DESIGN AS AN ENABLER FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
Research Strategies and Practices at Design School Kolding
Revitalising Democracy, Community and Industry
ABOUT DESIGN SCHOOL KOLDING Design School Kolding is an institution of further education under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The school educates designers at Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD levels within the fields of Communication Design, Textiles and Fashion, Industrial Design, and Accessory Design. In addition, the school offers a Master’s Degree Programme in Design Management in collaboration with the University of Southern Denmark and hosts the master level Interaction Design Programme at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. Design School Kolding was founded in 1967 and has been building its research environment since 2002. In 2010, the school received accreditation as university and research institution. The school gives priority to research collaboration, which includes research projects with private companies, public institutions and professional organisations. Also, the school works to inspire other professional areas to adopt the working methods of the designer and encourage companies to innovate through design.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2/ SUMMARY 5/ RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES AT DESIGN SCHOOL KOLDING
6/ THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF THE DESIGN EDUCATION
10/ RESEARCH THROUGH DESIGN
15/ AN INTIMATE SPACE FOR EXPERIMENTS
18/ DEVELOPING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS 20/ EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS
22/ PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGN RESEARCH 22/ 1. TAKING ON SOCIETAL CHALLENGES – DESIGN RESEARCH WITHIN THE FIELDS OF WELFARE AND WELLBEING 27/ 2. INVESTIGATING THE VALUE OF DESIGN 30/ 3. SUSTAINABILITY AND DESIGN FOR CHANGE: THE CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE OF ARTEFACTS AND EXPERIMENTS 34/ 4. DESIGN PROCESSES. DEVELOPING NEW METHODOLOGIES
38/ THE INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
41/ HONORARY AFFILIATE PROFESSORS
46/ PEOPLE, PROJECTS AND PUBLICATIONS
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SUMMARY Revitalising Democracy, Community, and Industry
Design School Kolding strives to create sustainable futures through design research. We want the deeper sense and nature of design, i.e. understanding and shaping the future, to inspire a sustainable society in terms of ecology and economics, politics and culture. Revitalising democracy
Prevailing democratic structures are inÂsufficient. They cannot compete with the massive environmental and economic challenges that face the world. Scientific design research and development work can use design methods to create new insights and build knowledge about what defines democracy, welfare and wellbeing in relation to citizens in order to propose better and more coherent societies. One of our research projects offers suggestions for how to include patients in the decision making process regarding their treatment and what inclusion and democracy mean in a hospital context. Revitalising community

The individual rather than the community has been at the centre of 20th century development. As a result, loneliness constitutes the number one health problem in the Western world. Therefore, it is essential that we as designers work to revitalise old forms of communities but also that we develop new ones that allow people
to create meaningful lives. In research we address this challenge through methods like Design Activism, which enables individuals to create positive change in places like cities, prisons and hospitals. One of our research projects explores the difficult relationships between inmates and their children and applies Emotional Design and Game Design to strengthen and sustain these relationships. Revitalising industry

19th and 20th century industry took its point of departure in these questions: What is profitable and what is technically possible? In the 21st century, the main question to ask is: What makes sense? Why should millions of people in Bangladesh risk their health to produce fashion, when new technology and creativity can revitalise local, sustainable forms of production? As designers we hold a special responsibility, and textile and fashion design research contributes by presenting new approaches to sustainability. One of our research projects investigates the consumption of garments and how to influence user behavior by creating better and more durable textiles and designs.
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RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES AT DESIGN SCHOOL KOLDING Introduction
Since Design School Kolding accepted its first PhD students in 2000, a substantial development has taken place within the field of design research. We chose a strategy that focusses on developing and raising the level of knowledge in the design field based on the core competencies of the design school’s disciplines. This approach has given the school a unique opportunity to create effective coherence between research and education, and it ensured Design School Kolding’s accreditation as a research institution in 2010. Today, the research team consists of a mixture of researchers with a design background, as well as researchers with different professional backgrounds, which ensures a broader knowledge base and a continuous development of the design research field. We still give priority to the cross fertilization between research and education, but we are also engaging in a much more deliberate integration between the three factions of knowledge: scientific research, artistic development work and practice. This takes place through partnership agreements with institutions and businesses and with our internal matrix organisation, which visualises and sustains the many cross collaborations. We have built local, national and international networks within which we are establishing research projects and collaborative ventures. Our vision is that our research should contribute new knowledge about the potentials
of design, both for our core competencies and our strategic approaches. This publication presents the current research strategies and practices at Design School Kolding. It introduces the essential research themes and presents a diversity of perspectives on “Research Through Design” focussing on design as an enabler for sustainable solutions. Enjoy! Irene Alma Lønne, PhD, Head of Research
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THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF THE DESIGN EDUCATION Knowledge from Practice, Artistic Development Work, and Scientific Research
Design School Kolding’s education has a triple knowledge base, which means that instruction is provided in subjects based on research, artistic development and practice. All knowledge producing members of the faculty – i.e. researchers and developers – are required to incorporate communication as a vital part of their activities at the school. The students acquire practical knowledge from guest lecturers and from direct knowledge exchange through partnerships and collaboration on projects with the design industry. From the start, Design School Kolding has chosen to employ designers with a PhD degree as researchers. This means that a number of the school’s instructors embrace several branches of knowledge: The artistic development based on their own design education, and research based on their PhD qualification. In addition, a unique feature is that many of the school’s instructors run their own design business part-time. The relationship between artistic development work and scientific research also demonstrates the valuable collaboration between research and education. Instruction at Design School Kolding is integrated as a regular and attractive part of a research position and researchers aim at integrating the knowledge gained through teaching in their research. The synergy between students and knowledge generation is ubiquitous.
Approach to research based education
The design education at Design School Kolding comprises a number of core subjects: Aesthetics, Form, Colour, Materials Instruction, Design Method, Narratives, Interaction and Emotion. The core curriculum is expressed in educational projects that involve strategic problems and challenges. The main strategic focal areas are Sustainability, Welfare and Wellbeing, and Play and Design.
“We put great importance into including the students as explicit co-producers in our knowledge production. I think that is unique compared to more traditional research institutions.” Poul Rind Christensen, Professor
Sustainable Futures
Sustainable Futures is the thematic umbrella we use to unite the different scientific research approaches at Design School Kolding. It is an umbrella under which we understand and conduct our research.
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Design has always been preoccupied with the future. It is embedded in the way designers work and think. The design process offers tools and ways through which the designer can understand, analyse, and create future objects or services. Creating futures is a core element of design and central for understanding the scope of design and the way design is used and understood. As such it is also a core element of design research. A key issue for the future is sustainability. How do we create futures that enable sustainable approaches? The idea of sustainability traditionally refers to ecology and economics: issues of consumption and products focusing on production, materials, re-cycling, etc. At Design School Kolding we like to define sustainability as also involving politics and culture – issues of welfare and social wellbeing – forming a direct link to our research areas.
Core Subjects, Education & Strategic Approaches Core Subjects:
Strategic Approaches:
Method
Welfare and Wellbeing
Form
Sustainability
Aesthetics
Play and Design
Materials Narratives Emotion Interaction Education: Fashion Design Textile Design Industrial Design Accessory Design Communication Design
Sustainable Futures frames what we are aiming at – namely a close relationship between the deeper sense and nature of design, i.e. understanding and shaping the future, and a sustainable society.
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RESEARCH THROUGH DESIGN Explorations in the Design Field
Design School Kolding’s strategy is to construct a strong research component built on design and the design discipline. The starting point has been to develop research together with and by the designers and through design and design methods. Design is evolving from a narrower concept (mostly related to design as form and products) into a wider concept that encompasses a variety of design-inspired approaches related to design as a problem solving activity engaging in users, developing processes, services, concepts and systems. The academisation of the design field in Denmark opened a great deal of questions on how to conduct meaningful and relevant research. How do we encompass traditional concepts of design and include new approaches to the design field? What type of research practice is appropriate to represent the specific designerly aspects of design such as creative processes, form, materials and craftsmanship? Developing the character of research
Design School Kolding has been dealing with these questions since the early 2000s. Since the school became an official research institution in 2010, the de-
velopment of the field has gained momentum. In brief, Design School Kolding conducts “Research Through Design”. This is more than just applying traditional research methods to a new subject matter. The expres-
sion is used to explicate how designerly methods are an integral part of the research process and output. The term “Research Through Design” was first introduced in 1993 by the British Professor Christopher Frayling to point at practice-based research as something more than traditional scientific approaches. Many researchers have since developed different practicebased methods that contribute to the design research field. Researchers at Design School Kolding have also been active contributors, and from our perspective some core themes are emerging. Exploring different ways in design research
Since the concept of design includes a broad field of practices, products and processes, there is no overarch-
ing agreement about what constitutes an appropriate method for design research. In other words, there are no clear principles about how to evaluate design research or even any established common forms of output. Whether there should even be an agreement is in itself part of the discussion. As such “Research Through Design” is an approach that embraces different methods and research interests. At Design School Kolding, however, there is a strong will to explore and advance the discussions about what it means to apply design methods in research practice – and how to do it.
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Characteristics of “Research Through Design”
potential of design thinking is the core interest. Conduct-
“Research Through Design” practices are carried out in different ways at Design School Kolding depending on the research interests and objects. Though quite diverse in character and subject matter, all projects share a few essential characteristics that are outlined here:
ing design experiments is a way of testing and producing
Making
The practice of doing and making as a methodology
A fundamental characteristic across the directions within
is also a way of practicing “Research Through Design”.
design research is the practice of making or doing. It is
Many researchers have explored methods for design
a common understanding that the use of design actions
experiments and thus contributed to the design
and experiments is promoting a more defined percep-
research field from the perspective of the methodo-
tion of a given situation or problem. It is through the act
logical foundation.
new theory. In this version of “Research Through Design” the knowledge obtained by exploring experiments is the core aim of the research. Turning design practice into methodology
of making that one can fully understand the implications of design.
Integrating research and teaching A strong current theme in “Research Through Design” at
Involving people
Design School Kolding is the integration of research and
Design research is not only happening in front of the
teaching. Students are often directly engaged in research
computer but in the interaction with users, partners and
projects and experiments. The strong link between the
stakeholders. Ensuring constructive dialogue with the
researchers and the students sustains a continuous
potential or actual users of design solutions and process-
culture of testing and experimenting.
es is a recurring theme across the board. And in many cases users, partners and stakeholders are involved in
REFERENCE
experiments or co-creation processes. The Role of Hypothesis in Constructive Design Research Design experiments as research objects
/ Bang, Anne Louise, Krogh Peter, Ludvigsen Martin,
Design solutions and products are rarely the sole aim
Markussen Thomas. The Art of Research Conference,
of design research. Rather the knowledge about the
Finland 2012. Peer reviewed/Paper.
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AN INTIMATE SPACE FOR EXPERIMENTS The PhD School
The PhD students at Design School Kolding are part of a creative environment where research and design practice are deeply connected. The strong combination of theory and hands-on work forms a highly practice-driven research environment. Here, traditional academic approaches are combined with new ways of understanding and exploring the field of design.
Design is a relatively new field of academic research at the Danish design schools. Setting up the right framework for doing a PhD in design requires an understanding of both new and old research methods and practices. Together with Aarhus School of Architecture, Assistant Professor Anne Louise Bang and Associate Professor Thomas Markussen have developed three interlinked PhD courses about design experiments as research methods forming the “Constructive Design Research” PhD school. The PhD courses about design research are also seen as a way to help pave the way for the role of design research in the research field, and the interest in the current courses highlights the relevance. The researchers have also developed new knowledge based on their work at the PhD school. Through a variety of conference papers they are helping to inform, build and extend the knowledge about scientific design research.
Room for co-creation and experiments
The fact that the PhD programme at Design School Kolding is still in the making gives the PhD students the possibility of participating in the development of the programme. The PhD students’ individual process, approach and subject matter can influence the programme’s character and content. PhD students often conduct new types of teaching and experimentation related to their research projects. As part of this approach, the voices of design students are often included in the PhD projects. One example is Karen Marie Hasling’s project, where she works closely with the students and includes their reflections as part of her data production. Hasling is interested in product designers’ use of materials and integrates this interest in her course by inviting students to reflect on their use of and knowledge about materials. The research environment also challenges PhD students to seek collaborative efforts and to network outside the institution. Design School Kolding actively encourages the PhD students to create new relationships both inside and outside the design field. This broadens the field of design research and generates value for the PhD students and for the school.
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”The unique quality of being a PhD student at Design School Kolding is the non-hierarchical culture. Everybody, students, researchers and employees, knows each other by name. It is clearly one of the major differences of being a PhD student at a smaller institution.” Karen Marie Hasling, PhD Student
The PhD programme is an internationally recognised research programme and an independent extension of the Master’s degree programme. The programme qualifies the student to carry out research, development and teaching assignments at an international level in both the private and the public sector. The PhD programme comprises:
· A research project in the form of a thesis, which is publicly defended
· Participation in PhD courses corresponding to 30 ECTS · A stay at another institution (typically abroad) · Participation in seminars and conferences · Involvement in teaching and communication related to the study The programme is standardised to 180 ECTS, corresponding to three years of full-time study.
”I am very interested in the characteristics of research through design. What does it mean to be a designer in research? Mainly that the practice-driven focus plays an important role in defining design research.” Nevena Jensen, PhD Student
17/ DK: 2014 ONGOING PHD PROJECTS 2014: Constraints in Design Processes / PhD Student Sidse Ansbjerg Bordal
Through empirical studies and experiments, Sidse Bordal’s PhD project examines how designers work with various types of self-imposed rules and dogmas – constraints – and how these impact the design process. Framing the Body / PhD Student Ulla Ræbild
The objective of Ulla Ræbild’s project is to provide the field of fashion with new, research-based knowledge about its design methodology and the importance hereof in the formation of professional identity. The research originates in phenomenological theory and takes its point of departure in lived experiences and current practices. Management of Design Processes in Multicultural Environment / PhD Student Nevena Jensen
The focus of Nevena Jensen’s PhD study is to understand the virtual team collaboration as an integral part of design processes, where virtual teams are distributed across heterogeneous cultures. The study also investigates issues connected with global virtual team management in multicultural environments and their impact on co-located teams in each country. New Materials and the Establishment of an Optimal Framework for Dissemination
innovative approach within fashion research, which combines ethnological user surveys with overall cultural-theoretical questions in order to make a detailed analysis of clothes consumption among men. The Use of Memory as a Theme in Italian and Danish Jewellery Design / PhD Student Sisse Tanderup
The purpose of Sisse Tanderup’s project is to examine the use of the memory theme in jewellery design by outstanding Danish and Italian jewellery designers after 1945 in order to determine whether the memory dimension could contribute to a better theoretical insight into the relevance of jewellery design. Transforming Statistics into Infographics / PhD Student Pia Pedersen
Pia Pedersen’s project examines the role of the designer in data visualisation and the impact of the designer’s transformation process on the formulation of data visualisation. This could provide the designers with new strategies and methods they can use in their data visualisation research. When the Wind Blows / DONG Energy / Industrial PhD Student Louise Buch Løgstrup
Louise Buch Løgstrup’s project investigates the possibility of creating user-driven innovation by combining the fields of anthropology and design. In collaboration with an energy company, the user is included, not just as a consumer, but also as a co-creator of business concepts and as a co-producer of sustainable energy.
/ PhD Student Karen Marie Hasling
Karen Marie Hasling’s PhD dissertation seeks to analyse and develop the design students’ consciousness about materials in order to establish a knowledge platform for new designers which improves their opportunities to make the correct choice of materials, e.g. in sustainable product development. The Daily Selection. What We Know About What We Wear / PhD Student Else Skjold
The key element in Else Skjold’s PhD research is the development of wardrobe analyses. This is a new and
With Aesthetics in Mind/ Rambøll Management / Industrial PhD Student Tine Ebdrup
Tine Ebdrup’s project aims to develop processes and tools that can be used to articulate aesthetic qualities in co-design processes involving users and other stakeholders.
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DEVELOPING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS Engaging with Society
Design School Kolding is maintaining and developing numerous collaborative efforts and partnerships with a variety of partners. Through engagement in regional, national and international activities, Design School Kolding works to strengthen the ability to create societal value through design and research.
Design School Kolding collaborates and partners with a range of renowned companies and institutions. Private sector collaboration has been established with ambitious innovators such as LEGO and ECCO. Public welfare institutions such as hospitals, municipalities and prisons are also familiar collaborators. The nature of the collaborations varies from artistic-based development projects, where designers respond to challenges or assignments, to scientific research and teaching also involving longterm development projects. These different collaboration ventures are considered crucial in developing new knowledge that can tap into – and ultimately change – everyday practices. Thus, the three branches of Design School Kolding, education, scientific research and artistic development, all stress the importance of maintaining and developing the links to outside users and practices. Throughout the education, students are trained to approach the world outside the school, working with genuine design challenges and actual users. Companies, organisations and institutions are
directly involved in the teaching through cases, projects and internships. Interaction between education, research and industry is an integral part of the design education. Moving perceptions and practices within design research
With this partner-oriented approach, Design School Kolding is challenging and developing traditional perceptions and practices within design teaching and research. The close collaboration with businesses and institutions as well as designers and researchers from national and international educational institutions requires news tools and methods. Design research at Design School Kolding strives to contribute to an increased understanding of how design-driven processes and solutions can develop and innovate society. Collaborative research agreements
Design School Kolding collaborates with the surrounding society through the establishment of multi-year agreements with private companies or public organisations. In these agreements the school emphasises a synergy between the players. We seek a combination where our partners are relevant for the school’s core competencies (Communication Design, Industrial Design, Textile, Fashion and Accessory Design) and address our strategic objectives within Welfare and Wellbeing, Sustainability, and Play and Design.
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EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS Kopenhagen Fur & Lillebaelt Hospitals
Kopenhagen Fur
Kopenhagen Fur is Denmark’s main player within the fur industry and a leader in the international market. In 2013, Design School Kolding established a collaborative agreement with Kopenhagen Fur with sustainability as the core concept in relation to fashion, materials and users. The agreement also includes a research project. Under the common heading ‘Fur as a Sustainable Material’, four postdoc students will embark on an analysis of the field from four different perspectives: the designer, the material, the user, and the company. The four post-doc students are all finishing their PhD dissertations at Design School Kolding and are transferring their knowledge straight into the collaborative project. The purpose of the research project is to provide an overview of fur in a sustainability context and contribute knowledge on the subject to the textile industry as well as the fashion industry in general. In addition to research, the agreement includes teaching and development projects. Kopenhagen Fur has established a fur workshop at Design School Kolding where the students have the opportunity to work with the actual material. Lillebaelt Hospitals
By signing the collaboration agreement with Lillebaelt Hospitals, Design School Kolding took a decisive step to emphasise its serious engagement in welfare and wellbeing.
Lillebaelt Hospitals consists of five hospitals in the Region of Southern Denmark. The agreement, which was reached in 2012 and initiated in the course of 2013, incorporates research, development and educational projects. In addition, the first Danish professor in welfare design (MSO – with special responsibilities) has been appointed. The first projects were launched in 2013. They all take their point of departure in reality and actual day-to-day needs at the hospitals. A central theme and strategic effort at the hospital is the area of “Shared Decision Making,” which focusses on how to involve patients in their own treatment in a sensible and meaningful manner. Projects with Lillebaelt Hospitals
In her post-doc project Assistant Professor Eva Knutz focusses on cancer patients at Vejle Hospital. Through vari-
ous design-related research methods she has studied the premises and developed tools which can assist the patients in the decision process (read more about the project in the article about welfare and wellbeing p. 22). After completion, the project will be followed by an artistic development project within the same subject. A new one-year post-doc project about patient safety is due for launch. Furthermore, we have completed an instructional course for Industrial Design students in collaboration with Kolding Hospital and also an artistic development project about wayfinding at Middelfart Hospital.
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KOPENHAGEN FUR
run for five years. A Professor with Special Responsibili-
About the Kopenhagen Fur agreement
ties was appointed in 2014 as part of the agreement,
The collaboration agreement with Kopenhagen Fur
and he divides his time between Lillebaelt Hospitals and
covers a period of three years and includes research,
Design School Kolding. The professorship focusses on
development and training. Kopenhagen Fur collaborates
welfare design within the healthcare sector specifically
with 20 design schools all over the world, Design School
geared towards hospitals, so that they can meet future
Kolding being the primary Danish institution and the only
challenges in the areas of services, products, etc. With
one which incorporates research.
his strong international profile within the field of Human Computer Interaction, Professor Andrea Corradini is able
Facts about the company
to draw on his research experiences within technology
Kopenhagen Fur is the world’s largest auction house for
and communication.
fur and a global centre for the fur trade. It is a cooperative owned by Danish mink breeders who play a leading role
The agreement also includes a range of projects within
globally within the mink breeding industry. In addition, it is
research,development and teaching. In addition, rela-
a flagship of Danish fashion and design. The furs are sold
tionships and mutual understanding are built through
at five annual auctions each lasting one week. During an
workshops, seminars and common fundraising activities.
auction period, over five million mink furs may be sold creating a turnover of some DKK 3 billion (approx 402
Facts about Lillebaelt Hospitals
million Euro).
Lillebaelt Hospitals consists of the hospitals in Fredericia, Give, Kolding, Middelfart and Vejle. Its annual turnover
The Danish mink breeders are rated as the best in the
is DKK 31 billion (approx. 4.15 billion Euro). The hos-
world, and Danish mink furs are in high demand being
pital puts strong emphasis on development, research
priced at 20-30 per cent above foreign mink furs.
activity, effective procedures and patient satisfaction, and several times it has been named the best hospital in
LILLEBAELT HOSPITALS About the Lillebaelt Hospitals agreement The joint agreement between Lillebaelt Hospitals, Design School Kolding and the Region of Southern Denmark will
Denmark by the magazine Dagens Medicin.
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PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGN RESEARCH/1 Taking on Societal Challenges – Design Research within the Fields of Welfare and Wellbeing
Design is increasingly recognised as a catalyst for new solutions within welfare systems by bringing humancentred innovation competencies to the table. Taking an active role in addressing societal challenges is an integral goal in Design School Kolding’s research strategy.
Evidence that the domain of design is expanding can be tracked in many fields. Design is increasingly entering strategic development processes in both the public and the private sector. Institutions and companies are discovering that applied design can be more than just functional and beautiful objects: design-driven projects can help the understanding of people and systems. Ultimately, design thinking can lead to services and processes that are more meaningful and intuitive for their users. This amplified interest in implementing and integrating design thinking in the workflows of institutions and companies puts new demands on design research. It is more important than ever to develop insights about where and how design can benefit society. Research at Design School Kolding explores these new directions within the field of design and looks at emerging design practices and design methods. Designing for democracy
The public sector is challenged by a simultaneous
increase in the expectations of welfare services and a demand for a more efficient public sector. In this context, rethinking and redesigning welfare and wellbeing is a prerequisite in order to uphold a functional welfare system. Design School Kolding is taking part in a variety of initiatives within welfare, wellbeing and design. We are increasingly providing design research addressing welfare services and in relation to specific social contexts like hospitals, prisons and cities. Here, Associate Professor Thomas Markussen and Assistant Professor Eva Knutz are focussing on the role of democracy and future citizenship, which they explore and challenge through various design research methods. One post-doc project focusses on shared decision making in hospitals and patient democracy. The project is integrated into the partnership agreement between Design School Kolding and Lillebaelt Hospitals. The research project uses Design Activism to reconsider and renegotiate the roles and rights of patients. Design Activism is used as a method to uncover and disrupt power structures through design experiments. The ambition is to empower people in relation to the systems we often take for granted. In her post-doc research, Assistant Professor Eva Knutz has participated in a number of hospital consultations about cancer diagnosis and examined how “shared decision making” is practised. Through experiments such as roleplay, it is possible to recount the power
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“Fiction is often used within the design field to create personas. It is a good way to create an emotional framework around the users. We are developing the method in relation to an entire society. This opens up for new ideas of how to create value and new growth models in society when the current structures of society are gone.” Thomas Markussen, PhD, Associate Professor
structures of the consultations and visualise challenges related to patient democracy. One example is exclusion of the patient while the doctor and the nurse discuss her treatment in front of a computer screen that is invisible to the patient. The design experiments create alternative realities that include the patient in the conversation. These research results could potentially enhance democratic practices in patient-doctor consultations.
Another study explores how inmates and their children interact during visiting hours in prison. The study addresses the emotional aspects of having a father in prison and investigates how narrative plots in a game can cultivate social relationships between the inmate and the child. These types of design experiments with game prototypes can bring new insights into the constructive use of game design in serious contexts. Health and wellbeing
“Emotion driven approaches to design have a tendency to focus too narrowly on the user’s felt and sensed emotions, while the question of what people may get out of experimenting with imaginative experiences of emotion through game and fiction is left largely unaddressed.” Eva Knutz, PhD, Assistant Professor
A different approach to this area of research is based on the collaboration between Design School Kolding and Lillebaelt Hospitals. Here, Professor in Welfare Design Andrea Corradini is working on bridging the gap between the technological solutions and the users/ patients. Andrea Corradini works partly at the hospital in close relationship with the clinical, research and administrative staff. Thus, he is creating a network and a deeper understanding of the problems seen from the hospital’s point of view. A research angle from the technical sciences combined with the foundation at Design School Kolding will enable us to add yet another layer to the research into welfare and wellbeing and contribute improved solutions and more knowledge to the technological aspects of the field.
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REFERENCES Designing for Democracy: Using Design Activism to Renegotiate the Roles and Rights for Patients / Knutz, Eva; Markussen, Thomas; Mårbjerg Thomsen, Signe & Ammentorp, Jette. 2014: Proceedings of the DRS Conference. Umeå, Sweden. The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design between Art and Politics / Markussen, Thomas. 2013: In Design Issues, Vol. 29, No. 1.
Design Activism “In Design Activism the activist act is not taking the form of a political protest. Instead it is seen as a form of resistance done in a designerly or artistic way. The purpose is to rupture and uncover the self-evidence with which a system of power generally distributes roles and possible actions – for example determining who has the right to speak and what is seen as appropriate or not.” Thomas Markussen
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PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGN RESEARCH/2 Investigating the Value of Design
Design School Kolding researchers conduct research into human-centred design and explorations of when and how design matters to public and private organisations.
Human-centred design as an approach to innovating organisations involves working with stakeholders, observing, documenting and inquiring. Research shows that this kind of approach often creates value for organisations by offering in-depth understanding of the context, the challenges and the needs of an organisation. The deep understanding enables the identification of key opportunities for improving the organisation’s services. The increased focus on the innovative power of organisations underscores the demand for knowledge about how organisations understand and handle design. Design can, in this context, be understood as an enabler that helps bridge technological or material opportunities and needs in society. Through their work, design researchers at Design School Kolding generate tools that can help organisations develop new design sensibilities and capabilities. One example is Associate Professor Sabine Junginger’s development of the visual tool; the Four Bubbles Model. The model visualises four ways of relating design thinking to the larger organisation. Organisations, such as Microsoft and Boston Design Management Institute, are using the tool to help them explore the places and roles
they currently assign design and the role they envision design to have in the future. Design thinking changes organisations
The value of design in organisations is also addressed at Design School Kolding through the theoretical perspective of entrepreneurship. In line with Junginger’s model of the relationship between design thinking and its role within organisations and companies, Professor Poul Rind Christensen is working on how design can bring new insight to management. His research points at the importance of letting design play a decisive role in challenging the traditional management rationalities. Far too often design is merely seen as an add-on or simply as a tool to develop products. However, design has the potential to alter the very manner in which an organisation functions and business is carried out. Entrepreneurship theory highlights the potential of disrupting the frameworks of established organisational processes. Through original ideas, entrepreneurs can generate new business opportunities and models. Many of the most successful innovations draw on design thinking focussing on developing solutions that create tangible value for the user. As this is a competitive factor for both public and private organisations, it is essential to understand the full value of design thinking in organisations.
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SEPARATE Design as external resource
PERIPHERAL Design as part of the organisation
CENTRAL
INTEGRATED
Design at the core of the
Design integral to all aspects of
organisation
the organisation
Design thinking & design methods
Design thinking & design methods
have to be continuously present
are practiced somewhere in the
Design thinking & design methods
Design thinking & design methods
in the organisation
organisation
are highly visible and take a
are being applied at the organisa-
central position
tion’s top level as means to inquire
Design thinking & design methods
Design thinking & design methods
are add-ons and limited to
apply to specific products &
Design thinking & design methods
problems with the aim to develop
traditional design problems of
services
unify products & services across
integrated solutions
form, communication, function
into a wide range of organisational
an organisation; apply to corporate design, corporate identity
Research at Design School Kolding highlights how entrepreneurship concepts work as a mediator between organisational and management theories and design thinking – the great potential and value that creative approaches generate in organisations and companies. Design innovation is characterised by co-creation, that means involving users, employees and other relevant stakeholders in the design process and thus in the value creation process. This can help to ensure that innovative solutions are valuable and relevant. Furthermore, design thinking can visualise potential scenarios and strategies, which helps make unrealised futures tangible to users and stakeholders.
REFERENCES Design & Innovation in the Public Sector: Matters of Design in Policy-Making and Policy Implementation / Junginger, Sabine. 2013: Annual Review of Policy Design, Vol. 1, No. 1, ISSN 2291-6989, 12. pp. 1-11. Peer review/Journal.
Design and Innovation: Organizational Culture as Making / Christensen, Poul Rind; Junginger, Sabine. 2013: Paper presented at European Academy of Design Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden. Peer review/Paper.
”The public sector remains a fascinating arena for design. (...) Organizations, from employment agencies to healthcare departments to educational institutions, social services and tax offices, serve a crucial function in enhancing everyday human living.” Sabine Junginger, Associate Professor
The Four Bubbles Model illustrates four possible relationships between design thinking (the dot) and the entire organisation (the circle). Design in the Organization: Parts and Wholes / Junginger, Sabine. 2009: Design Research Journal (2/09), the Swedish Design Council (SVID) 23-29.
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PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGN RESEARCH/3 Sustainability and Design for Change: The Constructive Role of Artefacts and Experiments
Increasingly, design research is exploring how to develop sustainable products and services. At Design School Kolding, research is addressing a range of sustainability issues related to design, production and use. There is a strong emphasis on sustainable fashion and textiles as well as a passion for investigating people’s perceptions of materials and quality.
As an essential part of everyday life, clothes are literally something that touches us all. Yet, this is not only true on a personal level. The textile and garment industry is a huge global business with a massive business potential and big impact on the environment. In fact business analysts predict that fashion will become even bigger in the future. However, the production of textile fibres, fabrics and the final garments is highly polluting and resource demanding. Sustainable production thus poses a significant challenge to companies operating in a global production system. We need new ways of thinking. At Design School Kolding research through design aims at developing more sustainable products and services. We address sustainability issues from different perspectives, some grounded in materials and life-cycle thinking, others in participatory design, social innovation, wardrobe studies, aesthetics, emotion and experience theories. We apply new research of understanding people’s perception of the quality of materials and textiles in garments.
“Introducing sketching in the research process or in teaching gives a more indepth understanding of the academic texts or design processes that you are investigating. Thus sketching becomes an important learning tool for discussing, exploring and understanding research as well as design practice.” Anne Louise Bang, PhD, Assistant Professor
Because design works through visual, tactile and other sensual properties, our researchers are developing specific ‘designerly’ methods to gather empirical data. Design research as sensory experiments
One of our ongoing research project focusses on how to grasp people’s perceptions of textiles and garments. This is an intricate task, and the researchers are faced with methodological challenges. Here design research is po-
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tentially important as a means of capturing experiences beyond language and of introducing new perspectives into more traditional research fields. Tactile sensing plays an important role within textile and fashion design. To the users this kind of experience is so familiar that it is hardly noticeable and consequently they do not consciously reflect on it. Experimenting with new design research methods emphasising sensual experiences of tactility is the agenda of Assistant Professer Anne Louise Bang and Associate Professer Vibeke Riisberg. The ambition is to investigate how tactile sensation of materials in garments can enhance consumer awareness of quality and the value of textiles. The aim of the research is ultimately to prolong the lifetime of garments and other textile products by promoting an increased scholarly, educational and professional focus on sustainability in the field of textiles and fashion. The “Repertory Grid” as tool
The researchers employ a number of dialogue tools and methods – one of them being the “Repertory Grid” originally invented within the field of psychotherapy in the 1950s. In her PhD project “Emotional Value of Applied Textiles” Bang develops a variation of the “Repertory Grid” method which is used to create dialogue about intangible concepts such as emotional value in re-
lation to applied interior textiles. The research produced insights about experimental and participatory methodology that have been continued and further developed in other research projects at Design School Kolding. Lately the “Repertory Grid” method is being tested to develop a shared language about textile qualities among high school students. In this particular case, the test persons were blindfolded in order to focus only on touch and body sensing when evaluating fabrics and specially constructed garments. By isolating the tactile senses, the test persons gained awareness of different quality aspects of textiles and were able to articulate their experiences and insights in new ways. Visual ways of developing theory
Many design researchers conduct methodological research, promoting research through design practices as a vehicle for alternative theory construction. Researchers at Design School Kolding are contributing to this field of research. “Dynamic Research Sketching” is an example of methodological research developed at Design School Kolding by Anne Louise Bang, Thomas Markussen and Eva Knutz. This approach introduces a visual reflection and practice in theory construction and the understanding of different research processes. “Dynamic Research Sketching”
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“In the blindfolding experiments the participants have to create meaning through sensing with their hands and sometimes the whole body. The purpose of these exercises is to develop a tactile awareness that can be expressed in words. Thus the aim of our research is to develop dialogue tools and methods that can support designers and companies in bringing more sustainable products and services to the market as well as educating the users.” Vibeke Riisberg, PhD, Associate Professor
includes theory construction as an integral part of the research process by sketching the different aspects of experiments and their influence on knowledge development. Sketching is a central technique within the design discipline. It is used as a technique for mapping and understanding how theory and practice relate to one another. Ultimately, the development of theories can stem from the process of designing and making an artefact. This research points to how theory can contribute to the design practice and how experiments can contribute to theory development.
The Repertory Grid as a Tool for Dialogue about Emotional Value of Textiles / Bang, Anne Louise. 2013; The Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice, vol 1, issue 1, pp. 9-26.
“Dynamic Research Sketching” “Dynamic Research Sketching” is an explanatory tool useful for mapping and understanding how research through design can be a vehicle for theory construction. In short, sketching is used as a reflective tool in order to understand ways in which theory and practice develop and relate to one another during a research project. It is dynamic in the sense that – throughout a research project – it uncovers connections, relations, hierarchies
REFERENCES
and dependencies between various elements in the study. Thus sketching enables us to explain the construc-
Articulating Material Criteria
tive role of design experiments in the formation of a new
/ Hasling, Karen Marie. 2013: Paper presented at Nor-
theory.
des. Peer review/Paper. The “Repertory Grid” Designerly Ways to Theoretical Insight:
Originally the “Repertory Grid” technique was developed
Visualization as a means to explore, discuss
as a one-on-one interview technique in psychotherapy.
and understand design theory
In design research, the procedure of a “Repertory
/ Bang, Anne Louise; Friis, Silje A.K. & Gelting Anne
Grid” can serve as a tool for dialogue in the sense that it
Katrine. Accepted for publication June 2014: Proceed-
enables a group of participants to establish a common
ings of Design Research Society Conference, Umeå,
platform for in-depth dialogue. This platform can be
Sweden.
refined e.g. to concentrate on the emotional aspects of
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textiles. Typically, the participants will establish a dialogue discussing ways in which two “elements” (e.g. garments) are similar to one another but divergent from a third “element”.
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PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGN RESEARCH/4 Design Processes. Developing New Methodologies
The transformation of Design School Kolding into a research based education has opened up a new, systematic reflection on the field of design practice and research methodology.
“A great part of my teaching has been experimenting with methods to get the students to reflect on their design process. They have to ask themselves ‘what kind of knowledge do I produce, when I design?’ I often challenge the students to visualise their knowledge.” Anne Katrine G. Gelting, Associate Professor
Design has developed into what has become known as the “extended design concept”. Design refers not only to the way we form and craft objects, but to complex elements: systems, interfaces and organisations. “Design” thus points to problem-solving processes and outcomes where the end product can be physical as well as conceptual or relational.
Changes in design research
The extension of the concept of design means that design research today is fundamentally different from what it was just twenty years ago. Societal issues and research projects were hard to find in the 1980s, but now they constitute a principal part of contemporary design research. The new context requires reflective design researchers who are capable of taking part in the development of new methods and approaches to meet the challenges of complex design processes. With the inclusion of other academic traditions, such as anthropology, sociology and psychology, the field of design is changing into an interdisciplinary field that allows for previously unseen ways of thinking about design methods and processes. The research group at Design School Kolding have a common interest in developing reflective design methods in relation to all branches of design – from technical and product design to immaterial fields like service design and design management. An overview of the researchers’ work illustrates how broad the methodology of design is and the complexity of defining it. This complexity of design methods and processes in general is also being addressed by a number of researchers. The work includes mapping and investigating the various design methods and design processes that students, teachers and design professionals use – consciously as well as unconsciously – when they are designing.
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“When design became a research field, we had an entire field that was not yet described. That also included no existing teaching materials on how to reflect on design processes and methods. Now we have built a common language that enables us to do just that.” Lone Dalsgaard André, Head of Education
Developing tools for reflective design processes
Through research and teaching, the researchers at Design School Kolding study how designers work with and handle the various stages of a design process. The research contributes to the theoretical and methodological developments in the field of design, which can form the basis for the distribution and use of design methods in other fields of both academia and practice. A tangible output developed from research is a physical and visual collection of Method Cards that students and design professionals can bring to the table during a design process. The method collection relates to the complexity of the design process where designers undergo different stages from conception, research and development in an iterative process. Working with design poses difficult questions such as: How do we come up with the great idea? How do we ensure and promote creativity? There are no simple answers to these questions. Nevertheless, design research shows how working systematically with rules can enhance creativity and push processes forward. The ambition of the Method Cards is to provide various dogmas and constraints. An example could be proposing to work with a certain tool such as “Data Visualisation” during a certain phase of a process. This can strengthen the practice, awareness and reflection of the different steps of a design process. The method collection is based on research about conscious
design practices as a strategic tool in design companies and design approaches among students at Design School Kolding. Research by Associate Professor Silje A. K. Friis outlines how design approaches can be categorised within a diagram that operates with tension between unframed and framed problem-solving and explicit versus implicit process language. The diagram highlights four different types of approaches within these poles: The “Scientific Design”, “Research based Design”, “Experience based Design” and “Artful Design”. The research aims at understanding and communicating how designers work, and it presents knowledge about what kind of challenges and questions design research can approach and answer – conversely what types of answers design research can potentially bring about.
Design research concerning methods and processes has become the heart of Design School Kolding’s education. Associate Professors Silje A. K. Friis and Anne Katrine G. Gelting have developed the collection of Method Cards which has become a central part of the curriculum. An ambition for the school is to educate design students with a high level of reflection about their design competencies as well as a strong and grounded ability to make them explicit. Being a research based education involves teaching design methodology
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ARTFUL DESIGN Research as Inspiration
SCIENTIFIC DESIGN Open Ended Research
IMPLICIT PROCESS LANGUAGE
EXPLICIT PROCESS LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE DESIGN Traditionel Design Research
RESEARCH BASED DESIGN Solution Focused Research
FRAMED PROBLEM SOLVING
and philosophy of science. Working with tools like the Method Cards is one way to develop and strengthen a language for talking about design methodology. Physical tools that visualise the methods make it easier for students as well as researchers and design professionals to reflect on their approach and be aware of when the process is an unconscious, artistic practice and when it is a conscious and reflective design process.
DSKD Method Cards consist of 62 cards within five categories: Collaborate Connect Comprehend Conceptualize Create
REFERENCES Conscious Design Practice as a Strategic Tool / Friis, Silje A. K. 2007: Industrial PhD. Designmetode i praksis p책 Designskolen Kolding / Gelting, Anne Katrine G. 2010: DK:Lab, Design School Kolding. Including Diversity in Creative Teamwork in Design Education / Friis, Silje A.K. Published online: 4 March, 2014: International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Denmark. Peer review/Journal. Traditional designers have found themselves in the bottom left corner developing specific products through an artistic, unspoken design process. Today, design agencies and consultants are increasingly developing services where they move upward in the model, i.e. where they identify a design challenge or area through an open/unframed approach. In this case, they have either a very explicit design process or a more artistic approach. (Silje A. K. Friis, 2007)
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THE INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Engaging with the Research Community
Design School Kolding values international relations and partners and aims to have an international advisory board of the highest standard. The board members help keep the school’s research strategy in line with international developments in design research and education. Participation in international research activities is vital to building knowledge and ensures that the school’s research strategy is in keeping with, and contributes to, international design research. The school’s advisory board consists of researchers from recognised research and development institutions in the field of design research. Members of the Advisory Board 2010-2015:
Richard Buchanan / Professor, Department Chair and Professor at Design & Innovation, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA Richard Buchanan is a professor of design, management and information systems. He is the coeditor of Design Issues, the international journal of design history, theory, and criticism published by MIT Press and is also a widely published author and frequent speaker. He is known for extending the application of design into new areas of theory and practice, writing and teaching as well as practicing the concepts and methods of design.
Ellen Dissanayake / Affiliate Professor; Author and Lecturer, School of Music, University of Washington, USA Ellen Dissanayake has taught at schools and universities throughout the world, including Ball State University in Indiana, the University of Alberta, Edmonton, the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Western Australia as well as Sarah Lawrence College and the New School for Social Research in New York City. Her work focusses on the anthropological exploration of art and culture and she is credited for re-defining art as “making special” as well as claiming that art is a need as fundamental to humans as food, warmth or shelter. William B. Gartner / Professor, California Lutheran University, USA, and Copenhagen Business School, Denmark William B. Gartner holds a joint apppointment at California Lutheran University and Copenhagen Business School. In 2012 he received a Fellowship from the Batten Institute at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia to support his research and writing. His current scholarship focusses on entrepreneurial behaviour, the rhetoric of entrepreneurial practice, and the hermeneutics of possibility and failure.
39/ DK: 2014 Tuuli Mattelmäki / Associate Professor, Department of Design, Aalto University School of Arts, Helsinki, Finland Tulli Mattelmäki is the Encore team’s leader and associate professor at the Department of Design at Aalto University. Her starting point for research is in empathic design and explorative methods in user-centred design, design probes in particular. She describes her current research interests as concerning creative codesign methods in design for services, as well as the new application contexts of designerly approaches. Janet McDonnell / Professor, Associate Dean of Research, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts, London, United Kingdom Professor McDonnell is Editor-in-Chief of the journal CoDesign and is a member of the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council peer review college. Her research interests are in design processes and in studying design and other kinds of professional work in its natural setting where many competing practical pressures are at play. Her focus is on different means of making practices ‘visible’ e.g. the methods in use, the decision-making behaviour, how ideas get introduced and established, the informational bases that individuals and groups rely on, and the influences of assumptions and norms. Johan Redström / Professor of Design, Institute of Design, Umeå University, Sweden Johan Redström is a member of the Editorial Team of International Journal of Design, the Editorial Advisory Board for Artifact and the board of Nordes. He has a background in philosophy, music and interaction design. In his research, he aims at combining philosophical and artistic approaches with a focus on experimental design, critical practice and the aesthetics of information technology as material in design.
Saras Sarasvathy / Associate Professor of Business Administration, Professor in Entrepreneurship, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India Saras D. Sarasvathy is a member of the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Ethics area at Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. In 2007, she was named one of the top 18 entrepreneurship professors by Fortune Small Business Magazine. She received her PhD. in Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University, supervised by Herbert Simon, 1978 Nobel Laureate in Economics. She is a leading scholar on the cognitive basis for high-performance entrepreneurship and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Business. Martin Woolley / Professor, Associate Dean of Applied Research, Coventry University, United Kingdom With an early background in three dimensional and industrial designs, Martin Woolley’s research interests have broadened to encompass design-related aspects of the innovation process, i.e. how design concepts evolve and move into the public domain, either in a commercial or societal context. Recently, he has moved into a research project management role. He is a Fellow on the Design Research Society Council. The common theme for much of his research is an investigation of how products, services and systems can be optimised from the user perspective, when they are technologically innovative. Lou Yongqi / Professor, Vice Dean, College of Design & Innovation of Tongji University, Tongji University, Shanghai, China Lou Yongqi is also visiting professor at the School of Art, Design and Architecture at Aalto University in Finland. He serves on the boards of Cumulus, Alta Scuola Politecnica, DESIS and Design Issues. He focuses on interdisciplinary sustainable design education, research and practice. His approach combines citizen involvement, a broad view of economics that includes factors typically considered intangible, and a long-term perspective on sustainability.
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HONORARY AFFILIATE PROFESSORS Engaging with the Design Community
Design School Kolding considers integration of knowledge from the highest practical level to be a vital part of its triple knowledge base. Hence, the school has appointed a number of affiliate professors specialising in the school’s design disciplines. The professors are affiliated with the school for five years and contribute to its efforts through teaching, external examinations, conduction of master classes, etc. The honorary affiliate professors compose a strong team of leading design forces. With their professional backgrounds and their integrity, they help strengthen and enrich the school and its design professional development. Presentation of the affiliate professors at the Design School Kolding:
Rebekka Bay / Creative Director and Executive Vice President, Head of Global Design at GAP Rebekka Bay has left a clear imprint on the international fashion world. As Creative Director, she was responsible for the development and launch of the highly successful brand COS, an independent brand under the H&M Group. In 2011, she was headhunted by Bruuns Bazaar, where, as Creative Director, she visibly renewed the brand’s collections and style. Shortly afterwards,
she moved to GAP in New York, where she is currently Creative Director and Executive Vice President, Head of Global Design. Rebekka Bay trained as a fashion designer at Design School Kolding. She has always been interested in the process and communication in fashion. Her career has reflected this interest, and she has not only focused on developing collections, but also the overall experience of brands. Jesper Kongshaug / Lighting Designer Jesper Kongshaug has worked internationally with lighting design, lighting technology and set design, architecture and urban development since 1990. He is one of Denmark’s leading and most versatile lighting designers and is widely recognised for his work. Jesper Kongshaug is the man behind a number of major and well-known stage lighting and architectural lighting projects, including Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung” at the Danish National Opera and the Royal Danish Theatre as well as the lighting at Den Blå Planet, National Aquarium Denmark. His stage lighting for the show “Operation ORFEO”, which he created in collaboration with the theatre Hotel Pro Forma, gained him recognition and established his name internationally.
42/ DK: 2014 Simona Maschi / Co-founder, Partner and Director of CIID, Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design Simona Maschi has been at the helm of CIID, which she also co-founded, since 2006. CIID is an internationally recognised centre for training, research and consultancy in the field of interaction design, with clients such as Intel, Toyota, Philips, Novo Nordisk and A.P. Møller-Maersk. Simona Maschi holds a Master’s degree in architecture and a PhD in industrial design, both from Politecnico in Milan. She specialises in design methods and interaction design, and through her work at CIID, she has achieved major international recognition and is frequently invited to speak and lecture at courses and conferences all over the world. Simona Maschi was also an associate professor at the former design school Ivrea in Italy. Christien Meindertsma / Textile Designer and Artist From early on in her career, Christien Meindertsma has made an international name for herself with her inquisitive and explorative approach to the world and the products that surround us. In 2009, she received an INDEX award for the project “Pig 05949”. Christien Meindertsma trained as a textile designer at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. She works in a cross field between materials, production, design and art, with a strong focus on sustainability and how we create and use products. Christien Meindertsma’s work has been exhibited at MoMA, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York and the V&A in London, among others. Anders Morgenthaler / Illustrator, Interaction Designer and Filmmaker Anders Morgenthaler is known for his comic strip, Wulffmorgenthaler, and his numerous books and films. He graduated as an interaction designer from Design School Kolding and as an animation director from the National Film School of Denmark. In his professional
career he has enjoyed a high level of activity, which, combined with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, has resulted in numerous publications, projects and initiatives. Together with his partner Mikael Wulff, Anders Morgenthaler has created the satire brand Wulffmorgenthaler, which produces newspaper comic strips, etc.The strips are published in the Danish newspaper Politiken, and in more than 200 newspapers in the US. Mads Nipper / Former Chief Marketing Officer at LEGO and now CEO and Group President at Grundfos During his 23 years with LEGO, Mads Nipper was one of the driving forces in the turnaround that ensured the brand’s survival of its worst crisis ever. Using his strategic abilities, he has been the main driver behind LEGO’s success in claiming even more market shares in a declining market, and LEGO is now the market leader in the toy industry. LEGO is engaged in the development of children’s creativity through playing and learning and Nipper is responsible for making LEGO more than just a toy. He has been in charge of developing strategically important product lines such as LEGO City, Bionicle, LEGO Friends, and Ninjago. Through his outstanding management and his determination to further children’s creativity, he has created a unified focus for all LEGO employees. Mads Nipper has recently taken up a new challenge as CEO and Group President of Grundfos. Mads Quistgaard / Creative Director and Senior Partner of Kontrapunkt Mads Quistgaard has a wide-ranging profile as a designer, with a special focus on typography, visual identity, corporate identity and branding. He has succeeded in making his mark at several large private and public companies such as Bang & Olufsen, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Hotel d’Angleterre and Banedanmark. Mads Quistgaard is a qualified architect and holds a Master’s degree in design from the Royal Danish
43/ DK: 2014 Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation, KADK. Throughout his professional career, he has moved in the cross field between art, education and commercial business. He is actively involved in the teaching and research environment at several educational institutions. Ejnar Truelsen / Head Designer at ECCO Ejnar Truelsen has enjoyed a long career as head designer at ECCO. He has been employed at the Danish shoe company since 1971, and due to his strong focus on design, combined with a keen commercial business sense he has managed to make design an integral part of ECCO’s DNA. Ejnar Truelsen is a graduate of Design School Kolding. He is the man behind ECCO’s first design and sales breakthrough: the JOKE shoe line that hit the Danish market in 1978. Throughout his long career at ECCO, Ejnar Truelsen has continuously managed to innovate and develop ECCO’s design profile, without sacrificing its heritage, recognisability and history. Ejnar Truelsen also developed the ECCO logo, which has proved to be a strong international graphic brand. For example, ECCO was one of the first shoe manufacturers in the world to print the company logo on the rubber sole of the shoe. Henrik Vibskov / Fashion Designer and Artist Henrik Vibskov is one of the most visible and recognised profiles in Danish fashion. He is a qualified fashion designer from Central Saint Martins in London. He is the only Scandinavian fashion designer to officially participate at the Men’s Fashion Week in Paris. His collections are sold all over the world and he has his own stores in Copenhagen and New York. Henrik Vibskov has a strong influence on the fashion designers of the future. He teaches at Central Saint Martins in London, at Istituto Europeo di Design in Madrid, and at Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium.
Henrik Vibskov is also an artist. He has exhibited at MoMA PS1 in New York, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, The Kennedy Center in Washington, and most recently at Kunstforeningen Gammel Strand in Copenhagen.
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PEOPLE, PROJECTS AND PUBLICATIONS
PEOPLE: THE RESEARCH TEAM Management and Administration
Assistant Professors
· Anne Louise Bang, Assistant Professor, PhD, Textile, Methods, Aesthetics
· Irene Lønne, PhD, Head of Research · Christina Stind Rosendahl, Research Secretary
· Eva Knutz, Assistant Professor, PhD,
Professors
Research Consultant
· Poul Rind Christensen, Professor, PhD
Design Management, Entrepreneurship (with University of Southern Denmark)
· Andrea Corradini, Professor MSO, PhD
Welfare Design and Wellbeing (with Lillebaelt Hospitals)
Associate Professors
· Vibeke Riisberg, Associate Professor, PhD Textile, Materials, Aesthetics
· Anne Katrine Gøetsche Gelting, Associate Professor PhD, Methods, Industrial Design
· Silje Alberte Kamille Friis, Associate Professor, PhD Methods, Processes
· Thomas Markussen, Associate Professor, PhD
Emotional Design, Design Fiction, Design Activism
· Sabine Junginger, Associate Professor, PhD
Design Management, Public Design, The Value of Design
Emotional Design, Design Fiction, Design Activism
· Marie Koch, PhD, Design Didactics PhD Students:
· Sisse Tanderup, Jewellery, Accessories, Aesthetics · Nevena Jensen, Process and Collaboration · Ulla Ræbild, Fashion, Methods · Karen Marie Hasling, Materials, Methods · Pia Pedersen, Data Visualisation · Sidse Ansbjerg Bordal, Constraints, Design Process · Tine Ebdrup, Aesthetics, Industrial PhD, Rambøll · Louise Buch Løgstrup, Design Anthropology,
Industrial PhD, DONG Energy
· Else Skjold, Fashion & Users, in collaboration with Copenhagen Business School
47/ DK: 2014 CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS Design for Change – Engaging with Users
As resources are getting scarcer we have to find ways to change the current patterns of fashion consumption. This requires serious adjustments in textile production, the fashion system, the use phase as well as in the education of designers. In this project we explore ways to raise young users’ and design students’ awareness of textiles as a valuable material in garments. In a number of ways we investigate what kind of situations and experiences that might further emotional bonds between user and garment to prolong its active lifetime. By staging unexpected experiences of tactility and garment construction, we test participatory design methods that are not so prevalent in fashion and textile design. Through wardrobe studies and interviews we engage with the users to uncover preferences for materials, patterns, colours and cut. Building on this knowledge we construct garments that are tested in everyday life by high school students.
entire healthcare sector presents very specific challenges in terms of financial issues, logistics and hygiene; moreover, the sector encompasses a variety of professions with clearly specified competencies and divisions of labour as well as a traditionally strictly defined hierarchy. The uniforms must therefore fulfil a series of functional requirements which vary greatly from profession to profession. The healthcare sector sets high hygiene standards, which make demands not only on the laundering frequency, but also on the design and choice of materials. Logistics need to be as simple as possible, and furthermore, the uniform should serve as a unified, visual identity for the region’s healthcare institutions reflecting the values of the individual region. The project will analyse the many requirements within the field of design of uniforms for the healthcare sector in order to make a contribution to research-based knowledge about uniform design. Participants:
The aim of our research is to develop new dialogue tools for teaching fashion and textile students in order to stimulate new ways of thinking and engaging with users. On a longer term the aim is to develop alternative transformational strategies that may further the design of products and services for a more sustainable future. Participants: Vibeke Riisberg, Associate Professor, Anne Louise Bang, Assistant Professor, Laura Locher, Research Assistant Period: 15 August 2013 – 31 December 2014
Uniforms for the Healthcare Sector of Tomorrow
Three out of the five regional units in Denmark, are in the process of developing new uniforms for the employees of their healthcare sector. The development of a new uniform programme is a complex assignment with numerous stakeholders. Hence uniforms are typically being used for 20-30 years before they are replaced. The creation and development of new uniforms for the
Vibeke Riisberg, Associate Professor Trine Brun Petersen, Assistant Professor, University of Southern Denmark Period: 15 August 2013 – 31 December 2014
Design as Competition Parameter for Danish Subsuppliers/Design2Network
This project views design in a network perspective. It breaks with the assumption that design takes place in and is controlled by the individual organisation. It also incorporates a design concept that breaks with the traditional perception of design as a finite design of materials and technology. Design is here seen as a platform for collaboration between material-technological and constructional-technical domains – in this case between subsuppliers and clients. The project embraces specialised knowledge and concepts from interaction design and industrial design. This means that the subsuppliers, as part of the project, will learn to use new technology within the field of industrial design.
48/ DK: 2014 The project will combine the University of Southern Denmark’s knowledge and experience about relationship management in innovative networks with the insight gained by Design School Kolding about innovationgenerating design methods and methods of co-design across professional and industry boundaries. The objective of the project is to use, combine and further develop the two fields of knowledge in order to create concepts and tools that can move Danish suppliers from the traditional type of flexible customer adaptation to innovative customer development. We want to explore how design and relationship management can help Danish subsuppliers strengthen their contribution to customer development for Danish as well as international clients. Hence subsuppliers will have an opportunity to improve their position in the value chain and gain a larger share of the value growth in the processing chain.
selected group of children, prisoners, family therapists, prison personnel with special responsibility for the children, as well as other stakeholders. These participants will be involved in the process of designing and creating as well as evaluating these four game prototypes. On the basis of this evaluation, the project should deliver one fully designed social game and – being a research project – also deliver valid documentation of the positive effect this game has on children’s subjective wellbeing. Using social games to improve the wellbeing of children of incarcerated individuals has been demonstrated to have a positive impact enabling them to build social relationships, getting an education, and, ultimately, avoiding the risk of getting into crime themselves, which is three times higher for this demographic. Project management: Design School Kolding: Thomas Markussen, Associate Professor Eva Knutz, Assistant Professor Collaborative partners:
Based on the new knowledge we plan to create a training course consisting of several workshops for subsuppliers and Danish clients. Here the concepts and tools that have been developed will come into play creating a common design platform for innovative collaboration.
The Organisation SAVN The Danish Prison and Probation Service The Design Against Crime Research Centre, Central Saint Martin, London The Persuasive Games Research Centre, Delft Technical University
Participants:
Delft Institute of Positive Design, Delft Technical
Kristin Balslev Munksgaard, Associate Professor,
University
University of Southern Denmark
Period: 1 September 2014 – 1 September 2016
Poul Rind Christensen, Professor, University of Southern Denmark, Design School Kolding Anne Louise Bang, Assistant Professor, Design School Kolding Supported by the Danish Industry Foundation Period: 1 February 2013 – 30 January 2015
Social Games Against Crime
The aim of this project is to develop and implement one fully designed social game designed to help children cope with many of the personal and social problems they experience as a result of a parent being incarcerated. Using action research and co-design as the core of our design practice, we will collaborate closely with a
Immediations
”Immediations” is the title of a new international research project where researchers, designers, architects and artists will focus on the multitude of opportunities and dilemmas that have arisen as a result of new digital technologies that are gaining increasing access in the urban space. Often unspoken political and ideological values lie behind the application of new technologies, which inevitably control and limit people’s behaviour and social life in the urban environment. The Immediation project will design new technologies that will demonstrate how political values can material-
49/ DK: 2014 ize in the urban space while also providing people the opportunity to actively challenge these values and to participate in shaping and designing their city and the life people live there.
Research projects in connection with collaboration agreements:
The people behind the project chose the name Immediations in order to emphasise that today’s technologies provide new exciting opportunities for working with people’s immediate experience of the city in the form of urban play, guerrilla gardening, tactical media, etc. This is in contrast to the past, when information technology was seen as a medium that primarily represented the physical experience virtually and digitally on a screen (see Bolter & Grushin’s Re-mediations). The Immediations project is not about virtuality in the sense of immersive experiences represented on a screen; rather it means utilising technologies to re-design and transform the sensuous opportunities for people’s physical actions and experiences.
”Shared Decision Making – for Cancer Patients”, Postdoc project.
Participants: The participants in the Immediation project include a
Lillebaelt Hospitals
For further information about the project, please see the chapter on collaboration agreements p. 20. Participants: Eva Knutz, Assistant professor Signe Mårbjerg Thomsen, Research assistant Period: August 2013 – August 2014
Kopenhagen Fur
”Sustainable Perspectives on Fur.” Post-doc project; scheduled to start after the completion of their PhD degrees by PhD students Else Skjold, Ulla Ræbild, Sisse Tanderup and Karen Marie Hasling.
number of international universities, design schools and academies of fine art in Canada, USA, Australia and Europa, among others University of Montréal,
For further information about the projects, please see the chapter on collaboration agreements p. 20.
Concordia University, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Goldsmiths College (University of London), Studio Olafur Eliasson, Aarhus University, Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design and Design School Kolding. Responsible at Design School Kolding: Thomas Markussen, Associate Professor Period: 2013 – 2020
Period: August 2014 – December 2015
51/ DK: 2014 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 2013/2014
3 Contiguous Experiments on a Design Historical Case / Pedersen, Pia. Paper presented at Nordes 2013. Peer review/Paper. Articulating Material Criteria / Hasling, Karen Marie. Paper presented at Nordes 2013.Peer review/Paper. Co-Creation in Distributed Value Creation Systems and Networks / Bang, Anne Louise; Christensen, Poul Rind. 2013. Paper presented at European Academy of Design Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden. Peer review/Paper. Conflict as a Driver for Transformation in Creative Teamwork / Friis, Silje A.K. Published online: 18 Feb 2014. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation. Peer review/Journal. Design & Innovation in the Public Sector: Matters of Design in Policy-Making and Policy Implementation / Junginger, Sabine. 2013. Annual Review of Policy Design, Vol. 1, No. 1, ISSN 2291-6989, 12, pp. 1-11. Peer review/Journal. Design and Innovation: Organizational Culture as Making / Christensen, Poul Rind; Junginger, Sabine. 2013. Paper presented at European Academy of Design Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden. Peer review/Paper. Design Management in the Textile Industry: A Network Perspective / Bang, Anne Louise. 2013. 17th Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium: Disruptive Supply Network Models in Future Industrial Systems: Configuring for Resilience and Sustainability. Cambridge, UK. Peer review/Paper/Conference paper for proceedings.
Design2Network : Fra fleksibel underleverandør til leverandørdreven innovation / Munksgaard, Kristin Balslev; Bang, Anne Louise; Christensen, Poul Rind. 2013. CESFO - Center for Entreprenørskab og Småvirksomhedsforskning: Årsrapport 2013. p. 43-46. Peer review/Report contribution. Designerly Ways to Theoretical Insight: Visualization as a means to explore, discuss and understand design theory / Bang, Anne Louise; Friis, Silje A.K. & Gelting, Anne Katrine. Accepted for publication June 2014. Proceedings of Design Research Society Conference, Umeå, Sweden. Designing for Democracy: Using Design Activism to Re-negotiate the Roles and Rights for Patients / Knutz, Eva; Markussen, Thomas; Mårbjerg Thomsen, Signe; & Ammentorp, Jette. 2014. Proceedings of the Design Research Society Conference. Umeå, Sweden. Designing vs. Designers / Junginger, Sabine & Bailey, S. 11 Apr 2014 Mapping and Developing Service Design Research in the UK. Sangiorgi, D., Prendiville, A. & Ricketts, A. (eds.). Lancaster, UK:SDR Service Design Research UK Network, Ch. 4, p. 34-35. Peer review/Report chapter. Designkapaciteten i mindre danske virksomheder / Christensen, Poul Rind; Jensen, Susanne; Mikkelsen, Kiki; Storgaard, Marianne; Storvang, Pia. 2013. CESFO Årsrapport 2013. ed./Per Freytag. Vol. XXVII 1. ed. Kolding: University of Southern Denmark. Peer review/Report contribution. Double Vision: Researching Fashion Design Practice by use of Qualitative Techniques / Ræbild, Ulla. Paper presented at Nordes 2013, Copenhagen - Malmø, Peer review/Paper.
52/ DK: 2014 Entreprenant Designledelse: På sporet af en ny forståelsesramme / Nielsen, Suna Løwe; Christensen, Poul Rind. 2013. CESFO Årsrapport, Vol. XXVI, No. 1, 1, 12, p. 9-15. Publication: Peer review/Journal. Experiments All the Way: Diagrams of Dialectics Between a Design Research Program and Experiments / Eriksen, Mette Agger; Bang, Anne Louise. Paper presented at Nordes 2013. Peer review/Paper. Facilitating Innovation Through Design in a Danish Context – a Framework for Design Capacity / Storvang, Pia; Christensen, Poul Rind; Jensen, Susanne; Storgaard, Marianne. 2013. Paper presented at Cambridge Academic Design Management Conference, Cambridge, Great Britain. Peer review/Paper. How Can Design be a Platform for the Development of a Regional Cluster in the Region of Southern Denmark / Jensen, Susanne; Christensen, Poul Rind. 2013. Paper presented at TCI Annual Global Conference, Kolding, Denmark. Peer review/Paper. Including Diversity in Creative Teamwork in Design Education / Friis, Silje A.K. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, Denmark. Published online: 4 March, 2014. Peer review/Journal. (Service) Design and Policy-Making / Junginger, Sabine & Buchanan, C. 11 Apr 2014 Mapping and Developing Service Design Research. Sangiorgi, D., Prendiville, A. & Ricketts, A. (eds.). Lancaster, UK: SDR Service Design Research UK Network, Ch. 4, p. 48-49. Peer review/Report chapter. The Change of Cluster Specialization Through the Process of Globalization / Christensen, Poul Rind; Ingstrup, Mads Bruun. 2013. Paper presented at TCI Annual Global Conference, Kolding, Denmark. Peer review/Paper.
The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design between Art and Politics / Markussen, Thomas. 2013. Design Issues, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 38-50. Peer review/Journal. The Evolution of the Design Management Field: A Journal Perspective / Christensen, Poul Rind; Erichsen, Pia G. 2013. Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol. 22, No. 2, 06. pp. 107-120. Peer review/Journal. The Lifetime of Ornaments / Riisberg, Vibeke; Munch, Anders V. 2013. 10th European Academy of Design Conference - Crafting the Future. Peer review/Paper. The Poetics of Design Fiction / Markussen, Thomas; Knutz, Eva. DPPI’ 2013, September 3 – 5. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Peer review/ Paper. The Repertory Grid as a Tool for Dialog about Emotional Value of Textiles / Bang, Anne Louise. 2013. Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice, Vol. 1, No. 1, 11. pp. 9-26. Peer review/Journal. The Role of Fiction in Experiments within Design, Art & Architecture / Knutz, Eva; Markussen, Thomas; Christensen, Poul Rind. Paper presented at Nordes 2013. Peer review/ Paper. Towards Policy-Making as Designing: Policy-Making Beyond Problem-Solving & Decision-Making / Junginger, Sabine. 2014: Design for Policy. Bason, C. (ed.). Gower Publishing Ltd. Peer review/Book chapter.
RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES AT DESIGN SCHOOL KOLDING
Photo: Diana Lovring, Design School Kolding Graphic Design: Daugbjerg + Lassen Copy: UIWE & Design School Kolding
Design School Kolding Aagade 10 6000 Kolding Denmark www.designskolenkolding.dk
ISBN 987-87-90775-65-0 E-ISBN 978-87-90775-66-7
ŠDesign School Kolding, 2014
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