(2021). Design and Spirituality: A Philosophy of Material Cultures by Stuart Walker. The Design Journal: Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 1-4.

OVERVIEW Textiles have always been an important carrier for people to express their emotions. Wearable technology brings the power of computing closer to body, which has led to the rising focus of the design of bodily emotion-related interactive textiles. Body engaged affective design for emotion regulation has become a trend in the field of games and interactive art, but the advantages of interactive

Abstract The design process is a mysterious problem solving activity which is full of hidden cognitive processes. Investigating the design behaviour of expert architects may demystify the hidden aspects in the design cognition. Accordingly, the paper emphasizes that more thinking aloud sessions with expert architects can give the opportunity to investigate the design behaviour towards the design briefs

OVERVIEW Little is known about North Korean user experience (UX). The advancement of information technology in North Korea is remarkable, and the spread of IT in North Koreans’ everyday lives exceeds our expectations. Considering that UX develops concurrently with IT, we can assume that UX design exists in the North Korean IT industry. This study explores three problems: What are the political UX factors

Abstract Human-Centred Design approaches in museums give rise to a new, digital cultural heritage design practice by refocusing design from the (digital) technology on to the (digitally-enhanced) visitor experience and requiring involvement in design from both designers and non-designers. This practice is foregrounded as central within a wider landscape of transformative museum design and innovation

(2021). For the Record. The Design Journal: Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 161-165.

Abstract This study investigated the product/user relationship between a sample of 186 athletes and their racing bicycles. These participants completed a product relationship questionnaire that utilized a five-point Likert scale that investigated five pre-validated determinants of a product/athlete attachment. The questionnaire obtained an internal consistency using Cronbach’s Alpha with a range of

Abstract This paper aims to understand how asset-based approaches can enhance how design researchers work with communities. Asset-based approaches support people to share perspectives of complex societal issues, recognize local strengths and capabilities, and apply these to inform action and change. Situated in the field of participatory design and drawing from a project investigating concepts of wellbeing

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a surge in development of Open Source Hardware, especially open source ventilators. Many of these open source ventilator projects have adopted an open-when-finished model due to legitimate legal and liability concerns. This, however, has led to a proliferation of projects with teams across the world independently designing over a hundred mutually incompatible

OVERVIEW Whilst the sighted generally imagine people with blindness as living in darkness, only a small percentage of people have total vision loss and many visually impaired persons have some perception of light, form, movement, and shape. As mental images can be generated without sight, the ability to see is not necessary for the creation of visual art. This practice-based PhD project explores animation

Abstract This article discusses the relevance of the HfG Ulm discourse to the notions of Sustainable Design. The Ulmer programme included values such as social equity, resource optimisation and respect for the planet and the environment, which are main pillars for Sustainable Design practices. Links between the HfG’s ideas of the ’60s and contemporary sustainable design values could be examined by

(2021). Nature’s Intelligence and Human Endurance. The Design Journal: Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 1-3.

Abstract Fashion design is often understood as one of design’s subfields that lacks critical reflection on its domain-specific situation. Research on fashion design practice has either simply adopted research results from design studies or been overshadowed by its social and cultural implications from fashion studies. This paper questions this overgeneralization of design, especially the practice of

OVERVIEW This project explores learning and reflection practices in architecture teams. When architects use reflection-on-action, they learn from experience. When they use reflection-in-action, they learn from experiencing. Such reflective practices help architects build project knowledge and deliver their project. But most architects work in teams, alongside individuals with different ways of learning

Abstract The world of design is fast moving beyond the physicality of experiences. The theory and practice of inclusive design, however, is still largely focused on considerations of physical aspects. This research attempts to fill the gap in understanding of psychosocial inclusivity in design by identifying a formal definition with constructs. Theoretical interrogation of literature (design and non-design

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance is of growing concern in human and animal health. The aim of this study was to raise awareness and perception of risk of infection-related behaviours during routine preparation for veterinary surgery. We took a multi-disciplinary and multi-method approach to ‘make visible, the invisible’ by illustrating how microbial contamination can be spread during the preparation

Designers play an important role in service transformation and the development of product-service systems by applying co-creation methods. This paper presents a case of how we applied co-creation in practice and the impact this has had on developing a circular product-service system. It details the method used in the co-creation process and highlights five benefits, such as the ability to develop value-adding

Abstract As designers increasingly become involved in larger and more complex multidisciplinary collaborations, they find themselves in unprecedented contexts of practice. New tools and methods are needed to support these challenging ways of working. This paper presents an ethnographic study focusing specifically on the role of materials samples in supporting knowledge sharing and mutual understanding

Abstract Central to the present paper is the question of how designers can be supported to deliberately facilitate positive emotional experiences. Related to this, the paper provides an overview of the research on design for positive emotions, its issues, and opportunities for further investigations. The practical relevance of transcending the notion of generalised pleasure is discussed, highlighting

ABSTRACT In this article, the author explores the nature of design writing in the online environment by looking at everyday conversations of design: the written conversations that occur as a combination of a design-centred blog or social media post, its reader responses, and affordances of its platforms. This study focuses on the authorial activities of readers on graphic design blogs and social network

Abstract This article examines and discusses the connection and the role of service design in the wicked problem field. Many management theorists divide problems into three categories, simple, complex and wicked. The latter is the most difficult and requires specific methods and tools. Systematic literature review was performed to see what the relation and role of service design are in wicked problems

Abstract This article examines the emotive significance of culturally prominent patterns and sets out an agenda for their purposeful use in design. An exploratory study reviewed 16 distinct patterns and asked participants to judge to what extent a set of emotion terminology related to the aesthetic of each. The results suggest the dynamics of observing aesthetically complex pattern are both exciting

OVERVIEW For years now, design students have started to hold a conscious dialogue with materials, especially considering materials and their experiential attributes as designable elements. However, the design education focused on materials still struggles to keep pace with the practical needs of future designers and contradicts the technological and material world where we live. This study aims to

There are many books that flout the beauty of data visualization for the purpose of inspiration. Communication designers often look to glossy coffee table books like Knowledge is Beautiful and Info...

Abstract Emerged at the intersection of open-source, do-it-yourself and maker movements, and blurring of the lines among users, designers and producers, open design suggests a continuous process of co-designing open to everyone and demonstrates opportunities for repair, reuse and upgrading through transparent processes and design sharing. While such opportunities are conceptualized in literature, how

OVERVIEW Presenting inspirational triggers to designers is conducive to stimulating creativity. This study assessed the influence of different types of cultural inspiration triggers on design creativity. Each trigger was categorized into visual or textual information. In addition, the visual information was divided into complete and partial images, according to the degree of pictorial richness. The

Overview The field of engineering is a major contributor to the economic stability and growth of the UK and other economies. Therefore, the efficient operation of engineering companies and firms is vital. However, design projects undertaken by large engineering organizations are often beset with a number of problems and constraints that stem from the decision-making process and design process that

Abstract Understanding user experience has become an important part of product design, but doing it well remains challenging. Given the global market and the resulting ubiquity of cross-cultural design, to improve user experience, designers should accurately understand users from different cultures. The extent to which designers can empathize and understand users from different cultures is an under

Abstract Recent debate has seen the proposition that difficult to read, or disfluent, typefaces can improve certain learning conditions. This is counterintuitive for typography where it is the aim to support reading acts by creating texts that are as clear and as easy to read as possible. We explore recent literature on the disfluency effect in an effort to contextualize the results for typography

Abstract In this paper, we address the problem of poor academic prose. Academic writing style has crystallised into a format that is antithetical to its main purpose: to convey complex ideas understandably. We explore this issue from the perspective of design research for two reasons: (1) designers, being visual thinkers, may particularly struggle with the challenges of academic writing and (2) the

ABSTRACT This research addresses lack of a holistic and rigorous understanding of designers' information behaviour, through outlining seven dimensions for investigation, analysis, and capture of designers' use and requirements of information within the design process. ‘Practicing designers’ and ‘people information’ are focussed upon. Four initial information dimensions are outlined through literature

Abstract This paper presents a case study where participatory design practices were used to design a cultural museum and inaugural exhibition with designers from an Australian university and the Kelabit community in the Highlands of Borneo. We draw on experiences from fieldtrips, across a five-year period, investigating the exchange of expertise between participants. The findings show a shift in roles

Abstract This paper examines the change in the forms of employment of industrial designers between 1984 and 2018 in Turkey. The empirical data come from the graduates of the four oldest industrial design departments in the country. Utilizing multiple sources, we collected longitudinal data on forms of employment and duration of jobs for a total of 1205 individuals. Drawing on this data, we present

Abstract Contemporary design exhibits a transition from the design of objects (as things) towards the design of interactions between subjects and objects (as processes). Furthermore, subjects are no longer considered users, but rather persons (personal identities). These persons perceive what we design from an autonomous self-referred meaning organization, which allows them to make embodied value judgments

Abstract This article proposes a deep dive into the definitions and distinctive features of collaborative design to encourage a more precise use of the expression among design researchers and practitioners. Using a scoping review process, the article uses 75 peer-reviewed publications to find answers that identify and categorize its most fundamental features. Detailed keyword searches led to the emergence

Abstract As online virtual exhibitions become a central communication channel in museums, and both the communication and entertainment aspects of museums are being emphasized, various presentation methods are being adopted to attract visitors to such exhibitions. Therefore, this study examines the effect of virtual exhibition presentation methods on visitor communication and enjoyment, focusing on

Abstract Drawing is a powerful tool for industrial designers when presenting the potential of an idea to convince viewers. Thus, they should have an increased understanding of perspective drawing techniques. These techniques may still cause miscommunication between designers and viewers even though they are applied correctly. The present study examines whether the perspective drawing techniques in

+ Have we said that lately? I can’t say that we have, and yet without you – the readers, contributors, reviewers, gurus, ambassadors, stewards, mentors, critics – our journal simply would not be the same and, let’s be honest, nor would it function effectively. Upfront and on centre stage in each issue are the articles that have been double-blind peer-reviewed by an international peer-review network

Abstract Architectural Design Studio (ADS) is the most important course in architectural education due to the integrative nature of the knowledge acquired by the students through the formative process. In this course, the inclusion of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is generally not often considered to gather information on how the student is learning, losing the benefits of these

Abstract Dementia is one of the most common causes of disability among older adults. The design of supportive IT applications requires an understanding of the multitude of individual challenges faced by people living with dementia, as well as the knowledge of the condition per se. A scaffolding design process and the inclusion of appropriate experts might be the key. Our research for a supportive IT

Overview As a robotic application in artificial intelligence (AI), a social robot is designed for social communication and interactions with humans. Regarding human nature to anthropomorphize objectives, people’s trustworthiness perception towards a social robot is prominent in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). However, how to achieve a trustworthy looking for social robots is still a challenging problem

Abstract In recent years, the design community has started envisioning biology as a design medium and designers are entering laboratories to pursue designer-biologist collaborations. To ensure that these collaborations lead to rich outcomes, we need to better understand the roles performed by biologists and designers in these collaborations. In seven case studies of collaborations between designers

Abstract This paper examines different types of value created by design research in the UK. Given the significant economic, social and environmental challenges we currently face, funding bodies and governments are increasingly concerned with assessing the value and impact of design research. The value generated by design research is not always clearly articulated by the academic community and understood

Abstract This paper reviews existing characterizations of strategy from military, business and management studies and examines how these characterizations may help inform strategic design processes. The paper serves as an entry point for both design researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the rich and nuanced perspectives that such varied characterizations of strategy may provide

+ As I write this editorial, we are in a global state of emergency due to the Coronavirus, and the future remains uncertain. By the time you read this, it may have subsided as fast as it arrived and be consigned to history. More likely, it will still be a serious issue that we are in the throes of dealing with, or possibly it will be worse than at the time of writing with still no sign of a vaccine

OVERVIEW Despite the mainstreaming of smart devices, user abandonment of these devices remains an unresolved challenge. It is easy to come across users who have stopped using their smart devices, whether it be a smart watch or a voice assistant. This study explores the olfactory sense as an object of design practice, examining how designers can use the olfactory sense to design for an emotional experience

Overview Overweight and obesity are serious public health issues worldwide. Among the possible solutions for reducing overweight, design offers an opportunity to change eating and food environments. Tableware design in particular could be used to tackle the overweight problem. As part of my research on the effects of tableware design on eating habits, I have developed a crinkly plate prototype with

Abstract Identifying and analysing large amounts of online product reviews (OPR) have become a critical challenge for product design due to their valuable and insightful content. Despite the potential of the OPRs, designers cannot benefit from this opportunity because the analysis of the interpretations requires knowledge of different areas. This study proposes a novel framework for designers by utilizing

Abstract To understand the different interactive behavioural patterns of designers at different design capability level in collaborative design, this study tries to reveal the interactive behaviours in the novice team, competent team and expert team respectively. The results show that during collaborative design, the team members adopted 4 interactive behaviours alternately, which resulted in 12 interactive

Abstract Many challenges that confront today’s society are complex and dynamic and require new perspectives to arrive at solutions that could not be found before. Finding such new perspectives is part of a process called reframing and one of its key stages is theme investigation. Understanding a problem thoroughly is crucial for creating effective solutions and theme investigation offers insight into

Abstract Product Design has a digital future, but the changes in thinking and practice required of discipline leaders involve a paradigm shift, rather than an evolution. Rather than challenging existing cultures and conventional mass manufacturing expertise to create incremental change, it will be necessary to propose new digital product design themes that align with computer-based disciplines. This

Abstract As Internet of Things (IoT) technologies become embedded in public infrastructure, it is important that we consider how they may introduce new challenges in areas such as privacy and governance. Public technology implementations can be more democratically developed by facilitating citizen participation during the design process, but this can be challenging. This work demonstrates a novel method

+ Entering a new decade is an auspicious, exuberant time; bringing with it an invitation to recalibrate values and assumptions, people and place, time and energy. I suspect there is, or at least there should be, a longer pause when contemplating the potential residing in a 10-year void. Or not. Truth be told, when I think about the last decade and consider the largest project I was involved with, the

Abstract Cross-disciplinary initiatives are raising demand for participatory design methods that can be applied at different scales, from urban settlement planning to individual buildings. However, there is a gap in the literature in terms of participatory tools and processes for international design teams operating at the local level in geographically remote regions. This paper presents the findings

Abstract Picture books employing various design elements and formats that are intended to stimulate the senses are often used as reading materials to help children learn effectively. However, it is essential that parents, teachers, and designers understand children’s sensory preferences and needs. This study examines the various sensory stimuli in different picture book formats, thereby identifying

Abstract Achieving sustainability requires developing consistent solutions to global challenges impacting all levels and aspects of societies, including in crafts. The relatively new concept of sustainable craft is often used, but not clearly defined. This study views sustainable craft literature (N42) analytically using the concept analysis (C.A.) method in order to make sense of the concept and build

Abstract Pleasure is a crucial emotional tie between a product and its consumers. A humorous product design is a strategically critical move to increase pleasure. In general, humour is considered to engender positive emotions, while neglecting that the emotional range of humour is broad and multidimensional. Therefore, this study investigated the application of humour in product design, particularly

Abstract The article conceptualizes the ontology and aesthetics of digital objects. In the context of the article, digital objects are defined as designed objects that incorporate and employ digital technology. They include such products as smartphones, tablet computers and smart speakers, among others. The main point made in the article is that digital technology is changing object design. Digitization

Abstract Although the influence of toys and play activities on child development is a consistent research topic in psychological research, designing artefacts explicitly for social growth can be considered a novel topic in design research. This paper focuses on identifying design opportunities to develop toys and play activities to stimulate social skills in school age children. Twenty-two participatory

+ Well, here we are again at the start of a new year, and the first of another volume of the Design Journal, now in its 23 year. The cycle of growth continues. When founding editor Rachel Cooper started this journal, she often wrote in her editorials about the wide spread of subject matter that was submitted and appeared within its pages. This variety has continued ever since, and in fact has grown