) are qualitative aspects that can drive the
economic value creation to strengthening the ability to deal with change and innovation,
generating competitive advantages (Borja de Mozota 2006, Chiva and Alegre 2009, Roy and
Riedel 1997). Other limitations are that design economic performance is more evident
throughout time (Rae 2013, 2014) and that disruptive ideas are not always immediately
successful in the market.
5. Discussion and conclusion

5.1. Dimensions and variables of the value of design
The value of design dimensions and variables can be distinguished from the domains and
approaches studied. This is just an initial effort considering the complexity of the subject and
that it is an ill-defined, under-researched, multifaceted and complicated topic (Hinterhuber
2008, Ravald and Grnroos 1996) where visions, interpretations and new dimensions
emerge as well as new research domains.
The figure below demonstrates the dimensions and variables of the value which can be
related to design according to the reported studies:
Figure 3 Qualitative and quantitative dimensions and variables of the value of design according to
the perspective of different stakeholders (users, companies and society) and domains
reported (economics, marketing, business, management, design).
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5.2 The value of design: an issue of vision, creativity, and interpretation

The reasons that lead companies to explore design potential have been related to the
interest in getting a competitive advantage at a profit, increasing the focus on design
relationships to competition, business, and management. The will to demonstrate that
design is a rewarding activity for companies triggers several efforts to translate in numbers
design outcomes. Then again, Gemser and Leenders (2001) suggested that good financial
performance is not a precondition for design investment in firms. Furthermore, this
approach presents the limitation of binding design to an outcome, disregarding its
qualitative roles and benefits that lead to the results. In this sense, Borja de Mozota (2006)
draws a compelling perspective contributing to the establishment of a connection between
the qualitative aspects (e.g. design as a core competence and as an agent that fosters the
firms ability to deal with change and creates new business opportunities), which are
considered the source of economic added value.
Another constraint is the difficulty in isolating design from other variables that impact the
firms performance, because the companys performance is not just a result of design
adoption (Chiva and Alegre 2009, Gemser and Leenders 2001, Roy and Riedel 1997) and
design is very integrated into the fabric of design-led organizations (Westcott, et al 2013).
Moreover, the measurable results of design are more evident throughout time (Rae 2013,
2014).
Design expertise and practice are still not fully understood by people in the company
(DIppolito 2014, Trueman and Jobber 1998, Walsh 1996), despite the existence of
systematic processes and tools. This misunderstanding can be related to the idea that design
is not a science and has its own logic (Cross 2001), and that design is future-oriented; it deals
with uncertain change. In addition, the individual creative component and the tacit nature in
which it operates to build expertise through practice-based know-how can also contribute to
this (Cross 2001, DIppolito 2014, p.722).
Assuring measurable results for innovative design is an incoherent approach, and so is
market behaviour forecast, which is inappropriate to disruptive innovations that are
unfamiliar to users.
Design as a process relies on creativity. From the semiotics point of view, we are always
interpreters regardless of our functions or positions. When a message is sent (an image, a
text, a product and so on) the relevance is the meaning that the reader builds on it, the
interpretation. Designers interpret society and users employing technical information to
create. The knowledge used to achieve solutions passes through a creative process where
the designer is also a filter and interpreter, who turns diverse subjective (e. g. social
desires, aspirations, unknown users needs, individual know-how) and objective (e. g.
manufacturing requirements, technologies, materials) information into design (products,
services, experiences, communications, systems). In this sense, creativity is the main power
to innovation by design.
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Verganti (2008, p. 450) claims that the design driven innovation process is more
knowledge-based than creativity-based. Knowledge and creativity appear inherent to each
other (Cohen and Levinthal 1990, p. 130), and weighing which of them is more relevant to
design seems incoherent considering that design knowledge has its own form of relying on
engagement and reflection on design activity (Cross 2001, p. 54) that is creative-based. To
think of new languages and visions in an explorative manner requires creativity to establish
new linkages that embodies sociocultural models making sense of new meanings.
Individual creative reactions and the construction of an organizational culture that fosters
innovation seem to be crucial factors to innovate by design. The design process is creativeoriented and its most powerful feature is to innovate. Nevertheless, the design strategy
supported by the firm (Gemser and Leenders 2001, Roy and Riedel 1997), its vision about
design or its cultural imperatives (Borja de Mozota 2006, Heskett 2009) along with adopted
approach to design and design skills embraced by the organization binds the exploration of
the value of design in organizations.
Design requires a diversity of competencies and each project is unique (Project Management
Institute 2012). The difficulty in demonstrating a recipe for design relies on the creative
nature of the activity and its diversity compared to activities that you can repeat and obtain
the same result (e.g. manufacturing activities). To overlook the nature of design, its practice
and knowledge can lead to a superficial approach to the role of creativity to innovate by
design.
The way in which the firm leads design concerns design management that searches for
patterns or indications for good design (e.g. Hertenstein, Platt and Veryzer 2012). The
limitation on a recipe for good design is also related to the unique competences, visions,
change, innovation, breakthrough concepts and design context. In this sense, the value of
design is not just related to the results but to the capacity to create, interpret and visualize
worthy ideas in each context, forecasting novelty throughout time.
Some enterprises are future- and design-oriented at the beginning of their foundations,
which means that the stages in the design ladder are useful references but the reality and
the dynamism of the companies to compete and to innovate by design are not reduced to
this general scale.
Furthermore, some studies have explored organizational culture in design-centric firms
(Calabretta, et al 2008, Design Council 2007a), and the cultural change of perspective in
climbing the design ladder (Doherty, et al 2014). However, it is not clear when and how a
non-design-oriented company presents capacity to absorb design (or features that favours
design embodiment) to create value fostering innovation.
The analogy to absorptive capacity1 (Cohen and Levinthal 1990) suggested by Verganti
(2008, p. 447) regarding the companys immersion in design is a valuable insight, considering
1 Cohen and Levinthal (1990, p. 128) notice that the ability to exploit external knowledge is a critical component of
innovative capabilities: We argue that the ability to evaluate and utilize outside knowledge is largely a function of the level
of prior related knowledge.[] prior related knowledge confers an ability to recognize the value of new information,
1876
that design performs a mediator role between companies and users or society (outside
knowledge), and that design can foster the evolvement of the companies human resources
and their learning skills (Borja de Mozota 2006, Roy and Riedel 1997) depending on its
management. But it is necessary to clarify the particularities of design knowledge and
practice (Cross 2001, DIppolito 2014, Heskett 2009) to better accomplish this crossfertilization. For instance, what are the preconditions or the prior knowledge in the design
context to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial
ends? Another consideration discussed in this paper is that the value of design is not
restricted to commercial ends, but is built throughout the evolvement of unique
competencies, visions, and interpretations that can lead to the creation of economic value.
The implication of this discussion for research in design innovation management is the need
to develop new ways of dealing with the innovation by design issue besides the measurable
and visible assets, first focusing on the creative process and tacit knowledge in organizations
in order to get insights related to the design core competencies and their roles in the
companies changing processes, understanding what the preconditions to better develop
innovation and create value by design are. This paper tries to shed light on this issue
emphasizing design as a creative-oriented activity in which its value is shaped by companies
visions and interpretations.
6. Limitations and future research

This study focuses on the value of design at the organizational level. It is important to notice
that this issue does not rely just on designers activities as it can be observed in the
phenomenon of silent design (Gorb and Dumas 1997). Moreover, a set of activities inside
and outside the company is accomplished in order to make the design system work,
supporting and communicating the value of design. Future research aims at exploring the
value creation by design at the design system level, considering the diverse stakeholders and
their actions through a strategic design perspective.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Prof. Francesco Zurlo, Prof. Claudio DellEra and my PhD
fellow Xue Pei who provided comments on the subject of this paper at Politecnico di
Milano. This research is supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfico
e Tecnolgico (CNPq, Brazil).
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About the Author:
Mariana Fonseca Braga is PhD candidate at Politecnico di Milano
with a B.Sc. in industrial design and a M.Sc. in production
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A Multilevel Approach to Research Obscure

Innovation Processes and Practices
Emmanouil Chatzakisa*, Neil Smithb and Erik Bohemiac
a
Teesside University
Northumbria University
c
Loughborough University
* E.Chatzakis@tees.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.371
b
Abstract: The papers aim is to discuss a need for a multilevel research approach to
investigate innovation practices in organisations. We argue that this approach
overcomes some of the limitations of the single level research methods commonly
used investigating innovation performance and success. Specifically, the multilevel
research approach allows researchers and subsequently organisations to take into
consideration obscured practices within innovation processes. First, we put forward
a motion that innovation processes permeate the formalised organisational
structures and practices. Then, we outline a case where many of the practices
associated with innovation are obscured. This is followed with discussion on how
the commonly used single level research methods fail to take into consideration
these obscured factors. We then introduce Activity Theory and propose a multilevel
framework which aims to overcome the shortfalls of the previous analytical methods.
Keywords: Activity Theory, New Product Development, Analytical Methods,
Organisational Agility
1. Context: The impact of obscurity in organisational practices

Research suggests that organisations1 are struggling to sustain an organic and long-term
growth and resilience in the increasingly hypercompetitive market conditions and increased
and unprecedented rate of change at all levels of society2 (Johannessen, Olsen, & Lumpkin,
2001; NESTA, 2006). Bessant, Francis, Meredith, Kaplinsky, and Brown (2001) suggested that
companies will need to become agile. Bohemia and Harman (2008, p. 56) stated that the
1
2
Organisations referred to throughout this study concern specifically industrial, commercial and manufacturers.
Such as in the economic climate, environmental challenges, demographic and organisational changes.

agile manufacturing is underpinned by four key principles: delivering value to the customer,
being ready for change, valuing human knowledge and skills, and forming virtual
partnerships. It is proposed that agile practices will enable organisations to act more
proactively, flexibly and rapidly in order to meet emerging challenges and opportunities
through innovative responses. More precisely, Bessant et al. (2001) outlined that companies
will need to creatively respond to these two critical continuously shifting arenas:
1. The internal (to the company) efforts to constantly search for applications of own
expertise and resources into developing a new product that may ultimately be used by
others (e.g. customers), and
2. To do this within a highly uncertain external environment with little or no control over
important events (that may be taking place on the other side of the world) and/or other
actors behaviours, and to manage to actually sell the new product in the end.
Prior research in design, innovation and organisational analysis have discussed the existence
of phenomena related to innovation processes which remain informal, hidden, invisible
or silent within organisational practices (e.g. Gorb & Dumas, 1987). The argument is that
these hidden practices are often overlooked, unrecognised. This is either because there is a
certain level of tacitness (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), people are too involved and activities
are too familiar or the metrics used to measure them are not sensitive enough to capture
them. Put it differently, there exists a certain level of obscurity attached to them. For
instance, a great deal of organisational success is said to rely heavily on practices such as
strong interpersonal and informal relationships and their ability to cleverly make use of
resources to compete within established or niche markets (S. King & Ockels, 2009). The
informality and spontaneity surrounding the activities of organisations means that many
phenomena are extremely difficult to be captured into a so-called objective data (Edwards,
Delbridge, & Munday, 2005; Watkins-Mathys & Lowe, 2005). For example, Krackhardt and
Hanson (1993, p. 104) pointed out that if the formal organisation is the skeleton of a
company, the informal is the central nervous system driving the collective thought
processes, actions, and reactions of its business units. Therefore, whilst it is logical to
suggest that all organisations possess a certain level of structure reflected by functional /
departmental roles that an organisations members occupy as well as in formal documents
such as manuals, organizational charts, training programmes and job descriptions, they only
represent the tip of the iceberg of organisational life. These are unlikely determinant factors
and as such do not sufficiently reflect how organisations actually operate in reality. Neither
fully represent how innovation activities are carried out. This view is also shared, for
instance, by socio-technical advocates like Macpherson and Clark (2009, p. 553) who noted
that:
Documented procedures provide a useful point of reference, but they cannot capture
the complex unfolding nature of work and the tacit practices employees develop over
time as they solve practical problems in their day-to-day employment.
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A Multilevel Approach to Research Obscure Innovation Processes and Practices
This is particularly important because in times of uncertainty and rapidly changing

environments, organisational practices are constantly challenged and undergo changes
which are not reflected by the formal organisation. Therefore, factors impacting on agility
and innovation are said to remain often either invisible, or simply ignored by organisations
and researchers (Nonaka & Teece, 2001; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2007).
This also highlights the case with many innovation tools, analytical screening models, and
over-codified processes (e.g. ISO standards) recommended by experts, that often struggle to
cope with the swift transformations and typical heterogeneity of many organisations, or
worse, becoming a routine to-do tasks, which impacts on creativity and forward thinking
(Verganti, 2009). According to Nonaka and Teece (2001), studies on the way work is usually
conducted in many organisations differs significantly from how it appears in job descriptions
and manuals, and has both invisible and collective characteristics. Verganti (2009) noted
that during his study of Italian manufacturing SMEs, his understanding of what was going on
within the organisations was the biggest challenge he had to overcome as the innovation
process of these organisations was tacit, invisible no methods, no tools, and no steps (p.
8). Similarly, Miles and Green (2008) in NESTAs research report introduced the notion of
hidden innovations that are not recorded using traditional innovation indicators such as
research and development (R&D) (p. 6). This can be problematic for organisations which
find it difficult to identify or even understand the sources of their relative strengths. For
instance, a great deal of an organisations activities during innovation making (i.e. New
Product Development) involves unstructured phases (e.g. ad-hoc problem solving Winter
(2003) such as during idea generation phase during which the outcomes are still uncertain,
and the activities involved are inherently non-routine (Anssi, 2010).
Meanwhile, there is much anecdotal and empirical work that discusses, a) factors promoting
agility and innovation in organisations, b) the challenges associated with managing the
process of innovation making and, c) prescriptive guidelines for best practices to New
Product Development (NPD) success. This paper does not seek to challenge these or identify
new ones. Rather, the paper aims to explicate the underlying phenomena facilitating agility
and innovation making by consolidating and aligning these to the dynamic contexts where
they emerge. More precisely, the paper seeks to introduce a multi-level, practice-based
methodological approach that will enable design researchers to take into consideration
obscured organisational processes and associated practices in order to enable organisations
to increase their awareness and, hence, better manage their innovation potential. By
obscure processes the paper refers to those practices that have been previously described as
hidden, invisible or tacit and as a means to adopt a more pragmatic term (something that is
not well articulated but can be found and recorded) as opposed to implying that they are
hidden therefore one cannot study them.
2. Limitations to single level analyses

Studies around agility and innovation has been done from a variety of perspectives and
according to a particular level of analysis. For example, psychological theories have been
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applied to individual and/or group/team level, management theories to the organisational

level, and economic theories to industrial, sectorial and overall societal level (Crossan &
Apaydin, 2010). This line of enquiry is the dominant approach to study organisational
performance and innovation and has been previously termed as variance-based research
(see e.g. Van de Ven & Poole, 2005; Wolfe, 1994). As mentioned earlier, an exhaustive list of
factors that impact on the agility and innovativeness of organisations is not the focus of this
paper as these have been systematically reviewed elsewhere (e.g. Crossan & Apaydin, 2010).
What matters here is that a single level approaches have the notion of treating each level in
isolation, hence impeding useful insights about their inherently interrelations and the
influence they have on each other (Chatzakis, 2015; Gupta, Tesluk, & Taylor, 2007)
For instance, research at the organisational and external level (usually termed as macrolevel, see Figure 1) generally discount social and relational phenomena when analysing
various factors such as: structures, resources, capabilities, policies; even though they also
affect innovation processes and outcomes (Felin & Foss, 2005). In general, there exists a
diverse range of theories and perspectives such as the structuralist perspective, the
resource-based and dynamic capabilities view of the organisation, the knowledge creation
and learning organisation, and more recently social network and practice-based perspectives
(Lam, 2005; Nooteboom, 1999; Pettigrew & Fenton, 2000; Sears & Baba, 2011). There are
various distinctive differences as well as complementarities to the theoretical enquiry of
each perspective (Fagerberg, Mowery, & Nelson, 2005). One notable distinction is about
their level of enquiry; some pay attention to aspects such as structures, resources and
capabilities (termed here as resource-based), whilst others to human aspects such as
knowledge flows, relationships, interactions, situations, boundaries and the social practices
underpinning organisational life (Chatzakis, 2015; Lam, 2005; Lazonick, 2005).
Notwithstanding the significant contribution of the resource-based approaches to
organisational performance (and innovation), these theories have been criticised on a
number of occasions. For instance, they remain somewhat abstract concepts due to the lack
of a dynamic conceptual framework that would analyse the phenomena beyond the
resource-based view. According to the resource-based view, for an organisation to enjoy
sustained competitive advantage, an implemented strategy must nurture those resources
that create value for the organisation against competition whilst remaining rare, imperfectly
imitable and non-substitutable by other organisations (Stevens, 2009). For instance, design is
often described as such a core inimitable capability that is linked with a companys success;
it adds value to the company by providing high levels of customer satisfaction, commercial
advantage through product differentiation and directing its offerings to a variety of markets
(Moultrie, Clarkson, & Probert, 2007; Stevens, 2009; Walsh, 1996). It has been argued that
the resource-based view lacks a perspective on why and how some organisations rather
than others accumulate valuable and inimitable resources, or indeed what made these
resources valuable and inimitable (Lazonick, 2005, p. 33). In a post-reflection of his earlier
work, Barney, Wright, and Ketchen (2001) contented that, whilst managers may assume
they know which particular resources are sources of sustained competitive advantage in
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their organisation, in reality, such knowledge remains extremely obscure, as the link
between resources is likely to be uncertain and ambiguous. For instance, Barney (1991)
emphasized the role of social agency by suggesting that many imperfectly imitable
resources regard very complex social phenomena such as the interpersonal relations
amongst the organisations members, its culture, or the organisations reputation in the
external environment, all of which are very tricky to measure and systematically manage.
Whilst many organisations may possess the exact same technological resources and
capabilities, their effective exploitation often depends on other intangible resources, such as
social relationships, quality of interactions, coordination mechanisms, and the culture and
traditions of each organisation (Pettigrew & Fenton, 2000).
On the other hand, research at the micro-level (individuals and/or groups, teams, see Figure
1) tends to overlook the effect that both internal (organisational) and external
(environment) contexts impose on the innovation process (Bessant et al., 2001; Sears &
Baba, 2011; Slappendel, 1996). Traditional economic theory has been criticised as
emphasizing what people are supposed to do in order to achieve optimal outcomes, yet
forgetting that humans are far from ideal and rational beings (Fagerberg, 2005). Micro-level
studies often examine the actions of certain key individuals (e.g. leaders) without taking into
consideration either membership in its entirety (N. King, 1990) or the contextual and other
environmental factors that influence their actions. Organisations are systems made out of
bundles of people and therefore it is them who determine the willingness and ability of an
organisation to innovate. Studies that adopt a single level perspective possess an important
weakness in that they paint an incomplete picture of the mechanisms that influence
organisational innovation practices. Lack of sensitivity to obscure micro-processes and their
dynamic links with other phenomena influencing organisational performance suggests
theoretical and methodological deficiencies, which considerably affect our understandings
of the dynamics of their innovation practices, leaving an important gap in knowledge with
several implications for potential investment and support towards them. Therefore, we
suggest the need for the adoption of a multi-level approach where key phenomena may be
explored incorporating a multipoint of view (Figure 1). This need builds upon calls made by
other scholars who have previously supported the view that multi-level approaches are
beneficial for the study of organisational agility, innovation and its associated processes (e.g.
Andriopoulos & Lewis, 2008; Gupta, Tesluk, & Taylor, 2007; Klein, Tosi, & Cannella, 1999;
Nooteboom, 1999; Sears & Baba, 2011; Woodman, Sawyer, & Griffin, 1993).
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Figure 1. Illustration of micro and macro-level determinants that are suggested to facilitate agility
and innovation
3. Process: Towards a situational, contextual, relational generic

process model of innovation making
Van de Ven and Rogers (1988) centred their focus on aspects impacting the innovation
process to five central concepts; a) ideas, b) people, c) transactions, d) context and e)
outcomes. According to them, the innovation process progresses from the invention and
implementation of new ideas, which are developed and carried by people who engage in
transactions (relationships) with others, over time and within an institutional context, and
who judge the outcomes of their actions (Van de Ven & Rogers, 1988, p. 639, original in
italics). According to this view, innovation making, in its broader sense, is fundamentally an
organisational phenomenon that involves simultaneously at least two levels; i) the actor(s)
which might be an individual, a team and/or an organisation, and ii) a context (both internal
and external) where the actors operate in (Gupta et al., 2007). Hall (1987; cited in Hofmann,
1997, p. 723) defined organisations as:
a collectivity with a relatively identifiable boundary, a normative order, ranks of
authority, communication systems, and membership-coordinating systems; this
colIectivity exists on a relatively continuous basis in an environment and engages in
activities that are usually related to a set of goals; the activities have outcomes for
organizational members, the organization itself, and for society.
A fundamental question that can be said to matter most in innovation research is, of course,
to understand how companies innovate. As opposed to the variance approach, this line of
enquiry adopts a temporary-based, process approach (Mohr, 1982; Van de Ven & Poole,
2005). One way to demystify innovation in its making is to look at the process through which
new outcomes, whether tangible or intangible, are created. New Product Development
(NPD) may be seen as the ultimate end-goal for every organisation, in the sense that
organisations exist, to a great extent, to serve that is, to provide tangible and/or intangible
goods and services to their customers. These goods are critical to the survival, resilience
and/or growth of these (and other) organisations, because new developments add to their
1888
economic viability as well as differentiates them from competition through attractive and
pleasant products that people are more likely to choose to buy (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1995).
The term New Product Development (NPD) is used here to describe the process through
which new products are developed in organisations. However, it is common for scholars
from other disciplines to adopt a different terminology, such as new product design by
engineers and designers (although Moultrie, Clarkson, & Probert, 2007 clearly posited
'design process' as a distinguished phase within NPD) and innovation process by those in
R&D domain, For reasons of simplicity and to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of NPD, this
paper employs the terms interchangeably (Hart, 1995).
NPD processes trigger the mobilisation, reconfiguration and adaptation of an organisations
capabilities and resources to effectively respond to internal and external needs and, in doing
so, lead to the development of different types of novel outcomes. Hence, there is a general
agreement that a high-quality NPD process and proficiency in managing and executing it is
important for organisations (Cooper & Kleinschmidt, 1995; Molin-Juustila, 2006). Some of
the reasons for the above assertion include the decreased cycle time and increased
innovation productivity as well because it determines the degree to which businesses can
meet and/or exceed demand, and thus succeed (Harmancioglu, McNally, Calantone, &
Durmusoglu, 2007, p. 400). This recognition has led to the substantial amount of research
interest in the dynamics of NPD (e.g. Cooper, 1996, 1999; Cooper & Kleinschmidt, 2007;
Hart, 1995; Moultrie et al., 2007).
One common attribute to the process of innovation making (i.e. NPD) is the notion of
uncertainty (Fagerberg, 2005) and the inherent risks, unpredictable and highly complex
nature of the various multifunctional activities involved there (Moultrie et al., 2007). Saren
(1984) argued that this recognised complexity highlights not only the difficulties
organisations face in managing the process, but also to outsiders in studying and
understanding it. For this reason, models of the process have been created with the goal to
know the what, why, how and where type of activities and construct a better
understanding of these activities for both their management and improvement (Tidd &
Bessant, 2009). Tidd and Bessant (2009) suggested that instead of looking at process models
as descriptions or prescriptions of how the process actually operates, it would be better
(especially for researchers) to look at them as frameworks for thinking. This way, the task
would be to develop general representations of the process, yet flexible enough in order to
enable the analysis of the process in terms of activities, functions, decisions, information
flows, input and outputs, internal and external actors, or as complex network of
relationships (Saren, 1994, p. 638).
Van de Ven, Polley, Garud, and Venkataraman (1999) offered a relatively simple framework
of the innovation process. The authors labelled it as the innovation journey and organised it
into three main periods; initiation, development and implementation/termination where
various actions and events take place. Through their longitudinal case study research where
the authors explored a number of different innovation outcomes, they challenged many
assumptions attached to process models. For example, Van de Ven et al. (1999) supported
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the view that innovation making has a historical aspect to it. In what they termed as a
gestation period, the authors suggested that innovation making does not necessarily initiate
as a result of intentionally directed activities towards innovation. Rather, the authors
identified a period (i.e. gestation) during which a number of events are triggered leading to
the Initiation of innovation process. Closely relating to Zaltman, Duncan, and Holbeks
(1973) discussion about the total change process, the gestation period according to Van de
Ven et al. (1999), contains diverse events (shock events) such as declining organisational
health to changes in ownership, product failure, change in environmental conditions, the
general society, various technological breakthroughs and so forth. In effect, these events
generate a degree of awareness of threats and/or opportunities for the organisation which
often then lead to activities triggering innovative responses. However, as ideas proliferate,
the initial recognition of an opportunity for innovation (of any type) may not result in the
form that was originally conceived. This is because, as Van de Ven et al. (1999) contended,
the decisions made by key organisational members about a particular course of action could,
occasionally and coincidentally, intersect with the courses of action of other actors (internal
or external level) and lead to the realisation of new opportunities or resources. Therefore,
incorporating political elements into the process. Hence, Van de Ven et al. (1999) postulated
that the decision to proceed with the development of an innovation is rarely the result of a
sudden spark of inspiration. Rather, the decisions that lead to innovations are dynamically
and non-linearly cultivated by lengthy precipitating events, where multiple and coincidental
sources of influence may come into play and cumulatively trigger the recognition of (new)
opportunities. Van de Ven et al. (1999) also recognised the link between innovation and
learning, albeit they also noted that much of the outcome is due to other events which
occur as innovation develops often making learning superstitious in nature (Tidd, 2006,
p. 3).
What differentiates Van de Ven et al. (1999)s framework from standardised process models
is that it recognises that the progress of any particular innovation along this journey will
depend on a variety of contingent circumstances; depending on which of these apply,
different specific models of the process will emerge (Tidd & Bessant, 2009, p. 67). This
recognition makes Van de Ven et al. (1999)s conceptual model a satisfactory general
framework for the analysis of the NPD process, as it provides enough flexibility to adapt to
different organisational contexts. Figure 2 depicts the NPD process model in connection with
instances of obscure multi-level phenomena described earlier that impact on agility and
innovation.
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Figure 2. A general NPD model interpreted by Van de Ven et al. (1999)s model of the innovation
journey; the figure depicts the rather messy, complex and non-linear progression between
the three key periods of development
4. Towards a practice-based approach

Recent theoretical and methodological approaches to study organisations focus on social
theories that have taken a practice turn for conceptualising agency and action (Chia & Holt,
2006). In general, the concept of practice has been a central investigation of the social
sciences and practice theorists (e.g. Schatzki, Knorr-Cetina, & Savigny, 2001), and
increasingly the attention of management research (Tsoukas & Yanow, 2009). For the
former, practice is seen as a social phenomenon in which the social is [] embodied,
materially interwoven [...and] centrally organised around shared practical understandings
and thus actions are embedded in practices, just as individuals are constituted within them
(Schatzki et al., 2001, p. 3). Moreover, according to Tsoukas and Yanow (2009, p. 1347)
practitioners acquire and develop their skills in the contexts of practices, such that
theorising must engage practitioners acting in the context of broader activity sets, rather
than merely focusing on their individual attitudes and beliefs. Therefore, it can be asserted
that as practices are socially and contextually situated within a given unit of analysis, i.e. the
organisation, so are the characteristics and needs of the different organisations, dependant
on their idiosyncrasies.
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This relational (see e.g. Cooper, 2005) turn has shifted its emphasis away from what has
being coined as methodological individualism (Chia & Holt, 2006). This view suggests that
social phenomena may be best explained in terms of actor intentions and motivations
(ibid, p. 638), towards an emphasis to the primacy of relationships over individual entities
and recommends that practices are social sites in which events, entities and meaning help
compose one another (ibid, p. 640). Hence, innovation determinants such as organisational
knowledge creation, sharing and learning are understood as the product of social action,
interaction and habituation amongst the organisational members situated within a social
system (Gherardi, 2009; Higgins, 2009; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Macpherson & Clark, 2009;
Nicolini, Gherardi, & Yanow, 2003; Schatzki et al., 2001). In this vein, Marshall (2008, p. 414)
asserted that:
practice based theories adopt a more holistic, constructionist position in which the
various elements of thinking, doing, and being, and the social, cultural, historical and
material settings within which they are actively situated, are conceived in relationships
of co-constitution.
Consequently, the practice-based1 tradition offers a potential contemporary platform for

addressing issues of organisational practices and innovation in such a way that the richness
and depth of the phenomenon is given full consideration (Nicolini et al., 2003, p. 26). In this
way, research in this area can explore the complex dynamics of organisational practices from
the participants point of view, yet construed as bundles of practices instead of isolated
entities (Chia & Holt, 2006; Schatzki et al., 2001).
However, as Nicolini et al. (2003, p. 12) stressed there is no such thing as a unified practice
theory or practice-based approach, only a number of research traditions and scholars
connected by a common historical legacy and several theoretical family resemblances. For
example, the authors provided four examples of such practice-based approaches. These
adopt: i) a cultural interpretive framework, ii) a symbolic interactionist perspective through
the lenses of legitimate peripheral participation also known as communities of practice
(Lave & Wenger, 1991), iii) a sociology of translation also known as actor network theory
(ANT) (Latour, 2005), and iv) a social constructivist theory of the cultural and historical
activity theory (CHAT - more contemporarily known as Activity Theory (AT) (Engestrm,
1987). One key resemblance of these four, otherwise unique, traditions is their contextual
and culturally situated theorising of practice.
4.1 Activity theory

Activity Theory has its roots in Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) which has a long
historical association with the works of developmental psychology Soviet scholars such as
Leontev (and his concept of activity) and Vygotsky (and his concept of mediation) (Blackler,
Crump, & McDonald, 2003). The theorys most current form can be found in particular in
Engestrms work (1987). Activity Theory has attracted major interest in other areas apart
1
It is important to highlight here that practice-based theories in this study have a social science philosophical grounding
rather than practice-based design research (see e.g. Sevaldson, 2010; also Yee, 2010).
1892
from psychology such as in educational and learning studies (see a notable review of
empirical studies in Daniels, Edwards, Engestrm, Gallagher, & Ludvigsen, 2010), and
increasingly in organisational and management research (e.g. Macpherson, Kofinas, Jones, &
Thorpe, 2010).
In design research scholars have adopted Activity Theory as a model to analyse activities in
order to, for instance, improve the design of user interfaces in the human computer
interaction paradigm (HCI) (e.g. Kaptelinin, 2012), the design of services (e.g. Sangiorgi &
Clark, 2004) and develop computer systems for aiding product design (Tuikka, 2002). Recent
calls in design research, such as in design engineering (Cash, Hicks, & Culley, 2015) and the
graphic design field (Tarbox, 2006) have particularly stressed the usefulness of Activity
Theory as a framework for studying design practices from the contextual perspective it
offers. As it will be further asserted in the following section, some of the key strengths that
make Activity Theory stand out from other practice-based research methods are: first,
Activity Theory does not rule out other practice-based theories1, rather it provides a
framework that expands on them (Tarbox, 2006) and second, Activity Theory offers a visual
model (that other practice theories do not) that enables a holistic analysis of the context and
the multilevel phenomena influencing the activity process (NPD) as these are experienced
from the members point of view (Cash et al., 2015). Due to its historical link with
developmental psychology, Activity Theory draws on heavy conceptual tools and therefore
this paper will discuss only those concepts that have immediate relevance to its scope.
The main goal of Activity Theory is to analyse development within practice through the
social and contextual activities in which people develop their skills, personalities and
consciousness (Sannino, Daniels, & Gutierrez, 2009). According to this theory, human activity
has a structure with a number of components; there is an active subject whose activity is
directed towards an object mediated by tools and signs while rules influence the subjects
relation to his community and the division of labour in the communitys relation to the
object (Tuikka, 2002). Mediation and relationships between these central components form
an Activity System (Figure 3), which can be seen as:
the subject or group of subjects, which through mediating artefacts (concrete tools
and signs) orientate their collective activity to a specific object. When the mediating
artefacts change the object can appear different. Activity is always collective, thus it is
constructed by a certain community and distribution of work as well as rules (written
and unwritten). (Engestrm, 1987; cited in Kallio, 2010, p. 34)
Such as Lave and Wenger (1991)'s communities of practice - see Bjrk (2004); also Engestrm, Miettinen, and Punamaki
(1999, p. 12).
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Figure 3. The structure of a human activity system according to Activity Theory (Engestrm, 1987;
found in Engestrm, 2001, p. 135)
According to Kallio (2010) the object of activity can be seen as the true motive of an activity
and provides a model through which the different activities can be observed from the point
of view of an individual subject or group as collective, object-oriented and mediated by
culturally produced artefacts (Kallio, 2010, p. 33). An object can be either tangible (e.g. a
product), less tangible (e.g. a drawing) or entirely intangible (e.g. a concept) (Tuikka, 2002).
The culturally produced artefacts may include tools, procedures, regulations, processes,
concepts and accepted practices and represent the experiences of those who have solved
problems in the past and hence performance may only be achieved through their collective
acceptance (Macpherson et al., 2010, p. 305). In other words, tools are created and
transformed by people during the development of the activity itself and carry with them a
particular culture historical remnants of that development (Tuikka, 2002, p. 56). The
relationship between subject and the tool can be inversely related as the tool can be both
enabling (empowering the subject to go about a certain task) and limiting (interaction is selfrestricted by the perspective that the tool allows) (Molin-Juustila, 2006). Moreover, the
subjects/ individuals/ groups being analysed, abide by certain rules, which can be formal and
explicit, such as regulations or procedures and/or can be tacit such as norms, values, beliefs
(see e.g. Schein, 2010 on organisational culture). Practice is seen as taking place within a
community where other activity systems and people belong and is being shared and
coordinated by some divisions of labour. Engestrm (2001) also suggested that by exploring
the history of the object of activity (hence, closely linked with Van de Ven et al. (1999)s
concept of gestation period) through which it has evolved, it may potentially offer a rich
understanding of the changes that have occurred within the practices of the particular
activity system, as well as the tensions (or shock events in Van de Ven et al. (1999)s terms)
that led to such transformation.
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4.2 Activity Theorys relevance to the study of organisational agility and

innovation
There are a number of observations that suggest AT as an appropriate analytical model for
the study of agility and innovation making (NPD). First, the analytical model of AT takes into
account one of these pervasive and persistent issues [of] the relationship between the
micro and macro levels of analysis (Engestrm et al., 1999, p. 8). As it has already been
discussed in earlier sections, a multilevel approach (micro and macro) to organisational
innovation is the focus of this paper. Similar to the Activity Theory approach, this paper
proposes the exploration of innovation activities by looking at both the detail of the
practices in question, including what people do, how they do it and with whom, as well as
the context in which these practices take place, including both internal and external
elements. The concept of object-orientated activity in particular seems to provide a very
useful tool for the analysis of the activities of the key practitioners involved in the NPD
process. As an example, let us consider a new product development setting where an
organisation is devising a new design output for a client.
As noted earlier, the ultimate goal for the NPD is to produce a new artefact based on given
requirements devised internally or as a response to external stimuli. In most typical cases,
these requirements relate to the particular market needs at which the organisation aims its
products. The members of the project team are all subjects in the development process and
together they form a community both internally and externally with the client / partners.
Each member has his/her own personal characteristics i.e. experience, skills and so forth. For
example, Tuikka (2002, p. 66) outlined the role of the designer as subject in their
participation during concept design process.
The subjects who participate in the design sessions contribute with their knowledge
and personal background. These are individual resources, which are brought into the
design situation. Thus, the subjects knowledge is composed of personal understanding
of the domain, which has been accumulated during their individual history. [] The
designer reflects on this knowledge and transforms the vision of the design object
according to their own reflection on the goals of the design group.
Every member of the project team interacts with members not only from their own
functions but also with other organisational functions in a division of labour. Initially, the
object at hand is an unfinished prototypical idea, which needs to be transformed in order to
be ready to be handed over to the client. In NPD, an object can be seen as the actual motive
that drives a new idea while being transformed into its final outcome and, in this example,
the overall motive is the clients satisfaction. The relationship between object construction
and final outcome may be found in the concepts, visions and images of the new products
that organisational members collectively construct through their practice. In this sense, the
object ultimately refers to the possibilities and courses of action of the relevant activity
collectively transformed through the development process. In the different stages of NPD,
the subjects carry out different kinds of actions in order to transform the object into the
outcome.
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Because the activity system of these practices is ambiguous and dynamic, tensions and
conflicts are often evident between diverse expertise and boundaries of the various
functional groups, distributed practices and competing objectives inevitably affect the way
practices co-orient and re-establish (Macpherson & Holt, 2007). Along the process, the
project team makes use of a number of tangible and intangible tools, from early ideas and
strategic planning to design specifications, drawings, prototyping, testing and, finally, to a
fully functional product. At the same time, these different tasks are driven by certain rules,
some explicit (e.g. safety standards) and some implicit (e.g. organisational culture). As
Engestrm (1999, p. 381) pointed out that this situation-specific construction and
instantiation of the object of an activity system often takes the form of problem finding and
problem definition.
For instance, according to Activity Theorys approach, the early phases where an
organisation searches and recognises an opportunity for innovation, is conceptualised as a
process of sense-making of uncertain and ambiguous events (Macpherson et al., 2010;
Weick, Sutcliffe, and Obstfeld, 2005). At these early stages, the organisation does not only
need to construct a new product, but the object/motive of the whole new activity system
needs to be designed, including elements such as strategic vision and the business plan that
will guarantee (to a certain extent) sufficient profitable prospects for that new activity to
exist in the first place (Molin-Juustila, 2006). Putting it simply, the activity system during the
NPD process begins as an emerging state only to slowly transform into a more stable new
activity system as it progresses to the later developmental stages (Molin-Juustila, 2006) (i.e.
the transition between Initiation, Development and Implementation periods).
By combining the analytical approach of Activity Theory model with the multi-level factors
and NPD process model presented earlier, we propose an integrated, multilevel threelayered framework to study obscure innovation practices, as depicted by Figure 4 below:
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Figure 4. An integrated, multilevel framework for data collection and analysis of obscure
organisational practices
5. Conclusion
As outlined earlier, many theoretical models, tools, services and policies both from
academia, industry and government bodies exist today which aim to help achieve the
conditions for organisations to become agile and innovative. Yet, the majority of these are
based on prescriptive guidelines of best practices that are divorced from the complex social
dynamics of organisational practices which are often characterised by obscure innovation,
i.e. not recognising the actual outcomes and the members involved in the process. This is a
problem as if businesses do not fully recognise their own capabilities (or lack of them), then
they will be unable to fully understand the dynamic nature of innovation practices in the
unique and idiosyncratic context within their organisations. Therefore, we argue that new
1897
approaches are needed to better explicate the contextual, situational and relational
phenomena that impact on organisational innovation practices.
Initially, the paper looked at the dichotomy between asking what (variance) and asking
how (process) through; a) a level-based approach; peoples-level (micro-level),
organisational-level and external-level (macro-level) and, b) a generic model of the New
Product Development where multi-level phenomena may be studied on a loose time-series
and event basis. Micro and macro-levels have been well researched and documented
previously. A lot less has been done with regards to how micro and macro levels interact and
influence each other in the process of developing new products. In adopting a multi-level
approach key organisational phenomena are seen from an interactive point of view, that is,
the expected relational dependency each may have on each other. The framework is flexible
enough as to be tailored and iterated according to the researchers enquiry. Furthermore,
the relatively simple NPD model (Initiation, Development, Implementation) proposed by this
paper serves as a framework for thinking (Tidd & Bessant, 2009) rather than a descriptive
or prescriptive representation of an ideal NPD process. This approach provides researchers
with enough flexibility to adapt their enquiry to different organisational contexts; identify
key phenomena that emerge at different phases in the process; reconstruct the actual
process according to how organisations experience their NPD processes.
Finally, the paper argues that the analysis of the organisational phenomena underpinned by
a practice-based approach and through the Activity Theory model, should enable
researchers to conceptualise agility and innovation-making from a social relational,
situational and contextual perspective. According to the proposed model (Figure 4), the
research process starts with focusing on the NPD process and exploring the roles and
activities of key organisational members through the Activity Theory model. Doing so, it
should enable the identification of multi-level factors influencing practice at each point in
the NPD process.
The theoretical contribution of this paper is the consolidation and investigation of the
various terms and concepts from a multi-level, integrated approach that aligns together
variance, process and practice-based theories. We propose that this devised research
methodology may enable the construction of a more holistic picture of organisational
phenomena that often remain obscure in day-today practice. Future work will provide case
examples of the suggested frameworks application in the industry.
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About the Authors:

Dr Emmanouil Chatzakis is a part-time Lecturer in Product Design at
Teesside University and a Design Researcher. He was awarded his
PhD in Design in 2015 at Northumbria University. His specialities
include Product and Service Design, Design Strategy, Innovation
Practice, Design Methods.
Neil Smith is an Enterprise Fellow at Northumbria University. A
Product Designer with over 35 years experience working across
academic and business sectors, from SMEs to major FMCG
organisations. His specialties and research activities include; Design
for Manufacture, Innovation practice within SMEs, and Multidisciplinary Design Practice.
Dr Erik Bohemia is the Programme Director in the Institute for Design
Innovation at Loughborough University London. He is interested in
Design as a cultural practice and the material effects of design. He is
currently researching the construction of the user and how this
guides the design process.
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Coordinating product design with production and

consumption processes
Anders Haug
adg@sam.sdu.dk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.150
Abstract: The effectiveness of design management depends on how well it is

coordinated with other managerial functions. In relation to this topic, this paper
focuses on the importance of coordinating product design with production and
marketing processes. To this end, it offers a framework that connects product design
to four central processes related to the production and consumption of products and
their communication. The relevance of the framework is demonstrated through
sixteen empirical examples. The framework provides a means for understanding the
reasons for consumer product failures caused by a lack of design coordination and
the product failure types associated with the framework may serve as a checklist for
design managers in design projects. For future research, the framework provides a
link between different research areas to facilitate a clearer understanding of the role
of design management.
Keywords: design management; industrial design; marketing; consumer products
1. Introduction
Design management focuses on integrating design processes into the corporate
environment (Borja de Mozota, 2003; DMI, 2015), and the effectiveness of the design
management function depends on how well it is coordinated with other managerial
functions (Vazquez and Bruce, 2002). Two of the key functions to be coordinated with
product design are production (procurement, manufacturing, distribution, etc.) and
marketing (market analysis, advertising, retail design, etc.). Furthermore, the design
function, obviously, needs to consider the target consumers, who encounter the design in
the form of output from the production and marketing processes. To ensure that consumers
are targeted appropriately, the design, production, and marketing efforts need to be
aligned. However, it is often difficult to coordinate these processes, which are normally

Anders Haug
handled by different organizational units that are often not particularly well integrated
(Beverland, 2005; Kristensen and Grnhaug, 2007; Lindahl and Nordin, 2010).
As the subsequent literature review demonstrates, much of the literature deals with the role
of designers in relation to production, marketing, and consumption processes as separate
issues, while the links between these areas involves some unclarity. To provide an overall
framework that connects these perspectives, thereby supporting a more holistic perspective,
the present paper addresses the following question:
What are the relationships between the design function and the processes related to
production, marketing, and consumption?
In order to enable a more specific discussion of this question, the focus of the paper is
limited to consumer products. This delimitation does not imply, however, that the
contributions of the paper are not relevant for other types of products, simply that these are
not discussed in this paper.
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: First, the paper conducts a literature
review of how product design is related to production, marketing, and consumption
processes. Then the paper constructs a framework that connects the aforementioned four
processes and links them to product design. Next, a set of empirical examples is provided to
support the relevance and usefulness of the proposed framework. Finally, conclusions are
drawn.
2. Literature review
The development of new consumer products involves the production of physical products
and the production of communication about these products (e.g., advertising and product
descriptions) to be consumed by consumers. In other words, there are four basic types of
processes that the design function needs to consider: 1) product production, 2) product
consumption, 3) communication production, and 4) communication consumption. In the
following subsections, the literature is organised under these four central processes. The
usefulness of this distinction is further discussed in the subsequent section.
2.1 Product production

The design problem typically originates from a client (internal or external), who needs
assistance solving the problem (Lawson, 2006: 84; Pedgley, 2009). In typical industrial design
projects, the demands from the client are not all stated in their final form at the beginning of
the project but emerge and evolve during the process (Jevnaker, 2005). In fact, the process
of communicating with a client during a design project may be perceived as a reflective
conversation, which is a matter not only of understanding the clients demands but also of
understanding the client (Schn, 1983: 295). In the early phases of industrial design projects,
the design brief is a central element of the communication between client and designer
(Borja de Mozota, 2003: 193). Later in the design process, design requirements may be
described in the form of product design specifications (Buur and Andreasen, 1989).
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Coordinating product design with production and consumption processes
According to Cross (2006), a product design specification evolves from a design brief to
determine the precise limits for the full set of requirements in the product being designed.
Typically, designers collaborate with other experts in design projects (Wang and Oygur,
2010) in a process that is often referred to as co-design or co-creation. In fact, these terms
have to some extent become buzzwords, and their definitions vary widely; so much so that
the terms are often confused or used synonymously (Sanders and Stappers, 2008; Steen et
al., 2011). Sanders and Stappers (2008) define the term co-creation as any act of collective
creativity, i.e., creativity that is shared by two or more people, and the term co-design as
the collective creativity as it is applied across the whole span of a design process. Thus, in
this perspective, co-design is a subtype of co-creation.
Creating shared understandings in design projects among actors from different disciplines
can be difficult because of the actors different backgrounds, interests, and perspectives on
the new design (van Dijk and van der Lugt, 2013). In fact, a lack of shared understanding has
been linked to reduced quality of the final product (Valkenburg, 2000; Dong, 2005). Different
concepts have been introduced to understand and address design communication issues,
including object worlds, which refers to an actors individual beliefs, interests, knowledge,
and experience as well as the methods/techniques the actor is able to use (Bucciarelli ,
1998); transactive memory, which refers to the mechanisms through which groups
collectively encode, store, and retrieve knowledge (Wegner , 1985); and boundary objects,
which typically exist in the form of sketches or diagrams that designers use as a medium of
communication with persons from different object worlds (Star and Griesemer, 1989).
Finally, designers may attempt to affect product producers in an ethical direction in the form
of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible material choices and manufacturing
processes. In fact, it has often been argued that designers have an obligation to push designs
in this direction not least with reference to the work of Victor Papanek (1991), who was
one of the first to address the social responsibility of designers in detail. Papaneks (1991)
book has later come to be widely seen as the seminal text of twentieth-century design
activism, a topic that has been of growing interest to researchers in recent decades (e.g.,
Fuad-Luke, 2009; Julier, 2013; Markussen, 2013; Clarke, 2013).
2.2 Communication production

In addition to producing a product, the company also needs to market it. Although
marketing is, to a large extent, considered a task for marketers, product designers also need
to consider the future marketing efforts in relation to the design, either because such
marketing concepts are already defined prior to the design phase and impose constraints on
the product design or because the product needs to allow for efficient marketing strategies
to be developed.
In order to position new consumer products, it is necessary to consider the congruency of
the design, i.e. how much the design deviates from a normative expectation (Noseworthy
and Trudel, 2011). A central concept in this context is the moderate incongruity effect,
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which refers to the idea that consumers will evaluate moderately incongruent products
more favourably than congruent or extremely incongruent products (Meyers-Levy and
Tybout, 1989), because a moderately incongruent object is both novel and familiar. Product
incongruity can take different forms for example, products may be incongruent in form,
making them perceptually incongruent, or functionally incongruent, making them
conceptually incongruent (Meyers-Levy and Tybout, 1989). According to Noseworthy and
Trudel (2011), consumer research has shown that the moderate incongruity effect can be
affected by numerous contextual factors, for which reason they question whether
consumers truly prefer moderately incongruent products, especially given the complexity of
real-world consumption.
In relation to product communication, designers need to consider consumers existing
product experiences. According to Krugman (1967), memories associated with personal
experiences with a product category enhance the recipients personal involvement in
marketing messages. Thus, when creating adverts, marketers frequently utilize consumers
episodic memories to make consumers imagine future experiences (Escalas and Luce, 2004).
Brand associations help consumers understand the meaning of a brand (Pullig et al., 2006).
Therefore, designers need to ensure a certain degree of correspondence between marketing
messages and product design.
Brands are commonly defined as marketing tools with the purpose of differentiating a
companys offering from the competition and creating value for the targeted customers
(Keller, 2007). Brand cues can be extremely powerful, even to the extent where they block
the process of evaluating product quality (van Osselaer and Alba, 2000). Brands can create
value for customers on two dimensions: (1) by signalling the quality of the underlying
offerings, and (2) by creating meaningful associations that add value beyond the intrinsic
product attributes (Fournier, 1998; Chernev et al., 2011). In this context, brands can have
different roles in relation to self-expression. First, brands can be used to communicate
membership of particular social groups more specifically, brands are often used to
express memberships of desirable groups, while the avoidance of certain brands may be
explained as a way of avoiding signalling membership of certain, undesirable groups (Escalas
and Bettman, 2005; Berger and Heath, 2007). Second, brands may serve to confirm a
consumers self-concept without explicitly conferring to attain social status, recognition or
acceptance; instead, the consumers motivation may be to express self-identity to
him/herself (Aaker, 1997; Bodner and Prelec, 2003).
The product communication does not only originate from marketers but is also produced by
consumers. Besides traditional sharing of experiences and opinions about products, i.e.
talking to friends, colleagues etc., in recent years, such information has increasingly been
shared through so-called brand communities, where consumers exchange experiences,
advice, resources, and tips (e.g., Kozinets et al., 2008).
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2.3 Communication consumption

There are important differences between experiencing the actual product and experiencing
communication about it, i.e., direct and indirect product encounters. A key characteristic of
direct product encounters is that when consumers use a product, they have an opportunity
to test their expectations regarding how the product works, which may be seen as engaging
in active (rather than passive) learning (Hoch and Deighton, 1989). Thus, direct product
experiences often provide consumers with what seems to be more credible information
than indirect experiences (Smith and Swinyard, 1988). Furthermore, direct and indirect
product experiences are often associated with different evaluation contexts; prior to
purchase, consumers tend to compare products (joint evaluation), but when trying a
product, they tend to focus their attention on that specific product (separate evaluation)
(Hamilton and Thompson, 2007). Compared to separate evaluation, joint evaluation
increases the importance of quantitative differences among alternatives (Hsee and Zhang,
2004). Another aspect related to evaluation contexts was described by Hamilton and
Thompson (2007), who noted that consumers tend to prefer products with many features
and capabilities before using them but tend to prefer the ones that are simpler and easier to
use after trying them. Thus, if consumers select products based upon indirect experiences,
this may reduce satisfaction during subsequent usage.
An important topic in relation to the consumption of product communication is product
packaging, which has been shown to have the capacity to bias consumers perceptions by
drawing attention to prominent physical product properties (e.g., Deng and Kahn, 2009;
Wansink and van Ittersum, 2003). Furthermore, when consumers do not have prior
knowledge of the qualities of a product, packaging design is a central means of
communicating product attractiveness (Honea and Horsky, 2012).
An example of an indirect product experience is online stores, which have become
increasingly common in recent decades (Mulpuru, 2012). The key difference in shopping in
an online store compared to a physical store is that the actual physical product is not
encountered until after a purchase decision is made. Thus, the purchase decision must be
made based on experiences with the representations of the product (i.e., images, text,
video, and 3D models). Many websites feature the possibility of zooming in/out and rotating
3D product models to simulate direct product experiences so-called virtual product
experience (Jiang and Benbasat, 2007). Another approach, which is mainly used by online
retailers in product categories such as cosmetics and fashion, is to offer customers a virtual
try-out based on uploaded images of themselves (Cho and Schwarz, 2006). Thus, rather than
merely observing the representations of products, consumers may, in various ways, be
provided with opportunities to interact with product representations (Schlosser, 2003; Fiore
et al., 2005).
The design of the store environment may also be seen as an aspect of product
communication, and it is a topic that has received considerable attention in marketing
research. Such studies have focused on the effects of visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile
cues, and their findings include that arousing colours can stimulate or stress consumers to
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increase the likelihood of impulse purchases; uplifting music can promote prosocial
behaviours and guide perceptions of store personality; and spacious as opposed to
crowded or busy layouts can heighten consumers pleasure in retail settings (see review by
van Rompay et al., 2012). In addition to the store design, the surrounding products may also
influence the product experience. This issue is captured by the concept of hedonic contrast,
which refers to the phenomenon of sensory stimuli being perceived as more intense when
preceded by a weak stimulus and less intense when preceded by a strong stimulus, provided
that the stimuli have a significant degree of resemblance (Cogan et al., 2013).
2.4 Product consumption

A central part of the consumption process is the consumers experience of a product. In
regard to this, Desmet (2003) defined five overall types of emotional responses to products:
instrumental, aesthetic, social, surprise, and interest. Instrumental emotions (such as
disappointment and satisfaction) relate to whether a product is perceived to allow the user
to achieve his/her objectives. Aesthetic emotions (such as disgust and attraction) relate to
the potential of a product to delight or offend the senses. Social emotions (such as
indignation and admiration) relate to whether a product is perceived to comply with socially
determined standards. Surprise emotions (such as amazement and unpleasant surprise)
relate to the perceived novelty of a design. Interest emotions (such as boredom and
fascination) relate to a perceived challenge combined with a promise. According to Desmet,
this classification shows that a focus on generalized pleasure, as in Green and Jordan (2002),
for example, is too narrow; instead, designing for emotion requires an understanding of
several types of emotions.
Based on a literature review, Crilly et al. (2008) similarly defined three categories of
cognitive responses to products: aesthetic impression, semantic interpretation, and symbolic
association. Aesthetic impression describes the sensation that is elicited by the perception of
attractiveness (or unattractiveness) in products. Semantic interpretation describes what a
product is perceived to communicate about its function, mode of use, and qualities.
Symbolic associations describe the perception of what a given product says about its owner
or user, i.e., the personal and social significance attached to the design. As noted by Crilly et
al. (2008), other researchers have developed similar tripartite classifications.
There is often a close link between evaluations of the appearance and use of product. For
example, Norman (2004) argued that attractive products work better, referencing the
findings of Japanese researchers who studied different layouts of controls for ATMs. The
study found that for ATMs that were identical with regard to function, operation, and the
number of buttons, attractively arranged buttons and screens were perceived as being
easier to use. The relationship between function and appearance may also go in the
opposite direction. For example, there is evidence that tactile information can affect the
aesthetic evaluation of artefacts (Jansson-Boyd and Marlow, 2007).
On the relationship between product interaction and aesthetics, Shusterman (2000) drew a
distinction between analytical aesthetics and pragmatic aesthetics. The former focuses on
the aesthetics of appearance while the latter is concerned with context and use. In the
pragmatist view, the aesthetics of an artefact emerge out of a dynamic interaction between
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a user and an artefact. Moreover, in this perspective, aesthetic experience is closely linked
to both the analytic mind and the bodily experience. In the context of pragmatist
philosophy, Ross and Wensveen (2010) defined aesthetic interaction as consisting of four
principles: (1) has practical use while also being rewarding to use in itself because of its
beauty, (2) has socio-cultural and ethical dimensions, (3) has satisfying dynamic form, and
(4) actively involves the users bodily, cognitive, emotional, and social skills.
3. Coordinating design with production and consumption processes

As mentioned in the Introduction, this paper addresses the issue of aligning product design
processes with production and marketing processes to address consumers in a satisfactory
manner. This overall distinction between design (or R&D), production (procurement,
manufacturing, distribution, etc.), marketing (market analysis, advertising, retail
management, etc.), and consumption (or market) in relation to product development is
commonly applied in, for example, marketing and innovation literature (Martin, 1994;
Wilson et al., 1995; Griffin and Hauser, 2003). Given that the focus of this paper is design
management, it is the role of design in relation to the three other functions that constitutes
the basis for the framework development.
As mentioned in the subsequent section, the development of new consumer products
involves both the production of physical products and the production of communication
about them (e.g., advertising and product descriptions) to be consumed by relevant
consumers. As mentioned, this can be formulated as four basic types of processes, which the
design function needs to consider: 1) product production, 2) product consumption, 3)
communication production, and 4) communication consumption. The strength of this
distinction, as compared to a distinction between production, marketing, and consumer
processes, is that it provides a more basic perspective on the processes taking place from
product idea to consumers use of products. More specifically, communication about a
product is not only produced by marketers, but also by consumers. Thus, employing a
distinction between the four basic process types, as opposed to functional units, avoids
categories with behavioural overlaps.
The defined four processes have a set of mutual relationships:
1) Before consumer-targeted communication (e.g., advertising) about a product is
produced, production processes will typically have been initiated or at least
considered.
2) Before communication about a product (e.g., advertising) can be consumed,
obviously, this communication needs to be produced.
3) Before a product is consumed (i.e., purchased and used by a consumer), in most
cases, some information about the product is acquired by the consumer (e.g., the
products name, brand or price).
4) The consumption of a product also typically gives rise to communication about it,
e.g., in the form of consumers sharing their product experiences.
The observations above give rise to the following process sequence: Based on existing
understandings and studies of relevant consumers and markets, the production of a product
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Anders Haug
is initiated or at least considered. At a certain stage of the product production process, the
product it is communicated to relevant consumers typically through advertising and retail
stores. Some of these consumers consume such messages, which in turn may lead to
consumption of the actual product. This use of the product may lead to new communication
about the product (this time driven more by users and independent media), which may lead
to new interpretations, which in turn lead to new consumption, and so on. Thus, as outlined
here, the production domain is only active in the initial part of the process, while
communication production, communication consumption, and product consumption can
take place repeatedly in an iterative sequence. The process sequence is illustrated in Figure
1. Subsequently, the relationships between design and the four processes are discussed.
Figure 1 Coordinating design with production and consumption processes
3.1 Product production

The product production process refers to the interplay between the design function and a
client (internal or external) with the intention of producing certain products. As part of this
relationship, the client prescribes certain requirements, while the design function provides
the client with the designs to be produced.
The role of design management in relation to product production, besides ensuring the
creation of a design with appearance and functionality qualities, includes preventing that the
design makes the product too expensive or confer what may be considered unethical
production characteristics. In relation to the former requirement, the client would obviously
object if the design were to make the product too costly. However, the better design
managers understand this aspect, the less resource demanding the design process becomes,
as it reduces the need for client-designer communication. In relation to ethical aspects,
certain design choices may require the use of materials or production methods that have
negative effects on the environment and on working conditions. There are many examples
of products receiving bad publicity and even being subjected to boycott campaigns due to
ethical concerns.
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3.2 Communication production

The communication production process first concerns the interplay between the design
function and marketers. In the communication production process, the first loop of the
iterative sequence, described in Figure 1, involves consumers being informed that a new
product is available, typically by marketers through adverts and in-store presentations. In
the second and subsequent loops, which occur after consumers have consumed the product,
the communication shifts from being mainly, if not exclusively, driven by marketers to being
driven by consumers and independent media. Thus, instead of communication aimed at
placing the product in the most positive light, a new form of communication now emerges,
often with a more realistic slant. This may take the form of consumers exchanging product
experiences within their personal social spheres and web forums as well as product reviews
in magazines. The need for new marketing communication in subsequent loops emerges in
cases where the company realizes that the initial marketing messages did not have the
desired effect, giving rise to a need for adjusted marketing messages.
The role of design management in relation to communication production concerns ensuring
that product designs correspond with the brand identity and enable marketing messages
about these products to stand out. More specifically, even if a product design is of high
quality, if it is not in line with the brand identity, it may confuse or appear unappealing to
relevant consumers and if a product (i.e., both the product and its brand) does not have
certain features that make it stand out, marketing it may prove difficult.
With regard to the communication production phase, the distinction between different
loops is of particular importance, since the design function needs to consider both how the
product can be marketed and what form the expected consumer-driven communication
about the product may take. The importance of this distinction should not be
underestimated, since even if a product may be easy for marketers to position, their
marketing messages may be undermined if the product experience fails to live up to these
messages, or if it differs from expectations in other ways. For example, a smartphone may
be marketed as having unique functionalities, performance or physical attributes, but if it is
cumbersome to operate, has poor basic functions or low durability, consumers will probably
produce negative communication about it.
3.3 Communication consumption

The communication consumption process relates to the understanding of how product
communication will be received by consumers. In the communication consumption process,
as mentioned, the first instance involves the consumers, typically through marketing
messages, forming opinions about products; this in turn determines whether they
investigate further and maybe even acquire the product while in the subsequent loops,
the communication aimed at consumers shifts from being produced by marketers to being
produced to a larger degree by consumers and independent media. In this context, it should
be noted that although a marketing department can control what communication they send
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Anders Haug
to consumers, obviously, they cannot control what information consumers actually

consume.
The role of design management in relation to communication consumption concerns
ensuring that product designs, upon closer inspection, stand out and conform to consumers
taste. More specifically, while adverts offer a general presentation of products, consumers
will often obtain more specific information before making a final purchasing decision, such
as information about price, materials, functionalities, etc. For example, if a laptop design has
an appealing and original appearance, this may help it stand out in marketing campaigns,
but if its processing power is significantly weaker than the competitors products, consumers
who were initially interested may lose interest when they take a closer look at the
specifications.
3.4 Product consumption

The product consumption process relates to the design functions ability to anticipate
customers experiences when observing, trying, and using a product. From an overall
perspective, the role of design management in relation to product consumption is to ensure
the creation of designs that lead to good product experiences. The product design cannot be
seen in isolation, however; as previously mentioned, it needs to live up to the marketing
messages that accompany the product to avoid disappointing the consumer. If a marketing
campaign promises a certain user experience, which the product fails to deliver, there is a
considerable risk of disappointment, which may lead to bad publicity and decreased brand
loyalty. Furthermore, consumers may have other expectations for a product that lie beyond
what the marketers communicate about the product. Specifically, if consumers expect a
product to have certain features or qualities that it proves not to have in practice, this would
lead to disappointment and the potential for bad publicity. For example, although marketing
campaigns and product descriptions do not describe the seating comfort of a chair,
consumers would obviously nevertheless expect a relatively comfortable experience.
4. Empirical examples
In this paper, it is argued that product designs are more likely to fail commercially when
there is a lack of understanding of their relationships with each of the four defined
processes, as described in Figure 1. In other words, the design process needs to be efficiently
coordinated with the four defined processes. To support this claim, for each of the four
processes, Table 1 describes four empirical examples of product failures. To illustrate the
breadth of the frameworks usefulness, the examples given are from two very different
categories of consumer product design: fashion and consumer electronics. While the former
has a dominant emphasis on appearance, the latter product category is often judged to a
high degree on functionality. The examples were chosen with the purpose of using a set of
widely known cases to illustrate the application of the proposed framework for explaining
product failures as opposed to attempts of testing its representativeness or similar
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purposes. Furthermore, it should be noted that it is not for the author to evaluate whether
these claims are justified or not, merely to show that such understandings exist.
Table 1 Examples of claimed design related problems
Fashion
Consumer electronics
Too pricy
Fashion brand considered too

expensive (Abercrombie &
Fitch) (Lutz, 2013)
Disc player too expensive for target

group (Sony Minidisk player)
(Faulkner, 2012)
Unethical
Fashion brand accused of

unethical working conditions
(Nike) (Birch, 2012)
Consumer electronics company

accused of using supplier that
produces significant environmental
pollution (Apple) (Kaiser, 2013)
Poor brand
correspondence
Discount retailer failing to sell

more exclusive fashion items
(Targets Neiman Marcus
collection) (White, 2013)
Smartphone marketed as being hip by

non-hip company (Microsofts Kin
smartphone) (Ganapati, 2010)
Poor marketing
features
Fashion retailer failing to

position itself on the mass-toluxury fashion scale (GAP)
(Gross, 2006)
Smartphones not having standout

features to be used in marketing
communication (Nokia) (Adhikari,
2012)
No standout
features
Fashion collection considered

uninteresting (American
Apparel) (Hill, 2010)
Smartphone not innovative enough

compared to predecessors (Blackberry
z10) (Parmer, 2013)
Unappealing
features
Fashion item not in the taste of

the target group (Levis Type 1)
(Bordeaux, 2007)
Lack of games for handheld gaming

device (Sony PlayStation Vita) (Groen,
2013)
Unfulfilled
marketing
promises
Dress looking better in pictures

than in real life (H&M) (Everitt,
2014)
Smartphone failing to fulfil promises

of being superior to Apples iPhone
(Google Nexus One) (Bertucci, 2011)
Other
unfulfilled
expectations
Clothing being of poor quality

(multiple brands) (Moore, 2010)
Computer operative system

significantly slower than previous
versions (MS Vista) (McIntyre, 2009)
Product
production
Communication
production
Communication
consumption
Product
consumption
5. Conclusions
This paper focused on understanding the role of design management in relation to processes
related to production, marketing, and consumption. These processes were organised under
four basic categories: 1) product production, (2) communication production, (3)
communication consumption, and (4) product consumption. Based on this categorisation,
the paper reviewed literature dealing with the role of product design in relation to these
four processes. Next, the paper defined a process model describing the relationships
between the four processes and the role of the design function. Finally, using sixteen
empirical examples, the paper illustrated the importance for design managers to understand
the relationships between product designs and these four processes to avoid product
failures.
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Anders Haug
As demonstrated by the literature review, much of the literature related to the four
processes of product production, product consumption, product communication production,
and product communication consumption are dealt with separately, while the links between
these areas remain somewhat unclear. The proposed framework connects these
perspectives, thereby providing a more holistic perspective on the role of the design
function. The novelty and strength of the perspective involves moving away from a
functional unit perspective towards an understanding that views the role of design in
relation to four distinct process types, which can be carried out by different types of actors
at different stages of the process from design idea to product use. As described by the
paper, three of these four processes may occur in a continuous sequence for the duration of
the time that the product stays on the market.
It should be noted that although the 16 empirical examples of commercial failures caused by
inadequate alignment of the design function with the four defined processes demonstrated
the usefulness of the framework, the framework does not account for all the possible causes
of product failures. It simply provides a means for understanding the design function in
relation to four central processes related to production, marketing, and consumption.
In relation to practice, design managers and designers may apply the perspective provided
by the framework to achieve a more holistic approach to design projects. As demonstrated
by the sixteen empirical examples, the proposed framework provides a means for
understanding various reasons for the success and failure of consumer products and the
eight distinctive types of failures (two associated with each process) may serve as a checklist
during design projects. In relation to future research, the framework provides a link between
different research areas, which may pave the way for a clearer understanding of the role of
design management. Furthermore, the framework may support future discussions of the
typical organizational divide between design and marketing.
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About the Author:

Anders Haug is Associate Professor in Design Management at the
University of Southern Denmark. Anders has produced more than 50
international publications related to different areas of design,
including industrial design, fashion design, engineering design and
retail design.
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How Companies adopt different Design approaches

KwanMyung Kim
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
kmyung@unist.ac.kr
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.241
Abstract: Product design process cannot be explained without both industrial design
and engineering design. However, the two fields have different design approaches
toward product design. This study explored different types of combined design
approaches that companies adopt with industrial design and engineering design.
Industrial designers and engineering designers from six global consumer product
companies were interviewed. As a result, three different types of combined design
approaches; Industrial design-led design process, engineering design-led design
process, and cooperative design process were identified. The companies adopted the
processes differently based on their purpose and situations. In particular, Industrial
design-led design process cases were strongly implemented by the CEOs strong
support who believed industrial design is the primary route to secure
competitiveness of their products. However, engineering design-led process was
mainly used for redesign of existing products. In cooperative design process, both
design groups work collaboratively in concept design phase.
Keywords: corporate design process, industrial design, engineering design, product design
1. Introduction
Companies have long taken integrated approaches to design to achieve innovation, while
the academic world has researched and educated on industrial design and engineering
design as two separate disciplines from a dichotomous view. Products known to be
successful and well-designed are not only well-engineered and functioning, but also
attractive and easy to use. This implies that well-designed products are achieved by the
integrated contribution of engineering and industrial design (Cross, 2008). In the consumer
product domain especially, these two design fields are essential to bring successful products
in market. As such, product design could hardly be explained without an integrated
viewpoint of the two fields.

KwanMyung Kim
While developing a product, indeed, industrial designers and engineering designers deal
with the exterior and interior of a product collaboratively in industry. This leads to different
roles and approaches in design process between industrial and engineering designers
causing conflicts between the two groups (Cross, 2008; Hubka & Eder, 2012). It is known
that engineering design and industrial design have considerably different aspects (Pei, 2009;
Persson & Wickman, 2004), and their design strategies are opposite to each other (Eder,
2013; Hosnedl, Srp, & Dvorak, 2008; Pahl, Wallace, & Blessing, 2007). Industrial designers
mainly focus product-using functionality, whereas engineering designers emphasize productworking functionality (Kim & Lee, 2010). The industrial designers role includes enhancing
user experience of a product and developing its outside form and interface (Ulrich &
Eppinger, 2012). They employ knowledge and skills in aesthetics and ergonomics (Eder,
2012; Pahl et al., 2007). Their role has been expanded since industrial design activity is
considered value-driven. They create culture, experience, and meaning for creation (Press &
Cooper, 2003). Under the interaction with industrial designers, engineering designers take
part in implementing the design concept developed by industrial designers (Sara Persson &
Warell, 2003). They provide a means for the product to be functioning, reliable, and
manufactured (Hubka & Eder, 2012; Pahl et al., 2007). In the engineering design field,
however, industrial design has been traditionally considered as an afterthought. Major
engineering literature (e.g. (Hubka & Eder, 2012; Pahl et al., 2007)) has a stance that
industrial design is classified as an art-oriented design that considers the aspects of product
appearance, such as styling, form, and colour that are set after the technical features of
products are determined.
When these two different types of designers work together with different approaches, how
does the whole design process proceed? To answer this, (Kim & Lee, 2010) suggest two
different types of design approaches in integrated mode of design process; inside-out and
outside-in approaches. Inside-out approach is one that engineering designers define
product-working functionality first following which industrial designers complete productusing functionality, while in outside-in approach, industrial designers define product-using
functionality first and then product-working functionality is determined by engineering
designers later (Kim & Lee, 2010). Although, these two design approaches are collaborative
and close interaction takes place between the two designer groups, however, industrial
designers and engineering designers have mainly negative perceived images of each other
(Kim & Lee, 2014a). This seems to be caused by intransigence and lack of knowledge
between the two groups (Kim & Lee, 2014b). Nevertheless, the two groups are the major
parts in product development, especially for innovative product design. Companies may
strategically adopt one of the two or another approach for their own purpose and situations.
Sometimes, a company may use an inside-out approach to develop a technologically durable
product or, an outside-in approach to attract high sensitive young users. Or they may have
other significant rationales to apply a certain approach. Thus, it is needed to understand two
groups collaborative design approaches empirically. Therefore, this research focuses on
what design processes or approaches do global consumer product companies take and, how
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do they employ them? With these questions, the author investigated how and why
companies adopt different design approaches with industrial design and engineering design.
Even though, a company employs industrial design and engineering design in an integrated
effort, it is hypothesized that it uses industrial design-led (or outside-in) design process or
engineering design-led (or inside-out) design process for certain purpose or context.
2. Research method
The author visited six Korean consumer product companies and interviewed in-depth with
three industrial designers and two or three engineering designers from each company. In
sum, 18 industrial designers and 16 engineering designers were interviewed. The companies
were coded as A, B, C, D, E, and F for the study following the visiting order. Company A and F
were home appliances manufacturers. Company C and D were mobile communication
device manufactures. Company B produced IT products and Company E was a security
device manufacturer. They were prominent in their business areas and famous for welldesigned products, notably in South Korea and some of them across many countries.
Moreover, the companies remained Good Design awardees for several years. In terms of
organizational structure, they had independent product planning, industrial design,
engineering design, production, finance and marketing teams that are central to product
development in a company. The number of industrial designers was approx. 5 to 10 in
company B, E, and F, 10 to 20 in company A, 40-50 in company C, and around 100 in
company D. The number of engineering designers among them was more than twice of the
industrial designers. Generally, the role of product planning team was to plan new product
development and make an annual roadmap of product development based on market
research. Thus, industrial design and engineering teams worked closely with product
planning team. Apart from company B and F, all companies had separate product planning
and marketing teams. The product planning teams in company B and F were responsible for
both products planning and marketing, however the other companies had independent
marketing teams (both domestic and overseas marketing teams) as well as product planning
team.
During the interview, design processes that each respondent experienced were asked and
audio-recorded. The interview time was about 70 to 100 minutes. The collected interviewed
data were transcribed and analysed to identify how integrated design processes of each
company proceeded. Although, the transcribed data contained huge and rich information
about design activities, events, process, etc. The main analysing point for this study was to
ascertain whether industrial design led the overall design process or engineering design. It
was proceeded by determining whose tasks were preceded and influential. That is, if
industrial designers tasks forewent and their outcomes constrained engineering designers
jobs, it was determined as an industrial design-led design process, whereas, if engineering
designers started the work before industrial designers and the result of engineering design
restricted industrial design works, it was determined as an engineering design-led design
process. A few cases were not categorized into the two cases and rather showed combined
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effort of both designer groups at the initial stage. Thus, they were grouped into cooperative
process. Along with this analysis, the context and background of the processes were
analysed.
3. Design approaches
It was cleared that companies used different design approaches with industrial design and
engineering design. Company A, C, and E employed both industrial design-led and
engineering design-led design processes for particular purposes. Interestingly, Company B
used only industrial design-led design process, where industrial designers roles were much
emphasized, and Company F used only engineering design-led process. Cooperative process
were found in two cases; Company A and D. The purpose and context that the companies
used particular processes were followed.
3.1 Industrial design-led design process

The Case of Company A
Company A applied this process for the first time in 2006 to use its competence at industrial
design for developing innovative products including those of new categories that could lead
to a new market. The process was institutionalized following the industrial design teams
proposal to the CEO. As per the process, the industrial design team carries out an annual
concept design proposal event for future products, selects a superior design developed here,
and decides on commercialization. At the time of the interview in 2011, a total of 3 products
were reported to have been developed via the process.
The companys process is characterized by its industrial design team developing design
concepts of products independently without any external interference through the proposal
event. The design concepts selected in the proposal event are used for reverse product
planning, where the product planning team finds a target market for the design concept.
This is totally different from the well-known process from the textbook, where the target
market is identified based on market research, and products are planned and developed for
the market.
In a reported case of product development, they had to make the interior parts, and
accordingly the exterior form, bigger in order to implement desired performance in the
second phase, where engineering designers decided on the products functionality and
reviewed its feasibility. Industrial designers decided such modification of the form would
destroy the overall style concept and slightly scaled up the exterior form from the initial
design to maintain the morphological concept.
In this process, industrial designers roles are most important. Products are planned and
developed in line with the concept of usability and the exterior form defined by industrial
designers. Clearly, industrial designers are exclusively in charge of the overall concept
development guiding the direction of product implementation, while engineering designers
implement the concept developed by industrial designers through technical solutions. Even
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though this phase may be regarded as another concept design phase (i.e. engineering
concept design phase) in light of the existing concept of engineering design, industrial
designers play dominant roles in deciding on product concepts in the entire process as they
set up the direction of product development in the initial stage, whereas engineering
designers are to devise interior working function principles matching the concept and
exterior form decided by industrial design and ultimately to ensure the operability. This is
quite inconsistent with the existing engineering design process (e.g. (Dym, 1994; Haik &
Shahin, 2010; Pahl et al., 2007)), where engineering designers are assumed to play extensive
roles in concept design. Then, what made this process emerge? Basically, the CEOs strong
design-oriented policy seems to have exerted significant influence. Interviewees mentioned
that the CEO adhered to a strong design-oriented management and considered industrial
design an important tool for developing innovative new products.
An industrial designer: We can clearly say that designers take the initiative. Most of
all, the design division is under immediate control of the CEO. Once we gave design
data to the engineering team, where they arbitrarily changed the design for mass
production. The CEO said, Give me the mock-up, and found it totally different. Then,
we dumped all moulds and made it from scratch. Afterwards, the design division has
come to exercise powerful influence.
An industrial designer: The CEO said, From now on, when you designers decide to
apply a certain material, you find a supplier or other entities capable of making it
happen proactively before it is too late. Relying on the lab is likely to end up in low
surface quality. So we have tried hard to proceed with CMF (colour, material, finish).
In this company, the industrial design division shares a building with the CEO, while the
engineering design division is located in a different place within a 30 minute drive, which
indicates industrial design undertakes overarching roles and functions.
Most interestingly, this company relies exclusively on industrial designs creativity for
product development without product planning, which is completely opposed to the
conventional belief that product development starts by identifying market needs via
scientific and systematic market research and analysis.
This implies that new products are developed not by market needs or technological
innovation but by certain pictures designers draw in their minds.
The Case of Company B
Unlike others, Company B was only using the industrial design-led design process to develop
both modified versions of existing product designs as well as new products. As industrial
designers decide on the initial interior layout of parts as well as the exterior form, they
undertake the role of engineering designers to some extent. As engineering designers hardly
engage in the process, the industrial designers intention is definitely reflected in the initial
design development. As a result, the industrial designers become influential and take the
initiative in decision making, whereas engineering designers roles are reduced.
Firstly, the product planning department decides on a product specification. The industrial
design team receives the 3D CAD data about the parts matching the specification from the
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product planning team or engineering design team, and lay out the parts while deciding on
the exterior form. Thus, they have knowledge about how to lay out the parts and how the
layout affects the form.
The engineering designers wait for the industrial designers to decide on the exterior form.
Upon receipt of the 3D CAD data, they check the interior layout of parts and feasibility. From
this moment, the engineering designers fully engage in the design process.
Although, the industrial designers decide on the interior layout considering the exterior
form, problems remain if the gaps between the interior and exterior parts are too narrow to
produce. Therefore, the products interior and exterior are modified and developed in this
process, where engineering designers decide on the definitive interior layout while industrial
designers determine the definitive exterior form.
The questions about this company include how the process of industrial designers deciding
on the exterior and interior of a product at the same time began and why nothing but this
process exists.
At first, the process was started by a strong design-first policy in which industrial designers
designed the exterior form freely without considering the interior parts, while engineering
designers laid out parts inside the form. In the mid-2000s, the former CEO recognized that
industrial design would be important for successful product development and enforced a
policy of adjusting interior parts to outside design no matter what. Afterwards, the process
has been established in a way that industrial designers develop the exterior form and at the
same time lay out the interior parts to solve the problems arising when engineering
designers arrange the parts inside the exterior form designed by industrial designers.
As design is valued more than any other considerations, and as industrial design teams get
influential, some tasks of other departments directly linked to those of the industrial design
teams in the process have become incorporated in the job description of industrial
designers. That is, industrial designers roles and responsibilities have extended to planning
and design.
Industrial designers competence in fulfilling the tasks that used to be thought of as those of
engineering designers is attributable to their understanding of the interior layout of parts
and using the same 3D CAD tools as engineering designers. Using the same tools, industrial
designers can effectively present alternatives to problems raised by engineering designers.
The Case of Company C
In the mobile phone market, communication service providers occasionally ask for
development of new models in a short period of time or put the design out to competitive
tender. It is critical to design a product meeting the service providers requirements,
produce a design mock-up, and participate in the tender, or to respond to the service
providers demand promptly. Thus, when a communication service providers demand or
tender is expected, industrial designers embark upon the design and decide on the exterior
form without product plans, specification, or layout data. Strictly speaking, external
demands or tender plans are considered the inputs for initiating a product design despite
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the absence of internal inputs, which is distinct from the condition under which Company A
operates. Notably, the company develops variant models of existing products by changing
their exterior styles, which is also different from Company A, which uses industrial design to
develop new products.
This process is viable partly due to the nature of mobile phone market, characterized by
short cycles of product development, abundant reference products, and insignificant model
changes, which enables industrial designers to decide on exterior forms and product sizes
based on the existing reference products without product plans or design specification
needed for starting a product design.
As it is required to tender for design contracts promptly with a design concept, industrial
designers have to produce desirable design outcomes in a very short period of time.
Therefore, they complete the exterior form of a product in a short time without any official
form, evaluation, or approval. In some cases, they decide on the exterior forms and produce
mock-ups within 10 days with a view to winning the contract with the communication
service provider.
An industrial designer: We often make it happen in a short time as the service
providers demand things at short notice in many cases. Skipping sketch rendering and
the like, we embark on CAD drawing based on reference phones and send out a phone
in three days. At least we have time for producing a mock-up. In case companies are
capable of doing that, it takes at least four days to mock up a phone.
Once the communication service provider confirms the design, formal product planning and
the process of feasibility testing by engineering designers follow. In this phase, industrial
designers coordinate with engineering designers to respond to required design
modifications, while engineering designers decide on the interior layout. In reviewing the
feasibility, engineering designers try to keep the exterior design as it is to the maximum
extent as the design has been confirmed by the service provider. In some cases, the exterior
design needs to be changed. The overall characteristics and flow of the detail design phase
do not differ from those of Company A. Still, the process runs so fast that the design is on
the verge of mass production within a month.
This process is viable against the backdrop of short product development cycles, abundant
reference products already developed, and industrial designers rich experience of
homogeneous product design as well as the lack of abrupt changes in product forms, sizes,
or functionality. Given the tough competition in industry and the need for short-term
development, the companys design team has adopted a design bank concept where plenty
of design mock-ups are kept, from which specs and concepts meeting the demands from
service providers may be chosen.
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The Case of Company E

This company employs a process to develop new models without reference products. Once
industrial designers develop the exterior design of a product, engineering designers
implement a product in line with the design to the maximum possible extent. With no
reference products, designers roughly decide on target sizes and proceed with concept
design. Then, following a formal decision made on commercialization, engineering designers
embark on engineering design concept phase for implementation. In this process, they
exchange data to decide on the exterior form and the interior part layout.
An industrial designer: New projects hardly have some layouts. More often than not,
we just develop a design, expecting them to take care of the rest.
An engineering designer: When developing new products, product planners and
designers meet, where designers propose and present an exterior form. Then, we lay
out circuits or parts inside the form before confirming and proceeding with feasible
aspects. Or, we suggest some parts need scaling up in reverse.
This process differs from that of company A in that engineering designers give no inputs
whereas product planners provide rough data about the direction of design and that
development of new products follows the companys development plan.
3.2 Engineering design-led design process

This process is most comparable to this companys standardized process mentioned by
interviewees. Engineering designers lead product development. Still, the importance of
exterior forms created by industrial designers is emphasized. This process is used to redesign the next version of a product based on the existing platform of line-up products, or to
develop products at the level of a mask change. The process starts by preparing a product
planning document based on the annual product roadmap. Then, product planning,
engineering design, and industrial design departments have a product planning meeting all
together. During product planning, engineering designers decide on the functional and
dimensional specification as well as the preliminary layout, while industrial designers use the
3D layout data received from the engineering design team to decide on the exterior form. In
this process, industrial designers continuously receive necessary information from
engineering designers.
Industrial designers undertake idea sketches, 3D CAD modelling, rendering, design
evaluation meetings, and the mock-up selection event to decide on the exterior form design
while engineering designers keep evaluating the exterior form developed by industrial
designers, and give them advice as advisors. Engineering designers receive the 3D CAD data
from industrial designers and test any collision with the layout and feasibility, while at the
same time refining the layout so that the interior functions work properly. Overall, despite
the preliminary layout serving as the basic information that determines the exterior and
interior of the product, both design teams keep interacting with each other to exchange
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feedback, by which process the preliminary layout becomes the definitive layout while the
design sketch develops into the definitive exterior form.
Once the definitive design mock-up and layout are determined, they go on to the detail
design phase.
The Case of Company C
This process is comparable to this companys standard process as well. As a rule, the
standard process clarifies the period. In fact, the actual development period is shorter than
the specified one in the standard process, according to interviewees (product planning:
three months + development phase: eight months). Interestingly, this company divides the
product development process largely into product planning phase and development
phase. The product planning phase involves industrial designers defining the exterior form,
engineering designers reviewing the interior layout, mocking up, and the design evaluation
meeting. The product planning phase is followed by the development phase, where
engineering designers implement the product based on the detail design. The development
phase continues up to the testing phase before the mass production phase.
Another distinct aspect specific to this company is the official system called a concept
meeting where as part of the product planning phase the product planning team leads a
weekly discussion on the advancement of exterior design and interior layout with
professionals from relevant departments, i.e. industrial designers, engineering designers,
product planners, quality controllers, circuit developers, and hardware developers involved
in product development. They discuss and coordinate the interior layout changes and the
feasibility of the exterior design developed and refined by industrial designers. That is, in
industrial design concept and engineering design concept development phase,
multidisciplinary development team experts join to develop an optimized form and layout,
minimizing any potential problems that might arise in subsequent phases and increasing the
process efficiency.
An engineering designer: Usually, multiple departments meet weekly. When
something comes up and a decision need be made offhand, related departments meet
separately once or twice a week or even daily to discuss whether a design can turn into
a real product in terms of sizes to materials, like, about some metal exterior design.
Overall, they review the full length, the full width, the thickness, and the specification.
Then, the circuit team double-checks the design later on. Thats how things go here.
An engineering designer: We co-work with the design team at the concept meeting.
That doesnt mean once we give a box (a preliminary rough layout), we just work on
the layout only at each session of 10 meetings. That is, after meeting twice or three
times, a design gets into shape. Then, we put the design on the layout. With the
layout, we scale up or down the size. The meetings go on for co-working on any
change of the layout, I mean, discussing whether some parts are in or out, like whether
to round it or tuck it in a bit. We optimize things at the concept meeting.
This process seems effective for dealing with tough market competition, short product
cycles, and variations of products sharing many platforms.
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Both product planning and project managing teams play significant roles in leading the
concept meeting systematically.
The Case of Company D
This process starts when the product planning team proposes a product based on the annual
product roadmap. Then, engineering designers give the initial layout data called box data to
industrial designers. The box data refer to the simplified box-shaped 3D CAD data about the
sizes of interior parts. Interestingly enough, once industrial designers decide the design
based on the box data will turn out to be uncompetitive in the market, they return to
product planning for the spec to be refined. That is, they assess the morphological value of
the design right from the start of the design process. Once the industrial design process
starts, they exchange data with engineering designers.
Another distinct aspect specific to this company is that experienced and bold advanced
engineering designers are deployed to the design department to keep checking the
feasibility of design concepts under development. They find out applicable new technology
and engineering methods to implement the design concepts presented by industrial
designers, while changing and developing the layouts. The advanced technology
development function is structured to highlight new concepts of design based on
preliminary layouts.
The Case of Company E
This company used this process in two cases. Firstly, some performance issues such as
heating found in the existing model for sale should be sorted out in the next model prior to
its exterior form design. In this case, a layout is set up to first determine necessary space,
followed by exterior form design.
Secondly, for a model whose functionality is considered overarching, its layout is first
determined followed by its exterior design. Industrial designers also focus on its appearance
rather than a new usability concept.
The Case of Company F
This company is characterized by industrial and engineering design teams belonging to an
R&D (Research and Development) division and sharing a workspace. Thus, before a product
development is proposed, product planning, engineering design, and industrial design
professionals join together to discuss and start basic research. Once the product planning
department proposes a product development, engineering designers decide on a
preliminary layout based on previous models and pass it on to industrial designers, who in
turn design an exterior form receiving data from engineering designers constantly.
Engineering designers keep checking the feasibility and give feedback to industrial designers.
This process takes place more personally and closely compared to other companies as both
design teams share a workplace.
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3.3 Cooperative design process

Company A tried this process most recently. This process was applied because a few design
outcomes from design proposal events did not proceed to mass production despite good
concepts or ideas. The design concepts from design proposal events failed to develop into
mass production because no technological support followed to implement the design
concepts proposed by industrial designers. An industrial designer in the design team
recognized the problem, visited the advanced technology development team, and proposed
implementing a new concept together, which was how this process started.
An industrial designer: I had worked on purifiers for years. Then, I felt like trying a
new advanced product and made a part. I had to run here and there. There are a new
product team and an advanced technology team in the R&D centre. I tried to propose
co-working to come up with ideas for a new product last year. It occurred to me that a
new product would require a team effort between the engineering team, the product
planning team, and the design team rather than design proposal events. We did a
couple of projects like that.
As the advanced technology development team is in charge of developing new technology

proactively, it is less involved in development for mass production, able to more freely and
proactively cooperate with industrial designers, and less resistant to adoption of new
technology than the ordinary development team. Accordingly, when industrial designers
propose a new way to use a product and a novel form, the advanced technology
development team cooperates by providing technical support to enable the newly proposed
form and functionality. As such, they share ideas and create a synergy effect to develop the
form and layout. Such efforts are recognized and well received in the company as well as
highly spoken of by the CEO.
This process is characterized by individual initiative, willingness, passion, and efforts by
industrial designers followed by the advanced technology development teams support,
which led to success without any preset time constraint. Therefore, this process is hardly
available to industrial and engineering designers who are directly involved in development
for mass production and thus find it hard to spare time.
The advantage of this process lies in the fact that industrial designers break away from the
form-based design and come up with a new idea considering the context and usability of a
product. Also, this process makes it possible to proceed with design ideas that engineering
designers cannot try due to performance or feasibility testing. Conclusively, a new concept
industrial designers and engineering designers agree on can be implemented in this process.
The Case of Company D
This process concerns a product development not present on the annual product roadmap,
where industrial designers propose a design concept while advanced technology
development engineers provide technology as part of a bold product development initiative.
This company used this process to develop an innovative new product leading to market
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success, which facilitated the companys adoption of the new product development process
driven by both design and advanced technology development teams.
An engineering designer: Thats what happened to a phone which had a great market
success. The design team came up with an idea for an extremely slim slide phone and
we cooperated with the team for the model. When we sent the model to the
development team, they just said they could never take or do it because the risk would
be so high. They didnt take it and rejected it over and over. So, we were like as they
wouldnt take it, we would do it. After all, we struggled a lot. We did it though. We
made a product based on the initial design rendering and spec. When we did it,
developers were like Uh-oh, you did it after all those troubles. Afterward, they
became less resistant to what the design team reviewed and sent and took design
plans that would otherwise be rejected because of what they called riskiness.
It is interesting that engineering designers from the advanced technology development team
stay together with industrial designers. Thus, industrial designers and those from the
advanced technology development team can work as a team, which is suggestive of a few
things. First, the existing product development process has so many constraints that
industrial designers and engineering designers cannot develop innovative new products.
Engineering designers in charge of mass production are under pressure because they should
ensure their items pass the performance and reliability tests by the time appointed, which
hinders them from trying anything bold or challenging. Also, the innovative design concepts
presented by industrial designers can never be implemented without technical support. In
this respect, allowing go-ahead to industrial designers and engineering designers from the
advanced technology development team to share the workspace and supporting them with
a new process will further increase the potential to develop innovative products.
4. Discussion
Companies adopt industrial design-led design process, engineering design-led design process
and/or cooperative design process according to their goals and situations. These are the part
of their effort to create maximum competitiveness within their situations. Industrial designled process is applied to produce innovative products with new concepts that achieve
aesthetic and usability appeal. This approach was implemented by the CEOs strong will for
acquiring competitiveness of their products by utilizing the sophisticated sensitiveness and
user-centred method of industrial designers. This approach will be useful when a company
secures high level of technology in design engineering. If it is poor at technology,
engineering designers could not implement the design concept provided by industrial
designers. Engineering design-led process is mainly used for redesign of existing product. It
implies that the companies adopted this approach to improve product performance quickly
reducing potential conflicts with the appearance of a product.
Both approaches inherently cause conflicts between the two groups because one designer
groups tasks preceding become to constrain the others. In this regard, cooperative process,
where industrial designers and engineering designers collaborative work in concept design
phase can be a good alternative. Especially, Company D provides a solution direction on this
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issue. The engineering designers were dispatched on purpose to industrial design

department. As a result, both groups of designers increased the level of mutual
understanding and developed cooperative process. Furthermore, engineering designers
support industrial designers by persuading other engineering designers stayed independent
engineering offices apart from them.
Regardless of what approach a company takes according to its situation, the success in
product design is dependent on the effective collaboration of industrial designers and
engineering designers. In this regard, interdisciplinary education of students who will be
involved in product development as an industrial designer or an engineering designer is an
important issue. Typical design or engineering education hardly supports this goal. Design
education was started in South Korea in the early 1960s from the area of applied art with the
aims to support export-driven industrial development in government sector, and with the
focus of package designs of products to add aesthetic value. Indeed, its influence has been
lasting until today. Nearly, all design schools belong to art schools in South Korea. Product
design education is regarded as an art-oriented subject. However, a few universities have
brought design departments with engineering fields. Moreover, mechanical engineering
departments barely run design-related education. This results in a dichotomized view to
design and engineering in South Korea. Indeed, the term Engineering design was
introduced quite recently in Korea.
Recently, it emphasized that the integrated education of design and engineering should
provide holistic experience of product development process as well as disciplinary
knowledge and skills (Kim et al., 2012). Fortunately, Korean government has invested its
efforts to change the current art-based design education to be interdisciplinary one by
combining design with engineering, business, or other disciplines. This will help companies
to avoid conflicts between the two groups in product development. In order to practice the
combined design approaches effectively, companies also need to understand the knowledge
level of designers and engineers who will work together.
5. Conclusion
Industrial design and engineering design departments work most closely on product design
in companies. Design process cannot go forward if these two departments are obscured.
Only either one cannot complete product design. However, industrial design and
engineering design have been traditionally considered, taught and studied separately.
Particularly in South Korea, art-based industrial design education has been dominated and
engineering design has not been well educated. This study viewed product design process as
an integrated whole process of industrial design and engineering design and aimed to
ascertain how the two fields work in the holistic processes. The author interviewed in-depth
with industrial designers and engineering designers from six global consumer product
manufacturers in Korean context. As a result, three different types of design approaches
were identified.
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KwanMyung Kim
In industrial design-led design process, industrial designers with no external interference or

inputs develop new product design concepts and then engineering designers implement
them. Industrial designers never consider technical aspects of interior parts in the concept
design phase, which leads to a series of tedious adjustments of design for feasibility in
connection with engineering designers. In some cases industrial designers develop the
exterior form concept while at the same time laying out interior parts. However in
engineering design-led design process, engineering designers make the interior layout based
on specifications from the product planning teams, based on which industrial designers
define the exterior form. In cooperative process, industrial designers and engineering
designers personally collaborated from the start to implement innovative concepts.
The context and purpose of the processes are also different. Sometimes they are used
strategically by companies and other times they are applied naturally due to internal and
external circumstances. Industrial design-led design process is used in two contexts: 1) when
companies are to develop new products distinct from existing products (Companies A and E),
and 2) when lots of reference models are available with short product cycles (Company C).
Sometimes industrial designers free of engineering designers influence define the exterior
form and mode of use. This process applies when industrial designers work on new products
or redesign existing ones (Company B).
Engineering-led design process is used to modify existing products to launch updated
products. Mostly, product development scheduled according to annual product
development roadmaps follows this process, where unlike the other three processes
engineering designers play prominent roles from the outset.
Cooperative design process is used to develop innovative products when industrial designers
with a good design concept in mind receive technical support for implementing the concept
from advanced technology development engineering designers.
Companies should effectively utilize industrial design and engineering design. The research
results provide useful insights for companies when they plan to adopt certain strategies.
However, to support companys design management better, deeper understanding of each
approach, such as strengths and weaknesses is needed. Also investigation of conflicts,
causes of conflicts, and resolution strategies in these processes will support the
development of better design management strategies. Extending the research issue based
on this, the pedagogy of integrated education of design and engineering education is
substantial. Finally, further study needs to explore other countries cases to see if the three
design approaches are applicable in general.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the
Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF2015S1A5A8010614)
6. References
Cross, N. (2008). Engineering design methods: strategies for product design.
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Dym, C. L. (1994). Engineering design: a synthesis of views: Cambridge University Press.

Eder, W. E. (2012). ENGINEERING DESIGN VS. ARTISTIC DESIGNA DISCUSSION. Proceedings of the
Canadian Engineering Education Association.
Eder, W. E. (2013). Engineering Design vs. Artistic Design: Some Educational Consequences. Online
Submission.
Haik, Y., & Shahin, T. (2010). Engineering design process: CengageBrain. com.
Hosnedl, S., Srp, Z., & Dvorak, J. (2008). Cooperation of engineering & industrial designers on
industrial projects. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the DESIGN 2008, 10th International
Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Hubka, V., & Eder, W. E. (2012). Design science: introduction to the needs, scope and organization of
engineering design knowledge: Springer Science & Business Media.
Kim, K., Kim, N., Jung, S., Kim, D.-Y., Kwak, Y., & Kyung, G. (2012). A Radically Assembled DesignEngineering Education Program with a Selection and Combination of Multiple Disciplines.
International Journal of Engineering Education, 28(4), 904-919.
Kim, K., & Lee, K.-p. (2014a). Don't Make Art, Do Industrial Design: A Voice from Industry. DMI
Review.
Kim, K., & Lee, K.-p. (2014b). Industrial Designers and Engineering Designers; Causes of Conflicts,
Resolving Strategies, and Perceived Image of Each Other.
Kim, K., & Lee, K. (2010). Two types of design approaches; regarding Industrial design and
engineering design in product design. Proceedings of DESIGN.
Pahl, G., Wallace, K., & Blessing, L. (2007). Engineering design: a systematic approach (Vol. 157):
Springer.
Pei, E. (2009). Building a common language of design representations for industrial designers &
engineering designers.
Persson, S., & Warell, A. (2003). Relational Modes between Industrial Design and Engineering Design
a Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Design Work. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the
6th Asian Design International Conference.
Persson, S., & Wickman, C. (2004). Effects of industrial design and engineering design interplay: An
empirical study on tolerance management in the automotive industry. Design 2004: Proceedings
of the 8th International Design Conference, Vols 1-3, 1151-1160. Retrieved from <Go to
ISI>://WOS:000235886600169
Press, M., & Cooper, R. (2003). The design experience: the role of design and designers in the twentyfirst century: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Ulrich, K. T., & Eppinger, S. D. (2012). Product design and development (Fifth Edition ed.): McGrawHill/Irwin.
About the Author:
KwanMyung Kim is an Associate professor at Graduate School of
Creative Design Engineering Design at UNIST. With 14 years of
industry experience, he brings practical knowledge into academic
research. He is interested in integrated product design.
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Challenges in co-designing a building

Min Hi Chun
University of Reading
m.h.chun@pgr.reading.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.274
Abstract: This paper explores the challenges faced in implementing Co-Design

approaches to building design. Co-design approaches have been increasingly applied
in building design over the last decade. They call on building designers to engage
users more actively by asking them to express their experience and knowledge
directly throughout the design process. However there are some concerns as it
radically changes how we design, what we design, and who designs. The paper
explores these by reviewing the literature around the development of the
architecture profession and comparing participatory approaches to others and
concludes that there are a number of challenges in co-designing a building, including
changes in the role of actors in the design process and issues around managing
conflicts between the interests of different users in a multi-user building project. The
questions that are raised here will be explored further through a case study of userengagement in a hospital design project.
Keywords: Architecture profession; co-design; design process; building design
1. Introduction
Co-design approaches have been increasingly applied in building design over the last decade.
They call on building designers to engage users more actively in all stages of the process as
co-designers, asking them to express their experience and knowledge directly in the design
process (Rizzo, 2010). The term co-design, according to Sanders and Stappers (2008), refers
to the collective creativity of collaborating designers across the whole span of a design
process and in a broader sense, it refers to the creativity of designers and people not trained
in design working together in the design development process (Sanders and Stappers, 2008).
In other words it is understood as citizen power in the processes of decision-making moving
towards significant social reform and means for citizens to have real power to shape their
environment. This is based on the principle that the environment works better if citizens are
active and involved in its creation and management instead of being treated as passive
consumers (Sanoff, 2000).
Min Hi Chun
According to Sanders and Stappers (2008), bringing co-design into the design process
radically changes how we design, what we design, and who designs. As a result, the tools
and methods used in the design process will need to change, the design and research stages
will blur together and new types of designers and researchers with special expertise in the
early stages of the design process will be introduced, among other things (Sanders and
Stappers, 2008). Therefore, implementing co-design approaches in the architectural design
process raises challenges for future architecture practice.
This paper explores a number of issues relevant to the application of co-design approaches
in the built environment:
What is the impact that co-design approaches have on the role of architect in
the architectural process?
What kind of tools and methods are utilized in co-design approaches to design
a building?
What is the impact co-design approaches have on the building design
outcome?
To explore these questions, this paper will firstly review the literature around co-design in
architecture. It will then discuss the architecture profession and its role, and then compare
co-design approaches to scientific approaches and more traditional approaches across three
dimensions: how architects design a building, what architects design and who designs. The
paper will then discuss the challenges that are faced in co-designing a building.
2. The Architecture Profession

Before discussing the impact of co-design in the building design process this paper will
explore the architecture profession and its roles. As noted by Samuel., et al (2014) there is a
lot of confusion about architecture and what architects do. This section will address this
issue by looking at the literature on the development of the architecture profession and its
role in the UK.
2.1 The development of the architecture profession in the UK

Architecture is probably the oldest established design profession and serves as a model for
design in other professions and has, as a result, been described as the mother profession
within the family of design professions (Schn, 1983).
Prior to the mid-eighteenth century the majority of buildings were designed and built by
builders with no input from architects, who only tended to be engaged in the building and
design of major monuments such as churches and palaces. As there were no formal
institutions governing the architecture profession at this time, architects were trained in a
number of different fields including as craftsmen such as stonemasons, painters and
carpenters and as engineers.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) was established in 1834 by a number of
leading architects of the time with the aim of increasing, controlling and unifying standards
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of practice within the architecture profession (Lawson, 1980). Prior to this, there was no
established route for becoming an architect in the UK and wide variation in the type and
quality of education received by architects and, as a result, in standards of practice within
the profession (Crinson and Lubbock, 1994). The initial Royal Charter of RIBA (1837) set out
its main aims as the general advancement of Civil Architecture, and for promoting and
facilitating the acquirement of the knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected
therewith.
Over the next 100 years, RIBA played a central role in the development of professional
standards in the architecture profession, tightly regulating its members and requiring
extensive training to be completed before entering it to reflect the fact that it is a role that
requires judgement and an ethical responsibility to act on behalf of society (Duffy and
Rabeneck, 2013). By 1882, RIBA introduced compulsory qualifying examinations for its
members (Crinson and Lubbock, 1994) and these regulatory developments culminated in the
creation of the statutory Architects Registration Council of the United Kingdom and the
Board of Architectural Education by Parliament in the 1930s.
2.2 The role of architects in the UK

Sir John Soane wrote in 1788 that the role of the architect is to be the intermediate agent
between the employer, whose honour and interest he is to study and the mechanic whose
rights he is to defend (Darley, 1999). In defining the employer as the client and the
mechanic as the construction industry, he was arguing that an important role architects
need to play is exercising even-handed judgement between the desires of the demand side
what their clients want - and the constraints faced by the supply-side of the construction
industry what builders, craftsmen and suppliers can realistically deliver within the
resources available.
However the role of the architect changed significantly following the establishment of RIBA.
Architects increasingly restricted their activities to designing rather than making and were
often not directly connected with either the clients or makers. Once a design is produced,
they withdraw from the scene (Lawson, 1980).
RIBA (2005) require architects to apply high standards of skill, knowledge and care in all
their work (and) apply their informed and impartial judgment in reaching any decisions,
which may require members having to balance differing and sometimes opposing demands
(for example, the stakeholders interests with the communitys and the projects capital costs
with its overall performance).
An important question is whether we can be optimistic and trust architects professional
knowledge and their judgement about what makes for a successful design outcome.
Alexander (1964) challenged our optimistic response towards the traditional design
approach as well as the designers role and asked how drawing-based design processes
could replace centuries of adaptation and evolution embodied in vernacular products. He
proposed a method of structuring design problems that would allow designers to see a
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Min Hi Chun
graphical representation of the structure of non-visual problems. This required the whole
design process to become more open to inspection and critical evaluation.
More recently co-design approaches call on architects to facilitate users to act as codesigners in all stages of the design process and also to effectively collaborate with other
disciplines. These approaches are characterized by the way in which it cuts across traditional
professional boundaries and are based on the principle of not privileging the expertise of the
designer over that of the user.
2.3 Participatory architecture

The beginnings of the participatory design movement in the UK can be traced to at a
conference called Design Participation held by the Design Research Society in Manchester in
1971. Cross (1971) states in the book summarising the proceedings of the conference that
Professional designers in every field have failed in their assumed responsibility to predict
and to design-out the adverse effects of their projects. These harmful side effects can no
longer be tolerated and regarded as inevitable if we are to survive the futureThere is
certainly a need for new approaches to design if we are to arrest the escalating problems of
the man-made world and citizen participation in decision making could possibly provide a
necessary reorientation and later suggests that participation should not only be at the
moment of decision but also at the moment of idea generation (Cross, 1971).
The idea of user participation in architectural design with the aim of integrating users needs
and desires in the design and planning process has been around since 1960s. For example,
Walter Segal developed a method for self-build housing and demonstrated this in the UK
and Ireland. The Borough of Lewisham asked him to use his methods to design a self-build
social housing project with people who were on local housing list in 1978 ( Broome, 1986;
Blundell Jones, Petrescu and Till, 2009; Hofmann, 2014). Segals work also influenced the
participatory approaches used by Peter Hbner in designing school buildings in Germany and
also had an impact on the design of a student housing project at Stuttgart by students, the
Landau Cultural Centre and some other projects by Peter Sulzer (Blundell Jones et al., 2009).
Currently academia and design practices are evidencing more user participation in the
design process as predicted by Jungk (1971); for example, there is increasing stakeholder
engagement in planning and design healthcare building projects. In the past, user
engagement was limited to seeking external input at specially defined moments; more
recently its use has been expanded with more active user engagement throughout the
whole design process, asking users to express their subjective experience and knowledge
directly in the design process. These approaches are based on an assumption that the built
environment works more effectively if citizens are actively involved in its creation and
management instead of being treated as passive consumers (Sanoff, 2006).
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2.4 Typology
There are several different design approaches utilized in the built environment. Lawson
(1980) categorised them into three different types distinguished by methodological
differentiation in the design process: design by drawing; design by science; and collaborative
approaches. Duffy and Rabeneck (2013) identifies three approaches based on differences in
how architects prioritise the conflicting demands of clients, industry and the wider world:
shape makers (who prioritise aesthetics and innovation), serving commercial entities
(focusing on the look of new products) and collaborators with other professionals to
produce better buildings (focusing on improving the quality of designs through the
measurement of results). Samuel et al (2014) uses a similar means of classification to
identify three approaches: cultural architects aim to create iconic attractions that are built
around ideas that come from the world of art and performance; commercial architects
prioritise the requirements of business and advances business needs; and social architects
create environments to transform the way we feel and think by engaging people in the
design process.
As this paper will address the impact of co-design approach in the design process, Lawsons
classification of design approaches based on the methodologies used is more suitable.
3. Who designs?
As mentioned above, this paper will use Lawsons categorisation of design approaches
utilised in the built environment: design by drawing; design by science; and collaborative
approaches. It will compare these three different approaches across three dimensions: who
designs, what we design and how we design.
3.1 Design by drawing

In the design by drawing approach, architects and designers use their own knowledge and
experience to create buildings, beginning with abstract ideas and transforming them to
concrete physical formations through their cognitive design activities (Dursun, 2007;
Lawson, 1980; K Sailer, et al 2007). In this approach, the client and users have to respect the
authority of the architect and trust that the provided design option is the most effective one
because there is no way for them to objectively challenge a design. An architect, as a
professional with expert knowledge that their clients do not have, plays a manipulating role
in clients very risky, expensive long term investment while clients and users roles are very
limited and neglected in the entire process of designing and making the building (see Table
1).
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Min Hi Chun
Table 1 Actors role in the design process

Type
Architects role
Researcher
role
Concept of user in
design process
Real users role in

design process
Design by
drawing
Expert
No role
Imaginary user
No role
Design by
science
Expert
Translator
Informant
Informant
Expert/
Facilitator
Facilitator
Co-designer
Designer
Collaborative
approach
3.2 Design by science

Design by science approaches try to improve the utilitarian design of the building. They
provide more critical and objective evidence about the relationship between human
behaviour and spatial configuration to support the decision-making process of designers and
architects. But it gives space for designers and architects to evaluate notion between
functional matters and their creative development of building design.
Therefore architects and designers remain as experts, with researchers collecting and
interpreting human behaviour data in the existing setting which they bring to the designer
who then uses it to inform the creative development of their design. Thus clients and users
play a passive role in the design process as an informant users are involved in the process
but only indirectly through observation (see Table 1).
3.3 Collaborative approach

Collaborative approaches are based on a movement that cuts across traditional professional
boundaries (Sanoff, 2006). Users are involved in the creation and management of the design
rather than being treated as passive agents as in the other approaches. Users are asked to
express their experience and knowledge directly in a design process that does not privilege
the expertise of the designer over that of the user. As we can see from table 1, this
transforms the role of the designer into one of facilitator rather than expert, with users
playing an active role as a co-designer in the design process (see Table 1).
4. What do architects design?

The Dutch architect Hertzberger (1991) said that everything we do has consequences for
people and their relationshipsThe art of architecture is not only to make things beautiful
nor is it only to make useful things, it is to do both at once like a tailor who makes clothes
that look good and fit well. Similarly, Schn (1987) described the architecture profession as
bimodality between being a utilitarian profession concerned with the fundamental design
and construction of settings for human activity and an art that uses the form of buildings
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and the experience of passage through the spaces and media of aesthetic expression. Thus
the outcome being sought by architects are buildings that are both visually beautiful and
distinctive, and where the organisation of space within them make sense for users and allow
the building to effectively fulfil its purpose.

According to K Sailer., et al (2007), more traditional approaches (in Lawsons term design by
drawing) to building design are highly open and intuitive processes which leaves clients,
users and architects themselves uncertain about what the outcome will be. As described by
many scholars, the design process is a process of making (Schn, 1983), a trial-and-error
approach which is experimental in nature (Van Schaik, 2005) and based on learning by doing
where the problem and solution emerge together (Lawson, 1980). This means that it
requires highly professional judgement with architects using their experience and intuition
to create buildings that meet clients and users needs.
In the design process, architects are both using their subjective knowledge and experience
to create aesthetic value and using their understanding of utilitarian design to create
buildings that will effectively fulfil their purpose based on their professional judgement (see
Table 2).
Table 2 Design objectives and the type of space incorporated into the different approaches
Type
Design objective
Space
Design by drawing
Architects creative aesthetic

design
Architects subjective space
Design by science
Architects creative aesthetic

design & scientific utilitarian design
Architects subjective space &

Users objective space
Collaborative
approach
Architects & Users creative design
Architects & Users subjective

space
But an emerging question is what this professional judgement towards utilitarian design is
based on? If this critical judgment is based on the experience and intuition of the architect,
where does it come from and how do they acquire it? As mentioned earlier, the relationship
between architects and clients ends when the project finishes and they are not explicitly
looking backwards by carrying out systematic evaluations about how effectively their
previous projects met their design objectives once built. How then do architects make a
judgement about what works or not? The problem of more traditional design processes lies
in this uncertainty on architects professional judgement towards their design.

Scientific approaches are a response to this uncertainty about architects professional
judgement towards their design. They seek a more systematic evaluation of the success or
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Min Hi Chun
otherwise of building design by, for example, using data based on observations of collective
human behavioural in previous research, environment variables and spatial analysis.
Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) was developed in the 1970s as a method to analyse
efficiency and building performance which is widely used in facility management but was not
used in architectural research and design until relatively recently. Some Ergonomists and
workplace design practices started using POE to study existing clients environments to build
an evidence base about the spaces, behaviours and space usage patterns of that
organisation. This evidence is used to suggest design solutions that better fit the clients
character and needs rather than solely relying on the intuition and experience of the
individual designer (Jenso, M. Hansen, G K. Haugen, T, 2004; K Sailer, et al 2007; K Sailer,et al
2010).
Space Syntax takes this even further by using a mathematical description of spatial
configuration and collective human behaviour data to advise designers and architects at an
early stage in the design process as well as to predict the likely behaviour of building users if
the proposed design option goes ahead (K Sailer, et al 2008; K Sailer, et al 2010).
It seems that scientific approach is trying to contribute to the utilitarian design part of the
architects role. It provides more critical and objective evidence about the relationship
between human behaviour and spatial configuration to support the decision-making process
of designers and architects. But it also provides space for designers and architects to use
their professional judgement to make a trade-off between functional matters and their
creative development of the aesthetic components of building design (see Table 2).

In contrast to the indirect involvement of users through analysing data about human
behaviour in the built environment used in design by science approaches, collaborative
approaches try to overcome the problem in the briefing and the design process by involving
users directly in the design process through collaboration between architects, researchers,
clients and users. Users are actively engaged in all stages of the design process and asked to
express their subjective experience and knowledge directly. To do so, this approach quite
often includes a whole range of new techniques workshops, gaming and virtual reality
(Garde and van der Voort, 2009; Iversen and Dindler, 2014; Nilsson, et al 2011; Vaajakallio,
Lee, and Mattelmki, 2009) - to identify the crucial aspects of the problem or positive
aspects of the existing space and building, make them explicit, and suggest alternative
courses of action for comment by the non-designer participant (Lawson, 1980). Therefore it
is trying to incorporate users subjective space and building into architects subjective
aesthetic and utilitarian design (see Table 2).
A key question is how do architects, clients and users know how the design that emerges
from these processes will either make sense for users or allow the building to effectively
fulfil its functions? Further, how can architects be certain that their creations are visually
beautiful not only for themselves but for the building users, their clients and the wider
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public and are considered to do so over the life of the building? Finally, how can we be sure
that users themselves know what it is they really need from the space and the building?
As noted by Hillier (2004), it is very difficult to talk about our relationship with space in the
built environment as space is non-discursive and we do not have an adequate language to
describe it: we dont think of space, we think with space. This leaves a clear risk that the
result of co-design processes will be a building that the clients and stakeholders desire
rather than one they need as there is a strong chance that they do not understand exactly
what it is they need from space and buildings.
5. How architects design buildings: the briefing and design process

Building projects start with the client approaching someone for professional advice about
the possibility of creating a new building. The clients and the design team discuss general
information such as their requirements and the clients initial idea of what they want
(Tunstall, 2000). Architects then produce the building designs based on their understanding
of the situation and feed this back to the clients. For this purpose, architects generally
produce the drawings including plans, elevations, sections and rendered perspective
drawings by hand or Auto CAD. A three-dimensional real model of the building or a virtual
computer model often accompanies this.
However, according to Granath (2001), the communication with users and clients with
architectural objects is very hard as it is difficult to determine whether the suggested design
will really facilitate their future activities. This is due to the clients requirements and needs
often being affected by their familiarity with their current situation and the natural bias
towards the status quo that this leads to. The inadequacies of their existing arrangements
are often not recognized and change is resisted because their previous experience has
apparently not been bad or they have not been able to step back and look at their situation
dispassionately. Sometimes, even the good points or advantages of their situation are
obscured because they have been used to doing things in their own particular way (Tunstall,
2000).
As Collinge and Harty (2013) point out the briefing phase, gauging and understanding
stakeholder interests is often problematic for architects and it is often difficult to effectively
incorporate stakeholder communication into the design process.

The existence of these issues is not a recent problem. As mentioned earlier in this paper,
scholars such as Alexander (1964) pointed out the importance of developing more structures
and tools to allow designers to more effectively visualise design problems and sharpen their
conception of what the design process involves. This approach calls on the design process to
be more open to inspection and to critical and scientific evaluation.
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Min Hi Chun
Recently ergonomists developed evidence-based design approaches which use data about
collective human behaviour in the built environment to understand users needs and use
analysis based on this to support decision making process in the design process. These
approaches use various analytical tools and computer generated visualisations such as Space
Syntax, Social Network Analysis, pre-and post-occupancy evaluation and Generative Design.
There also have been significant developments in evidence-based healthcare design and
planning strategies in the NHS in the UK. For example, the NHS commissioned the
development of an evidence database and different design tools to support the design
process of NHS healthcare building projects, including ASPECT (A Staff/Patient Environment
Calibration Tool), AEDET (Achieving Excellence Design Evaluation Toolkit), IDEA (Inspiring
Design Excellence and Achievements) and more recently DQI (Design Quality Indicator) for
health for design quality improvement (Phiri, 2015).

In contrast to design by science approaches, collaborative approaches call on direct user
engagement in the design process to overcome the problems in the briefing and design
process faced when using design by drawing approaches. As Latham (1994) and Sanders and
Stappers (2008) suggested, users, clients and designers must discuss issues and solutions
together in the design process to produce better buildings.
This approach uses new techniques for better communication and engagement with clients
and users to generate new ideas and visualise future spaces and buildings. For example, an
on-site design festival event can be used to engage users and clients in generating ideas by,
for example, using post-it notes to collect suggestions on a large three dimensional model of
the project, issue lists to help people priorities concerns and possible solutions themselves,
and interactive media to record comments and analyse findings on a digital map and so on
(The Architecture Foundation, 2000). Techniques such as workshops, gaming and a virtual
reality setting are also applied to identify the crucial aspects of the problem or positive
aspects of the existing space and building, make them explicit, and suggest alternative
courses of action for comment by the non-designer participant (Lawson, 1980). It would
therefore claim to incorporate the user more closely in the process, and to not privilege the
expertise of the designer over that of the user (Lawson, 1980: p30).
6. Discussion
The architecture profession is both aiming to produce aesthetic value in the buildings they
design and organising the space within them to accommodate human activities. An architect
is both a creative artist who needs to design a building that is visually beautiful and
distinctive to other buildings to create originality and a utilitarian profession who needs to
create buildings that are able to accommodate human activities, make sense for the people
who use it and fulfil its functions effectively. The problem facing the architecture profession
is ensuring that both of these outcomes can be achieved, which is not certain to be the case
in the design by drawing approach.
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There have been a number of different developments in design approaches aiming to tackle
these issues, such as the design by science approaches and collaborative approaches
outlined in this paper.
In design by science approaches, researchers use a range of techniques to understand the
needs of users and architects and designers use this evidence about the objective
components of space and buildings to help ensure the buildings that they design fit the
people who will be using them. By doing this, these approaches try to bridge the uncertainty
about architects professional judgment towards their design and increase the clients trust
towards the design outcome for their expensive long-term investment.
In collaborative approaches, users are actively engaged in the design process to incorporate
their perceptual and cognitive evaluations of space and buildings. These approaches use a
range of techniques to allow users to express their subjective spatial experience and desires.
By doing this, users subjective conceptions of space and building are incorporated into the
design process. The question is why this subjectivity matters: both what it can add to the
design process and the potential risks that using such approaches could give rise to in how
effectively the building fulfils its functions.
There is growing emphasis on the impact of the built environment on subjective wellbeing,
for instance, in spatial design of housing for ageing populations. As Halpern (1995)
mentioned, the ability to control the environment is of great importance as the negative
impact of environmental stressors is greatly reduced when people feel that they have
control over them. The involvement of people is important not only because of the
acceptability of final decisions but also because the process of involvement itself. Samuel et
al (2014) also state that the importance of process-orientated participatory practice for
wellbeing and stressed that participatory practice is a key part of the architects role.
However, this approach shifts a focus from the role of the building itself and its design
quality to the design process and the performance of the organisation that uses the building,
meaning that the focus is often on the integration between the design of built space,
technical systems and organisation of work (Granath, 2001; Mills., et al 2015).
7. Conclusions and next steps

This paper explored the challenges faced in implementing co-design approaches to building
design. It explored the impact that co-design approaches have on the role of actors, the
design outcomes and tools and methods by comparing it with other approaches. The paper
found that there are at least three significant challenges involved in using co-design
approaches to design a building.
Firstly, there are challenges in managing the changing role of actors in co-design approaches
compared with more traditional approaches. The architecture profession is highly skilled and
qualifying to become an architect requires extensive training and subject to the successful
completion of a number of examinations need to be passed with the aim of ensuring that all
architects are able to exercise good professional judgement and their ethical responsibility
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Min Hi Chun
to act on behalf of society. If co-design approaches are to be successful, architects need to

be able to effectively integrate users lived experience with their own professional
judgement on functional matters to be able to create buildings that can effectively fulfil their
functions. A further question is what kind of skills architects need to successfully co-design a
building with users and how that differs to that required in more traditional approaches?
Secondly, there are challenges for architects and designers in deciding which of the various
tools and methods developed in participatory architecture to use at different design stages 1
and for different types of project. According to Sanders and Stappers (2014) there are three
different types of participatory method - cultural probes, toolkits and prototypes and these
are aiming for different outcomes and are used at different stages of the design process. For
example probes and toolkits are for the early stage of the design process, and prototypes
are used in the design and construction stage of the process.
Thirdly, there are challenges in ensuring that a high-quality design outcome is achieved in
co-design approaches. As this approach tends to focus less attention on the role of the
building itself and its design quality, how can architects and designers involved in the project
manage the design quality and ensure they discharge their professional responsibility to
create buildings that can effectively fulfil their functions.
A number of further challenges can also be identified. For example, it may be difficult for
architects to manage the input of different users into the design process where there is
conflict between different user groups. The co-design process would be relatively
straightforward if there is one user group (e.g. in a house building project) but more
complicated if there are several different user groups in the same building project with
conflicting needs, (e.g. in a hospital building). Deciding how to prioritise different user
interests where they are in conflict with one another and trade them off against each other
is a difficult task. Another challenge is ensuring that those users who are engaged in the
design process and the opinions they express are representative of the entire user group.
This paper explored the challenges faced in implementing co-design approaches to building
design through reviewing the literature around the development of the architecture
profession and by comparing different design approaches. The questions that are raised
here will be explored further through a case study of user-engagement in a hospital design
project.
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my reviewers for their very helpful comments
and advice on earlier drafts of this paper.
8. References
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1
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quality: an evidence-based strategy. Building Research and Information, 43(February 2016), 499
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Nilsson, B., Peterson, B., Holden, G., & Eckert, C. (2011). Design Med Omtanke: Participation and
sustainability in the design of public sector buildings. Design Studies, 32(3), 235254.
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Phiri, M. (2015). Design Tools for Evidence-Based Healthcare Design. Routledge.
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Research in Design.
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and practical reflections of an emerging approach in office architecture. Retrieved from
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Min Hi Chun
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About the Author:

Min Hi Chun is a doctoral researcher at the University of Reading
carrying out research in user engagement in hospital building design
projects.
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SECTION 12
DESIGN PROCESS
Form as an abstraction of mechanism

Lewis Urquhart* and Andrew Wodehouse
University of Strathclyde
*lewis.urquhart@strath.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.78
Abstract: There is an emergent body of research linking the nature of form to design,
functionality and user experience. This paper builds on these recent studies to
propose a new approach connecting conceptual-design with advanced
manufacturing techniques. Using the properties of work materials and advanced
forming manufacturing processes, radical approaches to design and production could
be open to designers and engineers, offering novel modes of user experience. By
firstly reviewing the literature on product form and its bond with the concepts within
the fields of user interaction and user experience, a number of functional
mechanisms are introduced that could potentially be integrated into this new and
more homogeneous manufacturing framework.
Keywords: Form, materials, interaction, manufacturing
1. Background
Modern manufacturing technology presents designers and engineers exciting possibilities in
the expression of form and function. Prominent examples include increasing sophistication
of computer numerically controlled (CNC) forming technology, incremental sheet forming
and 3D printing technologies. These processes present very good capabilities in terms of
geometric forming options particularly 5 axis CNC milling machine configurations, which
have the ability to create complex freeform surfaces directly applicable to many consumer
products. Despite the manufacturing parameters being relatively well understood, what is
less closely considered within the design research community is how these processes can be
used to produce particular product experiences for the user. The central aim of this work is
to address this by proposing a new framework for manufacturing practices where
mechanism and functionality can be articulated through form and material properties.
Bridging the gulf between design knowledge and the more technical knowledge associated

with manufacturing engineering, potentially creating novel experiences for the users of
products.
User experience (UX) is an area of research that is still being developed and systematised
(Vermeeren, Law, & Roto, 2010). Previously, a designer was said only to deal with the
aesthetic elements of a product and plan how to construct its form. For the great designer
and artist Bruno Munari, a designer was a mediator between art and society (Munari,
1966). Recent developments suggest this view is shifting somewhat changing to a product
interaction perspective, where the success or failure of a product rests on its interaction and
experiential qualities. Interaction design (ID) is the process of designing whereby the user
interaction with the product is expressly focused upon and enhanced. The modern
approach was pioneered by Bill Moggridge in the 1980s, developing concurrently with
advances in computer technology, encompassing not just interaction with physical objects
but elements of human-computer interaction (Moggridge, 2007). The developing Computer
Aided Design (CAD) technology additionally allowed designers to experiment with form and
function in different ways, to some extent expanding the control the designer had. It can be
argued that CAD technology has had a significant impact on the development of ID by
facilitating advanced processes such as CNC machining and additive manufacturing
expanding the lexicon of form that could be feasibly manufactured. Form, however must be
meaningfully defined in order to understand this process fully.
2. Defining form
Form is an abstract concept and is thus difficult to define absolutely. Generally it can be
described as the geometric boundaries of a particular object. More specifically, form can be
abstracted to an idea known as curvature continuity. Curvature continuity is a geometric
concept that makes up part of the theories of smoothness in mathematical analytics. What
is called G-0 continuity is positional, where two surfaces share a single defined edge. G-1
continuity is tangent where the surfaces share an edge but there is no discernible break in
the transition from one surface to the next. G-2 continuity, or curvature continuity is
defined by surface planes having equivalent rates of curvature before joining in this way
the points of surface transition become theoretically undefinable (Foster & Halbstein, 2014).
Figure 1 illustrates the differences between the geometric structures, listed as C0, C1 and C2
respectively. These geometrical definitions are a ubiquitous feature of CAD programming.
Figure 1: Curvature continuity, taken from A Periodic Table of Form (Holland, 2009)
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In an objective sense, the C2 curve has the smoothest surface. This has been directly related
to design within the framework of concinnity. Two types of concinnity are considered,
objective which speeds the process of pattern finding or intelligibility of interacting with a
product form example and subjective defined as logical emotional cues that speed up the
mental processing of an objects meaning (Coates, 2014). A sphere can be said to have the
maximum amount of objective concinnity in a three-dimensional environment given its
bilateral symmetry across any central axis (Coates, 2003).
2.1 Relating form to design

Some methods have chosen to take an emotive approach to the construction of form in the
knowledge that successful products engage the user at an emotional level (Crilly, Moultrie, &
Clarkson, 2004). At the cognitive level, emotions serve as an adaptive function that can be
affected by interaction with form this event is conceptualised as an appraisal (Arnold,
1960). Over the past three decades, research has accumulated illustrating the importance of
form in the context of user experience and how successful products are economically (see
Bloch, 1995). Recent work has suggested that the form of an object articulates interaction
aesthetics and interaction affordances (Xenakis & Arnellos, 2013). The interaction
aesthetic influences the selection of best action possibilities with respect to an objects
characteristics through a process of dynamic presupposition of interaction.
3. Relationships with User Experience

3.1 Historical context
Form and function have a very close relationship in design one often informing the other.
The radical design philosophies of the Bauhaus school in 1920s Germany tried to purge the
notion of the form informing the function in any sense, dogmatically committed to the
rationalist idea that form must follow the function (Droste & Bauhaus-Archiv, 2002). What is
ironic is the powerful aesthetic that emerged from the Bauhaus and other modernist
movements the pieces became more recognised as articulations in form than an
expression of function. Many design movements throughout the history of mass produced
consumer goods have influenced aspects of what has come to be known as user experience.
The iconic Burgon and Ball, Drummer Boy sheep shears of 1730 (Figure 2), a design which
has remained largely unchanged for over 270 years, are an excellent example of innovation
that delivered a uniquely functional user experience. Industrial developments in metal
forming in early 18th century England meant that sheet metal could be manipulated in such a
way as to induce elastic feedback through hot rolling techniques. The function was in many
ways derived from the form. Interestingly, it is the manufacturing process and material
properties that allow the form to be expressed at all. The processes can be seen as a
harbinger of functional and usability potential. A similar effect can be seen in the work of
the Bauhaus school two centuries later through the work of two of its most prominent
designers.
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Figure 2: Burgon and Ball sheep shears, circa 1730
Marcel Bruer and Mies van der Rohn created some of the most radical chair designs ever
seen by utilising the new tubular steel components. Bruers Model B32 chair for example
used a revolutionary cantilever support to carry the weight of the sitter (Fiell & Fiell, 1999).
Van der Rohns chair from the same period used a similar principle (Figure 3). Of
fundamental importance is how these new expressions of form delivered distinct avenues of
user experience underpinned by particular interactive elements. Also shown is David
Mellors 700 series chair produced almost fifty years later, illustrating the lasting influence of
the Bauhaus schools techniques.
Figure 3: Marcel Bruer, Cesca armchair, 1925 (left) Mies van der Rohn, MR chair, 1927 (middle), David
Mellor, Abacus 700 series chair, 1975 (right)
3.2 Interactions in design

Form can express particular interaction properties; the Burgon and Ball sheep shears for
instance (functionally) relied heavily on elastic feedback which was quite directly defined by
the form of the sheet metal. The study and application of Interaction Design have since
influenced a huge number of consumer products. The principle is presented as a five
dimensional model: 1) Words, representing semantics or meaning of the users interaction;
2) Visual representations, referring to elements that are not within a product, mainly
graphics and typography; 3) Physical object or space, referring to the tangible means of
control i.e. mechanical controls or digital interfaces; 4) Time, simply how much time the user
spends during a given interaction; 5) Behaviour, defined as the users reactions to particular
interaction elements implicit within a design (Moggridge, 2007).
The five dimensions have applications across different fields and for different product types,
digital systems as opposed to mechanical components for example. One of the central
concepts is kinetic feedback. In a mechanical sense, feedback has been shown to be hugely
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important with respect to user interaction with products. Some work has shown for
example how simple haptic feedback mechanisms using vibration can help guide a user to
greater understanding of the product (Rogers, Sharp, & Preece, 2011). A notable example is
a device developed dubbed the MusicJacket that uses this principle to help prospective
musicians learn the violin (van der Linden, Schoonderwaldt, Bird, & Johnson, 2011). Other
work has used haptic feedback to improve keyboard typing experiences, considering user
behaviours and not simply functional aspects of the design (Wu & Smith, 2015).
3.3 Form and affordances

The concept of affordance has a close connection to form, interaction and geometrical
relationships. With respect to the physical form of an object, research has focused on how
users attribute meaning to a geometric structure. This was originally conceptualised by
James Gibson in the 1970s as part of his work on visual perception. Gibson described an
affordance as action possibilities latent in an object or environment (Gibson, 1979).
Norman (1988) and Gaver (1991) additionally expanded the concept. Norman describes two
categories of affordance; real and perceived. Real affordances are physical characteristics
that allow some kind of operation as opposed to perceived affordances which are visual
clues regarding how a device or object is used (Norman, 1988). Gavers work, alternatively
proposes four situations of affordance; perceptible affordance, false affordance, correct
rejection and hidden affordances (Gaver, 1991). This framework is illustrated below in
Figure 4 a fully perceptible and true affordance is one where an affordance exists and
there is information available to establish this truth.
Figure 4: Situations of affordance adapted (Gaver 1991)
The concept has continued to be explored extensively in a design context partly due to the
prominence the graphical interface now has in modern civilisation. The graphical interface
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and indeed, its relationship with physical components will be an important consideration for
future designers. Norman (1999) points out for example that there are both logical and
physical constraints associated with affordances, understanding of which will be valuable.
The concept of affordances in design can generally be seen as a critical component in any
functional interaction and has implications for any theories of interaction and form.
3.4 Eliciting emotion

As described earlier, emotions serve as a form of adaptive function that can be affected by
interactions with objects. More specifically, an appraisal event is defined as a response to
both an objects form and function, acting as a precursor to an emotional reaction (Frijda,
1986). Research work in this area has been growing steadily in recent decades (Desmet &
Hekkert, 2014). Seminal work by Norman for example has proposed three forms of
emotional design; the visceral, the behavioural and the reflective (Norman, 2004). Other
models have focused on a number of key parameters that emotive response is a function of;
appraisal, concern, product and emotion (Desmet, 2003). Principally, it is clear that the
users emotive experience of a designed system can have a profound effect on the overall
success of a product.
Alberto Mantillas salt and pepper shakers (Figure 5) are a paradigmatic example of emotion
used to enhance a product experience with the form explicitly expressing love and
compassion. One study has proposed that positive emotive responses can be derived from
how the form relates to the function. If, it is suggested, the form seems to articulate
exciting features, then the design will have a more positive response at the emotional
level, inducing a so called WOW! response from the user (Desmet, Porcelijn, & van Dijk,
2005).
Figure 5: Hug Salt & Pepper Shakers, Alberto Mantilla
4. Defining functional interactions

A number of examples have been explored in the previous sections concerning how form
can influence and in some cases define the function of a product. Modern technological
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products rely heavily on a large range of mechanistic structures in order to function fully.
For example, the push-button - despite being a ubiquitous electro-mechanical component
has only come to prominence over the last century where huge arrays of consumer goods
started to require systems of mechanical feedback. By looking at a range of consumer
products, this section will identify a number of tangible mechanical/functional interactions
that play important roles in modern design and have since acquired some cultural
significance.
4.1 Interaction mediums and mechanisms

By broadly examining a small range of consumer products, it is clear that mechanistic
structures and components play a significant role in the nature of modern design. This
section will identify a range of discrete interaction mechanisms and mediums and
deconstruct their respective significance in a user interaction context. Other work has
already gone some length to categorise distinct functional controls understood from the
perspective of affordances (You & Chen, 2007) but, it is limited to the deconstruction of a
single product with multiple command switches (stereo cassette recorder). The approach
taken here will look at a wider range of products from a more functionalist perspective.
Four distinct interaction mechanism classes were identified; pressing configurations, folding
configurations, twisting or turning configurations and compressible configurations.
4.1.1 Pressing configurations
One of the most commonly seen mechanisms within consumer products and industrial
technology is a pressing mechanism. The push-button has become a ubiquitous component,
universally understood as You & Chen (2007) put it, the structure of the object has
pressability. This relates to Gavers (1991) framework for affordances; a button displays
perceptual information, intelligible to a user, and presents an affordance opportunity
creating a real perceptible affordance. Below shows a small sample of consumer products in
which button-like mechanisms play an important role (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Buttons used in consumer products (Clockwise from top left Apple iPod, Nokia push-button
mobile telephone, standard calculator interface, emergency stop button, Toshiba laptop
keyboard)
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As a mechanical and electrical component, the button is incredibly modular taking on a huge
variety of forms. It has been suggested that the form of a push button, when recognised,
has distinct semantic meaning depending on its configuration within a product structure or a
piece of information that explains what the button does (a play or pause symbol for
example). In understanding the form of the object, a user can then manipulate it
accordingly and receive feedback of a certain form (Krippendorff & Butter, 1984). The
extent of the buttons cultural significance can be seen in the prevalence of skeuomorphic
design archetypes where a digital interface might mimic real-world objects (Derboven, De
Roeck, & Verstraete, 2012).
4.1.2 Folding configurations
Collapsibility and space saving features are a common trait in many modern day products.
The furniture manufacturers Ikea for instance aim to flat pack all of their designs. The ability
to fold to either adapt the form of an object for functional reasons or as a space saving
measure can be a vital characteristic for the success of a design. At Figure 7 a variety of
folding structures are displayed. One of the most commonly used examples of a folding
structure is that of the modern laptop computer. Due to the demands of modern-day work,
computing power needed to be portable. The simple fold down the middle of the product,
usually facilitated by a simple hinge mechanism allows the computers total surface area to
reduce by half. This effect is seen more radically in the case of collapsible chairs, lamps or
perambulators which can reduce in size by approximately three quarters.
Figure 7: Folding mechanisms used in consumer products (Left to right Anglepoise lamp, Apple
Macbook computer, spectacles collapsing)
Notably, the folding structure of these products in many ways articulates the form of the
product. In a collapsed state, the form is latent within the object. When a book, a lamp or a
chair is manipulated or unfolded, a new form is articulated that also provides a function for
the user, new affordance options and windows of user experience.
4.1.3 Turning configurations
Variety in component and product form can be associated with distinct meanings and
distinct emotions for the user (Desmet, 2012). Turning or twisting structures are often used
within the design of electronic interfaces to articulate specific functions or produce a subtle
emotional experience, a volume control dial often uses a twisting mechanism as opposed to
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a button push for example. A number of examples are shown at Figure 8. The twisting of a
digital camera lens creates functional feedback in the form of focusing the image that the
user is observing through the screen interface. Similarly, the turning of a door knob
facilitates the door opening or the turning of knobs on an instrument amplifier will alter
aspect of the soundwaves produced. Turning mechanisms are also used as a directional
modulator in robotic automation systems or TV and computer monitors for example.
Figure 8: Twisting mechanisms used in consumer products (Left to right Nikon SLR digital camera
focusing, turning door knob, instrument amplifier knobs)
4.1.4 Compressible configurations

Compressibility is an essential element of many products, although it is seen less often than
pressing or folding structures. The principle elements are object change, movement or
deformation caused by a certain mechanical event. An armchair for example achieves
particular aspects of its function by allowing its structure to compress when a weight is
applied. Other examples shown at Figure 9 derive their function purely from the ability to
compress and manipulate their forms in particular ways when a small amount of
compressive force is applied to open scissors, the product will facilitate cutting, and similarly
a stapler will complete a mechanical operation that releases a staple when a compressive
force is applied.
Figure 9: Compressive mechanisms used in consumer products (Left to right Biro pen release
mechanism, scissors, latch mechanism on a bag strap, stapler)
There are other examples that could be examined within the classes of functional
mechanisms in addition to the examples explored in the previous sections. These were
selected on the basis that they are very commonly seen in a wide range of consumer goods.
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This goes some way to help categorise distinct functional characteristics that have a strong
connection to user interaction, and these are summarised in Table 1.
Table 1: Summary of interaction classes
Class of Interaction
Characteristics
Product examples
Pressable configurations
Movement or deformation of
the component structure
Push-buttons; mobile phones,

cameras, computer
keyboards, music devices,
interface systems
Folding configurations
Collapsibility of the structure,

modulation in shape following
an axial plane
Anglepoise lamps, books,

laptop computers, folding
chairs
Turning configurations
Component can rotate around a

central axis
Camera lens focus, door

handle, water taps, hi-fi
volume control
Components can be squeezed

together or deformed to
achieve a particular end
Seating, scissors, staplers,

springs
Compressible configurations
4.2 Linking form to manufacturing processes

What is noticeable about the examples cited in section 4.1 is in most cases the mechanistic
structure has only been delivered through the combination of discrete component parts. In
a sense the structure or form of the object is not fully homogeneous a function cannot be
produced from the form alone but relies on an assemblage of components. Attempting to
abstract mechanism, or an assemblage that produces mechanism by purely using material
properties and advanced processing techniques is beginning to be explored in both the
practical design world and within academia.
One study has explored emotion and interaction in design by exploiting elastic properties of
the manufacturing materials - using elastic movement as a means of emotional expression
(Niedderer, 2012). The study focuses on manipulating silver through advanced laser welding
techniques to enhance its elastic or spring-like properties facilitated by the silvers relatively
low modulus of elasticity. Niedderer (2012), using design emotion focused work from other
authors, creates three variations of a design for a fruit bowl each one utilising the
aforementioned elastic properties in distinct ways, but in each, the essential property of
elasticity articulates the function of the product.
Similar work by Neri Oxman (2012) has proposed a much more technical approach to design
where the production materials have adaptive functions, created in a single 3D-printing
process. The approach is named Material Computation and presents a radical approach to
form finding by utilising digital analysis of material properties as a function of environmental
and structural performance (Oxman, 2012). One of the prototypes Oxman has developed is
a chaise longue named Beast produced using an advanced multi-material 3D printing
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process where the form becomes adaptable to the user, relieving pressure at key
compression points.
4.3 The possibilities within advanced manufacturing processes

This work has focused on a number of important aspects in design, namely form, function
and interaction potential latent within the structure of products. However, as stated
previously, these interaction qualities usually are derived from an assemblage of smaller
component parts as opposed to a more homogeneous structure. Niedderer (2012) and
Oxman (2012) have shown some of the potential for applying advanced material
understanding and state-of-the-art processes to achieve new expressions in form. This
section will explore the possibilities within advanced manufacturing technology, opening
new avenues of form and function. The design phenomenon can be illustrated graphically,
where the production process becomes the route or medium of form creation (Figure 10).
The character of the form then leading to particular interaction qualities that affect the user.
Figure 10: Proposed design framework
4.3.1 Additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is one of the most exciting new technologies that is being studied
today. It is of particular interest here given its scope in terms of form creation. The process
gradually builds a component in layers giving it excellent geometric potential. There are a
huge variety of additive manufacturing processes each with weaknesses and strengths.
However, in the context of this study some variants have the potential for strong interaction
qualities novel approaches that are not feasible given other techniques. Multi-material
additive manufacturing for instance has a huge amount of potential. The principal quality is
the ability to vary material properties where materials can be functionally graded, varying in
hardness, flexibility, stiffness, surface texture and colour with the LENS additive process for
example (Gao et al., 2015). Exploiting these processes has successfully produced radical
pieces of art and multi-component assemblies with compliant (component-less) joints
(Meisel, Gaynor, Williams, & Guest, 2013). Additional features include the printing of fully
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functioning electrical assemblies such as integrated circuits, sensors and other components
with piezoelectric properties (Gao et al., 2015).
4.3.2 Computer Numerical Control
Manufacturing systems utilising Computer Numerical Control (CNC) range in uses and
complexity. Two process have been identified that utilise CNC techniques machining and
Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) which are of interest in this study. The geometric and
functional potential of both of these processes have not been explored fully. ISF process is
newer and by its nature less predictable, but could potentially offer a broad range in terms
of geometric forming options and embedded functional behaviour. In the case of
machining, the process has a foundation in positional geometry where a cutting tool is
commanded by a computer programme to perform a particular operation in a specifically
defined special location (Madison, 1996). A cutting tool can work in multiple axes depending
on machine configuration and this presents significant geometrical control for
manufacturers, including the creation of freeform complex surfaces (Lasemi, Xue, & Gu,
2010). This offers interaction opportunities in the construction of metal components in
particular. Would it be possible to machine very finely a component and achieve functional
characteristics from its form?
ISF differs fundamentally in not being a subtractive process but uses gradual deformation in
sheet metal to form parts. ISF machines are typically integrated with CNC systems and are
capable of producing extremely complex geometries in sheet metal although the process is
constrained by shear stress properties of the work metals (Bambach, Cannamela, Azaouzi,
Hirt, & Batoz, 2007). One research effort, focusing on the formability of aluminium using ISF
has been carried out concluding that the formability of a sheet depends greatly on the
material strain path (Shim & Park, 2001). Similar work has tested uniformity of sheet metal
thicknesses and created a theoretical model of thickness strain distribution post forming
(Kim & Yang, 2000). The study used complex geometries akin to freeform surfaces to test
the validity of the model and was able to derive an accurate picture of strain distribution,
this is shown below where the darker sections indicate higher strain forces (Figure 11).
Might it be possible to isolate regions of a sheet metal using ISF to create mechanistic
features, elastic flexibility in specified areas that have been subjected to a specific strain
distribution for example?
Figure 11: Strain distribution on section of formed part using varying ISF forming methods (Kim &
Yang, 2000)
1964
5. Towards abstracting mechanism into form

A number of interactive mechanisms were identified that are commonly seen in modern
consumer products including pressable, folding, turning and compressible structures. Firstly
considering pressable structures - as detailed earlier the most common example of this
phenomenon is the push-button. With respect to the framework introduced, what we must
ask here is whether advanced processes can be used to create the mechanistic properties of
a button in a single material the mechanism latent within the form of the component. Two
examples have been proposed and are shown below (Figure 12), using thin-walled structures
to induce flex characteristics. Using materials with distinct properties such as a low elastic
modulus, particular forms using defined form guidelines like the three modes of curvature
continuity described in section 2 - could be created that would potentially exhibit
mechanistic qualities. Structures similar to the ones presented could conceivably be created
using any of the advanced manufacturing processes mentioned in section 4.3 and
experimental work would be required to determine which form, material and which process
would give positive results. The proposed pressable structures shown at Figure 12 could
conceivably be manufactured a number of ways. Subtraction from a piece of solid material
(metal or plastics) would present challenges in terms of attaining thin walled cross sectional
areas but may be the most economically viable option. The parts could also be made by
additive manufacturing or using ISF, however, these pose respective problems in terms of
structural integrity of the work materials and geometric capability of the process (see
Ceretti, Giardini, & Attanasio, 2004 for more detail). Such an experiment would be valuable,
both to test the capabilities of CNC technology and also to examine the functional
characteristics of the formed components.
Figure 12: Pressable structures
Foldable structures were the second interaction mechanism identified. Creating a

homogeneous part that can fold in the manner of a hinge poses some fundamental
problems mostly in terms of fatigue life. Multi-material 3D printing has the potential to
create such structures as has already been demonstrated by Meisel and others (2013) with
the development of compliant joints. Subtractive CNC machining methods could also be
applied here and such a study (especially with a focus on metal machining) would be a
worthwhile conceptual examination. The concepts in Figure 13 could theoretically fold over
themselves but would need to be carefully considered structurally and mechanically. It can
be envisioned that a structure similar to those shown would replace the casing of a laptop
computer; making the object more homogeneous, a function latent within the form.
1965
Figure 13: Folding structures
Lastly, compressible structures and turning structures were proposed as interaction

mechanisms. These forms pose some challenges and are not as frequently seen amongst
consumer products. With respect to compressible structures, it is proposed that something
akin to a folding structure, subtracted from a piece of solid material using CNC machining
methods could conceivably create a compressible structure (see Figure 14a). Such a
component would pose challenges in terms of fatigue life, but an investigation examining
the use of different materials and form variations may be worth considering. Multi-material
additive manufacturing could facilitate a turning mechanism of some description.
Considering the bottom image Figure 14b, if a component part was manufactured using an
additive process with a flexible material variant positioned centrally, a simple twisting or
turning movement could be achieved. There is scope to utilise these formations in sectors
such as consumer electronics, reducing parts and making available novel forms of interaction
for the user of a device. Additive manufacturing techniques are also suited to creating
compressible structures if a component had gradations in structural hardness, discrete
compressible sections could potentially become part of a larger homogeneous structure.
Figure 14: Compressible (a) and turning (b) structures
1966
6. Conclusions
This paper initially examined the literature concerning the theories of form and user
experience and introduced a categorisation of differing interaction modes with consumer
products by focusing on a number of key mechanisms. These types of interactions were
categorised as a function of a reliant mechanism and defined as configurations that
facilitated a particular user interaction; pressable configurations, folding configurations,
turning configurations and compressible configurations.
From here an examination of several state-of-the-art processes was carried out. There was
an explicit focus on processes that provided excellent geometric capabilities (CNC machining
and additive techniques) and those that could very directly change the properties of the
workpiece (ISF and multi-material additive techniques). With respect to these
manufacturing techniques, a number of form explorations were proposed with the aim of
creating mechanistic but homogeneous structures from forming material in a particular way.
Pressable structures that flex and deform could be produced using a very accurate CNC
machining process or ISF. It was proposed folding structures could be created with accurate
CNC processes, however the geometric structure would have to be considered very carefully
and both compressible and turning forms could be created using additive techniques,
producing homogeneous mechanistic configurations.
More work is needed in this area of engineering. The relationship between materials, key
manufacturing processes and form is too often ignored. We therefore propose focusing
primarily on how variations in form and manufacturing process can enhance design
functionality and user experience. Successfully integrating these would expand the lexicon
of design understanding and the possibilities within the engineering of mechanisms.
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7.1 Image references

Images sources online with permissions are as follows, including the image description and the
source site;
- Burgon and Ball sheep shears:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/ideal-instruments-burgon-ball-sheepshears?cm_vc=-10005 (with permission from Burgeon and Ball)
-
Marcel Bruer B32 chair:

http://www.knoll.com/ (with permission from Knoll)
Mies van der Rohn armchair:

http://www.knoll.com/ (with permission from Knoll)
David Mellor chair:

With permission from and provided by David Mellor Design
Hug salt and pepper shakers:

With permission from and provided by Alberto Mantilla
All other images are either original photos or drawings by the authors or taken from freely available
stock photographs. All images are free for commercial and personal use, do not infringe on any
copyright and are sourced from the following online sites;
- https://www.pexels.com/
The images sourced are as follows; Apple Macbook
-
http://www.freeimages.com/
The images sourced are as follows; Apple iPod, Nokia phone, standard calculator, emergency stop
button, modern scissors, stapler, Nikon camera, instrument amplifier
1969
About the Authors:

Lewis Urquhart is an Engineering Doctorate student in the
department of Design Manufacture and Engineering Management.
His research primarily focuses on unifying manufacturing engineering
with understanding in user experience and design interaction.
Andrew Wodehouse is a Senior Lecturer with research interests in
product interaction, creativity and design innovation. He has led
EPSRC, AHRC, KTP and Carnegie Trust projects across these areas.
1970
Integrating Nanotechnology in the Design Process:

An Ethnographic Study in Architectural Practice in
Egypt
Ramy Bakira* and Sherif Abdelmohsenb,c
a
Arab Academy for Science and Technology

The American University in Cairo
C
Ain Shams University
* ramy.bakir@gmail.com
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.133
b
Abstract: Design and building technology are widely separated in the architectural
professional practice, an issue often discernible in developing countries. Architects
mostly acknowledge building materials and technology as facilitators for design near
final design stages; a process that might dismiss many of the benefits that could have
been attained were it engaged early on within a framework of informed
appropriation of technology. This paper presents the findings of an ethnographic
study that investigates how this gap could be bridged by means of understanding
how nanotechnology both as process and product affects designers rationale
early on in the design process. The study provides a thick description of the design
decision making process of a group of architects working on a residential project in
an architectural firm in Egypt, and how it was affected by nanotechnology design
knowledge at early design stages.
Keywords: Integrated Design Process; Nano-enhanced applications; Architectural Practice
in Egypt; Ethnography
Introduction
Nano-enhanced applications have been affecting the field of building technology for nearly
two decades now, and have ever since been responsible for enhancements that overarch
several crucial architectural attributes, such as structural engineering (Bartos, et al 2004),
aesthetics (Ritter 2006), safety (Leydecker 2008), and environmental performance (Bakir
2013). Such applications were developed based on nanoscience and nanotechnology, and
have been used in numerous buildings worldwide, and even in developing countries in Africa
(Bakir 2011). These enhancements were feasible due to the ability to control matter on the
molecular scale. This allowed nano-enhanced materials to be tailored from the bottom-up,
hence crossing the fundamental limits of the traditional top-down material creation
approach (Leydecker 2008), enduing designed artefacts with enhanced performances.
Research in both material science and architecture has widely discussed these direct gains
and properties (Zhong 2012). The scope of such research however primarily addresses
applications and their use in construction (Bittnar, et al 2009), and/or the benefits gained in
performance (Torgal and Jalali 2011). There is little focus on understanding the impact of a
more efficient integration of nano-enhanced applications at early design stages.
This paper attempts to provide a thick description of the design decision making process to
understand how nanotechnology both as process and product affects architects design
decisions, with the ultimate goal of understanding the relationship between technology and
design as a whole. We investigate how the injection of nanotechnology design knowledge in
early concept design stages affects decision making by conducting an ethnographic study
involving members of an architectural firm in Cairo, Egypt.
With limited access to archival data and research pertaining to the current state of
architectural practice in Egypt, it was imperative to conduct a qualitative study to establish a
clear and grounded understanding of the day-to-day practices in architectural firms and the
rationale behind design decision making upon introducing nano-enhanced applications in
early design stages.
Case Study and Approach

The case study chosen for this investigation had to fulfill specific criteria to be considered as
a representative sample. First the design firm had to have an established process of design,
while willing to participate in a study that requires interventions from outside researchers. It
was anticipated that these interventions would represent a burden on participants timewise due to the frequent presentations by the authors, let alone the cultural acceptance of
being monitored during day-to-day practice. As for project typology, a large residential
project was chosen to represent the substantially larger portion of current construction
work in Egypt, which is mostly built by developers.
Accordingly, the selected design firm was a firm that was established in 2008 as part of an
international network launched in 1997 in Doha, Qatar. The Cairo office had developed since
2008 into a mid-size multidisciplinary design firm with nearly 30 personnel, providing
consultancy services in urban design and landscape, architectural design, and interior design,
for different projects in Egypt and the region.
The selected project was a 10-storey residential building with a total area of nearly
31,000m, on a plot of 5,200m. The client was a well-established real-estate developer who
contracted the firm to design a project in the Nasr City area in Cairo, Egypt. The client sought
a project with a new approach that would allow them to compete in the market for
high/middle-income buyers.
1972
Integrating Nanotechnology in the Design Process
The study started with the pre-concept stage after contract preparation, where the client
requested two alternatives for plot utilization; one as an integrated residential complex with
shared facilities, and the other as segregated stand-alone buildings. Each proposal was
assigned to a senior architect, with a special project coordinator assigned to the team to
facilitate client interface. The research was initiated upon launching the pre-concept phase
of the project, where most of the beneficial impact of nanotechnology was anticipated, due
to the flexibility and creativity at this stage.
Data Collection Procedures

This study adopted ethnographic field observation and interviewing as a strategic qualitative
methodology (Fischer and Finkelstein 1991) to understand the impact of nanotechnology on
the design decisions and rationale of architects, especially in early design stages.
Ethnography was originally used in social sciences, was particularly practiced by cultural
anthropologists, and has grown to include other domains in the last five decades (Berg
2001). Due to the lack of information relevant to the current state of architectural practice in
Egypt, this study has hence found ethnography an appropriate tool to understand the
nuances behind the process of design decision making in the authors own community.
We also used participant observation (Guest, et al 2013), where one of the authors was
actively involved as part of an architectural design team. He was assigned to design tasks,
conduct research, and assist with client presentations. This allowed for in-depth and precise
observation of the social and technical interactions occurring in the workplace, and for
collecting meaningful and instant feedback from participants during their decision making
process. We will refer to this author thereon as the participant author.
Participant observation as an ethnographic field method used since the 19 th century
currently allows ethnographers to critically engage the ethnographic frame with their own
participation (Denzin 2005), which would allow this study to carry out the intended
injections where needed and monitor reactions.
Conducting this study required nearly daily visits to the design firm. The duration of those
visits relied on the progression of the project and the availability of design team members.
As part of the design team, the participant author also had access to client meetings, which
was beneficial in terms of observing nuances of architect-client interaction. No interviews
were made with client representatives, and the client feedback received was conveyed by
both the design manager and project coordinator.
The time frame for the study was approximately three months, and was carried out in the
period between June and September, 2015, starting from the pre-concept stage towards the
delivery of three alternative proposals for the concept of the residential building.
The data collected was in the form of general field note observations, audio and video digital
recordings of all interactions made with personnel of the design firm and the client, images
of sketches, and copies of digital files used throughout the design activities. A total of 43
interviews and meetings sessions were attended, of which a total of 24 hours were
1973
transcribed and analyzed, including 5 hours of meetings within the firm, 15 hours of
interviews, and 4 hours of client meetings.
3.1 Field Observation

Upon launching the study, preliminary informal meetings were held with Cairo office
partners (P1), (P2) and (P3), and then with all participants to establish rapport, understand
backgrounds, brief all about the study and its goals, and to obtain consent. Once the project
under study was selected by the Operations Manager (P1), coordination began with Project
Coordinator (C1), where a complete brief of the project and client needs was obtained.
The author was then introduced to both senior architects (S1) and (S2), who had nearly 10
years of experience each and were responsible for the two alternatives agreed upon with
the client in the kickoff meeting. (S1) was responsible for the integrated residential complex
proposal, and (S2) was responsible for the segregated buildings proposal. Images of
preliminary sketches, video recordings of both at work, and copies of documents of previous
work were collected. The participant author was also granted full access through (C1) to all
AutoCAD and REVIT files used for inception and for the communication of ideas and
calculations in the project.
The author maintained nearly 3-hour long daily visits to the firm in the first stage of the
project, and field notes were constantly taken. These sessions allowed for not only
monitoring project progress and decision making, but also for getting a better picture
regarding firm dynamics, individual and collective positions and preconceptions, work
practices, and social structures. Such observations were crucial to understand the full social
context of the study and its influence on design decisions.
An important intervention conducted by the participant author was introducing basic
information related to nanotechnology and nano-enhanced applications to participants
when needed or requested. This was in the form of presentations injected at different stages
of the project. The purpose of these presentations was to demonstrate the basic technical
aspects or explanations regarding nano-enhanced applications and their uses. Notes were
taken of any comments made by participants during these presentations.
3.2 Interviewing
Interviewing was one of the main tools that allowed participants to express their individual
positions and feedback, besides their individual perception regarding information received
from the injected presentations. The total number of conducted interviews was 23, where
open ended and semi-structured interviews were conducted with (P2), (C1), (S1), and (S2)
throughout the design process due to their key roles and significance. Open ended
interviewing allowed for non-intrusive and undirected questions, where each interviewee
was left to lead the line of thought. This allowed the participant author to better understand
the rationale behind the decision making process. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted towards the end of each design stage, after presentations, and towards the end
1974
of the study, with the purpose of acquiring more feedback regarding specific points of
interest that emerged from earlier interviews and field observations.
The 23 interviews totaled about 15 hours, all of which were fully transcribed, coded, and
analyzed. Each interview averaged almost 39 minutes. All interviews were audio recorded,
and in some cases video recorded if they included sketches or work done in REVIT or
AutoCAD. All interviews except for one interview with (P2) were conducted within the
firm. All the interviews with (S1) and (S2) were conducted at their corresponding workplaces
to avoid distractions, to use time efficiently, and to maintain a more comfortable setting for
the interviewees. Some interviews were carried out in meeting rooms for privacy purposes,
especially if the topic involved other team members, as was often the case with (C1).
3.3 Meeting Sessions

The participant author attended nearly all project meetings, which amounted to 20
meetings, 15 of which were internal meeting sessions. Most of the meetings were one-onone meetings between (C1), (S1), and (S2) on one end and (P2) on the other as the project
manager. Internal meetings totaled nearly 10 hours, 5 of which were fully transcribed and
analyzed due to their relevance to the study. The meetings were 40 minutes in length on
average. Two other sessions were external meetings with the client and their different
departments; technical, development, and sales, where (P2) and (C1) were the design firm
representatives, and totaled almost 4 hours, all of which were transcribed. The remaining
three meeting sessions were design workshops held by (P2) and attended by 6 junior
architects (J1) through (J6), to resolve issues that arose after the first external meeting with
the client. Workshops totaled nearly 6 hours, none of which were transcribed.
All the interviews and meeting sessions were transcribed solely by the participant author
and were archived in a database for handy retrieval and access, using Microsoft Excel 2007
for quick and easy retrieval, and were visually represented along the duration of the project
to facilitate analysis (Figure 1).
1975
Figure 1 Timeline of the study, showing all meeting sessions among participants in the project
Coding and Analysis

This research adopted grounded theory coding as a basis for analytic induction, where
emergent phenomena are identified from the observed data and respondents through a
series of steps that would guarantee a good theory as the outcome (Glaser and Strauss
1967; Strauss and Corbin 1998). The basic idea in these steps involves the continuous
examination, comparison and reading of multiple sources of data such as field notes,
interviews and memos. This process was conducted and maintained in search of emergent
patterns.
Those patterns were then translated into sets of concepts that were transformed into codes
and then categorized into themes. According to grounded theory coding, the analysis and
coding process usually occurs in parallel to data collection. Data examination and coding are
done for all notes and transcripts and used for subsequent interviews, with findings that
shed light on earlier ones. Two main methods were conducted to arrive at a set of emergent
phenomena; open coding and axial coding.
The goal of open coding was to identify how architects reacted and interacted differently
with nanotechnology design knowledge throughout the process. Transcripts and field notes
were continuously analyzed, and conceptual dimensions of these reactions were developed
as memos alongside the transcripts. Concepts were established from the memos and were
then classified into thematized codes describing how the team perceived and approached
nano-enhanced applications. Other codes were developed that address specificities of the
type of project, the design process maintained in the firm, and client needs and
1976
requirements. None of these were classified with the first set of codes describing reactions
to nanotechnology, but were developed later alongside the field study.
Upon recurrence of the same coded themes, and cessation of new significant codes, the
stage of axial coding was initiated. This involved a refinement of the themes established in
the open coding stage and an in-depth study of the connections between them. This allowed
for the thematization of a second set of codes that helped describe the impact of
nanotechnology on the design process in light of its context.
During several iterations of revision of the transcripts and memos, several codes were
developed, revised, added, or eliminated. Higher level patterns of relationships between the
different themes allowed for the identification of several phenomena describing the effect
of nanotechnology on early design stages, and the role of its specific context in influencing
that effect.
Verification
Inter-rater reliability was used to verify the established codes and categories. Typically,
inter-rater reliability is a process where concurrence is established among more than one
coder in the attempt to find rigor concerning the methods used to code and interpret the
results. The goal of this process is to identify the degree of similarity in judgments between
independent reviewers with a considerable agreement that indicates high inter-rater
reliability (Touliatos and Compton 1988).
The reviewer for our study was a researcher with a masters degree in the field of health
care design and architecture. She was familiar with qualitative analysis, ethnography, and
grounded theory coding, and had previously used them in her own research. The reviewer
was first introduced to the research problem, and scope and goals of the study. The case
study was then explained in full detail while keeping all identities confidential.
In order to provide the reviewer with sufficient insight into the meaning and context of use
of the developed codes, a brief guide of all codes was provided containing a short
explanation of what each code represented in addition to several examples extracted from
multiple transcripts. Three sample transcripts of interviews with three different participants
were provided. The reviewer was asked to read the sample transcript carefully, check
appropriateness of the provided codes and use any additional codes if needed. A discussion
was then initiated to validate the coding scheme according to the interpretation of the
reviewer.
For the open coding phase, the discussion involved the different interpretations of the
reviewer for the established categories and phenomena. Other rather heated arguments
involved alternative understandings of the relationships between the codes and their
graphical visualization methods. The codes were then accordingly rearranged, and specific
relationships were revisited based on the reviewer feedback.
The final phase of discussion went more in depth through the coding guide line by line and
code by code to verify best fit and a revised labeling of the codes and their higher level
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categories. Once a considerable level of concurrence was achieved concerning the

established categories, they were adopted for the rest of the analysis and description.
Thematized Codes and Emergent Phenomena

The identified emergent codes were first seen by the authors to mostly describe the impact
of nanotechnology design knowledge on design decisions. Some codes described how
participants perceived knowledge, such as Technical Suitability. This code described a
specific approach by one participant who observed potential uses of specific nano-enhanced
applications in the design due to their compatibility with his already established design
goals. Overarchingness however described how another participant chose to look holistically
at the properties made possible by nano-enhanced applications and searched for ways to
utilize them. Those two codes were seen as disparate, and accordingly were classified under
separate themes.
For instance, the codes Technical Suitability and Hierarchal Perceptions were classified under
the theme Compatibility that described how different backgrounds, preconceived ideas and
goals drove a participant at a specific point in the design process to simply select a best fit
from the available nano-enhanced applications. Overarchingness, Process Vs. Product, and
Design Tool were classified however under the theme Utilization that described how
participants appreciated the abilities made possible, their diversity and scope of potential
application, and went further to understand nanotechnology as a process rather than a
group of products. Both Compatibility and Utilization, along with other themes, were seen as
facets describing the emergent phenomenon of Perception of Nanotechnology, which
helped identify the different ways by which participants perceived nanotechnology. Such
perceptions were later found to have an important impact on how those participants chose
to respond to nanotechnology in subsequent design activities.
The rest of the codes describing the impact of nanotechnology design knowledge on the
design decisions were seen to belong to two other emergent phenomena: Design Affordance
of Nanotechnology; which described how each participant intended to use nano-enhanced
applications through their design decisions; and Resistance to Nanotechnology; which
described the different manifestations of resistance and the reasons that often led to
rejecting the consideration of nano-enhanced applications in the design process.
Both of those phenomena, along with Perception of Nanotechnology, constituted a set of
phenomena describing the impact of knowledge related to nanotechnology on the study.
However, we observed other issues constituting another set of phenomena that were
more related to the project context and were also found to be of impact on design decisions.
We identified two phenomena: Client Accommodation; which described client satisfaction
based on perception of their needs embodied in design decisions, and Interruption of
Information Flow; which identified specific issues related to information flow within the
design team, as well as between the team and client. The five identified emergent
1978
phenomena within the two main sets (Reaction to Injections, and Context of Design
Decisions) are illustrated in Table 1, along with the full list of themes and codes:
Table 1 Taxonomy of Emergent Phenomena
Phenomena
Themes
Codes
Feasibility
Established; Importance of the Visual.
Compatibility
Hierarchal Perceptions; Technical Suitability;

All roads lead to Rome.
Perception of
Nanotechnology Borrowing
Attributes
Novelty; WOW/Ambiguous; Fashionability.
Utilization
Process Vs. Product; Overarchingness;

Design Tool.
Adoption
Environmental Solutions; Customizable

Tectonics; Spatial Flexibility; Area Efficiency
of Artefact; Privacy.
REACTION TO INJECTIONS
CONTEXT OF DESIGN
DECISIONS
SET 2:
SET 1:
Design
Affordance of
Adaptation
Nanotechnology
Freer Design Decisions; Deeper Design;

Being Inspired.
Appropriation
Reciprocal Relation; Tectonic Cohesiveness;

Compressibility.
Cost Benefit
Affordability; Market Limitation; Logistics.
Socio-cultural
Not In Egypt
Resistance to
Fear of the
Nanotechnology Unknown
Design Gate Keepers; Fear of the unknown.
Procrastination
Maybe the next stage.
Incongruence
Project; Typology.
Owner Complexity
Conflict of Interest; Ambiguity.
Client
Future Client
Accommodation
Its all about the sell; Seeking the New; The

Environmental Benefit.
Miscommunication Concealment; Duality.

Interruption of
Information
Flow
Client Feedback
Leakage
Miscommunication; Managerial blockage;

Overloaded experts.
Operational
Segregation
Boxed Process; Team Placement; Logistical

Constraints.
The following sections describe in more detail two of the most salient phenomena identified
in the study, each belonging to one of the sets mentioned above: Design affordance of
nanotechnology, and Interruption of Information Flow.
1979
6.1 Design Affordance of Nanotechnology

Based on the comparison of data from meetings and interviews, specifically with (S1), (S2)
and (P2), the following themes emerged in relation to the reaction of participants to
nanotechnology, as illustrated in figure 2:
1) Adoption: where participants chose to simply make use of specific nano-enhanced
applications to achieve already established goals;
2) Adaptation: where specifics in the design approach of participants were modified to
accommodate the abilities made possible by nanotechnology;
3) Appropriation: where the perception and understanding of participants towards
nanotechnology as a process and product allowed them to recognize unachieved abilities
and sought their fulfilment.
These themes were evident in the approaches of (S1), (S2) and (P2) following the
presentations conducted by the participant author to introduce the research goals and basic
capabilities of nano-enhanced applications. (S1) for example expressed a considerable
degree of freedom of design, rather than just the direct use of nano-enhanced applications
for goal satisfaction. Nano-enhanced electrochromatic glazing solutions allowed for more
customizable and flexible levels of privacy for the residential units, which in turn allowed
(S1) to free the architectural line" drawn. While designing the building masses, he was able
to focus on the image the client needed and other issues regarding the context, rather than
simply being constrained by issues usually faced in previous experiences regarding privacy.
(S2) expressed a need for extra information regarding the environmental details and
specifications of nano-enhanced insulation materials such as nanogel and phase change
materials. Upon retrieval and presentation of the requested data, (S2) demonstrated forms
of Adoption by considering the direct use of workable nanogel panels for heat insulation for
the walls. After analyzing the specifications however, (S2) moved into another form of
Affordance where he demonstrated Adaptation by conducting a zoomed-in exercise of
deeper Design to design a door that would allow for ventilation but without acoustic
transmission.
(P2) illustrated how nanotechnology allowed him to think as a sculptor. The ability to
design the performance and look of the material from the bottom-up inspired him to
imagine a more seamless building that depended less on the assembly of different parts, and
allowed for a less pixelated facade design. (S1), (S2) and (P2) also expressed a need for
other possible applications and specific scenarios of performance that were not known to
them nor presented by the participant author.
1980
Figure 2 The three themes related to design affordance of nanotechnology throughout the design
process: Adoption, Adaptation and Appropriation
6.2 Interruption of Information Flow

Upon analyzing phenomena related to the context of the design process, we observed
defects in the information flow between participants and other key players in the project.
We put forward two main themes in this regard:
1. Client Feedback Leakage, where client feedback loops to managerial and design teams
within the design firm failed to resonate with each other throughout the different stages
of the design process;
2. Operational Segregation, where internal feedback for technical assistance between the
design and construction teams and other personnel was rarely established.
We noticed that when specific ideas regarding design proposals were introduced by the
design team members to (P2), he would postpone discussing them and rather focus on other
aspects of the project, namely its built-up areas and calculations. Other team members
thought however that these ideas were relevant to client needs. A contractual clause related
to scope of work seemed to always force (P2) to discard some of those ideas. We found later
that the specificities of that clause were not clear enough because the client needs were
miscommunicated to the managerial team in the briefing stage. This led to several forms of
miscommunication between the client and design team. The lack of coordination between
(P2) and (P1) thereafter did not allow for project updates and logistical follow ups to be fully
addressed. This put the project under further logistical stress, thus hindering chances of
complementary developed ideas.
1981
Based on the transcripts, specific loops of information flow were observed to be the locale
for this miscommunication. Client Feedback Leakage was identified as a significant theme
that could be traced to the initiation point of the project; namely the Contract. As shown in
figure 3, three main entities (client, managerial team, and design team) are engaged in a
state of flow of information that leads to the creation of three other sub-entities: the
contract, the logistical plan, and the designed artefact. In this process, the Contract is drawn
by the client and managerial team. Accordingly, the managerial and design teams prepare a
Logistical Plan allocating time and personnel for the project. Then the Designed Artefact is
developed between the design team and the client. According to this continuous feedback
loop, design decisions are affected if the chain was broken at any point of time.
Figure 3 Feedback loop between the three main players in the project: Client, design team and
managerial team
We identified other manifestations of interrupted flow of information, where the lack of

internal communication for technical assistance between the design team and construction
team was evident in earlier design stages. As highlighted by (C1), Team Placement was
identified as playing a role in such segregation. Issues such as the design team is in their
den upstairs, ...there is a whole department downstairs, why dont they ask? seemed to
shed light on this segregation. Boxed Processes was also identified as another form of
interrupted flow of information, where design team members would perform tasks as
instructed by seniors without walking the extra mile and without trying to think outside
the box. Logistical Constraints manifested in lack of personnel availability and cash flow
also reduced chances of a more integrated design approach, as departments are barely able
to manage the projects coming in.
These themes played a role not only in hindering some of the potential benefits of
nanotechnology, but also in hindering other design decisions. These hindrances led to client
1982
dissatisfaction and forced the design team to use a more integrated approach in later design
phases.
Discussion: The Design Gates Narrative

It was anticipated at the onset of this study that it would simply unveil forms by which
nanotechnology is received by architects in early design stages, and especially in a
developing country like Egypt. The study succeeded in revealing to a great extent how
nanotechnology was perceived and potentially used and/or rejected by the participants,
while revealing some of the technical reasons behind design decisions. However, due to the
richness of the emergent concepts stemming from the dynamics of the observed natural
setting related to both the internal interactions among participants and external
interactions with the client it was apparent that there was an interplay of two sets of
phenomena. On the one hand, the direct technical needs of the project and the perception
of the potential benefits of nanotechnology were only partially responsible for the
architects inclination towards affording, resisting, or even degrees in between. On the other
hand, the context of the natural setting and the dynamics of the design process played a
considerable role in shaping those inclinations.
Upon further correlations between the events related to the aforementioned
manifestations, we developed a narrative that attempts to capture how the five emergent
phenomena associate with one another, while explaining some of the changes in
participants positions recorded throughout the duration of the study.
Through several readings into the emergent phenomena and comparisons to events and
incidents evident in the transcripts, it appears that socio-cultural dimensions demonstrated
different levels of control over design decisions through several points in the project, as
described below:
1) Managers/team leaders: The perception of individuals of higher authority in the team
would lead to hierarchical retention of valid ideas seen as irrelevant;
2) Teams: With the segregation of teams, certain knowledge thresholds are maintained,
keeping them from transfusing knowledge from one team to the other, and thus
hindering the development of integrated solutions;
3) Individuals: Educational background, technical experience, talent, position in firm, and
social abilities were all individual aspects that allowed for the different perceptions of
value within nanotechnology, and accordingly different design decision throughout the
design process;
4) Firm processes and logistical plans: Certain design checkpoints were created in the firm
that normalized the potential diversity of approaches. This was due to the continuous
evolution of the firm, and its effort to maintain its quality and brand while at the same
time planning to increase its project capacity;
5) Contract and Brief: The financial capability and socio-cultural background of future users
of the building represented an element of control over the process, through the owner
1983
and their complex structure of departments. That control was manifested in the
contract/brief document.
We perceive these multi-layered points of control as Design Gates, which appear to
control and alter design decisions. Although they were informed by specific design
knowledge, they create an even more complex context that the design team managers
appeared to control, yet are subservient to.
These gates have not only affected how the participants perceived nanotechnology and then
regardless of that perception controlled whether they could use the applications or not,
but also have manipulated every other design decision. They played a role in their approval
and/or rejection regardless of their appropriateness and validity.
The design decisions hence seem to rather respect a matrix of conceived ideas that fit in the
criteria of the Design Gates and their location in a power structure. This power structure
enforces internal and external constraints, thus creating logical yet managed causalities that
facilitate control over design decisions. Figure 4 below demonstrates the scale of the first set
of phenomena within the larger and more controlling second set of phenomena.
Figure 4 Impact of nanotechnology within the complex context of the project and its Design Gates
Further Work
The main argument of this paper is that technology is integral to the creative phase of the
design process. The positions discussed above indicate areas of potential theoretical
investigation that could help further understand and develop the integration between
technology studies and design research in light of social theories, especially in developing
1984
countries with their specific social, cultural, and economical specificities that drive many of
their design decisions in their own distinctive manner.
Acknowledgement: Our sincerest thanks go to the participants who provided us with an
opportunity to join their teams to conduct our research and gave us full access to all the
required data.
References
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1985
About the Authors:

Ramy Bakir is Assistant Lecturer at the Arab Academy for Science and
Technology, Cairo, Egypt. He has been studying the relationship
between nanotechnology and architecture since 2004, and is
currently a PhD student at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Sherif Abdelmohsen is Assistant Professor and Director of the Design
Computing and Fabrication Laboratory at the American University in
Cairo, Egypt. His research interests include qualitative methods in
design research, parametric design, building information modeling,
space layout planning, digital fabrication, and responsive
architecture.
1986
Of Open bodies: Challenges and Perspectives of an

Open Design Paradigm.
meline Brul* and Frdric Valentin
Tlcom-ParisTech
*emeline.brule@telecom-paritech.fr
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.160
Abstract: Several design practitioners claim to follow an open design philosophy,

using open sourcing material, models or tools. But there has been little work on
framing the properties of artefacts produced that way, nor on studying how
openness influence design processes (Aitamurto, Holland & Hussain, 2015).
In this paper, we propose to investigate Open Design through examples of prosthetic
hands. These highly specific and personalized devices have to answer highly sensitive
social, personal, subjective and functional requirements. They perfectly illustrate the
challenges the Open Paradigm may help tackling, such as greater inclusivity through
the reduction of stigma, access to social participation and empowerment of users in
general.
First, we build upon the related work to identify properties of openness. We then
present the methodology used to review nine different prosthetic hands. Building
upon these examples, we frame a critical perspective on openness and how this
paradigm encompasses or informs other design practices. We conclude by presenting
our current and future work, to provide perspectives on the applications of our
essay.
Keywords: Open; Prosthesis; Inclusive Design
Introduction
The Open paradigm has been identified in several fields, from Software to Innovation
Studies (Aitamurto, Holland & Hussain, 2015). The open data and open research
philosophies have gradually come to question all research disciplines and their publication
practices. Moreover, open design has been gradually discussed in design research
(Aitamurto et al., 2015; Thackara, 2011; Van Der beek, 2012).
Historically, the open paradigm seems to be rooted in three different movements: the needs
for industrial standards at the beginning of the 20th century, the ideal of an Open Society,
1987
theorized by Popper in the verge of World War II and the Open Source Software movement,
born in the eighties (Gota, 2015). The open paradigm emergence is linked to two different
but intertwined issues: the interoperability of telecommunication systems, and the utopia of
a perfect democratic society through the access to knowledge.
The Open Knowledge Foundation has defined openness as a paradigm enabling access and
availability, re-use and redistribution, as well as universal participation (Open Knowledge,
2015). In design, Aitamurto et al. (2015) have recently articulated open design practices as
deployed during needs finding, ideation, creation and fabrication, as well as during the
distribution and circulation of designs. Their definition covers open hardware projects,
participatory design practices, as well as highly customizable, if not self-produced, artifacts.
Nevertheless, the effects of open processes on the artifacts thus produced have not yet
been widely studied.
Our paper proposes to investigate openness properties through nine examples of
prosthetics. Building upon our review of literature, we outline openness (1) as the inclusion
of people and their values during the project framing and ideation process; (2) as space left
to users in the formalization process (choice of functions, interactions, aesthetics...);
openness may be limited by (3) the level of technical knowledge required to understand and
modify a product or (4) the difficulty of access to the fabrication equipment; and may allow
(5) a high level of variability and originality of the resultant artifact.
We therefore propose a model to discuss the openness of a production, as a critically
addressable characteristic of an artifact.
Review of Literature
2.1 The open paradigm in History, Arts and Design.
As stated in our introduction, the open paradigm emergence seems to be linked to two
different, but intertwined issues (Gota, 2015): the interoperability of telecommunication
systems, openness being a necessary value for some innovations (Cruickshank, 2014), and
the wish to create an equal and democratic society by granting full access to knowledge.
Several researchers outlined openness as a democratic process. For example, Aitamurto et
al. (2015) have recently articulated open design practices as deployed in the following
stages: 1) listening in, 2) interacting and creating with co-designers and the crowd, and 3)
sharing with other co-designers and the crowd. In other words, open design practices
concern needs finding, ideation, formalization and fabrication, as well as the distribution and
circulation of designs. It echoes Van der Beeks reading of Blauvelt (Van der Beek, 2012),
who highlights how design has been shifting from delivering a product to setting the
conditions for its design. The interest of numerous researchers for Do-It-Yourself practices in
the design of technologies (Hurst and Tobias, 2011) or community-based participatory
design are good examples of this paradigm shift. They have proved to be empowering for a
large variety of publics (Druin, 2002; Halskov & Hansen, 2015), although their limits are
1988
Of Open bodies: Challenges and Perspectives of an Open Design Paradigm.
worth considering. For example, Kensing and Blomberg (1998) as well as Bowen (2010),
show that participation in the design process might be limited by social issues surrounding a
project (see also Cruickshank, 2014, p.44), by the methods used or by the required
knowledge to collaborate freely.
Initially, open design has been described as the application of open source principles to
design, as stated by Ronen Kadushin in his Open Design manifesto (2010). Following this
conception, the designer provides digital blueprints of her designs allowing them to be used
(produced), modified and shared. However, recent descriptions of open design seem to be
more interested in the implications for design practice of a shared design process (Aitamurto
et al., 2015; Van Der beek, 2012). Even If open design can be linked in many ways to the
development of IT and personal CNC (Atkinson, 2011), it is to be acknowledged that there
have been numerous design projects before the birth of said digital fabrication techniques
(Cruickshank, 2014, p.4). For example, Enzo Maris Autoprogettazione (1974) aimed at
allowing anyone to build basic furniture, using wood and nails. Mari distributed his
blueprints as free leaflets, encouraging people to start their own production and to modify
his models.
Open source projects (on both hardware and software levels) also make a claim at
democracy and interoperability, which have an impact on the distribution and circulation of
resultant products. (We acknowledge the philosophical differences between open source
and free software. However, as this is not the focus of this paper, we will not expand on this
matter.) Open source projects encourage people to drive it further, to tinker and to get
implicated (see for example the Open Source Initiative: http://opensource.org/history),
either by documenting or technically contributing. But they also present issues: the
knowledge required to make changes may be high, the community may not be as welcoming
as claimed (Toupin, 2014) or the necessary equipment may not be accessible to all.
There have also been researches on openness in artifacts and products. Umberto Eco (1962)
focuses on works of art and artistic practices to define an open work. For Eco, it relies on
the spectator interpretation, generating more information than is originally contained in the
piece, by allowing various interpretations depending on the public, the situation, etc. Thus, if
every work of art is in some respect open, some are designed in certain ways that they
encourage interpretation, either mechanically (what Eco refers to as work in movement)
or conceptually, thus being intentionally more open. If Eco does not directly cite objects
from the realm of design (although he does mention the case of organisable bookshelves),
we argue that it describes quite well ludic design artifacts (Gaver et al., 2004; Mivielle &
Gents, 2012). As stated by Gaver, ludic design should avoid clear narrative of use and stay
open-ended (Gaver et al., 2004), i.e. enabling the users participation through artifacts
interpretation and actuation. Mass customization (as first defined by Joseph B. Pine (1993))
also relates to Ecos work, as it seeks to allow variations in the production of artifacts
through shared tool kits and flexible designs that can be reconfigured (Salvador, De Holan &
Piller, 2009).
1989
2.2 Design and prostheses.

Even though prostheses (such as prosthetic hands) are designed to meet a specific and
narrow range of cases, they are to address different bodies, and need to be fitted to each
individual. Prosthetics have never been mass-produced, but they are no longer fabricated
individually either. They are fitted by medical professionals: most are generic models with
few customizable components (see examples 1, 2 and 3). But body variability may be
addressed from three perspectives: (1) a one size fits all philosophy, i.e. products aiming at
universality (Salvador, et al., 2009); (2) the addition of variables in design, much like
accessibility features; (3) inclusive design, which aim to design for a very low number of
users with highly specific needs.
If there have been decorated prosthetics in the past (see for example this Victorian-era
prosthetic arm showing fine decorated metal work at the Museum of Science, London:
http://tinyurl.com/jfxgseh), human-like models are often preferred for social acceptability
(Pillet & Didierjean-Pillet, 2001). Nevertheless, it is to be acknowledged that there are few
studies on the aesthetic aspect of prosthetics (Sansoni, Wodehouse & McFadyen, 2015).
Radical aesthetic propositions are quite recent, as the interest of fashion for prosthetics
increased: from Alexander McQueens creation for Aimee Mullins to the Alternative Limb
Projects, prosthetics may now come in a large variety of forms. We observe shift in
prosthetics recognition, from the mere replacement of a limb, aesthetically and practically
bound to mimic human organs, to creative exploration by figures such as Aimee Mullins. The
fact she proudly wears non-mimetic prostheses, either in mainstream media or in artistic
collaborations proposes to invert the stigma (see for example Cremaster cycle 3 (2002) by
Matthew Barney, where she act wearing prosthetic cheetah legs or acrylic transparent legs
(http://tinyurl.com/gowgj4u)). We argue that this desacralization, or profanation
(Agamben, 2009), of human form through the redefinition of bodies by creative prosthesis
permitted to allow for new creative approaches to the design of prostheses. It has more
generally been pointed out in every area where design meets disability (Pullin, 2009), and
question the ways body and embodiment are taken into account in the design process.
Methodology
Our analysis methodology was inspired by McClung Fleming (1974)s framework, e.g. (1)
identification through the description of the history, material, construction, design and
function of an artifact, (2) evaluation in regards to similar objects, (3) cultural analysis to
elicit its social and cultural conditions of existence and (4) the interpretation of the values
thus conveyed.
In section 2, we articulated how various design approaches were aiming at, or claiming for,
openness. We underlined various open processes, either during needs finding, ideation,
creation and fabrication, distribution and circulation of designs and properties of the
artifacts themselves, who may or may not allow original customization. We also highlighted
that participation in the design process might be limited by larger social issues, by the
methods used or the required knowledge to collaborate freely.
1990
We thus outline openness (1) as the inclusion of people and their values during the project
framing and ideation process; (2) as space left to users in the formalization process (choice
of functions, interactions, aesthetics...); openness may be limited by (3) the level of technical
knowledge required to understand and modify a product or (4) the difficulty of access to the
fabrication equipment; and may allow (5) a high level of variability and originality of the
artifact.
We chose to work on prostheses because they have always required variability and
adaptability. Little discussed in design research as they belong to the medical realm, we saw
these examples as the occasion to understand how performative (Van Der Beek, 2012)
design can be.
These dimensions allow for a contrastive analysis of our examples (considered in terms of
material, cultural and semiotic attributes). We first present the four common types of
prosthetics hands: myoelectrical, mechanical, passive, and functional. We then analyze
personalized or open source counterparts.
Examples of Prosthetic Hands

Example 1: Passive cosmetic hand, by Steeper.
Steepers passive cosmetic hands are realistic prostheses filled with foam and covered with a
PVC or silicone glove that gives the hand details (http://tinyurl.com/zgdrvjh). They are
presented as lightweight and cost effective, adaptable to various studs. They exist in a finite
number of shape and size (five for adults, and five for children), as well as in 19 colours,
which means that their fabrication can be automatized. They provide a minimum
functionality (pushing, pulling) but mainly aim at reducing social stigma and restore body
image by being lifelike.
The company does not precise whether or not they included users in the design. Quite
probably, it was mostly developed by prosthetists. They may be customizable to some
extent (through painting, for example), but this is not the aim of the product. Their degree of
originality (in comparison to bodies without prosthetics) is low.
Example 2: Functional hands, by Texas assistive devices

Texas assistive devices proposes prosthetic devices for people living with hand dysfunction
or amputation. It is composed of a metallic terminal device, called the N-Abler, that comes in
a variety of types depending on the type of impairment (hand or arm amputation, etc.). The
N-Ablers are compatible with a large series of functional tools, from hooks to gardening,
cooking, tinkering, eating or hygiene utensils. These tools may be changed accordingly to the
activity the user is engaged in, and cover most of everyday tasks and activities, although the
user would need to acquire numerous (and quite expensive) extensions. Texas Assistive
Devices describe the N-Abler as a self-esteem builder, (http://tinyurl.com/gks3eaz)
although its social acceptability might be low (Fishman & Kay, 1964; Pillet Didierjean-Pillet,
1991
2001). The website mostly aims at professional prosthetists, through technical precisions
and a loaner offer so they can test it with their patients.
The company does not precise whether or not they included users in the design. This type of
prosthesis is customizable, within a given set of possibilities. One could easily hack an
everyday object to add a tool to the collection. Aesthetically, it is quite far from a body, but
its aesthetic is purely practical / functional. Thus, it has a limited originality.
Example 3: Mechanical hand, by Steeper.

Steeper's mechanical hand exhibits three fingers (http://tinyurl.com/j23vvg7). When flexing
the wrist, the hand is able to grasp an object: the hands are operated using cables and
springs, either to open or to close the hand. The hands have a very functional aesthetic: the
bare metal make them seem robust, all the mechanisms are visible etc. They are presented
as lightweight compared to previous models, come in four sizes (from child to adult), and
may be covered by cosmetic gloves, i.e. silicone or PVC human like gloves that can be
fitted on it, which come in 19 different colors (see example 1). They can be adapted to
various wrist systems.
Again, it does not seem that users have been involved in the design. The structure of the
hand itself is hardy customizable by the user, only the cosmetic glove might be adapted.
Furthermore, these gloves exist in four sizes only (there were 10 for cosmetic gloves, by the
same company), and the grasping system in prosthetic hands is nothing new. Therefore, the
level or originality may be considered as low.
Example 4: Be Bionic, by Steeper.

The BeBionic hand, by Steeper, is an articulated electronic device mimicking the structure of
the human hand (http://tinyurl.com/jzbewgv). It has a clean, streamlined, science fiction like
aesthetic and is available in two colors (black or white). It is designed to handle everyday
activities through 14 different patterns: finger pointing, different kind of grasps etc. The
hands motors react to muscle contraction signals. Its patterns are adaptable by a medical
professional using a custom software. If it can be fitted to different types of wrists or wrist
mechanisms, it only exists in two sizes: small and medium. It is sold for $11000. That project
focuses on efficiency but could not exist without an advanced technical and medical
infrastructure.
Again, Steeper says nothing about having involved users in the process, although they testify
of their use. It is hardly customizable because of its highly technical nature, although the
proposed hand gestures can be fine-tuned. The user guide actually states that users should
not try to modify their hand in any way. It is very close from the structure of a human hand,
while its streamlined aesthetic embodies positive representations of the future. It thus feels
familiar and has a low degree of originality.
1992
Example 5: Feather Armour, by Alternative Limb Project.

Feather Armour is a functional customized prosthetic arm, designed by Sophie de Oliveira
Barata and Rowena Vickerman for actor Grace Mandeville, as part of the Altenative Limb
Project (http://tinyurl.com/gwcl5pu). Built with metal, feathers, beads, silicone and acrylic
resin around a hook, it is designed much like a fashion accessory. Its aesthetic radically
differs either from functional or cosmetic prosthesis, but remains comfy and functional as it
is designed with respect for the prosthetic medical requirements, fitted by a professional. Its
owner explains that she has worn prosthetic arms that look real and they just get in the
way. They look normal, but [she doesnt] really want to look normal. (Saner, 2014) Such
Alternative Limbs are made to measure, with cost starting at 1000 (and up). Thus, they are
definitely not accessible to all. But their design process highly involves the wearer and the
resultant artifact has a high originality level, overturning the stigma through aesthetics.
The ideation process did involve the end user a lot, as it was completely custom made. The
formalization process may have involved her as well, but mostly for feedback. Modifying it
would require crafting skills and high-end materials. If the hands function (the hook) is a
pretty common type of prosthesis, its visual design does not look like any other.
Example 6: Bambam Prosthetics.

Bambam Prosthetics were developed by Nick Richardson during his master thesis at the
Maryland Institute College of Art. They are composed of a soft socket made of canvas and a
multi-functional terminal device in bamboo, which can be completed by various tools (such
as a rake or a hammer (http://tinyurl.com/hs77wvj). Richardson explains that
(http://tinyurl.com/ngmkob5) he first used the tools he knew and were widely available
around him (plastic, etc.), but quickly realized those means of fabrication would not be
available anywhere. As Bambam prosthetics were destined to people living in developing
countries (where 80% of the worlds amputees live), they can be manufactured locally, with
cheap and widely available materials. At the contrary of traditional prosthetics, the soft
socket allows it to be fitted without the help of a specialist. The focus of the design is to
meet the needs for functional, durable and low-cost prosthetics and to allow amputees to
get back to the workforce in countries mostly relying on farming as a mean of living. The
project was exhibited in the Cooper Hewitt Museum, as part of the Beautiful Users
exhibition.
Although this is a self-initiated project, it seems that Richardson tried to include actual users
in the design process. The technical skills and equipment required are widely shared. If there
has been researches on the use of bamboo for prostheses (Banerji & Banerji, 1984) and if
such use can be traced back to wood legs, the design of the soft pocket and of the arms end
are new propositions, to our knowledge.
Example 7: Raptor Reloaded, by Enabling the Future.

Enabling the Future (http://enablingthefuture.org/) is a global network of volunteers that
participates in the conception, production and distribution of various open sourced upper
1993
prosthetic limbs. They operate mostly in underserved communities, providing their

prosthesis to children and to people that cant afford the industrial models. Most of the
prostheses proposed are mechanically operated, with the exception of a recent myoelectric
model. All the prosthetic hands are designed to be 3D printed, but the volunteer based
production principle means that different models of 3D printers and different types of
materials can be used, producing different results. The overall aspect of the object does not
try to be realistic. The web site states clearly that they do not intend to compete with
professionally made prostheses and see their models as tools to provide more practicality
and deepen social acceptability.
The ideation process is shared amongst the community but does not require the users
participation directly. Monthly design challenges now encourage the community to design
new devices, inspired by the current designs. The formalization process seems to sometimes
involve the user as they are associated during the fabrication and the fitting of the object.
Otherwise, it does not seem like the design are highly customizable, except in the use of
various colors for some of the childrens prosthesis. As the initiative does not only provide
the design, but also the technical means, the users only need to know how to operate (and
sometimes repair) the prosthetic hand. However, repairing the prosthesis might require an
access to a 3D printer. In terms of originality, the design displays a rather mechanical
aesthetic and does not try to hide its origins: it is different from common prosthesis and its
basic materials and mechanism encourage modifications (see the Raptor Reloaded on the
website page: http://tinyurl.com/hsvjvd2).
Example 8: Bionico.
Bionico is an open source project of myoelectric arm, initiated in 2012 by Nicolas Huchet
when he discovered fab-labs. Still in prototype phase, it aims at allowing amateurs to build
bionic prostheses using affordable material, such as Arduino and 3D printing pieces. A
Bionico costs around 200, far from commercialized models. Despite that, Bionico does not
try to compare with high-end models, knowing they involve a great deal of currently
unreachable technological advances. Rather, the focus of the group is to gather a
community in order to make a myoelectric arm as inexpensive as possible. As expressed by
Nicolas Huchet (https://bionico.org/about/), the political and social engagement (sharing
knowledge, gathering a community for a more equalitarian world) is the main aim of the
project. Currently, the prosthesis remains overall very unpractical, and serves mostly as a
proof of concept, but also as an embodiment of the project during public events (where
Huchet wears the hand, having himself lost his hand in a work accident). In this regard, the
aspect of the hand seems rather efficient: it does look like a prototype, which reflects its DIY
roots and makes it familiar to the makers community (http://tinyurl.com/zyce7qv).
So we can consider the ideation and formalization process as open, as they involved the
community and impaired users. However, various technical skills are required to build it. The
same goes for the equipment (3D printers, servomotors, etc.). The design does not try to
1994
differ from existing models, but does so in terms of conception - which is reflected in its
aspect.
Example 9: Iko.
Iko creative prosthesis is the result of Carlos Arturo Torres internship at Lego Future Lab. It
won Core77s design award for best open design. The prosthesis designed for children
allows the user to snap Lego pieces around it and to operate them through its built-in rotary
motor. The device was designed to be compatible with any Lego branded set, particularly
the Lego systems more focused on the construction of mechanism: the material is thus
broadly accessible, with a wide range of choices. The designer also designed a little backhoe
model as a starter set for the prosthesis. Torres focus in this design is its social catalyzing
aspect built around the playfulness of Lego, as demonstrated in the designers discourse
focalizing on its empowering creative and collaborative dimensions. We can observe Torres
precise attention to Legos technical status: I designed a backhoe LEGO set difficult enough
to build where the kid used the people around as co-players(http://tinyurl.com/oohp82l).
The designer tuned the Lego model in certain ways to encourage a given behavior, requiring
both a fine understanding of the users capacity in terms of knowledge requirements and
access to resources. The openness of the project revolves around Legos low knowledge
requirement and the proximity of parents and potential playmates to fill the difficulty gap
intentionally set in the model. The user learning process is therefore eased, allowing her to
quickly discover the basics required to build her own design, while involved from the
beginning in the ideation and formalization process.
Parts of the ideation and formalization process is determined by the designer that defines
the properties and boundaries of another creative space in which the user is welcome to
express his own forms and ideas. The use of Lego bricks ensures the access, and eases the
progression towards the required knowledge through the use of an accessible, easy to
understand material. While using similar principles as other myoelectric prosthesis (a rotor
embedded in the arm), the object gathers the attention out of Legos playfulness.
Discussion
As Umberto Eco says about works of art, we argue that every artifact is open to some
degree. However, some artifacts are designed in such ways that they expand the design
space, thus being more open. Therefore, openness is not a binary value (open/closed) but
rather something that can be expressed in many ways (affecting different stages of the
design process and production) and to various degrees.
If we look at those examples from a broader perspective, we can highlight two different
design approaches. In some cases, the structure is made to accommodate a few options or
variables, but is quite constrained in the possibilities (cases 5, 7 and 8). In others, the design
project relies on every single users design skills (cases 6 and 9).
1995
A projects openness is relative to its context. The open paradigm is not about enforcing the
design and use of universal products, or even of universal structures to be adapted, but
rather proposes artifacts relevant and adaptable to certain settings. Lets take, for example,
the differences between Bambam Prosthetics (case 6) and the Raptor Reloaded Hand (case
7). Even with a substantial number of volunteers ready to devote their 3D printers, time and
knowledge, Enabling the Futures production is not available to anyone anywhere.
Moreover, the Raptor Reloaded still necessitates a fitting and assists a rather limited number
of activities. On the other hand, Bambam Prosthetics requires widely available materials and
tools and seems to open wider possibilities for customization, but rely entirely on users' or
users relations practical skills.
If the latter approach requires a deeper engagement from people, it also may allow them to
reach a greater level of agency. Lets use Iko the Lego hand as an example: it accommodates
ones values, and adapts to self-presentation and agency. Although it is not open source, Iko
encourages modifications by its structure itself. It brings a mass produced product (Lego), its
easiness of assemblage and its ludic properties towards an inclusive use. The user becomes a
practitioner of the artifact and of herself.
Thus, openness is a property of an artifact (or rather, of an apparatus) allowing a certain
degree of involvement by the user. This property can manifest itself in various manners, in
regards to the context and intentions.
These two approaches to openness, either as the production of a universal artifact or as the
involvement of the users design skills, questions the relations of power between design
production and users. There is to be a balance between the effort and responsibility gained
by users and the seamlessness of an open production. It does, of course, have political and
ethical implications. Relying on the users / practitioners skills should not make her bear
alone the responsibility of her inclusion in society, but rather to support her in making
choices on her own. It should not be reserved to people who cannot afford a more efficient
or adequate prosthesisfor example Bionico's designer does not wear it, but has access to a
high-end prosthetic hand. It is to question industrial production and to open new ways of
making and doing. Our five last examples all push further the possible aesthetic of bodies in
contemporary times, much like more traditional prostheses did in their time (Pillet &
Didierjean-Pillet, 2001). They invert the social stigma, and affirm other kinds of subjectivities,
even though they may not be the strongest or most practical.
What our analysis shows, is that the open paradigm expands the design space, questions
and renews what a prosthetic hand can be, but also how and by whom it can be done and
the conditions of its productions. We argue that openness might be an aesthetic paradigm:
through her production, the designer organizes agents and elements to define the specific
conditions of existence of a design space, in which the user is invited to participate.
Openness can be considered as an aesthetic in the deleuzian sense of the term: an
encounter with an object / project that induces a rupture, that proposes new ways of being,
living and acting in the world.
1996
As stated by OSullivan (2010) reading Deleuze and Guattari:

At stake then are two moments in what I am calling the aesthetics of contemporary
art: one of dissent (a turn from, or refusal of, the typical) and one of affirmation (of
something different). Two operations then: one of criticism, one of creativity. We
might call the first parasitical (on an already existing body, for example an institution);
the second, germinal (the birth of the new).
Thus the open paradigm applied to prostheses de-constructs, breaks something of the usual
(re)presentations of bodies, before opening the way to the construction of future selves,
affirming other views of the subject, the stigma and the world. The open paradigm we have
described here might as well be called open perspectives, both on the individual and the
community level.
Further research will need to be conducted on the perception of openness on all levels of
the design process. To do so, we propose to meet the general public of an arts and science
center with various probes, to gather insights on their relationships to bodies and
imaginaries revolving around bodies and technologies. This will then lead to open ended
workshops, on a long-term basis, which will allow for studying the perceptions of openness,
and the reactions of the public to various prototypes
Conclusion
Through our study, we aimed to develop a framework allowing an analytical and critical
discussion of design practices and projects claimed as open. Using this framework, we were
able to reconsider the concept of openness from a broader perspective, and to assess a
designs openness regarding to different aspects.
Our chosen examples demonstrated the diversity of ways a design initiative can claim
openness, depending on context and intentions. We did not aim at evaluating their
openness (as they all seem justified, in respect to their situation), but to use them in order to
elaborate on the concept of openness and on its potential contribution to design.
It appears that openness might set an aesthetic paradigm in which design practice should
consider its production as establishing encounters between agents (living and non-living)
that reframe the existing world. Design practice in an open manner involves the reframing,
the redistribution of the agency through the definition of new design spaces. It necessitates
the designer to share her part in the act of design and a part of her responsibility. This
paradigm requires from the designer a different approach to her practice and its ends. Users
are not considered as a group sharing common traits, whatever the number of people
included, but as a diversity of agents we cannot claim to fully understand and we thus
need to allow them to express their particularities.
5. References
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(pp. 1118). New York, NY, USA: ACM. http://tinyurl.com/hgv493t
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November 10, 2015, from http://tinyurl.com/h5jmazz
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a new classification. The Journal of Hand Surgery, (28), 523528.
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Harvard Business School Press.
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Management Revue.
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in, then dont fit in. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/pstv5ks
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and the Uncanny Valley: The Role of Personal Characteristics in Attraction, 9(1), International
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In the design journal 15(4), 423-442.
About the Authors:

meline Brul is a designer and PhD student at Telecom-ParisTech.
Her researches focus on the various implications of the current
development of wearables. She has also been working on
participatory design and DIY assistive technologies with visually
impaired children.
Frdric Valentin is a PhD student at Telecom-ParisTech. Through his
research on the relations between design and openness he seeks to
understand the particularities of an open work of design. He studied
design at cole Boulle and cole Normale Suprieure de Cachan.
1999
Provocative design for unprovocative designers:

Strategies for triggering personal dilemmas
Deger Ozkaramanlia,b* and Pieter M. A. Desmeta
a
Delft University of Technology

University of Liverpool
*d.ozkaramanli@liverpool.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.165
b
Abstract: Traditional design approaches stimulate the creation of products that make
daily interactions more efficient, comfortable, and pleasant. In contrast, provocative
design approaches, such as critical design, have a different focus: they aim to
challenge the status quo through products that expose assumptions and stimulate
discussion. In this paper, we argue that intentionally triggering personal dilemmas is
a novel design approach that may be a means to enabling self-reflection. In line with
this, this paper proposes three design strategies for triggering dilemmas. These
strategies are explained through existing designs and supported by design ideas
created using them. Our findings indicate that triggering dilemmas is a counterintuitive design intention, which can be supported by exercises that facilitate
perspective taking and stalling moral judgment. We conclude with a discussion on
the overlap between triggering dilemmas and other provocative design fields.
Keywords: design with dilemmas; provocative design; design strategy; conflicting concerns
Introduction
Traditional industrial design often focuses on solving problems (Roozenburg and Eekels,
1995). Smartphones enable managing online tasks without having to carry around a
personal computer, or office chairs support sitting comfortably during long work hours. A
distinct group of design approaches, namely provocative design approaches, share a goal
that is often at odds with traditional design. Provocative design aims to challenge existing
norms and attitudes through hypothetical or utilitarian designs that expose assumptions and
provoke discussion (Bardzell, et al 2012). Most well known among these approaches is
critical design, which uses hypothetical objects to challenge unquestioned socio-cultural
norms (e.g., see Teddy Bear Blood Bag Radio by Dunne and Raby) (Dunne and Raby, 2013).

In addition, adversarial design uses provocative design principles to address political issues
(e.g., see Project ZAPPED! by Heidi Kumao) (DiSalvo, 2012), and discursive design uses
utilitarian objects embedded in discourse to communicate ideas such as racial intolerance or
world hunger (e.g., see Hug salt and pepper shaker by Mint) (Tharp and Tharp, 2013).
Finally, reflective design focuses on stimulating reflection on unconscious values through
technologies embedded in computing devices (Sengers, et al 2005). In short, we use the
term provocative design to refer to design approaches that operate in a design space
where asking questions is as important as solving problems.
Despite offering fruitful ground for addressing social, political, and technological challenges
faced by contemporary society, the work on provocative design offers little information
about the process of designing for provocation. Mostly, the focus of provocative design lies
with the subject of design rather than the process of designing (Bardzell and Bardzell, 2013;
Bardzell, et al 2012). For instance, Dunne and Raby (2013) clarify the main goals of critical
design and provide many inspiring design examples, but they rarely provide reference to the
theory and decisions that informed these examples. Therefore, engaging with provocative
design can be very challenging for those who are inspired by it, but do not have a
background or training in realizing their intentions. Bardzell and Bardzell (2013) have stated
that developing tools and methods for critical design can support its broader adoption.
Following this, preliminary guidelines and tactics have been developed to support designers
in analysing critical designs (Ferri, et al 2014; Bardzell, Bardzell and Stolterman, 2014).
The goal of this paper is to propose design strategies that can be used to intentionally trigger
dilemmas as a way of provocation. Provocative design often evokes dilemmas. For instance,
Dunne and Raby (2013; p. 89) refer to critical design as way of highlighting dilemmas that
can challenge existing belief systems (also see Malpass, 2013; p. 341). Consider, for
example, Umbrellas for the Civil but Discontent Men in Figure 1. This product combines
the symbolic form of a gentlemans umbrella with the form of a sword. This combination
suggests a choice between meeting social expectations and being a sword-bearing man,
which may represent a dilemma between acting in a civil manner and acting aggressively. In
reality, the design may hardly encourage aggressive behaviours. However, through surfacing
such a dilemma, it may indeed stimulate contemplating societys expectations about civilized
people. Many examples of provocative design seem to trigger dilemmas to raise awareness
about a topic of interest. Therefore, we propose that identifying strategies for triggering
dilemmas can support designing for provocation. Here, we broadly define design strategies
as prompts for mental exercises that can support associative thinking and seeing alternative
solutions in idea generation.
2002
Provocative design for unprovocative designers: Strategies for triggering personal dilemmas
Figure 1 Umbrellas for the Civil but Discontent Men by Bruce and Stephanie Tharp for Materious.
Photo: Courtesy of the designers.
In this paper, we focus on designing to trigger personal dilemmas (i.e., dilemmas that involve
individual goals or values), and define them as the realization that one cannot
simultaneously engage in two behavioural alternatives (Ozkaramanli, Desmet and Ozcan,
2016). For instance, one cannot indulge in sweets, and at the same time, expect to lose
weight. Such mutually exclusive choices are guided by contradictory desires, motives, or
personal values; what we refer to as conflicting concerns. Being marked by indecision and
doubt, dilemmas may feel uncomfortable; however, they also serve an important purpose:
Hesitation is a way for the brain to slow down mental processes to collect information in
order to make better choices (Fleming, 2014). In line with this, products that trigger
dilemmas may disrupt or slow down decision making in favour of making informed
decisions. Here, we define triggering dilemmas as the intention to raise awareness about
conflict among personal concerns through designed products and services that engage the
user in a stop and think type of behaviour.
We used a bottom-up approach to understand how design can trigger dilemmas. For this,
we formulated two research questions: (1) what are the qualities of products that
(intentionally) trigger dilemmas? And (2) what are the strategies designers can use to trigger
dilemmas? To address the first question, we analysed designs that seem to trigger dilemmas
in collaboration with two design researchers, which resulted in three main categories. For
the second question, we examined how an understanding of these categories could
contribute to generating ideas through design workshops conducted with fifteen novice
designers. Answering these research questions can contribute to the emerging literature on
demystifying provocative design, which may be particularly valuable in contexts where this
2003
approach is not intuitively used. We conclude with a general discussion on the overlap
between designing to trigger dilemmas and designing for provocation.
Exploration of designs that trigger dilemmas

Sixty examples have been collected as input for an analysis session from literature, design
blogs, and student projects. Forty of these examples were utilitarian design objects. In
addition, we included examples from conceptual art (e.g., Fur Tea Cup by Meret
Oppenheim), critical design (e.g., the Hypothetical Lunch Box by Dunne and Raby), and
graphic design (e.g., Children Smoking with Adult Arms by Chi and Partners for the Roy
Castle Lung Cancer Foundation) to support a richer discussion. We selected examples that
seemed to trigger dilemmas (i.e., emphasized a potential conflict between personal
concerns) and that were supported by a description as communicated by the designer or the
artist. These examples were organized in the form of cards with a picture, a short
description, and the triggered dilemma as input for an expert evaluation.
2.1 Expert Evaluation

The first author analysed the collected examples in collaboration with two design
researchers, whose expertise were on sources of inspiration in design creativity and the
influence of designers intentions on the aesthetic perception of products. The main goal of
this analysis was to eliminate those examples that did not explicitly trigger a dilemma, and to
discuss the mechanisms through which the remaining examples triggered dilemmas.
In the first part of the session, the experts (including the first author) individually categorized
the examples according to four design criticality tactics proposed by Ferri et al (2014)1.
These tactics aim to support analysing critical design objects at varying abstraction levels
such as reading semantic cues. Because of this, they could provide a solid starting point for
discussion. The experts were asked to focus on the following two questions during analysis:
1) Does this example trigger the dilemma specified? If not, does it trigger another
dilemma? If not, discard the design.
2) Does this example fit one of the design criticality tactics? If so, which one? If not, put the
card aside to be discussed at the end of the session.
The second part of the session involved a discussion about the similarities and differences
among the categorizations of experts. This discussion was facilitated by the first author,
who asked about the points of agreement and disagreement among experts
categorizations. As a result of this discussion, all experts agreed to exclude the following
types of examples from further analysis: (1) Eight examples that were not considered
provocative and that did not trigger a dilemma; (2) conceptual art and graphic design
examples (both experts commented that possible strategies that can underlie the creation of
1In
contrast to design strategies, which focus on the significant behaviours of designers when ideating, the term design tactic refers to a
specific organization of significant elements in a designed object. In the case of Ferri et al (2014), design tactic refers to a specific
organization of semantic elements in critical design objects (G. Ferri, personal communication, 24 November 2015).
2004
such work would not be relevant for creating design objects with utility); and (3) ten
examples that were considered as provocative designs, but they were not thought to trigger
a dilemma beyond raising the question Do I, as a user, agree with the meaning this product
is trying to convey? For the remaining twenty-eight examples, all experts agreed that they
could trigger dilemmas in ways that merit further analysis. Table 1 outlines the results of
analysing the examples with an anchor example for each group.
Table 1 Analysis of design examples based on their potential for provocation and for triggering a
dilemma
Number
of cards
Explanation
Example
Image
Examples that do not

trigger a dilemma
Tank you by Thierry d'Istria for La

Tte au Cube: A vase that embodies
the opposing concepts of love and
war. Photo: Courtesy of La Tte au
Cube.
10
Conceptual art and

graphic design
examples
Dead Star by Michel de Broin: An

installation that is made out of
finished batteries.
14
Provocative design
examples that raise a
question but do not
trigger a dilemma
Ta Ta Top: A bikini top that aims to

promote questioning societys
expectations from women. Photo:
Courtesy of Ta Ta Top.
28
Design examples that

trigger a dilemma
Thrive Portionware by Sally NG: A

series of kitchenware that subtly
encourages people to eat less.
Photo: Courtesy of the designer.
2005
2.2 Three Categories of Products that Trigger Dilemmas

The twenty-eight design examples exemplify the type of products that trigger dilemmas;
however, they say little about the design approach taken to create such convincing
examples. To understand how design can trigger dilemmas, the experts also analysed the
behaviour of these examples based on the way they address conflicting personal concerns.
This yielded three distinct categories, which are described as follows and illustrated in Figure
2 with examples:
Embodied Symbols: Objects that embody symbols or clues that can represent
conflicting concerns.
Forced Choice: Objects that force the user to make a choice between two
behavioural alternatives that cannot be carried out at the same time.
Behaviour Barrier: Objects that form a barrier to one of the behavioural
alternatives, which is often the habitual or the automatic choice by the user.
Figure 2 Three categories of products that can trigger dilemmas
Sugar Gun lollipop (see Figure 2) carries a metaphor, eating sugar kills. Here, the gun may
symbolize a short life (a consequence of being unhealthy) whereas sucking on a lollipop may
symbolize enjoyment. By combining these two symbols, this product can trigger thinking
about conflicting personal concerns, such as the conflict between health and enjoyment. In
addition, Dilemma (see Figure 2) is a table piece that can be used as a fruit bowl or a cake
plate, which presents two alternative ways to enjoy food: eating healthily or indulging.
Here, the design requires the user to make a choice between two behavioural alternatives
(i.e., assembling the product as a fruit bowl or as a cake display) without suggesting the
better alternative. Finally, KitchenSafe (see Figure 2) is a lockable jar that aims to prevent
people from accessing tempting objects (e.g., candies, smartphone) for a desired amount of
time, programmed by the user. By forming a barrier to a habitual or automatic action, such
products can raise awareness about unquestioned choices (e.g., temptations) that rule our
everyday life.
2006
Generating design ideas to trigger dilemmas

The expert evaluation revealed that design could trigger dilemmas in, at least, three distinct
ways (i.e., embodied symbols, forced choice, behaviour barrier), which supports better
understanding this particular design intention. We suggest that an understanding of these
categories can be helpful in generating ideas to trigger dilemmas, in a context in which it is,
in fact, counterintuitive to do so. Therefore, we implemented the categories in a series of
ideation sessions with fifteen unprovocative designers, i.e., designers who have been
trained mainly as creative problem solvers with a structured and methodological approach
to designing.
As input for the ideation sessions, we (the authors) envisioned the steps that would be
necessary to deliberately create design ideas for each category of products. Using backward
thinking, we formulated active descriptions that can stimulate new ideas. For this, we
emphasized the nuances between the ways each category tackled dilemmas. For instance,
we observed that products that embody symbols, such as Sugar Gun Lollipop, stimulate
reflection about conflicting personal concerns (i.e., health vs. enjoyment), but do not
necessarily require the user to act upon these thoughts. In contrast, the second and the
third categories (forced choice and behaviour barrier, respectively) require making a choice
among behavioural alternatives, which may link action to reflection. In line with these
observations, we formulated the following preliminary strategies:
Embodied Symbols: Brainstorm about symbols for each concern in a dilemma,
and embody them in an object by modifying one or more of the following:
form, function, materiality, interaction, or use context.
Forced Choice: Brainstorm about possible choices in a dilemma, and create a
product that alternates between mutually exclusive behaviours.
Behaviour Barrier: Brainstorm about possible choices in a dilemma, and
choose a habitual or automatic choice. Create a design that acts like a
barrier to this choice, while, to some extent, preserving the possibility of
achieving it.
The preliminary strategies suggest that choosing appropriate symbols can facilitate creating
products for the first category, while the second and third categories necessitate a set of
behavioural choices as input. Therefore, we envision these categories to be used in
combination with a mind-mapping exercise, during which the participants can brainstorm
about appropriate symbols and behavioural choices.
3.1 Aim and Procedure

To refine and to further develop the preliminary design strategies, we conducted ideation
sessions with fifteen participants who had similar levels of design experience. All
participants were either alumni or master level graduate students at the faculty of Industrial
Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology. The participants were familiar with
the approach of designing with dilemmas; however, the topic of triggering dilemmas was
2007
new to them. Four sessions were conducted in groups of three to five participants to enable
in-depth discussions. Each session lasted approximately three hours.
One day before the workshop, participants received an email about the agenda of the
session and two design briefs to choose from. The first brief was about promoting condom
use to prevent transmission of sexually transmitted infections (see Baele, Dusseldorp and
Maes, 2001). The second brief was about promoting balanced smartphone usage (see
Harmon and Mazmanian, 2013). Each design brief included an explanation of the dilemma
relevant for the brief and illustrated on the model of dilemmas for designers (Ozkaramanli,
Desmet, and Ozcan, 2016) (see Figure 3a and 3b). Both design briefs were phrased in an
open-ended way to allow autonomy in specifying situations where triggering dilemmas
might be appropriate.
Figure 3 Two models that illustrate the dilemmas relevant for the two design briefs: (a) On the left:
conflict between safety and intimacy related to condom usage; and (b) on the right: the
conflict between curiosity and kindness related to smartphone usage.
In the sessions, the participants were first introduced to the phenomenon of dilemmas and
the three categories of products that can trigger dilemmas. As the categories could be
unfamiliar (and rather complex), the participants were asked to group a variety of design
examples under the given categories to clarify the nuances among them. Next, the
participants were asked to explore the dilemma in the design brief of their choice by
creating guided mind-maps.1 For this, they were asked to create two types of mind-maps:
one for symbols representing conflicting concerns (e.g., having safe sex vs. trusting my
partner) and one for mutually exclusive choices that correspond to the conflicting concerns
(e.g., talking about using a condom vs. ignoring the topic).
Finally, participants were asked to create ideas by using ingredients of the mind-maps and
by incorporating their understanding of the categories. To facilitate analysis of ideas, an
1Here,
we would like to differentiate between open mind-maps, i.e. those where the designers decide what the central concepts to
brainstorm about are; and guided mind-maps, i.e. those where the central concept and possibly some of the branches are pre-defined by
the researchers.
2008
ideation template was used on which the participants could describe their ideas and the
approach they used to create them. The participants were asked to create as many ideas as
possible, prioritizing variety and originality more than feasibility. Following idea generation,
the participants presented some of their ideas and discussed how they experienced the
process of designing to trigger dilemmas.
3.2 Analysis
The participants generated fifty-seven ideas in total. Nine ideas were discarded from
analysis since they were unclear or unfinished. Remaining forty-eight ideas were
categorized according to the three preliminary design strategies the participants intended to
use. In addition, all discussions were voice-recorded and transcribed as input for analysis.
The information on the transcripts and the idea sketches, supported by the comments on
the ideation templates, were analysed with a focus on the opportunities and challenges of
using the preliminary design strategies in ideation.
3.3 Findings
We structured our findings using two main information sources: reflections of the
participants on their own ideation process and evaluation of the final design ideas.
R EFLECTIONS ON THE IDEATION PROCESS
All participants mentioned that triggering dilemmas was an interesting design intention, yet
they also found it very challenging to implement. One participant phrased this challenge as
follows: Although I thought I am not really a problem solver, I went into problem solving
immediately. Now I realize that this approach is about taking different perspectives rather
than choosing one perspective to follow. In addition, fifteen ideas, despite being
interesting, intended to resolve dilemmas instead of triggering them. For instance, seven
participants thought about the same idea of underwear with a secret pocket for condoms to
make them easily accessible when needed. During discussions, the participants
acknowledged that such underwear might indeed promote using condoms, but might not
provoke questioning the topic through triggering dilemmas.
The mind-maps helped generating the necessary ingredients for implementing the
preliminary design strategies. Specifically, the participants talked about four main benefits:
(1) Structuring thoughts: The mind-maps helped me to structure what my opinion about this
design brief is. (2) Increasing efficiency: Creating the mind-maps seems time consuming,
but when it speeded things up when creating ideas. (3) Finding inspiration: Especially the
symbols mind-map was really helpful. I was already drawing on the mind-map, and it was
easy to get ideas out of there. (4) Broadening the mind-set: I was not really brainstorming
about phone usage. Instead, I was brainstorming about stimulation vs. mindfulness and that
helped me to be more open minded. Four participants noted that the fourth benefit could
also be a disadvantage, since freely brainstorming about symbols or situations could
disengage their thoughts from the focus of the design brief: The jump from the mind-maps
2009
to creating ideas was a big one for me; I felt that I missed something, like contextual
information, that could connect the ingredients on the mind-map in a meaningful way.
Figure 4 and Figure 5 illustrate example mind-maps created by the participants. Figure 4
shows a mind-map that explores the conflict between curiosity (e.g., check smartphone) and
kindness (e.g., ignore smartphone) through brainstorming about the symbols representing
each concern. Figure 5 shows a mind-map that explores the conflict between stimulation
(e.g., check smartphone) and mindfulness (e.g., ignore smartphone) through brainstorming
about possible choices that can fulfil each concern.
Figure 4 Mind-map that explores symbols for the conflict between curiosity (e.g., check smartphone)
and kindness (e.g., ignore smartphone)
Figure 5 Mind-map that explores possible choices for the conflict between stimulation (e.g., check
smartphone) and mindfulness (e.g., ignore smartphone)
Twelve out of fifteen participants mentioned that using the categories as a starting point for
ideation blocked their creativity and commented that the real inspiration came from the
exercise they did with the categories (i.e., embodied symbols, forced choice, behaviour
barrier): When I tried to pick a strategy to go on with, it was not working. It was too
rational. The description of the categories helped me to understand how it works or to check
whether my ideas are good or bad. But what worked best was the mind-maps in
combination with the exercise we did with categorizing different products. Another
2010
designer, who was aware of her personal preferences in generating ideas, said: Well, I
decided that I will not look at the strategies when I start. I will first create ideas and when I
get stuck, or when I have some ideas, I will go back to the strategies to analyse where they
fit, and to come up with more ideas or to improve the ones I have. Moreover, the designers
who did start ideating using the strategies mentioned that it was frustrating to start thinking
about one category and to end up with ideas for another: I wanted to do something for the
first category, but when I had an idea, I immediately started thinking is this the right
category?
E VALUATION OF THE FINAL DESIGN IDEAS
To better explain insights gained from the evaluation of participants ideas, we will refer to
six design ideas generated in the sessions and presented on Table 2.
Table 2 Six design ideas generated in the ideation sessions
Category 1
(Embodied Symbols)
Category 2
(Forced Choice)
Category 3
(Behaviour Barrier)
Sleeping Phone
Smartphone cover that displays a
sleeping eye when closed; and an
awake eye when open.
Love Counter
A transparent storage box in which
one can keep packaged condoms
in one compartment and part of
the packaging from used condoms
in another.
Breathing Phone
A smartphone phone gadget that
requires you to breathe slowly and
consciously into a tube in order to
unlock your phone.
Facebook Book
A phone case in the shape of a real
book, with title, Facebook.
Open Me
Condom packaging that only opens
on one side, while the other side
has pictures of people with a
sexually transmitted infection.
Ta-Du Phone
A smartphone application that,
when programmed, makes
annoying noises when one takes
his smartphone out of his pocket in
a social setting.
2011
Nine out of fifteen participants considered the first strategy to be very interesting, but
challenging to implement in the way it was presented. For instance, Sleeping Phone (Table
2) is a suitable example for this category because it symbolizes alertness (i.e., checking
phone) and relaxation (i.e., ignoring the phone) in one product. However, we observed that
it is important to think flexibly about combining symbols that represent conflicting concerns.
The Facebook Book (Table 2), for instance, combines a real book that symbolizes
constructive curiosity, with the Facebook logo that symbolizes destructive curiosity to
provoke the question does Facebook genuinely feed peoples curiosity? On the ideation
sheet, the participant noted, I used two symbols, but both are related to the concern for
curiosity, and none to the concern for kindness. I am really confused now. Although the
participant was satisfied with his idea, he could not rationalize using the first strategy. This
remark indicates that designers can refer to the strategies if and when they are needed,
instead of following them as a sequence of steps.
The second strategy received little attention from the participants compared to the others.
This could be due to the challenge of suspending ones moral judgment when designing,
which may particularly be challenging when the right choice seems clear (i.e., using a
condom). For example, Love Counter (Table 2) does not imply that using a condom is the
right (or wrong) action. Instead, it enables the user to track the consequences of both
actions. In contrast, Open Me, implies what the right choice is, which was apparent in
many ideas based on the second strategy.
Using the third strategy enabled the participants to communicate what they thought the
right choice was. However, when using this strategy, they found it challenging to identify
subtle barriers that would not be perceived as an annoying punishment by the users. For
instance, the participant who created the Ta-Du Phone (Table 2) commented that he would
never want a phone like that himself. However, the participants who discussed the
Breathing Phone (Table 2) thought that breathing slowly and consciously before using a
smartphone could be a subtle yet provocative barrier. This might explain why the third
strategy was used most frequently, while at the same time, many participants mentioned
that it was their least favourite strategy.
3.4 Discussion
Our findings indicate that triggering dilemmas as a means to design for provocation is a
different challenge than finding a creative way to deal with users personal dilemmas.
Designers who are trained to take deliberate design decisions (defining a target group, a
design context, or a clear design goal) may find it uncomfortable to delay these decisions or
leave them to the interpretation of the users. In contrast, much of provocative design
seems, often by the virtue of their ambiguity, to take comfort in allowing for multiple
interpretations by users (Gaver, Beaver and Benford, 2003). It might have been helpful to
further emphasize the essence of this design intention by, for example, engaging the
participants in a debate or a role-playing exercise about the design brief prior to the ideation
2012
session. Such exercises might have facilitated the sensitive mind-set of taking different
perspectives and stalling moral judgment.
The ideation sessions broadened our knowledge on the nature of the design strategies that
can be helpful in ideation when designing to trigger dilemmas. Bardzell et al (2012)
identified several challenges that can influence the critical design process, one of which is
about operationalizing critical theory: Making the leap from descriptive [critical theory] to
generative [designing], the designer must make judgments about how to proceed.
(Bardzell, et al 2012; p. 293; brackets added). This has proved to be a challenge in our work
as well: our experience shows that designers need a bridge between understanding a
dilemma and the act of triggering dilemmas. However, as the word strategy may
suggest, these strategies need not be concrete, step-by-step instructions similar to those in a
recipe book. Neither do we suggest that abstract goals such as design for provocation or
trigger a dilemma can provide a bridge between understanding and generating. Similar to
strong concepts proposed by Hk and Lwgren (2012), we envision design strategies to
reside on an abstraction level that transcends particular instances while maintaining a
generative value. In the context of designing to trigger dilemmas, we define design
strategies as a set of creative exercises that can facilitate reflection in action and being
sensitive to different perspectives on the subject of design, while suspending moral
judgment.
We argue that this extended definition of design strategies can work well due to the
involvement of three main mental activities during ideation: understanding, recognizing, and
generating (see Chi, 2009). For instance, the descriptions of the product categories helped
understanding principles that define these categories, classifying various product examples
under different categories helped recognizing them, and redesigning those examples to fit
under different categories helped generating new design ideas. More importantly, our
findings have shown that designers engage in these mental activities in an iterative fashion
(vs. a linear, consecutive fashion). In fact, starting the ideation with a specific category in
mind did not necessarily led to generating new ideas, whereas techniques such as
redesigning a rough idea using the principles from different categories, or using the
categories as a lens to analyse first ideas worked better. This active participation of
designers in building the strategies they use to generate ideas resembles the central
element of constructivist learning theories (Fosnot and Perry, 1996), which, in future
research, may form the basis for developing new techniques that can support ideation in the
context of designing for provocation
An important limitation of the ideation sessions should be mentioned. Both the design
briefs and the design approach being proposed were new to the participants, and thus,
allowing more time to understand and implement the input; for instance, in ideation
sessions with multiple-stages, could have been a more fruitful research format.
2013
General discussion
The promise of provocative design approaches has often been neglected in traditional
product design mainly due to the resulting objects being considered as art and lacking a
utilitarian function expected of traditionally designed objects (Malpass, 2015). Therefore,
designing to provoke reflection and debate has become an established practice only at few
universities such as Royal College of Art, Central Saint Martins, and Design Academy
Eindhoven, where it gradually acquired its privileged nature as a practice reserved for the
distinct few (Bardzell, et al 2013). Reasonably, if we had conducted the ideation sessions
with students or alumni of these institutions, our findings would have been drastically
different. However, we believe that designers who are trained in a problem-solving tradition
can also benefit from strategies that can support them in designing for provocation. Such
strategies can broaden the repertoire of their design thinking and stimulate creativity and
willingness to consider the ethical implications of their design intentions. In addition, the
increasingly interdisciplinary nature of design and its ambition to deal with complex societal
issues have broadened the definition of function in design. This development seems to
make provocative design approaches more relevant to traditional design than they may have
ever been.
In this paper, we argued that triggering dilemmas might be a means to designing for
provocation. The two approaches have both similarities and differences. First, a common
aim for provocative design is to challenge socio-cultural norms, values, and assumptions, in
order to cultivate social awareness, whereas, triggering dilemmas focuses on personal
desires, norms, values and aspirations, in service of self awareness. Second, even though
provocative design, particularly critical design, takes inspiration from everyday objects, it
does not usually result in designs that are bought and used by a general audience. In
contrast, we intend products that trigger dilemmas to be utilitarian and embedded in
everyday life. We argue that their repeated usage, which may invite interpretation,
discussion, and reflection, can be a strength for such products. Third, triggering dilemmas is
only one way of designing for provocation, where other means are possible such as creating
curiosity and engagement through ambiguity. Because of this, experts who participated in
the research categorized some of the products as provocative designs that do not trigger a
dilemma. These products do embody arguments and ideas, but these ideas do not
necessarily represent personal dilemmas.
Finally, we provided insights on the nature of design strategies that can be used to generate
ideas to trigger dilemmas. Specifically, we aimed to contribute to the dynamics of ideation
and utilized the ingredients of dilemmas (e.g., conflicting concerns and mutually exclusive
behavioural alternatives) to formulate preliminary design strategies. The way we defined
design strategies, i.e., creative exercises that facilitate perspective taking and stalling moral
judgment, can be extended. For instance, Gaver et al (2003) identified three types of
ambiguity (information, context, and relationships) and proposed several strategies for each
(e.g., point out things without explaining why). In addition, Ferri et al (2014) proposed the
design criticality tactics, namely thematic blending, semantic shifts, social transgression, and
2014
body modification, which can be used to analyse critical designs. Such tactics may also be of
great value in ideation as they extend the understanding of the behaviour of provocative
design examples. Therefore, studying the generative value of these tactics is an interesting
direction for future research.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Odette Da Silva Cardozo and Milene
Goncalves who took part in the expert evaluation, Gabriele Ferri who commented on an
earlier version of this manuscript, and all research participants who attended the design
workshops. Also, we extend special thanks to the reviewers for their insightful
comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by MAGW VIDI grant
number 452-10-011 of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (N.W.O.)
awarded to P. M. A. Desmet.
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About the Authors:

Deger Ozkaramanli is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Industrial
Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology, and a lecturer
at the University of Liverpool. Her research focuses on developing
tools and methods that support user-centered designers in designing
with emotional dilemmas.
Pieter Desmet is Full Professor of Design for Experience at the
Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of
Technology. He chairs a research group that focuses on the fields of
design for emotion and design for subjective wellbeing.
2016
A case based discussion on the role of Design

Competences in Social Innovation
Tamami Komatsua, Manuela Celia*, Francesca Rizzob and Alessandro Desertia
a
Alma Mater Studiorum Universit di Bologna
* manuela.celi@polimi.it
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.176
Abstract: Thus far, many contributions in the field of design have described designs
role in the life cycle of a successful Social Innovation (SI). Design, in fact, has been
proposed by many authors to be the most suitable approach to developing SI
initiatives from their start-up to release.
In particular, some authors have proposed Design Thinking as the best methodology
for the development of new SIs; while others, promote Participatory Design as the
best method to support SIs, heralding its process of collaboration, networking and
coproduction.
Nevertheless, many research results have demonstrated that the need to find a
balance between social and economic objectives is one of the main barriers to SI.
This paper discusses these general results as they have been elaborated in the
context of the SIMPACT European project and focuses on the value of design
competences to better design SI products, services and brands, which is explored
through the discussion of two well established cases of SI in Europe.
Keywords: Social Innovation; Design Thinking, Design Competences; SI Economic and Social
Value
Introduction
Europe is currently facing many societal challenges concerning vulnerable groups, from
preventing migrant death in the Mediterranean (but not only) to delivering health and social
care for an increasingly aging population. In this context, European research is addressing
immigration, social exclusion and discrimination, as well as unemployment (specially youth
unemployment), by exploring original forms of innovation.
Contemporarily, were also observing the rise of a social design moment characterized by
a socially-oriented objective instead of predominantly commercial or consumer-oriented
ends. In fact, there is already a widespread acknowledgement of the role of design and its
potential in facing societal challenges and helping social innovations (SI) to flourish.
In particular, there is an increasing awareness of the impact design has on understanding
and framing problems and finding solutions in collaboration with communities, influencing
societies and the wider environment (Armstrong et al., 2014 ). According to a recent report
from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (2015), we can also talk about Social Design
as a design-based practice aimed at collective and social ends, rather than predominantly
commercial or consumer-oriented objectives, which operates across many fields of
application including the local and central government, as well as policy areas such as
healthcare and international development (Armstrong et al., 2014).
Despite wide acknowledgement of design as a strategic tool for developing SI initatives,
especially Design Thinking, and the urgency in which social issues are rising, design is still
underestimated or not considered as a resource in SI praxis; an insight that was drawn from
the study of 26 Business Case Studies under the SIMPACT Project, a European Project funded
under the 7th Framework Programme.
Taking as a starting point one of the main results of SIMPACT, which illustrated how the vast
majority of social innovators (80.7%) seek to obtain a particular social objective or a set of
social objectives in combination with economic, respectively commercial, goals, this paper
analyses and discusses the only two successful cases from SIMPACT benefitting from the role
of design competences in shaping the tangible and intangible values of their products or
services.
In particular, the two cases make evident that creating factors of competitive advantage that
go beyond the social mission is necessary to survive in a competitive business environment
and exemplify how the application of design competences can contribute towards the
development of the social innovators ability to generate revenues to be invested in the
social objective.
The paper is organised as follows: section 2 describes the relationships that have been
drawn until now, in literature, between design and SI and section 3 introduces the SIMPACT
cases collection, as well as the two cases here discussed as examples of competitive SIs
based on a design-oriented attitude. The final section draws some general conclusions and
further steps from the SIMPACT project with respect to where we are with the application of
Design Culture and design competences on SI
Design and its affinity with Social Innovation

Regarding the diffusion of Design and especially of Design Thinking as the most suitable
methodological approach to develop successful Social Innovation (SI), the debate here is still
superficial and lacks a serious elaboration in the field of design practices and how it can be
applied to SI processes.
2018
A case based discussion on the role of Design Competences in Social Innovation
In particular, Design Thinking is advocated, today, as the most suitable method to design SI
solutions without however distinguishing the strategic level of policy from the operative
level of the solutions.
If, at the general level, we observe a contradiction between the idea of SI as a kind of
bottom-up process and that of design as a process of innovation led through the application
of specific design competences (design-driven innovation), we also want to underline one
bias that is occurring in the field of SI: that Design Thinking has been applied until now to
analyse ex-post processes of SI. In this regard, we have seen a proliferation of studies that
has tried to demonstrate how SI development can be described with user-centred design
principles, which call for the involvement of end-users and beneficiaries in the development
process of the solutions. Moreover, SI has been interpreted thus far by applying the typical
process of New Product Development (Murray, Caulier-Grice and Mulgan, 2010) and it has
been conceptualised as the development and implementation of new ideas, products,
services and programmes to meet social needs (Mulgan et al., 2007).
While there is much buzz surrounding Design for SI, real practices seem to be quite distant
from the application of basic principles of design. Moreover, it is also true that design shows
a high potential for SI mainly for two fundamental reasons: SIs address problems that
present high levels of complexity due to their intrinsic correlation with societal challenges;
SIs require the involvement of different actors in order to be solved.
Regarding the first dimension, these kinds of problems are often chronic and unmet, even if
the forms in which they appear are completely new (the problem of migration has always
been faced by advanced countries in different historical periods yet if we think of it as it is
emerging in Europe these days, we can perceive, for example, the new difficulty that arises
from the impossibility to control the flows). As a result, we need the collaboration of new
and old expertise to manage them.
Regarding the second dimension, the needs SIs address show a high degree of complexity
due to the high number of actors involved in their solutions. This factor imposes a process
of mediation capable of aligning and forming agreements between the involved
stakeholders.
This complexity, however, has been largely misunderstood, with the idea that the mere
involvement of users in setting ideas and understanding their needs would correspond to
the introduction of design and its practices in SI development. This is the idea behind the
contribution of Brown and Wyatt (2010) that has merited the introduction of Design
Thinking in the context of SI as a strategic tool but that, at the same time, due to its nature,
neglects to report the practices and the cultures that operatively transform a solution (a
product, a service) into a design-oriented one.
Contrary to this perspective, we introduce here the notion of design culture as a specific
system of knowledge, competences and skills that operates within a specific context to
develop new products, that mediates between the world of production and consumption
2019
and that coordinates multiple factors related to technology, market and society (Deserti
and Rizzo, 2014).
With this respect the introduction of Design Culture and practices within the context of SI do
not only rely on the collaborative dimension, between the end users or the beneficiaries and
the initiator of the SI. Design Culture brings with it both the capability to strategically meet
the needs of the users with the competences to deal with constraints related to all of the
factors that affect the process of innovation development (technological, organisational,
infrastructural, commercial, etc.).
SIMPACTs research results have demonstrated that SI is still far away from a conscious
application of Design Culture. The majority of the cases showed that constraints still tend to
be underestimated; solutions are often drafted and applied before a sound development;
and prototypes tend to be considered solutions to be maintained as long as possible, rather
than intermediate objects meant to be turned into stable products.
But SIMPACT cases have also shown that when design culture applies to SI products, services
and goods it can become more competitive and sustainable by better balancing its economic
and social objectives. In the next section, we will focus our attention on the SIMPACT case
collection and particularly on two cases, in which design did play a role in the solution, either
immediately from the initial phases or later on, spurred by a need to be competitive on the
market.
SIMPACT cases collection

In SIMPACT, we analysed 26 case studies of Social Innovation (SI) that occurred across
Europe during recent years, with a specific focus on their economic foundation. Their
construction was based on case study methodology, used as a research frame particularly
appropriate for examining a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context during its
evolution, when boundaries are blurred and not so clearly defined (Yin, 2014: 13). The
SIMPACT project adopted a qualitative approach with the aim of exploring a real-life,
contemporary bounded system (a case) over time, through a detailed and in-depth data
collection involving several sources of information (Creswell, 2013: 97). In particular, the
cases analysis advance the understanding of the economic aspects of already-known and
described cases, by means of deep qualitative desk research (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Denzin
& Lincoln, 1994), during which the authors collected and compared information coming from
different sources: scientific publications, non-scientific publications, interviews or
presentations of the initiators, websites of the enterprises or initiatives among others. The
use of multiple sources enabled the exploration of complex situations, allowing for the
gathering of multiple perspectives.
The case studies provide SIMPACT with an important means of understanding the economic
aspects of social innovation and of grounding Design Thinking by analysing the business
models that inform SIs. In the longitudinal studies of the cases prepared in the context of
the SIMPACT project, we noticed that if on one side, design thinking has not been
2020
internalized in SI processes, on the other, when design is present in detailing the offer in SIs,
it can increase its possibility to become successful.
In the following, we present Progetto QUID and Libera Terra as cases that show the role of
design as a tool to make SI goods, products and services that render them competitive in the
market.
3.1 Progetto QUID as a case of product design

Progetto QUID, an ethical and eco-friendly Made in Italy fashion brand, provides an
interesting example of the potential role of design in the start-up phase of a social
innovation. Progetto QUID is a Type B social cooperative based in Verona, Italy 1. It works
off a double value proposition: a) by providing training and employment opportunities in the
fashion industry to abused women and b) by offering major Italian fashion brands a way to
re-use discarded or left-over stock material through the production of new product lines
under a socially responsible brand.
The idea behind Progetto QUID stems from the desire of its two founders, Anna Fiscale and
Ludovico Mantoan, to help abused women find employment. The location, their personal
networks of friends and family and the core team, which other than themselves included
two young designers, facilitated the choice of the fashion industry as the most feasible
business idea. Progetto QUID is located in Verona, which is at the heart of
VeronaProntaModa, recognized by the Veneto Region in 2003 as the Fast Fashion industrial
district. The Fast Fashion industry produces clothes mid-season, basing production on items
that have had the most success. This strategy directly contrasts traditional fashion, whose
clothes are planned and produced entirely before the beginning of the season. Specializing
in Fast Fashion allows for lower investment in the styling and prototyping phases but
requires a larger organization of highly efficient work to cut production time.
Being situated in this district granted Progetto QUID a vast potential network of partners to
insert themselves and the ability to feed off the intellectual resources at hand. The social
enterprises original idea was to re-style clothes from previous seasons to sell in their store;
however, this plan proved to be too difficult and provided low margins. After noticing the
large amounts of discarded and scrap materials from previous seasons, the team decided it
would be smarter to re-use the waste material to create new clothes from scratch. The first
materials were donated to them by an important partnership developed with Calzedonia, a
prominent intimate apparel company in Italy and the first to introduce Fast Fashion in the
sector. The partnership with Calzedonia proved to be very fruitful and beyond providing
them with free primary resources, allowed them the opportunity to test their products and
learn the skills necessary to work quickly and efficiently. Progetto QUID furthermore, faces
additional difficulties compared with traditional fashion companies as they must make do
with whatever material they have at hand. The creative team is hence limited in their ability
Type B social cooperatives are profit-generating third sector organizations in Italy, in which 30% of the workforce must be
composed of disadvantaged people by law.
2021
to follow market trends as they are forced to design items based on the material stock
provided; quantity is also an issue as the amount of material available is limited making it
difficult to leverage popular items for higher yields. On the flip side, items are original and
unique due to the nature of their production and hold a high social and ecological value for
customers.
Under these resource constraints, Progetto QUIDs team can thus be characterized by a
bricolage attitude that leveraged a strong ability to transform relational value into economic
value. The presence of designers in the start-up phase played an important role in this,
allowing the team to remain creative under pressure and not only produce novel
contributions with perceived waste but also to be resilient to organizational and strategic
change. The success of the social enterprise can thus be attributed to its creativity and
ability to acquire resources from its partner network (Calzedonia, in particular) and local
territory and use them efficiently to promote their final goal: employment for abused
women.
Unlike traditional firms who internalize know-how and competencies in the company
structure, Progetto QUID relies on the intellectual resources provided by their partner
network and local territory. In fact, the cooperative relies on its partner network for most of
its resources: intellectual (know-how), primary (donated materials) and some human
(abused women who are hired from social services). The cooperatives core structure is thus
amplified by mutual relationships created with supporting structures, suppliers, distribution
channels and local, territorial entities; hence their tools and knowledge set is embedded
within the local context rather than being limited to the organization alone. Not only do the
objectives of the cooperative blur sector boundaries mixing economic and social objectives,
but the boundaries of the cooperative are likewise blurred, extending beyond the
organizational structure and into the vast network of relations created by the cooperative; a
network that holds in itself a relational value of increasing worth. Progetto QUID illustrates
the perhaps unique aspect of design culture in social innovations: its potential role in
fostering and harnessing the rising importance of relational value in embedding companies
in territories and markets.
3.2 Libera Terra as a case of communication and brand design

Libera Terra is a network of nine social cooperatives, mostly in Southern Italy, producing
organic food and wine on assets confiscated from the mafias. Libera Terra is the concrete
result of the advocacy work done by its parent association, Libera, who under the leadership
of Don Luigi Ciotti collected one million signatures to petition for the law 109/96 targeting
the economic power of the Mafiosi by confiscating their assets and designating them to
those subjectsassociations, cooperatives, municipalities, provinces, and regionsable to
restore them to the citizens through the production of services, activities of social promotion
and employment.
Libera Terras social cooperatives currently manage 1,400 hectares of confiscated lands and
employ about 140 people. In collaboration with the Consortium Libera Terra Mediterraneo
2022
(LTM), established in 2008, the cooperatives produce 60 different products, including pasta,
legumes, salsas, honey, cookies, coffee, sweets, juice, olive oil and wine under the brand,
Libera Terra (the wine is sold under the brand Centopassi and Libera Terra).
LTM was established to consolidate the business strategy of the cooperatives and centralize
not only their agricultural planning but also their marketing and brand management. The
success of LTM can been seen in a 30% increase in total turnover in 2010, compared to 2009.
In fact, the total turnover in agricultural goods alone rose by 34% and the net profit
increased by 121%; results which testify the need for centralized coordination (Fiore, 2014).
The Libera Terra brand however is owned by the association Libera, to whom they pay
royalties. The brands, Libera and Libera Terra, in fact share the same color codes and the
word libera, Italian for freedom. The joint branding was important especially in the
startup phase as it gave credibility to the social cause of the brand, which was the first ploy
to attract customers. Importance was placed at the beginning on the social value of the
product rather than on the quality of the product, as the products took on the advocacy
work and social values promoted by the association and the cooperatives themselves.
In 2008, however, at the onset of LTMs work, an improved brand strategy was of
paramount importance in order to create a more solid market: one based on the quality of
the products rather than solely on their added social value a decision made based on the
philosophy that pity purchases do not constitute regular purchases. The cooperatives
needed a stable market of customers buying their products equally for both the quality and
taste and the added social value. LTM thus started making gradual changes, first by
modifying the brands tagline from made from lands confiscated from the mafias to lands
freed of the mafias, changing the semantic power of the phrase from one which highlights
the act of taking away to one being liberated and freed. The second change was made in the
branding of its wine products, removing the tagline all together from the front of the bottle
leaving only the brand, Centopassi, and placing the Libera Terra brand with the tagline on
the back of the bottle, in order to further base consumer choice on the quality of the
product rather than the social value.
Libera Terra thus highlights the importance of designing artefacts in social innovation
capable of communicating the social message while likewise rendering the product or
service competitive on the market. It therefore highlights an interesting trait of design
culture in social enterprises that not only must mediate between production and
consumption but also between different value propositions: balancing the added social
value of products and services with their commercial value and thus mediating between the
for-profit and non-profit divide. Design culture in social enterprises furthermore must
mediate not only internally but externally as well, interfacing with the multiple stakeholders
that are a part of the solution.
2023
3.3 Cases discussion

The SIMPACT cases have largely demonstrated how Design Cultures and practices are still
superficially affecting Social Innovation (SI).
If attention to the needs of the beneficiaries as well as those of all of the stakeholders
involved is clearly a characteristic of SI, then the clear assumption of constraints, the
detailed design of solutions, the use of prototyping to test and provide feedback for their
refinement are quite rarely emerging as established practices in SI.
On the contrary, Progetto QUID and Libera Terra have shown the potential that the
introduction of Design Culture and practices may have on improving SI chances to become
sustainable by improving the quality of the offering.
The literature on management as well as that on design has already discussed the role of
design as a competitive asset in the for-profit sector (Borja de Mozota, 2002; Verganti, 2009;
Martin, 2009). However, we still observe serious barriers in the field of SI to combine the
idea of competitiveness with that of social impact, as pursued by SI initiates. If in general we
observe a sort of reticence to talk about the quality of the products and services SI offers,
Progetto QUID and Libera Terra show specific treats that exemplify the impact that design
culture can have to produce and offer good products.
Specifically, we discuss the elements of design culture expressed by each of the abovedescribed cases to conceive and release a successful offering that can be synthetized as
follows:
high capability in product design;
high quality of manufacturing;
strong communication strategy and brand design.
High capability in product design
Progetto QUID represents a product innovation and a new method of production by: (1)
finding a new channel to source its primary resource (cloth/textile materials); (2) producing
in outsourcing for major brands their socially responsible clothing line; and (3) using the
surrounding territory as an asset.
On the basis of these three components, Progetto QUID applied design competences and
the skills of two young designers to design their products. While the original idea was to
restyle clothes from previous seasons and sell them in their own stores, the introduction of
specific design competences soon influenced the choices of the founders. They found that
clothes were difficult to re-style and discovered that companies had a lot of scrap cloth left
over from previous seasons, which could no longer be used. Progetto QUID decided to
change strategies and use the leftover cloth to make new clothes. The cloth, coming from
top fashion companies, were also guaranteed to be of high quality, allowing Progetto QUID
to create not only unique items but high quality garments.
Libera Terra represents an innovative case of SI for the attention spent on a high quality
offering and a large product portfolio. The Consortium Libera Terra Mediterraneo (LTM) and
2024
the Agency Cooperare con Libera Terra were developed to facilitate commercial growth
strategies, knowledge and skills. An important part of this strategy was gaining the skills
necessary to bring quality to their products and to be competitive in traditional markets.
The Libera Terra cooperatives are furthermore governed by an ethical code which binds
their entire supply chain from local wheat farmers who help supply the necessary grains for
their flour production to those who help transform raw material into final products. The
suppliers must uphold to all of the criteria set forth in the code, which include being mafia
free and using organic farming methods. After over a decade of development since the
founding of the first cooperative, Libera Terras products have risen in quality and in
response their brand strategy and packaging has evolved to highlight this aspect as will be
seen below, focusing on quality rather than the social value.
High quality of the manufacturing
The success of Progetto QUID is highly rooted in the fertile, fashion and textile industry
located in Verona, a factor which should be evaluated in scaling efforts or replication
strategies. After investigating the opportunities that could stem from Verona, the two
founders chose to dedicate themselves to fashion because they saw that it had the most
potential, due to: the fertile fashion industry in the territory, the large network of familyowned companies and the handful of large brands based in Verona. The focus on fashion in
fact resulted from an evaluation of the high-quality manufacturing available in the territory.
The success of Libera Terra is rooted in the strengthening of local production through local
employment, which exploits the knowledge and competences coming from the culture of
the territories used to make the Libera Terra products. Each individual Libera Terra
cooperative specializes in the food products coming from their own region and local
territory. For the adhering cooperative, agricultural planning is strategically and centrally
managed by LTM, as is the marketing strategy, allowing for a coordinated approach to
market trends. As each cooperative is competing in the same niche market, it is important
that the products are diversified in order to prevent internal competition. Moreover, the
ethical code also enforces a distinct attention towards the quality of suppliers. Furthermore,
the cooperatives benefit from the extensive knowledge and input of their partners,
Legacoop (one of the four main macro-associations of cooperatives in Italy with over 15,000
members (cooperatives), in particular. Other certifications, such as organic food certificates
issued by government agencies and national wine regulations also assist in assuring the
manufacturing quality of the products.
Strong communication strategy and brand design.
On top of the above outcomes and impacts, both cases benefit from a positive brand image
and the presence of strong communication strategies that allow them to build valuable
networks and partnerships.
The sound social and business ethos of Progetto QUID allowed them to work with
companies like Calzedonia in constructing a positive brand image while creating resonance
with end users. They decided to change their business strategy from focusing on items to be
2025
sold in their stores to items commissioned from their partner companies to be sold in the
companys distribution channels; thereby reaching a larger potential client base while
maintaining the Progetto QUID brand.
Libera Terras social cooperatives distribute their economic resources primarily to cover
costs. Any remaining surplus is reinvested in the company. Being part of a strong network
and supporting ecosystem brings great visibility and publicity to the SI especially when linked
to a strong mission. LT also benefits greatly from the advocacy of its parent association
Libera and from its network of partners, including Legacoop. The brand faced a re-design
following their initial Cause-Related Marketing phase: the Libera Terra cooperatives realized
that their products had to be chosen for their quality and not solely for their ethical or social
value to have a market presence that wasnt seasonal or occasional but constant. The
cooperatives thus, through LTM, implemented a new brand strategy focused on the quality
of the products: organic, local and made on lands freed from the mafias. The packaging also
changed in order to create a strong, clear brand image and culture that celebrated the local
traditions that were allowed to express themselves thanks to the freed lands.
Conclusion and further steps

In conclusion, the two cases, Progetto QUID and Libera Terra, have been reported in this
article as exceptions and examples of the role that design can play in supporting Social
Innovations (SI) to operatively develop products and services and strategically define their
communication and brand strategy. Both cases have shown that when design culture meets
SI, it can strongly impact the capability of the solution to become sustainable and selfstanding.
This in turn may help SI to overcome some of the typical barriers that may prevent its
development, like: dependency on public funds, donations and volunteering; the lack of
specific competences and skills of production; the dilemma of balancing economic and social
value; and the problem of scalability.
However, the majority of the cases from the SIMPACT collection has shown that SI praxis is
still far away from applying design culture, competences and principles, despite many
contributions, mainly from design theory that are drawing relations between SI and Design.
The last few years have seen a rise of new forms, such as: co-design, co-construction,
collaborative design, community design, design activism, frame creation (Dorst, 2015), social
innovation (Manzini 2015) and manifestos such as Design for Transformation (Burns et al. ,
2006) and DesignX (Ju, Neeley & Leifer,2007) that push designers to use their skills to work
on major societal challenges and to give shape to SI.
Despite the large number of contributions that are theorizing and recommending the
application of design methodologies for the development of SI, the research SIMPACT
conducted on 26 cases of SI in Europe has shown however that design has not yet been
disseminated and applied in this area. Moreover, the two cases in which it did play a role
have highlighted how, most of the time, the development of SI is far from being a typical
2026
New Product Development (NPD) process of design driven innovation (Terstriep et al, 2015).
In addition, Participatory Design, and its multiple techniques, does not appear to be applied
in the design and implementation of the partnerships and the small scale networks that
typically promote and start-up SI. On the contrary, the majority of the SIMPACT cases failed
to demonstrate the application of Design at a strategic, as well as operative level; SIs
furthermore appear as the result of bricolage and improvisation while facing problems
under resource scarcity (Guntry et al., 2011). The role that Design can have in creating
added value, by designing services, products or communication strategies for SIs to make
them more successful, is in the majority of cases neglected. Our hypothesis is that until
now, post-analyses of cases likely tried to impose the Design Thinking method as a series of
steps along which to sort out SI steps. Despite abundant literature stating the role of usercentred design for SI development, the real practices seem to be quite distant from the
application of basic design principles.
In this sense, on-going steps of the project are trying to include a design perspective on two
accounts:
understanding where, when and how design culture may intervene in the
process of SI development both at a strategic as well as operative level. Along
this line of research, the authors will start from the evidence that has emerged
from the case analysis that have shown that while the process of SI is far from
being comparable to a NPD strategy, there is a creative and constrained
process, taking place under resource scarcity.
designing a toolbox for social innovation that includes - among other fields
operational instruments also some selected service design tools to facilitate
both the generation of new SIs and the development of those already existing.
In conclusion, while the majority of the cases did not have the resources to support an idea
generation and prototyping phase, the two cases above demonstrate that when SIs attempt
to approach the traditional market, introducing elements of design, even in a non-codified
and unstructured manner, allowed them to be more competitive. Generally, SIs instead
scale through a complex, open and participatory process resulting from highly constrained
creative processes that include serendipity, bricolage and a high level of context
dependency.
Acknowledgements: The present article is situated in the context of a wider, on-going
research project SIMPACT Boosting the Economic Impact of Social Innovation in
Europe through Economic Underpinnings. The project is funded under the European
Commission 7th Framework Programme for research, development and demonstration
under Grant Agreement No. 613411 that examines the economic foundation of social
innovation.
2027
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About the Authors:

Tamami Komatsu is a Researcher at the Politecnico di Milano. She
primarily focuses on design in social innovation and the social
economy.
Manuela Celi, PhD in Industrial Design, is currently Assistant
professor at the Dipartimento di Design of the Politecnico di Milano.
Her research interests are focused on design driven innovation and
on the different forms of knowledge connected to design.
Francesca Rizzo, Ph.D., holds a Tenure Track position at the
University of Bologna where she teaches Design Studio and Service
Design. Assistant professor at Politecnico di Milano (2009-13) she is
an expert in Service Design and Participatory Design.
Alessandro Deserti, Full professor of product design at Politecnico di
Milano. His research focuses on approaches, practices and tools for
the design driven innovation: in this field he published several
articles, and works as a consultant for many companies and
institutions.
2030
Riding Shotgun in the Fight Against Human

Trafficking
Lisa Mercer
University of North Texas, USA
lisa@lisamercerdesign.com
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.211
Abstract: The 3.5 million truck drivers on U.S. highways are in a unique position to
identify incidents of human trafficking and to help victims by providing information
to authorities. Studies show that truck stops in the United States are a common
venue for sex trafficking due to their remote locations and lax security. This research
project asks: How can a specifically designed technologically-based communication
enable truck drivers to report incidents at a higher rate than is now being reported?
Keywords: Qualitative Design, Inclusive Design, Activity Theory, Human Centred Design
Introduction
When I first started studying human trafficking, I was surprised to discover its proximity to
my home and my childrens school and the sheer number of victims affected globally and
domestically. The desire and urge to know more about human trafficking grew, and
eventually, I decided this was the cause I wanted to focus on for my thesis.
Since starting this project, I have heard stories about victims of human trafficking on a
regular basis. Some stories have stuck with me more than others, not because they are
worse, but because they are compounded by the ages of the victim. One friend shared a
story about a young girla girl so young that she was still in pigtailswhose parents sold
her as a sex worker to help pay their rent and bills.
During my secondary research, I read a story about a 16-year-old girl named Sarah, who ran
away from home and was introduced to one of her traffickers through a friend. She was
taken to a house in Phoenix, Arizona where she was bound, violently gang raped, and kept in
a dog kennel where she was threatened with a gun. She was physically harmed and
psychologically imprisoned as her captors repeatedly threatened to hurt her family should
she attempt to leave. She was continuously raped and forced to prostitute herself during
Lisa Mercer
her time with the traffickers. The only reason Sarah survived was because one of her
captors was arrested and told the police Sarah was hiding in the box spring of a mattress and
thought she might run out of oxygen (NBC News, 2015).
Statement of Problem
Human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery and sex and labor trafficking, has seen
an increase in public awareness in the United States since 2000, when the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act became federal law. This allowed human trafficking to be punishable by law
as a federal crime. The definition of human trafficking used in this study comes from the
first global legally binding definition formed by the United Nations in 2003:
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of
the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of
deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or
receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control
over another person, for the purpose of exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery
or practices similar to slavery, servitude and the removal of organs. (Trafficking in
Persons Protocol, article 3 (a))
When referring to sex laborers, child sex laborers, and victims of survival sex in this study, I
am referring to them as victims who have been held by means of threat or use of force or
other forms of coercion (Trafficking in Persons Protocol, 2009). Children who are sex
laborers are often runaways, abducted, or neglected. They receive little to no support from
a guardian and are forced into trading sex for money or basic necessities. In this study, the
basic human needs refer to those originally articulated by Maslow in 1943, which
determined the five basic necessities every human must meet every day in the following
order: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. The most
important is the foundation the other four must rest on, the physiological needs, which
include breathing, food, water, and sleep. When a childs basic needs are not being met, it
creates an ideal scenario for traffickers to take advantage of their vulnerability. Whereas
basic necessities are often the reason children are coerced into human trafficking, this does
not equate to a particular economic bracket of our society.
Sex Trafficking
Sex trafficking has become the fastest growing form of organized crime in which the
perpetrators control their victims by subjecting them to physical and emotional abuse
(Walker, 2013). There is a common misperception that human trafficking is less likely to
happen to an American citizen and more likely to occur to a foreign national brought to the
United States. It is estimated that 41% of sex trafficking victims in the United States are U.S.
citizens (National Human Trafficking Resource Center, 2013). Victims of human trafficking
come from a range of situations that include runaways, kidnappings, foster care, neglect,
abuse, homelessness, a lack of support, or a combination of these. It is becoming
increasingly common for victims to be lured online through social media or online gaming
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Riding Shotgun in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
targeting children from every socio-economic bracket. Females represent 80% of the victims
of sexual trafficking and their average age is 1214 years old. Male victims of sexual
trafficking are recruited between the ages of 1113 years old (Walker, 2013). The male
victims average age is getting younger because of the demands of the men who solicit sex
workers, commonly referred to as Johns. Girls are typically sold ten times each night, six
nights a week, adding up to one girl being raped approximately 15,000 times by the time she
is 18, when she becomes a willing participant (Hunt, 2013).
The story of Sarah detailed at the beginning of this paper demonstrates one of many ways
children are recruited into sex trafficking. Sara Ann Friedman of the organization End Child
Prostitution and Trafficking USA (2005) interviewed a young woman named Sonya, who said
she had been moved to more states than she could remember and had left the life many
times, but always felt it was the only thing she thought she was good at, so she returned to
it. According to the organization Demand Abolition (Hunt, 2013), a paradigm shift is needed
regarding how the roles people play in the human trafficking of minors are named and
referred to in the media. Instead of a child prostitute, this organization believes that an
underage sex worker should be referred to as someone who is being raped as a means to
provide profits to whomever is forcing her to accept money for sexual services (Hunt,
2013). Instead of calling the people who solicit these minors Johns, Demand Abolition
believes they should be referred to as sexual predators. It was not until 2005 that the U.S.
government legally recognized the importance of changing the term from juvenile
prostitution to commercial sexual exploitation of children or child sex trafficking. This
applies to anyone eighteen and younger who has transacted sex for basic needs, such as
money, food, or a place to stay. A study conducted by the University of Toledo on Domestic
Minor Sex Trafficking (Prior, 2009) reported, Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of
2000 and its revisions in 2005 and 2008 has done much to change the perception of child sex
trafficking at the federal level (p. 47). The TVPA helped change some of the language
government officials use to refer to victims of human trafficking. For instance, juvenile
prostitution is now referred to as commercial sexual exploitation of children, and pimps are
now called traffickers. The change in terms is important for a paradigm shift to occur in how
people view children who are victims of trafficking. Friedman (2005) expands on this topic
stating,
The public, by and large, has come to view prostitution as a victimless crime and makes
little distinction between adults and adolescents under eighteen. Advocates argue
that juvenile prostitution is a crime, but not victimless the majority of prostituted
girls do not see themselves as victims until many years later and only then if they are
well out of the life. They often cling to the false belief that they are doing what they
want [to do], believing their pimp is the only one who can save them, that he will fulfill
all his promises and that their lives will [someday] change for the better. (p. 4)
Many victims are afraid of the police because of the threats and verbal abuse they have
repeatedly received as victims of sex trafficking from their traffickers. It is difficult for them
to confide in or admit to authorities they are victims of an illicit sex trade. In a study at
Northeastern University, Farrell (2012) found, When victims are detained, they often
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Lisa Mercer
experience many of the same negative emotions that they experienced in the trafficking
situation. Arresting victims can destroy their trust in law enforcement and subsequently
decrease their willingness to participate in investigations (p. 122). Because human
trafficking is still not commonly understood in our culture, most law enforcement agencies
do not have protocols set up for them to identify victims of human trafficking, and they
often fail to identify these victims before giving them back to their captors.
This study began with the research question: How can technology help victims of sex
trafficking help themselves? Further research and the realization of the circumstances in
which many sex workers are recruited into the industry made it clear it may not always be a
realistic objective for victims to feel empowered to help themselves. The fear and
manipulation victims endure from their traffickers dominates their natural instinct of fight or
flight, resulting in these victims remaining in stasis as forced sex workers. President Barack
Obama acknowledged the importance of using technology in the fight against human
trafficking when he was the keynote speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in 2012,
stating were turning the tables on the traffickers. Just as they are now using technology
and the Internet to exploit their victims, were going to harness technology to stop them.
Actors
Polaris, headquartered in Washington D.C., is one of the leading non-profit organizations in
the fight against human trafficking in the United States. The physical locations they list as
common domestic networks of operation for human trafficking are streets, hotels,
residential brothels, strip clubs, some massage parlors, truck stops, and private parties.
They report more than 42% of cases that occur are cases of pimp-controlled prostitution at
hotels/motels, streets, and truck stops. More than 40% of the cases of pimp-controlled
prostitution involve a child under the age of eighteen (NHTRC, Statistical). The National
Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) found that more than half the callers who
identified themselves as truck drivers reported potential cases of human trafficking, and 70%
of those reports made reference to a minor being involved in some capacity (NHTRC, Annual
Report).
Polaris reports many victims stay at one truck stop for a short period of time and are then
moved from state to state in order to avoid law enforcement and for the victims to become
familiar with their surroundings (Truck Stops at a Glance, 2012). This hinders not only
locating victims, but also the ability to identify them. Given this reality, the 3.5 million
professional truck drivers traveling U.S. highways are in a unique position to provide
information that could lead to trafficker apprehensions. Although the NHTRC hotline has
received nearly 32,000 anonymous phone calls to report incidents of human trafficking, only
300 of these calls were from truck drivers (NHTRC, Statistical). Educating this industry about
human trafficking and getting truckers involved can be critical steps toward stopping the
abuse of these victims as they are moved from truck stop to truck stop on the nations
highways.
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Research Questions
The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the way drivers operate day to
day, the type of technology drivers used, and the reason they used it. This would help to
ensure the artifact created as a result of this research would be designed with the
population for which it was intended. After conducting secondary research, my question
evolved from how technology can help people in human trafficking to how an integrated
form of technologically based communication would enable truck drivers to report incidents
of human trafficking at a higher rate.
My secondary questions were focused on potential unintended consequences the
technology created based on this research could have. Mark Latonero (2012), the Principal
Investigator and Research Director at the University of Southern California, established five
guiding principles for technological interventions in human trafficking. The ultimate
beneficiaries of any technological intervention should be the victims and survivors of human
trafficking. Successful implementation of anti-trafficking technologies requires cooperation
among actors across government, nongovernmental, and private sectors, sharing
information and communicating in a coordinated manner (p. v).
Methods
I divided my research into two phases. Phase one focused on the exploratory framework,
which included secondary research, interviews, and field site observations. Phase two
focused on the user-group framework. Although different methods of research were used in
each phase, two phases will be presented to highlight the different aspects of the research
and to reflect on the way phase one impacted the work performed in phase two.
5.1 Phase I Exploratory Research

The exploratory research sought to: 1) analyze how truck drivers engage in everyday
activities while they are on the road working, 2) to gain a better understanding of how truck
drivers operate while on the road, 3) to understand how extant or emerging technology
could encourage higher levels of trafficking reports, and 4) how technology naturally
integrates into their daily activities. Grounded theory carried through my exploratory
research, allowing me to conduct my research and continuously ask open-ended questions
to determine the direction of phase one. A study by Muller and Kogen examined grounded
theory and explained the result of the process as a rich, deeply interwoven description of
the phenomena (being studied), and a set of new open-ended questions for further work
(p. 2). To learn about these objectives, I conducted interviews and made field site
observations at a truck driver training school and at truck stops.
The first driver, truck driver #3, was a referral from a non-profit organization. He had been
working in the trucking industry for nearly 20 years and worked with different organizations
privately and publicly to provide assistance to victims of human trafficking and to help
develop policies that would create a safe environment for human trafficking victims. His
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Lisa Mercer
hope was to change the image of truck drivers, and he required every one of his employees
to be trained to recognize the signs of human trafficking. He believes truck drivers have
three options when a sex worker knocks on the doors of their rigs:
1) Invite the girl in, 2) refuse her, or 3) call the 888 number (hotline ran by the NHTRC).
If we call the police, then the girl will likely flip-flop her story once the police arrive
because her trafficker is most likely nearby and then the driver is the one that gets in
trouble. Ninety-nine percent of the guys [drivers] are good honest family guys
fathers, husbands, and grandfathers. They are out there trying to make a living to put
food on the table. (Truck Driver #3, 2014)
He discussed the different types of technology he uses and knowing my objectives for this
research, he recommended, Make sure it [the technology] can capture as much information
as possible and get publicity and as much advertisement as physically possible. From a
truckers standpoint, we have a higher advantage. You can see everything. Its a whole other
world out there. I have seen things most people wouldnt believe I have seen. (Truck Driver
#3, 2014)
T ECHNOLOGY
I learned about many different types of technology drivers use while working, such as
Qualcomm (on board computer in the tractor), Garmin Global Position System (GPS), iPhone,
iPod, computer, mobile hot spots, satellite radio, citizens band radio (CB) and mobile
applications. Many drivers used iPods and iPhones to call, face-time, email, or text their
family and friends. One driver mentioned using his phone to communicate with clients via
texts or phone calls; however, the most important use of their technology is to plan their
route for the next day. GPS allows them to input the height of their tractor-trailer and it will
route them appropriately; however, they also have to consult with Google maps and the
Qualcomm to avoid any major construction.
I spoke with many drivers with a range of preferences of technology. Whereas the CB is the
most common form of technology in a drivers rig, many choose to keep it turned off. The
CB became the place where guys are rude and many people just dont mess with it anymore.
It is good for accidents. I especially keep it on when I am carrying 80,000 pounds...it is good
to know what is ahead of you. (Truck Driver #5, 2014). One driver I spoke with had more
than 30 years of experience in the industry, and he did not use any of the mobile devices
previously mentioned. He had a cell phone, but he did not email or text, whereas others had
all of the aforementioned devices and used them frequently. Many mentioned the on board
computer, Qualcomm, that was in the tractor for them to use to create reports and log how
long they had driven and how many breaks they were legally required to take. Most drivers I
spoke with looked at these computers as if their employers were watching them and
preferred to use their own mobile devices. One interviewee, truck driver #4 explained,
There is this idea of big brother watching them while they are out on the road. Many
men are told to abide by the laws with driving times; however, once they are handed
their times, they realize they dont have any other option. They prefer to use logs on
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their phones or paper logs. This way they dont have big brother watching their every
move. (Truck Driver #4, 2014)
Figure 1 Truck Driver #2 sent a screenshot of his phone to show the mobile application he uses.
One gentleman was anticipating our interview and was excited to tell me about the apps he
likes to use. His exact words were, I love apps! (Truck Driver #2, 2014) ( Figure 1) He said
many drivers like to use apps, especially the apps that allowed them to earn money by
spending money at specific locations. Loves, TA Petro, and Pilot all have rewards programs.
Some trucking companies also have rewards programs that work in conjunction with Loves,
TA Petro, and Pilot. I downloaded one of these apps because I was curious to see if it would
be possible to incorporate an incident report form into an existing app. The reports filed
through these apps would need to be sent to the same location as the stand-alone app;
however, because a driver has an account associated with these apps, the concept of
anonymity may not be supported.
S AFETY
The biggest safety concerns were cargo theft and the feeling of being vulnerable to this
crime. Many of the bigger truck stops employ off-duty police officers to ensure safety;
however, drivers need to get off the road early to get a spot at a nice truck stop, which is not
always an option to ensure the products get to the clients on time. There is also the risk of a
sex worker being used as a distraction for cargo theft. (Truck Stops at a Glance, 2012)
When I asked drivers if they had ever reported an incident of human trafficking to the police,
many of them gave an explanation rather than a yes or no answer. Each driver I spoke with
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Lisa Mercer
had at least one memory of a girl they knew was too young to be knocking on their door.
Truck Driver #5 said,
You know it is hard to tell between that (human trafficking) and prostitution, it seems
like they have hidden it more than it used to be. I can remember years ago in Florida,
it was horrible, really young girls knocking on the door, one girl couldnt have been 14,
it was pouring down rain, after a while you get hardened by it because it happens a lot.
(Truck Driver #5, 2014)
H UMAN T RAFFICKING V ERSUS P ROSTITUTION

It became apparent there was no clear definition for many participants who were victims of
human trafficking and who were working as sex workers as willing participants. One
participant I interviewed questioned, I dont mean to be insensitive; however, dont lot
lizards need to make a living? Sex workers at truck stops have many different labels; the
most commonly known is the term lot lizard. While conducting research on this term, I
found t-shirts that read, I love Lot Lizards. ( Figure 2) This is an actual product a company
made for consumers to purchase.
Figure 2 These are just some examples of the t-shirts found that read, I love Lot Lizards.
It is important to acknowledge the limitations of this research, as any research would have,
and the need for an educational tool to inform the trucking industry on human trafficking
with an emphasis on the sex trafficking occurring at truck stops. It is imperative to know
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their mind-set to educate the industry on human trafficking and prostitution. This question
does not have an easy and clear answer, which is the reason so many victims of human
trafficking are hidden in plain sight.
F ACTORS
The factors determined in phase one helped to design the prototype framework in phase
two. These factors were anonymity, convenience, working time, safety, types of technology,
ease of use, and recognizing human trafficking. It also helped determine four potential
places for product integration of reporting devices, such as GPS, Qualcomm, existing apps,
and mobile apps. The Qualcomm and existing apps were eliminated because of the
importance of anonymity. GPS was quickly eliminated because of the inability to have
access to the Internet or a wireless network at all times.
5.2 Phase 2 Prototype Framework

Once I determined a mobile app would be the best fit for this study, I started using the
determined factors to create a prototype. This research phase focused on creating the
prototype, gaining the approval of an Institutional Review Board to conduct user groups, and
analyzing the information gathered to determine any changes needed to be made to the
mobile app.
P ROTOTYPE
While creating a prototype for user groups, I used the factors gleaned from phase one as a
constant source of direction. For example, while conducting exploratory research, I
interviewed many truck drivers who had recalled hearing solicitations from victims over the
CB. Because of these statements, I included an audio recording function for truck drivers to
make recordings of these types of solicitations. When talking to the human trafficking group
who would be receiving these reports, they had not considered this type of reporting
capability and were excited about the prospect.
I NTERVIEWS
The intention of these interviews were meant to be conducted as user groups; however,
after coordinating one, I quickly realized the timing would continue to be a difficult when
considering the differences in each drivers schedule. I then changed my recruitment
options for the truck drivers and allowed them to decide if they wanted to be a part of a
user group or a one-on-one phone interview. All drivers chose a one-on-one phone
interview. Although the format did change, the questions and the goal to receive feedback
from the drivers did not. These interviews were imperative to ensure the mobile app was
designed with the population for which it was intended.
Utilizing activity theory helped me understand the interaction between my participants and
the mobile app, sex workers at truck stops, and how those encounters could translate into
creating a report on this mobile application. (Bennett, 2006, Pg. 75) An important aspect of
this phase was to engage in an on going, collaborative relationship with drivers who would
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Lisa Mercer
derive the most benefits from this research. This allowed me to learn how truck drivers
engage in a variety of communication-based activities, especially those that might help guide
my design of an effective, digitally facilitated interdiction system that could curtail instances
of human trafficking in and around American interstate highways. This method helped
ensure the efficiency of this app in perspective to how it could fit into a truck drivers daily
routine. Information gained from the user groups and one-on-one interviews helped
determine any changes to the app and its functionality before being released to the public.
While I had included the audio component for solicitations heard on a CB, many of the
drivers in this phase liked this option because it allowed them to give an oral incident report
in transit since it is illegal for them to use their phones while driving. According to one
driver,
I liked the audio [option], so that you could not only write down, you could choose to
just say, I saw this I saw that. That was different and I liked that, and make a
recording I liked the write over the audio, but there are advantages, like going down
the road. You could stop on the side of the road and it would be quicker to do the
audio form, to just make a recording and send it out to the national human trafficking
resource hub. (Truck Driver #10)
One of the drivers mentioned that he wished the mobile app was currently available to
report a tip. He stated,
The other day while I was driving, I passed a truck, and I saw a dog cage in the back of
the truck, which is normal, there was a blanket over the crate, which is also normal;
however, I thought I saw a head in the crate. I slowed down to let the truck pass me
and as it pulled in front of me and got off on the shoulder of the highway I was able to
verify there was a person in the crateI called the state troopers right away. (Truck
Driver #15)
Another aspect many drivers mentioned was the option of anonymity. Many participants I
interviewed in phase one mentioned the difficulties of becoming involved in the situation
and would prefer a way to submit a report that preserved their anonymity. While the
mobile app automatically populates with the date, place, and time, the only required
question is whether the person doing the reporting minds being contacted by law
enforcement. One interviewee stated,
One big problem that we have out here is we have to show our driver's license a lot.
We have to get them photocopied, all kinds of stuff now they know that my wife and
my family are alone. Nobody even bothers with that. Thats why I said that they have
the anonymity problem is because theyre trying to protect their home front from a
possibility of getting in repercussions, because were dealing with the dark side. These
people have no problem in going and taking care of our family, because they know
theres always a means to find them. Not only are the victims afraid of traffickers
threats to their families, but also the truck drivers themselves see the danger of
getting involved. (Truck Driver #11)
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Figure 3 Flow Chart of Mobile Application used in the user groups, interviews and at the conference
H UMAN T RAFFICKING C ONFERENCE

In April 2015, I attended a conference organized by the Freedom Network held in
Washington D.C. This is the largest human trafficking conference in the United States, and
its participants work with victims of human trafficking. Most of the attendees were lawyers,
law enforcement, and social workers. Though my intention for attending was to learn more
about human trafficking, the feedback I received from these participants on the prototype of
the mobile app was immeasurable. After showing it to a prosecutors, law enforcement and
social service providers, I started receiving feedback based on the way they used information
received from an incident report. I started to show the prototype to as many people as I
could. ( Figure 3) Some of the recommendations were:
The need for it to be available in Spanish.
No pictures for legal reasons because it could be considered pornography.
Concern with liability for person sending an incident with a picture taken through the
app.
The inclusion of a privacy policy.
Ensuring the wording of questions is efficient.
With these changes, make sure the form of the interface remains effective.
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Lisa Mercer
It was important to remove the option to take a picture due to legal issues; however, I
believe it is an essential tool in creating an incident report. Many victims are moved state to
state and have criminal records in more than one city with a picture attached to their record.
If we can start to identify victims in different states by using facial recognition software, then
we can start to find patterns in cases that will lead to potentially finding victims.
F ACTORS
The factors from the one-on-one interviews and conversations with law enforcement and
victim advocates at the conference helped refine the mobile app to its current design. I had
expected more participants to question different aspects of the app; however, the main
topics of conversation were anonymity and the ability to create an audio recording to submit
an incident. ( Figure 4)
Figure 4 Screenshots of mobile application currently available on the Apple Mobile Application store
and the Google Play Mobile Application Store.
Conclusion
This project began with an idea to create a mobile app specifically for victims of human
trafficking to ask for help. It quickly became clear that this was not a realistic objective when
I learned more on the subject and realized the fear and manipulation victims receive from
their traffickers dominating their natural instinct of fight or flight. It is important for us to
educate and provide technologically based reporting solutions to the communities that have
a higher potential of interacting with victims of human trafficking for victim advocates and
law enforcement to receive incident reports at a higher rate.
Providing truck drivers with an easy to use mobile app that guarantees anonymity would
provide the truck driving community with the ability to reliably and safely report sex
trafficking and thereby expedite search and rescue efforts. Once an incident is reported to
2042
the calling center, it could then be forwarded to local law enforcement or the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. This paper will focus on the methods used to ensure any piece of
technology that gives a voice to the truck driving community has the power to aid victims of
modern-day slavery. The name I have given my study and the non-profit organization
developed from this research is called Operation Compass.
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Bennett, Audrey. Design Studies: Theory and Research in Graphic Design. New York: Princeton
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Farley, M. (2007) Renting an organ for ten minutes, What Tricks Tell Us about Prostitution,
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(pp. 111). Los Angelos, CA: Captive Daughters Media.
Friedman, S. A. (2005) Who is there to help us? How the system fails sexually exploited girls
in the United States [PDF document]. Brooklyn, NY: ECPAT-USA, Inc.
Hunt, S. (2013) Deconstructing demand: The driving force of sex trafficking.
The Brown Journal of World Affairs, 19(2), pages.
Latonero, M. (2011, September). Human trafficking online: The role of social networking sites and
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National Human Trafficking Resource Center. 2011. Annual Report Polaris. PDF File.
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Walker-Rodriguez, A. & Hill, R. (2011, March). Human sex trafficking. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.
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Williamson, C. & Prior, M. (2009). Domestic minor sex trafficking: A network of underground players
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About the Author:
Lisa Mercer graduated with her MFA in Design Research in December
of 2015 from the College of Visual Arts & Design at the University of
North Texas. Her research is focused on using design research
methods to develop and execute social innovations that positively
affect change.
2044
Could LEGO Serious Play be a useful technique for

product co-design?
University of Twente
* j.a.garde@utwente.nl
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.246
Abstract: This paper studies the usefulness of the LEGO Serious Play technique for
co-designing products with potential future users with the help of two design cases.
The technique has originally been developed for team and strategy building and its
strongest aspects are the fully developed step-by step approach as well as the power
of LEGO to level the playing field and enable all participants to contribute to a group
session. While levelling the playing field has been verified in the presented design
case studies, the step- by step approach needs adaptions for product design and the
participant group constellation needs special attention, as this constellation does not
result as naturally from a design project as in applications within organizations.
Overall we believe that LEGO Serious Play is a very useful co-design tool after
adjustments are made as outlined in this paper.
Keywords: LEGO Serious Play; co-design; product design
Introduction
The main advantages of co-design with future users are rich insights about user wishes and
use context, and early validation of user requirements. However, to enable people to
contribute in a meaningful way in the early design phases (the fuzzy front end), adapted
design tools and techniques are needed. Traditional design tools such as (CAD) modelling
and sketching are less usable, because their application needs training. This paper
investigates the applicability of LEGO Serious Play (LSP) in early design phases for codesigning products with potential future users.
1.1 Co-design
The definitions of co-design vary depending on the area of expertise they emerge from. Codesign is overlapping with the more idealistic participatory design (Greenbaum & Loi, 2012)
with respect to the inclusion of users and is related to co-creation from the field of
marketing (introduced by Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). Co-design, as it is referred to here,
aims at actively including future users as co-designers in the whole design process of
products/services. The co-design approach offers benefits such as richer insights into user
needs, access to the user knowledge and experience, early validation of use requirements,
gaining commitment for prospective products or services and generally developing products
or services that are a better fit to the users world (Steen, Manschot, & De Koning, 2011).
Some believe that it is too difficult for users to articulate their needs for the future. Fller &
Matzler describe that users usually can only express performance factors for new products
(e.g., a car should use less fuel) and that such performance factors merely lead to
incremental product innovation (2007). However, this happens only when users are
expected to translate their needs to directly applicable product requirements. The latter is
not a common skill, but rather a skill that is part of the professional competence of
designers. Instead, specific design tools and techniques need to be applied to enable users
to actively participate in the designer world and express their visions (see, e.g., Sanders &
Stappers, 2008; Sanders & Westerlund, 2011). These techniques help users develop and
express their visions. Drawing from their memories, experiences and dreams, users are able
to develop visions and examples of how ideal future product experiences should be and
what they should feel like. Expressing such visions in a metaphorical way does not force
users into to imagining concrete products but rather targets their underlying needs and
dreams.
1.2 LEGO Serious Play

LSP is a well-developed step-by-step technique that has originally been developed for team
and strategy building and successfully applied in many different organizational contexts. LSP
facilitates group discussions through LEGO models in which every participant is able to
contribute. It is reasonable to expect that these benefits of LSP also help participants to
express dreams or visions for future product use.
The research questions covered are: Can the method support co-design meetings in the
early design phase? Are there specific boundary conditions for the application of this
method? To answer these questions, the LSP method was applied in two design cases with
students. Prior to discussing the cases and their results, the benefits and limitations of LSP
will be reviewed.
LSP is advertised as a facilitated thinking, communication and problem-solving technique for
organizations, teams, and individuals. It is based on the idea of constructionism by Papert
(Papert, 1980) which states that actively building things with the hands improves thinking
and learning (www.rasmussen-and-associates.com). In LSP the participants are guided by
questions of a facilitator. Participants answer the questions by building LEGO models and
telling the story of the models. As in product development, there is no one right answer in
LSP.
2046
Could LEGO Serious Play be a useful technique for product co-design?
LSP was developed as a tool for strategy building for the LEGO company in the nineties.
Since Robert Rasmussen brought learning theory to the LSP approach in 1999, it started to
become also successful outside of LEGO. LSP has been improved and refined ever since.
Rasmussen recommends to use it when it is important that (a) everyone is able to contribute
on a level playing field, (b) a meeting includes honest dialogue and collaborative
communication and (c) no participant dominates at the expense of others
(RasmussenConsulting, 2013). LSP is typically used for complex and multifaceted subjects,
when there is a need to grasp the big picture, see connections and explore various options
and potential solutions, and when participants are diverse in age, professional background,
training (engineering and marketing, for example), or organizational status
(RasmussenConsulting, 2013).
LSP sessions are always guided by a facilitator and proceed according to a step-by-step plan.
Before starting with the real assignment participants practice LEGO building skills with a
simple exercise. The core process of LSP consists of four steps: (1) the facilitator poses a
question, (2) individual participants build a metaphorical model from LEGO, (3) individuals
tell the story of their model, and (4) other participants ask questions about the models and
reflect on them (Schulz & Geithner, 2011). As Gauntlett and Holzwarth put it, it is
a very carefully thought out process, which starts with building skills, gets you
making simple things in LEGO , and then cleverly knocks you onto the metaphorical
plane. For example, youve built a little creature, but then youre told to make changes
to it within thirty seconds, to turn it into something that bothers you at work. So then
someone might give the animal bigger teeth, representing overbearing senior
managers; or the creatures legs might be removed, suggesting that the organisation is
slow-moving; or whatever. Simple things like that move you onto a metaphorical plane
without you really noticing. Its challenging too, of course, but in a positive way (2006,
p.85).
Later on in the process, participants are asked to combine their models in a group model.
Different approaches to combining are available, e.g., combining parts of the individual
models in one shared model or arranging the individual models in a landscape that
represents a (sometimes chronological) storyline. The total model may represent a current
situation or a future vision (Schulz & Geithner, 2011).
Working with LEGO bricks and models to represent stories has the benefit that bricks are
used as common language that does not emerge from the specialist field of only one of the
participants (as, e.g., architectural drawings or CAD models would). Furthermore, since
discussions must be focussed on the bricks, the sessions can become intense but typically
stay focused on content as any potential criticism is aimed at the the models, not at the
participants. In addition, coherent stories are generally better remembered than loose bullet
points, and because the LEGO models function as physical reminders of the created stories,
memorizing the stories becomes even easier.
LSP also circumvents a number of basic pitfalls in creative group work. Studies show that
when individuals pool their ideas during brainstorm sessions they come up with more results
2047
than a group working together from the beginning (Mullen, Johnson, & Salas, 1991). First
sorting ones own thoughts and creating an individual model, before going into a group
discussion is an essential element in LSP. Furthermore, starting with an individual
assignment requires everybody to participate and therefore also increases commitment to
the session results.
Another benefit of LSP is that it emphasizes reflection by participants. According to
Gauntlett and Holzwarth, spontaneously talking in, e.g., interviews about ones views,
opinions, or motivations is difficult, yet such responses are typically treated in social
research as truthful data (2006). Creative methods such as LSP however, do not elicit instant
responses, but provide time for reflection, and therefore lead to responses that are more
likely to contain rich information.
Proven application areas of LSP are knowledge sharing, problem solving and decision-making
within organizations. Several of the challenges described above are also well-known to the
product design process, e.g. the pitfall of one individual emphasising his/her ideas over
others within product design teams, and that the best ideas are typically generated by a
group but only after individuals generated their own ideas first. In particular, when codesigning in multi-disciplinary teams there is a strong need for an open, level playing field
that provides participants with a common language.
1.3 LSP for product co-design

Including users as co-designers in early design phases (the fuzzy front end) calls for design
tools that enable users to express their needs and visions. This paper investigates whether
LSP could be such a design tool. Currently, only few co-design techniques exist that (1) aim
at determining visions for future products together with stakeholders, (2) can be applied in
an early phase in the design process, and (3) aim at developing a vision before the actual
product.
There are approaches for the early design phases that emphasize the development of a
design vision (see, e.g., VIP (Hekkert & van Dijk, 2011)) or determining measurable effects, a
design should deliver (effects-driven design (Hertzum & Simonsen, 2011)) before developing
concrete products. However, these approaches do not provide a specific technique for codesign or even advise against co-design with future users (as in VIP). Most co-design
techniques that do actively involve users, e.g., with tool-kits (Vaajakallio & Mattelmki,
2007), role-playing (Pedersen & Buur, 2000; Urnes, Weltzien, Zanussi, Engbakk, & Rafn,
2002), task-analysis (Lafrenire, 1996; Tudor, Muller, Dayton, & Root, 1993), props (Brandt &
Grunnet, 2000), card sorting (Johansson & Linde, 2005; Nielsen & Sano, 1995) or virtual
reality (Jimeno & Puerta, 2006) aim either at immediately developing concrete future use
scenarios or product solutions, or at getting insight into the current use situation. They do
not aim at creating the ideal experience before looking into concrete manifestations of a
new product or service. An exception is the co-design approach of Sanders (Sanders &
Stappers, 2008; Sanders & William, 2001) that includes four stages in which participants (1)
are stimulated to engage with their thoughts, feelings, and ideas and document them for an
2048
extended period of time (one to several weeks) in the context a future experience should
take place (e.g., at home or at their work); (2) are asked to do an exercise with mainly twodimensional, visual tool-kits designed to evoke memories and feelings; (3) are invited to
dream about their future or an ideal experience with similar tool-kits; and (4) finally are
invited to express their (product) ideas with abstract and ambiguous, three-dimensional
tool-kits. In other words, this approach to the co-design process starts with engaging with
the current situation, proceeds with visioning a future, and then developing (more concrete)
design ideas. Unfortunately, this approach is time intensive and it is unclear which steps
have to be done individually or in groups.
LSP is expected to be a promising approach for Sanders stages two and three - evoke
memories and feelings and express dreams or visions for the future. LEGO could be seen as
a specific type of tool-kit, but LSP also comes with a fine-tuned step-by-step technique that
has been developed and refined over the years. The LSP technique facilitates group
discussions by letting participants express their knowledge, thoughts, issues, or opinions
through LEGO models. The use of LEGO models ensures a balanced (i.e., everyone is
equal) discussion in which every participant is able to contribute knowledge and opinions.
LSP could therefore provide a more detailed, step-by-step approach for either engaging with
the current situation or the dreaming and visioning. In this paper we focus on the visioning
of future experiences.
There are only few studies describing the use of LSP for product design, yet. Swann (2011) ,
who agrees that LSP is seldom applied in product design, describes the successful use of LSP
with care workers to initiate a co-design process for the development of nursing tools.
However, it is difficult to get a good impression of the outcomes of the LSP application in
their case study. Another application study addressing product design consisted of a
workshop for the conceptualization of future enterprise information systems with experts
(Mller & Svejvig, 2012). However, the participants are experts in the field of development
of such kind of systems, not potential users. As outcome of the LSP application the
participating experts came up with seven challenges for future enterprise information
systems. The authors of this study considered LSP as a promising tool due to its combination
of verbal, visual, and kinaesthetic modes. Other studies applied LSP to the traditional
application areas (team building, organizational strategy development) and aimed at
discussing the current situation in a team or an organization, pinpointing strengths and
developing challenges (see, e.g., Dempsey, Riedel, & Kelly, 2014), rather than developing a
vision for a desirable future situation.
LSP cases
2.1 Case 1: Coffee experience
Six student design teams of 3 to 4 members (all Master students Industrial Design
Engineering) participated in a half-day LSP workshop that aimed at developing future
product experiences. The workshop was facilitated by licensed LSP facilitators. The provided
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(fictional) case was described as follows: A large coffee company wants to enter the
student market with a new product or service. This could be a coffee machine, a new sort of
coffee, a service or a combination of these. You, as members of the target group are invited
to develop ideas for the ideal coffee experience within a student house in a LSP workshop!
The case was chosen to ensure that the student participants were prospective users of the
future product. The LSP workshop consisted of three major phases:
1) The first phase was familiarizing with LSP. Students were instructed to first build a tower
of 12 bricks each and then to modify the tower to tell a story about what they love about
student life, adding as many bricks as they wished (see Figure 1 and 2).
2) The second phase aimed at individually identifying key aspects of a great coffee
experience in a student house. Every student built a model regarding a key aspect of a
great coffee experience, and then used a small red brick to identify where in the model
this key aspect is represented (see Figure 3).
3) Third, students were asked to consolidate their insights into the coffee experience by
grouping models according to similar aspects, make a shared model for every aspect
category, combine the shared models in a landscape model, and co-develop the story
complements the landscape model.
Figure 1 Video still from the student LSP workshop in Case 1, showing how a student explains her
metaphorical LEGO model about what she loves about student life (phase 1). She has built
a model with a straight tower, representing organized life at the parents home and a tower
with wild extensions, symbolizing the free and self-guided student life.
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Figure 2 Video still from Case 1, showing how a student explains his (less metaphorical) LEGO
model of a group of figures playing football, representing the enjoyable, shared social life of
students.
Figure 3 Video still from Case 1: In phase two a student has built a scene from student life, depicting
students who are all busy with different things in the social room of a student house (talking
on the phone, preparing a chicken in the oven, etc.) while the coffee machine is running all
day to provide them with a caffeine kick.
2.2 Case 2: Biking experience

In the second case, three student teams of 5-7 participants participated in a LSP workshop of
half a day facilitated by licensed LSP facilitators. The aim was developing a new biking
experience. The case description was: A large bike manufacturer wants to introduce a new
product particularly focusing on the student market. The new product could be a new bike,
an accessory, a service or a combination of these. The new product should contribute to the
ideal biking experience for students. You, as members of the target group and designers, are
2051
invited to explore and define the ideal biking experience that this new product contributes
to by means of a LSP workshop!
A step-by-step approach slightly different from Case 1 was chosen:
1. Students were instructed to build a tower of 12 bricks each. Next they were asked to
modify the tower to tell a story about a nightmare bike riding experience (instead of a
story about something they loved), adding as many bricks as they wished.
2. The second phase aimed at individually identifying what an ideal biking experience
encompassed. Every student built a model representing the ideal biking experience, and
then used a small red brick to identify the key aspect of the experience in the model (see
Figure 4).
3. Third, students were asked to consolidate their insights into the biking experience by
grouping models according to similar aspects and were then directly asked to make a
combined model (either shared or landscape) for the overall biking experience. This,
instead of making a shared model for every aspect category as in the first case. The final
step was co-developing the story that complements the model.
Compared to Case 1, another modification was made regarding the availability of bricks, in
order to stimulate the use of metaphors in model building and thereby a focus of
participants on vision generation instead of (factual) model building. While in Case 1 the
participants had direct access to a number of special bricks, such as ready products, animals
or accessories for the LEGO puppets, in Case 2 these special bricks were (physically) set
aside, creating a barrier in their selection.
Figure 4 Video still from student LSP workshop in case 2: In phase 2 a participant tells the story of his
individual model, consisting of a vehicle and a ramp.
Case Results
The LSP sessions were video-taped. The story that was told for every model was analysed by
discerning the type of LEGO model, the LEGO model parts and their associated meaning.
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Special attention was paid to the type of models, and whether they were representations of
metaphors in the sense that
a word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show
or suggest that they are similar ("Merriam-Webster online dictionary," 2015).
3.1 Results case 1: Coffee experience

In the workshop six groups developed six shared models. Overall design results were that
there are several types of coffee experiences in student life. One is the social experience in a
student home, when students (often after dinner) sit together, enjoy a cup of coffee and
talk. Another experience unfolds around the first cup of coffee in the morning that helps
students to wake up and start their day. The third is the individual enjoyment of high quality
coffee or coffee specialties as a treat.
During the workshop, we noticed that the majority of the students (both individually and
when working in teams) initially had difficulty with working with metaphors. Instead, they
used the bricks to build actual products rather than representations of feelings, thoughts or
emotions that usually facilitate storytelling. After a facilitator intervention, most of the
participants were able to eventually create abstract models and tell richer stories.
Nevertheless, all final group results still contained a lot of 'concrete models' of products and
settings (see Figure 5). For example, rather than describing the 'ideal coffee experience' in
terms of emotions and experiences, students modelled an entire living room and coffee
machines (see Figures 6 and 7).
Though the aim was to put students in the role of possible user in the fictive case, the
participants did not show strong engagement. This might be a general problem, when
users are consulted with LSP about a future product experience; client stakes in a project
are much lower, than when using LSP for strategy building within an organisation. Moreover,
the realization, that the case was fictional might have demotivated the students.
2053
Figure 5 Photo from case 1: Literal model of a coffee corner with coffee machine and accessories.
Figure 6 Photo from Case 1: Shared model depicting the most relevant user experiences that the
future product should address.
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Figure 7 Photo from Case 1: students could not consolidate their views in one shared model, but
made three different ones.
3.2 Results Case 2: Biking experience

For the second case the topic was changed to biking experience to investigate whether the
problems with engagement and the difficulty to build metaphors in the first case study were
caused by the topic. The three groups developed shared models, one of these was presented
by an animated video in which a LEGO puppet encountered different situations while biking
(see Figures 8 and 9), the second depicted a biker and a biking route with various qualities
that enriched the biking experience (see Figure 10), and the third consisted of two separate
models depicting two different aspects of good biking experiences (see Figure 11).
Overall design results uncovered that there were two types of ideal biking experience, i.e.,
one that relates to effortless, worry-free riding, in some cases preferably as a social
experience, and the other that considers biking as an exciting challenge. Additional results
related to details with respect to parking the bikes, bike repair, and safety. Some of the
metaphors in the models were still closely related to biking or even not distinguishable as
metaphor (e.g., a broad road, sun and clouds ). However, all models also had elements that
were metaphors from a different context, e.g., a butler in a helicopter depicting not
having to worry about puncture or failure of a bike.
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Figure 8 Video still from student LSP workshop in Case 2: LEGO animation telling the story about
the biking experience of John the snowboarder.
Figure 9 . Video still from student LSP workshop in case 2: Shared model representing the ideal biking
experience of John the snowboarder.
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Figure 10 . Video still from LSP workshop in case 2: Shared model representing ideal biking experience.
Figure 11 Video still from LSP workshop in case 2: Shared model representing ideal biking experience.
Discussion
4.1 Original LSP vs LSP for product design
This study explored whether LSP could be successfully applied within product design to
reveal visions of (ideal) future product experiences together with potential future users. LSP
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has originally been developed for team and strategy building, mostly applied within
organizations. This means that participants from these organizations have a good frame of
reference about the current situation and stakes in the process, and maybe even emotional
involvement. Working with students, the relations between the future product and its
potential users as well as their stakes regarding the future use experience were unknown.
Usually, the LSP process starts with metaphorically representing a current situation. In the
described cases however, participants were, after only a short warming up, asked to directly
engage in building an ideal situation.
Main contributions of LSP are building mutual understanding, pinpointing challenges in the
current situation, and formulating simple guiding principles. The presented workshops
resulted in general representations of desirable use situations for the future product. This
was the type of outcome aimed for by the workshop. Due to the lack of stakes of
participants one can however debate about the validity of the envisioned desirable use
situations.
Furthermore the participants tended to focus on detailed, factual description of the use
experience instead of its deeper emotions and underlying aims and desires. The richness of
the gathered design insights is therefore less than hoped for.
Table 1 Case overview
Traditional LSP
Case 1
Case 2
Participants
members of
organization
potential future users

(students)
potential future users

(students)
Design Phase
none
ideation/front end
ideation/front end
Topic
various
coffee experience
biking experience
Aim
teambuilding/new
strategy
envision new
product/service
experiences
envision new
product/service
experiences
Participant
stakes
yes
unknown
unknown
Outcomes
simple guiding principles
general representations
of desirable situations
general representations
of desirable situations
4.2 Stakes
To engage participants without stakes in the LSP sessions, personal considerations or
emotions could be selectively targeted (e.g., the nightmare biking experience). However, the
low level of emotional engagement and low intensity of the discussions might indicate a
general problem for co-design with LSP in product design: LSP works very well when
2058
personal stakes in a project or problem are high, due to its ability to give every participant a
voice and to focus the discussions on the models instead of a personal level. However,
stakes for participants are usually not high when users or other stakeholders are recruited in
a consulting role for LSP sessions. This however does not apply to LSP only, but is a general
problem in co-design for consumer products.
4.3 Outcomes: current vs. future situation

It is easier to work on concrete problems than imagining ideal future scenarios/visions from
scratch. To prevent participants from engaging with fixing small current problems, it was
decided to omit building shared models for the current situation during the sessions in the
two cases. Only models depicting the ideal experience were built. However, directly starting
with future visions posed a challenge for the participants. This might indicate that the first
step in Sanders & Stappers co-design process (2008), in which familiarizing with the subject
stands central (see also Section 1.3), should always be a part of the co-design process to gain
richer insights.
4.4 Metaphor building

The necessity to thoroughly follow the steps towards metaphor building and keeping a strict
regime on this should not be underestimated in any application of LSP. While in both case
studies the part of modifying the tower to tell a personal story was done to familiarize
participants with metaphor building, in hindsight this step could be extended.
In the second case, the use of special bricks was discouraged, because the direct availability
of these bricks was believed to have contributed to building real life environments instead of
metaphors in the first case. This assumption appears to be confirmed, as in the second case,
more metaphors and also metaphors from other contexts were used.
4.5 Outcomes: simple guiding principles

In LSP for strategy building, the complete approach including all phases ends with the
formulation of simple guiding principles such as keep asking questions to understand or
stick to the values. This step forces participants to reach a consensus on a number of
concrete statements. In the presented cases, this phase was not reached in the process. It
would however be possible to formulate consolidated insights for product experiences. In
the next steps of the product design process, it would then be the designers task to translate
these principles into concrete product features. In traditional LSP, the people who later
apply the guiding principles are often in the workshop (especially in LSP for teambuilding).
To enable designers to translate the guiding principles into a product design, it is beneficial
that designers participate in the workshop to witness the workshop discussions, before all
stories become condensed to simple guiding principles.
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4.6 Participants
A limitation of both case studies was that participants were design students as the latter
(designers in the making) could potentially perform better as co-designers than nondesigner users. However, the contrary appeared to be the case: the design students had
difficulties to focus on metaphorical representations of dreams and feelings. They were
prone to use LEGO as a product prototyping tool and to immediately translate their ideas
into product solutions. It is possible that their design background just stood in the way to
participate in LSP as it is supposed to.
Participants preferably have stakes in the issue discussed in the session. For product design,
these could be potential future users, who are interested and engaged with respect to the
use situation of the future product or experience. Additionally, product
developers/designers could participate in the LSP session to test their own ideas in
discussion with participants. This potentially could generate friction and hereby lead to
discussions that could propel the design process.
4.7 Boundaries
The assignments in both case studies were formulated in very general terms (identifying
key aspects of a great coffee experience and what an ideal biking experience
encompassed). It is possible that by applying more specific boundaries to the assignment
(e.g., key aspects of a great coffee experience at the university) more specific results could
be obtained.
Conclusions
In order to test the applicability of LSP for co-design in the early phases of product design,
LSP was applied in two design cases. The LSP sessions and outcomes were analysed to
evaluate the application and find boundary conditions. This led to useful reflections on the
application boundaries of LSP. The strongest aspects of LSP are the fully developed step-bystep approach as well as the power of LEGO to level the playing field and enable all
participants to contribute. While the second aspect has been verified in the presented case
studies, the step-by-step approach might need adaptions for product design.
Furthermore, the participant group constellation needs more attention as this constellation
does not result as naturally from the chosen case as in applications within organizations. LSP
is very engaging, but this might not always be enough to overcome a low level of motivation
of participants due to a lack of stakes in a project. With respect to the group constellation, it
seems advisable to keep the co- in co-design, and have the professionals whose job it is to
translate the future experience visions into concrete reality participate in the workshop. This
provides them with full access to the discussions that boil down to simple guiding
principles towards the end. The stage of simple guiding principles was not reached in
both case studies. This step is considered important to reach consensus in team and strategy
building and can be filled in for product design as well.
2060
The communicated objective in both case studies was to develop insights for a future
situation. Not much time was spent addressing the current situation. That is in conflict with
Sanders & Stappers (2008) co-design approach that always starts with a phase in which codesign participants engage with the current use situation. Hence, it could be tested, whether
including such a step in the LSP approach leads to richer insights. Furthermore, the cases
indicate that the use of special bricks might lead to participants building real life
environments and prototypes instead of metaphors, and should therefore be discouraged.
Yet another way to achieve more specific and richer results, could involve assignments with
more specific boundary conditions than used in our two case studies.
Future research could involve a closer investigation of mechanisms for engaging participants
when conducting LSP sessions, studying ideal composition of the participant groups, and
studying the type of design cases LSP is most useful for.
Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge the support of Robert Rasmussen, main
architect of the LSP methodology, who encouraged us to explore the applicability of LSP
within product design. Furthermore we are thankful to the students who participated in
the workshop for their active contribution and valuable feedback.
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4(1). Retrieved from
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About the Authors:

Julia Garde is an assistant professor at the Human-Centred Design
group at the University of Twente. She applies digital and analogue
design games in healthcare projects to engage people with different
backgrounds and develop solutions that contribute to improving
healthcare.
Mascha van der Voort is professor Human-Centred Design and codirector of DesignLab at the University of Twente. By developing
design methods for co-creation she aims to translate science and
technology into meaningful solutions to the challenges we face as
society.
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Intuitive Interaction research new directions and

possible responses.
Alethea Blackler* and Vesna Popovic
Queensland University of Technology
*a.blackler@qut.edu.au
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.319
Abstract: This paper discusses and compares older and newer approaches to intuitive
interaction research over the past fifteen years and asks how we can move forward
from here. Outcomes from the different research endeavours are discussed and
explained. Existing continua of intuitive interaction are discussed, and a new
suggested framework for understanding these various approaches and how the
different ideas and findings relate to each other is presented, as a first step to
forming a solid platform from which new move forward in various new directions.
The framework shows the relationships, differences and commonalities between
these ideas and discusses the implications for researchers and designers.
Keywords: intuitive interaction; intuitive use
1. Introduction
This paper is an exploration of emerging ideas and concepts in Intuitive Interaction research.
It aims to build on past findings to increase understanding of the potential relationships
between various concepts in the domain. Intuitive interaction research has the potential to
make a great variety of systems, products and interfaces easier for people to use. The
research has covered applications for physical and digital user interfaces, installations,
games, NUIs and TUIs, for younger and older adults and even children (Blackler & Popovic,
2015). Researchers have also investigated, tested and provided tools for the most
appropriate ways to design more intuitive interfaces (e.g. Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2014;
Fischer, Itoh, & Inagaki, 2015; Hurtienne, Klckner, Diefenbach, Nass, & Maier, 2015).
The paper introduces the earlier concepts and approaches in intuitive interaction research,
followed by newer ideas and research in the area. It then presents a framework that shows
the relationships, differences and commonalities between these ideas and discusses the
implications for researchers and designers of applying them.
2. Initial concepts and research in Intuitive Interaction

Intuition is the end result of a cognitive process that matches current stimuli with a store of
amalgamated experiential knowledge, built up over time in other relevant situations. Over
the past fifteen years, various researchers on four different continents using a variety of
products, interfaces and experiment designs have all found that prior experience is the
leading contributor to intuitive use (Blackler, 2008; Fischer, Itoh, & Inagaki, 2014; Hurtienne,
2009; O'Brien, 2010), and intuitive interaction has become strongly linked with familiarity or
prior experience (Blackler, 2008; Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2010; Fischer et al., 2014;
Hurtienne & Blessing, 2007; Hurtienne & Israel, 2007; Mohs et al., 2006; OBrien, Rogers, &
Fisk, 2008). Familiar features are used more intuitively, and people with higher Technology
Familiarity complete tasks more quickly, with more intuitive uses and less errors (Blackler et
al., 2010).
A product can have a high potential for intuitive use if it is designed to take advantage of
experiential knowledge that is broadly possessed by its target audience. Two groups of
intuitive interaction researchers developed distinct theory about the types of experiential
knowledge accessed during intuitive interaction, and how designers could maximise an
interface's potential for intuitive use, yet there is significant overlap between these two
models (Blackler & Hurtienne, 2007). The German-based Intuitive Use of User Interfaces
(IUUI) Research Group presented a 'continuum of knowledge in intuitive interaction' (Figure
1, top) with types of experiential knowledge accessed during intuitive interaction based on
their frequency of cognitive encoding and retrieval (Hurtienne & Israel, 2007). Our intuitive
interaction continuum suggested the means by which intuitive use can be supported
through design (Blackler, 2008), and is shown in Figure 1 (bottom) as it relates to IUUIs
continuum.
In IUUIs continuum the most basic and broadly possessed knowledge identified is innate
knowledge, which has genetic origins and manifests in responses such as reflexes. In our
continuum the most accessible design strategy is to use physical affordances, which take
advantage of embodied knowledge of the world established early in life. Physical objects
have real affordances, like grasping, that are perceptually obvious and do not have to be
learned. Their physical properties constrain what can be done with them. This fits within
IUUIs sensorimotor level, which also includes knowledge applied during basic analytical
processes (such as determining direction or identifying faces). We classed the next level of
knowledge as population stereotype, which relates to IUUIs culture and sensorimotor levels
and includes knowledge broadly possessed yet limited by societal bounds (such as different
meanings for hand gestures or different directions for electrical switches between cultures).
The level with the lowest frequency of encoding and retrieval in IUUIs continuum is
expertise, which is knowledge held only by those adept at a particular speciality (such as the
knowledge a power user might apply to using a software package such as Excel). To enable
intuitive interaction in this category, as well as the culture category, we suggested using
familiar features from the same domain, but if there are no suitable familiar features, the
designer may have to use familiar features from another domain. Familiar features tend to
be perceived affordances, virtual objects like an icon button which invites pushing or clicking
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Intuitive interaction research new directions and possible responses
because a user has learned that that is what it does based on prior experience with similar
things. Perceived affordance has therefore been placed on our continuum as being
equivalent to familiar features (Figure 2). Finally, if the technology or context of use is
completely new then designers can leverage metaphor to communicate the intended
interaction. In this way both research groups highlighted how targeting different types of
knowledge in the design of an interface might modify the potential for intuitive use.
Figure 1: The Intuitive Interaction Continua compared, adapted from (Blackler & Hurtienne, 2007)
Recently , Still, Still, & Grgic (2015) investigated two methods for eliciting three types of
knowledge from users (affordance, convention and bias) for the purposes of designing
intuitive interfaces for them. Two of these knowledge types corresponded to those on the
continua (affordances = affordances, and conventions = population stereotypes). Through
their experiment, they have provided empirical evidence for the existence of a continuum of
intuitive interaction.
Hurtienne (2009) conducted a range of studies examining the role of image schemas in
intuitive use. Image schemas are abstract representations of recurring dynamic patterns of
bodily interactions that structure the way humans understand the world (Johnson, 1987),
and thus are important building blocks for thinking. They are based on each individuals
experience of interaction with the physical world, but tend to be largely universal as the
physical world operates in the same way for everyone. Because they are based on past
experience, and because they are so well known and so universal that they become
unconscious, they can be defined as intuitive. Therefore, Hurtienne argued, incorporating
image schemas into interfaces can allow intuitive interaction. Through his research,
Hurtienne (2009) demonstrated that metaphorical extensions of image schemas can be used
in interface design, and that they do result in better performance. The effective use of image
schemas and their metaphorical extensions is likely to facilitate intuitive use, because image
schemas are based on prior knowledge that almost every person possesses (sensorimotor
knowledge on the continuum). Thus, performance using interfaces based upon image
schemas should remain consistent across heterogeneous user groups, making them more
ubiquitously applicable than familiar features, which may not be familiar to everyone and
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generally rely on experience with other products. Hurtienne, Klckner, Diefenbach, Nass, &
Maier (2015) later showed through further empirical work that an interface could also be
designed to be innovative, inclusive and intuitive using image schemas.
Strictly speaking, a device or interface is not intuitive in and of itself. However, the
information processing applied to it can be (Blackler, 2008). Intuitive interactions are
generally subjectively the correct action in the situation and can be faster due to the
increased speed of subconscious over analytical processing. For these reasons, time on task
and accuracy are common experimental measures for intuitive interaction. In the early
intuitive interaction research intuitive uses were measured through objective performance
metrics such as time to complete tasks and error rates, and researcher coding of intuitive
and non-intuitive uses of features. Participants were also asked about what was familiar to
them in test interfaces and previously (Blackler et al., 2011). Generally, subjective feedback
on what was subjectively intuitive was not sought as, due to the non-conscious nature of
intuitive interactions, such feedback was thought likely to be unreliable.
3.0
Newer approaches and ideas in Intuitive Interaction
Newer concepts in Intuitive interaction include issues of domain transfer distance and
discoverability of underlying working of interfaces and features, as well as the application of
intuitive interaction to new environments which include more affective aspects e.g. toys,
video games, public installations and gestural interfaces (Blackler & Popovic, 2015). Work is
also ongoing investigating intuitive interaction with tangibles and mixed reality interfaces.
Understanding exactly how all of these newer ideas relate to intuitive interaction is
important to this field. This will allow designers to use the results of intuitive interaction
research with confidence to create better interfaces.
Diefenbach and Ullrich (2015) presented an alternative framework for intuitive interaction,
comprised of the four components of gut feeling, verbalisability (one of the commonly used
criteria for coding intuitive uses (Blackler et al., 2011), effortlessness (strongly linked to the
kinds of performance measures previously used), and magical experience, and
complemented by limiting factors of the product and the user. Although the model is made
up differently, none of these potential properties of intuitive use are incompatible with
those proposed in earlier work. Instead, they allow for a more subjective view on the part of
users. Diefenbach and Ullrich tested the four components of the model and one of their
limiting factors (domain transfer distance) through a large survey which presented various
scenarios to respondents. Domain transfer distance relates to the distance of a new
interface feature from the domain in which a users knowledge relevant to that feature is
based, i.e. the distance between the domain to which a feature is applied and the domain
from which it originated. Features of an interface may be closer or further from their original
source with which participants are familiar. They found that there was a high level of
agreement about the four components of their model, and also that participants judged
scenarios with a higher transfer distance as more appropriate representations of intuitive
interaction. In other words, participants saw magical experience and gut feeling, which are
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the subjective experiences of high transfer interaction, as more typical of the subjective
experience of intuitive interaction than effortlessness and verbalisability, which are the kinds
of objective experiences generally coded as intuitive in previous research.
Macaranas, Antle, and Riecke (2015) described an experiment in which they tested three
different full body gestural interfaces to establish which mappings were more intuitive, one
based on image schemas and two on different previously encountered features from other
types of interfaces. They found that intuitiveness as measured by performance was not all
that users wanted from a system. For example, if participants did not discover the
interaction model behind the controls they felt dissatisfied. On the other hand, transparency
of the controls also allowed users to engage more with the content presented through the
system. Macaranas et. al. (2015) asked their participants about how well they understood
both the operation of the system they had used during their experiment and the content
presented through that system. The participants explanations revealed their conscious and
explicit understanding of the controls and content. Macaranas et. al. (2015) therefore
suggested that a subconscious understanding of the system (rather than conscious or
explicit), enabled participants to focus their conscious attention on completing the tasks, not
on learning to use or using the interface. They stated that:
Metaphoric mappings [based on image schemas] are perceived by the senses and
represent previous knowledge subconsciously used. Conventional mappings [perceived
affordances and population stereotypes] on the other hand are acquired through
reflection and learning and represent previous knowledge that was consciously used.
With metaphoric mappings, many who had high task scores still lacked an explicit
understanding of how the system worked (Macaranas et. al., 2015, p368).
So participants sometimes did not discover the workings of the interface but they still
completed the tasks successfully. Presumably they used the image schema mappings
intuitively (Macaranas et. al., 2015), but they were often dissatisfied and felt lower
competence as they had not consciously discovered the workings of the mappings.
It is interesting that Macaranas et. al.s findings on discoverability and transparency have
some similarities with Diefenbach & Ullrichs (2015) investigation into the subjective
experience of intuitive interaction. The magical or mysterious experiences delivered by more
implicit knowledge could be interesting to explore further, but Macaranas et. al.s (2015)
findings suggest that, for some applications, the experiences delivered by the options in the
centre of the continua, where users may well have consciously discovered their origin by
the end of the interaction, are a safer option for providing a usable interface. On the other
hand, the ubiquitous and unconscious use of image schemas, physical affordances and
population stereotypes may not be consciously noticed by users.
To us, the work of Diefenbach and Ullrich (2015) and Macaranas, at. al. (2015) suggests that
where on the continuum the prior knowledge sits affects the subjective experience e.g.
physical affordance (sensorimotor) and even population stereotypes (culture) could be so
engrained that they are subconscious, feel automatic and go almost un-noticed by the user,
whereas metaphor, if done right, offers a potential route for increasing domain transfer
2069
distance and designing more subjectively magical experiences. In between, familiar features
may make for a more measureable but more pedestrian experience. A feature with higher
transfer distance could appear more mysterious because users may not consciously
remember or be able to discover where their knowledge about it came from. Hence,
because it is less known and somewhat unexpected in the context, it appears more magical.
Therefore, subjective "magical" experiences of intuitive interaction may exist at the opposite
end of the continuum than many objectively assessed intuitive uses.
Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) and Natural User Interfaces (NUIs) have long been claimed to
be more intuitive than other types of interfaces. They involve more everyday movements
and gestures than many more traditional interfaces, which theoretically should place them
at the lower end of the continua (Figure 1). For example, they use physical affordances such
as touching and grasping, innate responses such as turning towards a stimulus, population
stereotypes such as shaking the head, and sensorimotor actions such as moving up and
down. However, this assumed increased intuitiveness of TUIs had not previously been
empirically shown.
Recently, we have shown that a tangible toy is indeed more intuitive than an intangible
equivalent, as well as leading to more successful game play (Desai, Blackler, & Popovic,
2015). Intuitive uses were facilitated by high reliance of the tangible toy on physical
affordances, as opposed to the intangible toys reliance on perceived affordances. We have
found similar results when looking at a mixed reality (mixed tangible and intangible) toy,
whereby the physical affordances of the toy were more intuitive to use than intangible
aspects such as perceived affordances (Desai, Blackler, & Popovic, in press). This lends
support to the claims that TUIs and NUIs have the potential to be more intuitive, but
suggests that we need to design mixed reality systems carefully if we are to keep those
benefits when entering the digital realm.
All these new ideas and approaches have exciting potential to grow the field of intuitive
interaction and to inform designers of a variety of systems about how to make interfaces
both engaging and intuitive. However, we need to understand how they relate to each other
if we are to have a coherent understanding of how to apply intuitive interaction going
forward.
4. Putting it all together

The implications of these exciting new directions are only now emerging and it can appear
difficult to see exactly how all these ideas relate and so forge a way forward. However, one
response from those who developed initial theories could be to adapt and evolve the
continua to include and explain these new ideas and approaches. Building on work done in
the past which compared and contrasted the two separate continua of intuitive interaction
(Blackler & Hurtienne, 2007)(Figure 1), an initial attempt to explore how these newer ideas
relate to older ones is shown in Figure 2. Here, the continuum previously developed by us
2070
(Blackler, 2008) is shown alongside some of the new concepts that are currently being
explored.
Thus, tangible interfaces mostly rely on physical affordances, whereas intangibles rely on the
other aspects of the continuum, depending on the system and its design. Mixed reality
systems could access all parts of the continuum, although it is perhaps unlikely that one
single system will relate to all of them. Magical experiences appear to relate to increased
transfer distance, and so are most likely to be induced by metaphors. At the other end,
physical affordances appear to facilitate unconscious, transparent interactions which could
be delivered with or without application of image schemas. Discoverable experiences would
seem to be likely in the centre part of the continuum, where users are most likely to
recognise the previous knowledge they are applying. Very simple and engrained knowledge
such as physical affordances could pass unnoticed as it is so well used and so expected. A
metaphor may be undiscoverable for a different reason users may be able to apply the
metaphor but unable to recall the source of their knowledge, which likely offers the highest
potential for facilitating magical experiences. Metaphor has also been slightly distanced
from the other parts of our original continuum. This is because it has become clear that is it
not always a simple continuation from the other concepts and in fact could be applied in
other ways than we originally assumed.
Finally, ubiquity of previous experience and potential for more people to be able to
intuitively use a feature is highest at the lower end of the continuum and decreases from left
to right. Metaphor is again a potential exception here as a very universal metaphor could be
applied in some cases.
It should be noted that there will be exceptions to these examples, and this exercise is
intended only as an aid to understanding at this point and does not present hard and fast
rules. For example, we did find some use of perceived affordances with the tangible toy, but
most of the overall uses and intuitive uses were facilitated by physical affordances. Similarly,
physical affordances and metaphors could both be discoverable we are simply speculating
that, based on the evidence so far, they may be less discoverable than perceived
affordances.
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Figure 2: The Intuitive Interaction Continuum as it relates to new ideas in Intuitive Interaction
This work is intended to offer a starting point for more exploration of how all these factors
interact and affect each other. It is not intended as a new continuum, but rather as an aid in
understanding how newer concepts may relate to ideas in the existing continua. For
example, magical is not necessarily opposed to image schemas, and although it may be
non-compatible with transparent and unconscious we do not yet know if it is the actual
opposite of one or both of them. As more research is done this framework it may evolve
further into a new continuum, or some other format. In the meantime it can aid
understanding for researchers in the field as well as designers who want to make interfaces
more intuitive.
Issues still to be explored and investigated include understanding more about how
discoverability interacts with level of consciousness there is presumably a relationship.
Those functions which are undiscoverable may never become conscious. Finding the right
balance between discoverability, intuitive use and subjective feelings of competence and
satisfaction is a challenge which needs meeting. Could reducing the transfer distance
increase intuitive interaction but also reduce satisfaction? Knowledge of some features
could be so engrained they are not consciously noticed (they are transparent, like many
physical affordances at the bottom end of the continuum), or the metaphor is so smooth it is
not consciously noticed (at the top end of the continuum). What about metaphor which is
not so well executed? Is that more discoverable and less transparent? Is that then more or
less magical? Not every feature will have a perfect metaphor as not every function has a
2072
very applicable source and/or target for metaphor, so those metaphors may be less smooth
and more likely to be brought to a users consciousness.
Ideally, we would like to develop ways in which designers can provide both magical
(subjectively intuitive) and unconscious (objectively intuitive) types of experiences for
ultimate ease of use and engagement. To do this we would need to compare subjective
"magical feeling" intuitive uses with unconscious and automatic intuitive uses. We could do
this by manipulating the "transfer distance" for these features. Then we will be able to
discover whether the feature uses we code as intuitive are the same or different to the ones
the participants report as "intuitive" or magical. This would combine two distinct yet
complimentary approaches to intuitive interaction research. While earlier approaches
mainly focussed on how quantifiable prior knowledge contributes to intuitive interaction,
performance parameters and related design principles, Diefenbachs approach puts a bigger
emphasis on the subjective experience of intuitive interaction and its different facets. An
understanding of the differences these two types of intuitive uses (subjective and
objective) would allow us to develop ways in which designers can create experiences which
are subjectively engaging ("magical" as assessed by participants) as well as objectively simple
and easy to understand ("intuitive" as coded by us) by using the right combination of
features in an interface.
We also still need to explore how tangibility affects consciousness and magical experiences
and how it interacts with transfer distance. Tangibles are associated with low domain
transfer distance as the origin of prior knowledge and the application of knowledge both
relate to the same physical domain with spatial and material characteristics. Low transfer
distance results in less verbalisation and effortless use of the interface (Diefenbach & Ullrich,
2015), which in turn is evident in intuitive use of tangibles. The result of low domain transfer
distance in tangibles is that the spatial and material features are easily discoverable, which
explains the high scores for intuitive use of tangibles in our tangibles study (Desai et al.,
2015). Intuitive use of intangibles is associated with higher domain transfer distance as the
prior knowledge is often acquired from the physical domain and transferred to the digital. In
intangibles, then, the origin of prior knowledge and the application of that knowledge relate
to different product domains with different technologies and different materials. However,
does this mean that because physical affordances often have a very short transfer distance,
they are lacking in magical experiences? Can the magic only happen when they are
transferred to the virtual, when they are no longer physical affordances anyway but
perceived affordances? Or is there a way to allow the magical experience with tangibles?
5. Conclusion
This paper has provided an overview of concepts in intuitive interaction research old and
new, and made a start at bringing together the disparate ideas in order to foster better
understanding of the various concepts. The framework presented is intended as a discussion
point and a step towards further theory building in this domain, and brings together all of
the newer ideas within the context of the established work to help clarify understanding
2073
about what intuitive interaction is in all its incarnations, how and when it happens and how
it can be facilitated. This will allow designers to apply the ideas with more confidence and
better clarity, and researchers to build on the extant work in the field to develop it further
and offer more comprehensive tools and recommendations to designers.
5. References
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Saarbrcken, Germany: VDM Verlag.
Blackler, A., & Hurtienne, J. (2007). Towards a unified view of intuitive interaction: definitions,
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Blackler, A., & Popovic, V. (2015). Towards Intuitive Interaction Theory Interacting with Computers,
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Design Research, Delft.
Blackler, A., Popovic, V., & Mahar, D. (2010). Investigating users' intuitive interaction with complex
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Blackler, A., Popovic, V., & Mahar, D. (2014). Applying and testing design for intuitive interaction,.
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Desai, S., Blackler, A., & Popovic, V. (2015). Intuitive Use of Tangible Toys. Paper presented at the
Interplay IASDR 2015, Brisbane, Australia.
Desai, S., Blackler, A., & Popovic, V. (in press). Intuitive Interaction in a Mixed Reality System. Paper
presented at the DRS2016, Brighton, UK.
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Components and the Special Effect of Domain Transfer Distance. Interact. Comput., first published
online January 30, 2015 doi:10.1093/iwc/iwv001
Fischer, S., Itoh, M., & Inagaki, T. (2014). Prior schemata transfer as an account for assessing the
intuitive use of new technology. Applied Ergonomics, 46(2015), 8-20.
Fischer, S., Itoh, M., & Inagaki, T. (2015). Screening prototype features in terms of Intuitive Use:
design considerations and proof of concept. Interacting with Computers.
Hurtienne, J. (2009). Image schemas and design for intuitive use. (PhD), Technischen Universitt
Berlin, Berlin.
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interface design. Paper presented at the 16th International Conference on Engineering Design,
Paris, 2007.
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Patterns for Tangible Interaction. Paper presented at the TEI'07. First International Conference on
Tangible and Embedded Interaction, New York.
Hurtienne, J., Klckner, K., Diefenbach, S., Nass, C., & Maier, A. (2015). Designing with Image
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Macaranas, A., Antle, A. N., & Riecke, B. E. (2015). Intuitive Interaction. Balancing Users' Performance
and Satisfaction with Natural User Interfaces. Interacting with Computers, 27(3), 357-370. doi:
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Ergonomics Society, New York.
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Reflection Measures. Interact. Comput., 27(3), 271-286. doi: 10.1093/iwc/iwu046`
About the Authors:

Alethea Blackler (PhD) is Associate Professor and Head of Discipline
in Industrial Design at QUT, Brisbane, Australia. Her principle area of
research interest is intuitive interaction, in which she is one of the
world leaders. She pioneered the first empirical work in this field.
Vesna Popovic (PhD) is a Professor in Industrial Design at QUT,
Brisbane, Australia. Her research focus is within experience, expertise
and intuitive interaction. Vesna is a Fellow of the Design Research
Society (UK) and Design Institute of Australia.
2075
2076
Skilling and learning through digital Do-It-Yourself:

the role of (Co-)Design
Giuseppe Salvia*, Carmen Bruno and Marita Canina
* giuseppe.salvia@polimi.it
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.386
Abstract: The current trend of digitally enabled self-production (i.e. digital DIY) is
emblematic of the contemporary attitude to making. Its investigation represents an
opportunity for better understanding the dynamics underpinning the acquisition of
competences for the next century citizens through making. The objective of this
paper is presenting our preliminary reflections on the factors characterising the
current trend of digital DIY, envisaged as a phenomenon of social innovation
empowering people by developing skills through making collaboratively. We
introduce a model representing the dynamics (over the three levels of social
innovation, social practice and creative process) and factors (i.e. technology,
motivation and collaboration) for learning and skilling in this context. The concluding
section describes future developments based on co-design for the delivery of tools
enabling designers and key players in four main areas of intervention in which the
model can be transferred.
Keywords: Digital Do-It-Yourself (DIY); Making and makers; Learning; Competences and
skills; Co-Design Tools
Skilling through digital DIY and the role of Design

The modern concept of competence comprises not only relevant knowledge and skills, but
also a range of personal qualities and the ability to perform adequately and flexibly in wellknown and unknown situations. This set is often called 21st century competences which are
considered of fundamental importance for people to face the complexity of contemporary
age. Creativity and the ability to produce ideas, knowledge and innovations is a key player.
It represents the intangible substrate for innovation (Kozbelt et al. 2010), however its
management requires the development of specific techniques and educational programmes.
Since the last decades of the 20th century, research in learning processes have suggested the
importance of making and doing as a means to foster the acquisition of skills, especially the
creative ones. Therefore, observing and understanding the dynamics of making-based

activities could shed more light on how creativity unfolds and skills are acquired.
The current trend of self-production (i.e. Do-It-Yourself or DIY) (Anderson, 2012) is
emblematic of the contemporary attitude to making and its investigation may represent an
opportunity for a better understanding of the dynamics underpinning the acquisition of the
21st century competences. The spreading of digital fabrication technologies and
infrastructures are sustaining a self-production trend re-emerged over the last decade
(Atkinson, 2006) thus leading to what has been called the new DIY age (Hoftijzer, 2009) or
also a new industrial revolution (Anderson, 2012) and even a paradigm shift (Fox, 2010).
Collaborative self-production is one of the ongoing social innovation phenomena in which
people reinvent their ways of living, especially thanks to ubiquitous digital technologies,
connecting people on a global scale (e.g. Internet 2.0) and bringing production closer to
consumption (e.g. digital fabrication and distributed systems) (Manzini, 2015).
Digital fabrication-based DIY or simply digital DIY is here envisaged as a creative practice
through which people may increase their self-confidence and empowerment by developing
new skills and knowledge. Rooted in design and construction, these digital making activities
often emphasize the development of 21st century skills, such as problem-solving, critical
thinking, and collaboration.
1.1 Why design?

Given the skilling potential of the making trend especially in terms of creativity, major
implications for professional designers are expected. Design literature has suggested since a
long time that everybody is a designer (Simon, 1969; Cross, 2011), and more recently that
in a world in rapid and profound transformation, we are all designers (Manzini, 2015:1).
These theories refer to the ability and need for untrained people to create what they need
even without the support of professional designers. The role of design in the era when
everybody does design is therefore questioned and needs to be reshaped.
The Industrial Designer Society of America (IDSA),1 discussed the implications of DIY for
designers at the 2010 conference named DIY Design: threat or opportunity? and
acknowledged that, although DIY is not a totally new phenomenon, the implications of this
shift for the design professions are potentially massive. The DIY resurgence is making
consumers question the need for mass production, and by extension, the need for designers.
Atkinson (2006:1) concluded that
[n]o accounts have really developed the key issue of how DIY acts as the antithesis of
the prescribed design of the mass marketplace [considering that] DIY as a design
activity has not been the focus of a great deal of attention.
http://www.idsa.org/
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Skilling and learning through digital Do-It-Yourself: the role of (Co-)Design
However, Manzini (2006) stresses that

if it is true that we live in a society where everybody designs, designers should
accept that they can no longer aspire to a monopoly on design and, at the same time,
they have to be able to recognise what could be their new, and () important, specific
role.
Past research suggested possible roles of designers for the contemporary DIYers (Salvia,
2016). In this paper we propose that professional designers may contribute by facilitating
the creative process of making, especially within the digital social innovation phenomenon
frame, as a means to foster people empowerment.
The EU funded project Digital Do-It-Yourself (DiDIY) aims at developing a human-centric
and multi-perspective approach to the scientific study of current self-production trend
enabled by digital fabrication technology, in order to better understand its impacts on all
areas of society and to support both education and policy making on Digital DIY, through
models and guidelines driven by social and cultural strategies.1
In particular, we as partners of the DiDIY project are going to explore the dynamics
facilitating the acquisition of skills and 21st competences through this practice. As design
researchers, we aim at contributing by developing (co)design-driven tools facilitating the
identification of the skilling dynamics where digital DIY takes place and explore models for
including them in working and educational environments.
1.2 Objective and structure of the paper

The objective of this paper is presenting our preliminary reflections on the factors
characterising the current trend of digital DIY, envisaged as a significant phenomenon of
social innovation which may foster skilling processes with ultimate effects on people
empowerment through the act of making collaboratively.
To this purpose, section 2 introduces the (mainly constructionism-based) theories of learning
through making; section 3 describes the current trend of digital DIY and highlights main
debated topics in literature; section 4 presents our research area and summarises the
research activities that will be carried out.
Making as a learning opportunity

The intellectual capital of citizens is envisaged as the driving force for the 21 st century (Sahin,
2009), during which a global paradigm shift affects frames of reference about the ways of
living, working, and socialising.
Advanced economies, innovative industries and firms and high-growth jobs require more
skilled and empowered workers with the ability to respond flexibly to complex problems,
communicate effectively, manage information, work in teams and produce new knowledge.
In the United States, for instance, companies have made significant organizational and
http://www.didiy.eu/
2079
behavioural shifts, providing higher levels of responsibility to workers for increasing

productivity and innovation (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008).
The acquisition of different forms of knowledge and skills is needed for people to thrive as
tomorrow's leaders, workers, and citizens in a constantly changing world and never-ending
learning process. To cope with the demands of this century, people need to know more
than core subjects and to develop such skills as thinking critically, applying knowledge to
new situations, analysing information, comprehending new ideas, communicating,
collaborating, solving problems, making decisions (Sahin, 2009).
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2008) identify three broad categories of these
learning mainly cognitive skills, which include:
Information, i.e. technical skills enabling the confronting of the technology and
media-driven environment;
Learning and innovation, i.e. skills focusing on creativity, critical thinking,
communication and collaboration;
Life and career, i.e. skills that give people the ability to navigate the complex
life and work environments in the globally competitive information age.
The 21st century skills require the development of an ad-hoc education system that prepares
students, workers and citizens adequately. We envisage that significant benefits may be
gained if the development of this system is based on Constructionism, a theory developed in
the 1980s by Seymour Papert, one of the founders of MIT Media Lab. This theory bases
learning on creativity, tinkering, exploring, building, and presentation (Papert, 1980), thus
covering a significant number of the 21st century skills. Learners apply concepts, skills and
strategies to solve real-world problems that are relevant and personally meaningful. In this
process, they engage with problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration (Bers et al,
2002).
Built upon Piagets Constructivism theory (Piaget, 1970) according to which learners
knowledge is the result of the construction of ideas and their relations yet within the mind
of the learner, Paperts theory involves learners in the construction of physical artefacts and
in their sharing with others. In other words, Constructionism emphasises the benefits of
making external artefacts as a powerful means to achieve Piaget's internal (reads in the
mind) construction of understanding.
Making encourages a deep engagement with content, critical thinking, problem solving and
collaboration while sparking curiosity (Peppler and Bender, 2013). As a consequence, it is
agreed that making fosters lifelong learning by encouraging learning by doing (Peppler and
Bender, 2013). The potential of making as a way for more effective learning has been
increasingly sustained over the last decade and has inspired several other Constructionismbased theories which we will further explore such as Authorship learning for which
collaboration if fundamental (Donaldson, 2014).
2080
The current challenge is to encompass learning at all ages in both formal and informal
situations with a practice that involves a wide variety of the digital tools that form the
landscape of students future learning and working environment (Donaldson, 2014).
Current socio-technical trend of self-production and making facilitated by digital media
represents an opportunity for the engagement of a wider audience in the development of
the 21st century skills. A number of researchers and educational leaders see in the digital DIY
the potential to engage young people in personally compelling, creative investigations of the
material and social world (Vossoughi and Bevans, 2014). Furthermore this will democratize
tasks and skills previously available only to experts (Blikstein, 2013), expanding participation
in STEM fields.
The next section describes the self-production trend and highlights the benefits that this
phenomenon may bring about in the acquisition of skills.
The creative practice of digital DIY for social innovation

DIY generally refers to the activity carried on by untrained people for the realisation
(designing and making) of a product, instead of having it done by a specialist (Kuznetsov and
Paulos 2010). The outcome of this activity is eventually used or consumed by the creator or
people with personal connections (e.g. relatives or friends), without the generation of direct
profits (i.e. sales). Over the last decade engaged individuals described as makers (Anderson
2012), craft consumers (Campbell 2005), lead users (Von Hippel 2005), professional
amateurs (Leadbeater and Miller 2004) and prosumers have been united by the will and
ability to create artefacts that they desire and may be supported by innovative technologies
(e.g. Atkinson et al. 2008), networks (e.g. Leadbeater 2008) and companies with new
business models (e.g. Franke, Von Hippel, and Schreier 2006).
The contemporary making attitude is considered creative, innovative, inventive,
collaborative, resourceful and empowering. Makers and digital DIYers play with technology
to learn about it, to figure out how things are made, how to fix them, or how to use them in
a whole new way. They are non-linear thinkers, curious inventors and problem-solvers.
According to Thomas Kalil, deputy director of the White Houses Office of Science and
Technology Policy, the maker movement really
begins with the Makers themselves who find making, tinkering, inventing, problem
solving, discovering and sharing intrinsically rewarding. (in Dougherty, 2010)
The socio-technical change taking place has dramatically contributed to reshape (at least
some streams of) DIY towards a phenomenon of social innovation, moving from a more
traditional individualistic practice to a collaborative one for positive impact on society.
We believe that the exploration of the making-based digital DIY phenomenon may generate
beneficial insights for the facilitation of the 21st century skills development. However, these
opportunities are still debated in literature and the main elements of this social practice are
reported in the following section.
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3.1 The social practice of digital DIY and the (de-)skilling debate
Digital DIY may be described as a practice from sociology perspective, as it emerges from,
constitutes, and makes sense of
forms of bodily activity, forms of mental activity, things and their use, background
knowledge in the form of understanding, know-how, states of emotion, and
motivational knowledge (Reckwitz, 2002:249).
As a practice, digital DIY evolves over the time because of the active integration of both
existing and new elements in practices (Shove and Pantzar, 2005), including:
Materials, i.e. tangible resources, such as tools, parts and materials;
Meanings, i.e. motivations, such as personal satisfaction, self-development and
monetary saving;
Competences, i.e. capabilities and skills, such as manual dexterity, technical
knowledge and creativity.
Literature on digital DIY is still emerging and has been mainly focused on the first two
elements above, i.e. materials and meanings. Research focused on the material set namely
addresses the technological development of automated machines for digital fabrication,
comparison of these machine performances and outputs, and the places where such
practice takes place amongst others (Hielscher and Smith 2014).
Research focused on the motivational component (i.e. meanings) mainly refers to attitudes
and aims of the digital DIY communities which include the will to make and innovate,
supporting the glocal community through sharing and expressing a political statement.
Lastly, research on competences regards the skills involved in this practice, typically the
technical ones such as coding, making virtual models, interacting with digital fabrication
technologies (e.g. 3D printers and laser cutters).
However, making is creating and as so it requires adequate skills for the development of
creativity. The creative elements of all DIY enhance peoples notion of themselves as an
agent of design rather than merely a passive consumer (Atkinson, 2006). It is plausible that
the level of attitude, experience and skills in delivering creative ideas and managing the
creative process affects the way in which the digital DIY practice is carried out and the
output is generated. However, little research addressed creative process in (especially
digital) DIY and further research could explore if digital DIYers approach the creative process
differently from trained designers, how the creative process may change when addressed
collaboratively, or the difficulties encountered by digital DIYers when developing the
creative process. Such research questions could enable the identification of potential areas
of intervention for designers aiming at supporting them.
Further research is needed to shed light on the technical, cognitive and social skills mainly
involved in this practice, which may help to address more debated questions such as how
the materials set influences the acquisition of new skills. In fact, the spreading of digital
fabrication raises arguments on its potentially skilling or even deskilling effect (Hielscher and
Smith, 2014):
2082
"On the one hand, these technologies are said to encourage passive consumers to
engage in creative making process in their spare time without having to pick up years
of craft learning reskilling, whilst on the other, they are said to automate making
processes previously requiring craft skill deskilling." (Ree, 2011:34)
The main argument on the deskilling effect refers to the highly digital nature of the creative
process through such machines as 3D printers, CNC mills and laser cutters. The digital DIYer
is supposed to develop a virtual model of the object to be made and eventually the
machines will produce this as a whole or as components to be assembled. Focusing on the
virtual representation of the object undermines the ability for the practitioner to experience
material qualities (e.g. hardness) and manufacturability (e.g. lathing, melting), and to learn
through hand making, thus flattening the three-dimensional knowledge of hand making to
the bi-dimensional realm. The ultimate effect is the development of a creative process
which is led by a virtual idea disconnected from the material world. The potential
consequences of such deskilling effect include inefficient and ineffective ways of producing
due to a lack of knowledge of materials characteristics.
As a response to such arguments, Ree (2011) has claimed that although such tools turn
much of the in-situ effort of materialisation over to a machine, the machine itself is a
manifestation of knowledge, skills and labour involved in its design, manufacture and
maintenance. Moreover, he has tried to argue that there is an element of improvisation and
experimentation within the digital fabrication making process. Once the object is created it
can be held and studied and therefore altered (often there is the need to finish off the
digitally fabricated objects through handwork).
Furthermore, digital fabrication technologies need to be set according to the materials used.
Therefore, the fruition of such machines requires knowledge of material physical qualities
which possibly were not so fundamental for non-digital DIYers, such as melting temperature
for plastics to be 3D printed.
Digital fabrication technologies could represent an appealing opportunity of being involved
in creative processes for less engaged DIYers who are let down by the often long lapses of
time required to acquire manual skills of the traditional non-digital DIY. As Watson and
Shove (2008:80) inferred from a study about craft consumption, such machines are
not instruments of de-skilling and dumbing down but as agents that rearrange the
distribution of competence within the entire network of entities that must be
integrated to accomplish the job in hand.
Although we are aware that the debate could benefit from an even wider framework
including political context and power relations (Soderberg, 2013), drawing on the arguments
above we envisage the potential for digital DIY practice to foster the development of
creative skills; the involved material set (e.g. technologies) opens up the range of artefacts
that can be made thus stimulating the creativity of people. Tools fostering creativity during
the creative process may limit the deskilling chances for digital DIYers, namely supporting
with the identification of the most effective material to be used.
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3.2 Digital DIY as a phenomenon of social innovation

The reconfiguration of the elements of the digital DIY practice mentioned above (i.e.
materials, meanings and competences) triggers the evolution of the practice and the
recruitment of more practitioners over time. The establishment of the Internet, web 2.0 and
social media has contributed to the spreading of groups who collaborate on a wider
sometimes even global scale, for common purposes. This is an example of commonsbased peer production, whereby
large groups of individualsco-operate effectively to provide information, knowledge
or cultural goods without relying on either market pricing or managerial hierarchies to
co-ordinate their common enterprise (Benkler and Nissenbaum, 2006:394).
It has led to several phenomena, initiatives and communities (e.g. open source, peer-topeer, etc.) emerging with the aim of contributing to a more community-oriented society.
Peer production has been envisaged as
an opportunity for more people to engage in practices that permit them to exhibit
and experience virtuous behavior (Benkler and Nissenbaum, 2006:394).
This is in our view the most significant element of social innovation in digital DIY, i.e. the
opportunity for people to acquire competences and trigger virtuous behaviours through and
with others, in a collaborative way and often for the benefit of the local or global
community.
Likewise, places play a key role. FabLabs and Hackerspaces, for instance, are distributed
systems of fabrication, i.e.
sociotechnical systems that are scattered in many different but connected, relatively
autonomous parts, which are mutually linked within wider networks. (Manzini,
2015:17)
This is enabling the coalescing of committed individuals who support each other in
communities of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991) or even creative communities, i.e.
groups of people who cooperatively invent, enhance and manage innovative solutions for
new ways of living (Manzini, in Buf et al. 2006). Although the distribution of fabrication
systems may be the result of the need to make products as local as possible, thus lightening
the whole system, other fundamental reasons regard the quest for autonomy, selfsufficiency and ultimately for resilience (Manzini, 2015).
Making oriented activities, such as digital DIY, are opportunities for individual and social
empowerment, as they provide opportunity for
giving people independence and self-reliance, freedom from professional help,
encouraging the wider dissemination and adoption of modernist design principles,
providing an opportunity to create more personal meaning in their own environments
or self-identity (Atkinson, 2006:5-6).
This effect is closely related to its connecting nature (Gauntlett, 2011). Watson and Shove
(2008:74) infer that different approaches to DIY converge in its fundamental role of
2084
mediating and maintaining relationships between people, whether it is in family

relations within the household, construction and maintenance of self-identity and selfesteem, or broader constructions of space and identity.
The digitalization of the making based practice is a contemporary form social innovation,
which
meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations. []
innovations that are both good for society and enhance societys capacity to act.
(Murray et al. 2010:3)
It can be inferred that such benefits are dramatically sustained by a socio-technical system
based on the importance of sharing, collaborating and supporting each other. Making
creates a supportive community of learners that can leverage the interests and skills of each
member of the group towards shared goals. Therefore, digital DIY can potentially sustain
the development of the 21st century skills.
Inter-disciplinary attitude is also a potential benefit of making as an educative and
collaborative practice. Disciplinary boundaries are considered inauthentic to makerspace
practice according to Sheridan et al. (2014:526-7) and the
blending of traditional and digital tools, arts and engineering can create a learning
environment with multiple entry points that foster innovative combinations,
juxtapositions and uses of disciplinary content and skill.
This element characterises the contemporary evolution of DIY and therefore individualistic(although digital-) oriented activities are out of scope for this study.
Observing the development of digital DIY activities may be informative about the dynamics
of acquisition of new skills through collaborative tasks.
Hypotheses and future developments

The analysis of the current scenario of digital DIY as a social innovation phenomenon will
enable us to define a model through which it will be possible to identify the crucial dynamics
and factors for learning and skilling. Eventually the model could be used for enabling the
replication and adaptation of such dynamics into a different environment, such as school
and work.
The model takes into account the interplay of digital DIY main expressions enacting on
different levels also addressed above, which include:
1) Digital DIY as a phenomenon of social innovation for the fundamental role of
collaboration and sharing;
2) Digital DIY as a practice carried out by the individual connecting materials, meanings and
competences;
3) Digital DIY as a creative process, developed through cognitive tasks.
On the basis of preliminary reflections on literature review, we propose that three are the
main factors which influence such learning and skilling process across the three levels above:
2085
Technology;
Motivation;
Collaboration.
The evolution toward digital technology (from Materials component) facilitates both the
connection of people and the accessibility to tools with appreciable results in a relatively
short-term substantially. On the one hand, it is radically easier to interact with other people
across geographical boundaries for collaborating and sharing knowledge. On the other
hand, rapid manufacturing technology allows the creation of products even at earlier stages
of the acquisition of the required technical skills, in contrast with the generally lengthy
skilling process in manual crafting.
The motivational aspects of DIY practices widely intended (from Meaning component) are
believed here to be crucial for sustaining the practice over time. The practitioner is
supposed to persevere (or being strongly motivated) in overcoming the difficulties related to
self-organization and the use of spare time on the one hand, and on the other social
interactions when collaborating and participating (either for the rewarding sensation of
being with the others or for social impact).
Collaboration, both with peers (i.e. other digital DIYers) and with facilitators (who are
acknowledged as so by the digital DIYers) is here believed to be possibly the most significant
elements characterising the latter evolution of conventional DIY towards the digital one.
Collaborating is an opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop skills through other peers,
to strengthen social bonds and to make an impact on a wider level than the individual one,
which are less likely to happen in conventional individualistic DIY.
Our future research steps aim at the identification of the dynamics interlinking the factors
and the levels above, with direct observations and interviews amongst others in the places
where digital DIY is carried out, in order to deliver the model described above. Eventually,
we aim at interpreting and translating the model for (some of) the areas of the DiDIY project
(i.e. organization and work, education and research, creative societies, and legal rights and
obligations), which may benefit from the potential skilling processes of the digital DIY
practice.
Investigating the complexity of Digital DIY calls for a transdisciplinary research methodology
able to enhance people needs and visions. A bottom-up approach where people are directly
involved in the research and production of knowledge seems necessary to achieve a
complete understanding of digital DIY.
To this purpose, we believe that the involvement of practitioners in the investigation and
creation of enabling solutions is crucial. Therefore, we aim at contributing by developing
design- (and in particular codesign-) driven tools facilitating the analysis of the learning
process and the identification of the skilling dynamics and generate models for including
such dynamics in working and educational environments which may benefit from the skilling
process enabled by digital DIY practice.
2086
Co-design is a research approach which involves non-trained designers in activities, or

collaborations, for the development of solutions that aim at improving their lives with the
support of professional designers or, as in this case, with design researchers. The close
relationship with the final user of the co-designed solution makes this approach a powerful
means for accessing and making explicit people's (also tacit) needs, desires and aspirations
for the construction of new possible futures.
In this perspective, people are considered all the way as co-design researchers and
companions. The division between expert designers and laypeople becomes blurred and so
do the borders between research and practice. In order to do so, Scheldeman (2012)
suggests that the designers should allow for meaningful relation design should not
prescribe or predict, but enable.
Enabling may result a challenging task for professional designers and this calls for suitable
toolboxes and modes of experimentation, which may not still exist. In our case, we planned
to make use of human-centred co-design workshops for the purposes mentioned above.
Two series of four workshops each, one per thematic area of the DiDIY project, will be held
in two different European countries (one in Northern Europe and the other in Southern
Europe).
The first set of workshops will be explorative, aiming at exploring and understanding the
skilling dynamics in the selected area on investigation, while the second set of generative
workshops will aim at delivering solutions for implementing the skilling processes. For
instance, a teaching module for primary school or a toolkit for professionals.
Acknowledgements: This paper presents reflections from the research tasks carried out
by the authors for the DiDIY Project proposal, which addresses the call ICT 31-2014
Human-centric Digital Age of the Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies,
Information and Communication Technologies Horizon 2020 work programme. This
project has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and
innovation programme under grant agreement No 644344. The views expressed in this
paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the EC.
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About the Authors:

Giuseppe Salvia Interested to the relationship between people and
artefacts to promote a shift towards sustainable patterns of
consumption and production with the contribution of design, focused
on attitudes throughout product lifespan; making and repairing;
grassroots innovations; skills development and empowerment.
Carmen Bruno interested to investigate new spaces for designer in
the emerging design landscape from a human-centered perspective.
Interested also in experiment new approaches, based on design
thinking and co-design, that leads organization in private and public
sectors to radical innovation.
Marita Canina Interested to give value to creativity, promoting
innovation through design, as well as to activate and re-enforce all
phases of the creative process within any given context. Also
interested to Bio-design and the use of new technologies for psychophysical well-being.
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Design Research, Storytelling, and Entrepreneur

Women in Rural Costa Rica: a case study
University of Houston-Downtown
hernandezmar@uhd.edu
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.417
Abstract: This paper describes a project exploring design research practices and
emphatic design to produce context-specific knowledge to inform and facilitate visual
storytelling, in collaboration with the Womens Association of Chira Island, a rural
ecotourism association from the Pacific of Costa Rica. While their pioneering
ecotourism projects have gained national recognition, its members have faced
multiple challenges, including reassessing gender and social roles and furthering their
capacity to support development in the community. Their experiences and stories
became their most valuable asset, triggering the need to communicate them to
benefit similar populations. The contents of this project were developed during three
field research visits and two years of collaborative design work, employing time,
space, and voice to contextualize the stories. This investigation resulted in
printed materials and videos designed for mobility and easy reproduction to be used
by the association as tools to inspire women in similar rural areas.
Keywords: visual storytelling; rural ecotourism; design research; empathic design
Introduction
This paper stems from a M.F.A thesis project focused on design research and social design
titled Swimming Against the Currents: entrepreneur women of Chira Island. In this project, I
present a two-year design journey I embarked on in Costa Rica, my country of origin, further
exploring the virtues of design research methods (concentrating on empathic design) to
inform and support visual storytelling, in collaboration with the Womens Association of
Chira Island (WACI), a group of entrepreneur women developing pioneering ecotourism
projects in this community in the Pacific of Costa Rica.
My interest in working with entrepreneur women in disadvantaged communities derived
from previous social design and design for development experiences in Quintana Roo and

Yucatn, Mxico. In these regions, I worked on branding and creative development

workshops in Maya villages with womens groups, artisans, and ecotourism cooperatives as
graduate student at the University of Florida and partner of the social design initiative
www.design4development.org. These projects inspired me to broaden my work by
developing alliances and community partnerships in rural locations in Costa Rica, in order to
explore design collaborations with local entrepreneurs. In this new setting, I intended to
keep examining ways to support the use of design research methods to develop contextspecific information that substantiate subsequent design activities, such as product
development, branding, and visual storytelling, the main focus of this investigation.
I was first acquainted with the WACI through ACTUAR (Costa Rican Association of Rural
Community Tourism), a grassroots organization composed by members of multiple rural
tourism groups in Costa Rica that work together in supporting new and continuing
development efforts (Las Ventajas de ACTUAR, 2013). This organization not only
introduced me to the island but also helped me develop a fluid and amicable relationship
with the WACI, greatly facilitating and supporting three field ethnography research visits (2-3
weeks each) to the island between 2009 and 2011. During these visits, I extensively
observed, documented and interpreted the context of the community, life and daily
activities of the WACI members, as well as their motivations to create and continue
expanding their ecotourism projects. I immersed myself in the community, and alongside the
WACI we identified multiple needs where co-design could be beneficial and likely effective.
All along, we continually ran across one specific theme that define WACI members: their
compelling stories of survival and personal advancement.
During my field research in Chira I discovered that WACI members follow a very efficient
work structure motivated by an inexhaustible desire to learn and take risks, allowing them to
meet multiple goals since the creation of their group. They built cabins and an eatery with
minimum funding and help from the community, in the interest of offering a new,
sustainable and authentic experience to national and international tourists. They learned to
establish connections with different institutions and organizations, and developed a strong
understanding of project writing to obtain new funding, demonstrating to their community,
families and husbands their great potential. We recognized these milestones to be tangible
and compelling representations of struggle, perseverance and hard work, and it became
indispensable to visually communicate their stories in order to help empower the
association to inspire and guide other women. Their stories and testimonies could likely
work as powerful tools to instil change, create empathy and encourage solidarity, opening
spaces for discussion and collaboration among other entrepreneur women in rural Costa
Rica.
An Overview of Women and Ecotourism in Costa Rica

The WACI was formed in 1999 as an ecotourism initiative promoted by a group of women
from the Chira community. In many rural areas of this country, women have taken action in
the last years to develop projects that concentrate on the preservation and promotion of
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Design Research, Storytelling, and Entrepreneur Women in Rural Costa Rica: a Case Study
natural resources, as well as the diffusion of culture. Such new ways to do tourism also
respond to womens needs to address their multiple social and economic struggles with
activities that concede relevance to local resources and heritage.
It is not a surprise that in the last two decades women have shown a strong interest in
ecotourism. Their deep understanding of the main needs of their families and a traditional
interest in the environment are some reasons why many ecotourism initiatives headed by
women are successful. In Costa Rica, women have expanded their participation in society
and have moved beyond traditional struggles for family survival. They have taken a greater
role in public leadership in work, community, and political settings (Jessica Brown et al, as
cited in Leitinger, 1997).
This context has been facilitated by the international image of the country as paradise for
tourism. For example, approximately 5% of the biodiversity of the planet is located in Costa
Rica, a country with a characteristic tropical climate and varied geography and geology.
Historically, Costa Ricans are considered peaceful, friendly, welcoming, educated, with high
living standards, in the most stable country in Central America for over 50 years.
Consequently, many organizations, institutions and universities have invested resources in
the country to help people, especially in rural areas, to develop their ecotourism and
development initiatives. The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, the United
Nations Development Program, and the US Agency for International Development are
organizations that have provided aid to the country to develop initiatives of promotion and
education on ecotourism, while funding conservation efforts (Dasenbrock, 2001). Based on
accounts by WACI members, logistical support was fist delivered by the Universidad
Nacional. Some founding members of the WACI received training on administration and
project planning, which ignited their desire to develop an economic activity. As their
ecotourism project grew and gained more local recognition, they were later supported with
funds by organizations such as the Ford Foundation (L. Martinez, personal communication,
December, 2009).
Women of Chira Island

For many years, the islands of the Nicoya Gulf, located in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica,
were highly marginalized, almost forgotten by the governments and population. Costa
Ricans dont know much about these islands. Media does not use to provide information
about these communities unless relevant events occur. At the same time, the conditions for
fluid tourism in the island have always been insufficient, maintaining its low profile. Chira
Island had presence in the media in the 1990s with the inauguration of the islands first high
school (Liceo de Chira, founded in 1996), after the construction of the aqueduct in 2001 that
provides drinkable water from the mainland (Avalos, 2001), and when the island started to
suffer the consequences of overexploitation of the marine resources and high contamination
of the water in the Nicoya Gulf, resulting in an alarming detriment of its fishing activities in
the early 2000s.
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During my trips and stays in Chira, I gained a clearer understanding of the social, geographic,
and economic situation of the place and how much they directly affect womens livelihood.
Although Chira Island is the biggest of the Nicoya Gulf, it continues to be poor and isolated,
with great difficulties to access health and education services, as well as job opportunities.
For example, I discovered that a one-way trip to and from the closest mainland port
(Puntarenas) costs approximately US$15, the equivalent to almost a one-day pay for many
Chirans, which makes it impossible for the majority to travel to the mainland daily for work
purposes. These challenges motivated the WACI members to start a project on their own, in
order to offer new possibilities of growth for their families and community.
When I was first introduced to the island and the WACI in 2009, I met Lilliana Martinez,
founder and president of the association. Her friendly and welcoming demeanour reflects
the environment of their lodgea calm, small clearing spot in the middle of the tropical
forest (Figure 1). Lilliana is from San Carlos, a city located in Northern Costa Rica. She grew
up as a farmer in a community where tourism and nature-related activities were prevalent.
As other women in Chira, Lilliana first arrived to the community after moving in with her
husband, a local. As she told me in 2009 during an in-person interview,
It was difficult to get used to the activities of the island. Women dont have options
other than having children or helping their husbands in fishing activities. I was used to
having more freedom and more economic options in San Carlos.
Figure 1: View of eatery of the Albergue La Amistad, the lodge owned and administrated by the
Womens Association of Chira Island. The lodge is a clearing spot in the tropical forest.
Lillianas enthusiasm and vision are qualities that set her apart from the rest of the
members, who believe that her leadership and courageousness have made a big difference
in the way their projects have successfully evolved since 1999. Every member of the
association in the last 16 years has a very particular story, but all of them share common
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struggles and multiple limitations. Most of them have very limited formal education
according to testimonies collected from casual conversations with WACI members, very few
have completed secondary studies or have joined a postsecondary studies institution.
Households in Chira have a great dependence on wells to collect and use water which many
times is scarce. Chirans have faced the effects of contamination discharged from fruit
plantations in the mainland, and have constantly tackled the consequences of the unstable
activity of fishing. It is then understandable that all past entrepreneurship initiatives
proposed by WACI (a lodge with sustainable cabins, an eatery, tours to the mangrove
swamps bordering the island, bird-watching and bike tours) have required a significant
quota of idealism, as well as a great sense of teamwork and a thriving self-esteem.
The islands economic decline also provoked an increased interest of national and
international organizations and institutions to work in these specific communities, by
strongly supporting new development projects through the introduction of new resources to
help womens groups. Multiple workshops and group activities started to take place in the
1990s on construction of self-esteem, administration, entrepreneurship, arts and crafts,
food preparation, and tourism (M. Brenes, personal communication, July, 2009).
Consequently, several groups proposed projects and economic activities, such as chicken
farms, bakeries, stores and cabins. According to conversations with WACI members, not all
projects continued. Many women separated after a few months or years, revealing their
traditionally disadvantaged living conditions and lack of family support.
In rural communities, women continually confront traditional genders roles in order to
achieve economic growth. Women are expected to depend on men. They are considered
weaker and less prepared for life, reflecting the image of the campesinaa woman who
although strong, healthy and frugal, has the intelligence of a child until adulthood, always
suffers for others, is slow, and superstitious. Under this ideal, women were first considered
mothers, with different social roles than men, with different rights and duties (Juvenal, as
cited in Gonzalez, 1988). According to the WACI, there are many other factors that prevent
women to start or further entrepreneurial efforts or other economic activities. One is social
pressure. Women in Chira are supposed to take care of their children, their house, help in
fishing nothing else (L. Martinez, personal communication, December, 2009). Other
activities are pointless or useless, showing laziness or neglect in the household keeping.
They also suffer domestic violence and low self-esteem. It is normal for women in Chira to
face physical and/or emotional abuse by their husbands or domestic partners. This situation
deeply damages their self-esteemthey feel they are not intelligent, useless, ugly, afraid of
taking any challenges, usually depressed (D.Medina, personal communication, July, 2009).
While this discriminatory and violent environment prevails in many households, there are
still various groups of women that continue active, while defeating traditional roles,
including the Artisan Women Association and the Clam Grower Womens Association. They
have created welcome centers close to the islands ports (Figure 2) and continue offering
diverse tourism activities to the islands visitors.
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Figure 2: View of two of Chira Island ports: Playa Montero (left) and Puerto Palito (right). Most of
fishing, tourism and commercial boats arrive to Palito.
Design Research and Collaborative Storytelling

Visual communication and graphic design play important roles in engaging, informing,
educating, persuading, and making complex information intelligible to audiences, in order to
help improve their living conditions. A designer engaging in human-centered design research
and ethnography has the opportunity to further the relevance and to reinforce the social
impact of visual communication by recognizing, discovering and embracing audiences
attitudes, personalities, psychologies, behaviours, beliefs, and practices that wouldnt be
possible to understand or unveil without immersing in their cultures and interacting with
people in their natural environment. This kind of design research is aimed at getting insights
into what serves people, by looking at individuals in situated contexts (Laurel, 2003).
The development of a system to visualize the story of the WACI represented a unique design
endeavour due to its high potential to inspire progress and empathy, as well as to illustrate
the particular characteristics of entrepreneur women in the Chira Island context. In order to
be effective, we had to prioritize the pragmatic accuracy and clarity of the contents to
ensure that the information (the story of the WACI members) is relevant for an audience
with different levels of literacy and backgrounds, which is the case of women in
disadvantaged communities in rural Costa Rica and Latin America.
During my field research activities, I interacted with the WACI families and worked in
collaboration with the members of the association, other people in the community (e.g.
community leaders and others directly related to the work of the WACI), and experts and
tourism organizations in San Jos, Costa Rica, such as ACTUAR, the Institute of Women
Studies, and COOPRENAthe National Ecotourism Cooperative, in order to have a broader
understanding of ecotourism in Costa Rica and to discover how women are such an active
part of it in rural communities. All these activities were developed in a collaborative
environment, where the members of the association and myself informed each other along
the way. Cultural exchanges, shared daily experiences, discovery of each others
backgrounds, and partnerships were essential to produce context-specific information, in
order to encourage collaborative design that understands real-world needs and personal
experiences. Being in direct contact with these women and the inhabitants of Chira Island,
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understanding their life style and motivations instead of working in a vacuum, are activities
that proved to help open spaces for collaboration, aiming to solve communication needs
that are context-specific.
4.1 Methodology
My work with the women of Chira explored ways in which visual communication and design
research can leverage methods and spaces to tell a story that communicates the complex
social, cultural, and economic context and dynamics that surround the continuing
development of ecotourism projects by the WACI. I collaborated in the engagement and
empowerment of the WACI members to tell others about their personal experiences
through the generation of practical mediums for their use in other communities and with
groups where similar initiatives in rural areas are being developed, as well as other public
spaces where their work is displayed, such as rural ecotourism fairs, conferences, and
symposia, nationally and internationally
I employed ethnographic research methods (in the field and digitally) and visual
anthropology techniques to produce, collect, and interpret data to understand and
empathize with the activities of the association members, their motives, the role of society
and culture in the island, and the main relations and connections that characterize life in
Chira. These methods work exceptionally well when unified with principles of design
thinking and design research, based on collaboration and personal involvement with users
and audiences, in-situ prototyping, user profiling, and storytelling. They reinforce the
relevance of empathy when dealing with different audiences and groups, aiming for a better
understanding of people.
I became a participant in the daily life of the association during three separate fieldwork
trips over a two-year period. In each occasion, I developed numerous observation activities
(thick descriptions, audio recordings, annotations, small essays, drawings), but also
welcomed and took part of WACIs daily activities and lifestyle, embracing new experiences
and sharing my own life accounts to encourage an equal personal relationship with the
women and their families, in order to address the anticipated expectations that people could
have of me as an outsider. My methods also included semi-open interviews and multiple
informal conversations with WACI members in their work and family setting, as well as with
people on the streets and neighbourhoods. Using a bicycle to travel across the island
facilitated opportunities to casually meet and develop conversations with community
members in social settings, small restaurants, shops, and the islands beaches (Figure 3).
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Figure 3: Research activities were organized and assigned according to each of the four sources from
where information about the WACI could be discovered: La Amistad Lodge, Households,
Greater Island Community, and Experts. Hierarchy was assigned to each of the sources, so
research efforts could be better documented and fieldwork time better scheduled. I
designed icons representing the methods I expected to use to produce, document and test
information from each source, including Observation, Casual/Informal Conversations, Note
Taking/Sketching/ Descriptions, Questionnaires and Interviews, Photography and Thick
Descriptions, Video Recording, Audio Recording, and Prototyping. Chira Island itself was
divided into three information source areas, based on geography and location of
inhabitants, WACI members and families, and other related individuals.
I visited houses of members and ex-members of the association and established relations
with storeowners, community leaders, and other organized groups, including men-led
initiatives. Documentation of these experiences also included short videos, quick
questionnaires, informal conversations, collections of peoples writing about their personal
experiences and relations with the WACI, and mapping of events, individuals, locations, and
venues that relate to the WACI and its members. It is important to clarify that this project
was based only on the story of WACI members. Nevertheless, their families, husbands, and
others related to these women are referenced in the storytelling pieces continually. They are
vital constituents of this research, because they are also part of the connections these
women have with the larger community of the island and its daily social and economic
activities.
This immersive/experiential documentation and resulting materials compose the main
contents of the final storytelling products of this project.
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Time, Space, and Voice: the Stories Visualized

The fist months after the initial field research trip to Chira, I consistently explored the
relations and connections that existed between members of the association, their
ecotourism project, and different entities and individuals in the community. Many members
of WACI are active in the educational, economic, and social sectors of their island, e.g. by
participating in school boards or in their churches. They have changed social roles and have
served as role models for teenagers to start their own businesses or to further their studies,
and for other women to believe in their own capabilities. Members of WACI are now helping
to educate visitors about the importance of natural conservation and rural development.
Those connections became more relevant as I continued reviewing field notes and
observations, as well as video and audio recordings with informal conversations and
interviews. In those recordings, the members of the WACI constantly tell their stories in the
context of their ecotourism projects and their impact for themselves, and how important it
is for them to tell others about their work, for it to become a source of inspiration.
Early design explorations examined mediums to support other women with their own
development projects, leading to the ideation of materials supporting self-esteem to be
integrated into workshops directed by WACI. Various designs and materials were explored
and tested, including one that appealed to the Catholic tradition of rural communities in
Costa Rica. This idea, among several others, was eventually discarded. It became clear that
these storytelling pieces should appeal to women from all backgrounds in these
communities, regardless of their religious beliefs, ethnic background, or affiliations.
Connections that exist between members of the WACI and others in the community stayed
as the prevalent thread of WACIs stories, helping the contextualization. Various design
prototypes with overviews of the geography, society, economy, and culture of Chira in the
context of WACIs work were developed successfully, revealing the multiple levels of
meaning and importance of WACIs labor in Chira Island.
The idea of employing simple concepts such as Time, Space, and Voice to lead the visual
design of the stories emerged as the different anecdotes were categorized, selected, and
analyzed. A series of exercises deconstructing the written and audio/video narratives
revealed that the stories would take different conceptual turns depending on the context in
which they were told. For example, the narratives would take an organized and linear
structure when women discuss events and milestones as they happened in time. The stories
would then take a turn when told in terms of space, place, or geographic location (this
happened there, we came here, she lives close to), as well as when participants were
asked to talk freely about themselves, unveiling organic narratives without a pre-established
structure. In such case, their voice, gestures, faces, and expressions became the most
significant qualities of the stories.
This structural and semantic analysis of the information collected supported the successful
development of five design products reflecting the story of the WACI and its members: the
stories through Time were represented in a timeline, showcasing the main events that
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define the story of the association from 1999 to 2010. The stories in Space were represented
with the design of a map of Chira Island displaying several locations and their relation with
the WACI. The stories take their own Voice in three different design pieces: a series of
testimonial cards, a short documentary, and experimental mixed-media collages. All
materials were developed in Spanish.
5.1. Time: a Timeline of WACIs story

Facts and events that marked the evolution of WACIs ecotourism projects and its members
lives are orderly represented in a large format horizontal timeline divided into two levels.
The upper part has facts connecting directly to the development of WACI and its relation
with other groups in the island, other associations, and their presence in the media. The
lower part presents activities carried out directly by the association during those years, such
as the construction of cabins in 2003 and their first trips to ecotourism conferences in
Guatemala in 2009.
This timeline visually interprets the story employing images, thick descriptions, and
newspaper clips facilitated by Mai Brenes from the Center of Women Studies of the
Universidad Nacional. The design also uses excerpts from interviews and my fieldwork
writing. After several revisions, the information and style of the timeline was much simpler
and easy to follow than in the first prototypes. The arrangement of the elements and the
dimension of the final version supported its readability, allowing for more defined space for
every element in the piece. Its final 75x35 inch size gives the timeline a strong presence. It
can accompany the other designs to work together as a bigger storytelling system, or be
displayed alone according to the context and space it is used. This timeline was developed in
coordination with the WACI members and taken to Chira Island for review, prototype and
user testing among those who collaborated presently and from distance in the design of the
piece. It was received well by the association and their collaborators, provoking a discussion
and good feedback on possible ways to use it, its placement, and how it successfully
integrates their story through the short pieces of time-based information and visuals
(Figures 4, 5, 6).
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Figure 4: Timeline, 75x35
Figure 5: Timeline (detail)
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Figure 6: Timeline under review.
5.2. Space: Map of Connections

This storytelling piece was first designed as a book composed by transparent layers
visualizing economy, social roles, religion, the relation between the members of the
association and their husbands, their families, the community, and their own personal
backgrounds on separate layers. These relations and threads crossed points of keywords
extracted from interviews and testimonies that dealt with these topics. For example, the
layer representing economy would cross keyword points such as poverty, empowerment,
entrepreneurship, or desire. These keywords were shared with other layers (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Preliminary exploration, social connections in Chira Island.
After much consideration, prototyping, and testing, I realized that this piece, although
attractive and visually inviting, was not communicating substantially the human side of the
WACI. It required deeper contextualization, the voice of people it lacked identity. In the
book format, the complex series of networks and geographic connections of the WACI and
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the island were not as easy to read and interpret. This then led us to the development of a
flat, large-format map, eventually called Map of Connections.
In this map, the different connections were color-coded, supported by the integration of
photographs of places and people and thick descriptions to contextualize the spaces and the
level of meaning of each represented connection in the life of the WACI members. These
visual cues where placed over a route highlighted across the islands map, that represents
the path of a bus that takes visitors from Bocana Beach on the Eastside of Chira, to Palito
Port on the Westside, a 50-minute ride crossing the island. Along this path several locations
are identified, including bars, where local men go drink almost everyday (L. Martinez,
personal communication, July, 2009), Evangelical temples, schools, and WACIs lodge
(Albergue La Amistad), where the members develop most of their daily activities.
The final version of the Map of Connections had an 80x65 inch size. It was also prototyped
and tested in Chira Island, where members of the WACI gave final input in order to adjust its
functionality and usability. It was also validated by other collaborating women and well
received by their families, who recognized the connections and meaning of the keywords
across the map. They perceived this storytelling piece as a useful and accurate
representation of the complex dynamics of the island in relation with the association. They
were pleasingly surprised with the size of the map (that they first experienced digitally),
which facilitates its readability and visual impact in open spaces. They also valued the use of
pictures as part of the design, strategically located where their main activities happen daily
around different locations of the island (Figure 8).
Figure 8: Map of Connections, final testing.
The map represents the different levels of information through a solid content and
typography hierarchy, supported by variety in color and photography. The reader gets closer
to the map to gradually understand the different connections, meanings, and spaces. As
with the timeline, this piece can be displayed alone or used with the rest of the materials as
a storytelling system (Figures 9 and 10).
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Figure 9: Map of Connections, Detail.
Figure 10: Map and Timeline in context with the other storytelling products.
5.3. Voice: documentary, testimonial cards, mixed media testimonial collages

The third most important storytelling medium created was a 12-minute testimonial
documentary. The video is divided into chapters where WACI members narrate the
beginning of their association, the limitations and challenges they have faced to improve
their livelihood, and the development of their ecotourism project, as well as the valuable
support they have received from different entities and organizations. In the video, their
husbands also acknowledge the value of their wives work, as well as WACI collaborators
who narrate the example that the association has set for other people and groups in the
island. At the end of the documentary, WACI members offer recommendations to women in
rural communities who also desire to start their own projects.
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This video is based on interviews and conversations from my first field research visits to the
island. These interviews were made in different locations, such as La Amistad Lodge and
Puerto Palito. The order of the arguments and facts propose an organic and very natural
overview of the story of these women as told by themselves. The expressions, gestures, and
language of the women and the rest of the participants in this short documentary add great
symbolic meaning to the story, giving us more information about their personality, feelings,
passions, and motivations. The full video can be found at https://vimeo.com/48981220
In order to keep supporting WACIs stories and add value to their testimonies, two more
visuals were developed: testimonial cards (called Testimonios) and mixed media collages,
also based on short excerpts from conversations and interviews. Both series are smaller in
size and easy to share. The cards are intended to be collected, carrying inspirational
messages from the members of the WACI. Each card shows a photograph of a WACI member
with an inspirational message or testimony intended to motivate other women alike. On the
back, floral patterns inspired by species found in the surroundings of their lodge are paired
with each one of the members (Figure 11).
Figure 11: Testimonios cards.
The mixed-media collages were developed to support the timeline, connected with thread
to specific events and time-based facts. Each collage is an artistic exploration of texture,
color, image, typography, and handwritten reflections based on phrases collected from
multiple testimonies of the WACI members. These unrefined, multi-layered explorations
reflect the natural and untouched qualities of the island: the gravel roads, the dusty
surfaces, the humid landscapes, the muddy paths. Fourteen 5x5 inch experimental collages
resulted in beautiful portraits of the stories (Figure 10 and 12).
Figure 12: Collage samples
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Storytelling in use
The visual storytelling designs developed and explained in this paper were co-created, tested
and prototyped in close collaboration with the WACI members. After the project was
completed, the products were personally delivered in digital and printed form. Four of the
designs are paper-based, making them easy to reproduce and transport, as the bigger pieces
are separated into two parts each. The WACI has since been using the materials in their
community activities, ecotourism fairs, and at their ecotourism lodge, to inform others
about their experiences, and most importantly, to serve women in the same disadvantaged
situations as inspiration to develop their own projects with a simple premise, if we were
able to do it, you can, too.
Since the conclusion of the project, I have stayed in contact with the WACI through periodic
phone chats. I plan to visit Chira Island in the next year to re-evaluate the materials, their
design, and follow up on the WACI story, as it has changed in the last years as result of their
steady growth and the ever-changing living conditions of Chira. In this follow up visit I expect
to identify more in depth the functionality of these storytelling materials after they have
been steadily transported and exposed to primary and secondary audiences, both in regards
the medium and purpose. I want to investigate how the WACI and the community have
responded to increased access to technology, as well as explore ways in which social media
and new mobile advances can add to the conversation of women development in rural
communities.
Conclusions
This case study validates the relevance of design research in the realm of visual storytelling
and graphic communication, as well as the competence of designers to become authors and
develop original context-specific information to support design processes and accurate
product usability. As in many social experiments, designers who apply user-centered design
research should always prioritize mutual respect, empathy, and ethics, excluding
preconceived assumptions or stereotypes when working with communities of any kind. It is
imperative to facilitate spaces for users and collaborators to communicate stories with their
own voice and views of life and context (Visocky OGrady, 2006).
Design research activities in disadvantaged or rural communities also require an early
understanding of potential limitations and obstacles that the different stages of the project
could face, as well as planning on how to adapt if/when the original work conditions change.
For instance, working from distance with the members of the Womens Association of Chira
Island required the development of a flexible communication system that would adjust to
differences in geographic location, time use, and access to technology. In between and after
my field trips, most of our conversations happened via telephone. We also had to define
when and how to share visual materials through email or fax, so WACI members could find
ways to access their email account as Internet services in Chira during the time of the project
were very limited. Defining hours and days to chat or discuss aspects of the design process
and analysis of collected data also required frequent rescheduling, many times due to
2106
unexpected changes in personnel at their lodge that would force some of the members who
were the most involved in this design project to not be present for several of our planned
discussions. Project limitations and challenges can certainly be context-specific.
Nonetheless, in this project I worked with the WACI in a context of mutual collaboration and
dual learning, allowing us to identify needs, motivations, and key aspects of their narrative,
fostering innovative tools to communicate their story, different to what has been used
traditionally such as storybooks, posters, or televised interviews. Contrary to other
communication design contexts such as advertising and marketing where audience analysis
is usually done through focus groups, questionnaires, sampling, or simple observation,
getting involved with people in their living and work context facilitates the production and
collection of information that is genuine, deepening the grasp of existing communication
problems in order to develop user-centered solutions. In projects like this, the designer is
also able to help empower the participants by highlighting and bringing attention to aspects
of their narratives that many times are overlooked or not given the adequate attention or
importance, which can be deeply inspiring and employed as base for the production of
unique visual storytelling explorations. Collaborating with users and participants to
deconstruct their stories and help identify key topics and threads can be highly successful,
because it allows them to have a broader understanding of the potential of their
testimonies, life experiences, and acquired knowledge to leverage social change and
economic growth in similar populations.
Methodologies used in this project can be successfully applied in other user-centered design
activities, and I am confident that they can also be replicated in rural contexts where the
design of similar visual storytelling projects can be appropriate. It is important to prioritize
the development of partnerships and collaborations between designers, audiences,
communities, stakeholders, and professionals from other disciplines of study, to allow the
exchange of information from different perspectives. This results in the establishment of
knowledge societiesspaces where the production and sharing of new information on
specific topics is interconnected (Vlimaa & Hoffman, 2008). This is a great added value to
design research and design thinking activities. Knowledge societies can offer exciting
opportunities for designers where learning flows from different directions spontaneously,
allowing to share experiences and inform each other naturally and comfortably in the users
natural context.
For this project, I became part of a knowledge society with experts from institutions and
associations specializing in rural ecotourism and women issues in Costa Rica, as well as with
the WACI members, their families and collaborators, facilitating the understanding of the
context and everyday life of women in Chira Island. The collection of information where the
design researcher is part of a knowledge society is much more successful than developing
other controlled social research activities, such as focus groups or closed interviews, and
undoubtedly, much more relevant than designing alone in a studio setting.
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Acknowledgements: I would like to thank the members of the Womens Association of

Chira Island from 2009 to 2011 (Lilliana Martinez, Marta Caldern, Dora Medina, Isabel
Cruz, their nieces and daughters) and their families for allowing me to collaborate with
them in this unique endeavor. This project wouldnt be possible without the help of
representatives from ACTUAR (Kyra Cruz), COPRENA, and the Institute of Women
Studies (Mai Brenes), as well as the Tinker Foundation and the Center for Latin American
Studies of the University of Florida for their funding support and guidance. I also want to
acknowledge my M.F.A committee, Maria Rogal and Lauren Lake for their unconditional
support, as well as my family and my brothers Jose Pablo and Mauricio for their help in
the field.
References
Avalos, A. (2001, September 30). Chira Lucha Por Su Agua. La Nacion. Retrieved from
http://tinyurl.com/j2bzusy
Dasenbrock, J. (2002). The Pros and Cons of Ecotourism in Costa Rica, Ted Case Studies 648.
http://tinyurl.com/7egyvej (Accessed 29 March, 20 April, 2010, and 10 November, 2015).
Gonzlez Surez, M. (1988). Estudios de la Mujer: Conocimiento y Cambio (Costa Rica), Coleccin
Mujer. San Jos: Editorial Universitaria Centroamericana.
Laurel, B. (2003). Design Research: Methods and Perspectives. Massachussetts: MIT Press.
Leitinger, I. (1997). The Costa Rican Womens Movement: A Reader, Pitt Latin American Series.
Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Valima, J., Hoffman, D. (2008). Knowledge Society Discourse and Higher Education, High Education
56:265-285
Visocky OGrady, J., Visocky OGrady, K. (2006). A designers Research Manual: succeed in design by
knowing your clients and what they really need. Massachussetts: Rockport Publishers.
(2013). Las Ventajas de Actuar, http://tinyurl.com/ojmu2ow, (Accessed 12 November, 2015)
About the Author:

Maria Gabriela (Gaby) Hernandez is an Assistant Professor of
Graphic Design. She directs the Graphic Design Reseach Initiative, a
design and mentorship program where she develops projects with a
design research and social design component. Her interests include
information design, editorial design and design for development.
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Temporal design: looking at time as social

coordination
Larissa Pschetz*, Michelle Bastian and Chris Speed
University of Edinburgh
*L.Pschetz@ed.ac.uk
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.442
Abstract: Designers are increasingly paying attention to problematic experiences of

time. From a critique of acceleration to an urge to frame present actions within more
extended futures, designers have been analysing how different temporal perceptions
may influence practices and how they can be influenced by design. In this paper, we
argue that in order to challenge problematic relationships to time, designers should
consider time in radically different terms. Instead of regarding time largely in terms
of pace and direction, they should start considering the complexity of aspects that
sustain the coordination of particular groups. We present this approach through the
concept of Temporal Design, which endeavours to reveal actors, practices and forces
that determine social coordination within specific contexts. By surfacing this
complexity, temporal design would allow it to be discussed, possibly demystifying
problematic experiences and enabling more inclusive ways of understanding time.
Keywords: temporal design; slow design; slow technology; speculative
Introduction
Design is changing. New models of production and consumption, together with escalating
social and environmental concerns, are encouraging designers to look more critically at
cultural, social and economical practices, and the role of artefacts and systems within this
complexity. In terms of temporality, this cultural tendency can be identified in a critique of
acceleration and consequent questioning of designs traditional support to productivity,
efficiency and time-saving. It can also be identified in the growing interest in speculating
about future conditions that might result from present actions, especially regarding the
introduction of new technologies.
In this paper, we revisit the discussion of time as a social construct and the converse
tendency to describe time as objective, universalised, external to human practices, and an
individual concern. We argue that a range of problematic experiences of time emerge from
this tendency and that design has great potential to change them. First, however, designers
would need to think about time differently. Instead of focusing on fast and slow design (time
as pace) or on future speculations (time as direction), we argue for a broader temporal form
of design that would consider time in its role of social coordination. Temporal Design would
therefore bring the cultural, social and economic aspects of temporal experiences to the
surface by looking at how they shape the social coordination of particular groups. By
revealing this complexity, temporal design would open up space for discussing these
relationships, possibly allowing for more inclusive temporal organisations to emerge.
Reflective attitudes to time in design

2.1 Time as pace: slow design and slow technology
The notion that Western industrialised societies have been experiencing increasingly
problematic relationships to time has been a topic of interest across the arts, humanities
and social sciences. Research on time has long drawn attention to a perceived temporal
acceleration, often assumed as universalised and associated with the development of new
technologies. This idea is equally widespread in popular discourses, and many of us feel its
impact on everyday life, social interactions, and the natural world. From attempting to
reconfigure our bodies through caffeine and other stimulants, to working longer hours to
manage the rush, or wondering how accelerated consumption and production is damaging
our environment, many of us eventually experience a sense of powerlessness regarding this
supposed rule of acceleration. Manifestations of the slow movement, including slow food,
cittaslow and even the slow university, have attempted to counteract this condition by
promoting opportunities to operate at a different pace. In Design, these attempts are
manifested in movements such as Slow Design (Strauss & Fuad-Luke, 2009), Slow
Technology (Hallnas & Redstrom, 2001) and Design for Solitude (Fullerton, 2010).
Slow Design (Strauss & Fuad-Luke, 2009) celebrates slowness as an answer to critical issues
in design, such as an often-perceived support to consumerism, a restrictive focus on
functionalism, the diminishment of users engagement with materials, a lack of attention to
local idiosyncrasies, and the need to think in the long-term. In Slow Technology, Hallnas &
Redstrom (2001) advance the need for a form of design that emphasises reflection, the
amplification of environments, and the use of technologies that a) amplify the presence of
time; b) stretch time and extend processes; and c) reveal an expression of present time as
slow-paced. Important here is the concept of time presence: when we use a thing as an
efficient tool, time disappears, i.e. we get things done. Accepting an invitation for reflection
inherent in the design means on the other hand that time will appear, i.e. we open up for
time presence (Hallnas & Redstrom 2001). A slow technology would not disappear, but
would make itself felt.
In both cases, slowness is celebrated as a re-appropriation of the senses and a reconnection
with the surrounding community. The complexities addressed by these proposals, however,
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Temporal design: looking at time as social coordination
have often been simplified into a dichotomy of fast and slow. Slow Technology and Slow
Design, which are often used inter-changeably, have been appropriated in mainstream
discourses as anti-technology and as a call for a return to pre-industrial practices and
manually operated artefacts. This reaction reflects a narrative of industrial time (based on
the clock) as replacing a more natural temporal organisation based on tasks (Thompson
1967), which has been strongly critiqued by a number of theorists (e.g. Birth 2012, Glennie
and Thrift 2009, Ingold 1999). Narratives that describe time as uniform and evolving
throughout history towards more accelerated states have also been critiqued for their
potential to reinforce social inequalities (Sharma 2014) and for justifying the appropriation
of natural resources in unsustainable ways (Bastian 2012).
This simplification and appropriation can be seen in a range of projects and exhibitions
framed within these movements e.g. the Slow Tech exhibition at 2011 London Design
Festival, which featured anti-technology projects such as the Social Bomb that once thrown
would force everyone in a space to take a break from social network services, and the Taking
Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution exhibition, which praised the slowness associated with
craft skills. The association of alternative approaches to time with a rejection of technology
reinforces dichotomies that do not reflect the way people relate to artefacts and systems
(Wajcman 2015). As a result, these proposals not only risk being interpreted as nostalgic or
backward looking, but also leave little space for integrating more complex accounts of time
(particularly those arising in the social sciences) or for discussing more nuanced rhythms, as
well as more complex forces and consequences related to temporal decisions. As a result,
instead of challenging dominant accounts of time, these proposals arguably reinforce the
overarching narrative of universalised acceleration.
With a similar motivation but different attitude, Ben Fullerton (2010) proposes the concept
of Design for Solitude, which questions the value of connectedness, sharing and constant
availability. Fullerton advocates the encouragement of moments of isolation, as well as
single modal devices. Similarly, Phoebe Sengers (2011) reflects on the way slower attitudes
could be promoted by making fewer choices, accessing less information, making
productivity less central, keeping our lives less under formal control; she further considers
how this attitude could be reflected in the design of communication technologies. Instead of
reinforcing dichotomies, Fullerton (2010) and Sengers (2011) draw attention to practices
that emphasise alternative expressions of time.
As the original visions for Slow Design and Slow Technology suggest, the world is comprised
of multiple temporal expressions, which play important roles in our lives, even if disregarded
within dominant accounts of what time is. However, reducing this complexity too quickly to
a simple dichotomy between fast and slow also reduces the possibilities for designers to
work with time in ways that are informed by critical scholarship on the role of time in social
life and thus to be better able to question norms.
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2.2 Time as direction: future-oriented and speculative design

Design has also taken a critical approach to time in its attempt to anticipate the impacts of
present actions in the future, particularly those concerning the introduction of new
technologies. This attitude may be generally identified in particular design projects but is
most evident in speculative design movements such as Design Fictions, Critical Design and
Design for Debate.
Since design is often focused on yet-to-exist interventions in a given context, it is often said
to be invariably future-oriented (e.g. in Dunne & Raby, 2013). This orientation presupposes a
temporal linearity that may lead to a cult of what is new and to a disregard of the complexity
of the present. The potential reality, which exists in the designed artefact or system, is
expressed sometimes as a belief in the influence of design, or as a simple repetition of the
narrative of linear progress promoted by continuous technological development. Both
reinforce the notion that these developments are inevitable. As long term effects of high
technological interventions become more evident (e.g. in farming, energy production, waste
management, genetics, etc.), concerns regarding the impact of actions extend ever farther in
the future, and the need to find ways to engage in discussions about this impact become
ever more important.
One way designers choose to engage in these discussions is through Speculative Design,
which initiated as a call on designers to start speculating and disseminating ideas about how
alternative ways of living may be conceived (Dunne, 1999). The call has influenced
movements such as Critical Design (Dunne and Raby, 2001), Design Fictions (Bleecker, 2009)
and Design for Debate (Dunne and Raby, 2007). Speculative Design artefacts would embody
critical issues and allow people to project themselves into imagined scenarios, in order to
generate discussion around the potential impact of new technological developments
(Kerridge, 2009). Once brought into the public realm, these objects would elicit reactions
and prompt dialogue. James Auger (2013) maintains that the key factors in the success of
speculative design projects are the careful management of the speculation. If the
speculation extends too far into the future, the audience may not relate to the proposal,
which will result in a lack of public engagement.
An intrinsic contradiction of these approaches, however, is their focus on the future as the
context in which critical issues arise. This focus implies that critical issues approached by
speculative design projects are not expressed in the present context. Indeed, this negation
has recently been criticised in specific works, such as Burton Nittas project Republic of
Salivation (2012), which was exhibited as an example of speculative design at MoMA-NY.
The project aims to encourage discussion of how the world would react in a future scenario
of global food scarcity, but the project fails to look at the complexities of the current food
economy. Indeed, the future scenario proposed by the project resembles the situation in
which millions of people already live in developing countries (Prado 2013). Here again,
instead of looking at the present as a heterogeneous context, the present is considered as
uniform and following a linear trajectory toward the future. As with time, attempts to
describe how the world is should be expanded in order to avoid these narrow framings,
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expanding the considered context beyond ones own socio-economic group, culture and
geographic location.
Designs orientation towards the future may therefore restrict instead of expand designers
understanding of the complexity of phenomena that come together to define temporal
perceptions. This vision is shared by media theorist Douglas Rushkoff (2013), who suggests
that people should stop looking into individual futures, and should instead become more
aware of what connects them to everyone and everything else in the present.
Temporal design: time as social coordination

Despite a clear social motivation, the alternative approaches to time in design described
above have been constrained by dominant narratives of time. Further they have often only
considered time in terms of pace, direction and flow rather than the more complex ways
that it is involved in social life (e.g. Greenhouse 1996). As mentioned, time is often
presented as a single flow that has been continuously accelerating throughout history based
on the development of new technologies. Instead of a social construct, it is considered to be
neutral, objective and external to human practices. The dominance of this expression often
leads us to consider problematic experiences of time as an individual concern, something
that needs to be coped with on an individual basis.
Often, the way into thinking about time in more complex and less linear ways involves a turn
to philosophy. Whether the influence comes from Heidegger, Bergson, Deleuze, Benjamin or
elsewhere, much of continental thought provides important ways of challenging the
dominance of linear time and tuning into the non-linearity of subjective time and historical
time. However, here too we would argue that there is a problematic focus on the individual
(in the overarching interest in the subjective experience of time) and a narrow cultural
context (in the neglect of non-western approaches to time and history). Further, the
artefacts used to tell time, such as clocks, are largely understood by these philosophers as
being outside of the phenomenological remit and are uncritically understood as signalling an
objective or universal time (see Bastian forthcoming).
Thus in developing a theoretical framework which could support an understanding of time
as multiple, heterogeneous and deeply entangled within various social formations (which
may be discrete or overlapping), work in the social sciences, particularly anthropology and
sociology, has proven to be more useful. Such approaches enable us to ask different
questions about what time is and how it works. Rather than seeing time as a flow between
past, present and future (whether this be linear or nonlinear), it becomes possible to ask
how time operates as a system for social collaboration (Sorokin and Merton 1937), how it
legitimates some and manages others (Greenhouse 1996), or how it works within systems
of exclusion (Fabian 1983). We thus move from time as flow to time as social coordination.
With this in mind we propose Temporal Design as a shift within design towards a pluralist
perspective on time. Temporal Design attempts to identify and challenge expressions of
dominant narratives of time, as it recognises that everyday rhythms are composed of
multiple temporalities, which are defined by both direct and indirect factors. It also seeks to
2113
empower alternative notions that are neglected by these narratives. It suggests that
designers should start looking at time as something that emerges in relation to a complexity
of cultural, social, economic and political forces.
Temporal designers would therefore observe time in the social context, investigating beyond
narratives of a universal time and linear progression, and beyond simple dichotomies of fast
and slow. This is not to simply negate dominant notions but acknowledging that they coexist with several other expressions in all aspects of life. There is a multiplicity of
temporalities latent in the world. Designers can help to create tools that disclose them, also
revealing the intricacies of temporal relationships and negotiations that take place across
individuals, groups, and institutions. They would then consider a network of times that
accommodates the multiplicity of temporalities in the everyday, the natural world, and in
intersections between these realms.
Temporal Design could therefore involve:
Identifying dominant narratives, including the forces and infrastructures that
sustain them or which they help to support;
Challenging these narratives, e.g. by revealing more nuanced expressions of
time;
Drawing attention to alternative temporalities, their dynamics and significance;
Exposing networks of temporalities, so as to illustrate multiplicity and variety.
The approach would bring several benefits:
Acknowledging that slow and fast rhythms co-occur and are often
interdependent would challenge the assumption of universal acceleration,
Acknowledging that the times of some are more invested in than others, would
enable challenges to temporal inequalities.
Acknowledging that the natural world has multiple rhythms would change the
assumption that it therefore provides a stable background for human-made
progress (McKibben, 2008).
Temporal design: interventions

In order to explore the Temporal Design approach we developed three design interventions,
namely, the Family Clock, the Printer Clock and TimeBots.
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Figure 1 Artefacts designed to explore the concept of Temporal Design: the Family Clock (left) the
Printer Clock (centre) and TimeBots (right).
4.1 Family Clock: exploring temporality at the interface of everyday life

The Family Clock proposes a reflection on how schedules are interwoven by families: what
are the tensions, hierarchies and power relations, and how do family members learn to
negotiate and agree (or not) on common rhythms? It also presents a critique of the notion of
flexitime, which is often the solution offered in the context of new technological
developments. The intervention was based on a physical clock designed so that the face
represented the length of a day and, rather than isochronic hours, it indicated the various
appointments of each member of a specific family. The clock was accompanied by a
dedicated smartphone/tablet application that could be used by family members to set the
clock back or forward according to individual constraints and the desired pace of life. For
example, if a child was hungry they could move up dinner time. The changes each individual
made were recorded in a database, transmitted to the clock, and synchronised on all devices
of the family. The two clock-hands indicated, not hours and minutes, but time in intervals of
5 min (short hand) and speed (long hand). The long hand regularly moved at the speed of
one tick per second, but would accelerate or decelerate according to how often family
members changed time. If an appointment was set back (eg moving dinner from 6pm to
5pm), the long hand moved faster (to reach the desired appointment more quickly), and if
set forward (e.g. moving the trip to school from 9am to 10am) it would move slower (to take
longer to reach the appointment), eventually catching up with standard clock time. The clock
was hosted by three families (the Clarkes, the Millers and the Wilsons) for a period of 1-3
weeks, where they were asked to interact with it in different situations, followed by
interviews.
4.2 Printer Clock: responses

Perceptions of the clock differed significantly across the families. While the Clarkes
emphasised the way it seemed to connect them more closely, the Millers considered it
particularly disruptive and the Wilsons were concerned about its apparent lack of function.
The responses however showed a coherence of perceptions within each family, which
illustrates how these perceptions are rehearsed and learned in the everyday. This echoes
Sorokin and Mertons claim, that time is best understood as a system of coordination.
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Issues of efficiency appeared in all interviews. Most of the participants reported to feel
stuck when asked about when they would use the clock to influence someone to do
something later. Feeling a sense of time-pressure was described as a constraint, an issue of
contempt, or a reason for pride or as simple resignation, depending on how in control
participants felt. Time was thus bound up with notions of control and morality. While Charlie
W (13) would set the clock back to give himself more time to complete tasks and thus
appear more efficient, he still felt that changing the time was somehow unethical: because I
have to be mature about school and not immature speeding up time to get through the
lesson but mature to get to learn something. Here then we see time linking up with senses
of legitimacy and of what it means to be successful within a particular social group.
Structured time and discipline were also often associated with success. Ethan M (35-45)
considered that more flexible school structures would fail to engage students, and Paula M
(35-45) thought she wouldnt get things done if she had a more flexible work schedule. A
sense of comfort provided by schedules was also pointed out by different participants, as
you sort of know you are meant to be there at that time, you dont have to decide to be
there at that time, you just are there at that time, so it is easy thinking (Charlie W, 13).
Figure 2 Family Clock prototype and implementation
While the clock highlighted attitudes to dominant temporal narratives, it also playfully
encouraged participants to subvert them. Lily M (7) proposed changing time constantly so
that she didnt have to go to school, and her and her sister Alice M (10) suggested using it to
make their parents go to bed sooner, so that they could watch TV until late. Changing
parental schedules was also a strategy for investing more resources in supporting the
childrens time. Rob C (12) and Emily C (16) suggested putting the clock forward so that they
would miss the bus, and their mum would have to give them a lift to school. When asked
about when they might use the clock to create a funny situation, however, one child
admitted, it was quite hard to think on ones which werent a bit cruel (Emily C). In each of
these examples, time becomes much more than a sense of flow, and instead we see how it
can be used to manage others, in ways that can be empowering for some and detrimental
to others.
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The intervention encouraged participants to consider how their times relate to the times of
others, but most importantly it allowed them to reflect on what it might mean to challenge
the dominant account of time as external and objective and instead see it open to
transformation. Sally C explained the clock as a sort of a more imaginative thing, that
helped you imagine what it would be like if you could change time and Emily C described it
as something that made you think about time. That is, I liked thinking about it. Normally
you wouldnt think about when you would like to speed up time and when you would like to
go back to what was good. It made me think about the day, what happened, and what you
would like to change (Emily C). Even so, others felt little agency in relation to changing the
ways that time works, accepting it as how the world is nowadays (Tom W (45-55)).
4.3 Printer Clock & TimeBots: exploring temporality in schools

The other two interventions, the Printer Clock and the TimeBots, were carried out with 4th
grade pupils (9-10 years) of two schools in the UK. In comparison to family scheduling, the
environment of the school offered the opportunity to engage perceptions that were less
habituated and more loosely tied to each other.
4.3.1 Printer Clock

The Printer Clock aimed to expose networks of temporalities in order to show their
multiplicity, but also to create what we call temporal empathy within the context of the
classroom, by presenting time through activities carried out by the students. The students
initially received kits containing a small clock and a disposable camera, and were invited to
use this material to document their routines over a period of 2-5 days. Importantly, the clock
was featured somewhere in each photograph, which later allowed us to identify when it was
taken. Approximately 400 images were collected in each school. These images were then
time-stamped, and used to build up the database upon which the Printer Clock would draw.
Figure 3 Printer Clock intervention process: building the timeline (left), trying the clock (centre) and
final one-to-one interviews (right).
The Printer Clock resembled a grandfather clock, composed of a regular clock face (initially
obscured), a cord substituting for the pendulum, a printer, and a computer that stored the
2117
childrens pictures. Pulling the cord activated the computer, which lit up the clock face and
printed a picture that was taken at that particular time in the past. When looking at a clock,
individuals often think about their own actions and what they need to do next. With the
Printer Clock, the fragmented past experiences of others present themselves as the timereadings and invite the children to establish connections between their own present and
someone else's past. Moving from a quantitative time to a qualitative one, the Printer Clock
tells time through the activities of others and the variety of pictures reveals the multiplicity
of rhythms within that group.
4.3.2 Printer Clock: responses

The Printer Clock was placed in the main hall of each school. During the session, students ran
over to the clock and kept pulling the cord to see what and who would appear in the next
picture. The clock was rapidly taken over by some students, who eagerly looked inside the
clock to catch the first glimpse of the print, and then shouted the name of the child in the
picture. Others observed the clock from afar. The clock-face was ignored by the ones in
control, with the pictures that carried the time effectively replacing it. The peak moment of
excitement was when children were faced with their own pictures.
When asked to choose a time to be printed, participants mostly made this choice based on
an activity that they particularly enjoyed, often referring to time indexically via the activity
before then translating it into clock-time: probably when Im doing karate, that would be
around half past twelve (D1). The second most frequent strategy was to pick a regular
appointment in their schedules; such as the time they left home to go to school. Another
strategy was based on a combination of numbers, e.g. 03:09 to represent the 3 rd of
September, or a lucky number. These strategies show the richness of associations prompted
by clock-time. Activities, tasks, schedules, quantities and numbers were all expressed in the
childrens choices.
Overall the children looked for identification in the printed images. There was a sense of
satisfaction when the printed picture met this expectation, and a converse attitude of
disdain, sometimes preceded by surprise, when this expectation was not met - e.g.
expressed by not wanting to keep or talk about the image. The search for familiarity was
achieved in a few cases, but in most cases participants were faced with activities of fellow
students with whom they were not so familiar, or activities that they would not notice, as
these activities did not directly appeal to them. They were therefore taken out of their
comfort zone, and it is in this dislocation that a shift from a sense of an individual time
(which was uncritically mapped onto universal time), to unexpected networks of times takes
place.
The documentation of routines invited the students to reflect on the multiplicity of practices
that shape temporality inside the school community, making the social layering of time more
perceptible. Far from being restricted to timetables, buzzers and timed tasks, school time is
a fusion of personal times, rhythms and temporal forces (Adam 1995). As clock-time gains
more importance in the students lives, this kind of activity could encourage them to
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continue to consider alternative, non-quantifiable notions of time as part of their temporal

contexts.
4.3.3 TimeBots
While the Printer Clock focused on emphasising the embodied and situated nature of time,
pointing to the mesh of activities and characters that come together to create time, the
TimeBots drew attention to personal rhythms and how they played out within the context of
the classroom. The aim was to challenge the idea that the world is in a state of constant
acceleration by inviting children to reflect on the multiple speeds of their day. In contrast to
the slow movement, which assumes acceleration as a universalised condition and attempts
to counteract this condition by promoting opportunities to slow down, the intention here
was to invite the students to explore the variant speeds at which they lived their lives.
The TimeBots consisted of small 3-wheeled robots that could be programmed with the help
of tokens to run as slow, medium or fast in a 5-step sequence, representing feelings about
speed in 5 periods of the day. The intervention started with a series of warming up questions
about how the students felt about speed, describing activities, people, places and objects
considered as slow, medium and fast, and marking them on a form. They were then asked to
focus on a regular weekday and describe their feelings of acceleration in five periods, and
mark their thoughts on another dedicated form. After this reflection, the TimeBots were
distributed and decorated to create a sense of personal identification, and each child
recorded their feelings of speed upon their bots. The bots were finally released altogether
into a pen, running over the 5 speeds in a continuous loop, so as to enact the collective
rhythm of the classroom.
Figure 4 TimeBots: decoration and final performance.
4.3.3 TimeBots: responses

Reported experiences of the speed, even of seemingly similar situations, varied greatly
among participants. Similar activities, places, people and objects were considered as fast,
medium and slow, or all at once, depending on the situation and the people involved, the
mood of participants, time of day, etc. Further, activities and places that might intuitively be
associated with speed were sometimes considered slow (e.g. athletics, the high street, etc.).
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Particular senses of speed were not intrinsically related to specific activities, people, places
and objects, but were constructed by each participant based on their own personal
experiences. It was however still possible to identify some bias towards interpreting
experiences through dominant narratives of time, particularly in the activities topic, where
slowness was frequently associated with displeasure and boredom, while acceleration was
associated with pleasure and enjoyment. In the case of people, however, slowness was not
only associated with inefficiency [he is slow] because he kind of cant really bother getting
to work to get paid and he lives at home and doesnt pay the bills (R2), but also with
pleasure my grandma... I like that she is slow (A2), and tranquillity because C3 is really
peaceful she never shouts or anything (S2), and busyness was associated with both
acceleration and slowness.
In the forms where participants marked how they felt about their days, the three speeds
were relatively balanced in all stages. The speeds programmed into the TimeBots were
admittedly too personal and subjective for others to connect them to their owners, and the
owner of each robot was mostly recognised by its decoration. As the robots ran inside the
pen, however, the children could observe the representation of their own rhythms and
particularly the variety that composed the polyrhythms of the classroom. The network of
rhythms created by the TimeBots in the pen enabled a unique glimpse into the combined
subjective experiences of time of those students. The TimeBots interacted with each other
on a different level, revealing the subjective timescape of the group.
The variety of speeds pointed to the richness of temporal experiences within the group.
While the repetition of dominant narratives of speed demonstrates the difficulty of breaking
with a pervasive culture of time, overall the children did not experience their 21st century
lives solely as accelerated. Instead they explored the occurrence of multiple rhythms. The
recognition of this multiplicity challenges the assumption that social life is monopolised by a
single temporal expression, and the association of slowness with familiarity and tranquillity
challenges the idealisation of always doing more. Acceleration might have become a
normative model embedded in our language, but speed is experienced in multiple
variations.
Closing reflections
As discussed above, designers are starting to look beyond production and consumption,
adopting a more critical position towards cultural, social and economic practices. In terms of
time, they are increasingly interested in exploring problematic temporal experiences that
are thought to increasingly compromise the quality of life in Western industrialised societies.
These experiences can often be related to dominant accounts that describe time as
objective, universalised, attached to technological developments and increasingly
accelerated. Nevertheless, a number of design movements have attempted to look at
alternative scenarios. Their developments, however, have often been appropriated and have
even reinforced the same narrative that they attempted to criticise. By assuming that
acceleration is a universalised condition, this notion is reinforced and the multiple temporal
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expressions manifested in everyday life are disregarded. Temporal Design attempts to

counteract these effects by drawing attention to social practices of time. Time is a social
process, tacitly defined through everyday practices. It is rehearsed, learned, designed,
created, storied, and made. This aspect however is often overlooked not only by designers,
but also by society in general. Designers can have a key role in unlocking the hegemonic
narratives that restrict cultural understandings of time and in opening up new ways of
making, living and thinking time. Perhaps through design we will all be able to realise the
multiplicity of phenomena that come together to define time, possibly feeling more
empowered to change attitudes and like Sally C imagine what it would be like if you could
change time.
References
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Macmillan.
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19.01.2014.
Dunne, A. (1999) Hertzian tales: electronic products, aesthetic experience and critical design. RCA
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Dunne, A. & Raby, F. (2001) Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects. Birkhaeuser Basel, 1
edition.
Dunne, A. and Raby, F. (2007) Design for debate. http://www.dunneandraby.co.uk/content/
bydandr/36/0. Online, Last accessed: 09.09.2014.
Dunne, A. & Raby, F. (2013) Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. MIT Press.
Fabian, J. (1983) Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object. New York, Columbia
University Press.
Fullerton, B. (2010) Designing for solitude. interactions, 17(6), pp 6-9.
Glennie, P. and N. Thrift (2009) Shaping the Day: A History of Timekeeping in England and Wales
1300-1800. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Greenhouse, C. J. (1996) A Moment's Notice: Time Politics across Cultures. Ithaca and London, Cornell
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Comput., 5(3), pp 201-212.
Ingold, T. (1995) Work, time and industry. Time & Society, 4(1). pp 528.
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McKibben, B. (2008) Worried? us? In Ideas, Insights and Arguments: A Non-fiction Collection,
Cambridge Collections, pages 38 - 44. Cambridge University Press.
Mumford, L. (1963) Technics and Civilization. Mariner Books.
Prado, L. (2013) Questioning the critical in speculative & critical design.
https://medium.com/@luizaprado/ questioning-the-critical-in-speculative-critical-design5a355cac2ca4. Online, Last accessed: 12.08.2014.
Rushkoff, D. (2013) Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now. Penguin Group US.
Sengers, P. (2011) What i learned on change islands: reflections on it and pace of life. interactions,
18(2), pp 40-48.
Sharma, S. (2014) In the Meantime: Temporality and Cultural Politics. Duke University Press.
Sorokin, P. A. and R. K. Merton (1937). Social Time: A Methodological and Functional Analysis. The
American Journal of Sociology 42(5): 615-629.
Strauss, C. F., & Fuad-Luke, A. (2009) The slow design principles.
www.slowlab.net/CtC_SlowDesignPrinciples.pdf. (Accessed 08 November, 2015)
Thompson, E. P. (1967) Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism. Past and Present 38, pp 5697.
Wajcman, J. (2015) Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism. Chicago,
University of Chicago Press.
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Metcalfe, R. M., editors, Beyond Calculation, pages 7585. Copernicus, New York, NY, USA.
About the Authors:

Larissa Pschetz is an interaction designer and lecturer at the
University of Edinburgh. She is interested in electronics, data stories,
socio-technological narratives, and temporal design.
Michelle Bastian is a Chancellors Fellow at the University of
Edinburgh. Her research focuses on the role of time in social
practices of relationality and interconnection.
Chris Speed is Professor of Design Informatics within Edinburgh
College of Art, University of Edinburgh. Chris is Co-Director of the
Design Informatics Research Centre that is home to researchers
working across interaction design, temporal design, anthropology,
software engineering and cryptocurrencies.
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A Physical Modeling Tool to Support Collaborative

Interpretation of Conversations
Piotr Michuraa*, Stan Rueckerb, Celso Scaletskyc, Guilherme Meyerc, Chiara Del Gaudioc,
Gerry Derksend, Julia Diasc, Elizabeth Jerneganb, Juan de la Rosab, Xinyue Zhoub and Priscilla
Ferronatoc
a
Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow

Illinois Institute of Technology
c
Escola da Indstria Criativa, Brazil
d
Winthrop University
* pmichura@asp.krakow.pl
DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.364
b
Abstract: In this paper, we describe our work on producing physical tools for people
doing collaborative text interpretation of conversational texts. Recognizing that
although there is a linearity to conversation, we nonetheless believe that in many
cases the content might better be represented as a physical, spatial object, where
parts of the discussion can be modified out of their initial sequence, other parts can
be added or subtracted, and gaps can be identified and filled. We prepared a series
of functional prototypes of a toolkit consisting of a set of separate elements, which
could be assembled into large spatial structures. While addressing research questions
on how the artifacts facilitate cooperation, interaction and communication, we found
the significant advantage of this kind of modeling is its ability to facilitate shared
collaborative understanding without compromising individual perspectives. It also
prompted discussion on the metalevel of conversation.
Keywords: conversational model, collaboration, hermeneutics, social media
Introduction
The power of the unaided mind is highly overrated. Without external aids, memory,
thought, and reasoning are all constrained. ... The real powers come from devising
external aids that enhance cognitive abilities. How have we increased memory,
thought, and reasoning? By the invention of external aids: it is things that make us
smart. (Norman, 1993, p. 5)
Norman (1993) argues that offloading cognitive work to external aids plays a significant role
in the extension of human intelligence. The design of effective new aids of this kind is

Piotr Michuraa, Stan Rueckerb, Celso Scaletsky, Guilherme Meyer, Chiara Del Gaudio, Gerry
Derksen, Julia Dias, Elizabeth Jernegan, Juan de la Rosa, Xinyue Zhou and Priscilla Ferronato
therefore an important step in helping people to work smarter, especially in the case of
more mentally challenging tasks such as the analysis of complex textual material.
The purpose of this project was therefore to explore the relationship between the
collaborative processes of teams analyzing texts of conversations, and the external
representations these teams made for facilitating the process of building their shared
understanding. Conversations were chosen because (a) they form a large portion of
qualitative research data and (b) they are often sufficiently complex that they require
specialized processes and tools (e.g. NVivo, TAMSanalyzer, usenineteen.org). We were
particularly interested in providing opportunities for people doing these kinds of analysis to
use visual, spatial, and temporal representations, since we believe that few people outside
design use visuospatial representation on a regular basis.
Possible reasons are many, including an educational bias toward word-, page-, and screenoriented culture, the current design of computer hardware, and the lack of accurate and
easy to use media and techniques. In some ways, the design profession is in a privileged
position, since in the course of the design process the designer regularly uses visual, spatial
and temporal representations to work with abstract ideas (Schn, 1992). In transferring this
concept to analytical modeling of conversations, it was important for us to understand how
tangible material outcomes relate to concepts articulated in a conversation and at the same
time how the material shapes the conceptual during the process of modeling.
It is true that every designed object or process mediates in the communication between the
designer and the viewer. However, in the case of the analytical models, the roles may not be
entirely clear. It is possible that designer and viewer are the same people, and that the
conversation they are modeling is their own. In fact, we reported elsewhere on a study of
this kind involving graduate design students discussing a research paper in class (Derksen et
al. 2013). They may also be the same people, but modeling, as in the case of the workshops
reported in this paper, the conversation of others. Or there may be one person or team
doing the modeling, and a completely distinct viewer or viewers of the model.
In all cases, however, the conversational model allows an open approach interaction leading
to understanding, with good margins for representing and exploring the unexpected, for
providing fast prototyping of connections between ideas, and for finding the geometry
of the relationships among ideas in the space of alternatives (Frazer, 1995). There are also
opportunities for improvisation, enriching the common language of communicative
interaction.
On one hand, the cooperative aspect of the modeling process allows constructing one
coherent view of a text; on the other, it can articulate contrasting views, when interlocutors
"agree to disagree" (Pask, 1980).
Literature Review
A broad range of studies agree upon the fact that people are able to build mental threedimensional structures from very early in their lives. According to Downs and Stea (1977) the
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A Physical Modeling Tool to Support Collaborative Interpretation of Conversations
first evidence that a child understands spatial relations can be traced in a 36 year old childs
representational outputs built structures or drawings. Learning the language also forces
the child to think about abstract entities in terms of spatial relations, e.g. to approach the
problem, to face the problem (Gentner, 2001). Unfortunately, later education makes less
use of this ability than could be optimal for application in information processing and
knowledge building.
In this context experiments by Piaget (1954) and Vygotsky (1986) aimed at providing means
for examining hidden cognitive events are worth mentioning. The aim of these experiments
was to draw out the concepts formed by a respondent about the given problem situation
through the externalization of otherwise inaccessible data structures revealing the
participants knowledge about a particular topic or to examine her way of thinking. Vygotsky
and his associates developed a methodology in which the problem faced by a participant of
the study was embedded in a physical artifact. The participant was encouraged to deal with
them by verbal explanation or manipulation of the object. Piagets experiments also
modeled problematic situation with a help of physical objects. Especially in the case of
children the possibility of manipulations of an actual object were stressed as crucial element
of the whole experimental situation to help concretize their operations and avoid troubles in
providing verbal explanations. In both cases, the participants were urged by the
experimenter to reveal their concepts about the problem in conversation.
Pask (1980), referring to Piaget and Vygotsky, was interested in methods of eliciting
explanations of problems as well as how the knowledge is represented for the external
observer. He argued that problems of interaction should be considered within the research
context of ecology of conversation. He developed the Conversation Theory to model this
fundamental mode of interaction and mediation.
Kunz and Rittel (Kunz and Rittel, 1970) developed Issue-Based Information System (IBIS) as a
system for documenting and structuring arguments needed due to the complexity of issues
(wicked problems). The challenge is to precisely document key points in discussion for
further reference. In order to accomplish this task documentation of the discussion should
incorporate ways to provide descriptors, with contextual information usually being an
important part. Finally, they argue that a transparent working procedure can result in better
reasoning, more explicit arguments, and easier development of proper questions, revealing
the actual core of the problem. The only suggestion for possible visual embodiment of the
system is an issue map as a part of the IBIS structure. It is meant to provide a graphic
representation of relationships between system elements but still without any particular
proposal about the actual visual realization.
In their now-classic introduction to boundary objects, Star and Griesemer (1989) distinguish
among four types: repositories, ideal types, coincident boundaries and standardized forms.
Repositories are indexed piles of objects; ideal types are taxonomies; coincident boundaries
are objects with a shared outline but different interiors, like maps for divergent purposes;
standardized forms are templates.
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Phelps and Reddy (2009) similarly describe the role of boundary objects used in construction
projects as being not only informational, but also influential in guiding the group
collaboration. For Fleming (1998), the importance of objects in the discussion among
designers is that they facilitate a different language, where deictic reference plays a key role.
An important part of boundary objects is their role in mediating communication. Drawing on
Austins (1975) speech act theory, Hisarciklilar and Boujut (2009) describe the design of a
boundary approach that attaches annotations to 3D virtual objects, for use in the
asynchronous process of disambiguation throughout a design project. Their model includes
predefined semantic categories such as proposition, clarification, evaluation, and purpose.
Further on the subject of the role of models in the design process, Pialot et al. (2011)
describe a conceptual model for use in the early phases of innovation. Its three components
are concept, technology, and potential. They emphasize the importance of dealing with the
interactions of these three factors in order to produce a tree structure of possible designs.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to do preliminary testing of the concept of a physical tool
intended to facilitate collaboration between participants in idea-generation and conceptual
model building during the process of analyzing the texts of previous conversations of others.
We developed and tested three different versions of the physical tool (see Methods, below).
3.1 Research questions

For each form of the tool, we addressed the following research questions.
1. How can a visuospatial modeling kit designed for carrying out an analysis of
conversational materials facilitate cooperation, interaction and
communication?
2. Does the interaction between people and the model create interesting
outcomes in the form of shared understanding, which might be associated
with material features of the model?
3. Does the process facilitate individual reflection on the problem at hand?
4. Does the process augment communication of ideas between the people
involved?
5. Can the result serve for transmitting the findings in meaningful ways to those
not involved in the process?
6. What kind of a common language (both verbal and visual) is established as a
shared platform to exchange ideas and to make understanding between the
involved parties easier?
7. In what way does the model integrate multiple modes of information
representation to facilitate the processes of understanding, communicating,
and creating new concepts?
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Methods
4.1 Participants
We had 48 participants in a total of 9 workshops. The participants were all graduate
students or faculty members in design programs. Their age ranged from mid-20s to mid-50s;
male and female genders were roughly equally represented; we had no participants who
self-identified as being of alternative genders (i.e. LGBTQ).
4.2 Conversations used for participants to model

We chose 3 different types of conversation in order to see how the complexity of the
content influenced the outcomes of the modeling process. The simplest conversation was an
email exchange between 2 people about the logistics of setting up a meeting. We used this
conversation with the first and simplest version of the model (the pillars). We describe this
as the simplest model because it had the fewest affordances.
The second type of conversation was much more complex in terms of both structure and
content. It was a transcript of an interview between 2 researchers and 2 participants, so the
number of speakers was double the number in the email exchanges. The subject matter was
also difficult to interpret, since it ranged widely across topics, with occasional reversions of
the discussion to previous topicsa feature we considered important because it reduced
the linearity of the conversation. We used this conversation with the remaining 2
increasingly complex models (windows and magnetic panels).
The third type of conversation (i.e. Winner 1989) was a departure in the sense that it was a
non-fiction book chapter, written in a relatively conversational style but with only a single
speaker (the author). We estimated that the material was as complex in structure and
content as the interview transcript, but removed the aspect of having multiple speakers. We
used this third text with teams that had the magnetic panels (the model with the most
affordances).
4.3 Three different prototypes of the physical tool

We prepared a series of functional prototypes of a tool consisting of a set of separate
elements, which could be assembled into large spatial structures. The structures can hold
and position in space any kind of information written or sketched by participants during the
session. The construction of elements was intended to enable them to configure the object
as freely as possible to create an openwork structure. The structural elements and the
means of connecting the elements varied with each of the three iterations of the tool.
M ODEL 1: P ILLARS (1 TEAM OF 2 MEMBERS ; 2 THIRD - PARTY REVIEWERS ; SIMPLE EMAIL
EXCHANGE )
This version of the prototype used thin pillars inserted into square bases. The main element
was a post, onto which a small white board was fastened using a magnetic strip. The pillars
could be arranged in groups but not connected horizontally. One iteration was made with
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foam core (Figure 1), which meant that it could be easily disassembled and flatpacked for
transport; the next used wood for added weight and stability, since the foam core version
was too easy to accidentally knock and send flying.
The pillars were used by one team to analyse an email exchange among conference
organizers, to first determine and then try to communicate the key points in the discussion.
Figure 1. Discussing the 4 main categories of topics and 1 subtopic in an email exchange.
M ODEL 2: R ECTANGULAR WINDOWS (4 TEAMS OF 5 PARTICIPANTS EACH ; 4 THIRD - PARTY

REVIEWERS )
The rectangular windows provided a larger working surface for posting notes; the windows
also came in sets of 4 that were hinged together with a colourful foam frame (Figure 2).
Teams used this model to represent their understanding of an interview transcript taken
from a video recording, which they also watched prior to the modeling activity.
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Figure 2. Workshop team members discuss their analysis of an interview transcript.
M ODEL 3: M AGNETIC P ANELS (4 TEAMS OF 5 MEMBERS EACH )

The panels are the most flexible solution to date. They consist of clear plastic squares,
rectangles, and triangles with magnets inserted around the periphery (Figure 3). Two
workshop teams using this version created models of the content of Langdon Winners book
chapter Do Artifacts Have Politics; two other teams used it to model the interview
transcript previously used with the window frames version.
Figure 3. Study participants capture the key points of an academic article. Note the addition of LEDs
to highlight specific points.
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4.4 Activities
The research was conducted in two main phases, preceded by an introduction. The whole
session typically took about 2 hours:
Introduction (approximately 10 minutes). The researcher explained the

activity to the participants: its goals, characteristics etc. The content of
the toolkit to be used during the session is introduced.
Phase I: Activity (90 minutes). The participants take part in the
collaborative ideation process intended to build a conceptual model of
their object of study, with the help of the provided tool. The time is
measured and checkpoints are taken with the teams. After
approximately 90 minutes the activity is considered to be finished.
Phase II: Interview (approximately 20 minutes). The participants in their
teams are asked to formulate some opinions about the main
advantages and disadvantages of the tool on the basis of Phase I. Free
discussion is welcomed with the active involvement of the researchers.
Important statements and main points from the discussion are
documented by the researcher in the form of written notes.
4.5 Data Collection and Analysis

Each session was videotaped, audio taped, and photographed. These materials were
analysed by the researchers reviewing the various media for evidence related to the
research questions previously listed. The evidence could take the form of expressions by the
participants through speaking or acting. We considered the individual expression as the unit
of analysis, rather than attempting to develop any conclusions based on frequency in a
qualitative study where n was never intended to be sufficient for statistical analysis.
Results
5.1 Pillars prototype
Participants in this workshop analysed an email exchange, after which a third party who had
not been involved in the analysis attempted to interpret the results. The process was carried
out twice, with a different person acting as third party each time (both were professors of
design). In the first instance, the participants attempted to represent in the model not just
the key topics of the email exchange, but also the information about who had written what
in the emails. The third-party review of this first model was not successful: that is, the
reviewer struggled to understand what the people doing the modeling had understood
about the email exchange. In the second version of the model, the focus was entirely on the
key topics in the emails, and no attempt was made to keep track of which email writer
addressed which topic. The third-party reviewer in this case was immediately able to explain
what the analysis of the email exchange had captured.
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5.2 Windows prototype

Participants in these 4 workshops analysed an interview transcript, after which a third party
attempted to interpret the results. After reviewing the outcomes, we realized that the
request to include this communicative element to the exercise had restricted the kinds of
models that the teams created: I need to see where it starts and where it ends: our goal is
to show it to someone. In one team, the room itself was used as an element; the model had
an intended starting point that was facing the door, so that the third-party reviewer was
naturally placed in the right position to begin the process of following the model in order to
understand what had been done.
5.3 Magnetic panels prototype

In this version, the most complex models were used, and we eliminated the idea of
communication to a third party in order to encourage a more analytically oriented approach
by the teams. The combination of these changes resulted in the most complex models we
had seen to date; in these versions, the teams had a tendency to emphasize that the models
represented simultaneously a variety of viewpoints on the material. This was in contrast to
the windows versions, where 3 of the 4 teams had specified a starting point for examining
the model, implying that there was one right way of seeing the results of the analysis.
5.4 General Observations

One general result we consider important is that we have come to understand our modeling
kit as a kind of language for the creation of boundary objects. As such, it shares some
aspects of each of the categories proposed by Star and Griesemer (1989) (repositories, ideal
types, coincident boundaries and standardized forms), although it does not fall cleanly into
any of them. Instead, it may constitute a new category, perhaps shared in some of their
affordances by more generic tools like chalkboards, white boards, and paper. It is a
communicational medium, but one with a collaborative aspect. That said, it can be used to
create models not only for mediation but also for transmission. We observed from the
workshops with the pillars and windows that models intended to transmit the results of an
analysis may differ from the models created mainly for collaborative thinking.
We were also able to observe the facilitating function of creating local language between
participants (deictic reference) in all of the workshops, with growing frequency as the
affordances of the toolkit allowed participants to make the structures more expressive and
less dependent on prior conventions.
5.5 Research Questions

We now turn our attention to how our analysis of the workshops provided insights into the
list of research questions.
1. How can a visuospatial modeling kit designed for carrying out an analysis of
conversational materials facilitate cooperation, interaction and communication?
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The task of joint construction of the model creates a specific social situation. For our
participants, it was a new experience to be engaged in that kind of activity. At the
beginning of a session the novelty brings about a distant attitude because it is a quite
unusual situation not like ordinary conversation, with strong associations with
children playing, for example with blocks, but then, a moment later, the curiosity
overcomes the fear and people became involved in the construction of the model.
Participants pointed out that in general the activity was enjoyable, free, and creative.
They referred to the notion of improvisation, as the method to obtain unexpected
results from the thinking process. They found, as the main advantages of the activity,
the possibility of fast visualization of concepts, showing in meaningful and clear ways
the connections and hierarchies. They were speaking about the enrichment of the
discussion through creating the spatial context for thoughts and their visual
equivalents, which enabled us to easily refer to previous threads. They also noted
that the elements of the tool were quite effortless to operate, although at each stage
these comments were combined with suggestions for subsequent improvements,
which we made.
2. Does the interaction between people and the model create interesting outcomes in the
form of shared understanding, which might be associated with material features of
the model?
The material aspects of the model are crucial to the entire process. The new
possibilities and constraints of three-dimensional real construction influence the
process of interpretation. For example the construction, to be stable, must be
balanced. So a specific idea already placed in the structure needs to be balanced by
another in the structure to make the construction more reliable.
In some cases, where the model resulted in conflicting ideas being placed on facing
panels, it became clear that anyone looking at the model would need to engage their
kinesthetic intelligence by looking first one way, then another, in order to see the
two perspectives. Having moved their heads will help them internalize the idea that
the two perspectives are opposedit may also help them remember the moment.
Finally, because of the structural bias towards symmetry, or at least balance of some
sort, participants can see conversations that do not readily lend themselves to this
kind of balanced representation as being possibly somehow deficient.
Another example involved the participants lifting up the whole structure in order to
place a concept at the bottom. The new concept became more memorable by
associating it with this particular activity. We called this type of action around the
model meaningful gestures.
3. Does the process facilitate individual reflection on the problem at hand?
The purpose of this question was to remind us to watch for the extent to which the
collaborative nature of the toolkit might produce groupthink, where individual
perspectives were drowned out in the need to create a common structure. We
observed in this respect the usual group dynamics, where a leader might emerge
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who either had an idea or else wanted to create a consensus, but we also observed
instances where the group developed a shared conviction in the need for creating a
structure that recognized multiple perspectives.
One group of participants, in fact, working with the most complex conversation (the
transcript), using the most complex model (the magnetic panels) created a structure
that not only modeled the viewpoints of the people in the interview transcript, but
also modeled the viewpoints of the study participants, resulting in a complex
understanding of the permutations of interpretation, where each participant might
have a different idea, not about a central consensus of understanding, but instead
about the viewpoint of each speaker. One participant explained that it started when
someone held a pair of cubes up to their face as though they were eyeglasses, saying
that each of them could use the model to see the content from a different lens.
4. Does the process augment communication of ideas between the people involved?
The quality of communication mediated by the model is different than in an ordinary
conversation. It is more ordered, structured, self-reflecting. Every time the session is
conducted there must be a certain agreement about the rules of the game, the
meaning of elements, the ways of expressing ideas. Every time people are involved in
creating a model, they become more aware of the ambiguity of the language we are
using in everyday life.
Within the teams, we observed that the models were often used by the participants
as physical demonstrations of ideas: these are barriers, but they are also open.
5. Can the result serve for transmitting the findings in meaningful ways to those not
involved in the process?
We need to differentiate, however, between augmenting communication among the
analysis team and supporting communication of the results of the analysis. The new
possibilities and constraints of three dimensional real construction do influence the
process of idea-generation, but much of the thinking process is still not readily
apparent in the final object. By including labels and even text snippets on the various
components, participants did attempt to provide third parties with enough
information to make the models understandable. However, in most instances it was
also necessary to provide a quick prcis of what the structure was intended to show
and what was learned, using the models as a reference during the conversations.
In the sessions where participants were explicitly asked to create a model that could
be understood by an uninformed third party, it became clear that the need for
subsequent communication interfered with the primary task of analyzing content.
One team, in an extreme case, carried out their analysis on the white board, then
built a model that attempted to communicate the conclusions. This model was
noticeably simpler than those typically produced by other teams.
6. What kind of a common language (both verbal and visual) is established as a shared
platform to exchange ideas and to make understanding between the involved parties
easier?
2133
If we think of the toolkit as a language for developing boundary objects, this research
question is actually asking what kind of objects the participants created. Perhaps not
surprisingly, many of the aspects of the models created drew on previous forms of
mediation, such as texts and drawings.
After the first 2 workshops, we also developed a protocol for the use of the kit, which
we thought would allow participants to get more quickly up to speed on carrying out
the analytical tasks. Instead, none of the subsequent workshop teams adopted the
suggested protocol, preferring instead to develop their own emergent language for
what it means, for example, to stack elements, set them beside each other, leave
them open or closed, use colour or lights, and so on. Because the model is physical,
some of these emergent conventions were not necessarily fully verbalized by the
team, but are communicated instead by demonstrating the idea. We also saw
evidence of the kinds of visual representations that are used in diagrams: boxes and
arrows, different thicknesses of lines, little figures of people, and so on.
7. In what way does the model integrate multiple modes of information representation to
facilitate the processes of understanding, memorizing, communicating, and creating
new concepts?
Somewhat surprisingly, the model does not seem to encourage a high degree of
expressivity in terms of text and drawing. We had originally anticipated that the
model would fade into the background to a certain extent, like a white board or
chalkboard, where the medium is not making a significant contribution to the
content of the discussion. This was true for the first 2 prototypes, before the tool
became complex enough in its own right to allow participants to create structures
that had meaning beyond grouping.
However, as the structural opportunities increased, they became of central interest
to the teams, so that explanations of the analyses for the final workshops tended to
rely more heavily on the shapes of the models and what those meant.
Conclusions
Although much work remains to be done (see below), the results to this point have been
encouraging. As we increased the complexity of the models, they became more useful in
acting as boundary objects that the participants could use to discuss their sometimes
conflicting ideas and opinions, both at the level of the analysis and also in terms of the metadiscussion of what it means to be doing an analysis.
We have found that participants are interested in increasingly complex 3D models that
provide a wide range of expressive affordances such as shape, color, and light. The physical
nature of the task activates additional forms of intelligence (spatial and kinesthetic); the
collaborative aspect does not seem to overwhelm individual thinking, but instead appears to
suggest that multiple interpretations should be accommodated.
A further, non-trivial aspect of the models is that they are fun to use, which results in a
higher level of engagement than in simply verbal conversation; we observed this in all the
2134
workshops, where participants who were reluctant at first and had been quiet until the point
of working with the model were lively and noisy before long.
Our results suggest that this kind of system is useful for these types of facilitation, and that it
is possible to modify the affordances of the system to increase its power. Further, we
observed that such models result in a tendency for participants to recognize multiple
perspectives in the material, and to express the understanding that divergent valid
interpretations are possible. This serendipitous finding appears to be emergent from the
nature of working with other people on a 3D analytical model; it also aligns nicely with one
of our larger programs of research, which is to find how design can reduce the human
tendency to find and defend a single perspective, to the exclusion of other alternatives.
Further Research
It is important to stress that this study is just a first step in our exploration of the
relationship between quality of thinking and representations of the outcomes of thinking
processes in the form of 3D conversational models.
A reflection upon the way that students in particular are actively involved in co-creating
mutual understanding could be of interest for educators in design and other disciplines.
From that point of view the value of the modeling process still needs to be explored,
perhaps through a comparative evaluation of a control group that does not have the model
and an experimental group that does.
We also need to do further investigation of the introduction of the activity. Since this is a
mode of knowledge production not commonly experienced, it is important to decide how
much initial instruction needs to be given, and how it should vary based on the composition
of the teams, their previous experience with the model, and the nature of the task.
In terms of the morphology of the model, one of the current difficulties is the time and
expense involved in fixing magnets around the periphery of the transparent panels. Our next
version will replace the magnets with strips of a Velcro-like material, which will bring back
the idea of colorful frames, while at the same time expanding the construction affordances.
With the magnets, it is only possible to connect the panels in specific ways; using Velcro,
participants will be able to attach one panel to another at any point around the periphery.
Finally, we have begun experimenting with techniques that will allow us to capture a virtual
representation of the physical model.
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About the Authors:

Piotr Michura is an assistant professor at Faculty of Industrial Design,
Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland. His research interests are in
experimental text visualization, information and interaction design.
Stan Ruecker is an associate professor at IIT Institute of Design in
Chicago. His current research areas include text visualization, physical
2136
tools for the analysis of text data, and design for interpretive
experience.
Celso Carnos Scaletsky is a professor of the Post Graduate Program
in Design at University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos UNISINOS, in Porto
Alegre, Brazil. His research is oriented to Project Theory with a
specialization in Strategic Design.
Guilherme Corra Meyer is a professor of the Post Graduate
Program in Design at University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos UNISINOS,
in Porto Alegre, Brazil. His research includes the use of prototypes to
build knowledge in design.
Chiara Del Gaudio is a post-doctoral researcher in Design at
University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil. Her research interests are
in participatory design, social innovation, and in the designers action
and integration in conflict-affected and fragile urban areas.
Gerry Derksen is a professor at Winthrop University and coordinator
of the Interactive Media program in the Department of Design. His
areas of research include sensor based experience design, and
natural language processing for computational narrative generation.
Julia Muller Dias is a product designer, with a specialization in
Strategic Design and was a visiting researcher at IIT Institute of
Design. She is currently partner at Peculiar Studio and studies ways to
improve design culture in Brazil.
Liz Jernegan is a design strategy and research graduate student at
IIT's Institute of Design, focusing on user experience in complex
systems and virtual reality applications.
Juan de la Rosa is an associate professor at Universidad Nacional de
Colombia's School of Graphic Design. His current research focuses on
behavioral transformation of communities through the use of design.
Xinyue Zhou is currently a master of design student at IIT Institute of
Design in Chicago. She is a designer specialized in user experience,
interaction and data visualization design.
Priscilla Ferronato is a master design student at University of Vale do
Rio dos Sinos UNISINOS, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. His current research
focuses on design process and scenarios building.
2137
Index of Authors
Abdelmohsen, Sherif, 1969

Aftab, Mersha, 3181
Ahmadpour, Naseem, 1457
Ahmer, Arif, 593
Aish, Robert, 111
Alhonsuo, Mira, 3069
Alshawaf, Eman, 959
Andrietc, Ekaterina, 157
Annable, Louise, 303
Arvidsson, Anna-Karin, 1411
Arvola, Mattias, 1089
Atkin, Ross, 2391
Atkinson, Harriet, 2583
Atman, Cynthia J., 593
Bachman, Leonard, 295
Baek, Joon Sang, 3943
Bailey, Jocelyn, 3619
Bakir, Ramy, 1969
Barbosa, Janaina Teles, 4045
Bastian, Michelle, 2107
Bauer, Birgit S., 569
Baule, Giovanni, 1039, 1047
Baur, Ruedi, 1139
Beck, Jordan, 17
Benford, Steve, 3033
Berghman, Michal, 139, 277
Bingham, Guy, 2239
Bissett-Johnson, Katherine, 637
Bitterman, Noemi, 1433
Black, Alison, 2301
Blackler, Alethea, 2063, 3149, 3251
Blomqvist, Mikael, 1411
Bobroff, Julien, 555
Boehnert, Joanna, 2359
Boess, Stella, 625, 1573
Bofylatos, Spyros, 3449
Boggs, Charles, 513
Bohemia, Erik, 1699, 1881
Bonja, Susanne, 1411
Breki, Naz A.G.Z., 795
Borgford-Parnell, Jim, 593
Boyd Davis, Stephen, 2591
Boyko, Chris, 1677
Boztepe, Suzan, 1253
Braga, Mariana Fonseca, 1863
Brischke, Lars-Arvid, 3913
Broadley, Cara, 1737
Brooks, Judy, 539
Brown, Michael, 3033
Brul, meline, 1985
Burnett, Dan, 1609, 1625
Burns, Kathryn, 303
Bscher, Monika, 1123
Buur, Jacob, 1723

Cadavid, Ana, 179
Cain, Rebecca, 1271, 1433
Calvo, Mirian, 3591
Canina, Marita, 2075
Caratti, Elena, 1039, 1047
Carmen Bruno, 2075
Casais, Mafalda, 1553
Castanedo, Rebeca Torres, 2163
Catoir-Brisson, Marie-Julie, 2285
Celi, Manuela, 2015
Ceschin, Fabrizio, 3731, 3785
Chamberlain, Paul, 1499
Chamorro-Koc, Marianella, 1643
Champion, Katherine, 1737
Chan, Jeffrey, 3539
Chatzakis, Emmanouil, 1881
Cheng, Peiyao, 215
Chiapello, Laureline, 17
Chou, Wen-Huei, 3133
Christensen, Anders, 1757
Chueng-Nainby, Priscilla, 969
Chun, Min Hi, 1935
Ciastellardi, Matteo, 1111
Ciuccarelli, Paolo, 941
Claxton, Stella, 3815
Coddington, Alicen, 781
Connor, Andy M., 83
Cooney, Richard, 2201
Cooper, Rachel, 1677, 1699
Cooper, Tim, 1277, 3831
Corrigan-Doyle, Emily, 1529
Coskun, Aykut, 1357
Ct, Valrie, 3669
Coulton, Paul, 369, 1609, 3019
Craib, David, 385, 2325
Craig, Claire, 1499
Craig, Mark, 609
Cranny-Francis, Anne, 2985
Dallison, Delphine, 609
Danahay, Evan, 2533
Darzentas, Dimitrios, 3033
Darzentas, Jenny, 3449, 3771
Darzentas, Jenny S., 2307
Darzentas, John, 3771
Dawes, Cecilie, 3435
de Eyto, Adam, 2709
de Kerckhove, Derrick, 1111
de la Rosa, Juan, 2121
de Lille, Christine, 2423, 2563
De Moor, Eva, 3435
De Paoli, Giovanni, 853
de Ruijter, Laura, 1473
Index of Authors
De Smet, Annelies, 2759

DeEyto, Adam, 3573
Del Gaudio, Chiara, 2121
Deni, Michela, 2285
Derksen, Gerry, 2121
Desai, Shital, 3149
Deserti, Alessandro, 2015
Desmet, Pieter, 1553, 1589
Desmet, Pieter M. A., 1999
Dhadphale, Tejas, 2415
Dias, Julia, 2121
Djaelani, Robert, 3705
Dong, Hua, 3199, 3229, 3247, 3263, 3279
Dorst, Kees, 2493, 2667
Downing, Niamh, 3485
Downs, Simon, 321
Dunn, Nick, 1677
Durrant, Abigail C., 2181
Duste, Tessa, 1589
Dziobczenski, Paulo Roberto Nicoletti, 705
Earl, Christopher, 3687
Earl, Christopher F, 2519
Eckert, Claudia, 2519
Edwards, Liz, 3485
Eftekhari, Farzaneh, 1389
Elliott-Cirigottis, Gary, 609
Elzenbaumer, Bianca, 4005, 4015
Emili, Silvia, 3785
Erbug, Cigdem, 1357
Escobar-Tello, Carolina, 1433, 1529, 3961
Evans, Mark, 813, 2239
Evans, Martyn, 97
Fassi, Davide, 3407
Feast, Luke, 3569, 3635
Felsing, Ulrike, 1139
Fenko, Anna, 3467
Fennell, Jac, 1441
Ferronato, Priscilla, 2121
Fisher, Tom, 3479
Flintham, Martin, 3033
Forlano, Laura, 927
Frankel, Lois, 3103
Franz, Fabio, 4015
Fredriksen, Biljana C., 2911
Freimane, Aija, 1271
French, Tara, 2965, 3653
Fundneider, Thomas, 401
Gabrielse, Gorm, 1211
Gagnon, Caroline, 3669
Galeotti, Anamaria, 2837
Galluzzo, Laura, 3407
Gamman, Lorraine, 3479
Garde, Julia Anne, 2043
Gardin, Astury, 969
Gasparin, Marta, 881
Gaved, Mark, 609

Gaziulusoy, Idil, 3731
Gentes, Annie, 555
Germany, Jason O., 3085
Ghassan, Aysar, 471
Giaccardi, Elisa, 3553
Giang, Colin, 781
Gideonsen, Hanne, 3435
Godin, Danny, 355
Grgl, Emine, 2825
Goworek, Helen, 3831
Gradinar, Adrian, 1609
Graf, Laura K. M., 203
Graham, Alexander, 781
Grangaard, Sidse, 3393
Gray, Colin M., 2549
Graziano, Valeria, 4005
Green, William, 881
Gribbin, John, 3181
Gristwood, Simone, 2591
Groth, Camilla, 2889, 2895, 2941
Grover, Shruti, 2391
Gudiksen, Sune, 1757
Gudur, Raghavendra Reddy, 3251
Guit, Manon, 853
Gullick, David, 3019
Gulliksen, Marte S., 2889, 2925
Hadfield, Mark, 2709
Hkansson, Lena, 1411
Hall, Ashley, 2481
Hall, Peter A., 2625
Hands, David, 2445
Hanington, Bruce, 729
Harland, Robert, 385
Harrison, David, 3785
Haslem, Neal, 2201
Hasselqvist, Hanna, 3929
Haug, Anders, 1903, 3873
Hazzard, Adrian, 3033
Heaton, Lorna, 853
Heiltjes, Sanne, 3467
Hekkert, Paul, 139, 277
Henriksen, Pernille, 1757
Hermannsdttir, Hafds Sunna, 3435
Hermansen, Pablo, 895
Hermsen, Sander, 1323, 1375
Hernandez, Maria Gabriela, 2089
Hesselgren, Mia, 3929
Heylighen, Ann, 3199, 3229
Hill, Helen, 3831
Hofmeister, Tobias Barnes, 3847
Hogan, Trevor, 3005
Hornecker, Eva, 3005
Hough, Simge, 751
Hrinivich, Ellen, 3103
4081
Index of Authors
Huang, Tao, 2699

Hung, Chung-Wen, 3133
Huotilainen, Minna, 2941
Hutchings, Maggie, 2709
Hyltn-Cavallius, Sara, 1411
Hyysalo, Sampsa, 3889
Imbesi, Lorenzo, 2325
Ingram, Jack, 303
Ings, Welby, 483
Ivanka, Tania, 2201
James, Meredith, 719
Janssens, Nel, 2759
Jernegan, Elizabeth, 2121
Johnson, Michael Pierre, 1737
Johnson, Simon, 2391
Jones, Derek, 295
Jonkmans, Anna, 767
Joost, Gesche, 3913
Joutsela, Markus, 259
Jowers, Iestyn, 609
Jun, Gyuchan Thomas, 1809
Jylks, Titta, 3069
Kaland, Lennart, 835, 2563
Kantorovitch, Julia, 2463
Karlsson, Monica Lindh, 4029
Keirnan, Alen, 1457
Keitsch, Martina, 3847
Kelly, Veronika, 425
Kempenaar, Annet, 2271
Kenning, Gail, 1441
Kerridge, Tobie, 1025
Ketola, Anne, 1179
Kettley, Sarah, 1277, 2985, 3121
Kim, KwanMyung, 1919
Kim, Sojung, 3943
Kimbell, Lucy, 3605
Kirk, David S., 2181
Knutz, Eva, 1827
Kocsis, Anita, 781
Kokotovich, Vasilije, 2493
Komatsu, Tamami, 2015
Koskinen, Ilpo, 1013
Kotlarewski, Nathan, 2533
Koumoundourou, Myrto, 2307
Koutsabasis, Panayiotis, 2307
Kristensen, Tore, 1205, 1211
Krzywinski, Jens, 2869
Kuijer, Lenneke, 3553
Kuys, Blair, 1163, 2533
Kuzmina, Ksenija, 1809
Kymlinen, Tiina, 1627
Lahusen, Miriam, 3913
Laivamaa, Laura, 3069
Landwehr, Jan R., 145, 203
Langrish, John Z., 51
Lee, John, 969

Lee, Seong geun, 157
Leinikka, Marianne, 2941
Lenskjold, Tau U., 1827
Lewis, Huw, 3573
Liao, Cai-Ru, 3133
Liapis, Aggelos, 2463
Lim, Christopher Sze Chong, 3295
Lima, Verena, 3983
Linde, Per, 913
Lindley, Joseph, 369
Liu, Sylvia, 1205, 1237
Liu, Tsai Lu, 501, 1389
Lloyd, Peter, 3619, 3687
Lnne, Irene Alma, 1223
Loudon, David, 1515
Lu, Xiaobo, 3373
Lucas, Rachel, 3121
Ludden, Geke, 245, 1271, 1305, 1433, 1473
Lulham, Rohan, 1777
Ma, Xuezi, 3279
Macdonald, Alastair S., 1515
Macduff, Colin, 1515
Maciver, Fiona, 2463
Mackrill, Jamie, 1433
Mages, Michael Arnold, 3503
Maguire, Martin, 1809
Mahar, Doug, 3251
Maher, Carmel, 2709
Mkel, Maarit, 2889, 2941
Malins, Julian, 2463
Manohar, Arthi Kanchana, 3591
Marchand, Anne, 2653
Marenko, Betti, 2755
Margolin, Victor, 5
Markussen, Thomas, 1827
Marlen Dobler, Judith, 997
Marttila, Sanna, 4063
Mattila, Pauliina, 781
Mauri, Michele, 941
Maxwell, Deborah, 3485
Maya, Jorge, 179
Mayer, Stefan, 145
Mazzarella, Francesco, 3961
Mazzilli, Clice, 2837
McAra, Marianne, 3213
McGaw, Janet, 669
McGilp, Helen, 2519
Mcginley, Chris, 2391
McHattie, Lynn-Sayers, 1737
McLaren, Angharad, 3831
Mercer, Lisa, 2029
Messell, Tania, 2737
Meyer, Guilherme, 2121
Michura, Piotr, 2121
4082
Index of Authors
Micklethwaite, Paul, 2163

Mitchell, Cynthia, 2255
Mitchell, Val, 1809, 3961
Mok, Luisa Sze-man, 3889
Moncur, Wendy, 2181
Moreno, Mariale, 1809
Morris, Andrew, 1271
Mota, Joo Almeida, 4045
Moussatche, Helena, 513
Mugge, Ruth, 215, 1553
Mulder, Sander, 1375, 2809
Munro, Tasman, 2219
Murphy, Emma, 97
Murray, Lesley, 1123
Neira, Jos, 895
Nevay, Sara, 3295
Neven, Louis, 3553
Niedderer, Kristina, 1271
Nimkulrat, Nithikul, 3177
Ning, Weining, 3263
Noel, Lesley-Ann, 455, 501
Nordvall, Mathias, 1089
Norris, Jane, 2795
Cathin, Conall, 125
ORafferty, Simon, 3573
Oberlander, Jon, 2991
Olander, Sissel, 985
Oppenheimer, Maya Rae, 2583
Orzech, Kathryn, 2181
Ou, Li-Chen, 233
Oxborrow, Lynn, 3815, 3831
Ozcan, Elif, 1433
Ozkaramanli, Deger, 1999
Paepcke-Hjeltness, Verena, 2415
Page, Rowan, 1487
Pahk, Yoonee, 3943
Paiva, Isabel, 3165
Palmgren, Marianne, 653
Park, Sumin, 3181
Parker, Chris, 1809
Pasman, Gert, 1659
Person, Oscar, 705
Peschl, Markus F., 401
Petermans, Ann, 1433
Pillatt, Toby, 3485
Piper, Anna, 2959
Pisanty, Diego Trujillo, 2181
Piscicelli, Laura, 1305
Pizzichemi, Catherine, 513
Plowright, Philip, 295
Plowright, Philip D., 339
Pohlmeyer, Anna E., 1573
Poldma, Tiiu, 295
Pollastri, Serena, 1677
Popovic, Vesna, 2063, 3149, 3251, 3373
Porter, Samantha, 1809

Potter, Eden, 2379
Prince, Anne, 781
Prochner, Isabel, 2653
Prytherch, David, 1441
Pschetz, Larissa, 2107
Pui Ying Lo, Kathy, 1529
Quam, Andrea, 3861
Radtke, Rebekah, 685
Raman, Sneha, 2965
Rankanen, Mimmu, 2941
Ranscombe, Charlie, 637
Rashidi, Ingrid Halland, 2637
Reddy, Anuradha, 913
Redstrm, Johan, 4029
Reimer, Maria Hellstrm, 4045
Renes, Reint Jan, 1323, 1375
Renner, Michael, 1073
Renon, Anne-Lyse, 555
Renstrm, Sara, 1339
Reumont, Marie, 853
Revsbk, Line, 1723
Ricc, Dina, 1101
Richardson, Mark, 1487
Ritzmann, Susanne, 3913
Rive, Pete, 83
Rizzo, Francesca, 2015
Roberts, Maxwell J., 2341
Rochead, Alan, 609
Rodgers, Paul A., 2677
Rogel, Liat, 3407
Rontti, Simo, 3069
Rosenqvist, Tanja, 2255
Roto, Virpi, 259
Roy, Robin, 3755
Ruecker, Stan, 2121
Ruiz-Crdoba, Stefany, 179
Rytilahti, Piia, 3069
Sadkowska, Ania, 3521
Sadkowska, Anna, 3121
Sakurai, Tatiana, 3983
Salinas, Miguel, 1411
Salvia, Giuseppe, 2075
Sametinger, Florian, 3913
Santos, Maria Ceclia, 3983
Sarmiento, Ricardo Mejia, 1659
Scaletsky, Celso, 2121
Schaeffer, Jennie Andersson, 653
Schifferstein, Hendrik N.J., 3427
Scupelli, Peter, 539, 729
Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Pirita, 2889, 2941
Self, James, 157
Selvefors, Anneli, 1339
Shroyer, Kathryn E., 593
Sice, Petia, 1291
4083
Index of Authors
Sissons, Juliana, 3521

Siu, Kin Wai Michael, 1793
Skjerven, Astrid, 43
Skjold, Else, 1223
Smith, Madeline, 3591
Smith, Neil, 1881
Snelders, Dirk, 767
Sosa, Ricardo, 83
Southee, Darren, 813
Speed, Chris, 1123, 2107, 2991
Spencer, Nicholas, 1291
St John, Nicola, 3349
Sthl, Ola, 1191, 1411
Standaert, Achiel, 3329
Stappers, Pieter Jan, 1659, 3329
Stead, Michael, 3049
Steenson, Molly Wright, 31
Stergiadou, Zoi, 3449
Sterte, Marie, 1411
Stewart, Nifeli, 2201
Storvang, Pia, 1843
Strmberg, Helena, 1339
Sun, Qian, 1699, 1707
Sung, Kyungeun, 1277
Sustar, Helena, 3635
Svensn, Tobias, 1411
Taylor, Damon, 1123
Teal, Gemma, 2965, 3653
Tham, Mathilda, 1411
Thong, Christine, 781, 2533
Thurgood, Clementine, 1777
Tironi, Martn, 895
Tomkin, Douglas, 2611
Tovey, Michael, 419
Townsend, Katherine, 3521
Treadaway, Cathy, 1441
Trimingham, Rhoda, 3725
Trogal, Kim, 4005
Tromp, Nynke, 2141
Tsang, Kaman Ka Man, 1793
Tsay, Wan-Jen Jenny, 2423
Turns, Jennifer A., 593
Uhlmann, Johannes, 2869
Umney, Darren, 3687
Uri, Therese, 441
Urquhart, Lewis, 1951
Vnnen, Jenni, 3889
Vaeng, Ida C.N., 2341
Vaes, Kristof, 3329
Valentin, Frdric, 1985

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van den Berg-Weitzel, Lianne, 3467
van der Bijl-Brouwer, Mieke, 2141, 2147
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Van Essen, Anita, 1323
van Grondelle, Elmer, 1589
van Onselen, Lenny, 767, 835
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Van Steenwinkel, Iris, 3199
Vardouli, Theodora, 65
Verhoeven, Fenne, 3313
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Young, Robert, 1291, 3181
Zahedi, Mithra, 853
Zamenopoulos, Theodore, 1123
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Zhao, Chao, 3373
Zhou, Ningchang, 2699
Zhou, Xinyue, 2121
Zi, BingXin, 969
Zingale, Salvatore, 1061
4084
Over fifty years the Design Research Society has been

fundamental to developing and supporting the field of Design
Research. In that time many influential and innovative
conferences have been held and the 50th Anniversary in
Brighton conference continues that tradition. The breadth and
depth of design research represented in these proceedings
is extremely impressive and shows, I think, not only how
important design research has become, but also the
considerable potential that it holds for the future.
- Professor Nigel Cross
PRESIDENT OF THE DRS
drs2016.org
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2730 JUNE 2016

50th Anniversary Conference

Design + Research + Society

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Proceedings of DRS 2016 International Conference: FutureFocused Thinking

Design Research Society Secretariat

DRS Special Interest Groups

DRS International Conference Series

DRS 2016 Programme Committee

International Board of Reviewers

Federico Del Giorgio Solfa, National University of La Plata, Argentina

Michael Hohl, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Val Mitchell, Loughborough University, United Kingdom

Ricardo Sosa, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

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