ISSN 2398-3132
PROCEEDINGS OF DRS
27–30 JUNE 2016
VOLUME 6
50th Anniversary Conference Brighton, UK
Design + Research + Society Future-Focused Thinking EDITED BY: PETER LLOYD ERIK BOHEMIA
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Proceedings of DRS 2016 Design + Research + Society Future–Focused Thinking 50th Anniversary International Conference Brighton, UK, 27–30 June 2016 Volume 6
Editors Peter Lloyd and Erik Bohemia
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Proceedings of DRS 2016 International Conference 28–30 June 2016, Brighton, UK www.drs2016.org Volumes 6 of 10 Cover and conference identity design by Gavin Ambrose, Nikki Brewster and Seamus White Proceedings compiled by Kaajal Modi Editors: Peter Lloyd and Erik Bohemia Section-Editors: Harriet Atkinson; Leonard Bachman; Giovanni Baule; Michaël Berghman; Noemi Bitterman; Alison Black; Rebecca Cain; Elena Caratti; Rachel Cooper; Anne Cranny-Francis; Tejas Dhadphale; Hua Dong; Bianca Elzenbaumer; Carolina Escobar-Tello; Luke Feast; Tom Fisher; Aija Freimanee; Lorraine Gamman; Valeria Graziano; Camilla Groth; Marte Gulliksen; Paul Hekkert; Derek Jones; Sarah Kettley; Tore Kristensen; Sylvia Liu; Geke Ludden; Jamie Mackrill; Maarit Mäkelä; Betti Marenko; Andrew Morris; Kristina Niedderer; Nithikul Nimkulrat; Maya Oppenheimer; Elif Ozcan; Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness; Ann Petermans; Philip Plowright; Tiiu Poldma; Hendrik Schifferstein; Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen; Qian Sun; Michael Tovey; Rhoda Trimingham; Kim Trogal; Nynke Tromp; Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer; Sue Walker; Alex Wilkie; Alex Williams; Seda Yilmaz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Proceedings of DRS 2016 International Conference: Future–Focused Thinking ISSN 2398-3132 Published by the Design Research Society Loughborough University, London 3 Lesney Avenue, The Broadcast Centre, Here East London, E15 2GZ United Kingdom
Design Research Society Secretariat email: admin@designresearchsociety.org website: www.designresearchsociety.org Founded in 1966 the Design Research Society (DRS) is a learned society committed to promoting and developing design research. It is the longest established, multi-disciplinary worldwide society for the design research community and aims to promote the study of and research into the process of designing in all its many fields.
DRS Special Interest Groups Design for Behaviour Change Design for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness Design Innovation Management Design Pedagogy Design for Sustainability Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies Experiential Knowledge Inclusive Design Objects, Practices, Experiences, Networks
DRS International Conference Series DRS 2002 London; DRS 2004 Melbourne; DRS 2006 Lisbon; DRS 2008 Sheffield; DRS 2010 Montreal; DRS 2012 Bangkok; DRS 2014 Umeå
DRS 2016 Programme Committee Conference Chair Peter Lloyd, University of Brighton, UK Conference Co-Chairs Tracy Bhamra, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Stephen Boyd-Davis, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Jonathan Chapman, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Peter Childs, Imperial College, United Kingdom International Scientific Review Committee Tracy Bhamra, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Erik Bohemia, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Lin Lin Chen, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Nathan Crilly, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Paul Hekkert, TU Delft, The Netherlands Peter Lloyd, University of Brighton, UK Debates, Conversations and Workshops Chairs Stella Boess, TU Delft, The Netherlands Carlos Peralta, University of Brighton, UK Cameron Tonkinwise, Carnegie Mellon University, US Conference Experience Chairs Dan Lockton, Royal College of Art, UK Veronica Ranner, Royal College of Art, UK PhD by Design Bianca Elzenbaumer, Leeds College of Art, UK Maria Portugal, Goldsmiths University, UK Alison Thomson, Goldsmiths University, UK DRS Special Interest Group Chairs Erik Bohemia, Loughborough University, UK Rebecca Cain, Warwick University, UK Hua Dong, Tongji University, China Tom Fisher, Nottingham Trent University, UK Sarah Kettley, Nottingham Trent University, UK Kristina Niedderer, University of Wolverhampton, UK Nithikul Nimkulrat, Estonian Academy of Arts, Talinn Michael Tovey, Coventry University, UK Rhoda Trimmingham, Loughborough University, UK Executive Advisors Carl DiSalvo, Georgia Institute of Technology, US Kees Dorst, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Janet Mcdonnell, University of the Arts London, UK Johan Redstrรถm, Umeรฅ Institute of Design, Sweden Erik Stolterman, Indiana University, US Anna Valtonen, Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Finland
International Board of Reviewers Tom Ainsworth, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Katerina Alexiou, The Open University, United Kingdom Manola Antonioli, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture Paris La Villette, France Rina Arya, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom Harriet Atkinson, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Stephen Awoniyi, Texas State University, United States Jeremy Aynsley, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Leonard Bachman, University of Houston College of Architecture, United States Betsy Barnhart, Iowa State University, United States Giovanni Baule, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Nigan Bayazit, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey Michaël Berghman, TU Delft, Netherlands Tracy Bhamra, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Richard Bibb, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Noemi Bitterman, Technion, Israel Alison Black, Reading University, United Kingdom Janneke Blijlevens, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia Anne Boddington, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Stella Boess, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Erik Bohemia, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Casper Boks, NTNU, Norway Elizabeth Boling, Indiana University, United States Andy Boucher, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom Simon Bowen, Newcastle University, United Kingdom Stephen Boyd Davis, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Jamie Brassett, Central Saint Martins, United Kingdom Philip Breedon, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Charlie Breindahl, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark Patrick Bresnihan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Cheryl Buckley, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Jacob Buur, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark Rebecca Cain, University of Warwick, United Kingdom Elena Caratti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Philip Cash, DTU, Denmark Tom Cassidy, University of Leeds, United Kingdom Julia Cassim, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan Jonathan Chapman, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Chien-Hsiung Chen, Taiwan Tech, Taiwan, R.O.C. Chun-Chih Chen, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan, R.O.C. Chun-Di Chen, National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan, R.O.C. Kuohsiang Chen, I-Shou University, Taiwan, R.O.C. Lin-Lin Chen, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C. Peter Childs, Imperial College London, United Kingdom Wen-Ko Chiou, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, R.O.C. Bo Christensen, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Henri Christiaans, UNIST, School of Design & Human Engineering, South Korea Abdusselam Selami Cifter, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Turkey Nazli Cila, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands Mollie Claypool, University College London, United Kingdom Stephen Clune, Lancaster University, United Kingdom Tim Cooper, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Anne Cranny-Francis, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Nathan Crilly, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Odette da Silva, TU Delft, Netherlands Massimo De Angelis, University of East London, United Kingdom Michel de Blois, Université Laval, Canada Cees de Bont, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Christine de Lille, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Jakki Dehn, Jakki Dehn Materials, United Kingdom
Federico Del Giorgio Solfa, National University of La Plata, Argentina Claudio Dell'Era, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Samuel DeMarie, Iowa State University, United States Halime Demirkan, Bilkent University, Turkey Gaurang Desai, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Pieter Desmet, TU Delft, Netherlands Emma Dewberry, The Open University, United Kingdom Sarah Diefenbach, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany Ingvild Digranes, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway Orsalia Dimitriou, Central Saint Martins, United Kingdom Hua Dong, Tongji University, China Dennis Doordan, University of Notre Dame, United States Kees Dorst, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Shelby Doyle, Iowa State University, United States Alex Duffy, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom Delia Dumitrescu, University of Borås, United Kingdom Abigail Durrant, Newcastle University, United Kingdom Thomas Dykes, Northumbria University, United Kingdom Wouter Eggink, University of Twente, Netherlands Bianca Elzenbaumer, Leeds College of Art, United Kingdom Magnus Eneberg, Konstfack - University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden Alpay Er, Ozyegin University / Istanbul Institute of Design, Turkey Ozlem Er, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey Pia Geisby Erichsen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark Carolina Escobar-Tello, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Juhyun Eune, Seoul National University, South Korea Mark Evans, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Luke Feast, Aalto University, Finland Thomas Fischer, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China Tom Fisher, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Kate Tanya Fletcher, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom Jodi Forlizzi, Carnegie Mellon University, United States Lois Frankel, Carleton University, Canada Jill Franz, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Biljana Fredriksen, University College of Southeast Norway, Norway Ken Friedman, Tongji University, China Jennifer Gabrys, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom Loraine Gamman, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, United Kingdom Nick Gant, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Philippe Gauthier, Université de Montréal, Canada Aysar Ghassan, Coventry University, United Kingdom Katherine Gibson, University of Western Sydney, Australia Carolina Gill, The Ohio State University, United States Steve Gill, Cardiff Met University, United Kingdom Maria Goransdotter, Umeå University, Sweden Colin Gray, Purdue University, United States Camilla Groth, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Finland Marte Sørebø Gulliksen, Telemark University College, Norway Ian Gwilt, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom Robert Harland, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Dew Harrison, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom Steve Harrison, Virginia Tech, United States Marc Hassenzahl, Folkwang University of the Arts, Germany Anders Haug, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark Tero Heikkinen, independent / University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland Tincuta Heinzel, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Paul Hekkert, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Bart Hengeveld, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands Ricardo Hernandez, Lancaster University, United Kingdom Ann Heylighen, KU Leuven, Belgium Clive Hilton, Coventry University, United Kingdom
Michael Hohl, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany Chung-Ching Huang, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, R.O.C. Karl Hurn, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Praima Israsena Na Ayudhya, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand Robert Jerrard, Manchester Metropolitan Univ/Birmingham City Univ, United Kingdom Wolfgang Jonas, Braunschweig University of Art, Germany Derek Jones, The Open University, United Kingdom Peter Jones, OCAD University, Canada Rachel Jones, Instrata, United Kingdom Guy Julier, University of Brighton/Victoria and Albert Museum, United Kingdom Sabine Junginger, Hertie School of Governance, Germany Lorraine Justice, Rochester Institute of Technology, United States Faith Kane, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Helen Kennedy, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Tobie Kerridge, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom Richard Arthur Kettley, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Sarah Kettley, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom Jinsook Kim, Trinity Christian College, United States Lucy Kimbell, UAL, United Kingdom Holger Klapperich, Folkwang University of Arts, Germany Maaike Kleinsmann, TU Delft, Netherlands Ben Kraal, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Ksenija Kuzmina, Loughborough University London, United Kingdom John Langrish, Salford University, United Kingdom Keelin Leahy, University of Limerick, Ireland Helmut Leder, University of Vienna, Austria Ji-Hyun Lee, KAIST, South Korea Yanki Lee, Hong Kong Design Institue, Hong Kong Eva Lenz, Folkwang University of Arts, Germany Pierre Levy, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands Debra Lilley, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Rungtai Lin, National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan, R.O.C. Stephen Little, Asia Pacific Technology Network, United Kingdom Sylvia Liu, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Peter Lloyd, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Kathy Pui Ying, Lo, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Dan Lockton, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Vicky Lofthouse, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Lian Loke, University of Sydney, Australia Nicole Lotz, The Open University, United Kingdom Rachael Luck, The Open University, United Kingdom Geke Ludden, University of Twente, Netherlands Rohan Lulham, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Ole Lund, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway Alastair Macdonald, Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom Fiona Maciver, Norwich University of the Arts, United Kingdom Jamie Mackrill, Imperial College London, United Kingdom Anja Maier, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Maarit Mäkelä, Aalto University, Finland Betti Marenko, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom Ben Mathews, The University of Queensland, Australia Tuuli Mattelmäki, Aalto University, Finland Ramia Mazé, Aalto University, Finland Sanjoy Mazumdar, University of California, Irvine, United States Janet McDonnell, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom Chris McGinley, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Tomislav Medak, Multimedia Institute, Croatia Wellington Gomes de Medeiros, Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil Brian Mennecke, Iowa State University, United States Paul Micklethwaite, Kingston University, United Kingdom Karen Miller, University of Brighton, United Kingdom
Val Mitchell, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Kathryn Moore, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom Michael Moore, Ulster University, United Kingdom Sarah Morehead, Northumbria University, United Kingdom Nicola Morelli, Aalborg University, Denmark Mariale Moreno, Cranfield University, United Kingdom Andrew Morris, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Andrew, Morrison, AHO, Norway Jeanne-Louise Moys, Reading University, United Kingdom Tara Mullaney, Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden Yukari Nagai, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan Ki Young Nam, KAIST, South Korea Kristina Niedderer, Wolverhampton University, United Kingdom Liv Merete Nielsen, Oslo and Akershus university college, Norway Nithikul Nimkulrat, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia Conall Ó Catháin, Past Chairman DRS, Ireland Arlene Oak, University of Alberta, Canada Maya Oppenheimer, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Elif Ozcan, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Kursat Ozenc, Stanford, United States Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, Iowa State University, United States Eujin Pei, Brunel University London, United Kingdom Carlos Peralta, University of brighton, United Kingdom José Pérez de Lama, University of Sevilla, Spain Oscar Person, Aalto University, Finland Ann Petermans, Hasselt University, Belgium Daniela Petrelli, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom Doina Petrescu, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom Ida Nilstad Pettersen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway Sarah Pink, RMIT University, Australia Silvia Pizzocaro, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Philip Plowright, Lawrence Technological University, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, United States Anna Pohlmeyer, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Tiiu Poldma, University of Montreal, Canada Lubomir Popov, Bowling Green State University, United States Vesna Popovic, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Thomas Porathe, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway Ruben Post, TU Delft, Netherlands William Prindle, Iowa State University, United States Charlie Ranscombe, Swinburne, Australia Yaone Rapitsenyane, University of Botswana, Botswana Ingo Rauth, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden Kirstine Riis, University College Telemark, Norway Paul Rodgers, Northumbria University, United Kingdom Zoe Romano, WeMake, Makerspace, Italy Jose Antonio Rosa, Iowa State University, United States Seymour Roworth-Stokes, Coventry University, United Kingdom Robin Roy, The Open University, United Kingdom Keith Russell, University of Newcastle, Australia, Australia Daniel Saakes, KAIST, South Korea Noemi Maria Sadowska, Regent's University London, United Kingdom Miguel Said Vieira, Independent, Brazil Fatina Saikaly, Co-Creando, Italy Filippo Salustri, Ryerson University, Canada Liz Sanders, The Ohio State University, United States Rick Schifferstein, TU Delft, Netherlands James Self, UNIST, South Korea Nick Senske, Iowa State University, United States Matt Sinclair, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Kin Wai Michael Siu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Dirk Snelders, TU Delft, Netherlands
Ricardo Sosa, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Chris Speed, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom Jak Spencer, The Sound HQ, United Kingdom Kay Stables, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom Pieter Jan Stappers, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Shanti Sumartojo, RMIT University, Australia Kärt Summatavet, Aalto University, Estonia Qian Sun, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Helena Sustar, Aalto University, Finland Gunnar Swanson, East Carolina University, United States Ben Sweeting, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Keith Tam, University of Reading, United Kingdom Hsien-Hui Tang, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C. Toshiharu Taura, Kobe University, Japan Damon Taylor, University of Brighton, United Kingdom Sarah Teasley, Royal College of Art, United Kingdom Adam Thorpe, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom Clementine Thurgood, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Jeremy Till, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom Oscar Tomico, Eindhoven University of Technology, United Kingdom Cameron Tonkinwise, Carnegie Mellon University, United States Mike Tovey, Coventry University, United Kingdom Rhoda Trimingham, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Nynke Tromp, TU Delft, Netherlands Darren Umney, Open University, United Kingdom Louise Valentine, University of Dundee, United Kingdom Anna Valtonen, Aalto University, Finland Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Johann van der Merwe, Independent Researcher, South Africa Mascha van der Voort, University of Twente, Netherlands Karel van der Waarde, Graphic Design - Research, Belgium Susann Vihma, Aalto University, Finland Andre Viljoen, University of Brighton, United Kingdom John Vines, Newcastle University, United Kingdom Bettina von Stamm, Innovation Leadership Forum, United Kingdom Sue Walker, Reading University, United Kingdom Renee Wever, Linköping University, Sweden Alex Wilkie, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom Alex Williams, Kingston University, United Kingdom Garrath Wilson, Loughborough University, United Kingdom Heather Wiltse, Umeå University, Sweden Christian Woelfel, TU Dresden, Germany Martin Woolley, Coventry University, United Kingdom Paul Wormald, National University of Singapore, Singapore Artemis Yagou, Macromedia University for Media and Communication, Germany Joyce Yee, Northumbria University, United Kingdom Susan Yelavich, The New School, United States Seda Yilmaz, Iowa State University, United States Robert Young, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
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Table of Content Editorial................................................................................................................................................................................................... i – Volume 1 – SECTION 1 50 YEARS OF DESIGN RESEARCH Design Research: What is it? What is it for?............................................................................................................................................. 5
Victor Margolin Schön’s Legacy: Examining Contemporary Citation Practices in DRS Publications ................................................................................... 17
Jordan Beck, Laureline Chiapello The Idea of Architecture, The User As Inhabitant: Design through a Christopher Alexander Lens ........................................................... 31
Molly Wright Steenson Design Research for Sustainability: Historic Origin and Development .................................................................................................... 43
Astrid Skjerven The Design Methods Movement: From Optimism to Darwinism ............................................................................................................ 51
John Z. Langrish User Design: Constructions of the “user” in the history of design research ............................................................................................ 65
Theodora Vardouli 60 years of creativity in business organizations ..................................................................................................................................... 83
Ricardo Sosa, Pete Rive and Andy M. Connor 20th Century Boys: Pioneering British Design Thinkers .......................................................................................................................... 97
Emma Murphy and Martyn Evans Design Research and Design Participation ........................................................................................................................................... 111
Robert Aish The Design Research Society in the 1980s and 1990s: a memoir .......................................................................................................... 125
Conall Ó Catháin SECTION 2 AESTHETIC PLEASURE IN DESIGN Introduction: Aesthetic Pleasure in Design .......................................................................................................................................... 139
Michaël Berghman and Paul Hekkert Measuring design typicality – a comparison of objective and subjective approaches ........................................................................... 145
Stefan Mayer and Jan R. Landwehr Most Advanced yet Acceptable: A case of referential form-driven meaning innovation ....................................................................... 157
Seong geun Lee, James Self and Ekaterina Andrietc Extracting Design Aesthetic Heuristics from Scientific Literature.......................................................................................................... 179
Ana Cadavid, Stefany Ruiz-Córdoba and Jorge Maya Putting product design in context: Consumer responses to design fluency as a function of presentation context ................................. 203
Laura K. M. Graf and Jan R. Landwehr The Value of Transparency for Designing Product Innovations............................................................................................................. 215
Peiyao Cheng and Ruth Mugge A comparison between colour preference and colour harmony – taking athletic shoe design as an example........................................ 233
Li-Chen Ou Creating Novel Encounters with Nature: Approaches and Design Explorations..................................................................................... 245
Thomas J. L. Van Rompay and Geke D. S. Ludden Introducing Experience Goals into Packaging Design ........................................................................................................................... 259
Markus Joutsela and Virpi Roto The beauty of balance – An empirical integration of the Unified Model of Aesthetics for product design ............................................. 277
Michaël Berghman and Paul Hekkert SECTION 3 DESIGN EPISTEMOLOGY Introduction: Design Epistemology...................................................................................................................................................... 295
Derek Jones, Philip Plowright, Leonard Bachman and Tiiu Poldma Mapping design knowledge: 36 years of Design Studies ...................................................................................................................... 303
Kathryn Burns, Jack Ingram and Louise Annable I know this one, but the answer is complex… ...................................................................................................................................... 321
Simon Downs Source domains of Architectural Knowledge: Mappings, Categories, Validity and Relevance ............................................................... 339
Philip D Plowright Using Rhetoric in Persuasive Design: What Rhetoric? .......................................................................................................................... 355
Danny Godin Design Fiction: Does the search for plausibility lead to deception? ...................................................................................................... 369
Paul Coulton, Joseph Lindley and Haider Ali Akmal
Graphicality: why is there not such a word? ........................................................................................................................................ 385
Robert Harland and David Craib Design as Anticipation and Innovation: Co-creating a future by learning from the future as it emerges ................................................ 401
Markus F. Peschl and Thomas Fundneider – Volume 2 – SECTION 4 Design EDUCATION AND LEARNING Introduction: Design Education and Learning ...................................................................................................................................... 419
Michael Tovey “Dis-course is Killer!” Educating the critically reflective designer ......................................................................................................... 425
Veronika Kelly Design Culture and Contemporary Education ...................................................................................................................................... 441
Therese Uri Promoting an emancipatory research paradigm in Design Education and Practice ............................................................................... 455
Lesley-Ann Noel Design Thinking: A Rod For Design’s Own Back? .................................................................................................................................. 471
Aysar Ghassan Designing the unknown: supervising design students who manage mental health issues ..................................................................... 483
Welby Ings Using Design Thinking to create a new education paradigm for elementary level children for higher student engagement and success 501
Lesley-Ann Noel and Tsai Lu Liu Design Research in Interior Design Education: A Living Framework for Teaching the Undergraduate Capstone Studio in the 21st Century ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 513
Charles Boggs, Helena Moussatche, Catherine Pizzichemi and Meghan Woodcock Designing Universities of the Future .................................................................................................................................................... 525
Anna Valtonen Dexign Futures: A Pedagogy for Long-Horizon Design Scenarios .......................................................................................................... 539
Peter Scupelli, Arnold Wasserman, and Judy Brooks Design and Interdisciplinarity: the improbable introduction of “fundamental physics” in a design school ............................................ 555
Annie Gentes, Anne-Lyse Renon and Julien Bobroff Card Games Creation as a Learning Method ........................................................................................................................................ 569
Birgit S. Bauer “Spend another day in our class talking about this research please”: Student insights from a research-based design thinking exercise 593
Cynthia J. Atman, Arif Ahmer, Jennifer A. Turns and Jim Borgford-Parnell Communication is not collaboration: observations from a case study in collaborative learning ............................................................ 609
Iestyn Jowers, Mark Gaved, Gary Elliott-Cirigottis, Delphine Dallison, Alan Rochead and Mark Craig The use of argumentation in design research ...................................................................................................................................... 625
Stella Boess Digital Sketch Modelling: Integrating digital sketching as a transition between sketching and CAD in Industrial Design Education ....... 637
Charlie Ranscombe and Katherine Bissett-Johnson Prototyping in the in-between. A Method for Spatial Design education ............................................................................................... 653
Jennie Andersson Schaeffer and Marianne Palmgren Global Flows of Materials: Design Research and Practice in Architecture ............................................................................................. 669
Janet McGaw Evaluating Living and Learning on Campus: A Community Engaged Research Model ............................................................................ 685
Rebekah Radtke What is sought from graphic designers? A first thematic analysis of job offers for graphic design positions in the United Kingdom ...... 705
Paulo Roberto Nicoletti Dziobczenskiand Oscar Person LIVD: An Avant-Garde Publication with Pedagogical and Epistemological Aims .................................................................................... 719
Meredith James Design Studio Desk and Shared Place Attachments: A Study on Ownership, Personalization, and Agency. ........................................... 729
Peter Scupelli and Bruce Hanington Online Reflective Interactions on Social Network Sites in Design Studio Course ................................................................................... 751
Simge Hough Junior designers’ awareness of personal values and their employment choices ................................................................................... 767
Anna Jonkmans, Julia Wurl, Dirk Snelders and Lenny van Onselen Knowledgeability culture: Co-creation in practice................................................................................................................................ 781
Alicen Coddington, Colin Giang, Alexander Graham, Anne Prince, Pauliina Mattila, Christine Thong and Anita Kocsis Visual Thinking Styles and Idea Generation Strategies Employed in Visual Brainstorming Sessions ...................................................... 795
Naz A.G.Z. Börekçi The Future of Product Design Utilising Printed Electronics ................................................................................................................... 813
Nicola York, Darren Southee and Mark Evans
Project Contribution of Junior Designers: Exploring the What and the How of Values in Collaborative Practice .................................... 835
Lennart Kaland, Annelijn Vernooij and Lenny van Onselen Exploring framing within a team of industrial design students ............................................................................................................. 853
Mithra Zahedi, Lorna Heaton, Manon Guité, Giovanni De Paoli and Marie Reumont – Volume 3 – SECTION 5 AESTHETICS, COSMOPOLITICS AND DESIGN Introduction: Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics and Design ............................................................................................................................ 873
Alex Wilkie Framing Values in Design .................................................................................................................................................................... 881
Marta Gasparin and William Green The Prototype as a Cosmopolitical Place: Ethnographic design practice and research at the National Zoo ............................................ 895
Martín Tironi, Pablo Hermansen and José Neira The Role of Participation in Designing for IoT ...................................................................................................................................... 913
Anuradha Reddy and Per Linde Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics and Design Futures in Computational Fashion ............................................................................................. 927
Laura Forlano Designing diagrams for social issues .................................................................................................................................................... 941
Michele Mauri and Paolo Ciuccarelli iPhoneography and New Aesthetics: The Emergence of a Social Visual Communication Through Image-based Social Media ................ 959
Eman Alshawaf A Creative Ontological Analysis of Collective Imagery during Co-Design for Service Innovation ............................................................ 969
Priscilla Chueng-Nainby, John Lee, BingXin Zi and Astury Gardin Post-critical potentials in experimental co-design................................................................................................................................ 985
Sissel Olander Collaborative Imaging. The communicative practice of hand sketching in experimental physics ........................................................... 997
Judith Marlen Dobler The Aesthetics of Action in New Social Design ....................................................................................................................................1013
Ilpo Koskinen Designing Debate: The Entanglement of Speculative Design and Upstream Engagement ....................................................................1025
Tobie Kerridge SECTION 6 DESIGN AND TRANSLATION Introduction: Design and Translation .................................................................................................................................................1039
Giovanni Baule and Elena Caratti Towards Translation Design A New Paradigm for Design Research .....................................................................................................1047
Giovanni Baule and Elena Caratti Design as translation activity: a semiotic overview .............................................................................................................................1061
Salvatore Zingale Word to Image – Image to Word The Contribution of Visual Communication to Understanding and Dialog ........................................1073
Michael Renner Perception, Meaning and Transmodal Design .....................................................................................................................................1089
Mathias Nordvall and Mattias Arvola The Ways of Synesthetic Translation: Design models for media accessibility .......................................................................................1101
Dina Riccò The narratives and the supports. Remediating Design Culture in the translation of transmedia artefacts. ...........................................1111
Matteo Ciastellardi and Derrick de Kerckhove Rules of Thumb: An Experiment in Contextual Transposition ..............................................................................................................1123
Damon Taylor, Monika Büscher, Lesley Murray, Chris Speed and Theodore Zamenopoulos Juxtaposing Chinese and Western Representational Principles: New Design Methods for Information Graphics in the Field of Intercultural Communication .............................................................................................................................................................1139
Ruedi Baur and Ulrike Felsing Elucidating perceptions of Australian and Chinese industrial design from the next generation of industrial designers .........................1163
Blair Kuys and Wenwen Zhang Translating picturebooks: Re-examining interlingual and intersemiotic translation.............................................................................1179
Anne Ketola Long Kesh: Site - Sign - Body...............................................................................................................................................................1191
Ola Ståhl
SECTION 7 DESIGN FOR DESIGN – THE INFLUENCE AND LEGACY OF JOHN HESKETT Introduction: Design for Design The Influence and Legacy of John Heskett .........................................................................................1205
Tore Kristensen and Sylvia Liu Doing qualitative studies, using statistical reasoning ..........................................................................................................................1211
Gorm Gabrielse and Tore Kristensen Design as Driver for Understanding Sustainability and Creating Value in the Fur Industry ...................................................................1223
Irene Alma Lønne, Else Skjold Design Awareness: Developing Design Capacity in Chinese Manufacturing Industry ...........................................................................1237
Sylvia Liu Design Expanding into Strategy: Evidence from Design Consulting Firms ............................................................................................1253
Suzan Boztepe – Volume 4 – SECTION 8 Design for Behaviour Change Introduction: Design for Behaviour Change ........................................................................................................................................1271
Kristina Niedderer, Geke Ludden, Rebecca Cain, Andrew Morris and Aija Freimane An alternative approach to influencing behaviour: Adapting Darnton’s Nine Principles framework for scaling up individual upcycling 1277
Kyungeun Sung, Tim Cooper and Sarah Kettley Assessment of the Co-creative Design Process ...................................................................................................................................1291
Pratik Vyas, Robert Young, Petia Sice and Nicholas Spencer The potential of Design for Behaviour Change to foster the transition to a circular economy ..............................................................1305
Laura Piscicelli and Geke Dina Simone Ludden Developing a theory-driven method to design for behaviour change: two case studies .......................................................................1323
Anita Van Essen, Sander Hermsen and Reint Jan Renes What a designer can change: a proposal for a categorisation of artefact-related aspects ....................................................................1339
Anneli Selvefors, Helena Strömberg and Sara Renström Exploring and communicating user diversity for behavioural change ..................................................................................................1357
Aykut Coskun and Cigdem Erbug How I learned to appreciate our tame social scientist: experiences in integrating design research and the behavioural sciences .........1375
Sander Hermsen, Remko van der Lugt, Sander Mulder and Reint Jan Renes A Design Approach for Risk Communication, the Case of Type 2 Diabetes...........................................................................................1390
Farzaneh Eftekhari and Tsai Lu Liu Metadesigning Design Research – How can designers collaboratively grow a research platform? .......................................................1412
Mathilda Tham, Anna-Karin Arvidsson, Mikael Blomqvist, Susanne Bonja, Sara Hyltén-Cavallius, Lena Håkansson, Miguel Salinas, Marie Sterte, Ola Ståhl, Tobias Svensén and Ole Victor SECTION 9 Design for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness Introduction: Design for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness .................................................................................................................1434
Rebecca Cain, Noemi Bitterman, Geke Ludden, Jamie Mackrill, Elif Ozcan, Ann Petermans and Carolina Escobar-Tello In the moment: designing for late stage dementia..............................................................................................................................1442
Cathy Treadaway, David Prytherch, Gail Kenning and Jac Fennell Design for Ageing-in-place: Evidence from Australia ...........................................................................................................................1458
Naseem Ahmadpour and Alen Keirnan Supporting healthy behaviour: A stages of change perspective on changing snacking habits of children .............................................1473
Geke D.S. Ludden and Laura H.J. de Ruijter Co-creating narratives: an approach to the design of interactive medical devices, informed by phenomenology .................................1487
Rowan Page and Mark Richardson A Design Primer for the Domestication of Health Technologies ..........................................................................................................1499
Paul Chamberlain and Claire Craig Disentangling complexity: a visualisation-led tool for healthcare associated infection training ...........................................................1515
Alastair S. Macdonald, David Loudon, Susan Wan and Colin Macduff Exploring Design for Happiness in the Home and Implications for Future Domestic Living ...................................................................1529
Emily Corrigan-Doyle, Carolina Escobar-Tello and Kathy Pui Ying Lo Using symbolic meaning as a means to design for happiness: The development of a card set for designers .........................................1553
Mafalda Casais, Ruth Mugge and Pieter M. A. Desmet Designs with benefits: hearth fire nights and bittersweet chores ........................................................................................................1573
Stella U. Boess and Anna E. Pohlmeyer Happy moments: A well-being driven design of a Car2Go ...................................................................................................................1589
Tessa Duste, Pieter Desmet and Elmer van Grondelle
SECTION 10 DESIGN FUTURES Games as Speculative Design: Allowing Players to Consider Alternate Presents and Plausible Futures ................................................1609
Paul Coulton, Dan Burnett and Adrian Gradinar An approach to future-oriented technology design – with a reflection on the role of the artefact .......................................................1627
Tiina Kymäläinen Future Product Ecosystems: discovering the value of connections ......................................................................................................1643
Tim Williams and Marianella Chamorro-Koc Vision Concepts within the landscape of design research ...................................................................................................................1659
Ricardo Mejia Sarmiento, Gert Pasman and Pieter Jan Stappers Visual conversations on urban futures. Participatory methods to design scenarios of liveable cities ...................................................1677
Serena Pollastri, Rachel Cooper, Nick Dunn and Chris Boyko – Volume 5 – SECTION 11 Design Innovation Management Introduction: Design Innovation Management ...................................................................................................................................1701
Rachel Cooper, Alex Williams, Qian Sun and Erik Bohemia Emerging Trends of Design Policy in the UK ........................................................................................................................................1709
Qian Sun Resourcing in Co-Design .....................................................................................................................................................................1725
Salu Ylirisku, Jacob Buur and Line Revsbæk From Participation to Collaboration: Reflections on the co-creation of innovative business ideas .......................................................1739
Cara Broadley, Katherine Champion, Michael Pierre Johnson and Lynn-Sayers McHattie Bridging service design with integrated co-design decision maker interventions .................................................................................1759
Sune Gudiksen, Anders Christensen and Pernille Henriksen Exploring framing and meaning making over the design innovation process .......................................................................................1779
Clementine Thurgood and Rohan Lulham The making of sustainable cultural and creative cluster in Hong Kong ................................................................................................1795
Kaman Ka Man Tsang and Kin Wai Michael Siu An exploration of Service Design Jam and its ability to foster Social Enterprise ...................................................................................1811
Ksenija Kuzmina, Chris Parker, Gyuchan Thomas Jun, Martin Maguire, Val Mitchell, Mariale Moreno and Samantha Porter Fiction as a resource in participatory design .......................................................................................................................................1829
Eva Knutz, Tau U. Lenskjold and Thomas Markussen Space as organisational strategy ........................................................................................................................................................1845
Pia Storvang The value of design: an issue of vision, creativity and interpretation ..................................................................................................1865
Mariana Fonseca Braga A Multilevel Approach to Research ‘Obscure’ Innovation Processes and Practices ..............................................................................1883
Emmanouil Chatzakis, Neil Smith and Erik Bohemia Coordinating product design with production and consumption processes .........................................................................................1905
Anders Haug How Companies adopt different Design approaches...........................................................................................................................1921
KwanMyung Kim Challenges in co-designing a building .................................................................................................................................................1937
Min Hi Chun SECTION 12 DESIGN PROCESS Form as an abstraction of mechanism ................................................................................................................................................1953
Lewis Urquhart and Andrew Wodehouse Integrating Nanotechnology in the Design Process: An Ethnographic Study in Architectural Practice in Egypt .....................................1971
Ramy Bakir and Sherif Abdelmohsen Of Open bodies: Challenges and Perspectives of an Open Design Paradigm. .......................................................................................1987
Émeline Brulé and Frédéric Valentin Provocative design for unprovocative designers: Strategies for triggering personal dilemmas ............................................................2001
Deger Ozkaramanli and Pieter M. A. Desmet A case based discussion on the role of Design Competences in Social Innovation................................................................................2017
Tamami Komatsu, Manuela Celi, Francesca Rizzo and Alessandro Deserti Riding Shotgun in the Fight Against Human Trafficking .......................................................................................................................2031
Lisa Mercer Could LEGO® Serious Play® be a useful technique for product co-design? ...........................................................................................2045
Julia Anne Garde and Mascha Cecile van der Voort
Intuitive Interaction research – new directions and possible responses. .............................................................................................2065
Alethea Blackler and Vesna Popovic Skilling and learning through digital Do-It-Yourself: the role of (Co-)Design ........................................................................................2077
Giuseppe Salvia, Carmen Bruno and Marita Canina Design Research, Storytelling, and Entrepreneur Women in Rural Costa Rica: a case study .................................................................2091
Maria Gabriela Hernandez Temporal design: looking at time as social coordination .....................................................................................................................2109
Larissa Pschetz, Michelle Bastian and Chris Speed A Physical Modeling Tool to Support Collaborative Interpretation of Conversations ...........................................................................2123
Piotr Michura, Stan Ruecker, Celso Scaletsky, Guilherme Meyer, Chiara Del Gaudio, Gerry Derksen, Julia Dias, Elizabeth Jernegan, Juan de la Rosa, Xinyue Zhou and Priscilla Ferronato – Volume 6 – SECTION 13 DESIGN INNOVATION FOR SOCIETY Introduction: Design Innovation for Society .......................................................................................................................................2143
Nynke Tromp and Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer The Challenges of Human-Centred Design in a Public Sector Innovation Context ................................................................................2149
Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer Activating the core economy by design ..............................................................................................................................................2165
Rebeca Torres Castanedo and Paul Micklethwaite On presenting a rich picture for stakeholder dialogue ........................................................................................................................2183
Abigail C. Durrant, Wendy Moncur, David S. Kirk, Diego Trujillo Pisanty and Kathryn Orzech Design and the Creation of Representational Artefacts for Interactive Social Problem Solving ............................................................2203
Richard Cooney, Nifeli Stewart, Tania Ivanka and Neal Haslem Appreciative Co-design: From Problem Solving to Strength-Based Re-authoring in Social Design ........................................................2221
Tasman Munro Design Tools for Enhanced New Product Development in Low Income Economies ..............................................................................2241
Timothy Whitehead, Mark Evans and Guy Bingham Redesigning governance – a call for design across three orders of governance....................................................................................2257
Tanja Rosenqvist and Cynthia Mitchell Involving stakeholders in cross-border regional design .......................................................................................................................2273
Annet Kempenaar From the specificity of the project in design to social innovation by design: a contribution .................................................................2287
Marie-Julie Catoir-Brisson, Stéphane Vial, Michela Deni and Thomas Watkin SECTION 14 EFFECTIVE INFORMATION DESIGN Introduction: Effective Information Design.........................................................................................................................................2303
Alison Black and Sue Walker Informing the design of mobile device-based patient instructions leaflets: the case of Fentanyl patches ............................................2309
Myrto Koumoundourou, Panayiotis Koutsabasis and Jenny S. Darzentas Design methods for meaning discovery: a patient-oriented health research case study ......................................................................2327
David Craib and Lorenzo Imbesi Expectations and prejudices usurp judgements of schematic map effectiveness .................................................................................2343
Maxwell J. Roberts and Ida C.N. Vaeng Data Visualisation Does Political Things .............................................................................................................................................2361
Joanna Boehnert The information designer through the lens of design for learning .......................................................................................................2381
Eden Potter A user centred approach to developing an actionable visualisation for ‘balance health’ .....................................................................2393
Shruti Grover, Simon Johnson, Ross Atkin and Chris Mcginley SECTION 15 Design Thinking Introduction: Design Thinking ............................................................................................................................................................2417
Seda Yilmaz, Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness and Tejas Dhadphale From Technology-Driven to Experience-Driven Innovation: A Case from the Aviation Industry using VIP ............................................2425
Wan-Jen Jenny Tsay and Christine de Lille Critically Exploring the Development of a Conceptual Framework for Building Innovative Brands .......................................................2447
Xinya You and David Hands United We Stand: A Critique of the Design Thinking Approach in Interdisciplinary Innovation ............................................................2465
Fiona Maciver, Julian Malins, Julia Kantorovitch and Aggelos Liapis
Designing Creative Destruction ..........................................................................................................................................................2483
Ashley Hall Blending Hard and Soft Design via Thematic Analysis .........................................................................................................................2495
Vasilije Kokotovich and Kees Dorst2495 The cycle of interdisciplinary learning and theory-solution building in design research .......................................................................2507
Young-ae Hahn Don’t Look Back: The Paradoxical Role of Recording in the Fashion Design Process ............................................................................2521
Helen McGilp, Claudia Eckert and Christopher F Earl Contrasting similarities and differences between academia and industry: evaluating processes used for product development..........2535
Nathan Kotlarewski, Christine Thong, Blair Kuys and Evan Danahay What is the Nature and Intended Use of Design Methods? .................................................................................................................2551
Colin M. Gray Becoming a More User-Centred Organization: A Design Tool to Support Transformation ....................................................................2565
Lennart Kaland and Christine de Lille – Volume 7 – SECTION 16 DESIGN RESEARCH – HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE: HISTORIES FOR FUTURE-FOCUSED THINKING Introduction: Design Research – History, Theory, Practice: Histories for Future-Focused Thinking .......................................................2585
Harriet Atkinson and Maya Rae Oppenheimer The Structure of Design Processes: ideal and reality in Bruce Archer’s 1968 doctoral thesis ................................................................2593
Stephen Boyd Davis and Simone Gristwood Closing the circle ................................................................................................................................................................................2613
Douglas Tomkin Re-integrating Design Education: Lessons from History ......................................................................................................................2627
Peter A. Hall (Re)working the Past, (Dis)playing the Future. Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at MoMA, 1972 ...................................................2639
Ingrid Halland Rashidi Recommendations to rebuild the body of feminist work in industrial design ......................................................................................2655
Isabel Prochner and Anne Marchand Design practice and design research: finally together? .......................................................................................................................2669
Kees Dorst Design Research is Alive and Kicking… ................................................................................................................................................2679
Paul A. Rodgers and Joyce S.R. Yee Reverse Innovation: How Has Design in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region Changed the World ......................................................2701
Ningchang Zhou and Tao Huang Beautiful Nerds: Growing a rigorous design research dialogue in the Irish context ..............................................................................2711
Adam de Eyto Carmel Maher, Mark Hadfield and Maggie Hutchings Design Research in the East – at Universities and the Board of Industrial Design of the GDR between the 1960s and 1990 ..................2723
Sylvia Wölfel and Christian Wölfel International Norms and Local Design Research: ICSID and the Promotion of Industrial Design in Latin America, 1970-1979 ...............2739
Tania Messell SECTION 17 DESIGN-ING AND CREATIVE PHILOSOPHIES Introduction: Design-ing and Creative Philosophies ............................................................................................................................2757
Betti Marenko Probing the future by anticipative design acts ....................................................................................................................................2761
Annelies De Smet and Nel Janssens Making polychronic objects for a networked society ..........................................................................................................................2795
Jane Norris Responsibility in design: applying the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon ...............................................................................................2809
Sander Mulder Space as a Becoming: Fresh Water Expo Pavilion as a Creative Practice for an Architecture to Come ..................................................2825
Emine Görgül The Foam: a Possible Model for the Motion Graphic Design ...............................................................................................................2837
Anamaria Galeotti and Clice Mazzilli Experience – A Central Concept in Design and its Roots in the History of Science ................................................................................2869
Johannes Uhlmann, Christian Wölfel and Jens Krzywinski
SECTION 18 EMBODIED MAKING AND LEARNING Introduction: Embodied Making and Learning ....................................................................................................................................2889
Marte S. Gulliksen, Camilla Groth, Maarit Mäkelä and Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen The role of sensory experiences and emotions in craft practice ..........................................................................................................2895
Camilla Groth Learning to learn: What can be learned from first-hand experience with materials? ...........................................................................2911
Biljana C. Fredriksen Why making matters—developing an interdisciplinary research project on how embodied making may contribute to learning ..........2925
Marte S. Gulliksen Physiological measurements of drawing and forming activities ..........................................................................................................2941
Marianne Leinikka, Minna Huotilainen, Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Camilla Groth, Mimmu Rankanen and Maarit Mäkelä Code, Decode, Recode: Constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing knowledge through making ................................................2959
Anna Piper Experience Labs: co-creating health and care innovations using design tools and artefacts .................................................................2965
Tara French, Gemma Teal and Sneha Raman – Volume 8 – SECTION 19 DESIGN FOR TANGIBLE, EMBEDDED AND NETWORKED TECHNOLOGIES Introduction: Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies .......................................................................................2985
Sarah Kettley and Anne Cranny-Francis Designing from, with and by Data: Introducing the ablative framework..............................................................................................2991
Chris Speed and Jon Oberlander Feel it! See it! Hear it! Probing Tangible Interaction and Data Representational Modality ...................................................................3005
Trevor Hogan and Eva Hornecker Designing Information Feedback within Hybrid Physical/Digital Interactions ......................................................................................3019
David Gullick and Paul Coulton Harnessing the Digital Records of Everyday Things .............................................................................................................................3033
Dimitrios Darzentas, Adrian Hazzard, Michael Brown, Martin Flintham and Steve Benford A Toaster For Life: Using Design Fiction To Facilitate Discussion On The Creation Of A Sustainable Internet of Things .........................3049
Michael Stead Making Service Design in a Digital Business ........................................................................................................................................3069
Piia Rytilahti, Simo Rontti, Titta Jylkäs, Mira Alhonsuo, Hanna-Riina Vuontisjärvi and Laura Laivamaa Ad Hoc Pairings: Semantic Relationships and Mobile Devices .............................................................................................................3085
Jason O. Germany Serious Play Strategies in the Design of Kinetic and Wearable Devices................................................................................................3103
Lois Frankel and Ellen Hrinivich Tangibility in e-textile participatory service design with mental health participants............................................................................3121
Sarah Kettley, Anna Sadkowska and Rachel Lucas Wearable Sensory Devices for Children in Play Areas .........................................................................................................................3133
Cai-Ru Liao, Wen-Huei Chou and Chung-Wen Hung Intuitive Interaction in a Mixed Reality System ..................................................................................................................................3149
Shital Desai, Alethea Blackler and Vesna Popovic From nano to macro: material inspiration within ubiquitous computing research...............................................................................3165
Isabel Paiva SECTION 20 Experiential Knowledge Introduction: Experiential Knowledge ................................................................................................................................................3177
Nithikul Nimkulrat Double-loop reflective practice as an approach to understanding knowledge and experience.............................................................3181
John Gribbin, Mersha Aftab, Robert Young and Sumin Park Designing “little worlds” in Walnut Park: How architects adopted an ethnographic case study on living with dementia ......................3199
Valerie Van der Linden, Iris Van Steenwinkel, Hua Dong and Ann Heylighen Bonding through Designing; how a participatory approach to videography can catalyse an emotive and reflective dialogue with young people ...............................................................................................................................................................................................3213
Marianne McAra Capturing architects’ designerly ways of knowing about users: Exploring an ethnographic research approach ....................................3229
Valerie Van der Linden, Hua Dong and Ann Heylighen SECTION 21
INCLUSIVE DESIGN Introduction: Inclusive Design ............................................................................................................................................................3247
Hua Dong ...................................................................................................................................................................................
Designing for older people: But who is an older person? ....................................................................................................................3251
Raghavendra Reddy Gudur, Alethea Blackler, Vesna Popovic and Doug Mahar Towards designing inclusion: insights from a user data collection study in China ................................................................................3263
Weining Ning and Hua Dong ‘Difficult’ packaging for older Chinese adults ......................................................................................................................................3279
Xuezi Ma, Hua Dong Crafted with Care: Reflections from co-designing wearable technologies with care home residents....................................................3295
Christopher Sze Chong Lim and Sara Nevay To Shed Some Light on Empowerment: Towards Designing for Embodied Functionality .....................................................................3313
Jelle van Dijk and Fenne Verhoeven Measuring Product-Related Stigma in Design .....................................................................................................................................3329
Kristof Vaes, Pieter Jan Stappers and Achiel Standaert Towards more culturally inclusive communication design practices: exploring creative participation between non-Indigenous and Indigenous people in Australia ...........................................................................................................................................................3349
Nicola St John Designing meaningful vehicle for older users: culture, technology, and experience.............................................................................3373
Chao Zhao, Vesna Popovic and Xiaobo Lu Towards Innovative and Inclusive Architecture ..................................................................................................................................3393
Sidse Grangaard Hidden public spaces: when a university campus becomes a place for communities ...........................................................................3407
Davide Fassi, Laura Galluzzo and Liat Rogel – Volume 9 – SECTION 22 FOOD AND EATING DESIGN Introduction: Food and Eating Design.................................................................................................................................................3427
Hendrik N.J. Schifferstein Designing with Empathy: Implications for Food Design.......................................................................................................................3435
Hafdís Sunna Hermannsdóttir, Cecilie Dawes, Hanne Gideonsen and Eva De Moor Designing for sustainability: a dialogue-based approach to the design of food packaging experiences. ...............................................3449
Zoi Stergiadou, Jenny Darzentas and Spyros Bofylatos Towards a sensory congruent beer bottle: Consumer associations between beer brands, flavours, and bottle designs .......................3467
Anna Fenko, Sanne Heiltjes and Lianne van den Berg-Weitzel SECTION 23 OBJECTS, PRACTICES, EXPERIENCES AND NETWORKS Introduction: Objects, Practices, Experiences and Networks ...............................................................................................................3479
Tom Fisher and Lorraine Gamman Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design ........................................................................................................3485
Deborah Maxwell, Liz Edwards, Toby Pillatt and Niamh Downing Uber and Language/Action Theory .....................................................................................................................................................3503
Michael Arnold Mages Emotional Fit: Developing a new fashion design methodology for mature women..............................................................................3521
Katherine Townsend, Ania Sadkowska and Juliana Sissons From Afterthought to Precondition: re-engaging Design Ethics from Technology, Sustainability, and Responsibility ...........................3539
Jeffrey Chan Design for Resourceful Ageing: Intervening in the Ethics of Gerontechnology .....................................................................................3553
Elisa Giaccardi, Lenneke Kuijer and Louis Neven SECTION 24 REFRAMING THE PARADOX – EXAMINING THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN AND DESIGN FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR Introduction: Reframing the Paradox – Evidence-based Design and Design for the Public Sector.........................................................3569
Luke Feast Open Practices: lessons from co-design of public services for behaviour change .................................................................................3573
Simon O’Rafferty, Adam DeEyto and Huw Lewis Capturing the “How”: Showing the value of co-design through creative evaluation ............................................................................3591
Arthi Kanchana Manohar, Madeline Smith and Mirian Calvo Design in the Time of Policy Problems ................................................................................................................................................3605
Lucy Kimbell The introduction of design to policymaking: Policy Lab and the UK government .................................................................................3619
Jocelyn Bailey and Peter Lloyd Problematizing Evidence-Based Design: A Case Study of Designing for Services in the Finnish Government ........................................3635
Helena Sustar and Luke Feast
Designed Engagement .......................................................................................................................................................................3653
Gemma Teal and Tara French Public design and social innovation: Learning from applied research ..................................................................................................3669
Caroline Gagnon and Valérie Côté Design as analysis: examining the use of precedents in parliamentary debate. ...................................................................................3687
Darren Umney, Christopher Earl and Peter Lloyd Exposing charities to design-led approaches through design research. ...............................................................................................3705
Laura Warwick and Robert Djaelani – Volume 10 – SECTION 25 SUSTAINABLE DESIGN Introduction: Sustainable Design .......................................................................................................................................................3725
Rhoda Trimingham Design for Sustainability: An Evolutionary Review ..............................................................................................................................3731
Fabrizio Ceschin and Idil Gaziulusoy Consumer Product Design and Innovation: Past, present and future...................................................................................................3755
Robin Roy Product-Service Systems or Service Design ‘By-Products’? A Systems Thinking Approach ...................................................................3771
John Darzentas and Jenny Darzentas Supporting SMEs in designing sustainable business models for energy access for the BoP: a strategic design tool ...............................3785
Silvia Emili, Fabrizio Ceschin and David Harrison Extending clothing lifetimes: an exploration of design and supply chain challenges. ...........................................................................3815
Lynn Oxborrow and Stella Claxton The effect of consumer attitudes on design for product longevity: The case of the fashion industry ....................................................3831
Angharad McLaren, Helen Goworek, Tim Cooper, Lynn Oxborrow and Helen Hill Framing Complexity in Design through theories of Social Practice and Structuration: A comparative case study of urban cycling ........3847
Tobias Barnes Hofmeister and Martina Keitsch Integrating Sustainability Literacy into Design Education ....................................................................................................................3861
Andrea Quam Design of resilient consumer products ...............................................................................................................................................3873
Anders Haug Designing for Sustainable Transition through Value Sensitive Design ..................................................................................................3889
Luisa Sze-man Mok, Sampsa Hyysalo and Jenni Väänänen Mixing up everyday life - uncovering sufficiency practices through designerly tools ............................................................................3913
Miriam Lahusen, Susanne Ritzmann, Florian Sametinger, Gesche Joost and Lars-Arvid Brischke Give car-free life a try: Designing seeds for changed practices ............................................................................................................3929
Mia Hesselgren and Hanna Hasselqvist A sociotechnical framework for the design of collaborative services: diagnosis and conceptualisation ................................................3943
Joon Sang Baek, Sojung Kim and Yoonee Pahk Moving Textile Artisans’ Communities towards a Sustainable Future – A Theoretical Framework .......................................................3961
Francesco Mazzarella, Carolina Escobar-Tello and Val Mitchell Sharing 10 years of experience with class AUP0479 – Design for Sustainability ...................................................................................3983
Maria Cecília Santos, Tatiana Sakurai and Verena Lima SECTION 26 THE POLITICS OF COMMONING AND DESIGN Introduction: The Politics of Commoning and Design ..........................................................................................................................4005
Bianca Elzenbaumer, Valeria Graziano and Kim Trogal Commons & community economies: entry points to design for eco-social justice? .............................................................................4015
Fabio Franz and Bianca Elzenbaumer Design Togetherness, Pluralism and Convergence ..............................................................................................................................4029
Monica Lindh Karlsson and Johan Redström Designing participation for commoning in temporary spaces: A case study in Aveiro, Portugal ...........................................................4045
Janaina Teles Barbosa, Maria Hellström Reimer and João Almeida Mota From Rules in Use to Culture in Use – Commoning and Infrastructuring Practices in an Open Cultural Movement ...............................4063
Sanna Marttila
Index of Authors ………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4080
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Editorial DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.651
The 50th Anniversary conference of the Design Research Society is a special event at an interesting time for Design Research. The Design Research Society was formed in 1966 following the Conference on Design Methods held at Imperial College London in 1962. In the lead up to DRS2016 we contacted the secretary to the 1962 conference, Peter Slann, who now lives in Scotland, and who sent us the original reel-to-reel audio tape recordings of that conference. Listening to those tapes it is striking not only how similar some of the discussions are about design and design research, but also how much has changed. In 1962 every voice is a male British voice. One comment at the end of the conference stands out as significant. Thanking people for coming to the conference and looking towards the future at the end of the closing session, John Page, then Professor of Building Science at Sheffield University, asks the audience three questions (the quote is verbatim): “if one agrees that there are bodies of knowledge that have been raised here, which need further exploration – particularly a case in point would be the terminology of design – is there any point in trying to get some kind of inter-disciplinary working party going on these problems? In this question of disciplines, is there any machinery or any way of arranging for an interchange of information between specialists and people working at Universities? Lastly, is there any point in making the whole thing more of a formal entity, a society, or something of that kind?”
Fifty years later it is clear that there was a point. The DRS as it exists today can trace its origins to the affirmation of that last question in 1962, and the ‘some kind of interdisciplinary working party’ that Design Research has become owes its identity to that 1960’s future-focused thinking. Since the Conference on Design Methods in 1962 many Design Research conferences have been held, with the DRS often as a key organiser. Certainly in the earlier days, defined subfields of research originated from these conferences. Design Participation in 1971 started the participative design movement that has grown into present day co-design. Design for Need, held in 1976, and taking a global view of the population, started both sustainable and inclusive design, and Design Policy held in 1980 introduced a much needed social, political and international dimension to the design research field as Design itself lurched into the consumerist 80s. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Peter Lloyd
From almost every conference comes a thread that leads to the present day, so the fiftieth anniversary conference represents a point to gather these threads together, see how they complement and blend with one another, and consider what kind of textile they might weave in the coming years. Indeed, the early advice that many gave was not to spend too much time looking back and to concentrate on the future. For DRS2016, as well as the Design Research field more generally, the increasing number of PhD researchers is a sign that this future is set to be a healthy one. A significant number of papers in these proceedings are the result of doctoral research projects and organisations like PhD by Design, who had a strong presence at DRS2016, ensure that today’s PhD Researchers will become tomorrow’s Design Research leaders. The DRS Conferences have always looked to develop new formats for people to engage with one another, over and above the standard paper presentation. The 1973 Design Activities conference aimed at: “the provision of an extension of media forms beyond the normal ‘verbalized’ media of the average conference with the idea that such extensions were significant contributions to dialectical form, and not just ‘entertainments’.”
The 2014 DRS conference, in Sweden, continued that tradition by introducing ‘Conversations’ and ‘Debates’ alongside the more traditional academic paper presentation. It feels entirely appropriate that the field of Design Research is at the forefront of conference design, appropriating new technologies in developing more productive formats for discussion, networking, and presentation. And rightly so, because in an age when research papers and keynote presentations are available online we need to ask whether a conference, with all the travel, expense, and carbon involved, is still the most effective way of energizing and invigorating a research field. DRS2016 is no exception and continues this ongoing conference prototyping activity. We have tried to develop a discursive conference that leans both towards the academic, in research papers, but also towards the practical in Conversations and Workshops. So this is a conference that presents existing research, projects, and discussions not as fixed end points, but as ongoing dialogue. To do that we have tried to balance the online conference with the offline one, and the ephemeral with the enduring. Partly this approach helps to provide a continued legacy for the conference, but it also helps to include as many people as possible in (re)directing the dialogical flow of research activity. As an organising committee we met in January 2015 to talk about key questions, conference themes and conference design. From that discussion the three individual words of the DRS – Design, Research, and Society – were felt to define an interesting area for a conference; one that was about the practice and doing of design but also about design’s societal impact and the moderating role that research plays between the two. Design + Research + Society perhaps represents a larger area than that of the Design Research Society, but as these proceedings demonstrate the appetite is clearly apparent for Design Research to embrace ever-wider concerns.
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The underlying premise, however, was that 50 years of design research has provided us with a sound understanding of design and a solid foundation upon which to build. The interesting questions, then, appeared to us as not so much how we do more of the same – though that of course has its place – but in how we use what we now know. Hence the three broad questions that the papers in these conference proceedings respond to: How can design research help frame and address the societal problems that face us? How can design research be a creative and active force for rethinking ideas about Design? How can design research shape our lives in more responsible, meaningful, and open ways? The DRS has a number of established Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which the organising committee thought important to prioritise but we also wanted to find a way to add additional emerging and complementary research themes to these. This resulted in a call for additional themes in June 2015 and a selection process that resulted in 15 further themes (from 25 proposals) alongside the 9 themes represented by the Special Interest Groups. The idea of a ‘conference of conferences’ began to emerge, with theme papers managed by subchairs, but consistency of peer-review overseen by a central review committee across all themes. The systems currently available for managing paper submission, in the case of DRS2016 the excellent ConfTool system, now provide comprehensive integrative platforms to conduct sophisticated submission, peer-review, rebuttal, discussion, communication, and programming of papers, which means we can be more confident than ever about the academic quality of the final papers accepted for DRS2016. In total we received just under 500 paper submissions all of which were reviewed by two, and sometimes three reviewers, as well as being managed by theme chairs. In total 939 reviews were written by 290 reviewers with 200 papers being accepted, and a further 40 accepted following revision. This represents an acceptance rate of 49%. The 240 papers in these proceedings have been grouped under 26 themes, 23 of which have been closely managed and developed by theme chairs (the other 3 themes derived from an Open Call). In these proceedings you will find an introduction to each theme by the relevant chair(s), outlining the background to the theme and putting the papers that were finally accepted and published into a wider context. Nine of the themes are the result of calls from the Design Research Society Special Interest Groups, which are active throughout the year and that report to the DRS council regularly. Many Special Interest Groups hold their own conferences, supported by the DRS, so the papers in these proceedings, responding to the overall theme of Future-focused Thinking, should be seen as a sample of those specialisms. Fittingly for a 50th Anniversary conference there is a strong historical thread of papers – the field of Design Research now becomes a subject of historical study in the themes of Histories for Future-focused Thinking, 50 Years of Design Research, and Design for Design: The
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Influence and Legacy of John Heskett. This is a useful development, and shows the maturity of the field now, with early work not just a familiar citation in reference lists, but something that can be looked at in a wider cultural and historical context. Many of the new themes bring a more critical and speculative approach to Design Research, framing research questions and practices in ways other than what some see as more ‘traditional’ evidence-based approaches to research. These are papers that argue for a particular position or approach to understanding design or practice. Examples of these themes include Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics & Design; Design-ing and Creative Philosophies, and Reframing the Paradox: Evidence-based Design and Design for the Public Sector. The emerging area of Social Design is well represented in the areas of Design Innovation for Society and The Politics of Commoning and Design and shows the importance of Design Research to discussing and achieving concrete outcomes for social good. The idea and limits of Design and Design Research are explored in many themes, but in particular Objects, Experiences, Practices & Networks; Design and Translation; and Design for Tangible, Embedded and Networked Technologies take a more systemic view of design, placing it within a network of activities and technologies. In contrast to this other themes focus much more on the individual and collective experience of designers and others involved in the process of design, for example: Experiential Knowledge; Embodied Making and Learning; Aesthetic Pleasure in Design; and Food and Eating Design. Of course there are themes that have been ever-present in DRS, and in other Design Research, conferences – understanding design process and the nature of design knowledge are the subject of the Design Epistemology and Design Process themes. The practical impacts that design can have on all types of organisations are explored in Design Thinking, an area of continued and increasing interest, and Design Innovation Management. Design Education and Learning, now with its own large biennial conference series, was the most popular theme for DRS2016, with 28 papers accepted from 53 submissions. Finally, there are a set of well-developed themes, organised as part of DRS Special Interest Groups, that broadly explore the welfare of others both in a small and large sense embracing ideas of person-centredness, responsibility and ethics. These themes include Design for Health, Wellbeing, and Happiness; Inclusive Design; and finally Sustainable Design. As in any research field the definitions between sub-areas often blur and overlap, and there are themes that contradict and conflict with one another, strongly arguing against a particular approach or theoretical grounding of another area. The DRS2016 keynote debates were designed to explore some of these issues and fault lines but more generally this should be taken as a sign of health and maturity. For many years we have heard that Design Research is a new field, still finding its feet, but as an organising committee we think the definition and extent of the themes in these proceedings demonstrate precisely the opposite. In Fifty years we have built up a strong and diverse research field that is widely applicable, broadly inclusive and, in 2016, more relevant than ever.
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There is a sense in which design research sits at the crux of a false dichotomy; between on the one hand research in a ‘pure’ form (which values objectivity, subjectivity, experiment, discourse, history, analysis) and on the other the active engagement in shaping future forms by suggestion, prototype, speculation, practice, and intervention at all levels, from the molecular to the political, from the anthropological to the computational. In an increasingly fragmented and atomised world Design Research is a field which reveals the falsehood of the dichotomy. It is a field that collectively links disciplines, audiences, and technologies in a critical but productive way. The design of a conference – with its implicit value systems, partiality to statistical analysis, but with an emergent structure and representation – is no bad example of a future-focused design research that shares what knowledge is known and explores what knowledge is possible. Finally, we would like to thank all people – the local organisation, the international programme and review committee, and all the reviewers – involved in organising DRS2016 and who have contributed to such a huge collective effort. The valuable time that has been given in helping to shape and deliver the conference has been very much appreciated. Thanks should also go to the Design Research Society, for supporting the conference so effectively; to the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London for providing time and resources as partner Universities; and to the University of Brighton, particularly the College of Arts and Humanities, for enabling the early vision of a 50 th Anniversary DRS conference to be fulfilled. Peter Lloyd DRS2016 Conference Chair Vice Chair of the DRS Brighton, UK
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Previous Design Research Society and Associated Conferences 1962 Conference on Design Methods, London, UK 1964 The Teaching of Engineering Design, Scarborough, UK 1965 The Design Method, Birmingham, UK 1967 Design Methods in Architecture, Portsmouth, UK 1971 Design Participation, Manchester, UK 1972 Design and Behaviour, Birmingham, UK 1973 The Design Activity, London, UK 1974 Problem Identification for Design, Manchester, UK 1976 Design for Need, London, UK 1976 Changing Design, Portsmouth, UK 1978 Architectural Design, Istanbul, Turkey 1980 Design Science Method, Portsmouth, UK 1982 Design Policy, London, UK 1984 The Role of the Designer, Bath, UK 1998 Quantum Leap, Birmingham, UK 1999 CoDesigning, Coventry, UK 2002 Common Ground, London, UK 2004 Futureground, Melbourne, Australia 2006 Wonderground, Lisbon, Portugal 2008 Undisciplined!, Sheffield, UK 2010 Design And Complexity, Montreal, Canada 2012 Uncertainty, Contradiction and Value, Bangkok, Thailand 2014 Design's Big Debates, Umea, Sweden
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SECTION 13 DESIGN INNOVATION FOR SOCIETY
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Introduction: Design Innovation for Society Nynke Trompa and Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwerb a
University of Technology, Sydney TU Delft DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.628
b
What an exciting time for design it is. Instead of being merely concerned with the creation of artefacts, contemporary design may now seek ways to shape governance structures in Indonesia, may facilitate dialogue about the risks and challenges of self-presentation online, or may seek social transformation for people in vulnerable positions. Clearly, designers and scholars involved here are not concerned about revenue, but about social value: about improving the way people live together. With this goal in mind, the designer is no longer on solid ground, but enters the realm of politics. She needs to lever between power structures, engage various stakeholders, and advocate new ways of thinking. Which role the designer could or maybe should adopt in innovation processes that aim for social good is not clearly articulated yet. We are at the stage of experimenting and exploring what roles the designer can play and what value this brings. Nevertheless, the notion that current societies are in urgent need for new approaches and solutions clearly fosters the bravery to invite the creative to the public domain. Because not only do designers wish to ‘do good’ and move into social design practice, also the public sector increasingly acknowledges that creative thinkers and new relationships with citizens are needed. In this new discipline of design, we see focus on the social system that is coping with the problem and/or has potential in contributing to the solution, or a focus on the object of design, which can be a boundary object for facilitating the innovation processes, or the eventual outcome of design. In reference to the papers included in this theme, we provide an overview of contemporary research within design innovation for society and raise three important issues that revolve around the theme. To be able to move from a commercial design practice to design innovation for society, we need a practice that produces products, services and interventions that generate value for society. This is not only about generating innovative ideas, but also about the implementation of them and the continuous delivery of public value, or in other words, providing service. Addressing complex societal challenges often includes developing services. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
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And because the nature of these problems is networked (Dorst, 2015), the design of services requires collaboration between stakeholders across different organisations and disciplines (Sørensen & Torfing, 2012). Collaborative services for complex social issues are usually provided through the public sector, but can also be created and delivered through publicprivate innovation networks (Gallouj, Rubalcaba, & Windrum, 2013); through voluntary and community associations, business and professional and citizen groups (Kelly, Mulgan, & Muers, 2002) or through a process of ‘co-production’ in which citizens and state work together to produce public outcomes (Christiansen & Bunt, 2014). As such, the boundaries between service users and service providers are blurry and increasingly overlapping, resulting in a complex service system. To be able to design for such complex service systems requires that designers understand the complexity of these systems and find ways to ensure that the various stakeholders in the system will adopt new service concepts. This includes an understanding of the boundaries of what can and cannot be designed or controlled in a complex system. One way to look at this is through the organisations and people within organisations that collectively constitute a complex service system. Opposing the management discourse based on technical rationality that assumes that organisations are systems which can be controlled, Stacey and Griffin (2006, p30) state that organisations are not actually existing things called systems but, rather, are ongoing, iterated patterns of relationships between people. The global patterns we recognize as complex service systems, such as the health service or the educational service, are continually emerging in these myriad local interactions (ibid, p39). This suggests that we cannot completely design or prescribe complex service systems, but that we can try to design for them. Indeed we can observe a trend that design practices in the public realm are increasingly aimed at designing ‘infrastructures’ that influence the relationships between stakeholders in the system, rather than designing service concepts for end-users. For example, MindLab recently designed a ‘speed-sharing event’ that allows the municipality of Odense to support primary school teachers in sharing knowledge with each other to improve their teaching (Nygaard & Reynolds, 2015). Rather than designing an ‘educational service’ for children and their parents (the end-users), the project was aimed at improving the infrastructure of that service that influences the relationships between teachers, and the relationship between teachers and the municipality. To be able to design for such complex service systems puts designers in a role of ‘mediator’ between service providers, and between service providers and service users. As a mediator the designer facilitates a dialogue between stakeholders – through for example co-design practices or boundary objects - aiming at a reciprocal understanding of their needs and perspectives. However, the designer-mediator role is not only about facilitating this dialogue. It also requires expertise to use the understanding of the stakeholders to inform the development of interventions that allow for the emergence of new patterns of relationships between the people within the complex service system. These new patterns of relationships can then lead to new (bottom-up) strategies to create value for society. The
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speed sharing event designed by MindLab, led to new relationships between teachers, which in turn resulted in new bottom-up teaching strategies to create value for children in schools. Not surprisingly, for many, societal innovation goes hand in hand with participatory processes. And this has led to valuable results: the focus on underlying needs and concerns of stakeholders fosters open dialogue, and thereby the space to not only improve the outcome of design, the service, but equally so the provision of the service: its governance. Van der Bijl-Brouwer illustrates effectively how a new ‘frame’ may unite stakeholders in deciding upon a new way of working, one in which earlier obstacles could be overcome and in which service-users can actually become part of the service provision. In a similar line of thinking, Torres Castanedo & Micklethwaite illustrate nicely how a co-design approach may activate people to recognise and exchange their human capability to strengthen the social welfare of the community. Through workshops and creative sessions with end-users as well as service providers, ideas were developed that as such did not require new resources but foremost human capital. Given both the work of Durrant et al. and Cooney et al., such processes could benefit from visual narratives that act as boundary objects: either to be able to integrate research findings in one’s work as public servant, or as a way to make sense of the topic at hand and discuss this together. Torres Castanedo & Micklethwaite’s focus on human capital is in line with what Munro advocates for in his paper. Given the fact that social design often revolves around problems, and people who have problems, Munro argues that designers should prevent this problem-oriented approach and shift to a design process that aims for social transformation. Equally seeking to improve the wellbeing of vulnerable people through design, Whitehead, Evans & Bingham present a tool to improve the new product development process to ensure designs fit the social context of people living in poverty. In contrast to the societal innovation processes that start with a social objective, both Rosenqvist & Mitchell and Kempenaar start off with an existing public design, and put forward design approaches to improve the design and/or its governance. Kempenaar focuses on regional design and illustrates the parallels their process revealed with participatory design. Discussing three levels of governance -direct governance (first), the vision that guides governance (second), and the values and norms that govern this governance (third)- Rosenqvist & Mitchell study how a design approach could also influence more directly the second and third order governance. In their view, the designed environment, the products and services can make governance structures tangible for people and thereby empower them, similar to design activism. These papers show how design is capable of improving the organisation and governance of services, maybe even more than offering new ideas for services. The papers show that design can support occupational rehabilitation, mental health care, wastewater management, elderly care, poverty, and digital literacy. Bringing this to the educational domain, Cattoir-Brisson at al. have placed the concept of project centre to the development of their curriculum to teach and study social innovation by design in projects with public partners. In their view, social innovation relies on the relatively recently adopted agency-model in design, yet its goal can be traced back to the origin of design: improving the quality of our shared existence. In how to constitute this
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quality or societal value, students are taught conceptual frameworks from the social sciences and humanities and are taught how to coordinate multiple stakeholder processes. Although many designers and design scholars are currently developing methods and tools to support societal innovation by design, little is said about how social value is exactly defined: what does betterment of society mean? The very fact that there might be no ‘right answer’ to this question may be one of the reasons co-design is often the route designers take. Thorpe and Gamman argue this indeed “necessitates a co-design approach that is plural and equitable regarding the agency of actors within the design process” (Thorpe & Gamman, 2011, p. 219). And clearly, the papers in this theme reveal its value. Nonetheless, we wish to address three issues that may lead to problems in the future when we do not account for them. Firstly, the fact that stakeholders often provide input in response to the current context, i.e., the (problematic) situation that exists at the moment. In other words, what they consider important, valuable or desirable has been framed by the existing system. But examining today’s problems using today’s lens can only partly help to understand how to design for a better society: we also need the knowledge, the theories and philosophies that help us to understand what makes a viable community in the long term. So similar to how a politician is informed both by everyday experiences (which admittedly is lacking in current politics) and science/knowledge, so too should the social designer lean on both channels for understanding. Secondly, ‘human-centred’ design is not the same as ‘society-centred’ design. Many explain designers’ human-centeredness as particularly valuable for the public sector, considering that many societal systems, like education and health care, have grown so large that the human touch is often lost. From the macro view, we agree that a human perspective is crucial. However, in adopting this perspective it is important to understand that what may be desirable from an end-user perspective (the type of perspective many designers regularly take) can easily conflict with what is best for society as a whole. Social design inevitably deals with competing interests—known as social dilemmas —in which individual concerns and social interests conflict (Van Lange & Joireman, 2008) and can actually offer unique solutions for resolving these (Tromp, 2013). Finally, it can be argued that what most people want is not necessarily ‘good’. Including the wants of every stakeholder in the design decision-making process may have less than desirable ethical implications. There are, however, philosophers who can help us articulate ‘what is good’; not to provide a single ‘correct’ answer, but to guide decision-making partly from a moral standpoint. For example, the products and services we develop for health and education also define which people are ‘sick’ or ‘dumb’. Prescriptions such as these may not be readily apparent in the design of a single device, but when we develop a national electronic patient file system, they are. Using values to guide design decisions for such systems is already quite common (e.g., Value-Sensitive Design; Friedman, Kahn, & Borning, 2002). Since social design is inherently dealing with trade-offs between conflicting concerns, ascertaining the value-related dimension of a design is unquestionably central to social
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design and innovation methodology, especially for large-scale transformations in the public sector.
References Christiansen, Jesper, & Bunt, Laura. (2014). Innovating public policy: allowing for social complexity and uncertainty in the design of public outcomes. In C. Bason (Ed.), Design for Policy. Farnham Surrey, England: Gower Publishing Limited. Dorst, Kees. (2015). Frame Innovation; create new thinking by design. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Friedman, B., Kahn, P. H., & Borning, A. (2002). Value Sensitive Design: Theory and Methods. Univeristy of Washington technical report, 02-12. Gallouj, Faïz, Rubalcaba, Luis, & Windrum, Paul. (2013). Public-private innovation networks in services (ServPPINs). In F. Gallouj, L. Rubalcaba & P. Windrum (Eds.), Public-Private Innovation Networks in Services (pp. 1-20). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Kelly, Gavin, Mulgan, Geoff, & Muers, Stephen. (2002). Creating Public Value: An analytical framework for public service reform. UK: Strategy Unit, Cabinet Office Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100416132449/http:/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/stra tegy/seminars/public_value.aspx. Nygaard, Lene, & Reynolds, Sophie. (2015). Creation solutions for Danish teachers: the time and quality dilemma. from http://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/creating-solutions-danish-teachers-timeand-quality-dilemma-0 Sørensen, Eva, & Torfing, Jacob. (2012). Introduction Collaborative Innovation in the Public Sector. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 17(1), 1-14. Stacey, R., & Griffin, D. (2006). Complexity and the Experience of Managing in Public Sector Organizations. New York: Routledge. Tromp, N. (2013) Social Design: How products and services can help us act in ways that benefit society. Delft Univeristy of Technology: PhD thesis. Van Lange, P. A. M., & Joireman, J. A. (2008). How We Can Promote Behavior That Serves All of Us in the Future. Social Issues and Policy Review, 2(1), 127-157.
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The Challenges of Human-Centred Design in a Public Sector Innovation Context Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer University of Technology Sydney mieke.vanderbijl-brouwer@uts.edu.au DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.294
Abstract: The world is increasingly faced with complex societal problems such as climate change, an ageing population, radicalising youth and chronic health problems. Public sector organisations have a key role in addressing these issues. It is widely acknowledged that tackling these problems requires new approaches and methods. Design, and in particular human-centred design, offers opportunities to develop these methods. In this paper I argue that a new type of human-centred innovation practice is necessary to adjust traditional user-centred design methods and tools to the public sector innovation context. This context involves different types of stakeholders with conflicting needs and aspirations, and requires a precise articulation of the value of human-centred design. I will propose a possible answer to these challenges through a case study relating to severe mental illness, in which we applied Dorst’s frame creation methodology, in combination with the NADI-model of Needs and Aspirations for Design and Innovation. Keywords: public sector, human-centred design, design innovation, methods and tools
Introduction The world is increasingly confronted with complex societal challenges including climate change, poverty, crime, health issues and an ageing population. Public sector organisations play a key role in developing solutions for these issues. However, many argue that traditional government tools and approaches to addressing these challenges may not provide solutions, and that new approaches towards public sector innovation are required (Daglio, Gerson, & Kitchen, 2014; Sørensen & Torfing, 2012) Over the past decade, design has emerged as a possible answer to dealing with these challenges. Dorst (2015) advocates that the new open, complex, dynamic and networked problems of our time require a radically different response, and that design can contribute This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
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to this as expert designers deal with the new types of problems in their professional field without too much trouble. The application of design outside the traditional design domain is often called ‘design thinking’. In their publication on design for public good the UK design council states that ‘design thinking is the way to overcome common structural flaws in service provision and policymaking’ (UK Design Council, 2013). Likewise Bason (2010) argues that design approaches and tools can help government to consciously create meaning and value we want citizens, businesses and other actors in society to experience. When design is applied within a public sector context, it sits within the field of ‘public sector innovation’. Bason (2010) defines public sector innovation as the process of creating new ideas and turning them into value for society. It is therefore not just about generating creative ideas, but also about the implementation of them and the continuous delivery of value. Innovation in the public sector considers the design and implementation of products, services, processes, positions, strategies, governance and rhetoric (Hartley, 2005). The desired result of these innovations is the creation of ‘public value’, including service quality, societal outcomes (reduced crime, educational attainment), and societal values such as democracy, equality, and trust, legitimacy, and confidence in the government (Bason, 2010; Kelly, Mulgan, & Muers, 2002; Vigoda-Gadot, Shoham, Schwabsky, & Ruvio, 2008). The application of design in public sector innovation is resulting in a new emerging practice in which design approaches are used to design and implement public services, products, policies and procedures across domains such as housing, employment, health, crime prevention, and education (van der Bijl-Brouwer, Kaldor, Watson, & Hillen, 2015). Although some promising results have been achieved, this practice has also been critiqued in different ways (Dorst, 2015; Mulgan, 2014). The application of design thinking in the public sector has often led to public servants not taking on the full potential of design as an innovation approach. At the same time, designers have often ignored the particular characteristics of the public sector context in their social designs, which has often failed to lead to long-lasting social innovations. There are various elements of design that contribute to public sector innovation. For example, the UK Design Council (2013) showed that design contributes to public sector innovation through integrating analysis, solution and implementation, looking at the entire system, understanding user needs, testing iteratively, and engaging teams and departments in collaboration across silos. In this paper I will focus specifically on the application of usercentred design methods and tools to public sector innovation. In the next section I will firstly describe two challenges of applying human-centred design in a public sector innovation context. Next I will give an example of an approach that addresses these challenges, which I will illustrate through a case study. I will conclude this paper with discussing an agenda for the study of human-centred innovation practices in a public sector context.
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The challenges of human centred design in a public sector innovation context Human-centred design (HCD) is a group of methods and principles that are aimed at designing useful, usable, pleasurable and meaningful products or services for people. The main principle of these methods is that they describe how to use insights about human beings – users, customers, or other stakeholders - to design products or services that meet their needs and aspirations. HCD has developed from a methodology focussed on ergonomics and anthropometric data (Dreyfuss, 1955), to a more contextualised designfocussed methodology that integrates needs and aspirations across the physical, cognitive and emotional domain, and that involves users and other stakeholders in the design process in different ways (for example Jordan, 1999; Norman, 1998; Sanders & Stappers, 2008). HCD has matured to such an extent that it is now increasingly being adopted in sectors outside the traditional design domain to support innovation. Publications by Martin (2009) and Brown (2005) kick-started the ‘design thinking’ movement, which advocates the application of design methods to develop business strategies to gain competitive advantage. Furthermore, following the early work of Papanek (1984), design is gaining popularity in the public and social sector to address complex societal problems (Bason, 2010; Dorst, 2015; Manzini, 2015). However, applying HCD methods and principles in a public sector innovation context is not just a matter of taking the principles and methods and applying them directly to public sector problems. As the public sector context is fundamentally different from the traditional human-centred design context, it requires a new trans disciplinary practice (van der BijlBrouwer, Kaldor, Watson, and Hillen, 2015). The two challenges from a HCD perspective that I will discuss in this paper are firstly the complexity of identifying the human beings that are at the centre of HCD in a public sector context, and secondly the need to articulate the value of HCD methods and tools.
2.1 Challenge 1: Who are at the Centre of Human-Centred Design in the Public Sector? Traditionally design theory and methods have been centred on the end-user of products, so called user-centred design (e.g. Norman, 1998). The adoption of design thinking in businesses in the private sector has broadened the focus from the user to the customer or consumer. Likewise, in the public sector the term citizen-centred public service design has recently emerged (Mager, Grimes, Atvur, McMullin, & Malhotra, 2013). However, to make sure that design proposals are implemented and embedded within the public sector organisational context, we need to look further than just the people who receive or use a solution. The networked character of many complex societal problems, means that many stakeholders are involved who are either influenced by the problem and/or potentially play a role in solving the problem (Dorst, 2015). The needs and aspirations of all the stakeholders that are part of the problem and solution need to be addressed to be able to develop
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solutions that are adopted and implemented by those stakeholders. For example, it is important to address the needs of service providers to motivate them to deliver high quality services (van der Bijl-Brouwer & Watson, 2015). A second challenge with regard to the ‘target group’ of HCD in a public sector innovation context, is that the target group is not something that can be deliberately chosen. The public sector is held accountable for providing public value for all citizens, and it is not publicly accepted that people ‘fall through the cracks’. This is a fundamental difference to innovation in the private sector, where target groups can strategically be chosen to find opportunities for innovation that align with the organisation’s strategy (for example Bucolo, Wrigley, & Matthews, 2012).
2.2 Challenge 2: Articulating the Value of HCD Methods and Tools The transfer of design practices to fields outside the traditional design field has resulted in an increasing number of ‘non-designers’ taking on design approaches themselves or engaging with design professionals, to develop innovative solutions. This includes public managers who seek to drive change in their public sector organisations through designbased approaches. A widely recognised element of public sector innovation is the need to develop and implement solutions across agencies and organisations (van der Bijl-Brouwer, Kaldor, Watson & Hillen, 2015, Sørensen & Torfing, 2012). It is therefore essential to engage teams and departments in collaboration across ‘silos’, as indicated by the UK Design Council (2013). In a cross-silo co-design situation involving non-expert designers it becomes particularly relevant to articulate how design-based practices contribute to innovation. This ‘consciousness’ of the value of design-based practices is required to embed innovation in a public sector organisation (Bason, 2010). At the moment this need is met by the availability of a plethora of online toolkits, method cards and books, as well as tutorials, master classes, and courses in various methods. The risk of providing people with random collections of methods is that it can be quite overwhelming. More importantly, the possible experienced superficiality of individual methods might distract from the real value of human-centred innovation approaches. We therefore need succinct and clear means to articulate what can and cannot be achieved using HCD in a public sector innovation context.
A human-centred innovation approach To address abovementioned challenges of human-centred design in a public sector context, we have experimented with various methods and tools in our research centre. The underlying methodology we use to address networked problems is Frame Creation, developed by Dorst (2015). Furthermore the need to better articulate the value of humancentred design methods and tools have led to the development of a model of Needs and Aspirations for Design and Innovation (NADI-model) (van der Bijl-Brouwer & Dorst, 2014). I will introduce this methodology and model in this section.
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3.1 Dorst’s Frame Creation Methodology Dorst (2015) developed the Frame Creation methodology based on a combination of empirical studies into expert designer’s practice, a fundamental analysis into reasoning patterns and different forms of rationality, and experimental practice. The approach is particularly suitable to address problems with an open, complex, dynamic and networked character. The main principle of the approach is that addressing these problems requires a ‘reframe’ of the problem, a new perspective on the problem. The following three elements of the methodology are of particular interest when we look at the challenges of humancentred design in a public sector context: Context and field: these steps are aimed at identifying and examining stakeholders. Dorst distinguishes stakeholders in the context and in the field (ibid, p76). The context contains the inner circle key stakeholders who have been involved in the problem situation before, or those who are clearly going to be necessary participants in any possible solution. The field considers the wider space of players, including anyone who might be connected to the problem or the solution at some point in time. As such, Frame Creation clearly goes beyond the usual suspects in mapping stakeholders and through that addresses the challenge of human-centred design in a public sector context to address the networked character of problems. Themes: themes analysis is aimed at identifying and seeking to understand the deeper factors that underlie the needs, motivation, and experiences of the stakeholders in context and field. A theme is a phenomenological construct and may be understood as the structure of experiences. Themes are often universal human values and meanings. Identifying themes is beneficial in networked problems as they present a deeper level of the problem at which stakeholders have much in common. After identifying themes, frame creation uses methods borrowed from hermeneutic phenomenology (van Manen, 1990) to understand the themes. Understanding the pattern of a theme subsequently supports exploring new frames in the next step. Frames: to move from themes to frames and solutions, it is useful to look at how elements of the pattern of the theme are dealt with outside the original problem context. Through using metaphors a frame can then be created which forms a bridge between the problem and the solution (Dorst & Tomkin, 2011). Different frames are then analysed on their ‘fruitfulness’ i.e. the extent to which they open up the solution space. In section 4 I will illustrate this with a case study.
3.2 The NADI-model The focus on themes in the frame creation methodology means that it is inherently a human-centred methodology. But not every HCD method provides insights into themes. To explain how themes are related to insights that are gathered through other methods, we developed a four-layer model of insights into human Needs and Aspirations for Design and Innovation (NADI-model). The model is based on an analysis (see van der Bijl-Brouwer & Dorst, 2014) of the kinds of ‘deep’ insights that experts in design and innovation recommend
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to gather (e.g. Hekkert & van Dijk, 2011; Martin, 2009). We found that we can distinguish four levels of insights: needs and aspirations that are related to solutions, scenarios, goals, and themes (figure 1).
Figure 1 The NADI-model: a model of insights into Needs and Aspirations for Design and Innovation
On the solution level we find the insights that are related to what people want, such as products and services. One level deeper, the scenario level describes how they want to interact with a solution. The deepest levels of insights are the goals and themes levels, which describe why people want certain solutions and scenarios. The difference between goals and themes is that goals describe what people want to achieve within the context of a certain design problem, while the themes describe the underlying needs and aspirations that can be analysed independently of that context. For example, the design of a sports car might be based on the themes ‘identity’ and ‘independence’; both of which are also relevant in situations outside of a sports car. The goals, in the context of a car, could be that someone likes to have a car all to him or herself and that the car should fit that identity of independence. The scenarios that achieve these goals are ‘getting attention while driving on a boulevard on your own’. The solution could be a two-seater (just for yourself) or a convertible car (being visible). We developed the model because we have experienced that the different levels of insights each have a different purpose in the design and innovation process. As I explained in the section on the Dorst’s frame creation methodology, the advantage of an analysis of themes is that it stimulates (re-) framing of problems and through that opens up the solution space. On the other hand, gathering insights on the scenario level is mostly valuable for incremental innovation that does not require a reframe of the problem, or for refining solutions after the frame has been set. Furthermore scenarios are beneficial for communicating solutions as they provide a common language across stakeholders (van der Bijl-Brouwer & van der Voort, 2013). The NADI-model addresses the need to articulate the value of human-centred design in a public sector innovation context. The model can be used to make explicit which methods lead to which kinds of insights. Furthermore the model can be used to present new solution proposals alongside their underlying needs and aspirations. We have experienced that this
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supports the decision-making process in multi-stakeholder problems, as all the stakeholders involved in decision-making can develop a shared understanding of the needs and aspirations that a solution intends to address through the NADI-model.
A case study: supporting people with severe mental illness 4.1 Background We were asked by Hunter Partners in Recovery (PIR) to help them solve the systemic problems of supporting people with severe and persistent mental health problems who acutely need help (see also van der Bijl-Brouwer & Watson, 2015). These people are referred to by PIR as ‘consumers’. PIR aims to generate and implement interventions for this problem through particularly looking at the systemic aspects of this problem. The systemic aspects concern the problems that arise from the fact that many service providers are currently involved when people with a severe mental health problem acutely need help when they are very unwell, for example when they are psychotic, severely anxious, and/ or suicidal. In these situations the consumer, their carers (family or friends), community members or their landlord might make the first call. Ambulance might transport someone to the hospital or a mental health unit, the police might be involved when someone is threatening self-harm or harming others, the emergency department and mental health professionals provide help in the hospital, and various service providers can be involved in follow-up care including general practitioners, social workers, non-government organisations etc. This journey is often very traumatising for consumers. Furthermore there are often conflicts between for ambulance, police and emergency department about the priority of emergency responses. PIR wanted to engage all these stakeholders in the process of generating interventions, but had no capacity for a process to (co-) create solutions. They therefore invited us to support them in that process.
4.2 Case Study Approach In the project we used Dorst’s frame creation methodology and the NADI-model as described in the previous section. Within the context, field, themes and frame steps of Frame Creation we applied various (human-centred) design methods to gain the required insights. We for example used stakeholder mapping, storytelling, cultural probes, and codesign workshops to gain insights into the needs of the large variety of stakeholders in the context and field. We then applied both internal (within our research team) and external (with varying groups of stakeholders) sessions in which we explored themes and frames. The NADI-model was used to communicate frames and solutions to stakeholders. The project was executed over the course of six months.
4.3 Results of the Case Study Figure 2 shows a stakeholder map of this problem with the person with a severe mental illness and their caregivers in the middle, and around them the many persons and
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organisation that are either affected by the problem, or play a role in the development of solutions. What becomes immediately evident is that there are many people and organisations involved, and that this is therefore a very complex networked problem.
Figure 2 Stakeholder map for the systemic problems of supporting people with severe mental illness
When we explored the needs and aspirations of these stakeholders we found a number of reoccurring themes, including ‘contribution’, ‘drive’, ‘empathy’, ‘empowerment’, ‘piece of mind’ and ‘consistency and stability’. In this paper I will use the reoccurring theme ‘drive’ to illustrate how an analysis of themes can lead to the development of solutions. All interviewees and workshop participants who work in the sector mentioned their drive to make a difference. For example, an ambulance paramedic mentioned that ‘there’s no better feeling than saving someone’s life’. In Frame Creation we subsequently use methods borrowed from hermeneutic phenomenology to develop an understanding of theme outside the context of the problem.
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This includes various exercises, including reflecting on the theme through personal experiences, literature about the theme, and exploring pieces of art or music that reflect the meaning of the theme (see for examples Dorst, Kaldor, Klippan, & Watson, 2016). Through these exercises we try to find the ‘pattern’ of a theme. For example, we asked ourselves the question ‘when do you experience drive?’ and ‘what does it feel like?’ Through this analysis we found that to sustain the drive to make a difference, there is a need for feedback. This pattern is shown in figure 3. When you are driven to do something good, you feel a sense of achievement when you can see what the results of your efforts are. For example, when cooking for friends it feels good when these friends show that they are enjoying the meal. This feeling might in turn motivate you to continue organising dinner parties for your friends. Without the feedback, the drive cannot be sustained. This analysis of the theme outside the context of the problem of severe mental illness, allowed us to find this feedback pattern.
Figure 3 A pattern found through an exploration of the theme ‘drive’
The need for feedback to sustain the drive is exactly what was missing in the problem context of an acute mental illness response. Police officers for example indicated a sense of futility and frustration: ‘If we do not hear from the person again, there is an assumption that one of three things happened to them: 1) they got better, 2) they moved away, 3) they died. We are essentially feeding our efforts into a ‘cone of silence’ that does not speak back.’ Likewise, ambulance paramedics mentioned similar experiences as there is no quick fix to mental health problems: ‘It’s not like stopping the bleeding or starting the heart’. Feedback is also an essential element of another theme: learning or ‘growth’. Apart from learning through training, people learn ‘by doing’ and reflecting on what they do (reflective practice). But you only learn if you know what the effects of your actions are (figure 4). In the cooking example you can only become better at cooking when you can taste the food or when your friends tell you (honestly) what they think of the meal you prepared for them. Feedback on actions is therefore essential. A police officer confirmed this and indicated it would be useful to know what works and what wouldn’t. A part of the systemic problem of
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supporting people with severe and persistent health problems is therefore this broken cycle of drive and growth.
Figure 4 The broken cycle of the themes drive and growth
To frame the problem we looked at how the elements of the themes are dealt with in domains outside the problem context. Exploring these metaphors can lead to new frames (Dorst 2015). A frame that turned out to be particularly fruitful for the themes of ‘drive’ and ‘growth’ was looking at generating a shared response to mental illness as if it were a sports team. We found that the current shared response is like a sports team in which each player is on the field at a different moment, and each player has a different coach. This makes it very hard to collectively coach the people on the ground, and sustain their drive and growth. Through this frame we developed the solution of a ‘coaching team’. The coaching team is explained through the NADI-model in figure 5. A coaching team [solution] is a group of team leaders of each of the participating organisations (ambulance, police etc.). The envisioned scenario of this coaching team is that they frequently come together to reflect on what is happening on the ‘field’. To be able to get an appropriate view on this field we designed a new role: the ‘observer’. This is someone who interviews people with a severe mental illness who have recently been through an episode, and maps their experience through for example a journey map. This journey map is then fed into the coaching team, which allows them to reflect on their collective actions. They can then develop an adjusted coaching approach, providing both constructive feedback on the negative stories, as well as positive feedback on the good stories. The goal of this scenario is to stimulate motivation and provide reflective practice for learning for the service providers in acute mental illness situations. The underlying themes are drive and growth.
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Figure 5 NADI-model for the ‘coaching team’.
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Discussion 5.1 Who’s at the Centre of HCD in a Public Sector Context? One of the complexities of HCD in a public sector innovation context is the large amount of stakeholders involved. This was also the case in the acute mental illness case study. Through applying the frame creation methodology we explored the deeper levels of needs and aspirations to find a common ground for solutions. The common need for drive and growth led to the development of the ‘coaching team’. This raises the question which types of stakeholders we can distinguish in complex societal problems and whether we can identify a typology of reoccurring themes. For example, the themes ‘drive’ and ‘growth’ will likely reoccur in other problems involving many service providers. Without claiming to be complete I would like to discuss the following categories of stakeholders: Problem owners: the stakeholders – often public sector organisations - who are accountable for tackling a problem or take responsibility in addressing a problem, often public sector organisations. This might not always be straightforward. In the mental health case study, PIR was an organisation that was specifically put in place by the federal government to address this problem. Before their establishment there was not a clear problem owner for the systemic problems around acute mental illness. Themes that are likely to apply to problem owners are for example reputation, identity, leadership, contribution, and responsibility. End users: the stakeholders that make use of a designed solution or intervention, for example children in a school using new educational tools, or people with a disability using in home help services. Themes for this group are very diverse and relate to the specific problem that is being addressed. Direct contributors: the stakeholders who contribute to a solution by offering time and effort, for example through providing a service, e.g. school teachers contributing to the learning of children or volunteers providing help at refugee centres. Themes that often apply to direct contributors include motivation/ drive, care, identity, belonging etc. Indirect contributors: stakeholders that contribute through providing resources, including funding and infrastructure, for example a local council providing a community centre, or a government agency providing funding to an NGO to provide a service. Different themes apply to why people and organisations provide resources, such as identity, control, and accountability. The public: people who are indirectly affected by the implementation of an intervention, for example members of the community who are informed of the implementation of a new service for homeless people through the media. The public needs to be considered as they indirectly hold public sector organisations accountable through voting and paying taxes. Themes include societal values such as equality, empowerment, compassion, community etc.
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The boundaries between above-mentioned stakeholder groups are blurry and increasingly overlapping. For example, in the mental health case, people with a severe mental illness were end-users, but also contributors. They contribute through sharing their stories for the coaching team to be able to function. It was precisely that opportunity for contribution to society that motivated them to share the stories. These blurred boundaries between contributors and end-users are widely recognised in the public sector innovation literature (Bason, 2010; Kelly et al., 2002). This new relationship between public state and citizens is called co-production – working together to produce public outcomes (Christiansen & Bunt, 2014). Public sector organisations have been aware of the opportunities of co-production for some time, but there are plenty of remaining barriers to creating the conditions for its implementation (Boyle & Harris, 2009). HCD might be able to contribute to this field, by clarifying the underlying patterns of human behaviour when people contribute to, provide resources, or use interventions for complex societal issues.
5.2 Articulating the Value of HCD In the PIR case study we used the NADI-model to explain how solutions intended to address underlying needs for scenarios, goals and themes. Clarifying the relationship between problem and solution seemed to establish a common ground for decision-making. This need for a shared frame of reference in decision-making is generally acknowledged in the design research field (Visser, 2006; van der Bijl-Brouwer & van der Voort, 2014). Furthermore, the NADI-model helped in articulating which HCD methods lead to which levels of insights. For example, the interviews with caregivers resulted in many stories of experiences, which articulate their needs and aspirations on the scenario level. Further research is required to map other HCD methods to the model. The frame creation method also helped in articulating the value of HCD methods and tools. It provides a ‘backbone’ to the human-centred innovation process, by indicating how the insights gained through a specific method, e.g. stakeholder interviews, feed into the framing process, and through that the innovation process. This provides a better insight into the function of individual methods than a collection of seemingly unrelated methods and tools.
5.3 An Agenda for Researching HCD in a Public Sector Innovation Context To help mature the new emerging practice of HCD in a public sector innovation context, I propose to address the following topics in future research:
Exploring the different types of stakeholders in complex societal problems and their reoccurring needs and aspirations, such as suggested in section 5.1
How and when to include stakeholders in the public sector innovation process (e.g. through co-design). Who should facilitate this process? Who should take ownership? How can people be motivated to participate in co-design? What is the role of public sector organisations in this process?
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How to evaluate solutions in the public sector innovation process through prototyping and piloting. Prototyping and qualitative formative evaluations are required in an iterative HCD process, while the public sector context also requires evidence quantitative summative evaluations - to support the decision-making of policy makers (Mulgan, 2014).
How to relate HCD principles and concepts to theories on public value. Public value includes the quality of products and services (outputs), the outcomes of this process (e.g. lower unemployment rates), and societal values such as equality and democracy (Bason, 2010; Kelly et al., 2002). Outcomes and societal values are not part of traditional HCD practices.
Conclusion In this paper I presented two challenges of applying HCD to a public sector innovation context, and showed how Dorst’s frame creation methodology, in combination with the NADI-model addresses these challenges. However, human-centred public sector innovation should not just be seen as a challenge, but also as an opportunity. The complexity of societal issues can be better understood through the complex networks of stakeholders. HCD provides opportunities to better design and coordinate for these complex networks of stakeholders, by exploring why and how people use, adopt, and contribute to all kinds of solutions that are intended to make the world a better place.
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Hunter Partners in Recovery for their collaboration in the mental health project. Furthermore I would like to express my gratitude to all the respondents and design innovators that participated in this study. Specific thanks go to Rodger Watson and Lucy Klippan for their indispensable support in the research project.
References Bason, C. (2010). Leading public sector innovation. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press. Boyle, D., & Harris, M. (2009). The challenge of coproduction. London: Nesta and New Economics Foundation. Brown, T. (2005). Strategy by Design. FAST COMPANY (95). Bucolo, S., Wrigley, C., & Matthews, J. (2012). Gaps in organizational leadership: linking strategic and operational activities through design-led propositions. Design Management Journal, 7(1), pp 1828. Christiansen, J., & Bunt, L. (2014). Innovating public policy: allowing for social complexity and uncertainty in the design of public outcomes. In C. Bason (Ed.), Design for Policy. Farnham Surrey, England: Gower Publishing Limited.
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Daglio, M., Gerson, D., & Kitchen, H. (2014). Building organisational capacity for public sector innovation, background paper prepared for the OECD Conference 'Innovating the Public Sector: from Ideas to Impact": Paris. Dorst, K. (2015). Frame Innovation; create new thinking by design. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Dorst, K., Kaldor, L., Klippan, L., & Watson, R. (2016). Designing for the Common Good. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. Dorst, K., & Tomkin, D. (2011). Themes as bridges between problem and solution. Paper presented at IASDR2011, Diversity and Unity, 4th World conference on design research, Delft, the Netherlands. Dreyfuss, H. (1955). Designing for people. NYC: Simon & Schuster. Hartley, J. (2005). Innovation in governance and public services: past and present. Public money & management, 25(1), pp 27-34. Hekkert, P., & van Dijk, M. (2011). Vision in Design, A Guidebook for Innovators. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. Jordan, P. W. (1999). Pleasure with products: human factors for body, mind and soul. In W. S. Green & P. W. Jordan (Eds.), Human factors in product design; current practice and future trends: Taylor & Francis. Kelly, G., Mulgan, G., & Muers, S. (2002). Creating Public Value: An analytical framework for public service reform. UK: Strategy Unit, Cabinet Office http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100416132449/http:/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/stra tegy/seminars/public_value.aspx (Accessed 11th March, 2016) Mager, B., Grimes, J., Atvur, A., McMullin, J., & Malhotra, V. (2013). Designing Citizen-Centred Public Services. Touchpoint, 5(2), pp 3. Manzini, E. (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs - An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. Cabridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Martin, R. (2009). The design of business: why design thinking is the next competitive advantage. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing. Mulgan, G. (2014). Design in public and social innovation; What works and what could work better. http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/design_in_public_and_social_innovation.pdf (Accessed 2 March 2015) Norman, D.A. (1998). The design of everyday things. London: MIT Press. Papanek, V. (1984). Design for the real world (second edition ed.). New York: Van Nostrand. Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P.J. (2008). Co-creation and the New Landscapes of Design. CoDesign, 4(1), pp 5-18. Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2012). Introduction Collaborative Innovation in the Public Sector. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 17(1), pp 1-14. UK Design Council. (2013). Design for Public Good. https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/Design%20for%20Public%2 0Good.pdf (Accessed 11th March 2016) van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. van der Bijl - Brouwer, M., & van der Voort, M.C. (2013). Exploring future use: scenario based design. In C. de Bont, F. E. Smulders, M. C. van der Voort, R. Schifferstein & E. den Ouden (Eds.), Advanced design methods for successful innovation - Recent methods from design research and design consultancy in the Netherlands (pp. 57-77). Delft: Design United.
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van der Bijl - Brouwer, M., & Dorst, K. (2014). How deep is deep? A four-layer model of insights into human needs for design innovation. in Proceedings of the Colors of Care: The 9th International Conference on Design & Emotion, Bogotรก. van der Bijl-Brouwer, M., & van der Voort, M.C. (2014). Establishing shared understanding of product use through collaboratively generating an explicit frame of reference. CoDesign, 10(3-4), 171-190. doi: 10.1080/15710882.2014.963125 van der Bijl - Brouwer, M., & Watson, N.R. (2015). Designing for the deepest needs of both public service consumers and providers; Innovation in mental health crisis response. in Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED15, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. van der Bijl-Brouwer, M., Kaldor, L., Watson, N.R., & Hillen, V. (2015). Supporting the emerging practice of public sector design innovation. Paper presented at IASDR2015 Interplay, Brisbane, Australia. Vigoda-Gadot, E., Shoham, A., Schwabsky, N., & Ruvio, A. (2008). Public sector innovation for Europe: a multinational eight-country exploration of citizen's perspectives. Public Administration, 86(2), pp 307-329. Visser, W. (2006). Designing as Construction of Representations: A Dynamic Viewpoint in Cognitive Design Research. Human-Computer Interaction, 21(1), pp 103-152. About the Author: Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer is Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research spans the fields of Human-Centred Design methodology and Public Sector Innovation. She is a core staff member of the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation.
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Activating the core economy by design Rebeca Torres Castanedo* and Paul Micklethwaite Kingston University London *di.rebeca@gmail.com DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.309
Abstract: The traditional provision of public services needs to be transformed, and this transformation includes ceasing to consider users as passive recipients of services. Instead, the process of service development should be opened up to more participatory methods, whereby users and providers, working together, transform the way in which the welfare state is conceived and services designed and delivered. In achieving conditions of wellbeing, societies face very complex problems, particularly such groups as the elderly, who depend most heavily on the social care services. The paper describes the research developed, as part of the major project of MA Sustainable Design in Kingston University, London, whereby, through the core economy of all the human resources and social networks that support social life, new possibilities for services may emerge, capable of addressing the ageing and wellbeing agenda. The paper also reflects upon dialogic conversation, and social interaction, as the ideal means of engagement when working with social agendas. Keywords: wellbeing; public services; core economy; ageing
Social Welfare - Change is needed Nowadays, societies are facing very complex problems in their efforts to bring about conditions of wellbeing - conditions which neither the welfare state itself nor its institutions have proved able to provide successfully and with long-term effect. These complex challenges are defined by the rapid transformation of the communities, with deep social changes, which have imposed new demands upon the provision of services. Communities are facing new types of ‘wicked’ problem (Cottam, 2008), which nowadays are more particular, and specific to each population group, so making them harder to tackle. From the perspective of the welfare state, all this makes it harder to respond appropriately to each particularity.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Rebeca Torres Castanedo and Paul Micklethwaite
The traditional model of welfare has not managed to recognise and value the abundant resources residing within the communities themselves, often it views people as little more than passive receivers of services, overlooking their natural assets, such as local knowledge and life experience. It tends to define people simply as vulnerable potential users and therefore describing them only in terms of problems. Their needs and demands are thus perceived as the only ‘assets’ they possess. In reality however, effective social care, with its provision of services, relies on a nonmonetary economy which is present within communities and in the daily lives of every human being. This is the core economy, which is to be found in human relationships, such as family, friends, neighbours and social networks, but also extending into civil society as a whole. This aspect is constantly undervalued and ignored, but it supports all the human resources which flourish in social life. Although this non-monetary economy provides care for children and the elderly, within safe and vibrant communities, where the quest for social justice is powerful and in a variety of ways helps to shape conditions conducive to wellbeing, the market will always tend to overlook its influence, failing to attach any value to all these human qualities: the capacity to love, to manifest empathy and solidarity, to offer help and care, to share and to learn from each other, together with the countless other characteristics that define us as human (Stephens, Ryan-Collins & Boyle, 2008). Edgar Cahn, the founder of TimeBanking and main advocate of the relevant role that the core economy plays in achieving wellbeing, often uses the analogy of a computer to explain its importance. According to Cahn (2000) the performance of a computer relies on the basic central operating system. This operating system is the core economy: families, neighbours, and the community. If the operating system, our society, is failing, this is not because it has lost the capacity to care for others or show solidarity, but because there is an inherited tendency to view these natural human qualities and actions as commodities, which can be bought and sold through the market. The response must instead be to strengthen the community, finding new ways to rebuild this core economy on a basis of solidarity, reciprocal support, trust and engagement. The essential idea of rebuilding the core economy can be implemented through the co-production model, and the public services may play a fundamental role in achieving this. While it is impossible for social programmes to directly deliver community, co-production does offer a way to acknowledge people as assets, and to build people’s capacity to define the characteristics of the community they want to live in, and the services they need, all these under relationships based on parity, between people and institutions. This model leaves behind the passive roles imposed by the traditional welfare system, in which service users are only considered as receivers. Instead it entails a shift in the way providers and users relate to each other by blurring these roles, and thus enabling peer-to-
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peer relationships based on reciprocity, in which responsibilities and expectations are shared (Penny, Slay & Stephens, 2012). In a situation where the traditional welfare state is not enough, nor capable of providing appropriate responses to the particular demands of society, co-production suggests a promising alternative framework within which communities can be drivers of their own transformations, and offers a unique opportunity to make radical changes in the welfare state. For design also, and above all for designers, it is both important and relevant to play an appropriate role within such a model. Earnest consideration must be given as to how design can best participate in the transformation of services and their delivery, and in particular how the principles of the core economy and co-production may shape the process of design, especially when tackling social issues. In the context of the provision of services and within the co-production proposal, it is absolutely essential to highlight co-design, as representing an attitude towards the design process which has a close relationship with social innovation, especially in its role of tackling social issues. Co-design implies a scenario of multi-stakeholders, in which the premise is that everyone possesses the capacity to participate in the definition of their own realities, and that this is likely to be the only way in which a design can be effective. The mind-set for a co-design process is based on general inclusiveness, far beyond simple consultation, with mutual learning, openness and the breaking of the tradition top-down responses, as the only ways to generate real change (Fuad-Luke, 2009), plus the adoption of a “consensus over dissensus approach� (Fuad-Luke, 2013, p.471). For designers, specifically, it is necessary to ask how the field of design, and therefore the designers, can best engage their practice and skills with social issues, considering, among other things, questions of with whom, from where, and, above all, towards what type of society.
Ageing as a challenge both globally and locally, and so also for design According to the report "World Population Ageing" (United Nations [UN], 2013), the number of older people is expected to double by 2050, reaching more than two billion. It is predicted that by 2047 the number of people aged 60 years or older, will exceed the proportion of children below 15 years. Population ageing is a worldwide demographic phenomenon. Old age is a natural stage of life, yet this demographic change is often understood less as a breakthrough than as a problem, not only for the older people themselves, but also for the state which has to make welfare provision for them.
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These figures suggest that ageing, and the securing of wellbeing provision for the elderly, should be considered a priority agenda, in which designers need to be involved. As stressed throughout this paper, there is an urgent need for the provision of services to be transformed and radically improved. Thus the agenda of ageing offers a valuable opportunity for designers to address a social issue which clearly requires priority attention, especially because older people form one of the large groups more dependent on the welfare state. This agenda is relevant not only for the sake of the immediate and positive outcomes which might result, but also because working with and for this population group can offer opportunities to reshape social relationships, introducing innovative and effective ways of tackling problems and so empowering and improving the communities themselves for the future. As the major project for the Master's degree in Sustainable Design at Kingston University, this research was developed with the aim of finding alternatives to the unwelcome scenario of deep cuts, especially in the health and social care budget, within the Borough of Kingston upon Thames in South West London, and indeed to look for ways to improve services without expectation of further funding. Starting from 2010, the Government of the UK has gradually implemented massive public spending cuts, or, as the report of the New Economics Foundation defined it, a policy of "new austerity" (Slay & Penny, 2013). These cuts were heavily targeted upon the services which provide help to those in need of considerable benefit support from the welfare state, such as the elderly, the unemployed and people with disabilities. This austerity model was linked to a new social programme focused on building a "Big Society", which called for community action, local decision-making processes, and the involvement of communities in their public services. An advantage of the "Big Society" strategy might be that it should, if successful, encourage citizens to participate actively in the definition of those services likely to affect their wellbeing, and so result in the communities as a whole, becoming more active and involved. In principle, therefore, it might be perceived as presenting both an opportunity and an incentive to redesign the welfare state, while enjoying government support. There are, however, some very different and less acceptable possible implications inherent in the government proposals, especially at a time when, in practice, cutting expenditure has often seemed to be its primary, if not its only, aim and commitment. A major challenge will be to activate the core economy within the communities, opening up the process by which public services are delivered, and so redefining them, without at the same time taking from the state the essential ultimate responsibility (Coote, 2010). It may well be judged that the activation and use of the core economy provides the ideal approach to tasks such as that of driving innovations within the public services, but important practical questions still remain to be considered.
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What steps will have to be taken if communities are to be built, strong enough to respond with vigour to their varied challenges, including the need to introduce bold and novel reforms in the public services? What mind-set changes need to take place, not only among ordinary citizens, but also in the framework and process of design, and in the role of social designers, in order to achieve these aims? In fact, the present project seeks to respond to some of these questions. It is particularly relevant to examine how, with the committed support of design, the core economy might indeed be activated, so opening new opportunities for the people to take control over what happens in their own localities and spheres of interest. One aspect which may serve as an example of the need for a new, more enlightened, mindset, is the concept of ageing itself, which is truly a natural stage of life, not something which needs to be managed or stigmatised as a "policy problem to be solved" (Bazalgette, Holden, Tew, Hubble & Morrison, 2011, p.9). Many of the daily limitations that the elderly face may be tackled through a better understanding of the challenges, and through a redefinition of services.
Addressing the ageing agenda through social interaction As already mentioned, the research project was developed within a scenario of deep cuts in the health and social care budget of the Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The thesis of the research was built upon the activation of the core economy so as to provide the means and opportunities to reframe the provision of services locally, with special reference to the elderly and the wellbeing agenda. It is important, however, at this point to outline the steps and activities through which the project proceeded, and to acknowledge the background which was essential for its development. In March 2015, Kingston Borough issued an invitation to the course leader and to some students on the Master's course in Sustainable Design at Kingston University, to participate in developing and delivering a workshop based on co-design principles. The primary aim of the workshop was to seek out opportunities for possible future collaboration among local service providers and commissioners in Kingston. Faced with the scenario of deep cuts combined with a continuous rise in the demand for services, this first workshop sought to strengthen links between providers and commissioners of services, in order that they might collaborate, funding activities or projects in common, and so be able to apply together for public funding. After this workshop, the participants and representatives of the Borough expressed their interest in being part of a second workshop in which they could flesh out and put into effect some of their initial thoughts. This first encounter provided a rich experience, which helped towards a better understanding of the position of the Borough and of the challenges with respect to the ageing agenda.
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An important insight concerned the role that money usually plays within the social sector. By itself, an increase in the money available for services is rarely enough to bring about the hoped-for improvements. A clear implication is that, just as important as the financial aspect, is a fundamental change in the mind-set of both providers and receivers of services. In fact, many organisations within Kingston Borough are already making use of the core economy as an alternative to tackle the challenges in the provision of services for the elderly, and these places should be considered as spaces where collaboration can be strengthened. One of the places where the core economy is central to its daily activities is The Bradbury, a day centre located in Kingston upon Thames. This charity offers a wide range of activities, from Art Classes and a Creative Writing group to Tai-Chi, Chair Exercises, and various lively dance sessions, all this in support of people aged over 50 and their carers. There are many aspects which make the Centre very special, and also relevant to the theme of this project. There are only two people (the manager and the chef) who actually receive a salary for running The Bradbury. Everything else is run by a quite remarkable, and numerous, set of volunteers, who lead activity groups, teach, help in the kitchen and serving the food, tend the garden, and so much else. Notably, they still find time to welcome newcomers and visitors. It is important to emphasise that most of the volunteers are also members of The Bradbury. The relationships, enabled and established over several years with young people, especially with students from Kingston University, have been a great benefit, not only for the elderly but for the young too. Through something as simple as a cup of tea and a chat, a connection with the wider community is made. Through this contact and the diverse activities, everyone there is addressing issues crucial for the physical and emotional wellbeing of this population group, on a firm basis of solidarity, care and friendship. In this case, the initial approach happened about six months before the actual research project. An alternative way to foster digital literacy among elderly people, based on principles of co-learning, was co-developed with some members of the Bradbury, as part of a social innovation module in the Masters programme. This initial approach was a crucial and relevant aspect, which positively influenced the research for the major project. On the basis of this experience, it is necessary to acknowledge and emphasise that, for projects aiming to work with social agendas, there is a fundamental need for designers to get involved with the core economy through daily life, and not to be satisfied with being simply observers in any context. Observation is indeed important, just as are social interaction and the building of relationships involving peer-to-peer collaboration. All these proved to be key elements for the development of different stages of research. The informal and easy relationship which developed with many of those at The Bradbury, in particular, led to an openness which permitted the natural and organic exchange of
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viewpoints and experiences, in a most valuable way, and without excessive dependence upon set questionnaires or interviews. As stressed earlier, the core economy was at the heart of the project, and once its key role was acknowledged, it offered the opportunity to begin a radical reinterpretation of the provision of services. Following the good reception of the first workshop in March 2015, there was an initial petition from the Borough suggesting a second workshop, for which the content control, the dynamic, and all the arrangements were left in the hands of the student leading the project, and the university. This second workshop proved an invaluable opportunity for the research. Instead of considering this event as an occasion for new ideas to be generated which might go on to be rapidly implemented, or indeed for producing new projects; it was in fact understood as the opportunity for a novel agenda, in which the idea of new possibilities of services may be presented. This process was guided by the search for new and less rigid approaches to the reform of the social care services, which would keep an open mind towards alternative or untried methods, in response to the local wellbeing agenda. The workshop was therefore considered as an opportunity to introduce to the participants an alternative mind-set, to be based on the importance of the core economy, especially for this task of addressing wellbeing. In fact, such a change in the mind-set offers a remarkable opportunity to provide a new frame for viewing society, and potentially reforming the care services. Relying on the willing cooperation of the Bradbury members, and the perceptive information they provided, often from personal experience, in interviews and informal conversations, it was decided to focus the investigation to the issues concerned to the elderly and those living with dementia.
3.1 New definitions for ageing and services As previously discussed, an essential stage for working within the core economy and thereby activating it, is to strengthen links with all the possible stakeholders. In this case this process of engagement occurred not only with the local service providers and commissioners who attended the first workshop, but also with some receivers of local services. This helped towards a much better understanding of the issues affecting the final users of services and the challenges that organisations and institutions face within their daily activities. Local service providers and commissioners had been offering, with positive outcomes, a wide range of activities and projects targeting, directly or indirectly, the elderly and sufferers of dementia with positive outcomes, however there were inevitably some duplications and omissions. An interesting aspect is that although they do not officially recognise the vital role that the core economy plays, in practice they are following its principles.
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A deeper research was undertaken on the elderly and people living with dementia, and this led to a better understanding of the challenges and limitations affecting the elderly and those living with dementia, and so helped to define areas of opportunity which might prove of value in the effort to tackle the local wellbeing agenda.
Figure 1 Discussion table run at The Bradbury, delivered through an open dialogue for discussing the concept of ageing, the misconceptions about it and the possibilities to address the local wellbeing agenda. Photo courtesy of Guilia Bossis, 2015.
This engagement process was carried out through both primary and secondary research with elderly people, mainly members of The Bradbury and with their staff. This social interaction fostered closer links with some service users, who became potential participants in the second workshop. Furthermore this was a discovery process in which the ageing agenda was not understood through a dry list of requirements established in a design brief. Instead a variety of interviews, together with ethnographic observations made during their daily activities and a group discussion table, enabled a dialogic interaction, aimed at strengthening a bond of empathy, and providing insight into their challenges, needs, and aspirations.
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Figure 2 Outputs of the reflection and discussion based on the report “Five Ways to wellbeing� of The New Economics Foundation, which was used a catalyst to stimulate naturally the conversation about this agenda as respects the elderly. Photo courtesy of Guilia Bossis, 2015.
As a result of this social interaction, and in preparation for the second workshop, four agendas were defined as the first step towards tackling the ageing agenda as a whole. These sought to present some of the most representative topics with respect to the local wellbeing agenda. The topics and issues selected were built upon the insights, four areas of opportunity, and potentially valuable responses which had come to light in the earlier activities. People living with dementia: this topic is important, not only for those directly affected and their families, but for the community as a whole. It is possible for someone suffering from
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the earlier stages of dementia to continue living a dignified independent life, but only where the community is knowledgeable and aware, so as to be able to respond in a way which supports the sufferer. Informal carers and the community: although the role of the informal carer is officially recognised, it rarely receives the support and attention it deserves. Usually the provision of services targets only the person with dementia without acknowledging that the wellbeing of the patient is greatly dependent on the carer. To respond to this, there is no need of a major structure or extra services. Often all that is needed is a supportive environment, with access to relevant services which may already exist. Bereavement and better access to services: various potentially valuable services do exist, but often these may be difficult for those needing them to access. It will not be enough to increase the supply of leaflets and other official means of information. Instead a variety of friendly and informal channels need to be introduced. For those recently bereaved, are often shocked and find it hard to communicate and re-enter normal life, so that they have a special need of suitable ways to learn what help is available, and then to find the motivation to take action. Transition into retirement: retirement is potentially a very dangerous event. The self-image which a person has cultivated over many years, is often suddenly shattered, and there is the difficult task of establishing a suitable new one. The person who does not find the motivation to build a new routine, is very likely to become lonely and inactive. It is vital to give special support at this stage, so as to re-motivate such a person. In this way, the subsequent social isolation and depression, now evident within the elderly, may be prevented or reduced.
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Figure 3 Timeline of the design process and main research activities.
Co-designing in search of new possibilities of services The second workshop brought together elderly users of local services, together with local service providers and local commissioners, and designers (from the Kingston University Sustainable Design Master's course). The format adopted sought to provide a supportive framework, within which these diverse elements could gather and be guided in their search for new possibilities of services which might be of value in tackling Kingston's wellbeing agenda, with particular regard to the elderly. The intention was to foster a mind-set open to the possibilities which may offer themselves if the core economy within Kingston is activated, and is considered as one of the main assets available for an effective response to the wellbeing agenda, for the elderly and those affected by dementia. The workshop format proposed to place the ways in which people may address, achieve, and eventually experience wellbeing at the centre of any service innovation.
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Through principles of co-production, enabled by a co-design process and by the insights arising from the earlier research, participants were aided to discover and define (the first two phases of the Double Diamond design process model) opportunities for responding creatively to the agendas and the issues underlying them.
Figure 4 Workshop format with materials and templates used to support the process in each table.
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The chosen way to introduce each agenda was by providing specifically relevant material, with information which acted as a catalyst, to release suitable responses from the participants. This information consisted of a persona, a context and a question. Each persona presented an elderly person facing a particular life crisis related to wellbeing. The persona was to be introduced through a first-person narrative, embodying not only the facts of the situation but the challenges, aspirations and emotions felt. In order to facilitate the conversation and the analysis of the persona, the report “Five Ways to wellbeing” developed by The New Economic Foundation were provided for each table. An initial question sought to stimulate lively and energetic subsequent discussion, while suggesting potential areas which it might be fruitful to consider, and which were likely to call forth a range of different ideas.
Figure 5 Teams during the discussion and analysis of the given agendas. This process was guided by understanding the persona’s challenges and interactions, and finally by recognition of the available local assets which would provide significant support to the persona. Photo courtesy of Pudsorn Promkingkaew, 2015.
The second stage included the clarification and definition of the team’s brief, in response to the initial question provided. The prototyping of their ideas and suggestions, by means of a storyboard, explained the way that the initiative could work, and expand on the team's response to the agenda.
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Figure 6 Teams working on their service prototypes in order to explain how their idea would work and the impact of this idea in the persona’s life and eventually throughout the community. Photo courtesy of Pudsorn Promkingkaew, 2015.
In terms of the co-design process, the event showed the importance of ensuring a group dynamic in which different voices would have a hearing, drawing on widely different areas of knowledge and experience. It became clear that co-design processes, especially those related to social innovation, gain greatly from the input of ordinary people, with their day-to-day knowledge and particular life experiences. One of the main aims of the second workshop was to provide participants with a framework which would encourage them to generate and propose new and original possibilities of services. The pattern of discussion about the development and delivery processes was likely to have more relevance, and a more enduring significance, than the workshop outputs per se. With respect to the agendas of the elderly, and of people living with dementia, it was evident that the way in which the agendas were introduced enabled the participants to have a deeper understanding of the challenges faced, and especially to begin to look on the people involved in terms of human assets, rather than only as users, in constant need, and thus as problems. Most of the outputs developed by the each of the teams, could be considered as new definitions of services, which in fact, could be easily translated to local services.
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The workshop outputs provided fresh responses, in which the roles of providers and receivers were redefined, or even completely renewed. This emphasised the potential of the core economy, was seen as a natural and essential participant in all efforts to tackle the local wellbeing agenda. The suggestions from the teams were varied, creative, and really promising. For example one team developed a "companion matchmaking" service (in which a volunteer will naturally support the sufferer in continuing with present activities, and potentially extending them), as a service which seeks to encourage the local community to be aware and responsive to people living with dementia. Another team suggested a street party, as a way to generate a better and more engaging method to keep informal carers in touch with their community, and to provide them with both support and relevant information, in a supportive and empathetic environment. The team which worked with the transition to a retirement agenda, created a retirement advice centre, where the opportunity for mentoring, and the availability of new and varied channels of communication, would help to make the transition into retirement controlled and potentially enjoyable, being based on the person's interests and abilities. Dealing with the topics of bereaved people, and access to services, the last team worked on a proposal for creating more friendly and engaging ways to communicate the availability of local services. Members of the local community, and word of mouth, would play a major role in promoting these methods, making use of places in frequent and easy use. It was very interesting to see how readily, in the teams' proposals, the traditional, and isolating, role of user was broken, so that, instead of simply passively receiving a benefit, they in fact became part of the delivery service, achieving improved wellbeing, while actively participating. Although some resourcing and financial support is still likely to be necessary, this was no longer at the heart of the provision of services. The majority of the proposals aimed to make fuller use of those assets and resources which were already in existence; but the assets which were most valued were those provided by the people and the communities themselves.
Conclusion The research project sought to study the power of the bottom-up approach, and its potential ability to drive positive changes leading towards the generation of more active and supportive communities for tackling social issues. While many answers are proposed as to what should be done to improve the world, much less attention is given to the way in which in practice, such answers might be found, and such improvement brought about. In answer to this need for suitable approaches to use in the search for better ways to bring about the necessary transformations, this project proposes an agenda based on a bottom-up
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approach and the involvement of the general population, combined with the empowering stimulus of a co-design process and the core economy. The second workshop, in addition to offering some interesting potential solutions, also, and perhaps more valuably, showed that, with a suitable guidance from designers within a codesign process; a mind-set could emerge based on the value of the ordinary citizens and their natural assets, and this could be the basis for a completely revised view of the possible ways to improve fundamentally the provision of public services for the elderly, even in time of financial stringency. It is important to emphasise that within the co-design process, designers have their own contributions to make which are in the first place their specialist training, but also those assets which are built upon their experiences and particular interests. Therefore, they combine several valuable roles involving the guidance of the design process and to be responsive to the insights raise by the participants. Although some positive comments were received by the participants, “it was great to think about what really matters to people. I think a challenge for me is to ensure that those who work in the creative arts are seen as a community asset and that they have an important role to play in maintaining the wellbeing of our community”, one of the limitations of this project, was the lack of enough time to be sure that this change in mind-set would last, and to watch how far it could go in renewing the social care and health system in Kingston. As for next steps, some of the ideas developed by the teams during the workshop are considered to have much potential, and to be almost ready for official prototyping and testing. But again this needs both time and guidance, which at this late stage of the project cannot be guaranteed, but must be left in the hands of others. The work will not be wasted, however, if the principles are picked up by the participants and employed, in different circumstances, elsewhere. All projects tackling social issues are dependent upon the existence of strong social networks, since without them it is very difficult to build trust and empathy among the stakeholders. Therefore it is important to provide time to strengthen relationships among designers and the community in general. There is no sort of professional training which can take the place of the insights arising from daily experience in all its variety, as provided by people who are actually dealing with the social issue under consideration. Such a source of knowledge must be acknowledged as valuable in its own right, and also as an asset which, in one way or another, all participants have in common. This factor in itself may help to enable horizontal channels of communication, and so facilitate and enliven the design process. Acknowledgements: This research project would not be possible without the tremendous support and willingness of all the members and staff of The Bradbury, and its manager Laura O´Brien, who always opened the doors of this special place for the development of the research. The second workshop was only possible with the participation, cooperation, and openness of all the providers of local services and of the fellow students of the Master’s course Sustainable Design at Kingston University: Phil Spencer, Ahsan Khan, and Lucy MacDonald; and the course leader Paul Micklethwaite,
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their support as designers and facilitators was a key element of this event. Project website: http://tinyurl.com/q97ecwl
References Bazalgette, L., Holden, J., Tew, P., Hubble, N., and Morrison, J. (2011). Coming of Age. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/pe8hfoz, (Accessed 12 October, 2015). Cahn, E. (2000). No more throw-away people. Washington, D.C.: Essential Books. Coote, A. (2010). Cutting It. The big society and the new austerity. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/ohy4jbd, (Accessed 10 August, 2015). Cottam, H. and Leadbeater,C. (2004). Red Paper 01 Health: Co-creating services. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/q64nyn6, (Accessed 15 October, 2015). Cottam, H. (2008). Beveridge 4.0. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/nkl5qqx, (Accessed 12 October, 2015). Fuad-Luke, A. (2009). Design activism. London, UK: Earthscan. Fuad-Luke, A. (2013). Design Activism: Challenging the Paradigm by Dissensus, Consensus, and Traditional Practices, in Walker, S. and Giard, J. (eds.), The Handbook of Design for Sustainability, Great Britain: Bloomsbury, pp. 466-487. Jégou, F. and Manzini, E. (2008). Collaborative Services. Social innovation and design for sustainability. Milano: Edizioni POLI.design. Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs. London, UK: MIT Press. Penny, J., Slay, J., and Stephens, L. (2012). People powered health co-production catalogue. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/onzpdku, (Accessed 12 August, 2015). Slay, J., and Penny, J. (2013). Surviving austerity: Local voices and local action in England’s poorest neighbourhoods. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/ohf9hg6, (Accessed 18 May, 2015). Stephens, L., Ryan-Collins, J., and Boyle, D. (2008). Co-production: A manifesto for growing the core economy. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/nhd6z57, (Accessed 7 August, 2015). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2013). World Population Ageing 2013. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/mx5cyyp, (Accesed 15 October, 2015). Wildevuur, S., Van Dijk, D., Äyväri, A., Bjerre, M., Hammer-Jakobsen, T., and Lund, J. (2013). Connect. Design for an Emphatic Society. The Netherlands: Bis Publishers.
About the Authors: Rebeca Torres Castanedo is interested in the bottom-up approach within the process of design, and its potential ability to drive positive changes leading towards the generation of more sustainable communities. Paul Micklethwaite is interested in the impact of the sustainability agenda on our theories and practices of design, and all modes of design practice which are explicitly social. He is co-author of Design for Sustainable Change (AVA Academia, 2011).
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On presenting a rich picture for stakeholder dialogue Abigail C. Durranta*, Wendy Moncurb, David S. Kirka, Diego Trujillo Pisantya and Kathryn Orzechb a
Newcastle University University of Dundee *abigail.durrant@ncl.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.169 b
Abstract: In this paper we describe the design and use of a polyphonic picture book for engaging public sector and industry stakeholders with findings from an academic research project. The project combined interdisciplinary expertise to investigate how UK citizens create and manage online digital identities at three significant life transitions, aiming to deliver social, cultural and technical findings to inform policymaking and service innovation for enhancing digital literacy in online selfrepresentation. The picture book communicated empirical insights through the presentation of multi-perspectival, fictional scenarios about individuals’ experiences at the life transitions studied. We deployed the book with our project stakeholders in two workshop settings to explore the efficacy of a novel visual format for fostering stakeholder dialogue around the findings and their transferability. By offering an account of this exploration, the paper aims to contribute methodological insights about using visual storytelling to scaffold interpretative, dialogical contexts of research engagement. Keywords: visual methods; picture book; dialogism; stakeholder engagement
Introduction Charting the Digital Lifespan (CDL) is a two-year UK research council-funded project investigating how UK citizens create and manage their digital identities at three significant life transitions across the human lifespan: becoming an adult, becoming a parent for the first time, and retiring from work (http://www.digitallifespan.ac.uk). Combining expertise in design, anthropology, cultural studies, and computer science, the project aimed to understand how self-representation in a digital context, or ‘digital personhood’ (Baym 2015; Lee, Goede and Shryock 2010), is experienced at the current time by different generations, and how it is envisioned in the near future as individual citizens make sense of their changing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Abigail C. Durrant, Wendy Moncur, David S. Kirk, Diego Trujillo Pisanty and Kathryn Orzech
lives mediated by new technologies. The overarching project goal was to generate social, cultural and technical insights from this unique lifespan perspective, to inform UK policymaking and service innovation for enhancing digital literacy and enabling self-representation online. To pursue this goal, the investigators sought to explore novel methods to disseminate the project’s interdisciplinary outputs amongst its stakeholders (in industry, Government and the public sector), thus increasing stakeholder engagement and the potential for real-world impact and a demonstrable contribution to society. These pursuits within the project were brought together in the design of a picture book (Durrant, et al 2015) that was used as a key resource in two stakeholder workshops. The researchers’ primary aim through this book was to capture and communicate a synthesis of the project’s research findings that were of interest and relevance to the stakeholders, and to foster discussion between the researchers and stakeholders about the potential value and transferability of the research for making real world impact. An additional methodological aim was to explore design practice in supporting collaboration between investigators to consolidate their interdisciplinary outputs. The book presented qualitative, interdisciplinary insights to stakeholders as a ‘rich local picture’ about individual citizens’ lives. In this paper we, the CDL researchers, describe the design of the picture book for use in the two stakeholder events. We provide the conceptual grounding of our visual-based approach, and the new storytelling method we devised to produce a picture book for research that draws upon multiple perspectives in the depiction of fictional, character-driven scenarios, to present: stories of participant experience; analytic insights; and design implications. We describe how the work of developing the multi-perspectival scenarios constituted a dialogical, collaborative design process that we found valuable for consolidating analytic insights from our studies. We go on to report feedback from workshop participants and facilitators on the efficacy of the picture book as a resource for communication, dialogue and further ideation. In closing we reflect on the methodological insights gained from this case, intending to contribute to discourses within the DRS community on visual, polyphonic storytelling methods for interdisciplinary research communication and stakeholder dialogue within and beyond the academic context of study.
Interdisciplinary collaboration for future-oriented research The CDL project engaged five partner institutions, combining expertise in different disciplines. Our overall methodology was grounded in phenomenology (McCarthy and Wright 2004; McCarthy and Wright 2015) establishing broad compatibility across the differing approaches adopted by the partners. We focussed on three research populations: young adults (18 to 21 years old), first-time parents (with children under two years), and recent retirees (retiring within the last five years). The interdisciplinary team collectively generated a multi-generational understanding about creating and managing digital personhood from a lifespan perspective.
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The different partners investigated this subject matter in complementary ways. The humanities-oriented partners (including this paper’s authors) employed qualitative methods, including ethnography and experience-centred design (Koskinen, et al 2011; Wright and McCarthy 2010; McCarthy and Wright 2015). Small sample sizes (up to 36 participants for each population studied) were engaged for participant observation, interviews and focus groups. Alongside this, ‘research through design’ studies were conducted (Blythe 2014; Fallman 2003; Koskinen, et al 2011; Löwgren and Stolterman 2004), deploying design artefacts to generate social, cultural and technical research findings.
Synthesising interdisciplinary outputs Content for the picture book was developed from empirical materials generated by two of the project partners, Newcastle University and University of Dundee, with expertise in design and anthropology. Data was synthesised through collective, phenomenological analytic sessions that took place quarterly in the second half of the project. This analysis produced high-level themes that formed the basis for the ‘rich picture’ we would communicate to stakeholders. To properly describe the project findings is beyond the scope of this paper, but the themes we elucidated were: ‘Enablement through Digital’; ‘Digital Social Norms’; and ‘Enacting and Nurturing Relationships’. Each theme provided an interpretative frame for understanding accounts of lives lived online during a significant life transition. We aimed to design workshop resources that would invite discussion about the ways stakeholders understand how citizens make sense of digital tools and media use – both currently available, and envisioned. Ahead of designing the picture book and other resources, we established criteria about our stakeholders’ known research interests, and invited them to raise topics of concern to address. Before describing how we produced the picture book, we first explain the concepts that informed our approach.
Picture book design for stakeholder engagement Our experience-centred approach to the CDL project was grounded in philosophies of pragmatism and dialogism (McCarthy and Wright 2004; McCarthy and Wright 2015). In turn, the findings offered our stakeholders a qualitative understanding of the subject matter, a set of rich, idiographic accounts of individual lives. We viewed this as potentially complementary to the kinds of research understandings typically encountered by the stakeholders, which are quantitative and mostly survey studies (Ofcom 2015; UK Office for National Statistics 2015). We proposed offering them an alternative view that illuminated detail in the felt life of individual citizens.
Communication through characters and scenarios Given our focus, we set out to foster engagement around individual stories. There is a tradition within interaction design research of communicating ethnographic insights in the form of narrative vignettes (Orr 1996). There is also a long history of scenario-based
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communication for practicing user-centred design for human computer interaction (Carroll 2000). Both informed our approach. Scenarios provide concrete stories about user experience, rather than presenting this in abstract terms and generalisms; scenarios focus on the user’s needs, hopes, fears and activities, and let that drive analysis and ideation (ibid). Carroll has demonstrated the value of scenarios – which often leverage visual storytelling – to prompt envisioning as well as concretisation. Design fictions offer a more recent creative method for envisioning, fabricating and contextualising near-future possible worlds; storyworlds critically explore speculative design spaces, populated with conceptual design proposals utilising ‘diegetic prototypes’ (Bleecker 2009; Kirby 2009; Stirling 2009). There are now mature approaches and critical discourses in design research on the use of scenarios to understand and ideate around subjective experience (e.g. Blythe 2014; DiSalvo 2012). Indeed, scenarios have been critiqued for incorporating personae that may reflect stereotypes and (unwittingly) reproduce generalisms, thus undermining the sense of subjectivity that the scenario approach aims for (Nielsen 2002). Addressing this critique, others have developed character-driven scenarios over plot-driven scenarios to retain narrative focus on idiographic, felt life (Cooper 2002; Blythe and Wright 2006). Inspiration has been taken from literary theory and scriptwriting in these endeavours. Building on this for CDL, our consideration of scenarios for design research was most centrally informed, after Wright and McCarthy (2005) and Blythe and Wright (2006), by a dialogical reading of the polyphonic novel; this is a literary genre expressing human experience in terms of multivoicedness and characters in dialogue. Wright and McCarthy (2005) appropriate Bakhtin’s analysis of the polyphonic novel in relation to felt life to offer useful insight for guiding researcher engagement with accounts of experience; this is based on the Bakhtinian concept of the unfinalisability of experience: “the novel has the potential to be a multi-voiced dialogic – a useful stance for expressing the open and continually changing and developing nature of experience with technology” (ibid, p.14). What is emphasised here, and taken on in our design process, is the function of character perspectives within a narrative to express the potential for dialogue about a complex subject matter or state of being.
Visual methods of communication and ideation We now describe the conceptual grounding of our visual-based approach. Visual storytelling is often at the core of scenario design methods (Buxton 2007; Moggridge 2007). The CDL studies collected large amounts of visual data, mostly relating to the expression of identity and selfhood through social media use; photographic and pictorial expression was found to be of central significance in our studies of digital personhood, as we report elsewhere (Trujillo Pisanty, et al 2014). It therefore seemed fitting to leverage visual communication in our scenarios. The picture book format has traditionally been associated with children’s storytelling (Nikolajeva and Scott 2000). McCloud (1993) explores the medium of sequential art (that combines images and prose), offering insight into the potential of picture books to
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communicate to adult audiences and their wide application as a creative form of expression (see also Eisner, 2008). Picture books leveraging sequential art have been used for interaction design research communication and argumentation (Durrant, et al 2011; Rowland, et al 2010), and the value of the pictorial for disseminating research about humancomputer interaction is increasingly recognised (Blevis, Hauser, and Odom 2015). Our decision to develop scenarios in a picture book format for engaging stakeholder dialogue about our research aims to contribute to this growing body of work.
A picture book for our project
Figure 1 The CDL Picture Book, produced in digital copy plus as a soft-bound book, to afford personal reading and reference in the context of round-table discussion and personal engagement.
The CDL Picture Book captures collective, interdisciplinary insights from the project, depicted in the form of fictional, character-driven scenarios about individuals’ experiences at the three life transitions we studied (Figure 1). Circulated to individual stakeholders in both digital form and as a soft-bound book, the resource served to afford personal reading and reference in both the context of workshop reflection and discussion, and afterwards. The book contains three scenarios, each about one of the life transitions, and includes an Introduction for the reader. The narratives were collaboratively developed taking inspiration from individual participant accounts that (i) resonated with our analytic themes and (ii) saliently featured details mapping to our synthesised findings. Some narrative details in the scenarios’ design reflected actual content from the participants’ accounts. The scenarios were populated with fictional characters that, rather than being seen as archetypes or personas (in the traditional sense), reflected instead the unique individuals we met in our studies, and their expressed understandings, hopes and fears about digital
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personhood in all its complexity. Narrative development was further informed by the interests of stakeholders that we identified, directing a projective distillation of findings for inclusion. The scenario development process required focused, face-to-face work by researchers who had a deep, expert understanding of the research being represented, over the course of two daylong sessions plus numerous email exchanges. In this sense, whilst fictional, the scenarios were based on and grounded in empirical data – a strategy previously used by other researchers employing narrative approaches (e.g. Blythe 2014).
Three perspectives on the research
Figure 2a CDL Picture Book spread, showing the three perspectives on the research (pages 6-7).
Figure 2b CDL Picture Book detail, showing the three perspectives on the research (page 6).
We devised a structure for the scenarios that is arguably innovative, and builds upon previous explorations of the picture book format (Durrant, et al 2011). Directly inspired by the concept of the polyphonic novel and multiple authorial voices (Wright and McCarthy, 2005), we set out to configure three perspectives on the scenario for the reader to engage with: (A) stories of participant experience; (B) analytic insights; and (C) strategic design
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implications (Figure 2a and 2b). These three perspectives – or authorial voices – are presented in the graphical layout as visually distinct from each other (Figure 3). The stories of experience (A) are captured in sequential art form, through hand-drawn illustrations accompanied by prose descriptions of narrative events. Taking further inspiration from design fiction approaches (Bleecker 2009; Stirling 2009), the stories incorporate fictional, near future products and services, devised to spark critical dialogue on potential design directions and to motivate a generative process of ideation around the accounts of experience (see also Figure 6). A series of empirical research insights from our collective analysis (B) are captured as prose statements in a distinguishing typeface; each statement is spatially juxtaposed with the corresponding narrative event that was inspired by it. These insights reflect social and cultural understandings about the subject. A number of implications for service and system design are presented in rectangular, round-edged boxes, juxtaposed with the corresponding narrative event (Figure 3).
Figure 3 CDL Picture Book detail, taken from Young Adults scenario (page 10).
Our intention through the introduction of the multiple authorial voices was to offer an engaging means (through (A)) to contextualise the research insights (B) and offer directions for their real-world applicability and transferability (through (C)), (Figure 3). Juxtaposing the voices enabled us to convey – in a relatively brief form – the idiographic nuance and complexity of experience that was perceived to be a core value of our findings, whilst delineating ‘fact’ from fiction (Figure 4).
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Figure 4 Another CDL Picture Book detail from page 10, showing the multiple authorial threads.
For example, in an early part of the Young Adults scenario, the depicted behaviour of the character named darkAngel reflects behaviour reported by a number of research participants across the two data sets (Figure 4). However, as the narrative in the fictional scenario develops, the behaviour of the darkAngel character deviates from that voiced by and observed of – the research participants; darkAngel becomes the personification of many of the participants’ fears about their manipulation by others in the course of online interactions, via the construction and expression of false or alternative identities (Figure 5).
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Figure 5 Dilemma Card accompanying Young Adults scenario in CDL Picture Book, intended to foster alternative readings of the scenarios and provoke new reflection on the research.
A key function of our multi-voiced picture book design was to open up stakeholder dialogue and sense making on our research rather than simply present results. To enhance this function, we additionally devised three Dilemma Cards (A5-sized and connoting playing cards in form) – one corresponding to each scenario – that presented additional discursive
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content (using the multiple threads of (A), (B), and (C)) to extend each scenario with a provocative narrative plot twist (Figure 5).
Stakeholder workshop design and analysis We now describe using the picture book (and cards) within the stakeholder workshops. A stakeholder workshop was planned from the project outset; and three of the identified stakeholders had sat on a steering group panel in an advisory capacity across the project timeframe. The stakeholders invited to the planned workshop held interests and expertise ranging across crime, personal security, defence, taxation, personal data, media and design, and had senior roles in Government, industry or the public sector. This workshop was primarily positioned as an event for disseminating key project findings; however it was also seen as a generative event through the delivery of a report afterwards that synthesised workshop discussion and incorporated the additional input of the stakeholders in response to the presented findings. The objective was therefore to create a discursive (dialogical) context for discussing new empirical materials of direct interest and relevance to those in a position to impact and shape services to UK citizens. The second workshop, whilst not included in the original project plan, was opportunistically developed to extend discussion with one of the stakeholder organisations. The workshop agenda was structured by appropriating HM Government’s Futures Toolkit ‘Seven Questions’ method (Cabinet Office and GO-Science 2014), supported by the picture book. The agenda was refined through consultation with Government and public sector advisors. Critically, we limited the workshop to half a day, as the stakeholders were heavily time-constrained. We also focussed explicitly on connections between the academic findings and practical areas of known relevance for stakeholders, to ensure that the workshop delivered satisfactory outcomes for them. Following a pilot, two workshop events were then run: the first with a range of participants from Government, public sector and industry; the second with an independent public sector organisation that had a direct interest in the responsible use of UK citizens’ personal data. Stakeholders were given details of the intended aims and outcomes of each workshop, and invited to shape these to fit their own objectives more closely; they provided ethical consent to participate in our methodological research on the workshop resources; their contact details were kept confidential. They received digital copies of the picture book in advance, but it was not assumed that they would necessarily have time to read it (note that the dilemma cards were not presented in advance).
Workshop structure The workshop was structured to maximise interaction between its participants. Following introductions, the stakeholders were split up into three equal-sized round-table groups. Each group was introduced to one picture book scenario (Young Adults, New Parents, Recent Retirees) by a facilitator and was given an opportunity to read it individually, before engaging in a group discussion. Following discussion and a break, participants were invited
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to move on to the next table, and engage with the next scenario. This was repeated twice so that all participants discussed all scenarios. Stakeholders were asked to address the following questions from the Futures Toolkit (Cabinet Office & GO-Science 2014) about each scenario, through facilitated group discussion: 1) What would you identify as critical issues for the future related to this scenario? (5 minutes) 2) If things went wrong what factors would you worry about? – What are the risks you identify for your organisation? (6 minutes) 3) Looking at your organisation, how might processes need to be changed to bring about desired outcome(s), maximising benefits and minimising risks? (7 minutes) Additional questions that could be addressed if there was sufficient time were: 4) If all constraints were removed and you could direct what is done, what more would you wish to include? 5) If things went well, what’s a desirable outcome? 6) What are the benefits you identify in this scenario for your own organisation? Stakeholders were then introduced to the dilemma card for their scenario, and given time to read it, before being asked Question 2 (above) again. Once the groups had discussed the scenarios, everyone came together to summarise the findings and share the discussion points and knowledge generated. In Workshop Two, our host at the organisation led the final discussion. This focussed explicitly on how to apply knowledge generated during the workshop to that organisation’s practice for engagement with the public and with policymakers. Chatham House Rule (http://tinyurl.com/oqdvs3s) was observed at both workshops. Discussions were documented in note form on flipchart paper. A paper-based evaluation was then carried out; each participant was invited to respond to the following questions: 1) How did you use the picture book as a resource for supporting discussion with your colleagues about the subject matter of the workshop? 2) How did the character-driven scenarios and accompanying research insights, captured in the book, prompt discussion of potential policy directions and service design opportunities? 3) What are your thoughts on how this picture book could be used to communicate research insights within your organisation? 4) What do you see as the benefits and barriers to using this picture book approach as a resource within your organisation? Discussions at the first workshop were captured and subsequently distilled in a ‘Stakeholders’ Report’, circulated to attending stakeholders after the event.
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Analysis of picture book use The first, second and third authors conducted a phenomenological analysis of the following data: responses to the paper-based evaluation (constituting responses from 17 workshop participants (P) and three facilitators (F)); participant observation by the first and second authors; and autoethnographic reflection on the book in use. Our findings are organised around a set of themes. These broadly map to the evaluation questions asked, and focus on participants’ practical sense making around their workshop experiences.
Findings: Picture book use in the stakeholder workshop Grounding and opening up discussion The picture book was predominantly used in the round-table discussions “to understand the scenarios under discussion, then as a reference for particular talking points” (P2). The book was found to provide “a good starting point for discussion” (Facilitator 1), with the scenarios working to contextualise the presented research: “it was useful as it instantly contextualised things and made it easier to engage with the questions and aims of the debate” (P7); “It was a good way to begin a discussion and make sure everyone was talking about the same thing – gave context” (P11). “The format and structure introduced the range of concerns very effectively” (P15); “It provided specific examples as a basis for discussion, which is more helpful than starting from more general impression of people’s behaviour” (P13). The book was “referenced throughout the session to identify key areas of discussion” (P14); it “kept conversation grounded as everyone had examples to refer to in discussion” (P5). It also helped open out discussion: “The book provided a useful prompt and encouraged further consideration of issues beyond those directly referred to within it” (P6).
From the abstract to the particular: making real The printed form factor worked well at the tables: “The tangibility and the narrative were powerful cues for both personal reflection on the scenarios and discussion” (P15). Participants made a number of comments about the interleaving of project research insights with fictional characters and narratives. In graphic design terms, “the monotone style worked well - its starkness and lack of colour invited the reader to think from the perspective of those pictured” (P16). Participants described how the “link between the scenarios and the findings in the ‘call out’ boxes worked well to make the research insights seem clearer and more real” (P4). The book and accompanying dilemma cards showed “examples of things that can happen in practice, to stop conversation being too abstract” between the participating group members (P1); “It enabled us to consider high level, potentially abstract concepts through the lens of ‘real life scenarios’” (P3). The book served to help the participants navigate between the abstract and the particular: “I think it was a useful referral tool, as it allowed you to relate a concept which you are trying to discuss at quite an abstract level to a more ‘real-life’ situation” (P7); it provided “specific names and stories, with which to discuss hypothetical
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situations” (P5). Anchoring the character-driven narratives in research data was also found to give the material that was presented credibility with participants, whilst service design insights were used as “hooks” (Facilitator 2) for discussion throughout the scenarios. Moreover, the material presented in the picture book generated discussions on the heterogeneity of UK citizens. Participants identified fresh opportunities to understand the breadth of views on individual citizen experience, and suggested that they could engage with these individuals through the resource.
Communicating complex issues in an understandable way The workshop structure was found to give the Workshop Two participants time to reflect on issues relating to the responsible use of UK citizens’ personal data, which was their core focus as an organisation. Many participants identified the book’s communicative potential within their organisation, as offering “a good discussion prompt” to foster internal dialogue (P3, P6), and “to convey issues” (P12); “We could use specific examples like this to focus policy discussions around privacy notices, consent, etcetera” (P13); “linked to future guidance, this could form part of an internal learning session” (P14). The approach seemed transferrable and had capacity to open up further dialogue: “We could produce a version which supplemented your scenarios with issues from our own strategic concerns in this domain, to embed the discussions in a more directly relevant place, but at the same great level of insight” (P15). The way in which the book content and format served to offer a projected distillation of insight was appreciated: “It is refreshing and helpful to have a different means of communicating findings which is brief – rather than a long discussion paper; we see a lot of the more traditional, lengthy and discursive papers in the day job, and this helps to make you consider things from the perspective of the public” (P4); “A quick and easy way to impart the information contained within” (P10). From a facilitator perspective, the book “made the research concepts easy for the stakeholders to grasp, and allowed us to really maximise the time we had with them in one afternoon – we could jump right in, and talk about issues” (F2), as it “invites engagement” (F3). The efficacy of the resource was also considered for outward-facing dialogue. Participants also saw opportunities to integrate the different character views into advisory materials that they produce, aimed at policymakers, corporations and citizens: “thinking about how we present advice in an engaging way – again making helpful and practical points available to different audiences” (P4); “We could also use this approach more in external communications and guidance” (P13); for “communicating to the public complex matters in an understandable way”; “simple, clear, visual” (P12); “people relate to visual, graphical representation well” (P6).
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Concerns around scope and representativeness There were, however, concerns voiced about the scenarios for conceptually limiting the discussion space. One participant was concerned that the book was “fairly limited with three stories” (P11). Another found the scenario constraining the “scope to expand further to explain what people can do to remedy the issue or how to prevent it happening in the first place” (P14); it was felt that the diegetic space (story world) could have afforded more along these lines. And another participant was concerned “that in describing a specific scenario you may stifle discussion on an issue that may be useful but is not mentioned”. Other perspectives ameliorated such issues. One participant relayed: “it seemed narrow that the scenarios all portrayed lone individuals in circumstances of some anxiety or risk, however in practice this allowed the discussion to include critiques of the scenarios, which was very useful” (P15).
Figure 6 CDL Picture Book: an extract from the New Parents scenario that incorporates fictional products and services within the narrative events (page 16).
There were equally differing levels of comfort around the role of fictitious elements: “I found it confusing when completely fictitious examples were used in the scenarios, for example, a pregnancy text that set up an appointment with a GP [general practitioner] (Figure 6). It would have been easier to understand if they were real life anonymised, but likely or common scenarios for that group” (P19). An interesting criticism here is on a perceived lack of clarity about the relationship between empirical evidence and fiction in the narrative threads. This was caused by our inclusion, in places, of fictitious, near-future products and services within the story world. Feedback from this workshop participant revealed that such narrative components could be ‘confusing’ if not properly introduced.
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General reflections on the resource Building on the last point, the facilitators reflected that the picture book needed a sufficient presentational context to be adequately ‘read’ and understood. As F2 reflected, “I feel that to hand it over to others it might need a bit of framing”. The facilitator went on to point to the necessity of there being a dialogic process between the researchers, facilitators and the participants around the presentation of the resource: “I think without the workshop part of it, people might have difficulty walking away with the key points of the CDL project” (F2). Other practical concerns were voiced, about the picture book production. Some considered the investment of effort in production could be justified if it delivered on value: “It could be time-consuming but worthwhile I think” (P1); “It involves more time and effort to prepare, as compared to simply presenting facts and figures; it actually requires very detailed research, to construct realistic examples, but is very powerful if done well” (P13). Our own concern in reflecting on the book production is that the work of creating its content and then providing the framing for its presentation necessitated, in the workshops conducted to date, significant input and representation by the research team members who were also the book’s designers – as experts on the book’s content and function. The extent to which this picture book would work in a stakeholder workshop without the presence of at least one of the researchers involved in creating it is an open question to explore in future workshops.
Discussion In this paper, we offer a case of using picture books as a resource for design. Specifically, we describe putting some of the polyphonic literary devices highlighted by Wright and McCarthy (2005) into practice in the design of a visual storytelling resource for stakeholder dialogue around research findings. We now reflect upon the picture book in use in the stakeholder workshop context. First, we revisit the purpose we wanted the book to serve in the workshop, to help us reflect on its usefulness and potential appropriation by others (e.g. stakeholders, design researchers). In its design, we oriented to it as a resource for enabling sense making and productive dialogue around a set of research insights. Based on our workshop feedback, the book proved efficacious in scaffolding this dialogical space for stakeholder interaction. Reflecting more deeply on why, we suggest that our research insights would always have to be grounded by the stakeholders themselves within their own practices if they were to be made of sense to them and be usable. There was little utility in presenting definitive statements about the research outputs. Consequently, we saw the findings depicted in the book as constituting dialogic elements of a research space that remained open for interpretation. Arguably, the character-driven scenarios also helped create this interpretative frame. We return to Wright and McCarthy’s reading of Bakhtin (2005) to elaborate. In a Bakhtinian analysis of the polyphonic genre:
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“We see the world of the novel from multiple perspectives of different characters with different value systems, and there is seldom one best way forward… Rather it is the relations between these value systems that drive the novel on. … Furthermore, characters’ actions are not causally determined by plot, a creative response can be drawn out of them without destroying the coherence of the story.” (Wright and McCarthy 2005, p.15)
In the Young Adults scenario, part of which is depicted in this paper (Figures 1 – 5), the darkAngel character is positioned in empathic relation with the CDL research participants whose accounts are represented; this is captured on page 10 (Figure 4) in the juxtaposition of the pictorial depicting darkAngel’s gaming profile with the authorial voice of the researchers talking about research findings (B). darkAngel presents herself to character Matt (the young adult in this story) through different identities, at different events within the narrative thread, (for example, as Emma through a social media friend request (Figure 4)). It is the relationship dynamics between Matt and darkAngel/ Emma that were intended to invite stakeholder engagement because it is the concerns such as ‘wariness when getting to know people online’ that were deemed of core interest for discussion and ideation in the workshop context (Figure 5). Moreover, we see here how the characters in the stories are actually operating, not just with each other, but in further dialogue with the other authorial voices of the picture book. Connecting this example to methodological discourse: another criticism of scenarios for design research, aside from their historic use of stereotyped personae (Nielsen 2002), is that they are often seen to close down interpretation by their readers about a design space of possibility by presenting a ‘unitary vision’ of a technological future (Gaver 2011). Indeed we received some critical feedback (above) about how the stories in the CDL picture book constrained thinking to the represented subjects. Arguably, however, the unique, multiperspectival format of this picture book – or polyphonic picture book as it might be dubbed – and the nature of its content, were found, by most at the workshops, to open up the dialogic imagination of workshop participants around the presentation of research insights and the possible design spaces that they suggest for consideration. Our researcher positioning within the picture book design process and the workshop event is also significant to reflect on methodologically. Thinking in terms of a dialogical exchange, we, as a research team, collected new research data and analytic insight through the book design process and the workshop discussions. The process of synthesising (and distilling) collective insights from a complex, interdisciplinary project into something relatively brief, pictorial, and accessible required significant collaborative dialogue between the disciplinary partners in efforts to engage, analyse, and ideate around alternative perspectives on the project and its outputs. On reflection, developing and editing the book was found to be enriching for further analysing the CDL data as a collective process, for example, deciding on research highlights and accommodating changes to story and character features to hone representations. Also, we recognise that our insight as this picture book’s designers contributed significantly to the running of the two workshops (although round table group activities were in three cases facilitated by others). These are important considerations for
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the transferability of the method. We are currently using the picture book in further stakeholder engagements with different workshop structures, framing devices, and reading contexts, to deepen our understanding of its effectiveness and limitations. In closing, we reiterate our intended contribution with this paper to offer a case study account of the design and use of a novel, polyphonic picture book format to open up stakeholder dialogue about the qualitative findings from an interdisciplinary research project. Reflecting on this process, we have suggested how aspects of the book’s format, content, and context of use offer methodological insights to the DRS community about using visual storytelling techniques with particular dialogical features, for scaffolding interpretative contexts of research engagement. Acknowledgements: We thank our workshop participants and facilitators for their interest and contributions to our research, and the anonymous reviewers who provided valuable guidance. The Charting the Digital Lifespan (CDL) project is funded by RCUK (EP/L00383X/1). The first author is supported by The Leverhulme Trust (ECF-2012-642).
References Baym, N.K. (2015) Personal connections in the digital age, John Wiley & Sons. Bleecker, J. (2009) Design Fiction: A short essay on design, science, fact and fiction, Near Future Laboratory, 29, http://tinyurl.com/jbbhvg4, (Accessed 09 September, 2015). Blevis, E., Hauser, S., & Odom, W. (2015) Sharing the hidden treasure in pictorials. interactions, 22(3), 32-43. Blythe, M. (2014) Research through design fiction: narrative in real and imaginary abstracts, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 703-712, ACM Press. Blythe, M. A., & Wright, P. C. (2006) Pastiche scenarios: Fiction as a resource for user centred design, Interacting with Computers, 18(5), 1139-1164. Buxton, B. (2007) Sketching User Experiences: getting the design right and the right design, Morgan Kaufmann. Cabinet Office, & GO-Science. (2014) Futures toolkit for policy-makers and analysts - Publications GOV.UK, http://tinyurl.com/nahofvy, (Accessed April 30, 2015). Carroll, J. M. (2000) Making use: scenario-based design of human-computer interactions, MIT Press. DiSalvo, C. (2012) FCJ-142 Spectacles and tropes: Speculative design and contemporary food cultures. Fibreculture Journal, 20. Durrant, A., Golembewski, M., Kirk, D. S., Benford, S., Rowland, D., & McAuley, D. (2011) Exploring a digital economy design space in theme parks, Procedings of the Second Conference on Creativity and Innovation in Design, pp. 273-284, ACM Press. Durrant, A. C., Trujillo Pisanty, D., Moncur, W. and Orzech, K. M. (2015) Charting the Digital Lifespan: A Picture Book, Newcastle University, UK. Eisner, W. (2008) Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist (Will Eisner Instructional Books), WW Norton & Company. Fallman, D. (2003) Design-oriented human-computer interaction, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, pp. 225-232, ACM Press.
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Gaver, W. (2011) Making Spaces: How Design Workbooks Work, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1551-1560, ACM Press. Kirby, D. (2009) The future is now: Diegetic prototypes and the role of popular films in generating real-world technological development, Social Studies of Science, 40, 41-70. Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redstrom, J., & Wensveen, S. (2011) Design research through practice: From the lab, field, and showroom, Elsevier. Lee, D. B., Goede, J., & Shryock, R. (2010).Clicking for friendship: social network sites and the medium of personhood, MedieKultur. Journal of media and communication research, 26(49), 14. Löwgren, J., & Stolterman, E. (2004) Thoughtful interaction design, MIT Press. McCarthy, J., & Wright, P. (2004) Technology as experience, MIT Press. McCarthy, J., & Wright, P. (2015) Taking [A]part: The Politics and Aesthetics of Participation in Experience-Centered Design, MIT Press. McCloud, S. (1993) Understanding comics: The invisible art, Northampton, Mass. Moggridge, B. (2007) Designing interactions, MIT Press. Nikolajeva, M., & Scott, C. (2000) How Picturebooks work, Garland Press. Ofcom. (2015) Adults’ media use and attitudes Report 2015, http://tinyurl.com/o9d2ffw, (Accessed 09 September, 2015). Orr, J. E. (1996) Talking about machines: An ethnography of a modern job, Cornell University Press. Rowland, D., Porter, D., Gibson, M., Walker, K., Underwood, J., Luckin, R., ... & Benford, S. (2010) Sequential art for science and CHI, CHI'10 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 2651-2660, ACM Press. Sterling, B. (2009) Design fiction, interactions, 16(3), 20-24. Trujillo Pisanty, D., Durrant, A., Martindale, S., James, S., & Collomosse, J. (2014) Admixed Portrait: Reflections on Being Online As a New Parent, Proceedings of the 2014 conference on Designing interactive systems, pp. 503–512, ACM Press. Wright, P. & McCarthy, J. (2005) The value of the novel in designing for experience, in Pirhonen, A., Isomaki, H., Roast, C. & Saariluoma, P. (eds.) Future Interaction Design, Springer-Verlag. Wright, P., & McCarthy, J. (2010) Experience-centered design: designers, users, and communities in dialogue, Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics, 3(1), 1-123. UK Office for National Statistics (2015) Internet Access - Households and Individuals, http://tinyurl.com/hub9m7d, (Accessed 09 September, 2015).
About the Authors: Abigail Durrant is Leverhulme Fellow in Human-Computer Interaction, with a longstanding interest in how digital interactions support expressions of personal, social and cultural identity. Her approach is design-led and practice-based, using design artefacts and processes to understand and communicate ideas and experiences. Wendy Moncur is Reader in Socio-Digital Interaction. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the design of digital technologies to support lived human experience across the lifespan, and is grounded in Human-Computer Interaction.
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David Kirk is Reader in Cultural Computing. His design research explores the intersections of memory, data and materiality, utilising a variety of qualitative methods, to support the human-centred design of novel interactive computational technologies and services. Diego Trujillo Pisanty is a researcher and visual artist exploring the human elements within technological systems. He often employs technological methods to address his research interests. Kathryn Orzech is a research fellow interested in how online life and connectivity change across the physical lifespan. Her research focuses on the intersections of anthropology, digital technology, and health
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Design and the Creation of Representational Artefacts for Interactive Social Problem Solving Richard Cooneya*, Nifeli Stewartb, Tania Ivankab and Neal Haslemb a
Monash University RMIT University *richard.cooney@monash.edu DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.289
b
Abstract: This paper highlights the role of design and designers in the creation of visual artefacts as boundary objects to be used to facilitate social problem solving. Many problems in human service systems can only be solved by purposive action amongst the stakeholders of the system but each stakeholder has only a partial view of the system. Boundary objects that present a multi-stakeholder perspective can facilitate problem solving by creating representations of the system that are meaningful to all stakeholders. In this study we used sensemaking (often a textual practice) and visualisation to create a high complexity representational artefact to enable shared understandings of an occupational rehabilitation system. Keywords: visual sensemaking; social problem solving; complex multi-stakeholder service system; boundary objects
Introduction Designers have recently become interested in the contribution that design can make to the solution of a wide range of social problems. This development has been facilitated by managers and organisational development practitioners turning to design in their search for new methods of service improvement. Design has entered into the search for innovation in service delivery and, in particular, innovation in the delivery of health and education services. Design methods – such as ethnographic approaches to understanding user needs and the rapid prototyping of designs – have been employed to develop co-creation and coproduction with users in human service delivery (Bessant & Maher 2009, Bevan et al. 2007, Ehn, Nilsson & Topgaard 2014). Much work in human service delivery has focused upon service system functionality, but there exists a role for designers in the creation of boundary objects that can communicate This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Richard Cooney, Nifeli Stewart, Tania Ivanka and Neal Haslem
systemic properties. Carlile (2002, 2004) describes the role of boundary objects as that of representing, learning about, transferring, negotiating, altering and creating new knowledge to resolve the boundary issues that arise in complex systems. Human service systems are multi-stakeholder systems. Stakeholders are all those individuals and groups that affect or are affected by a service system. This definition covers a broad range of individuals and groups, many of whom have differing roles at different points of the system. Stakeholders are thus often sub-divided into those with a primary or direct interest and those with a secondary or indirect interest. Amongst the first group, 'users' of the system are those directly providing or receiving service, whilst the broader group of primary stakeholders may include service regulators and others. Secondary stakeholders may include employee unions and advocacy groups. In what follows we prefer the broader term 'stakeholder' to cover the divergent roles of the groups that we study (Freeman, Harrison & Wicks 2007). In multi-stakeholder and multi-user service systems no single stakeholder and no single user is central to the functioning of the system. Social problems in such service systems are usually resolved by interaction amongst the stakeholders. This interaction may be in a political process as stakeholders negotiate the policies and procedures of service provision (e.g. service charters) or it may be focused upon negotiating individual pathways for direct users of the system (e.g. a treatment plan). This interactive problem solving occurs when problems arising in the service system can only be solved by the purposive action of stakeholders collectively, rather than by expert study and expert decision (Kelman, 2010). In multi-stakeholder service systems where interactive problem solving constitutes a core part of service delivery, representational artefacts that are meaningful to the stakeholders of the system can play an important role in problem solving. The representation of problems in diffuse service systems frequently overlooks the differences between the systemic conceptualisations of different stakeholders. Thus, creating a meaningful artefact can act to generate convergence in representation. This convergence aids participation in social problem solving, facilitating the co-production of service and co-design of system improvements (Morrison & Dearden, 2013). To create representational artefacts that are meaningful to the diverse stakeholders of a service system, the various meanings of the system for stakeholders must be explored. This paper outlines the value of sensemaking for this task and the way in which sensemaking and visualisation can be used jointly to create a meaningful representational artefact. The paper then employs a case study from the occupational rehabilitation service system and reports on the design methods used in the creation of the representational artefact as a boundary object.
Sensemaking and Design Sensemaking is a broad term that refers to the ways in which people construct meaning from experience. It refers to the cognitive elements associated with the interpretation of
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experience but also to the socio-psychological elements of the invention of meaning, such as the construction of identity. Sensemaking is concerned with social practice in the creation of understanding and the enactment of social realities based upon that understanding (Brown et al. 2015, Weick 1995). The practice of sensemaking has much in common with that of designers, and though perhaps unrecognised, has traditionally been a key aspect of design practice. Sensemaking takes examples grounded in experience and – through the use of abductive processes – seeks patterns of social behaviour and generalisations about motivations. In the case examined here, sensemaking and the design practice of visualisation were combined to create a meaningful artefact of an occupational rehabilitation system. Stakeholders in the occupational rehabilitation system often have only a partial view of the system, making the practice of sensemaking useful to this research. Occupational rehabilitation is delivered through interactive social problem solving, with the employer and the treating health professional, for example, attending jointly to the medical and psychosocial factors entailed in returning an injured worker to the workplace and reintegrating them to work. Purposive action is required in the interactions between the parties, but each stakeholder only sees action within their action domain. The challenge for the research was to construct the multiple meanings of the rehabilitation system for stakeholders and develop a representation of the system that would communicate multiple viewpoints. The endemic problems in the system – such as miscommunication between employers and health professionals, which we describe in more detail below – could only be understood once the stakeholders could understand their systemic misrepresentations of ‘rehabilitation’ beyond their individual action domain. Much of the practice of sensemaking is based in social discourse through the use of verbal and textual narratives of experience. For the purposes of the research team, however, the construction of a single narrative was problematic since it would likely be appropriated or ignored by each of the stakeholders as a representation or misrepresentation of their experience. Rather, a visualisation of the system of interactions in rehabilitation was required so that each of their stakeholders could identify their location in the system and identify the interactions that were preparatory to, or the consequence of, the interactions in their own domain. In other words the visualisation supported multiple viewpoints and narratives of the occupational rehabilitation service system. Sensemaking through visualisation is an iterative process. The sensemaking informs the construction of the visualisation, and the visualization itself informs the dialogue around the sensemaking. This work became integral to the work of the research team, informing their construction of the system of interactions in the rehabilitation service system. In this sense, design can be said to aid the visualisation of the perspectives of different stakeholders, promote dialogue about the social problem and lead to a shared problem statement ahead of the work on solutions.
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The role of Visualisations Visualisation is central to design practice and there exists substantial work on the role of visual representation in the design literature. Ewenstein and Whyte (2007, 2009) highlight the cognitive role of visual representations. These representations can overcome the limits to an individual’s cognitive capacity, reducing cognitive load. Using multiple representations side by side can elucidate different aspects of a problem that lead to unexpected discoveries in the process of interacting with representation. The modes of expression in visual representation can range from highly detailed and concrete to ambiguous and deliberately vague. Lengler and Eppler (2007) describe visualisation studies as an emergent field, with research emanating from scholars within diverse disciplinary practices such as human computer interaction, graphic design, management and architecture. As yet this research remains un-integrated across these practices, and the field risks further fragmentation and loss of valuable insights that might be gained from such diverse disciplines (Ewenstein & Whyte 2007, 2009, Whyte et al 2007, Segelstrom 2009). Lengler and Eppler (2007) and Eppler and Burkhard (2004) are interested in the potential of visualisations for the transfer and creation of knowledge and make a distinction between knowledge visualisation, information visualisation and visual communication. They believe that managers and organizational development practitioners – outside of advertising and corporate identity visualisation – make very little use of visualisation methods in their work. Managers have little awareness of other uses of visualisation methods, their requirements, benefits and application areas. The widely accepted forms of visualisation in business are internally focused, such as those that show achievement against performance measures (cost, time etc.); show formal business processes and procedures (activity flow charts, organisational charts, etc.), or; show process status (such as visual factory methods). Eppler and Burkhard (2004) believe that the potential for visual representation is often lost because there is little assistance for non-professional visualisers to make use of the power of complex visualisations. Ewenstein & Whyte (2007, 2009) and Whyte et al (2007) show the important roles that visual materials play in project based work leading to the creation of new knowledge. They explored how engineering and architectural project teams use visuals in their practice, how these support different modes of decision making, and how different forms of visual representation change the focus of the conversation with materials. They found that visualisations are used extensively in both cases, but the nature of visual practice (types of representations used, owners of the visual material, foci of attentions, and patterns of interactions) differs significantly between the two contexts. The authors conceptualise this as the difference between exploitation, where project visualisation is largely in commercial and process terms (time and resources) and exploration, where the project uses a wide range of visual materials to understand physical interdependencies and to create new knowledge. The authors’ findings suggest that managers can make more deliberate choices about how knowledge is made visible, thus shaping the nature of their project and the desired trajectories of learning within and across projects. Key to this work is understanding
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how visuals can be used to shape meaning and transfer knowledge (Ewenstein & Whyte 2007, 2009, Whyte et al. 2007). This use of visualisation to create knowledge is less understood in many organisations because of the extensive use of visualisation to represent quantitative data. The representation of more qualitative data and the construction of meaning from that data is less explored. In the case explored here, visualisation was used to represent new knowledge about the properties of the occupational rehabilitation system, knowledge that was then used to develop shared understandings of this complex service system that has shared ownership. Visualisation, in this project, fits well with more interpretative design practice. Visualisation has been examined as a design activity for problem solving (Mendel & Yeager 2010) that encompasses all phases of the design cycle, from understanding what is; deconstructing what is; exploring what could be; and making what could be. Kolko (2011) discusses how important it is for designers to make the design synthesis side of their work explicit, in order for it to be valued by their more logical and linear thinking clients, and that visualisation methods can help them do this. Visualisation practice thus offers a good fit with sensemaking practice. This experimental practice of sensemaking through visualisation enabled the research team to synthesise qualitative data and abstract from the multiple narratives of the service system. This produced what might be termed a high complexity representation of that service system. High complexity representations highlight systemic properties that are not visible to the stakeholders in the system, thus promoting further action to improve the overall performance of the system.
Case Study: Occupational rehabilitation through a Workers’ Insurance Agency The research was commissioned by the agency responsible for workplace safety in the state of Victoria, Australia – WorkSafe Victoria. The agency has a dual role in the promotion of workplace safety in Victoria. The agency is firstly the regulator of workplace health and safety practice, with responsibility for accident investigations, the investigation of workplace safety breaches and the launching of prosecutions against employers arising from these investigations. Secondly, the agency is the regulator of the workers’ insurance scheme in Victoria, with responsibility for the compensation and occupational rehabilitation of injured workers. In the first role the agency works with employers and employees to improve safety practice. In the second role it works with a range of stakeholders – employers, injured employees, insurance agents, treating health professionals and rehabilitation providers – to ensure the Return to Work (RTW) and continuation in employment of those suffering a disability as the result of a workplace injury. In each role the agency has promotional but also important compliance and regulatory functions. These compliance and regulatory functions tend to
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dominate the work of the agency, as they are the activities more closely specified in the legislation governing the agency. WorkSafe Victoria has been very successful in its first role of harm reduction. It has overseen a continual reduction of the rate of workplace accidents and injuries, to provide Victoria with the lowest accident rate of any state in Australia; this despite the economic significance of industries (such as manufacturing and construction) with traditionally high rates of accidents. The agency has been less successful in its second role of rehabilitation, however, with limited improvement evident in rates of Return to Work of injured workers following a workplace incident. Around 20% of injured workers have not yet returned to work after six months of absence from the workplace (WorkSafe 2015). The research was commissioned by WorkSafe Victoria to better understand the wide variation in RTW performance between employers. The proposal was to study the rehabilitation practices of high performing employers, so that some insight might be gained into reasons for such high performance. Qualitative research methods, drawing upon the insights of grounded theory into the analysis of social phenomena (Glaser 1998) were used to examine this, and involved the conduct of semi-structured interviews with key officers involved in workplace RTW. These included: Human Resource Managers; Workplace ReturnTo-Work Coordinators and Supervisors. Six Victorian organisations that have successfully implemented beneficial RTW practices were chosen. Participating organisations were identified by WorkSafe Victoria on the grounds that they had a substantial drop in their insurance premium in the past two years and/or had won WorkSafe awards for their RTW practice. Medium and large organisations were approached, as these are the organisations that tend to have formal written policies, standard procedures and organisational systems for RTW. They were also more likely to have current claims. No particular industries were targeted and participating organisations came from the hospitality, manufacturing, building and construction, health care and professional services industries. Data was collected by means of: 1) Semi-structured interviews with responsible officers in the workplace (RTW Coordinators, O.H.&S. Managers, HR Managers); 2) Interviews with other stakeholders (insurance agents, treating health professionals, trade union officers and officers of the responsible authority); 3) Workplace observations; and 4) The collection and analysis of workplace documents (e.g. policies and procedural manuals). Injured workers were not interviewed as part of this project and this is one of the limitations of our approach. Our focus was on employers, their policies and procedures for occupational rehabilitation and not upon the progress of individual cases. Examining individual histories and medical records raised many complex privacy issues and would have made for a larger
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and more extensive research project. Our focus was on the aggregate performance of the employer in occupational rehabilitation and this is what is reflected here.
The social problem statement The experience of workplace injury is traumatic for employees. Injury and rehabilitation from injury can have significant health and social-psychological effects for the injured worker. These effects are the more significant where workplace injury results in the loss of employment. The loss of employment following a work disability is associated with a decline in living standards and a rise in psychological disorders, such as depression, affecting workers and their families. Re-entry to the labour market for such workers is made difficult due to the loss of skills, the loss of work capacity and employer discrimination against the claimants of workers’ compensation insurance. Over 12% of Australians experiencing a work related injury or illness cease work each year and so there are a significant group of workers exposed to such risks to their social and economic well-being (ABS, 2011; Harrison & Allen, 2003; Purse, 2000; Quinlan & Mayhew, 1999). Occupational rehabilitation following a workplace injury covers the stages of treatment, work re-entry and employment continuance. Most rehabilitation fails at the continuance stage and this highlights the importance of re-integrative work for successful rehabilitation. It is often not failures in treatment that lead to a loss of employment but rather failures in the provision of re-integrative work (Berecki-Gisolf et al., 2012; Hodges et al., 2013; Young, 2010). Occupational rehabilitation implies access to continuance of employment, but this is most successful where absence from work is of relatively short duration. The longer the absence from work, the more difficult is the re-entry to the workplace in the absence of reintegrative employment. The length of absence following work related disability is not significantly related to the condition leading to disability, but is closely related to organisational policies and procedures for the provision of re-integrative work and the psycho-social factors in employment continuation (Friesen, Yassi & Cooper, 2001; Hunt et al., 1993; MacKenzie et al., 1998; Tjulin, MacEachen & Ekberg, 2010).
Our Approach The following section describes the process we took, from storytelling and iterative mapping used for sensemaking, to developing visualisations that highlighted the key stories from multiple viewpoints.
Visual sensemaking of the service system: storytelling and mapping Sensemaking commenced with a four-hour workshop where the research team took on the roles of narrator and audience. The narrator detailed the stories of the best practice of six firms and the audience aided sensemaking by listening, mapping, questioning, seeking clarification, and comparing the narratives.
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The narratives were mapped against a service blueprint as an initial framework, which was chosen primarily to capture events occurring over time. The service blueprint is a common methodology of service design practice. While there is hesitation in pinning down a single definition of service design practice (Stickdorn & Schneider 2010, pp. 28–33) service design literature generally focuses upon a user or consumer of a service where ‘…people enter into relationships with professionals and service providers…’ (Polaine, Løvlie, & Reason, 2013, p.36) and so the service experience is co-produced through the interactions between them. Service blueprints and customer journey maps are usually constructed from the point of view of the user of a service and their interactions with touchpoints over time (Kimbell, 2014, pp.86–89; Kolko, 2011, p.102; Stickdorn & Schneider, 2010, pp.158–161). This type of mapping helps designers build an empathic understanding of needs to then inform redesign of the system. Polaine et al (2013) draw attention to how staff support service delivery as either touchpoint or as users of the system from the backstage or offstage (p.131–132). They also discuss how blueprints should convey the essence of the service and specific details of the touchpoints, but caution that: “If you add other people interacting in roles, such as patient, nurse, doctor, and administrative staff, you will find the blueprint becomes very complex very quickly.” (Polaine et al 2013, p.102).
For the purposes of our research, we found it essential to engage directly with the complexity of interaction between multiple users which we refer to as stakeholders in order to visualise the complex system of occupational rehabilitation. In our move from spoken and text sensemaking to a visual form of sensemaking we found that the service blueprint model, with a focus upon a single user, addressed only one part of the story. Rather than being bound to the conventions of the service blueprint, we let the conversations and stories shape the visualisation. As seen in figure 1 below, we listed the stakeholders of the system down the left hand side of the chart and along the RTW journey we mapped the interactions of the various agents, systems and processes. We used Post-it notes on the service blueprint frameworks to capture stories, the thoughts and feelings of stakeholders in their engagement with each other in particular the emotional well-being of injured employees and their relationship with managers, supervisors and co-workers all contributed to the fears, concerns and psychological well-being of the injured employee.
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Figure 1 This photograph of the service blueprint mapping features additional explanations that help communicate our sensemaking process. The grey blocks on the left highlight the multistakeholder nature of the system, and the blue speech bubbles across the map highlighted key quotes and insights that helped us understand the relationships between stakeholders.
Individual and collaborative sensemaking: answering ‘so what’ The map created from our first workshop was translated into digital form and considered by the research team for individual sensemaking and iterative questioning over a week. The subsequent digital diagram was then reviewed in a second workshop, which allowed the team to make sense of the insights and synthesise their understanding. In this workshop, the team reflected on the map, checked their understanding and asked questions to elaborate on the stories they had heard in the first workshop. Colour coding was an important conceptual step that revealed a clustering of activities, and helped to identify patterns in the structure of the system (see figure 2). Red was used to flag RTW compliance activities and helped reveal the boundary (shown as a red border) around what a company is required to do in managing workplace incidents. Blue highlighted best practice activities by employers, many of which occurred outside the boundary of RTW compliance activities. Black was used to flag ‘blackspots’ where the system would break down, such as progress on claims being delayed, or stopped altogether.
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Figure 2 As sensemaking continued in digital form, colour coding helped reveal patterns in the system: Red blocks are compliance activities, revealing a clear boundary between what a company is required to do and the activities of best practice companies (marked in blue). Black indicates ‘blackspots’ in the system.
Through the colour coding, a more complex picture emerged, illustrating details that could not otherwise be seen by the regulator, WorkSafe. Under a regulation framework, problems are seen as ‘non compliance’ with regulations; yet during interviews it became clear that problems emerged even where employers were compliant. The mapping was not about detailing touchpoints that need to be improved; instead it was about less tangible relationships between stakeholders. We needed to accommodate the different perspectives of the multiple stakeholders, the interactions and relationships between them, and how these multiple stakeholders interacted with different parts of the system. Boundaries were questioned and the role of the employer was reframed. There was no ‘back end’ or ‘behind the scenes’ of the service system, and the boundaries of the system, originally taken for granted as being those defined by WorkSafe, were challenged. Through this a multitude of problems were revealed. There was not just one problem, because different stakeholders are affected in different ways, and the different problems are solved by different combinations of stakeholders.
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Working with the visualisation, it became clear to the research team that there were three main systemic problems. The first problem was that best practice within organisations demonstrated attention to areas beyond the boundary of the work safe regulatory domain. Secondly, there were multiple delays and recursive loops in the system that kept injured people away from work longer than necessary. Lastly, there was a lack of attention from government or business to what happens after RTW compliance activities are complete but an employee has not returned to work fully. With these insights, the team developed ways to draw attention to these problems within a visualisation of the RTW journey.
Selecting the stories to tell: keeping both the whole and the parts of the system in mind The final visualisations focused upon categories of events rather than a detailed micro sequence of step-by-step activities normally featured in service blueprints or customer journey maps. Iterations of the visualisation took us from the concrete details to the abstract, enabling a more conceptual visual artefact. The visualisation shows that best practice employers are proactive in managing employee well-being, whether the employee is injured at work or has other, non-compensable injuries. If there is a compensable injury under the workers' insurance scheme then these employers are also pro-active in developing relationships with health professionals and insurance agents, to progress rehabilitation quickly. The best practice employers do much more than is expected of them in the compliance framework and hence, simply focusing upon compliance missed much of what made employer practice effective. Once the map was fine-tuned the key findings became clear. We found that there were four main phases in the RTW journey, represented in a set of finished visualisations (figures 3, 4, 5): 1) Culture of health & well-being: Employers worked to create a culture of health and well-being in the workplace, focused on prevention of injury and well-being of employees at an everyday level (see figure 4, left); 2) Managing incident & injury: Employers cultivated and managed relationships with multiple agents, including doctors, insurance agents and rehabilitation providers, not just during a claims process but long before any injury occurred (figure 4, right); 3) Return to Work coordination: Employers reduced or removed delays in the system, such as insurance processing and recursive loops in the issue of certificate of capacity to return employees to the workplace (figure 5, left). 4) Outcomes: Better RTW outcomes and reduced insurance premiums
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Figure 3 The Return to Work experience map overview shows the four phases of the Return to Work system from left to right: 1. Culture of health and well-being; 2. Managing incident and injury; 3. Return to work coordination; 4. Outcomes. Within the grey space were the key activities and below the grey space we wrote the best practice solutions and stories.
RTW compliance activities defined the boundary of the WorkSafe system (see figure 3, framed in orange) and overlaps two phases: Managing incident & injury (phase 2); and Return to Work Coordination (phase 3). Figure 3 shows the overview of the Return to Work experience map, and each of the phases shown there are presented in more detail in figures 4 and 5. Because the boundary of the WorkSafe system did not capture the full picture of employer practice, much of what made a successful RTW outcome took place outside WorkSafe compliance activities.
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Figure 4 (left) detailed view of Culture of health and well-being, (right) detailed view of the Managing incident and inquiry.
Figure 5 (left) detailed view of Return to Work coordination, (right) detailed view of Outcomes.
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Conclusion: The final visualisation as boundary object Meaningful representational artefacts of complex human service systems have an important role to play in interactive social problem solving. In multi-stakeholder service systems, representations cannot rely on the viewpoint of one stakeholder. To create representational artefacts that are meaningful to multiple stakeholders in the system we needed to adapt our design practice towards sensemaking and engage with the visualisation of relationships between multiple stakeholders. Sensemaking is best done through visualisation rather than textual analysis, as the visual highlights the different conceptions of service system boundaries and service system interactions of different stakeholders. While the service blueprint and journey map can be useful, and initiated our sensemaking process, we found that they can also keep important dynamics hidden. As researchers we needed to ask ourselves what was being kept hidden and what was being revealed through the tools we use. We needed to allow the specifics of the occupational rehabilitation context to emerge. In complex, multi-stakeholder systems, both the whole and its parts need to be revealed in order to initiate the required conversations that lead to collaborative problem sharing and solving. In the closing chapter of their book, Polaine et al. (2013) begin to discuss the potential of service design practice to address complex social, economic and ecological issues, thanks to its ability to break down complexity while still showing the bigger picture (Polaine et al., 2013, p.189). Our research is an example of how to engage with and communicate this complexity by moving beyond the primarily single user perspective normally seen in service design, and related practice, to aid understanding of the complex relationships of multiple stakeholders. Through iterations of visualisation our process allowed for collective sensemaking – something that is often hidden when completed visuals are presented to clients. The visualisation becomes a boundary object that allows important conversations to take place with multiple stakeholders. It does not point the finger at any one stakeholder or problem, but focuses upon communicating relationships between multiple stakeholders, the importance of social problem solving and reviewing how the boundaries are drawn around the system. This promotes stakeholder ownership of the problems identified which leads to action by the stakeholders to address those problems. This places design in a different role; instead of designing the service system or solving the problems, the designer helps facilitate discussion and action by making the complex simple to understand. The visualisation facilitates dialogue between stakeholders by providing a common starting point and helps initiate stakeholder improvement actions for better social outcomes from the service system such as reduction in the time of return to work of injured workers. Acknowledgements: A copy of the complete report ‘The Implementation of Beneficial Return to Work Practices in Victorian Organisations: Policy and Governance Considerations’, which features the visualisations presented in this paper, is available from: http://preview.tinyurl.com/rtw-drs-2016
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References ABS (2011) Work-Related Injuries. Australian Bureau of Statistics Cat. No. 6324.0. Canberra: ABS Bevan, H., Glenn, R., Bate, P., Maher, L. & Wells, J. (2007) Using a Design Approach to Assist LargeScale Organizational Change: "10 High Impact Changes" to Improve the National Health Service in England. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(1):135-152. Berecki-Gisolf, J., Clay, F.J., Collie, A., & McClure, R. (2012) Predictors of Sustained Return to Work After Work-Related Injury or Disease: Insights from Worker’s Compensation Claims Records. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 22: 283–291. Bessant, J., & Maher, L. (2009) Developing Radical Service Innovations in Healthcare – The Role of Design Methods. International Journal of Innovation Management, 13(4): 555–568. Brown, A. D., Colville, I., & Pye, A. (2015) Making Sense of Sensemaking in Organization Studies. Organization Studies, 36(2): 265–277. Carlile, P.R., (2002) A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development. Organization Science, 13: 4 (Jul-Aug, 2002), 442–455. Carlile, P.R., (2004) Transferring, Translating and Transforming: An Integrative Framework for Managing Knowledge across Boundaries. Organization Science, 15:5 (sep-oct 2004), 555–568. Ehn, P., Nilsson, E. M., & Topgaard, R. (Eds.). (2014) Making Futures: Marginal Notes on Innovation, Design, and Democracy. MIT Press. Eppler, M.J., & Burkhard, R.A., (2004) Knowledge Visualization: Towards a new discipline and its Fields of application. Institute for coporate communication [online] available: http://preview.tinyurl.com/q7hho7n, (Accessed 26 June 2008). Ewenstein, B., & Whyte, J.K., (2007) Visual representation as 'artefacts of knowing'. Building Research & Information 35: 1. Ewenstein, B., & Whyte, J.K., (2009) Knowledge practices in design: the role of visual representation as ‘epistemic objects’. Organization studies, 30:1, p7–30. Freeman, ER., Harrison, JS., & Wicks, AC. (2007) Managing for Stakeholders: Survival, Reputation, Success. New Haven: Yale University Press. Friesen, M.N., Yassi, A., & Cooper, J. (2001) Return-to-Work: The importance of human interactions and organizational structures. Work 17: 11–22. Glaser, B.G. (1998) Doing Grounded Theory: Issues and discussions. Mill Valley: Sociology Press. Harrison, K., & Allen, S. (2003) Features of occupational rehabilitation systems in Australia: A map through the maze. Work 21: 141–152. Hodges, J., Kirkhope, J., Naphtali, L., & Slevison, M. (2013) Failed Return To Work, Delays in Claiming and Long Duration Claims. Sweeney Research Report 22706/22707. Melbourne: Sweeney Research. Hunt, H.A., Habeck, R.V., Van Tol, B., & Scully, S.M. (1993) Disability Prevention Among Michigan Employers, 1988-1993. Upjohn Institute Technical Report No. 94-004. Kalamazoo: WE Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Kelman, H. C. (2010) Interactive problem solving: Changing political culture in the pursuit of conflict resolution. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 16(4):389–413. Kimbell, L. (2014). The Service Innovation Handbook: Action-oriented creative thinking toolkit for service organisations. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers.
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Kolko, J. (2011). Exposing the Magic of Design : A Practitioner’s Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis (eBook). New York: Oxford University Press. Lengler, R., & Eppler, M. J. (2007). Towards a periodic table of visualization methods of management. In GVE ’07 Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on Graphics and Visualization in Engineering (pp. 83–88). ACTA Press. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1712936.1712954 MacKenzie, E.J., Morris, J.A., Jurkovich, G.J., Yasui, Y., Cushing, B.M., Burgess, A.R., DeLateur, B.J., McAndrew, M.P., & Swintkowski, M.F. (1998) Return to Work Following Injury: The Role of Economic, Social and Job-Related Factors. American Journal of Public Health 88(11): 1630–1637. Mendel, J., & Yeager, J. (2010) Knowledge Visualization in Design Practice: Exploring the Power of Knowledge Visualization in Problem Solving. Parsons Journal for Information Mapping, Summer 2010, 1–4. Morrison, C., & Dearden, A. (2013) Beyond tokenistic participation: using representational artefacts to enable meaningful public participation in health service design. Health Policy, 112: 179–186. Polaine, A., Løvlie, L., & Reason, B. (2013). Service Design: From Insight to Implementation. New York: Rosenfeld Media, LLC. Purse, K. (2000) The Dismissal of Injured Workers and Workers’ Compensation Arrangements in Australia. Occupational Heath Policy 30(4): 849–871. Quinlan, M., & Mayhew, C. (1999) Precarious Employment and Workers’ Compensation. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 22(5–6): 491–520. Segelstrom, F. (2009) Communicating through Visualizations: Service Designers on Visualizing User Research. DeThinking Service Rethinking Design: First Nordic Conference on Service Design and Service Innovation. Oslo, Norway. Stickdorn, M., & Schneider, J. (2010). This is Service Design Thinking: Basic – Tools – Cases. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. Tjulin, A., MacEachen, E., & Ekberg, K. (2010) Exploring Workplace Actors Experiences of the Social Organization of Return-to-Work. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 20(3): 311–321. Weick, K. (1995) Sensemaking in Organizations. Sage. London. Whyte, J.K., Ewenstein, B., Hales, M., & Tidd, J. (2007) Visualizing Knowledge in Project-based work. Long Range Planning, 41, 74–92. WorkSafe (2015) Safe Every Day. WorkSafe Victoria Annual Report. Melbourne: WorkSafe. Young, A. (2010) Return to Work following disabling occupational injury – facilitators of employment continuation. Scandanavian Journal of Work, Environment Health 36(6): 473–483.
About the Authors: Dr Richard Cooney (PhD Melb.) studies occupational skill development, employee safety and well-being. Richard has over 20 research publications and his most recent book, Trade Unions and Training, examines the union role in workplace training. Richard is currently studying service innovation in attendant care. Dr Nifeli Stewart has spent 17 years in industry and 8 in academic design research. Her PhD explored the challenges of project implementation and drew upon the fields of design and systems
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thinking in developing new models and tools to address these challenges. Tania Ivanka’s research interests include systemic thinking and design, permaculture, transition design, codesign, design ethnography and sustainability. She just commenced her PhD exploring the use of systemic thinking and design principles to inform collaborative sensemaking of complex social situations. Dr Neal Haslem’s practice-led research involves one-to-one relationships with people, enabling futures through communication design action. Ultimately he aims, through design research, education and discourse, to initiate an ‘intersubjective turn’ within communication design action and research.
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Appreciative Co-design: From Problem Solving to Strength-Based Re-authoring in Social Design Tasman Munro University of Technology Tasman.Munro@uts.edu.au DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.271
Abstract: This paper outlines an approach to Social Design that departs the practice of design as ‘problem solving’ and advocates for Appreciative Co-design, an approach that seeks to nurture strengths and co-construct empowering stories that give life to living systems. As Social Designers we’re working with increasingly vulnerable people in immensely difficult circumstances, and sometimes their lives become constructed around a ‘problem story’. These participants can be difficult to engage in the codesign process, they can be resistant to change or find it difficult to envision positive future alternatives. And as Social Designers it’s now our role to shift their perspective. This involves facilitating a process of social transformation within the design process itself, which is a new task for our practice. For guidance this paper explores Psychotherapy and Organisational Development which are other transformative practices that offer valuable strategies on shifting problem oriented mindsets and motivating people to construct new empowering narratives. Keywords: Social Design; strength-based; narrative; re-authoring
Introduction As Social Designers we’re working with vulnerable people in increasingly difficult circumstances, and our ambitious practice is demanding more of them and more of us. At times we find ourselves working with communities that have long histories of adversity, to the point that the narrative of the community itself becomes constructed around a “problem story”, this can influences people’s language, behaviour and even identity. Participants in these circumstances can sometimes be difficult to engage in the co-design process, they may be resistant to change or struggle to envision a positive future reality. And as Social Designers it’s now our role to shift their perspective, which is a new task for our practice. Previously we worked on the basis of designing products or environments that This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Tasman Munro
would bring about social change, but now we’re needing to facilitate social transformation within the design process itself. In this position we’re adopting the role of Social Worker, Applied Behavioural Scientist and sometimes even Therapist, and although we’re equipped with toolkits to deliver positive outcomes we’re untrained in the psychological complexities of these new demanding relationships. How do we disarm problem oriented stories that have taken hold of participant’s lives and shift their mindsets in a process that is supported, meaningful and productive? This paper attempts to explore this challenging question by drawing on other transformative practices that have greater experience in stimulating change through direct engagement with the social environment. It will first look at Psychotherapy which has a long history of collaborating with vulnerable people and offers valuable strategies on shifting the mindsets of “difficult clients”. The field of Organisational Development will then be explored as it offers comparable theories on motivating groups to adopt new social patterns. In their efforts to shift unproductive mindsets both practices have begun to depart problem solving approaches and are moving toward strength based narrative inquiry. Here the focus shifts from solving the challenges in a problem story toward nurturing strengths and coconstructing a more empowering narrative. The value this could bring to design will be discussed in the final section before proposing an agenda to develop comparable approaches within Social Design practice. But first, I offer an introduction to Social Design and the difficult client.
Social Design and the difficult client For decades academics and practitioners have called for designers to turn their efforts toward those in social need (Melles, de Vere, & Misic, 2011; Whiteley, 1993). Papanek (1972) instigated the initial call for designers to turn their gaze toward the “huge population of the needy and the dispossessed” who “suffer design neglect” (Papanek & Fuller, 1972, p. 59), amongst which he mentioned those who are disabled, disadvantaged, suppressed by racism, incarcerated or living in poverty. More recently Margolin and Maroglin identified that Papenek’s efforts “provided evidence that an alternative to product design for the market is possible, but they have not led to a new model of social practice” (Margolin & Margolin, 2002, p. 24). In response they offer a “Social Model” of design which is comparable to Social Work; a method of “ethological” intervention that seeks to understand the interactions between client and their physical and social environment. However they offer little guidance on the daily interactions of a Social Working approach, or little recognition that vulnerable clients may be more challenging to work with. If people have a long history of difficult experiences they can develop a mindset that problems are the status quo, within Psychotherapy White & Epston (1990) refer to this as resignation to a ‘problem-saturated story’. I have experienced this within the last 7 years of Social Design practice, I’ve collaborated with people in immensely difficult circumstances, including men in maximum security prison, refugees and indigenous families in remote social
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housing. At times I’ve met whole communities who seem stuck in problem-saturated stories. In some contexts this can also stem from risk aversion as well as adversity, like prison or nursing homes which are prone to incidents and the consequences can be serious. As a result the language, practice and environmental design all become constructed around the potential of problems occurring. I’ve experienced that participants in these circumstance can be difficult to engage in the codesign process. Their problem oriented mindsets often inhibit them in envisioning positive future states, and groups can easily find themselves in downward spirals of problem listing. The co-design methods available to Social Designers often draw on Design Thinking which is a problem solving process capable of producing rich knowledge and transformative outcomes (Cross, 2006). However, the language used and focus of inquiry is often problem focused in itself, which can be unhelpful in efforts to shift participant’s deficit thinking. The fields of Psychotherapy and Organisational Development have recognised the limitations of problem solving approaches and have thus developed practices that seek to disarm problem oriented stories through the co-construction of new empowering narrative.
Narrative in Psychotherapy Psychotherapy is a transformative process that involves practitioners guiding clients through personal and social transformation. Modernist psychotherapy involved the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive dysfunction, but in 1990 American Psychologist Kenneth Gergen called for a Post-Modernist approach, he argued that the language and setting of former practices were oriented around deficit based storytelling, which created un-empowering hierarchies between client (presenting inadequacy) and practitioner (as problem solver). Instead he introduced the Constructivist concept of a “Generative Theory” which would disrupt the clients’ habitual assumptions and “open new alternatives for action” (Gergen, 1990, p. 33). Leahy later described the Constructivist approach as “the co-creation (with the therapist) of new meaning structures.” (Leahy & Dowd, 2002, p. 22). Psychotherapy has extensive experience of collaborative with vulnerable people, and thus offers valuable definitions of the “difficult client” and strategies for shifting problem oriented mindsets. Beyond the challenges of specific psychological conditions difficult clients are discussed as those resistant to change or hard to engage in transformative processes (Ellis, 1985; Hanna, 2002; Kottler, 1992). Many factors contribute to resistance but a common theme relates to clients’ reluctance to challenge habitual world views (Mahoney, 1991; Meichenbaum & Gilmore, 1982), and if people have conscripted to problem saturated stories they can develop mindsets that are particularly rigid and resistant to change (Strupp & Binder, 1984). Before we discuss strategies for shifting mindsets I offer a more detailed outline of the problem saturated story.
The construction of a Dominant Story Constructivist Psychotherapy believes that develop life stories based on experiences, linked in sequence, across time:
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Figure 1: Linking events into a good storyline: “Lonely boy” (Denborough, 2014, p. 2)
People construct meaning around these experiences and order them into a “dominant” life story (Russell, 1992; White & Epston, 1990). Once conclusions are drawn on the nature of this story it’s easy for people to collect new experiences that support their perceived narrative, and eventually these narratives influence perceptions, behaviour and identity. This can be challenging for participants if their dominant story is one that is problem saturated. Morgan (2000) describes that: “These thin conclusions, drawn from problem-saturated stories, disempower people as they are regularly based in terms of weaknesses, disabilities, dysfunctions or inadequacies” (Morgan, 2000, p. 13).
If people internalise these oppressive ideals then stories of strength and resilience take a back seat and soon people find themselves stuck in “self propagating vicious cycles” (Strupp & Binder, 1984, p. 73).
Re-authoring in Narrative Therapy Narrative Therapy emerged as practitioners noticed the “generative” and “ingenerative” nature of different clients’ stories within Psychotherapy (Neimeyer & Stewart, 2001, p. 134). A practice of “re-authoring” (White & Epston, 1990) emerged as a way to disarm problem stories and establish space for clients to author new stories that are more likely to increase well-being and empower a positive future (Freedman & Combs, 1996; McLeod, 1997; Russell & Van den Broek, 1992). Within this process clients are encouraged to reinterpret experiences, draw new meanings and develop new perspectives. “As the person becomes aware that there are more ways to tell the story, as the initial, ‘stuck’ narrative is deconstructed, he or she becomes to adopt a story that is more satisfying, meaningful or tolerable than the original” (McLeod, 1997, pp. 109-110)
The concept of “Re-authoring” originates in the work of Myerhoff (1982) but was formalised in practice by White and Epston (1990). The process seeks to detach clients from a problem story, identify moments of strength and resilience, reconfigure new truths into a “counter story” and then thicken the counter story through supported implementation. Within this
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process White and Epston explain that a valuable way to detach clients from their problem story is to ‘externalise the problem’ (White & Epston, 1990). When people enter therapy their problem story is usually internalised; for example “I am depressed” (M. M. Gergen & Gergen, 2006, p. 114), the process of externalising encourages participants to frame the problem as a separate entity - “the depression”. This allows people to objectively see their relationship with the problem, map its occurrence and identify strengths which have gone unnoticed (White & Epston, 1990). The process is less focused on solving the client’s problem story and more concerned with nurturing a counter story. As clients recalls their experiences the practitioner listens for “unique outcomes” (Goffman, 1968), which are moments of strength and resilience in the face of the problem story. Questioning strategies helps clients to string these unique outcomes into a new counter story, and then encourages them to draw new meanings from the alternative perspective – “How could this new story affect your life and relationships?”. The construction of new meaning within this process is through iterative reflection, where new knowledge is developed gradually rather than a drastic shift into unfamiliar territory (Gergen, 1990; McLeod, 1997). White describes that “every telling or retelling of a story, through its performance, is a new telling that encapsulates, and expands on the previous telling” (White & Epston, 1990, p. 13). Ungar (2001) offers a graphic representation of this iterative construction of new meaning, which cycles through three stages:
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Figure 2: Building Narratives of Resilience (Ungar, 2001, p. 65)
Leahy (2002) suggests that difficult clients may need more iterations to detach from their problem story and that visual tools can provide further assistance: “[if problem] schemers are very entrenched and resistant to change, more repetition is required than in traditional cognitive therapy...In general, these techniques depend less on verbal (left brain) processing and more on imaginal (right-brain) processing” (Leahy & Dowd, 2002, p. 20).
Narrative Therapy (NT) practitioners thus draw on visual tools like life maps populated with symbols (Ungar, 2001), flashcards, “Two Chair” dialogue (conversation between client and problem story) (Young & Brown, 1994) and certificates to award graduation from problem
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stories (White & Epston, 1990). These tools assist clients to map the influences of problems and constructively produce new perspectives. In improving the adoption of new narratives Russell (1992) outlines that the type of counter story is important. He offers two precursors - it must be more compelling than the problem story, portraying achievement and generally more useful behaviour. Secondly it should seem achievable and somewhat familiar, ie. not fall too far from clients’ current meaning structure (Russell & Van den Broek, 1992). The practitioner does not provide a different frame, the client is guided to construct a new story from within. Morgan (2000) agrees that it’s “not just any alternative stories, but stories that are identified by the person seeking counselling as stories by which they would like to live their lives” (Morgan, 2000, p. 14). This is why coconstruction is important as clients are given full agency in the re-authoring process. Practitioners are aware that Psychotherapy is often daunting, it questions clients’ worldviews and challenges them to construct an unknown reality (Newman, 2002). Practitioners are therefore trained to guide clients through this process in ways that are supportive, meaningful and productive.
Narrative in Organisational Development Organisational Development (OD) is an Applied Behavioural Science and another practice which seeks to facilitate social transformation (Huntington, Gillam, & Rosen, 2000). The field has also recognised the transformative abilities of narrative: “Usually, dominant storylines, or macronarrative, is used to understand the past, present, and future of an organisation, and a change in that storyline can occur as dozens of micro narratives are collected and told that allow a new dominant storyline to emerge” (Busch & Kassam, 2005, p. 168)
Narrative techniques within OD also emerged within the early 90’s, following Morgan’s Images of the Organization which explored the ability to shift organisational meaning through the application of different metaphors; he applies various frames to the organisation, like a “machine” or “family” and discusses the effects these narratives could have on it's workers (Morgan, Gregory, & Roach, 1997). Following this, a practice called Appreciative Inquiry (AI) emerged, with specific focus on stimulating organisational change through the co-construction of new narratives. The “Appreciative” focus seeks to draw out strengths and empowering experiences that are built into a “positive core”, it’s described as inquiry into aspects that “give life” to living systems (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2011) or into “the best of what is, in order to imagine what could be” (Bushe, 2013, p. 1). AI was developed as a way to replace the judgemental nature of problem solving approaches with more uplifting methods of inquiry (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2011). “In AI, the arduous task of intervention gives way to the speed of imagination and innovation; instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, there is discovery, dream, and design”. (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2001, p. 3)
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Figure 3: Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2001, p. 28)
We see here a similar process to NT. Discovery (into the best of what is) Dream (envisioning new empowering narrative), Design (constructing and richly describing the counter story), Destiny (implementing and strengthening the counter story). Within this process strategic positive questioning seeks to draw out strengths and empowering experiences (Gergen & Gergen, 2006). The questions aim to shift mindset in similar ways to NT with the disruption of a former story and adoption of a counter story. However it doesn’t begin with reflection on a problem story, instead the counter story is constructed from the beginning, the very first question is appreciative and thus invites change from the onset (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2011). The invitation to try on new perspectives is the act which disrupts the prevailing mindset. Cognitive scientist Francisco Varela refers to this as “suspension, removing ourselves from the habitual stream” (Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, & Flowers, 2005, p. 45). This is not an attempt to forget the problems that exist but sheds light on our assumed perspectives. Then like in NT, the act of performing the new narrative encourages it’s adoption (Pourdehnad, Warren, Wright, & Mairano, 2006). In improving the likelihood of participants adopting new narratives AI offers similar guidelines, the counter story should be both compelling and built around familiar qualities found within the organisations’ positive core. This removes the need for incentives or coercion, and instead generates enthusiasm (Bushe, 2013; Gergen & Gergen, 2006) and mobilises people via the heliotropic principle – an observation that people naturally move toward things that give them energy (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2011).
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Cooperrider also uses the term “generative metaphor” and discusses it’s particularly helpful in “circumventing common resistances to change” (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2001, p. 10). During the use of Appreciative Inquiry in prison research Liebling (1999) also recognised the approach’s value in collaborating with difficult client groups: “This positive approach may be useful within the environment fraught with negative interactions and relationships and much focus on the problem” (Liebling, Price, & Elliott, 1999, p. 75).
She highlights that within the prison people can feel persecuted, misunderstood or undervalued, challenges are well explored and meaning is constructed around problems. Within this context AI offers opportunity to enter a cognitive territory that’s rich and often under-explored. Liebling explains this encourages participants to “re-read” their scripts, through which she witnessed the adoption of new narratives: “The inquiry revealed not only a remarkable richness of data but also a change of dynamic, from dependency to self-reliance, as the interviewees began to see themselves not as victims but as responsible actors” (Liebling et al., 1999, pp. 78-79).
Here we see another practice where the process of strength based narrative inquiry is transformative in itself, having the ability to construct “social architecture” (George, Farrell, & Brukwitzki, 2002, p. 38) which is open to new language, practice and identity.
A closer look at Social Design: The practice of Social Design aims for transformative objectives which are similar to NT and AI - moving participants through a process of disrupting the status quo, then designing and implementing a new reality. However unlike NT and AI Social Design has less experience in the complexities of managing social transformation within the process itself. As we tackle increasingly ambitious challenges in more complex social systems we are finding ourselves needing to re-design the social architecture within the process of re-designing the physical architecture (Dorst, 2015; Norman, 2010). For instance the Co-design process may need to align stakeholder views and generate a collective future narrative as well as design the artefacts or environment to support that vision. To illustrate this process I offer reflection on a recent project at the Designing Out Crime Research Centre, Sydney, to co-design an Intensive Learning Centre within a maximum security prison. A brief was provided by Corrective Services New South Wales (CSNSW) to design a space that would contrast the social and physical architecture of maximum security prison and stimulate a motivation to learn through a space that felt like an adult education environment. It was the first purpose-built education facility within a NSW maximum security prison and it called for new practice and new facilities. At times, maintaining an optimistic co-design process was challenging within a prison which is commonly a problem oriented context – the physical and social environment are constructed around the punishment of past problems, the management of present problems and the prevention of future problems. At times we were met with resistance, particularly from inmates who saw
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little value in the project, were sceptical it would happen and didn’t believe their contributions would be listened to. However the co-design process involved the construction of a current social architecture which would support the project (control groups, champions, inmate delegates and a culture of optimism and innovation). It then involved developing a collective vision of a future social architecture (the nature of new practice, language and manifestoes on 21st century learning and relationships within a Therapeutic Community). Throughout this process there was iterative development of design concepts that materialised and questioned the developing social architecture. Here we see design practice entering a new realm which combines Product Design and Organisational Development. Social change is intertwined throughout the process and outcome, and learnings occur in conversation between the simultaneous growth of social and physical architecture. In this new era of design practice Norman (2010) reflects that “designers have become applied behavioral scientists, but they are woefully undereducated for the task” (Norman, 2010). The focus of Design literature is still primarily oriented toward problem solving processes that generate a desired outcome. We seldom discuss the experience of vulnerable participants within the process of social change, or are we fully aware of the influence our language and focus of inquiry has on participants’ relationship with problem oriented stories.
The language and focus of inquiry in design practice Despite the solution focused nature of design thinking it’s conventional practices are based on a series of problem solving activities (Cross, 2006). Designers spend most of their project time focusing on the problem (Dorst & Kovari, 2012) the language we use and our topics of inquiry are also generally problem oriented; Designers are given a brief containing a problem statement (hard ones are “wicked problem”), they then try to understand, define or frame the problem before developing a range of potential solutions, these solutions are developed iteratively and implemented before an evaluation tests their ability to solve the problem, reflection then offers new understanding of the problem they began with.
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Figure 4: The Design Process (discoverdesign.org)
Despite co-design practices which place designers as facilitators (Sanders & Stappers, 2008) a process that revolves around problem solving may still establish a hierarchy between designer as problem solver and community as problem holder. Particularly in the case of difficult clients groups, we’re attempting to shift social architecture away from a problem oriented story, toward the adoption of a new empowering language, narrative and identity. In achieving this, I suggest there is need to develop further knowledge on strength based reauthoring techniques within Social Design practice. There are some examples of strength based and/or re-authoing practices beginning to emerge within design and broader fields of social development. Although the discussion is still in it’s infancy a valuable dialogue is growing between problem solving and strength based approaches.
A broader look at similar approaches A few strength-based approaches are briefly outlined below, with particular interest given to their use of narrative, interaction with the physical and social architecture and interest in problem oriented participants.
Positive design Positive Design is a practice which combines Sociology’s “Positive Lens” with Design Thinking, it seeks to design for human well-being, and stems from the practice of
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Appreciative Inquiry (Avital, Boland, & Lyytinen, 2009; Cooperrider, Avital, Foster, & Forster, 2004). It’s primary focus is still in the social realm of Organisational Development and is concerned with transformative processes (Avital et al., 2009; Cooperrider et al., 2004). In occasions where Positive Design is applied to the development of physical outcomes the discussion returns to the impact of the artefacts (Desmet & Hekkert, 2007; Desmet & Pohlmeyer, 2013; Jordan, 2002; Tiger, 1992) rather than transformation through the codevelopment of both physical and social, “[the intention is] to result in designs that stimulate human flourishing” [italics added] (Desmet & Pohlmeyer, 2013, p. 5).
Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) is a strand of design practice which also seeks to instigate social change. It’s objectives and processes are often considered similar to Social Design, however Manzini attempts to separate the two with the following: Firstly Social Design is usually concerned with vulnerable people who face “particularly problematic situations” (Manzini & Coad, 2015, p. 64) whereas DESIS is concerned with social change for any community, and secondly the term “social” is used differently within each practice. In Social Design it refers to broad social problems which are “not dealt with by the market or the state” (Manzini & Coad, 2015, p. 65), whereas the term social within DESIS refers to the practice’s method of instigating change via social innovation - interventions which alter the way a social environment operates. Although he does conclude that the line between them is blurry: “Social design is increasingly oriented toward social innovation, recognising that this offers the only chance for solving the problems it traditionally deals with. In turn, design for social innovation, facing the extension of the economic crisis, is more and more frequently involved in initiatives that involve socially sensitive issues” (Manzini & Coad, 2015, p. 65)
It is this type of Social Design discussed herein this paper, one focused on participants in particularly problematic situations, but one which seeks to instigate change via social innovation – ie. it moves beyond problem solving through the design of technical physical solutions to a process which simultaneously seeks to alter the social environment, allowing new perspectives, behaviour and relationships to emerge. The two realms are however closely interrelated. Manzini discusses this interrelation within DESIS; “social innovation occurs when people, expertise, and material assets come into contact in a new way that is able to create new meaning and unprecedented opportunities” (Manzini & Coad, 2015, p. 77). He thus defines DESIS as a process of generating new meaning structures, and as discussed in NT and AI this is achieved by disrupting “normal” perspectives and social patterns and creating enabling ecosystems which are likely to foster alternative behaviour. Focusing on the design of enabling ecosystems allows participants to adopt more meaningful roles within the design process, they become people with assets rather than people with problems, but this requires a paradigmatic shift in the way designers face the development process (Manzini & Coad, 2015).
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Manzini discusses the role of storytelling in navigating future realities. He suggests that stories are particularly helpful in “reconstructing identity” through the “rebuilding of relationships between people and the space they live in” (Manzini & Coad, 2015, p. 126). He does however urge designers to be mindful of the way stories are handled, and ensure participants understand the role stories play within the process. Especially where future gazing is concerned we should be mindful of participant’s capabilities and expectations and not engage them in story telling that may be ‘manipulative’ or merely ‘rhetorical’, he suggests constructing broader “design oriented scenarios” rather than personal narratives, as they are more open to reinterpretation and can be seen as objective tools to further discussion (Manzini & Coad, 2015). Although DESIS’ is not a process of strength based reauthoring it offers valuable insights on the use of narrative within design and reminds us that participant capabilities and expectations should be carefully considered.
Asset Based Community Development: Asset Based Community Development (ABDC) is a form of sustainable development which primarily focuses on the economic growth of low income communities. It seeks to develop services, programs and policy that better link the resources within a neighbourhood (Kretzmann, McKnight, & Network, 1993; Mathie & Cunningham, 2003). Although the need for new physical infrastructure may arise it’s typically not a design process and is usually concerned with the social realm (Mathie & Cunningham, 2003). The approach was developed by McKnight and Kretzmann (1993) as an alternative to needsbased approaches that they found had “devastating consequences for residents” (Kretzmann et al., 1993, p. 4), including dependencies on external support and the reinforcing of deficit perspectives. ABCD begins with a detailed survey of a community’s existing assets which are collated into a ‘Capacity Map’ that plots the skills, resources and capacities of individuals, associations and institutions (Kretzmann et al., 1993). People are then mobilised toward development through a plan which enables more efficient use of community resources. In this regard Mathie and Cunningham (2003) liken ABCD to AI in it’s mobilisation of people through the heliotropic principle, which they explain can have transformative abilities, providing a community the opportunity to “outgrow a problem” (Mathie & Cunningham, 2003, p. 479). Story telling is used to discover strengths and assets (Kretzmann et al., 1993; Mathie & Cunningham, 2003; Cunningham & Mathie, 2002) but is seldom discussed as a tool to construct future realities. With a development focus on the linking of assets it’s the Capacity Map which primarily supports future planning (Kretzmann et al., 1993; Mathie & Cunningham, 2003; Cunningham & Mathie, 2002). In a more recent paper however, Ennis (2010) discusses that ABCD enables communities to see what they have rather than need, which he likens to Narrative Therapy in it’s ability to rethink community narrative (Ennis & West, 2010). Unfortunately it’s difficult to find subsequent examples which implement re-authoring approaches within ABCD.
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Frame Creation Frame creation is an approach to design practice developed by Dorst (2003), and in effect, is a process of re-authoring. It has been implemented within Social design and DESIS projects and although it’s based on a problem solving it’s concerned with shifting narratives that are ‘stuck’ (Dorst, 2015). It seeks to develop social and physical architecture simultaneously (produce novel outcomes along-side shifts in organisational practice) as physical outcomes will only “make sense” if supported by deeper social transformation (Dorst, 2015, p. 117). The process’ approach to “re framing” (Dorst, 2003, 2015; Lawson & Dorst, 2013) builds on the work of Schön who introduced the value of “frames” (Schön, 1983) and “generative metaphors” (Schön, 1993) to design practice. Dorst has formalised the concept into the Frame Creation approach and expresses that: “The quality of design work produced depends as much on the ability of the designer to frame the problem relevantly and productively, as on the ability to arrive at an interesting solution from this standpoint” (Lawson & Dorst, 2013, p. 50).
The process begins with a stage called “Archaeology”, which like NT maps the problem story in order to “delve deeply into the world of the problem owner in order to understand the past history of the problem” (Dorst, 2015, p. 74). The process then steps back from the original framing and gathers insights on participants’ needs and values, these are then clustered into themes that inform the development of a new frame. The new frame offers an alternative “problem situation” to solve (Dorst, 2003, 2006, 2015). Dorst discusses that organisational change can be difficult if focus remains on the original framing of the problem, as attempts to generate solutions draw on well-worn language and rituals which offer little opportunity for innovation. Reframing provides a different problem to solve and may therefore free organisations from habitual thought patterns. Despite similar objectives of re-authoring unproductive stories Frame Creation is still presented as a problem solving process, this establishes a number of key differences when compared to the strength based re-authoring practices of NT and AI: Language: is still oriented toward problem solving Focus on the problem: spends the majority of time understanding the problem rather than developing a solution Location of problem: Unlike NT which seeks to detach the problem from the client Frame Creation refers to participants as the “problem owner” Orientation of counter story: Frame Creation offers a different “problem situation”, rather than a strength based counter story. Nonetheless the approach illustrates that re-authoring is valuable within the design process and is able to stimulate social and physical transformations in situations that are stuck in habitual patterns.
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Discussion: In exploring a range of transformative practices we have seen that strength based and/or reauthoring approaches have the ability to shift language, perspectives and roles that are stuck in problem oriented mindsets. Within community development some problems do require quick resolution through technical physical solutions, and here, as designers our problem solving skills serve us well. But as we begin to engage with the social architecture directly our problem solving approaches can be limiting, we now take on new challenges of designing social ecosystems which enable life to flourish…which requires an entirely different approach. By learning from other practices we see that strength based re-authoring approaches offer meaningful and empowering ways to co-construct the stories people live by. These practices cover some bases which are relevant to Social Design but few clearly articulate a practice which specifically take a re-authoring approach to co-developing physical and social architecture, within a design process intending to move problem oriented participants toward social transformation. I call for the development of such an approach, and offer some initial guiding principles.
Towards Appreciative Co-design: A strength-based re-authoring approach to Social Design practice Further development is needed to detail an Appreciative Co-design approach, but in essence it’s activities will aim to shift problem oriented stories through the co-construction of new empowering narrative. It’s more than a focus on strengths to guide change, the key lies in understanding the stories people live by, why they get stuck on certain narratives and the role new stories play in mobilising people toward social change. In this regard storytelling is not simply a tool to identify strengths and successes it seeks to drive social innovation by encouraging communities to re-design the stories themselves. It’s a facilitated design process which enables participants to navigate these alternative ways of being alongside the construction of new systems, tools and environments that allow their counter story to flourish. It will move away from deficit based language and focus of problem solving and seek to nurture strengths and qualities that give life to participants. In doing so it hopes to disarm problem oriented mindsets which are resistant to change, and encourage the adoption of new narratives. A process of re-authoring which may be transformative in itself.
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Figure 5: Shifting mindset through positive intervention of Appreciative Co-design activities
I propose some initial guiding principles: The approach will be a process of strength-based re-authoring It will seek to disarm habitual problem oriented stories by: Externalising the problem - encouraging participants to detach from their identity as problem owner Shifting from deficit to appreciative language which is life nurturing Focusing inquiry around affirmative topics such as strengths and empowering experiences which mobilise people through the heliotropic principle Actively constructing a new counter story The counter story isn’t simply a “different” perspective but specifically a story which brings life, and is one which is compelling, constructed from familiar affirmative topics, achievable and not too far from current meaning structures The cyclical nature of design practice will allow new meaning to be constructed iteratively around the counter story The process will not seek to “solve a problem” but to simultaneously construct a new social and physical architecture that enables the counter story to flourish It will consider the process and outcome as change agents and thus seek to move participants through the change process in ways that are supportive, meaningful and productive It will manage expectations by considering participant and contextual capabilities during periods of future gazing
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The challenges in departing a problem solving approach: More practice is needed to understand the place of problems within a strength based reauthoring approach. It will not attempt to deny the existence of problems but will endeavour to develop practice that allows designers to glean needed insights without allowing the oppressive energy of problem saturated stories to dominate the co-design process. NT’s approach of “externalising the problem” may be helpful in achieving this balance, as challenges can still be heard without reinforcing the participants’ identity as problem owner. Visual tools used within co-design processes may be helpful in externalising the problem with participants; external representations such as sketches, maps and prototypes could allow participants to explore and reinterpret the problem in a realm physically outside themselves. New perspective would therefore be shaped in “conversation” between participants and the external representations (Schön, 1983) in a similar process as the “two chair” dialogue within NT (Young & Brown, 1994).
Conclusion This paper has outlined the value an Appreciative Co-design approach could bring in shifting problem oriented stories and supporting participants through a process of social transformation. In future research I intend to develop Appreciative Co-design in practice, draw on the experiences of other designers and continue to borrow insights from neighbouring practices. I hope that contributions made will give back to these practices and I welcome researchers to join the conversation. In offering this agenda it is not my intention to discredit design’s well-established problem solving approaches but merely highlight that as designers we know more about solving problems than nurturing narratives that give life to living systems. As our practice begins to engage with the social architecture directly this is an essential skill to develop. In other practices strength-based re-authoring approaches have created conditions for more meaningful and motivating engagement, let’s see what they can bring to Social Design. Acknowledgements: A warm thankyou to my dedicated and knowledgeable PhD supervisors Rohan Lulham and Kees Dorst.
References Avital, M., Boland, R. J., & Lyytinen, K. (2009). Introduction to designing information and organizations with a positive lens. Information and Organization, 19(3), 153-161. Busch, G., & Kassam, A. (2005). When is Appreciative Inquiry transformational. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 41 (2), 161-181. Bushe, G. (2013). The appreciative inquiry model. The Encyclopedia of Management Theory. Sage Publications. Cooperrider, D. L., Avital, M., Foster, K., & Forster, R. (2004). Advances in appreciative inquiry: Elsevier. Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. (2001). A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry. Public administration and public policy, 87, 611-630.
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Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. (2011). What is appreciative inquiry. Cross, N. (2006). Designerly ways of knowing: Springer. Cunningham, G., & Mathie, A. (2002). Asset-based community development: An overview. Paper presented at the Workshop proceedings at the Asset-Based Community Development Workshop, Bangkok, Thailand, 21 February 2002. Denborough, D. (2014). Retelling the Stories of Our Lives: Everyday Narrative Therapy to Draw Inspiration and Transform Experience: WW Norton & Company. Desmet, P., & Hekkert, P. (2007). Framework of product experience. International journal of design, 1 (1) 2007. Desmet, P. M., & Pohlmeyer, A. E. (2013). Positive design: An introduction to design for subjective well-being. International Journal of Design, 7 (3), 2013. discoverdesign.org. The Design Process. Retrieved from http://discoverdesign.org/design/process Dorst, K. (2003). The problem of design problems. Expertise in design, 135-147. Dorst, K. (2006). Design problems and design paradoxes. Design Issues, 22(3), 4-17. Dorst, K. (2015). Frame innovation: Create new thinking by design: MIT Press. Dorst, K., & Kovari, M. (2012). Social Innovation Thinking. Retrieved from http://www.mickeykovari.com/2012/03/19/expert-design-frame-creation/ Ellis, A. (1985). Overcoming resistance: Rational-emotive therapy with difficult clients: Springer Publishing Company. Ennis, G., & West, D. (2010). Exploring the potential of social network analysis in asset-based community development practice and research. Australian Social Work, 63(4), 404-417. Freedman, J., & Combs, G. (1996). Shifting paradigms: From systems to stories. Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities, 1-18. George, V., Farrell, M., & Brukwitzki, G. (2002). Performance competencies of the chief nurse executive in an organized delivery system. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 26(3), 34-43. Gergen, K. J. (1990). Toward a postmodern psychology. The Humanistic Psychologist, 18(1), 23-34. Gergen, M. M., & Gergen, K. J. (2006). Narratives in action. Narrative Inquiry, 16(1), 112-121. Goffman, E. (1968). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates: AldineTransaction. Hanna, F. J. (2002). Therapy with difficult clients: Using the precursors model to awaken change: American Psychological Association. Huntington, J., Gillam, S., & Rosen, R. (2000). Organisational development for clinical governance. BMJ, 321(7262), 679-682. Jordan, P. W. (2002). Designing pleasurable products: An introduction to the new human factors: CRC press. Kottler, J. A. (1992). Compassionate therapy: Working with difficult clients: Jossey-Bass. Kretzmann, J. P., McKnight, J., & Network, N. I. (1993). Building communities from the inside out: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Neighborhood Innovations Network Northwestern Univeristy, Evanston, IL. Lawson, B., & Dorst, K. (2013). Design expertise: Routledge. Leahy, R. L., & Dowd, E. T. (2002). Clinical advances in cognitive psychotherapy: Theory and application: Springer Publishing Company. Liebling, A., Price, D., & Elliott, C. (1999). Appreciative inquiry and relationships in prison. Punishment & Society, 1(1), 71-98.
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Mahoney, M. J. (1991). Human change processes: The scientific foundations of psychotherapy: Basic Books. Manzini, E., & Coad, R. (2015). Design, when everybody designs: An introduction to design for social innovation: MIT Press. Margolin, V., & Margolin, S. (2002). A “Social Model” of Design: Issues of Practice and Research. Design Issues, 18(4), 24-30. doi:10.1162/074793602320827406 Mathie, A., & Cunningham, G. (2003). From clients to citizens: Asset-based community development as a strategy for community-driven development. Development in practice, 13(5), 474-486. McLeod, J. (1997). Narrative and psychotherapy: Sage. Meichenbaum, D., & Gilmore, J. B. (1982). Resistance from a cognitive-behavioral perspective Resistance (pp. 133-156): Springer. Melles, G., de Vere, I., & Misic, V. (2011). Socially responsible design: thinking beyond the triple bottom line to socially responsive and sustainable product design. CoDesign, 7(3-4), 143-154. Morgan, A. (2000). What is narrative therapy. An easy-to-read introduction. Adelaide, South Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications, 11-32. Morgan, G., Gregory, F., & Roach, C. (1997). Images of organization. Neimeyer, R. A., & Stewart, A. E. (2001). Constructivist psychotherapies. Assessment and Therapy: Specialty Articles from the Encyclopedia of Mental Health, 125. Newman, C. F. (2002). A cognitive perspective on resistance in psychotherapy. Journal of clinical psychology, 58(2), 165-174. Norman, D. A. (2010). Why Design Education Must Change. Retrieved from http://www.core77.com/blog/columns/why_design_education_must_change_17993.asp Papanek, V., & Fuller, R. B. (1972). Design for the real world: Thames and Hudson London. Pourdehnad, J., Warren, B., Wright, M., & Mairano, J. (2006). Unlearning/Learning Organizations– The Role of Mindset. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the ISSS2006, Sonoma, CA, USA. Russell, R. L., & Van den Broek, P. (1992). Changing narrative schemas in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 29(3), 344. Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. Co-design, 4(1), 5-18. Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner : how professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books. Schön, D. A. (1993). Generative metaphor: A perspective on problem-setting in social policy. Senge, P. M., Scharmer, C. O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B. S. (2005). Presence: An exploration of profound change in people, organizations, and society: Crown Business. Strupp, H. H., & Binder, J. L. (1984). Psychotherapy in a new key: A guide to time-limited dynamic psychotherapy: Basic Books. Tiger, L. (1992). The pursuit of pleasure: Transaction Publishers. Ungar, M. T. (2001). Constructing narratives of resilience with high-risk youth. Journal of Systematic Therapies, 20(2), 58-73. White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends: WW Norton & Company. Whiteley, N. (1993). Design for society. London: Reaktion Books. Young, J. E., & Brown, G. (1994). Young schema questionnaire. Cognitive therapy for personality disorders: A schema-focused approach, 63-76.
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About the Author: Tasman Munro After graduating from Industrial Design in 2007 Tasman Munro has been a practising Social Designer. The majority of work has been within remote Australian communities and regional Correctional Facilities. He is currently undertaking a PhD in Strengthbased re-authoring approaches to Social Design Practice.
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Design Tools for Enhanced New Product Development in Low Income Economies Timothy Whiteheada*, Mark Evansb and Guy Binghamb a
De Montfort University Loughborough University * timothy.whitehead@dmu.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.467
b
Abstract: In order to alleviate poverty throughout the World government and nongovernment organisations provide aid in the form of essential household products. These products typically include cook stoves, water filters and LED lights. However, evidence suggests that these products are not always suitable for Low Income Economies (LIEs) which has resulted in a number of high profile product failures. In response to the growing need for appropriate New Product Development (NPD), this paper presents the development of a tool to assist industrial designers create appropriate and long lasting solutions for those in poverty. Data was collected from the analysis of existing products, a survey, interviews with NGOs & industrial designers and a field trip to Myanmar. The results were used to identify attributes required for effective, long-lasting product design. This was used to create a tool for designers which was found to enhance understanding of appropriate NPD for LIEs. Keywords: Industrial Design, Low Income Economies, Developing Countries, New Product Development, Design Tools
Introduction Throughout the World the poor suffer from; hunger, deprivation and powerlessness which has compelled government and non-government organisations to work towards reducing poverty. Current estimates state that 896 million people live on less than $1.90 a day (World Bank 2016), which demonstrates a critical need to raise the living standards of those in Low Income Economies (LIEs) and provide them with essential household products such as cook stoves, water filters and solar powered lighting to help them escape the trap of poverty. Initiatives aimed at facilitating the design of these essential products could be described as sporadic during the last few decades, which appear to have lacked momentum or direction.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
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However, recently there has been renewed interest in the design of these products and design students are reported to be “chomping at the bit” (Pilloton, 2009) to design socially beneficial products. In part this interest has been due to the rise and availability of design methods and awareness of current global issues such as poverty and sustainability. These issues represent today’s biggest wicked problems, making it timely for industrial designers to contribute with new innovative ideas (Kandachar 2012). Despite this renewed interest, there are a limited number of design tools, which specifically focus on the design, and assessment of a product. Most current design tools focus on employing user centred design methods, the development of products for micro-enterprise (Austin-Breneman & Yang, 2013), investigations into cross culture design (van Boeijen 2015) and Designing for the Base of the Pyramid (Castillo, Diehl, & Brezet, 2012). Each of these approaches provides significant value to designers, and helps them understand users, cultures and enterprise, but there are no tools, which provide guidance to designers during the development process. The inherent visual nature of industrial designers means they would benefit with tools that they could use during the design process to ensure their products are effective and long lasting. Consequently, this research aims to enhance New Product Development (NPD) and assist designers understand the unique requirements of products for these markets. It is expected that this new knowledge will enable industrial designers to; evaluate product concepts during the initial design phase, evaluate existing products when re-designing or improving the solution and evaluate multiple products to understand which is most suitable. To achieve this, the following research questions have been created to guide the study: 1. What attributes create long lasting and effective products for LIEs? 2. How can this information be used to assist designers create and evaluate products for Low Income Economies?
1.1. Historical Context The first well-known advocator of design for these markets was Victor Papanek in his publication ‘Design for the Real World’ which challenged designers to work on products for Low Income Economies and move away from the traditional purely profit-oriented commercial ventures. Papanek (1985) believed that industrial designers should “Design for people’s needs rather than for their wants, or artificially created wants” (Papanek, 1985) This concept was later mirrored by the economist F.E. Schumacher (1973) who believed that providing an intermediate technology could solve the problems of the poor, by creating products requiring less capital investment. During this time Bonsiepe (1977), a design thinker and academic, took this further by proposing that for design to successfully help LIEs it must be embedded in the technology policy of the country. Bonsiepe (ibid) believed that the traditional ‘hardware/artefacts’ focused industrial designer could do very little to satisfy the needs of millions in poverty. However, if designers were able to distribute their knowledge to others that could have a profound effect on LIEs (Bonsiepe, 1977). These discussions culminated in 1979 during a joint conference between the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) and the United Nations Industrial Development
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Organisation (UNIDO), which resulted in the Ahmedabad declaration stating, “design [to] be a powerful force for the improvement of the quality of life in the developing world” (ICSID and UNIDO, 1979). This declaration recognised the importance industrial design had to the growth of a country and aimed to embed design into national development plans for LIEs (Coward & Fathers, 2005). However, little happened in the preceding years and it was not until 1982 during the Design Policy Conference at the Royal College of Art, London, that Mohammed Loos argued that designers were not having a positive impact on LIEs. Instead of assisting people in LIEs, some western designers were reducing the confidence of indigenous people by the way they promoted and sold their own products (ibid). Again, there was little evidence of progress to the conference and there remained limited literature published regarding the design of products for LIEs (Margolin, 1989). The few articles that were published between 1980 and 1990s focused mainly on technology transfer and the development of an LIE into NewIy Industrialised Country (Er, 1993). However, during the late 1990 and 2000s there was a resurgence of interest in the field with contributions from Er (1997), Coward & Fathers (2005) and Donaldson (2008) who proposed an update of Bonsiepe’s original design model, a review of design of LIEs discourse and the analysis of products for LIEs. Interest in this area has slowly continued to grow.
1.2. Current role of Industrial Design in International Development Since the Millennium, industrial design as a profession has moved away from solely creating “objects that grace the pedestals of art museums” (Brown, 2008) and instead has applied its methods to solve bigger issues. This has enabled designers to imagine the world from a different perspective and help solve complex problems, sometimes known as Design Thinking. At the same time, approaches to international development have also begun to change, because some large aid initiatives have historically done little to raise living standards. In some cases aid programmes have resulted in a reduction of government accountability because “governing elites no longer need to ensure the support of their publics […] they do not need to raise revenues from the local economy, as long as they keep the donors happy” (Moss, Pettersson & van de Walle 2006). This reliance on donor support and lack of public engagement can also be seen in a number of products distributed by NGOs, because “unlike most [other] market transactions, the recipient of aid goods often has no ability to signal their dissatisfaction by discontinuing the trade of money for goods” (Polak & Warwick, 2013). This means that Non-Government Organisations (NGO) can deliver any product, regardless of the quality, or appropriateness, because often there is no feedback loop for the users to express their dissatisfaction (Donaldson 2006). In order to avoid these problems, Prahalad (2006) presented an alternative approach where products and services are sold to users in small packet sizes using microfinance schemes. This market based approach encourages local entrepreneurs and large multinationals to make a profit by selling essential products. These products are typically sold to the survival market that earn less than $3,260pa living at the bottom of the economic pyramid. The adoption of a marketbased approach is attractive in that they can simultaneously alleviate poverty while making a
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profit (Diehl 2007). Despite some reservations, this represents a fundamental shift in the approach of the aid sector, and one that industrial design can add value. One important element for industrial designers is that NGOs have begun to recognise users as consumers, as opposed to charity recipients. This has meant that leading design consultancies such as; IDEO, Frog and Fuseproject are being employed to use user centred design methods to help create new solutions. This approach puts an emphasis on user involvement during the design process. A UCD methodology highlights the importance of working with key stakeholders prior to beginning the design process and involving them in design decisions. International Development Enterprise (iDE), use this method and have consequently, helped thousands of people out of poverty by selling essential products (treadle pumps and agriculture tools) using micro financing schemes and loans. According to Polak (2008) the founder of iDE, the advantage of this approach is that it creates a sustainable business model in which the user has greater attachment to the product as they have invested their earning into it. This also means that the manufacturer can reinvest profits in further developments, which support the local economy.
Methodology In order to answer the research questions three data collection methods were used which enabled the researcher to triangulate the findings. The first was a systematic review of 64 existing products, followed by a survey of 34 NGOs and industrial designers and 18 semistructured interviews. The final data collection method was a case study with a Social Enterprise in Myanmar (Burma), this involved a field visit to the organisation and observations of the product design and development process. Each method has been used to explore the subject in greater depth, providing a complete picture of the structure of NPD for LIE products, see Figure 1.
Survey Designers and NGOs
Depth of study
34 responses
Semi Structured Interviews Designers and NGOs
18 responses
Case Study
Designers and NGOs in Myanmar
Figure 1 Depth of primary data collection
Thematic analysis was used to interrogate the data, which involved identifying codes and grouping them together into themes, these themes form the basis for interpretation (Braun
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Design Tool for Enhanced New Product Development in Low Income Economies
& Clarke, 2006). The results of this analysis led to the creation of a design framework which was converted into a design tool and trialled with 30 undergraduate design students at Nottingham Trent University, UK. This was part of a wider study investigating approaches to enhance product development. The study adopted a grounded theory approach allowing the subject to be studied from multiple perspectives and expand on existing research to create new insights (Robson, 2011). The exploratory nature of grounded theory meant that analysis and interpretation was conducted at an early stage. Allowing the researcher to draw conclusions and inform further study as it progressed (Charmaz, 2006).
Results Evidence from the analysis showed a number key attributes which can lead to an effective design. It was found that if an industrial designer takes these into account during NPD the final product will last for longer. To visually show key themes a word cloud was created, Figure 2.
Figure 2 Product analysis word cloud of commonly occurring themes
The main attributes required for a successful product were Affordability and Usability. However, data gather from the case study suggested that other attributes such as; Acceptability, Convenience and Quality were just as important to the uptake of the product. Further thematic analysis, consisting of the grouping of codes into themes resulted in the identification of eight key attributes. According to the data products, which display these characteristics, appear to be longer lasting and have greater impact than those, which do not. These were arranged in no particular order;
Affinity Desirability Reparability Durability Functionality Affordability Usability Sustainability
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Table 1 Indicators for Products Designed for LIEs. Attribute Affinity
Desirability
Reparability
Durability Functionality
Affordability
Usability
Sustainability
Description Affinity is the connection users have with a product, primarily on an emotional level. Interviews with NGOs highlighted that purely functional products resulted in lower uptake and a lack of consistent use, compared with products which provided an emotional attachment. Designers who were interviewed stated that as well as being aspirational products needed to be aesthetically desirable. The nature of a global economy means that users in LIEs are equally exposed to the styles, fashion and types of products seen in the developed world. Products purchased by LIE consumers represent a significant investment. It is therefore important that when failures occur, products can be repaired or returned. Two approaches to this have been found in interviews with NGOs and designers; either products are designed to be repaired by local craft or tradesmen, or alternately, they can be supplied with a warranty to receive a replacement. The hostile nature of LIEs typically means that wear rates are higher and products need to be designed and built with a higher level of durability and robustness. Functionality is an important factor to consider according to interview data and product analysis. Typically, users neglect products which fail to provide their functional expectations. Interview data highlighted that the price of a product is crucial, not only to the users but also the NGO. The literature suggested that there is a trend for NGOs to move away from donating products and instead providing micro-finance, micro-credit and loans which enable users to buy their own products. Although still in the early stages of adoption this can affect the design approach and it is important to establish who the consumer is at the start of a project. Product analysis revealed that many products come with picture diagrams showing how they work and how to use them. This is effective, but it is important to embed usability into the core design of the product. Designers interviewed stated that by including the user in the initial design phase enabled enhanced input into product usability. Sustainability has been split into two parts; firstly, it is important to consider environmental sustainability in terms of material choice, end of product life and overall environmental costs. Secondly, the product distribution needs to be sustainable in the existing economic market. Evidence from interviews suggests that if products are distributed for free in the same markets where locals sell similar items this skews the markets and reduces the demand for sold products.
The inherent visual nature of designers and the need for a method of product analysis during NPD meant that a spider diagram was used to display the attributes. The eight attributes were arranged around the spider web and given values from zero to five (five being the
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highest). These enabled designers to rate products and concepts against each of the attributes and shade in the middle. This method provides an overall evaluation of the product concept and highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the solution see Figure 3. AFFINITY Is the product something users will be proud to own and take care of?
DURABILITY
DESI RABILITY
Is the design robust enough to withstand the environment?
Is the product desi rable for the users?
REPARABILITY Can the product be maintained and repairedby local tradesmen, or is it coveredby a warranty?
USABILITY
5
4
3
2
1
Is the product easy to understand and use correctly within different cultures?
SUSTAINABILITY
FUNCTIONALITY
Is the product environmentally sustainable and does it promote good beh aviour?
Are the products functions adequate?
AFFORDABILITY Is the product affordable for locals or supporting o rganisations?
Key: 1. Very Bad 2. Bad 3. OK 4. Good 5. Very Good
Figure 3 Product Analysis Spider Diagram
It is expected that this method can be used in three ways,
To evaluate product concepts during the initial design phase
To evaluate existing products when re-designing or improving the solution
To evaluate multiple products to understand which is most suitable
In addition to the eight attributes, thematic analysis revealed a number of further considerations deemed by the interview participants to be important when designing for this market. It was decided that these were not suitable for inclusion in the spider web as they were not directly related to the design of a physical item, but were found to contribute to the effectiveness and up take of the overall product. These were (in no particular order) Funding, Users, Need, Distribution, Scale, Manufacturing Location, Quality and Convenience, and can be seen in Table 2.
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Table 2 Further Considerations for Products Designed for LIEs. Consideration Funding
Users
Need
Description Funding represents a significant challenge to industrial designers and NGOs, according to participants understating the aims and objectives of the funding body is critical to creating successful products. As a designer it is important to understand the business model which surrounds the project. There is currently little evidence of UCD in the majority of products designed for LIEs. This is therefore an important aspect to consider when designing a product. Identification of a real need is critical to the product effectiveness. Participants believed that often the need for the product was not well researched or understood and accounted for a number of failures. Furthermore, participants were wary of solutions which aimed to tackle multiple needs as they felt that these products were often unsuitable and did not provide an optimum solution for any of the needs.
Distribution
A high number of participants spoke of last mile distribution and the impact of a product on local markets. Therefore, when designing it is important to consider how easy the product will be to distribute in terms of size and weight, sometimes described as the ‘lumpiness’ of a solution.
Scale
In order to make a significant impact of poverty many of the participants believed that reaching large scale was important. The manufacturing location of a product is an important factor to consider. Evidence shows that there was little difference in the uptake of a product if is manufactured locally or internationally. There are advantages and disadvantages of each method, if a product is manufactured internationally; the design process is typically quicker and more efficient, which can result in higher quality outcomes. However, shipping, import tax and the availability of spare parts becomes more challenging. Alternatively, if product is manufactured locally, the development of skills can help to skill the workforce and provide them with an income. However, this can result in a slower development process, where a high percentage of time is spent educating locals and can lead to reduced product quality.
Manufacturing Location
Quality
Users are looking for products which are of high quality, yet still an affordable price.
Convenience
Participants stated that users often neglected products which were not easy to use and incorporated into their daily routine, especially if the solution has been designed to promote behaviour change.
Interview participants were exposed to a draft version of the spider web to get feedback. It was found that they liked the simplicity of the model; but were concerned that the attributes could be ambiguous, if clear definitions were not provided. To overcome this and create a useable design tool which could be disseminated to designers it was decided that a
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Design Tool for Enhanced New Product Development in Low Income Economies
set of assessment cards should be created to support the spider web and provide users with a detailed explanation of each attribute. Cards are becoming a common format for design research tools, as they are a quick and easy reference for designers (Evans 2013). The analysis of existing design cards which included; IDEO Method Cards (IDEO 2002), iDCards (Evans & Pei 2013), Design with Intent Cards (Lockton 2010), Crossing Cultures Cards (van Boeijen 2015) and the Social Issue Cards (Lofthouse, 2014) highlighted four attributes which are commonly used in design tools.
A thought provoking leading question Further information and or detailed descriptions of issue Case studies to show examples of good practice Strong images to illustrate the focus and draw attention
These insights have been used to guide the creation of a set of cards to explain in detail each of the indicators and additional considerations. The card, seen in Figure 4, has a primary question on the front face, with follow up questions to reflect on during the design process. On the reverse face a case study has been briefly described as an example of best practice, this approach was adopted for all the cards. Indicator title
Product name
Case Study
Affinity
Primary question relating to indicator
Rabbit Water Filter
Is the product something users will be p roud to own and take care of?
Main image of case study
Questions to think about or ask users
Will users aspi re to own the p roduct?
Secondary questions to think about or ask users
Is the p roduct culturally acceptable?
The Rabbit water filter was re-designed to take into account users aspirations. Originally it sold for $12 but the price was inc reased after the re-design to $22. The new model outsold the original 3/1 and inc reased user uptake by 42%.
Is the quality of the design equivalent to that seen in developed countries?
Front
Description of case study, example of good practice
Back
Figure 4 Card Design
The complete set consists of 16 cards; eight attribute cards for use with the product assessment spider web and eight additional considerations to be used throughout the design process. The full set of cards can be seen in Figures 4 and 6.
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Questions to think about or ask users
Will users aspi re to own the p roduct?
Is the p roduct culturally acceptable?
The Rabbit water filter was account users aspirations.
Is the quality of the design equivalent to that seen in developed countries?
re-designed to take into Originally it sold for $12
but the price was inc reased after the re-design to $22. The new model outsold the original 3/1 and inc reased user uptake by 42%.
Case Study
Affinity
Rabbit Water Filter
Case Study
Functionality Is the product something
Case Study
Desirability
ReMotion Knee
One Laptop per Child
Is the product desirable for the users?
Are the products functions adequate? Questions to think about or ask users
ReMotion Knee
Are the products functions adequate?
Timothy Whitehead, Mark Evans and Guy Bingham users will be p roud to own and take care of?
Case Study
Functionality
Questions to think about or ask users
Questions to think about or ask users
Are the functions desi red by the user?
Is the p roduct aesthetically pleasing? Will users aspi re to own the p roduct?
Is the p roduct culturally acceptable? Questions to think about or ask users
re-designed to take into Originally it sold for $12 but the price was inc reased after the re-design to $22. The new model outsold the original 3/1 and inc reased user uptake by 42%.
Is the quality of the design equivalent to Areseen the functions desicountries? red by the user? that in developed
Has it been well designed and enginee
Case Study
Affinity
Rabbit Water Filter
Are the number of functions app the task?
ReMotion knee is a functional p rosthetic leg which uses multi-pivot joints. This gives it165 deg rees of range, enabling the users to kneel, squat and One Laptop per Child Case Study swing the leg naturall y.
ropriate for
Case Study
Affordability
Is the product affordable for locals or suppo rting organisations?
The Rabbit water filter was re-designed to take into account users aspirations. Originally it sold for $12
Is the quality of the design equivalent to that seen in developed countries?
but the price was inc reased after the re-design to $22. The new model outsold the original 3/1 and
One Laptop per Child
One Laptop per Child, combines function with a high level of design. It has been recognised by a number of inte rnational design awa rds.
Will it imp rove the social status of the user? What is the initial cost of the p roduct?
roduct
The t readle pump is a human powe red suction pump for irrigation. It costs between $20-$100 (depending on the region) and inc reases a household Freepl ayTypically Radio the Case Study income by $50-500. payback period for the p roduct is one yea r.
Usability Affinity
Is the product easy to understand and use cor rectly within different cultures?
Case Study
Chulha st ove
One Laptop per Child, combines function with a high level of design. It has been recognised by a number of inte rnational design awa rds.
Will it imp rove the social status of the user?
Will the p roduct easily fit into the everyday life of the users? and packaging is used What materials within the p roduct?
Freepl ay Radio
How will the p roduct be re-used/ recycled at the end of its life?
Questions to think about or ask users Are the number of functions app ropriate for the task? Can the p roduct be repai red using local a tradesman?
retu rn the p roduct? Affordability
Case Study
Reparability
d-light
Case Study
Funding
Is the design robust enough to withstand the environment? What is the initial cost of the p
regions?
Can the p roduct be repai red using local a tradesman?
What is thewill average incomelast? of users per day? How long the p roduct Is the p roduct durable enough to withstand the envi ronment?
D-light solar powe red lante rn comes with a f ree Users
Users If a warranty is available how easy is it to
2-year warrant y. It is estimated that it has a 5 year lifetime with no replacement parts needed. Local village sales people uphold warranty scheme.
retu rn the p roduct?
Can the p roduct be secu red to p revent it being stolen?
Case Study
What materials and packaging is used within the p roduct?
Distribution
Can the users be part of the design p
Questions to think about or ask users
Will it be distributed by locals or charity members? What will the lea rning curve be for users?
What materials and packaging is used within the p roduct?
rocess?
What will be the social implications of int roducing the p roduct into the market?
How long will the p roduct last?
Scale
Is the p roduct durable enough to withstand
the envi ronment? Need Affinity
Distribution How will the p roduct be re-used/ recycled
Need
The Q Drum is a 50l drum for transporting wate r, it has been designed to be pulled along rough unpaved roads. Made f rom 4mm LLDP in a rotational moulding p rocess, the Q Drum is highly
Philips Chulha is a low smoke stove design for indoor cooking using biomass fuel. The stove is Distribution manufactu red locally using local materials and
Scale
Quality
How can scale be achi eved to make a significant dif ference to poverty?
What is the p roduct quality like? Questions to think about or ask users
Questions to think about or ask users Questions to think about or ask users
What a re the desi res and aspirations of the users? Is it suitable for mo re than one region?
Will it be distributed by locals or charity members? Is the quality equivalent to a weste
Have you spent time with users understanding their needs?
rocess?
Can the design be scaled?
What is the size, weight and lumpiness of Questions to think about or ask users the p roduct?
What a re the cur rent needs within the envi ronment?
Can the design be scaled?
Can the users be part of the design p
Scale
processes.
at the end of its life?
Quality How do the p roducts get to the end user?
What need is the p roduct meeting?
Questions to think about or ask users
Who is the custome r, the funder or the user?
processes.
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Philips Chulha is a low smoke stove design for indoor cooking using biomass fuel. The stove is manufactu red locally using local materials and
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The Q Drum is a 50l drum for transporting wate r, it has been designed to be pulled along rough unpaved roads. Made f rom 4mm LLDP in a rotational moulding p rocess, the Q Drum is highly Chulha sttons. ove Case durable andStudy can take a maximum load of 3,7
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durable and can take a maximum load of 3,7 tons.
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Lifeline radio is a wind up and solar powe red radio which picks up th ree f requencies. It has r-friendly
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high level of design. It has been recognised by a number of inte rnational design awa rds.
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These cards were prototyped at Loughborough University, UK and used with a copy of the spider web printed on a separate page.
Evaluation of Design Tool The tool (which included the spider web and cards) was evaluated at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) with 30 second year BSc Product Design students. NTU was chosen for the study as the students were embarking on an Engineer without Borders Challenge during part of a module in Sustainable Design. Engineers without Borders (EWB) are an international organisation which aims to empower new engineers to remove barriers to human development by designing solutions to alleviate poverty (EWB-UK, 2013). During the second week of the project the students were divided randomly into six groups of five and asked to analyse two products from the 64 products used during the product analysis. Each group was asked to use the spider web and cards during the analysis to evaluate the design. The products chosen were: Delagua Water Filter Lifestraw Lifesaver Bottle NoKero LED solar powered light Tough Stuff LED solar powered light Adspects self-adjustable glasses
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Every attempt was made to ensure the products represented an even spread of categories and each group was given a physical product along with an information page about the design (the information on the page was used as a prompt see Liamputtong (2011)). Each group was asked to use the cards and complete a blank spider web. After the first product analysis the products were swapped and each group was asked to analyse a second product, providing two data sets per product. Following the analysis of products, each student was asked to individually complete a questionnaire in which they discussed their opinion of designing for LIEs and if they felt their focus had changed as a result of the exercise and tools. The results of this evaluation have been divided into two sections, the first provides an analysis of the spider web, and the second investigates the student’s opinion of the tool and if it changed their approach to design for LIEs. The results shown in Figure 7 highlight the difference between the two groups in the analysis the same product. In some cases, for example, Tough Stuff, Lifesaver and the Life Straw both groups produced a similar result. In particular, the students believed that the Lifestraw and Tough Stuff were durable, usable and functional products but they lacked the ability to be repaired easily and were not considered sustainable. When these results are compared to findings from the product analysis, there was a relatively high degree of similarity results. For example, in the product analysis of the Life Straw it was reported by Boisson (2010) that some users broke the product in half, while trying to repair it and that the product had to be thrown away after one year. This highlights the inherent lack of reparability and sustainability in the product and proves that the students were accurate in their analysis. However, it was also evident that not all groups provided a similar result for product scores. This can be seen in the assessment spider webs for Nokero where the two groups produced very different scores. In this case Group 1 gave a conservative score between 2-3, whereas Group 2 scored higher in the region of 4-5 for each of the indicators. It is expected that there will be differences in the two sets of results, as the spider web method is relatively subjective and not all the students had a great depth of knowledge of each product.
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Figure 7 Evaluation of products using Spider web method
Following this assessment each group was asked to present their finding to the rest of the class. This allowed the researcher to make notes on the reasons they gave for the score of each indicators. It was initially evident that students liked using the spider web as an analysis tool, making reference to the cards to justify their decisions, see Figure 8. The students described how they carried out the analysis which typically involved looking at materials, the strength of the design, testing the functions and commenting on the visual and aesthetical elements. References were made to using the assessment cards during the process, especially if the students were unsure of an indicator. However, it was also observed that in some cases the scores were given without much consideration and highlighted the subjectivity of the method.
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Figure 8 Group presentations at Nottingham Trent University
The second part of the evaluation involved asking students a series of questions, based on their experience using the tools. Initially the students were asked about their previous experience designing for, or background knowledge of LIEs, 58% stated they had limited or no experience designing for LIEs and equally limited background knowledge. When asked if using the tools had increased their knowledge, 85% responded that they had ‘learnt more about designing for these regions’ with 78% believing they were now better equipped to design products for LIEs. Students were then asked if they believed the tool was accurate and providing them with helpful information which would result in an improved design. 57% agreed that the information was effective and found that it was useful at highlighting areas for improvement, however some participants (13%) believed that there were some ‘ambiguous’ results and it was sometimes ‘difficult to know how to rate a product’ this ambiguity was likely to be caused by the subjective nature of the assessment tool. Further questions were asked about the presentation of tool and if the students thought it was an appropriate design. 63% liked the design, finding it ‘simple’, ‘quick and easy to use – especially the cards’, however, some students commented that it would be better to have an online version of the analysis which could ‘work out the score automatically’.
Discussion This study formed part of a wider investigation which demonstrated the need for greater understanding into what constitutes an effective design of products for LIEs. The identification of 16 indicators (cards) and the subsequent creation of a design tool (16 cards and spider web) helps to enhance current NPD. When the tool was trialled it was found to be effective in educating designers and enabling them to get a greater understanding of current products. The spider web was easy to use and participants were confident at assessing existing products. It is expected that this form of assessment will be used during the design and development stage enabling designer to evaluate their designs. This will support existing methods such as user centred design methodologies and cross culture studies carried out by van Boeijen (2015). One of the unique elements of the tool was the emphasis desirable products, which was highlighted by participants and in line with publications from Polak (2008). The tool helps designers ensure that products are not just technically suitable but also include aspirational and desirable features. However, during the study it was found that the spider web was quite a subjective method and did not always provide a robust analysis of the product. This
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was particularly evident in areas of desirability, usability and reparability, students struggled to rate these areas. Although this could be seen as a hindrance, when used in conjunction with the assessment cards and other user centred design methods, it is predicted that the analysis will be more reliable. Even if full user centred design is not possible, the cards provide case study examples of exemplary solutions, which will act as a memory aid for designers (see Bevilacqua, Emanuele, & Giacchetta, 2012) to ensure they have considered each aspect of the design if designing remotely.
Conclusion This study highlighted there is a lack of knowledge about the appropriate design of products for LIEs. This can have a direct effect on the product outcome and ultimately the livelihood of people living in poverty. Consequently, this study investigated factors required to create long lasting, effective products which resulted in the identification of eight assessment indicators and eight additional considerations. When these attributes are considered during the NPD process evidence suggests that products have a greater long-term uptake. The visual nature of designers and rapid adoption of design tools provided an opportunity to disseminate these findings into a set of cards and assessment spider web, creating a design tool. The initial tool was prototyped at Loughborough University, UK and evaluated by students at Nottingham Trent University, during an Engineering without boarders’ competition. It was found during this study that the spider web and cards were effective in guiding and educating designers how to design for these markets. Although part of a wider study this investigates demonstrates how design tools can be created as a form of dissemination that can be utilised by designers. Further study is required to develop and refine the tool. Acknowledgements: The author would like to thank the participants who were involved in the interviews, staff at Proximity Design in Myanmar and Dr Matthew Watkins at Nottingham Trent University.
References Austin-Breneman, J., & Yang, M. (2013) Design for Micro-Enterprise: An Approach to Product Design for Emerging Markets. Bevilacqua, M., Emanuele, C., & Giacchetta, G. (2012) Sustainable Product Assessment Tools. Design for Environment as a Tool for the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain (pp. 61-73) Springer Science and Business Media. Boisson, S., Kiyombo, M., Sthreshley, L., Tumba, S., Makambo, J., & Clasen, T. (2010) Field Assessment of a Novel Household-based Water Filtration Device: A Randomised, placebocontrolled trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo. PLoS ONE, 5(9). Bonsiepe, G. (1977) Precariousness and Ambiguity: Industrial Design in Dependent Countries. In J. Bricknell, & L. McQuiston (Eds.), ICSID: Design for Need (pp. 13-19). London: Pergamon Press. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. Brown, T. (2008) Design thinking. Harvard Business Review
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Castillo, L. C., Diehl, J. C., & Brezet, J. C. (2012) Design Considerations for Base of the Pyramid (BoP) projects. Charmaz, K., 1939-. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: SAGE. Coward, T., & Fathers, J. (2005) A Critique of Design Methodologies Appropriate to Private-sector Activity in Development. Development in Practice, 15, 451-462. Diehl, J.C., Christiaans, H.H.C.M. (2007) The First Learning Experience of Design for the BoP. Hong Kong: ISADR 07. Er, H. A. (1993) Industrial Design in Developing Countries: A review of the Design Literature. ( No. Research Paper 66). Manchester Metropolitan University: Institute of Advanced Studies. Evans, M. Pei, E. (2013) iD Cards. Loughborough University. EWB-UK. (2013) Engineers without borders-UK : About. Retrieved from http://www.ewbuk.org/about/approach ICSID and UNIDO. (1979) Ahmedabad declaration on industrial design for development. IDEO. (2002). Method Cards. IDEO. Kandachar, P. (2012) Beyond design: Inclusive innovations and well-being. The Netherlands: Delft University of Technology. Karnani, A. (2007) The mirage of marketing to the bottom of the pyramid: How the private sector can help alleviate poverty. California Management Review, 49(4), 90-111. Liamputtong, P. (2011) Focus group methodology: Principles and practice. London: SAGE. Lofthouse, V. (2014) Social issues cards. Loughborough University. Margolin, V., 1941-. (1989) Design Discourse : History, theory, criticism. London: University of Chicago Press. MIT. (2013) Design for Extreme Affordability. Retrieved from http://extreme.stanford.edu/ Moss, T., Pettersson, G., & Nicolas van, d. W. (2006) An Aid-Institutions Paradox? A review essay on aid dependency and state building in sub-Saharan Africa. Centre for Global Development. Papanek, V. (1985) Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. Thames and Hudson. Pilloton, E. (2009) Design Revolution: 1000 products that Empower Eeople. Thames and Hudson. Polak, P., & Warwick, M. (2013) The Business Solution to Poverty. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Prahalad, C. K. (2006) The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid - Eradicating Poverty Through Profits. New Jersey: Wharton School Publishing. Rittel, H., & Webber, M. (1973) Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. In N. Cross (Ed.), Developments in Design Methodology (pp. 155-169-Policy Science, Vol 4). Chichester: J.Wiley & Sons. Robson, C., 1935-. (2011) Real world Research : A Resource for Users of Social Research Methods in Applied Settings. Chichester: Wiley. Schumacher, E. F. (1973) Small is Beautiful - A study of Economics as if People Mattered (First ed.). London: Blond & Briggs Ltd. van Boeijen, A.G.C. (2015) Card set: Crossing Cultural Chasms: Towards a culture-conscious approach to design. Delft Univesity of Technology, Delft. World Bank. (2016) World Statistics: Overview. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview
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About the Authors: Timothy Whitehead is a Lecturer in Digital Product Design at De Montfort University. Timothy is a member of the Design and New Product Development research group and has an interest in the appropriate design of products for developing countries. Mark Evans is Reader in Industrial Design and leader of the Design Practice Research Group at Loughborough University Design School. Mark’s Research interests are in in design methods, digital tools and practice-based research. Guy Bingham is a Senior lecturer and Programme Director for the postgraduate Industrial Design programme at the Loughborough University Design School, specialising in the delivery of Engineering, Mechanics and Design practice.
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Redesigning governance – a call for design across three orders of governance Tanja Rosenqvist* and Cynthia Mitchell University of Technology Sydney * tanja.rosenqvist@uts.edu.au DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.423
Abstract: Designers are increasingly engaged in solving large-scale societal issues and the interest in the potentially activist role of design is growing. These new roles call for judicious approaches to designing and, importantly, for designers to be critically aware of how their work influences, not only our physical, but also our social worlds. This paper explores how designers can take part in rethinking governance structures by facilitating a process of questioning and re-imagining how, for example, public services are governed and importantly - by whom. This involves articulating people’s day-to-day experiences of governance and making explicit the institutional arrangements and the often embedded and unarticulated societal values that govern these experiences. This paper shares preliminary findings from an on-going research project, in which low-income communities and government stakeholders in Indonesia are involved in critically rethinking wastewater governance and their deeply held assumptions about how public services should be governed. Keywords: design; governance; politics; activism
Introduction The role of design in society is rapidly changing. Designers are increasingly involved in finding practical solutions to large-scale societal issues, such as climate change, poverty alleviation or rethinking public service delivery. When Victor Papanek, 40 years ago published his seminal book Design for the Real World, the design discipline was different (Papanek, 1971). Designers were mainly concerned with shaping our physical world, while today emerging fields of design such as service design, social design and political design, means designers to at a larger extent are influencing social realities. Hence, Papanek’s call for more morally and socially responsibility designers is still relevant today. The new role of
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Tanja Rosenqvist and Cynthia Mitchell
designers not only calls for new approaches to designing or new forms, it also urges designers to be critically aware of how their work influences, not only our physical world, but also our social world and within this society’s inherent and often invisible power (im)balances. The role of government is also changing. Governments are today increasingly under pressure to deliver better and more cost-effective public services (Bason, 2014). Many governments are therefore considering how citizens might take part in co-producing public services. The idea of co-production is that citizens, rather than being viewed as recipients of public services, should be conceived as potential resources and take part in the production and delivery of services (Brandsen & Pestoff, 2006; Ostrom, 1996). Co-production experiments have been conducted in several countries, including Finland (Botero, Paterson, & SaadSulonen, 2012), Wales (Public Health Wales & Co-production Wales, 2012), Australia (Briggs, 2011) and UK (Design Commission, 2013). In many developing countries, co-production has a longer history and in this context is often considered crucial for achieving higher levels of welfare - particularly for the poor (Ostrom, 1996). Government’s increasing attempt at ‘downloading’ responsibility for service delivery onto citizens, can according to Julier (2011) be seen as an opportunity for designers. This paper explores how designers can and to some extent maybe should, go beyond (re)designing services and artefacts and question how public services and even society more generally is governed and by whom. It draws learning from the Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project, which seeks to engage communities and local government stakeholders in questioning and rethinking how urban wastewater services for poor urban communities in Indonesia are governed. The project is part of a trans-disciplinary PhD project, which combines the fields of design, international development and public administration. This paper has four sections. In the first section the three orders of governance (Kooiman, Bavinck, Chuenpagdee, Mahon, & Pullin, 2008) and their relationship with design are introduced. This is followed by an introduction to wastewater governance in Indonesia, and a description of the three initial phases of the Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project; and a discussion section suggesting that the redesign of governance could be a new space for exploring a broader notion of design activism. The paper ends with a short conclusion.
Design and Values in Public Service Governance Design and governance are intrinsically intertwined. Ultimately both are about solving problems and creating opportunities. For example, Kooiman defines governance as: “All those interactive arrangements in which public as well as private actors participate aimed at solving societal problems, or creating societal opportunities and attending to the institutions within which these governing activities take place.” (Kooiman, 1999)
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Redesigning governance – a call for design across three orders of governance
It is through the design of artefacts, experiences and environments that citizens meet their government (Tunstall, 2007) and other institutions that govern their everyday. How such artefacts, experiences and environments are designed is therefore no trivial matter. As suggested by Tunstall, these designs hold the power to mediate the trust citizens’ hold in the practices of government (Tunstall, 2007). Design can therefore be said to make the governance tangible to people (Tunstall, 2007). This leads Tunstall to argue, that design also opens governance up to the potential redesign by those people. Designers, be that interaction designers, service designers or people who would not characterise themselves as designers, such as policy makers, embed their vision of the world into their designs. Akrich termed this process ‘inscribing’ and the result a ‘script’ (1992). While Akrich was concerned with the design of technological objects, the concept of ‘inscription’ is also relevant for other types of design. For example, when community-scale wastewater systems in Indonesia are designed to be easy to maintain by unskilled operators, this can be seen as an inscription of a vision of urban communities as ideally self-reliant. The design of all artefacts, experiences and environments through which citizens meet their government, hold such scripts, inscribed visions of the world as seen by their designers, whom most often are policy makers or civil servants. In the governance literature, visions are considered governed by values. According to Kooiman and Jentoft and the idea of Interactive Governance, norms, principles and values “underpin all decisions since they inspire those who govern how to think and make judgements” (Kooiman & Jentoft, 2009). These norms, principles and values sit at what they term ‘third order governance’ or ‘meta-governance’, which governs the governance activities that happen at first and second order. First order governance deals with day-to-day affairs. This is where problems are solved and opportunities created (Kooiman et al., 2008). The designed artefacts, experiences and environments through which citizens meet their government can therefore be seen as part of first order of governance. Second order governance includes the institutional arrangements in which day-to-day affairs (first order governance) take place (Kooiman et al., 2008). It is here the visions and rules that govern first order governance are formed and where roles and responsibilities of the institutions that take part in governing are defined. The visions of the world, inscribed in the artefacts, experiences and environments through which citizens meet governments, can therefore be said to lie within the second order of governance. Importantly, both artefacts, experiences and environments at the first order and the institutional arrangements at the second order are governed by meta-governance, which “deals with the principles which 'govern' governance itself” (Kooiman, 1999). First
Second
Third
Artefacts Experiences Environments
Visions Rules Institutions
Values Principles Norms
Figure 3 The relationship between design and governance
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Designing how public services or other elements of society are governed, means moving beyond designing the artefacts, experiences and environments citizens meet. While Turnstall argues, that design, by making governance tangible to everyday people, also opens governance up to participatory redesign by people, the notion of meta-governance suggests that the possible solution space will be restricted by what is reasonable within the values found at the meta-governance level. Redesigning artefacts, experiences and environments, might therefore lead to changes in the day-to-day affairs of governance, but will only indirectly influence what happens at second and third order. If designers seek to create more fundamental change in governance structures, they could consider engaging more directly at second and third order. However, these orders of governance are highly invisible, which prompts the question – how might designers make the elements found at these orders of governance more explicit and thus open them up for collaborative re-design by citizens and their government?
The State of Wastewater Governance in Indonesia In Indonesia, domestic wastewater has historically been considered a private matter (BAPPENAS & WSP, 2007). Public investments in wastewater services have been limited (Wibowo & Legowo, 2010) and today only 2% of Indonesia’s 250 million people are connected to centralised sewerage (WSP, 2013). The lack of government initiative has left households to find their own solutions and the majority of urban dwellers today rely on household-based tangki septik (septic tanks). These are often poorly constructed and do not prevent wastewater from seeping into and polluting nearby water bodies used for drinking and cooking. The poor sanitation conditions in Indonesia currently result in approximately 6 million cases of diarrhoea, 20.000 deaths and the loss of 2,3% of GDP every single year (WSP, 2008a) (WSP, 2008b). There has in recent years been an increasing push on Government of Indonesia to improve access to wastewater services. International donors have specifically urged Indonesia to improve the institutional arrangements for wastewater, which currently lacks a clear institutional home at both national and local government level (WSP, 2011). While local governments officially gained responsibility for wastewater services in 2001, the new responsibility was not followed by sufficient changes to the regulatory framework (Djojosoekarto et al., 2013), clear service delivery standards (WSP, 2009) or sufficient capacity building (WSP, 2009). Many local governments therefore today remain unsure what their responsibility is and how they might fulfil it (Winters, Karim, & Martawardaya, 2014). Despite the remaining challenges at local government level, the political prioritisation of wastewater in Indonesia has increased. There has been a massive increase in funding from both national and local governments (World Bank & AusAID, 2013) and Indonesia today has a clear political commitment to ensure 100% wastewater service coverage by 2019 (BAPPENAS, 2015). Part of the strategy to reach full coverage, is to provide 7.5% of the Indonesian population access to community-scale wastewater systems. These systems and how they are governed is the topic of this paper.
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2.1. Community-scale wastewater systems Community-scale wastewater systems are a fairly recent phenomenon in Indonesia. The first systems were implemented in 2002 as part of a pilot program under the name SANIMAS (Sanitasi Berbasis Masyarakat – Sanitation Based in the Community). In following years, the Government of Indonesia funded the implementation of 50-100 systems per year. By 2009 Indonesia had 420 community scale systems (WSP, 2013) and by 2012 a total of 1700 (Mitchell, Ross, Abeysuriya, Puspowardoyo, & Wedahuditama, 2015). Funding has since continued to increase and by 2015 13.600 systems had been funded for implementation (Mitchell et al., 2015). To reach the planned 7.5% of the population an additional 100.000 community-scale systems are however needed (Mitchell et al., 2015). The systems typically provide wastewater services for 50 to 100 households and are generally implemented in densely populated low-income urban and peri-urban communities (WSP, 2013). Three types of systems are found in Indonesia; MCK, SSS and mixed systems. MCK’s (mandi, cuci, kakus or bathing, washing, toilet) consist of a communal toilet, bathing and washing facility and an underground treatment system. SSS stands for simplified sewerage systems. These systems have a pipe network, which connects household bathroom and toilets to an underground treatment system. Mixed systems combine the qualities of MCK and SSS systems and therefore have both a communal toilets and a pipe network.
Figure 1 From left: MCK; SSS; mixed system. Red parts are below the ground.
The systems are funded by aid donors or national and local government, while communitybased organisations (CBOs) are expected to take full responsibility for their ongoing operation, maintenance as well as regular user fee collection.
2.2. Community-management and long-term sustainability A recent study has questioned the long-term sustainability of community-scale wastewater services under community management. CBOs often do not function as assumed. Members loose enthusiasm and struggle to collect enough user fees to fund major repairs or
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desludging (WSP, 2013). The study therefore concluded, that the assumption that communities can and will manage community-scale sanitation systems without external support has been overstated (WSP, 2013). Several local governments are currently rethinking wastewater governance. They specifically explore how roles and responsibility among government agencies can be organised and are developing new wastewater by-laws. These changes will however only affect householdbased and centralised services, while community-scale services will remain fully managed by CBOs. This is largely due to a dominant paradigm brought in by donors through the SANIMAS pilot program – i.e. that communities can and should be empowered to take on full responsibility for ongoing service provision.
2.3. Institutional arrangements in community-scale wastewater Bogor, a city of nearly one million people about 60 kilometres south of Jakarta, is one of the cities where local government is currently rethinking wastewater governance. The Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project follows this process and attempts to inspire local government to think of alternative governance models for community-scale wastewater services. Below is a short introduction to the current institutional arrangement in Bogor. The implementation of a community-scale wastewater system in Bogor is initiated when the Planning department applies for funding. There are several funding paths, which differ in the details, but generally the Implementation department receives funding to build systems from the national government budget. The Implementation department selects which communities will receive funding. This decision should officially be based on a detailed City Sanitation Strategy, prepared through collaboration between the Planning and Implementation departments. The City Sanitation Strategy prioritises communities ranked high in an Environmental Health Risk Assessment performed by the Health department. When communities have been selected, the Implementation department hires and trains Social and technical facilitators to support the selected communities while implementing the system. The facilitators arrange community meetings to give community members information about the health benefits and the technical functionality of the system and also provide ongoing support during the design and construction of the system. After the system has been installed and inaugurated, the facilitators are no longer involved and the full responsibility is handed over to the community. To handle operation, maintenance and user fee collection, the community selects 3-4 people to form a CBO and appoints an operator. In Bogor, three additional stakeholders are involved in community-scale wastewater service governance. Health City Forum (HCF) was established by a mayoral degree in 2005 as part of larger program funded by national government to improve health condition across Indonesia (Director of Bogor HCF, personal communication, 2015). The national association of community-based organisations, AKSANSI, was established in 2006 and supports its members (the CBOs) to sustain community-scale wastewater services. For example, AKSANSI monitors new systems one year after commissioning, facilitates communication between
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CBOs and local governments and provides capacity development opportunities for CBOs. The District government is a sub-level of local government, structurally located between community and local government. In practice the District government has no specific responsibility in relation to wastewater, but can generally be seen as a mediator between communities and local government.
Figure 2 Simplified overview of the institutional arrangement for community-scale wastewater service provision in Bogor.
The Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project explores how designers might engage communities and local government stakeholders in questioning and rethinking institutional arrangements for public service provision such as the ones described above.
Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater The Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project explores how to make the institutional arrangements for community-scale wastewater service provision in Bogor explicit and open for redesign. The project specifically seeks to question the assumption that communities can and should be responsible for ongoing service provision and provide lowincome communities the opportunity to take part in co-designing alternative futures together with local government stakeholders. The project draws from the fields of participatory design and service design. Participatory design has an explicit emancipatory commitment to ensure the voice of marginalised groups are being heard and involved in decision-making (Simonsen & Robertson, 2012) and since it emerged in Scandinavia in the 1970s a wide range of tools and methods have been developed to fulfil this particular purpose. The Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project specifically draws on the concept of design games (Brandt & Messeter, 2004; Brandt, 2006; Møllebæk Larsen & Lindegaard, 2009), a form of collaborative design activity which by shifting focus to a game can help downplay power relations (Brandt & Messeter, 2004). Service design is concerned with how people experience services and relationships between people, specifically the
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relationship between service user and service provider (Polaind, Lovlie, & Reason, 2013). The concept of service blueprints, a tool for mapping relationship as they happen over the course of the service journey and influence peoples service experience, is central to service design (Moritz, 2005; Shostack, 1984). By combining the two fields of design, a range of design games have been developed to facilitate the engagement of low-income communities and local government stakeholders in rethinking service governance. The participants are engaged in questioning one order of governance at a time. In the first phase, community-members were invited to map their experiences designing, implementing, operating and maintaining community-scale systems. The focus was on the day-to-day elements of governance at the first order. In the second phase, community members mapped the current institutional arrangements for community-scale wastewater service provision and envisioned alternative arrangements. In the third stage, stakeholders from local government were invited to map the ideal institutional arrangements as seen from their perspective. To explore which values at the meta-governance level governed their visions, the researcher suggested an alternative future, prompting strong reactions from the stakeholders. These three phases were recently finalised. In the coming months, the last phase of the project will be completed. In this phase community leaders and local government stakeholders will be engaged in co-designing new governance models for community-scale wastewater service provision. Three communities are involved in the project. Two of these implemented mixed systems in 2010 and the third community is currently waiting for funding to begin implementation.
Figure 4 From left: Location of MCK in two communities and the future location of an MCK in the third community.
4.1. Mapping community experiences at the first order In the first phase, community-members mapped their day-to-day experiences of communityscale wastewater governance. This was done through a tool turning the concept of service blueprints (Parker & Heapy, 2006) into a design game (Brandt, 2006). It consisted of: a timeline, a range of cards describing different plausible events such as ‘meeting with local government staff’ and a collection of random pictures participants could use to describe an experience. It allowed community-members to map the process of implementing, operating and maintaining community-scale wastewater services and consider how they experienced each separate event. The mapping was performed either individually or in groups up to five participants and took place in participant’s own homes or in community meeting places.
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Figure 5 A community leader maps his experience of designing, implementing, operating and maintaining the community’s community-scale wastewater systems.
The mapping exercise made explicit influential power dynamics. For example, from one community it became clear that the Healthy City Forum has a powerful position and is able to decide when they receive the funding and whether it is enough for a small or large system. Officially such responsibilities sit with the Implementation department, and decisions should be based on the City Sanitation Strategy and Environmental Health Risk Assessment. In practice, the Healthy City Forum seems to have significant influence and possibly even some degree of control over the process, despite not having line responsibility and staff not being public servants. The mapping exercise also made explicit the importance of personal relationships with people working within or close to government. One of the communities recently received funding to extend their pipe network, because of close personal relationship with the local AKSANSI representative. The community leader mapped how funding had come from an international donor, who had asked the local AKSANSI representative to select the receiving community. The exercise furthermore made explicit that local government departments can be inaccessible for low-income communities. Leaders from two communities mapped how they previously have asked for support from local government to maintain infrastructure. They went to District government, but never received any reply on their inquiries. The leaders of both communities thought their request had never moved on to the relevant local government agency. As one leader said: “I already told the kelurahan (District office), but
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they haven’t told Wasbangkim (the Implementation department). So far kelurahan hasn’t said anything yet�. In another community, the mapping exercise led to a conversation about how community leaders felt government projects became a burden for them as leaders. They felt stuck maintaining the government-funded infrastructure without support from either government or their communities. In the last community, the exercise led to the community leader revealing his frustration and impatience after waiting nearly two years to receive funding to implement the system they have been promised.
4.2. Mapping and questioning institutional arrangements at the second order In the second phase of the project community members were invited to map the institutional arrangements for community-scale wastewater as seen from their perspective and suggest potential alternative arrangements. For this purpose they were provided with a design game consisting of 10 coloured game pieces, each with the name of stakeholder involved with wastewater. They were first asked to organised the stakeholders into current arrangements and afterwards re-organise them into more desired arrangements.
Figure 5 A community leader is mapping the institutional arrangements for community-scale wastewater service provision in Bogor as seen from his perspective.
Through the mapping exercise, it became clear that community leaders were seeking easier access to local government agencies. For example, community leaders mapped District offices and Healthy City Forum as roadblocks, slowing down or completely obstructing application and funding processes. When mapping alternative arrangements community members suggested circumventing the District office and Healthy City Forum by establishing more direct lines of communication between them and local government departments,
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specifically the Implementation department. One community leader specifically suggested a direct phone number to the Implementation department, while a leader in another community suggested an assistant at the District office could be responsible for bringing community members to relevant local government agencies in person.
4.3. Influencing local government stakeholders’ intrinsic norms and values In the third phase of the project, local government stakeholders were engaged in mapping the institutional arrangements for community-scale wastewater service provision. This was done one by one and took place in their offices or in a nearby café. In addition to the 10 coloured game pieces given to community-members, they were also given 17 pieces symbolising specific responsibilities. They were asked to place each of these responsibilities on the stakeholder they thought ideally would take this on. All government stakeholders placed all day-to-day responsibilities, such as ‘user fee collection’ on the CBO, but maintained a few responsibilities, such as ‘health campaigns’ among government agencies.
Figure 6 A member of local government is mapping current institutional arrangements for community-scale wastewater service provision in Bogor as seen from her perspective.
When a participant had organised the responsibilities, the researcher suggested an alternative set of arrangements, by moving the game pieces around. The researcher took the majority of responsibilities placed on the CBO and relocated them onto various appropriate local government agencies. The purpose was to provoke the local government stakeholder and start a conversation about why such arrangements would not be feasible. In other
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words, explore which values and norms at the meta-governance level govern the current arrangements. From this exercise the strength of the values supporting the notion of communitymanagement became explicit. One stakeholder referred to it as the ‘spirit of SANIMAS’ - the foundation of the entire SANIMAS program. All engaged government stakeholders categorically refused the potential of seeing the suggested government-led arrangements implemented. They instead suggested that community awareness should be increased through ‘socialisation’ to ensure they understand the importance of collecting user fees and sufficiently operate and maintain the systems.
A call for design across orders of governance Designers, consciously as well as unconsciously, can take part in reinforcing how society is governed and by whom. For example, when designers are involved in ensuring public services can be co-produced by citizens, they might unintentionally be promoting a ‘neoliberal hype’ as suggested by Brandsen & Pestoff (2006). Designers inscribe their visions into artefacts, experiences or environments, and thereby can implicitly reinforce or even construct values and norms at the meta-governance level; for example, the idea that lowincome communities should deliver their own wastewater services. If designers (both trained and untrained) do not critically reflect on the impact of their work, they might inadvertently promote unintended values and norms. Designers can, if they are aware of the three orders of governance, actively use their practice to question and redesign governance. As exemplified by the Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project, designers can play an important role in uncovering elements of first, second or third order governance and open them up for participatory redesign. Through the use of design games hidden power dynamics, the importance of personal relationships and the inaccessibility of local government agencies were in this project revealed. By making the institutional arrangements for wastewater services visual and changeable, these became open to the participatory redesign by community-members, who suggested circumventing HCF and district government to get direct access to local government agencies. Lastly, by mapping how a shift of responsibilities from communities to local government may look, the underlying values and norms associated with the ‘spirit of SANIMAS’ were made explicit. This exemplifies how, by uncovering the elements of the three orders of governance, designers can help explore how some of the most fundamental structures of society, such as the roles and responsibilities of state vis a vis citizens, are configured and could be reconfigured. While designers have little training in the functioning of government or the structure of political systems, it could be argued that they not only have a unique opportunity, but also a moral and social responsibility, to go beyond (re)designing our everyday, to facilitating the expression and inclusion of citizens’ voices in the process of deciding how public services and in fact society more generally is governed. Designers, with their ability to make the invisible
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explicit and their vast field of emancipatory tools, are well placed to open up the three orders of governance for the potential redesign by people whose voices are most often not heard in governing decision-making. They might even take on an activist role and in designerly ways, such as through design games, present the voice of disadvantaged groups to decision-makers and begin to influence the norms and values at the meta-governance level. Governance redesign might provide a new space for activist designers to explore a wider notion of design activism and bring it closer to decision-makers. While designers are increasingly involved in solving large-scale and complex societal issues, design activism is still mainly focusing on the design of ‘things’. For example, Markussen describes design activism as the introduction of material objects and artefacts into the urban field of perception and sees design activism as a ‘disruptive aesthetic practice’ (Markussen, 2013). This form of activism, sits at the first order of governance. Activist designers could consider expanding the notion of design activism and explore it across all three orders of governance. Design activists today mainly speak to other activists (Fuad-Luke 2009) and design activism is often reduced to exhibition material and thereby held back from bringing about meaningful change (Kaygan & Julier, 2013). Bringing design activism directly into the second and third order could bring it out of the galleries and into governments. This would mean exploring the potentially activist role of the variety of objects and artefacts designers employ throughout the design process. Fuad-Luke (2009) has already suggested, that the typology of artefacts for design activism is not sufficiently understood and further research is needed. Exploring the potential use of design activism across the three orders of governance could be useful in this regard.
Conclusions Designers can play an important role in questioning and redesigning how public services and even society more generally is governed. This role might, as was the case in the Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project, involve helping citizens reveal hidden power dynamics or the inaccessibility of government agencies. It could also involve making normally invisible institutional arrangements explicit, especially to disadvantaged groups, to allow them to engage in exploring alternative governing futures. Designers, with their ability to make the invisible explicit and a range of emancipatory tools and methods, such as the design games explored in the Governing Futures – Voices and Wastewater project, have a unique opportunity to take on this role. Redesigning governance can provide activist designers a new space to explore a wider notion of design activism and bring their activist practice closer to decision-makers. Further research is however needed into the use of design activism across the three orders of governance and the potentially activist nature of the range of objects and artefacts designers apply throughout the design process.
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Acknowledgement: This research is part of the project Strengthening Governance for the Successful Long-Term Delivery of Community Scale Wastewater Services in Indonesia, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and led by the Institute for Sustainable Futures, at the University of Technology Sydney, in partnership with Government of Indonesia, BORDA Germany, and other collaborators.
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Mitchell, C., Ross, K., Abeysuriya, K., Puspowardoyo, P., & Wedahuditama, F. (2015). Effective governance for the successful long-term operation of community scale air limbah systems: Midterm Observations Report. Sydney, Australia. Møllebæk Larsen, M. L., & Lindegaard, H. (2009). Qualitative user participation in third world research: Design game in a new context. In 8th NORDCODE Semnar. Kolding, Denmark. Moritz, S. (2005). Service Design, Practical Access to an Evolving Field. London. Ostrom, E. (1996). Crossing the Great Divide : Synergy , and Development. World Development, 24(6), 1073–1087. Papanek, V. (1971). Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. Parker, S., & Heapy, J. (2006). The Journey to the Interface. How public service design can connect users to reform. London: Demos. Polaind, A., Lovlie, L., & Reason, B. (2013). Service Design. From Insight to Implementation. Brooklyn, New York: Rosenfeld Media. Public Health Wales, & Co-production Wales. (2012). Seeing is Believing. Co-production Case Studies from Wales. Wales. Shostack, G. L. (1984). Designing Services That Deliver. Harvard Business Review, (January-February). Simonsen, J., & Robertson, T. (2012). Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design. Routledge. Thorpe, A. (2011). Defining Design as Activism. Journal of Architectural Education, 1–16. Tunstall, E. D. (2007). In design we trust : Design, governmentality , and the tangibility of governance. International Association of Societies of Design Research, (1), 1–16. Wibowo, J. S., & Legowo, H. B. (2010). SANIMAS Approach and ISSDP s City-wide Sanitation Strategy (CSS). Water Practice & Technology, 5(4), 1–20. Winters, M. S., Karim, A. G., & Martawardaya, B. (2014). Public Service Provision under Conditions of Insufficient Citizen Demand: Insights from the Urban Sanitation Sector in Indonesia. World Development, 60, 31–42. World Bank, & AusAID. (2013). Indonesia: Country Study. Jakarta, Indonesia. WSP. (2008a). Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Indonesia. Hanoi: World Bank. WSP. (2008b). Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Southeast Asia. WSP. (2009). Urban Sanitation in Indonesia: Planning for Progress. Jakarta, Indonesia. WSP. (2011). Lessons in Urban Sanitation Development: Indonesia Sanitation Sector Development Program 2006-2010. Jakarta, Indonesia. WSP. (2013). Review of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems in Indonesia.
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About the Authors: Tanja Rosenqvist is a third year PhD candidate at Institute for Sustainable Futures. Her research into the governance of communityscale wastewater services in Indonesia is trans disciplinary and falls within the intersection between design, international development and public administration. Cynthia Mitchell has international reputation for her trans disciplinary work for economic, environmental, and social sustainability in the water and wastewater sector, with a particular focus on the planning, governance, and management of distributed infrastructure and water and nutrient recycling systems.
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Involving stakeholders in cross-border regional design Annet Kempenaar Wageningen University annet.kempenaar@wur.nl DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.189
Abstract: Regional design is a means to develop integrated spatial plans with a long term perspective in close collaboration with stakeholders. In doing so, regional design shows similarities to participatory design. In this paper, a regional design process is compared to the basic principles and values of participatory design. The regional design process showed strong signs of mutual learning, embeddedness in actual situations, using participatory tools and techniques, and opening up to alternative visions. The democracy oriented principles equalizing power relations and committing to democratic practices were also present in the regional design case, but not in a emancipatory or empowering way. The regional design case showed the signs of a fraternalistic approach to participatory design, in which multiple voices and perspectives grapple with each other. Regional design can learn from participatory design theory and practice, as it resonates with the principles and values of participatory design. Keywords: Regional design, participatory design, workshops, landscape architecture
Introduction Designing (urban) landscapes on a regional scale has gained momentum in landscape architecture and urban planning and design over the last decades (Kempenaar et al. 2016; Meijsmans and Beelen 2010; von Seggern, Werner and Grosse-Bächle 2008). This practice is referred to as regional designing and is a means to develop integrated strategic spatial plans for a region with a long term perspective (Oosterlynck et al. 2011). The responsibility for regional developments is typically distributed over various stakeholders with interdepend relationships (Albrechts and Balducci, 2013), making regional designing a collaborative and deliberative effort that exhibits strong similarities to participatory design approaches.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Annet Kempenaar
In participatory design, democracy and genuine participation are central values (Bratteteig, Bødker et al. 2013; Robertson and Wagner 2013). It aims to give participants a real say in the design process and wants to empower them (Kensing and Greenbaum 2013). In regional designing, the engagement with stakeholders seems to be based on more pragmatic motivations, like the disclosure of useful stakeholder knowledge and the need for collaboration to deal with networked regional problems. In this paper we compare a regional design process to the basic principles and values of participatory design. We examine a regional design process and its final product to see how stakeholders influenced the design process and outcome, and how the workshops shaped the perspective for future use and application of these design outcomes. Our case concerns the design of a landscape perspective for the Three Countries Park, a cross-border region located in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Regional designing: a participatory design process? Regional design is rooted in both landscape architecture and urban planning and design and envisions the future arrangement of settlements, infrastructures, water features, nature reserves and other land-uses in a region, including their relationships and their aesthetic appearances (de Jonge 2009; Neuman 2000). However, regional designing is not aimed at changing the physical environment directly, it is a form of second order design that is “engaged in designing the decision environment within which others (sometimes these are other design professionals) make decisions to alter or add to the built environment� (George 1997, p. 145). The resulting designs seek to accommodate change over a long period of time, have a strategic character and provide a context for smaller scale decisions. Regional designs are no blueprints, but take other forms like frameworks, visions or guidelines that provide direction for future development and change, which can be used as navigation devices in the uncertain and unpredictable regional process that lies ahead (Langner 2014). In regional design, the term regional is used to indicate the supra-local scale on which the design is focussed, which can vary from the scale of a couple of municipalities up to the scale of a nation state. The size of the region concerned in regional design is predominantly determined by the issues that are addressed in regional design. For example, when the regional design is concerned with flood-prevention, a logical sub-system of the watershed will be taken into account. These large scale representations are accompanied by suggestions for small scale and short term interventions to make the long term vision and the pathway towards the desirable future tangible (Neuman 2000). In a region multiple stakeholders are involved in the planning, making, shaping and maintaining of the region, but it often lacks a designated regional planning authority (Albrechts and Balducci 2013). The stakeholders have a shared responsibility and various interdepend relationships. For example, the value of real estate is related to its connectivity to schools, shops, and its location to forests, nature reserves and valuable cultural landscapes. A regional design project is often commissioned by a group of regional stakeholders that invite other stakeholders to join in in the project. Designers engage with
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these stakeholders in the design process to make use of their knowledge, but also to exchange ideas, to build collective perceptions of possible regional futures, and to create ownership of the ideas to improve the perspective for future action. To organise such interaction between designers and stakeholders, workshops, ateliers or other interactive events are organised as part of the regional design process. Participatory design is a design methodology that involves future users as co-designers in the design process, and includes a collection of design practices (van der Velden and Mörtberg 2014). Democracy and genuine participation are strong values in participatory design (Bratteteig et al. 2013; Robertson and Wagner 2013). Based on these values a series of principles have evolved that characterise participatory design practices: equalizing power relations, committing to democratic practices, embeddedness in actual situations, mutual learning, using participatory tools and techniques, and opening up to alternative visions (Kensing and Greenbaum 2013; van der Velden and Mörtberg 2014). Participatory design considers the design process and product equally important. The inclusion of future users or stakeholders in the design process, and the structure and design of this process influence the final design product as well as the future use and value of these design products (Simonsen and Robertson 2013). This implies that designers take other design-decisions then without participation, and that stakeholders look at the end result differently after participating in a design process. Participatory design results are a true co-production of designers and stakeholders. In this paper we investigate to what extend these values and principles also account for regional designing.
Methods and materials The regional design case described in this paper concerned the design of a landscape perspective for the Three Countries Park, a cross-border region located in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany (Figure 1). The regional design was part of a larger project on developing a landscape policy for the Three Countries Park that started in March 2012 and finished in May 2014. The development of the landscape perspective was phase two in the project and included a series of three one-day stakeholder workshops which were held in October 2012, November 2012 and in March 2013. The role of these stakeholder workshops in shaping the design outcome and the perspective of future use of the design results was central in our investigation. The case was researched by reading and analysing: maps, sketches and collective notes produced during the workshops, workshop minutes, other project documents, such as intermediate reports, committee meeting minutes and project team minutes, the regional design products which were presented in the final project reports (Houwen, Blokland and Wirth, 2014; Lohrberg et al. 2014a, 2014b, 2014c).
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Moreover, the author was part of the design team that drew up the landscape perspective and could also build on personal observations and experiences in the analysis of the case. Below we give a short introduction of the regional design case.
Figure 1 The Three Countries Park area.
Designing a landscape perspective for the Three Countries Park The Three Countries Park covers an area of cultural landscape between the cities of Hasselt, Liège, Maastricht, Heerlen, and Aachen with a diameter of around 50 km. The landscape is crisscrossed by several streams and has been inhabited since 4500 BC. Over the last centuries, agricultural use and innovations, economic developments, and demographic changes influenced and shaped the use of the land and the landscape, and made it what it is today: a varied landscape where attractive rural areas alternate with valuable nature reserves, cultural heritage and a polycentric urban network (Figure 2). The Three Countries Park covers an area, in which three different languages are spoken: French, German and Dutch. Furthermore, the region encompasses four different administrative and institutional settings: Germany, the Netherlands, Flanders and Wallonia. The Three Countries Park was first named in 1993 in the MHAL Spatial Development Perspective (Internationale Coordinatiecommissie 1993), a spatial vision for the development of the cross-border region including the cities of Maastricht, Hasselt, Aachen and Liège (hence the MHAL abbreviation). In 2001, as one of the follow-ups on the MHAL perspective, the Three Countries Park initiative started, a collaboration of nine public partners stemming from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Their aim is to protect,
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develop and manage the Three Countries Park in a functional, sustainable and attractive manner. In 2012 they commissioned with the financial support of ESPON (www.espon.eu) a project to develop a cross-border landscape policy, which included the design of the Three Countries Park landscape perspective.
Figure 2 Views on the Three Countries Park landscape
Designer – stakeholder interaction in the design process The design process for the Three Countries Park landscape perspective centred around a cycle of three one-day workshops with regional stakeholders (Figure 3). The first workshop focussed on the collective exploration of the structure, problems and issues of the Three Countries Park. The second workshop explored principle solutions, and the third workshop focussed on the testing of the draft results. The workshops were prepared, organised and facilitated by the regional design team. Besides representatives of the nine organisations involved in the Three Countries Park initiative, several other regional stakeholders participated. For each workshop a balance was sought in stakeholders from different countries and institutional settings. Next to the design team and stakeholders, the other members of the project group that worked on the landscape policy project also participated in the workshop. This resulted in 18 participants in the first workshop, 24 in the second and 15 in the third workshop. English, a foreign
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language to all participants including the design team and the project group, was the agreed language for the workshops, minutes and reports. Below we describe the aim, preparation and organisation of each of these workshops more in detail, and reflect on their outcome and effect on the development of the design ideas.
Figure 3 Impression of the workshops
Workshop one: Working on storylines The first workshop for the landscape perspective was held in October 2012 and aimed to elaborate and discuss trends and developments that would affect the landscape of the Three Countries Park. In preparation for the workshop, the landscape of the Three Countries Park and its history were analysed by the design team to gain a deeper understanding of the landscape and how it has come about. Furthermore, the design team developed three storylines for possible future developments in the region that built on the research of the first phase of the project on trends and developments: 1) new rural dynamics of the Three Countries Park landscape, 2) resilient and climate proof Three Countries Park landscape, 3) the attractive Three Countries Park metropolitan landscape. The workshop started with a short presentation of the landscape analysis and an introduction of the three storylines. In the afternoon, three sub-groups consisting of representatives from Germany, Flanders, Wallonia and the Netherlands, each discussed and elaborated one of the storylines. This workshop resulted in a deeper understanding with the design team of the landscape issues and developments across the Three Countries Park. It also enhanced the teams’ understanding of the cultural and institutional differences between different parts of the region, and the value that the stakeholders attached to these differences. Not only the design team benefitted from the workshop, the stakeholders also broadened their perception with the long term and large scale trends and developments incorporated in the storylines. Moreover, issues, values and perspectives were also shared amongst the stakeholders, which improved both their knowledge and understanding of situations on the other side of the border.
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The composition of sub-groups in the afternoon with representatives of Germany, Flanders, Wallonia and the Netherlands enabled this exchange of knowledge and a detailed exploration of the three storylines, which led to a specification of issues. For example, several stakeholders argued that although the overall accessibility of the Three Countries Park for walking and cycling is good, the access to attractive landscape elements like water features and historic sites is very poor in the region. Other important issues that arose in the discussions concerned the mutual relationship between the urban and rural parts, and the rich cultural variation within the region. The stakeholders expressed that the design team should include these urban-rural relationships and celebrate the cultural differences throughout the Three Countries Park in the landscape perspective.
Workshop two: principle solutions The second workshop was held one month later in November 2012 and focussed on the collaborative exploration of desirable future landscape developments. In preparation of this workshop the design team identified five core qualities of the Three Countries Landscape and elaborated how these characteristics added to the landscape quality in the various parts of the Three Countries Park. The core qualities built on the outcomes of the discussion during the first workshop as well as a series of interviews with the nine commissioning stakeholders on the qualities of the landscape. Next to the core qualities, the design team had prepared a longlist of possible aims and ambitions for the landscape perspective. In the morning, the design team presented an analysis of the core qualities of the Three Countries Park landscape, which were then discussed. After this discussion, the focus turned to the aims and ambitions for the Three Countries Park landscape, and the main challenges that should be addressed. At the end of the morning session all stakeholders (design team and project group excluded) were invited to mark two challenges, which he/she thought the landscape perspective should focus on. This indicated the management of an attractive, diverse and historic rich landscape as the primary challenge with the development of a continuing cross border ecological network as a secondary challenge. Tourism and water management were also indicated as important topics to take into consideration. The aim of the afternoon session of the second workshop was to discuss and explore options for the enhancement of the core qualities of the Three Countries Park landscape. The design team had selected four different locations within the Three Countries Park landscape to initiate this discussion. The participating stakeholders were divided into four groups, each consisting of stakeholders from one institutional setting (Flanders, Wallonia, Germany, the Netherlands). In four consecutive rounds, the groups discussed possible landscape measures and realisation options for the four locations. The design team and project group members hosted the four tables, reporting the ongoing discussion. These discussions showed that each area or site has its own specifics and high lightened the need to combine the development of ongoing landscape structures with tailor made, place based solutions that fit the local context.
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The main result of the second workshop comprised a communal idea on the points of departure and focus of the landscape perspective. The morning discussion confirmed the shared value of connected and continuing landscape structures across borders, while the afternoon session illustrated the differences between specific sites in the region, and the value of developing place-based solutions.
Workshop three: testing draft results The third workshop was held four months later and focussed on the evaluation and testing of the draft design result: a landscape framework based on a series of guiding principles for landscape development. In the period between the second en third workshop the design team developed a draft landscape perspective aimed at balancing the values of landscape unity and diversity. This perspective combined the value of ongoing and connected landscape structures, such as river valleys, slopes and plateaus with the rich cultural diversity of the Three Countries Park region. The design team developed a series of guiding principles for landscape development that would result in a landscape framework, which secures the value of ongoing landscape structures, but also leaves room for local variations. In the morning, the design team presented these draft result, which were then discussed with the stakeholders. An important comment that arose from the morning discussion concerned the need to make local culture and identity equally important to the development and management of the ongoing landscape structures. The stakeholders stressed that this value should be more explicitly addressed and stressed in the final result. Moreover, the stakeholders made some detailed comments and had valuable suggestions to improve the guiding principles, including their representation. In the afternoon, three groups were formed with representatives of different institutional settings. These groups discussed the potential use and value of the guiding principles in local projects with members of the design team. Each stakeholder was asked beforehand to bring documentation on one or more recent local landscape related projects. The groups compared these projects with the draft landscape framework and guiding principles and discussed whether the framework and guiding principles would have helped and fitted with these projects. Most projects turned out to have already included several of the guiding principles, but the majority also could have been enhanced with additional ones. The stakeholders found the guiding principles very helpful in connecting the regional landscape quality ambition with local situations. The general perception was that the guiding principles for landscape development were more valuable than the landscape framework map as part of a shared landscape policy. This insight proved to be a very important outcome of the third workshop. The design team chose to put the guiding principles at the heart of their proposal, instead of the landscape framework map as was their original intention. Moreover, the design team realised the need to explain how the regional guiding principles for landscape development related to local situations, and could be used in the elaboration of place-based solutions.
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How the workshops helped to shape the regional design outcome Balancing unity and diversity in future landscape development of the Three Countries Park became the heart of the landscape perspective. This reflects the discussion that arose multiple times during the workshops on the values of both connected and ongoing landscape structures and the rich cultural diversity within the Three Countries Park. ‘Unity and diversity’ were represented in two maps of the Three Countries Park, one that represents the underlying geomorphological basis or landscape structure, and a map that identifies the various identities throughout the region (Figure 4). These maps were presented as a diptych in the final publication of the project (Houwen et al. 2014, p. 42-43), representing the equal importance of unity and diversity for future landscape development in the Three Countries Park.
Figure 4 Landscape structure and the Regional identities in the Three Countries Park
The landscape perspective furthermore provides 13 guiding principles for the preservation and development of the Three Countries Park landscape (Figure 5), which are related to the relief elements in the Three Countries Park (Figure 6). The guiding principles are based on the one hand on existing reports and policy documents on the landscape in different parts of the region, and on the other hand on the discussions on specific landscape issues and the core-qualities of the landscape in the first and second workshop. This is for example illustrated by guiding principle 13 ‘Improved access to heritage and nature sites’ , an issue that was addressed and discussed in the first workshop.
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Figure 5 Thirteen guiding principles for future landscape protection and development in the Three Countries Park.
Figure 6 Cross section with the main relief elements in the Three Countries Park
A consistent application and use of these principles in future projects, decisions and physical adjustments to the landscape is expected to lead to, and reinforce a regional green-blue framework (Figure 7). However, the guiding principles have a general character and need to be elaborated into place-based solutions that take local spatial and economic developments into account, and include local knowledge and customs. These place based solutions will ensure the continuance of landscape diversity and local character in the three Countries Park, a value that was expressed multiple times during the workshops. This envisioned process was represented with a flow chart in the final report (Figure 8). As the described before, the third workshop was important in determining the final order of presenting the design outcomes. The design team made the guiding principles central stage in the landscape perspective based on the discussions in this workshop, and added a flow chart to illustrate that these general principles needed to be worked out in local place based solutions. Furthermore, several of the guiding principles were adjusted and altered based on the workshop discussion, just like that discussions on the maps led to improved representations of these maps.
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Figure 7 Green-blue framework
Figure 8 Flow chart for the local application of the guiding principles
Expected future use of the design outcomes The ‘testing’ of the guiding principles for landscape development in the third workshop – by comparing them to multiple existing projects – illustrated that these principles fitted various local situations throughout the Three Countries Park. This ‘testing’ resembles use-before-use in participatory design (Brandt, Binder and Sanders 2013), and strengthened the idea that the principles could be useful and applicable in the different the institutional settings in Germany, the Netherlands, Flanders and Wallonia. However, the actual landscape of the region is a continuous co-production of local stakeholders, such as farmers, municipalities, water boards, citizens etc. These numbers supersede the involved stakeholders in the workshops by thousands. It will take time, effort and long term perseverance to get all these stakeholders involved in landscape
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management, protection and enhancement based on the guiding principles for landscape development. This critical issue for the success of the proposed ideas was only briefly touched upon in the project and not properly addressed. The third phase of the landscape policy project elaborated four strategies for active landscape preservation and enhancement in the Three Countries Park. One of these strategies, the development of a green-infrastructure programme for the region is currently taken up by the nine public partners joint in the Three Countries Park initiative. Moreover, the city of Aachen announced it is going to use the guiding principles as a starting point for their new landscape plan. These follow ups confirm that the design of the landscape perspective touched upon a concept – guiding principles – that is useful and applicable for landscape management, protection and enhancement in different settings. It also shows that the involved stakeholders take ownership of the regional design results and use them. However, cross-border collaboration remains difficult as borders keep hindering cooperation (Fricke 2015) and much will depend on the available resources for cross-border – landscape – developments (Kempenaar, Brinkhuijsen and van den Brink, in review).
Discussion and conclusion The analysis of our case shows that the principles of participatory design resonate in regional designing. Mutual learning for example, clearly took place during the regional design process. The design team could not have dealt with the complexity of the multiple institutional setting in three countries without the input of the stakeholders. In that sense, the interaction with stakeholders was a necessity. The stakeholders also learned from the workshops, exchanged ideas, values and perspectives, and developed insights in how to apply the regional design results. Also concerning embeddedness in actual situations, using participatory tools and techniques, and opening up to alternative visions our case fits with the principles of participatory design (Kensing and Greenbaum 2013; van der Velden and Mörtberg 2014). The regional design concerned the question of the group of stakeholders concerned with the Three Countries Park landscape, it was embedded in a real-life context. Furthermore, the workshops as well as the techniques used in the workshops aimed at genuine participation of the stakeholders in the design process. And finally the cross-border setting of the Three Countries Park in different institutional and cultural settings enforced both the design team and the stakeholders to be open to the different perceptions and visions concerning landscapes, and landscape management, protection and enhancement. Concerning the principles equalizing power relations and committing to democratic practices our regional case shows less direct fitness with ‘classic’ participatory design conceptions. Emancipation and empowerment of groups of people, and giving them a real say in the design process, have been important values in the early days of participatory design (Robertson and Simonsen 2013; van der Velden and Mörtberg 2014), and still can be important. This however does not fit with our case. We argue our case shows characteristics of a ‘fraternalistic’ approach of participatory design, in which ‘an equitable, mutual and caring concern for and between actors in a project, and towards the project itself’ (Thorpe
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and Gamman 2011, p. 222) is central. The regional design process then becomes a platform for true dialogue (de Jonge 2009) in which diversity is fundamental, and multiple voices and perspectives can grapple with each other (van der Velden and Mörtberg 2014), resembling the ideas of ‘radical democracy’ (Laclau and Mouffe 2014). The role of the design team in our case was to facilitate this dialogue, and to add to this conversation their ‘expert’ design knowledge. The design teams’ focus during the project was on helping the stakeholders in developing and designing the landscape perspective they had requested themselves. Regional designing is rooted in landscape architecture and urban planning and design. These disciplines have a strong tradition in designing for public values, in designing the living environment of people, and in engaging with people during the design process. However, in landscape architecture and urban design academia there seems to be little attention to the values, methods and techniques concerned with involving future users in the design process (de Jonge 2009; Kempenaar et al. 2016; Roggema 2014). We argue these disciplines can learn a lot from participatory design research, for example on reflecting on the values concerned with participatory designing, and on the methods and technique used in participatory design in different phases of the design process and with different goals (e.g. Brandt et al. 2013; Bratteteig et al. 2013). Regional design has some specific design characteristics, but at the same time shares many basic principles and values with participatory design, making it worthwhile to share and compare experiences and ideas. Acknowledgements: This paper reflects on phase two of the LP3LP project which was financed by ESPON (www.espon.eu). The author would like to thank the project team and stakeholders involved in this project for their inspiration for this paper.
References Albrechts, L., and Balducci, A. (2013) Practicing strategic planning: In search of critical features to explain the strategic character of plans, DISP, 49(3), 16-27. Brandt, E., Binder, T., and Sanders, E. B. N. (2013) Tools and techniques: ways to engage telling, making and enacting, in J. Simonsen and T. Robertson (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design, Routledge, pp. 145-181. Bratteteig, T., Bødker, K., Dittrich, Y., Holst Mogensen, P., and Simonsen, J. (2013) Methods: organising principles and general guidelines for Participatory Design projects, in J. Simonsen and T. Robertson (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design, Routledge, pp. 117144. de Jonge, J. (2009) Landscape architecture between politics and science : an integrative perspective on landscape planning and design in the network society, Wageningen University. Fricke, C. (2015) Spatial governance across borders revisited: Organizational forms and spatial planning in metropolitan cross-border regions, European Planning Studies, 23(5), 849-870. George, R. V. (1997) A procedural explanation for contemporary urban design, Journal of Urban Design, 2(2), 143-161. Houwen, J., Blokland, A., and Wirth, T. M. (2014) Landscape Policy for the Three Countries Park. Internationale Coordinatiecommissie (1993) MHAL Ruimtelijk Ontwikkelingsperspectief Ontwerp.
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Kempenaar, A., Brinkhuijsen, M., and van den Brink, A. (in review) New perspectives for the MHAL region, the impact of regional designing, European Planning Studies. Kempenaar, A., Westerink, J., van Lierop, M., Brinkhuijsen, M., and van den Brink, A. (2016) "Design makes you understand"-Mapping the contributions of designing to regional planning and development, Landscape and Urban Planning, 149, 20-30. Kensing, F., and Greenbaum, J. (2013) Heritage: having a say, in J. Simonsen and T. Robertson (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design, Routledge, pp. 21-36. Laclau, E., and Mouffe, C. (2014) Hegemony and socialist strategy : towards a radical democratic politics, Verso. Langner, S. (2014) Navigating urban landscapes - adaptive and specific design approach for the 'Landschafszug' in Dessau, Journal of Landscape Architecture, 9(2), 16-27. Lohrberg, F., Wirth, T. M., Brüll, A., Nielsen, M., Coppens, A., Godart, M. F., Kempenaar, A. and Brinkhuijsen, M. (2014a) LP3LP Landscap Policy for the Three Countries Park, Final Report. Lohrberg, F., Wirth, T. M., Brüll, A., Nielsen, M., Coppens, A., Godart, M. F., Kempenaar A. and Brinkhuijsen, M. (2014b) LP3LP Landscape Policy for the Three Countries Park, Atlas of Maps. Lohrberg, F., Wirth, T. M., Brüll, A., Nielsen, M., Coppens, A., Godart, M. F., Kempenaar A. and Brinkhuijsen, M. (2014c) LP3LP Landscape Policy for the Three Countries Park, Scientific Report. Meijsmans, N., and Beelen, K. (2010) Designing for a region, SUN. Neuman, M. (2000) Regional design: Recovering a great landscape architecture and urban planning tradition. Landscape and Urban Planning, 47(3-4), 115-128. Oosterlynck, S., Van den Broeck, J., Albrechts, L., Moulaert, F., and Verhetsel, A. (2011). Strategic spatial projects: catalysts for change, Routledge. Robertson, T., and Simonsen, J. (2013) Participatory Design: an introduction, in J. Simonsen and T. Robertson (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design, Routledge, pp. 1-17. Robertson, T., and Wagner, I. (2013) Engagement, representation and politics-in-action, in J. Simonsen and T. Robertson (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design, Routledge, pp. 64-85. Roggema, R. (2014) The Design Charrette : Ways to Envision Sustainable Futures, Springer. Simonsen, J., and Robertson, T. (2013) Routledge international handbook of participatory design, Routledge. Thorpe, A., and Gamman, L. (2011) Design with society: Why socially responsive design is good enough. CoDesign, 7(3-4), 217-230. van der Velden, M., and Mörtberg, C. (2014) Participatory Design and Design for Values, in J. van den Hoven, P.E. Vermaas, and I. Van den Poel (Eds), Handbook of Ethics, Values, and Technological Design, Springer, pp. 1-22. von Seggern, H., Werner, J., and Grosse-Bächle, L. (2008) Creating Knowledge, Innovation Strategies for Designing Urban Landscapes, Jovis. About the Author: Annet Kempenaar has held several positions as a landscape architect before she joined the Landscape Architecture Group of Wageningen University in 2012 to start her PhD. Her research interests concern regional designing, design approaches in planning, and participatory design methods.
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From the specificity of the project in design to social innovation by design: a contribution Marie-Julie Catoir-Brisson*, Stéphane Vial, Michela Deni and Thomas Watkin University of Nîmes Sorbonne Paris *marie-julie.catoir@unimes.fr DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.143
Abstract: This contribution aims to understand the specificity of thinking and making social innovation, within and through the design field and its practice. The first part of this paper frames the relationships between project and design, characterising their definitions and goals. Design is presented as a discipline and field of action, where both thinking and the project process are directed at reaching a sustainable change in society. The second part of the paper presents how social innovation by design leads to new epistemological questions and dimensions within design’s practices and challenges. Consequently, the University of Nimes’ pedagogical and research-driven design initiative illustrates how a commitment to social innovation by design has fostered new productive practices and knowledge, in turn leading to new forms of participation, collaboration and interaction between actors and users. In our experience, mixed methods and interdisciplinary dialogues are key elements in achieving social innovation by design. Keywords: design; project; social innovation; project-grounded-research.
Introduction This paper seeks to define the specificity of the project in design as well as elaborate upon the University of Nîmes’ approach to social innovation by design, via both its pedagogical strategy and its Projekt team, focused on “project-grounded research” (Findeli, 2015). Our question is twofold: what is the specificity of the project in social design? How might universities develop pedagogical and research projects devoted to social innovation through design? Our inquiry calls upon knowledge from several branches of the humanities and social sciences: the philosophy of design, sociology, semiotics, and the anthropology of communication. This paper consists of two parts. The first will focus on the specificity of the This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Marie-Julie Catoir-Brisson, Stéphane Vial, Michela Deni and Thomas Watkin
project in design; the second aims to demonstrate how social innovation through design is addressed, at the University of Nîmes, through both design education and the research team.
The specificity of the project in design On the one hand, for a designer, nothing seems more natural than the “project” concept. It is as if there was a fundamental and founding assumption summarized in the equation: “design making = project making.” As confirmed by the most comprehensive literature ‘design’ and ‘project’ are seen as somehow synonymous (Findeli & Bousbaci, 2005, p.38). Also, this concept calls forth the Anglo-Saxon design project, and the Italian progettazione, in which design’s “project culture” finds its roots in the engineering and architecture schools where the first designers were trained. On the other hand, over the past few decades, as a figure, the project has become the organisational matrix of most human activities in contemporary postmodern societies. In his monumental work Anthropologie du projet (1990), which Alain Findeli and Rabah Bousbaci rightfully describe as “the richest theory of the project available” to this day (Findeli & Bousbaci 2005, p. 47), the psychologist Jean-Pierre Boutinet gave a complete and nearexhaustive overview of the project, as a concept, and how it has become a social reality or a ‘culture’ (Boutinet, 1990). However, Boutinet discussed the concept of project in a very broad sense. By project, he meant any socially observable conduct of anticipation, whether individual or collective. “Speaking of an anthropology of the project is in the end questioning how individuals, groups, and cultures experience time” (Boutinet, 1990, p. 5). Whereas traditional societies, considered ‘hors-projet’ (projectless) or ‘sans-projet’ (without project) (Boutinet, 1990, p. 2) focus on the preservation of the past and the ritualization of the present (especially due to religious fatalism), contemporary postmodern societies wish to control the future and actively seek to anticipate, predict and prepare. Boutinet’s entire argument consisted in the quest for a sort of anthropological constant within the ‘variety of project situations’ (Boutinet, 1990, p. 8), that is, to: “identify the different functions performed by any project in our culture compared to what can happen in other cultures” (Boutinet, 1990, p. 5). His immense work led to a typological analysis of the various forms of observable anticipation, and culminated in an extensive taxonomy of projects (Boutinet, 1990, p. 127; Boutinet, 1993, p. 56). In this ‘society of project accumulation’ (Boutinet, 1990, p. 126), everything becomes the (subject or matter) of a project. Though this is quite noteworthy from an anthropological point of view, it nevertheless creates an epistemological dilemma for design. Does the design project have a meaning and value of its own, which transcend the general determinisms of our hyper-projective era? In a word, what is the design project’s status within a widespread culture of anticipation? If it does indeed exist, what is its specificity?
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Which of design culture’s characteristics are inherited exclusively from design or exclusively from architecture or engineering? Although they may share the project, as a fundamental, defining element. But, obviously, a particular way to be involved in and progress within a project in design that is characterized by its finality, its methods, its philosophy. The practice of the design project probably distinguishes itself from that of engineering by its mastery of formal language, its sensitivity to usage and its concern for the user experience. It may distinguish itself from architecture by the subject addressed (design was created mostly by architects), although construction is a highly specialized field of design involving specific project management. Finally, the practice of the design project differentiates itself from art, which is not a culture of design, notably due to the former’s social purpose. One can therefore consider design as a particular culture of conception. To this end, without pretending to be exhaustive, we suggest below five distinctive characteristics of the culture of conception specific to design. These are the hypotheses to which our reflection has led, but which, to verify their relevance, would need to be developed and tested through further research: 1) Design is a project-grounded discipline, as are architecture and engineering. 2) Design is a project-grounded discipline founded upon a specific creative culture, which cannot be reduced to that of architecture, the decorative arts, engineering, or marketing. By this we mean a creative culture sui generis, possessing its own ‘epistemological originality’ (Findeli, 2003, p. 168) and, more generally, belonging to the ‘third culture’ as defined by Archer and Cross (Cross, 1982, p. 221). According to Bruce Archer, refinement and complexity notwithstanding, only three skills essential to the foundation of any education remain: reading, writing and arithmetic — the ‘three Rs’ in English, Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic (Archer, 1979, p. 18). Reading and writing refer to the essential skills that founded the field of Arts and Humanities (literary culture), while arithmetic is the essential skill that founded the field of science (scientific culture). The “third way of thinking” is the skill upon which is based on modelling or giving shape (creative culture). If the essential language of science is mathematical notation, and that of the humanities is natural language, then “the essential language of design is modelling” (Archer, 1979, p. 20). More recently, the following definition of the design project emphasizes this aspect rather well: “In design theory (as in architectural theory where the concept originated), a project refers both to the sequence of actions required to produce a new artefact and the means usually used to represent the different stages of development of this artefact (sketches, drawings, plans, models, prototypes).” (Léchot Hirt, 2010, p. 29). 3) Design is a project-grounded discipline with its own mode of knowledge or understanding through which it contributes to the contemporary episteme. The idea that there is a ‘mode of knowledge’ exclusive to designers is based, according to K. Baynes, on the intuition of Herbert Read (Art and Society, 1945) according to whom there is “a ‘mode of knowledge’ distinct from mathematics, science or literature (Baynes, 1974, p.
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47). If design is a ‘third culture,’ then it is not only a way to design and build artefacts but also, through them, a way of knowing and understanding the world (Findeli 2003, 2006, 2010). 4) Design is a project-grounded discipline that is philosophically committed to an ideal for a better and sustainable future, whose goal is to improve the ‘habitability of the world’ (Findeli, 2010, p. 292). However, this idea is quite antiquated and dates back to Herbert Simon, who, in 1969 and in The Sciences of the Artificial, wrote: “Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones” (Simon, 1969, p. 111). More recently it has been said that design is fundamentally futureoriented because “Designers are people who are paid to produce visions of better futures and make those futures happen” (Koskinen et al, 2012, p. 42). This is why we have shown elsewhere that design creates ‘idealects’ (Vial, 2015b) or methodical and reasoned concepts that formulate desirable and achievable ideals describing the world as it must be. 5) Design is a project-grounded discipline “in progress” in which the concept of project changes over time. For Findeli & Bousbaci (2005), three successive models of the design project exist: the object-centred model (until the beginning of the modern movement), the process-centred model (since 1950) and the agent-centred model (since the 1990s). One must also note that this development gradually attests to an “eclipse of the object as a focus of design project theories” (Findeli & Bousbaci, 2005, p. 47). These are the five criteria, though worthy of further research, that allow us to confirm our hypothesis: there is indeed a specificity of the design project. To complete our argument, we propose the following definition: Engaging in a design project means designing, in reference to an ideal of the world, a complex artefactual and/or service device that gives form to usages while producing knowledge, in response to a request or dissatisfaction, and through a constantly evolving rigorous methodology that aims at, improving the habitability of the world, in a creative and innovative manner.
This definition that highlights the articulation between design and project is the cornerstone from which we lead applied research and educational experimentations at the University of Nîmes.
Social innovation by design at the University of Nîmes Theoretical roots and scientific positioning In order to transcend the idea of innovation that its multiple available iterations (political, technical, popular, and scholarly) currently convey, we will discuss the notion of social innovation that has resurfaced of late in academic debate, particularly in the field of design. Social innovation might be defined as “an interference initiated by social agents in an attempt to offer a response to an aspiration, to provide for a need, to suggest a solution, or seize an opportunity to act, in order to modify social interactions, transform the framework
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for action, or consider fresh cultural orientations.” (Laville, Klein, Moulaert 2014). The scientific debate surrounding social innovation reveals two points of view: one focuses on the capacity to create social wealth (philanthropy, social capital, social economy); the other seeks to validate social innovation as a contributing factor to democratisation (knowledge society, new governance). Thus conceived and deliberated, social innovation is either contextualised, selective action, or structuring and systemic. Within this polarised debate, it seems important to establish our own position, one rooted in design and the project dynamic. Improving the “inhabitability of the world” (Findeli, 2010) is a central issue design seeks to address. Hence, the social element is fundamental to any design approach. In his writing, Munari truly insisted upon the projector’s function in bettering daily life, using his/her own creative skill to transform in a concretely innovative capacity (Munari, 1981). Social design seems especially inclined to coax design back towards its roots, reflecting, in part, the will of a number of researchers and designers to distance themselves from industrial design in order to underscore the fact that “the design process’s ultimate priority should not be, by nature, commercial” (Vial, 2015a, p.74). As such, social innovation stands in opposition to technology-based and economy-based innovation. Social innovation by design “restores design’s inherent nature,” that is, a project-grounded discipline, as works by the Bauhaus, Roger Tallon, Victor Papanek, or even Alain Findeli, have demonstrated. At this juncture, it seems opportune to describe the five principles stated in the “Manifesto for a social and critical renewal of design.” First, “an authentic design act is a social and critical act.” Second, design, when positioned in favour# of social innovation, should function towards “improving the lives of others and the community.” Such practice “inevitably participates in the definition of an enhanced mutual understanding within a community.” Furthermore, designers’ training must include “a reasonable acquisition of the conceptual framework shared with the social sciences and the humanities.” Finally, design is first and foremost invested in “the relationships that exist between human beings, each other, and their environments, as well as the means of enhancing the quality of their shared existence, expressions of contemporary cultures, and notions of the common good.” (Gauthier, Proulx, Vial, 2015, p.121-122). It seems interesting to inquire into the conditions of this revival of an ethical approach to design. What, within the current anthropological, sociocultural, economic, and ecological context, has encouraged this resurgence? Our hypermodern societies are experiencing a transitional period wherein sustainability is both a concern and an imperative. This context has encouraged increased consideration for social innovation by design. Greater awareness of our planet’s limits has inspired fresh approaches to working, living, cohabitating, and producing both objects and knowledge, thereby leading us to explore new models linking design and value for society. This paradigm shift is rooted in the fundamental values that define what we call progress and quality of life. Such progress is no longer perceived as something that can be apprehended on the scale of the individual, such progress must be
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concerned with the greater good, or at the very least, some form of common good (Deni, 2014, p.133). This context is fertile ground for the development of a design culture that marries the local and the global (Enzio Manzini calls this cosmopolitan localism) and generates “a resilient infrastructure capable of requalifying work,” improving our shared existence (by offering different types of co-working and co-living), “bringing production closer to consumption (distributed systems)”, and even allowing us “to make better use of the connectivity that is available to us” (Manzini, 2015, p.2). Positioning design thus towards social innovation also finds its roots in citizens’ struggles to resolve everyday issues. It has urged us to “(re)discover the power of collaboration” and “new forms of organization” (Manzini, 2015, p.3) focused on users, and it has encouraged the production of artefacts and services related to their daily lives. In this light, we should distinguish between social design and social innovation by design. Where social design refers to design’s ability to resolve “particularly problematic situations (such as extreme poverty, illness, or social exclusion)” (Manzini, 2015, p.64), social innovation by design focuses on “everything that expert design can do to activate, sustain, and orient processes of social change toward sustainability” (Manzini, 2015, p.62). Thus, social innovation by design is related to other forms of design such as “sustainable design, non commercial service design, and public policy design” (Manzini, 2015, p.3). This positioning of design transcends industry and relates to emerging community and individual actors, with the involvement of a global community of user-citizens. There is an increasing number of co-design projects, in which users are actively involved in the project’s conception. Human-centred-design has thus evolved towards stakeholder-centred-design, (Manzini, 2007). In this, social innovation implies a socio-political dimension that recognizes the individual and the community’s power to act. Nonetheless, we feel it is important to underscore the designer’s role as a coordinator in these co-design projects, similar to that of a director in a cinematographic or audio-visual project. In such a nascent context, where both human and material resources are precious, the projector-designer figure distances itself from an industrial design maestro, where a single author embraces a project’s responsibility. A designer implicated in social innovation becomes a sort of skill hub or coordinator (Deni, 2014). Providing for today’s needs urges us, inspired by T. Maldonado, to view the designer as an intellectual technician whose wideranging and complex skillset is essential in overcoming the diverse challenges faced in a variety of fields (Deni, 2014). As underscored by Enzo Manzini, design’s vocation is to accompany the manner in which individuals redefine their existence in self-initiated, singular, or collective projects. The designer’s role is therefore to encourage social change by creating favorable conditions for collaborative work. Fablabs, as emerging phenomenon in a number of cities globally, are an interesting example of free experimentation. Designers, alongside researchers in social sciences and the humanities and ordinary citizens, have an important role to play in developing projects that cater to populations’ needs while
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simultaneously, and in a horizontal dynamic, sharing their skills and knowledge. These new, citizen-initiated, projects also question the mediation and regulation roles public institutions have traditionally held. It is now up to the latter to fully measure their populations’ ability to self-organize, via empowerment and agency practices such as grassroots democracy and new governance. Social innovation by design is built upon four fundamental pillars: creative communities, collaborative networks, multi-local society, and new government tools (Manzini, 2007). We believe these four values afford pertinent leads for following through with design projects that can be meaningful to all involved. Nonetheless, previous experiences in the field of social innovation are of invaluable counsel, providing insight into “what works and what could work better” (Mulgan, 2014), particularly when it comes to public policy and services. “A majority of public service design has failed to call upon designers or multiples design methods” (Mulgan, 2014). Furthermore, beyond the existing movement towards incorporating design into public policy, designers must become part “of teams that bring together complementary skillsets” (Mulgan, 2014). This implies a need for designers to adapt to the specific context of public policy and services, accepting both to learn from usercitizens and decision-makers. This particular sector’s history must also be taken into consideration such that social innovation by design is brought in gradually, as designercoordinated interdisciplinary teams are progressively entrusted with projects. Moreover, “teams engaged in design need a combination of skills to ensure awareness of organisational, economic, political and social contexts, and they need project managers who are genuinely polyvalent across a range of fields and disciplines” (Mulgan, 2014). These theoretical roots serve as the basis for our description of our pedagogical and research projects within the University of Nîmes undergraduate and graduate level programs, as well as those of our research team, Projekt, as they collectively embody our approach to social innovation by design.
Innovation by design in our educative and research team From an educational perspective, the University of Nîmes’ teaching staff strives to train designers that are conscious of the responsibility inherent to designing as an act, via an interdisciplinary design approach and a strong social sciences and humanities culture. This explains the overhaul of our undergraduate model to include social science and humanities courses into our Licence Design1 curriculum. Revising our educational framework in this manner is in fact in keeping with the Bauhaus tradition. Design is no longer viewed as an “applied art” but as an “involved, situated or embedded science” (Findeli, 2001, p.10). Designers-in-the-making are taught design’s ethical values, in order for them to be conscious of the expectation for them “to act rather than to make” and that “each time they engage themselves in a design project, they somehow recreate the world” (Findeli, 2001, p.14).
1
Licence Design web site: http://lid.unimes.fr
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Furthermore, the University of Nîmes offers the first French Masters in Design, specialized in social innovation, implemented by Alain Findeli and Georges Schambach in 2011. In both the graduate (Masters) and undergraduate (Licence) programs, students are taught diversified project-management methods, most often the result of real commissions from our partners (Departmental Council, the PACA Region, Marseille public hospital system, University hospital of Nîmes). Projects are the result of a close collaboration with all stakeholders. The University of Nîmes hopes to offer a complete degree program in design, from undergraduate to doctorate level. At the Licence and Masters level, students are trained within workshops that form a sort of experimental laboratory of the design project, in order to conceive and then test projects in association with our partners and projects’ stakeholders. The Master DIS proposes several projects directly solicited by various partners. These design projects last usually one semester. Each project is managed by a designer and supervised by the coordinators of the master. During the duration of each design project, the majority of the Master courses converge on the same project. As in many programs, these courses cover both theoretical lessons - here in the field of the humanities and the social sciences - and practical tools or techniques for design. Nevertheless the master DIS finds its originality and specificity to allow students to integrate users and all stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in the problem to solve. Furthermore, our project partners help us identify suitable field of study at once by giving us access to relevant services and facilitating us the opportunity to approach the users. The diagram below helps to visualize the synergies between the educational process and its implementation in projects made by students with professional partners around the public domain.
Figure 1 Diagram of the relationship between the research team and teaching activities in the project
Here are a few examples of projects undertaken in our Masters program in 2014-2016.
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The “MON AVENIR NUM’ERIC” (MY DIGITAL FUTURE, with a play on words involving the name ERIC – an acronym for Regional Internet Citizen Spaces) project endeavored to create tools for the staff working in the ERIC, allowing them to reach out to local youth, assess their potential, certify their skills and endorse them to local employers. Students therefore generated a digital potential and proficiency assessment tool for untrained youth. Another project, “RENDONS SERVICE À1” (Let’s be of service to), aimed at tackling social and professional integration in the Gard department. The project sought to rethink the possible relationships between the relevant authorities (employment centers, health centers, welfare, etc…) and the Actions Collectives d’Insertion (Community Integration Associations) who provide assistance to those who receive the RSA (state welfare stipend). Additionally, this last project was part of a partnership with the Gard Departmental Council and has led to further collaborations with the University, including projects slated for 2016 (such as a project focused on elder day care in nursing home), as well as several internships for students, as designers operating within Council’s public services. The objective of another project, “WHAT’HEALTH”, was twofold: increase vaccination rates and allow users of the vaccination clinic to make informed choices. Here, the research phase was essential and enabled an immersion in the medical field, in order to fully seize its complexities and an understanding of all the actors’ and stakeholders’ interests. These different phases led to two distinct, yet complementary, projects. The first, “Taquine ta santé” (or ‘Tease your health’, refers to the name of a French game, le taquin, which consists of sliding puzzle plates to be arranged in a specific order), a specially-conceived taquin game was placed in waiting rooms. Both educational and amusing, it provided patients with health information as they slid the puzzle pieces around. The patient acquires information crucial to his/her wellbeing and reclaims control over his/her healthcare choices. The second project is “Healthcare,” cards, similar to reminder notes, are laid out in the medical offices. These prompt the patient to bring up sensitive or overlooked topics with his/her doctor. An interactive application is also available, helping to simplify the process of managing one’s health. One more project is “AMENAGER L’HÔPITAL POUR” (Developing the hospital for), focused on hospitality and care for families in hospitals, which was the result of a commission from the APHM2 (Marseille’s public hospital system). Finally, let us cite the project due to the partnership with Paca Labs (Regional Council PACA) “L’INITIATION À
1
The «Rendons Service À» project was the result of a partnership with the Conseil Départémental du Gard, during a course taught by Yves Voglaire (service designer et founder of ORIGINN), Michela Deni and Alain Findeli. Participating students were: Rania Amami, Fanny Blanquier, Baptiste Boucourt, Emmanuelle Coutton, Marjorie Damaye, Elodie Deleglise, Domitille Desrippes, Yvan Ferault, Marie Gatefossey, Guillaume Hoguet, Kevin Kermer Sandrine Pirolles. 2 This project was undertaken in partnership with the APHM during a course taught by Marie Coirié (designer specialized in the development of healthcare tracks, co-founder of Care & Co., ), Michela Deni and Alain Findeli. Participating students were: Rania Amami, Fanny Blanquier, Baptiste Boucourt, Emmanuelle Coutton, Marjorie Damaye, Elodie Deleglise, Domitille Desrippes, Yvan Ferault, Marie Gatefossey, Guillaume Hoguet, Kevin Kermer, Sandrine Pirolles.
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L’INNOVATION CENTRÉE USAGER”. The aim of this project was to introduce to companies design methods for innovating1. To explain the interplay synergies between the stakeholders within the projects managed in our Master program, we propose the diagram below. The objective of this visualisation is to synthesize the key actors interplaying in every project that can be realised by the students with our partners.
Figure 2 : Visualization of the synergies between the stakeholders within the projects
On the research end, the Projekt team is currently being established within the University of Nîmes. Initiated in 2012 by Alain Findeli, the project to form a design research team is close to completion. Teacher-researchers from a variety of social science and humanities disciplines (design science, philosophy, sociology, language sciences, semiotics, communication and information sciences, anthropology, art history) contribute alongside designer-researchers, temporary lecturer-researchers, doctorate and post-doctorate students. The team favours a project-grounded research approach (Findeli, 2015, p.43), which implies research projects grounded in design projects done in collaboration with our socio-economic partners (regional and local authorities, both public and private firms, public administrations and institutions). Thus considered, « Design research is a systematic search for and acquisition of knowledge related to extended human ecology considered from a designerly way of thinking, i.e. a project-oriented perspective » (Findeli, 2010, p.293). Projekt is resolutely open to research and development (R&D) and action research, via the project in design. Its main concern is the progress of fundamental research based upon the definition of social innovation as it relates to: service design, co-design, and policy design. These fields are approached from an epistemological, practical, ethical, aesthetic, 1
This project in partnership with the Paca Labs during a course taught by Fabrice Pincin (designer), Michela Deni and Georges Schambach. Participating students were: Rania Amami, Fanny Blanquier, Zoé Bonnardot, Baptiste Boucourt, Emmanuelle Coutton, Marjorie Damaye, Elodie Deleglise, Domitille Desrippes, Forian Domergue, Mareva Faucheux, Stacie Petruzzellis, Yvan Ferault, Marie Gatefossey, Guillaume Hoguet, Sandrine Pirolles, Camille Senaux.
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technological, and pedagogical perspective, and are purposefully rooted in the social sciences and the humanities1. The team’s broad research interests are human beings and their relationship with the environment (human ecology), the project as a concept, and service design. Projectgrounded research, and social innovation by design form the team’s common axis, which also feed into to two other axes: “design, territories, public policy” and “design, mediation, digital culture.” Research programs developed within the team set a shared goal: to contribute to reflections on ways to humanize services, to incite an overhaul of the perceived authority to conceive and act, and to encourage user-appropriation of services. Programs currently underway include the following projects. A research project associated with the DIS Masters’ pedagogical framework, in partnership with local authorities, citizens, and organized groups (companies, associations), that will generate requests for devices, actions, and programs dedicated to new lifestyles and contemporary individual tracks (residential, personal, professional). Determined to appreciate the relationship between lifestyles and contemporary habitats, Projekt has initiated research focused on understanding the emergence and synergy of services and initiatives in the development and management of alternative habitats. This research is affiliated with social and participative design, and undertaken in connection with public territorial action and local actors (networks, organizations, users). Furthermore, we should mention the methodological influence of semiotics, communication anthropology, and other social science and humanities disciplines, as they relate to health and service design, especially when working with the elderly. In association with designer-researchers, the team also foresees the development of other tracks in the field of digital technologies, rethinking the interaction between users, interfaces, and their environment. This calls forth issues of information ecology, and digital ecology from both an environmental and social standpoint. An example of project-grounded research in this field would be the transfer of control of Big data (on an individual level) over to user-citizens, in projects related to the digital city, common interest projects, and healthcare, all of which call forth digital design as well as public policy and service design.
Conclusion Several elements from this contribution can be emphasised to serve as a conclusion. The paper opened with a reflection on the specificity of the project in relation to design, reframing the theoretical milestones of the research-project intention. Epistemological questions associated with design practices illustrated designers’ intentions and obligations in the project process. Where the latter frames general intentions and formulates desires, it is design’s disciplinary language and field of action that is aimed at improving the 1
Selected elements of this paragraph are based upon Alain Findeli’s 2012 words when he created the Projekt team, being rewritten today by the current team.
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“inhabitability of the word” (Findeli, 2010). The specificity of the design-project relationship engages the practice and its actors in a responsible, social orientation of their role in society. Considered through the social lens, this idea of sustainability grounds the work and episteme of design. In the second part of this paper, we specified the importance and pertinence of social innovation by design within project intention and action. Based upon the University of Nimes’ Design department’s pedagogical and research orientation towards social innovation by design, this paper illustrates several potential imperatives and approaches. Pedagogical commitment to social innovation by design involves multiple tools and disciplines (from STS to all the social sciences and humanities). Additionally, social ideals based upon a grounded view of contemporary world and society drive both research questions and design projects. Via an array of actions, building social innovation by design irrigates many sectors and social spheres: it orients public policies, recognizes local communities, sustains philanthropic and solidarity initiatives, defends users and rights of use, and fosters trust and quality of life in cities. This said, where should we go from here? The use of the word ‘contribution’ in this paper’s title outlines the intentional framework of a potential manifesto based upon the University of Nimes’ research and educational vision. Therefore, we hope this paper’s outline of social innovation by design for the research-project action might serve as a starting point for a future constructive dialogue between design pedagogy, theory and practice. Acknowledgements: This article has been made possible, financially, thanks to the University of Nîmes. It owes a great debt to the work of Alain Findeli, professor emeritus of the University of Nîmes, as well as to the pedagogical activities undertaken alongside our students in the Licence Design (lid.unimes.fr) and Master Design Innovation Société (dis.unimes.fr) programs within the University of Nîmes.
References Archer, B. (1979) “The Three Rs,” Design Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1, July 1979, p. 18-20. Baynes, K. (1974) “The RCA Study ‘Design in General Education’,” Studies in Design Education Craft & Technology, 1974, Vol. 6, No. 2. Boutinet, J.-P. (1990) Anthropologie du projet, Paris, PUF, updated in 2012, “Quadrige.” Boutinet, J.-P. (1993) Psychologie des conduites à projet, Paris, PUF, 6th ed., 2014, “Quadrige.” Cross, N. (1982) “Designerly Ways of Knowing,” Design Studies, Volume 3, Issue 4, October 1982, p. 221-227. Deni, M. (2014) « Le design de services : projeter le bien-être », Design & Projet, Communication Organisation, 46, p. 129-142. Findeli, A. (2001) Rethinking Design Education for the 21st Century : Theoretical, Methodological and Ethical Discussion, in Design Issues, Volume 17, Number 1, p.5-17. Findeli, A. (2003) “La recherche en design, questions épistémologiques et méthodologiques,” in Jollant-Kneebone, F. (dir.), La critique en design. Contribution à une anthologie, Jacqueline Chambon publishers, Nîmes. Findeli, A. & Bousbaci, R. (2005) “L'éclipse de l'objet dans les théories du projet en design,” The Design Journal, vol. 8, issue 3, p. 35-49.
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Findeli, A. (2006) “Le design, discipline scientifique ? Une esquisse programmatique,” Proceedings of Les Ateliers de la Recherche en Design (ARD 1) seminar, University of Nîmes, Nîmes, 13th-14th November 2006, p. 22-24. URL: http://goo.gl/Ui09QH Findeli, A. (2010) “Searching For Design Research Questions: Some Conceptual Clarifications,” Questions, Hypotheses & Conjectures: discussions on projects by early stage and senior design researchers, Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p.286-303. Findeli, A. (2015) La recherche-projet en design et la question de recherche : essai de clarification conceptuelle, Sciences du Design, 01, mai 2015, p.43-55. Gauthier P., Proulx S., Vial S. (2015) Manifeste pour le renouveau social et critique du design », in Vial S. (2015a), Le design, PUF, Que sais-je. Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redström, J., Wensveen, S. (2012) Design Research Through Practice: From The Lab, Field, And Showroom. Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann. Laville, J-L., Klein, J-L., Moulaert, F. (2014) L’innovation sociale, Erès. Léchot-Hirt, L. (2010) (dir.) Recherche-création en design, MetisPresse, Geneva. Maldonado, T. (1961) La formazione del disegnatore industriale, Venezia, relazione al Congresso Icsid. Maldonado, T. (1970) La speranza progettuale, Einaudi, Torino. Maldonado, T. (1974) Avanguardia e razionalità, Einaudi, Torino. Maldonado, T. (1976) Disegno industriale : un riesame, Feltrinelli, Milano. Maldonado, T. (1979) Tecnica e cultura. Il dibattito fra Bismark e Weimar, Feltrinelli, Milano. Maldonado, T. (1987) Il futuro della modernità, Feltrinelli, Milano. Maldonado, T. (1990) Cultura, democrazia, ambiente. Saggi sul mutamento, Feltrinelli, Milano. Manzini E. (2015) Design, when Everybody Designs, an introduction to Design for Social Innovation, MIT Press. Manzini, E. (2007) Design research for sustainable social innovation, in : Michel R. (edited by), Design Research Now: Essays and Selected Projects, Birkhäuser Basel, 2007. https://blog.itu.dk/DISDE2013/files/2013/08/sustainablesocialinnovation_manzini.pdf Mulgan, G. (2014) Design in public ans social innovation. What works and what could work better, Nesta. https://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/design_in_public_and_social_innovation.pdf Munari, B. (1981) Da cosa nasce cosa, Laterza, Bari. Simon, H. A. (1969) The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Vial, S. (2015a) Le design, PUF, Que sais-je. Vial, S. (2015b) Philosophy applied to design: A design research teaching method, Design Studies, Volume 37, March 2015, Pages 59–66.
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About the Authors: Marie-Julie Catoir-Brisson works on media, new media and cultural identities. Her recent works deal with digital interfaces, connected objects, information and interaction design, which she approaches on a critical perspective, from several knowledges: design, semiotics, intermediality, communication’s anthropology, visual methods. Stéphane Vial is involved in design and digital media. His research is grounded in phenomenology of technology and deals both with Digital Age & Internet Studies as well as Design Research & Design Studies. As an editor-in-chief of the new french-speaking research journal ‘Sciences du Design’ (PUF), he is currently focusing his research on publishing design and design for digital humanities Michela Deni works on semiotics of design projects. Her publications deal with everyday things, interfaces, values and valorisation in corporate identity, service design, social design and methodology in design projects. Thomas Watkin works on urban transformation, social relations and inequalities. As an urban sociologist with a background in urban planning and architecture, his topics of research is mainly involved in housing (“habitat”) and contemporary social conditions.
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Introduction: Effective Information Design Alison Black and Sue Walker* University of Reading * s.f.walker@reading.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.603
Abstract: Information design seeks to make complex information clear. It embraces approaches and methods that go beyond purely visual design. Successful information design means people can understand and respond quickly to information they receive (sometimes in critical situations), select options that are right for them, follow instructions in complex tasks, fill out forms appropriately and so on. It underpins people’s engagement and participation in civic society and, although it sounds simple it’s surprising how often it goes wrong, with consequences and costs, both for the public and for organisations. Information design as a specialist academic discipline has been developing since the 1960s and 1970s, with a growing research literature and critical tradition. This introduction draws attention to some of the literature that creates a context for the papers in our Information Design Matters theme. Keywords: information design; user-centred design; design history; typography and language
What is information design? “The info designer structures and arranges information elements and provides orientation aids to enable the user to find a way through the maze of information. In this situation the graphic designer becomes an information manager. This shift presupposes cognitive and organisational competence that is generally neglected in design education today.” (Bonsiepe 1999, p. 59)
Information design is an academic discipline that began to have a university presence in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Nevertheless, despite having a history and track-record, information design tends not to be recognized and understood as a category within design research, nor externally by decision-makers who might improve information presentation by drawing on research findings.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Alison Black and Sue Walker
Information design makes complex information clear with the needs of users in mind. It may use words or pictures, on paper, digital devices or public information displays, such as directional signs. Information designers consider the selection and presentation of the information provider’s message in relation to the purposes, skills, experience, preferences and circumstances of the intended users. Ideally, design solutions are tested and modified repeatedly to take account of users’ responses and, in some cases, suggestions for modification. Sometimes testing is local and informal; sometimes, where safety or efficiency are implied, a project justifies formal and extensive usability testing and evaluation. Organisations stand to benefit from good information design that communicates messages clearly to their members or consumers. Failures in information design may incur costs due, for example, to forms that are completed incorrectly or are laborious to process; instructions that cause frustration, even danger, and that may damage the reputation of the provider; or websites or smartphone apps that are difficult to navigate, miscue interactions and lead their users to seek phone or face-to-face interactions to get the service they need. The classic cases of the poorly designed ‘butterfly’ ballot paper in Florida in the 2000 presidential elections (Bederson et al. 2003), the miscuing of the decision to launch the space shuttle, Challenger, in 1986 due to poor data presentation (Tufte 1997) and the public (and public services’) misinterpretation of the US National Weather Service’s forecast of the path of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Cox, House and Lindell 2013), all testify to the need for research and expertise in information design and the organizational and societal consequences of sub-optimal information presentation.
A cross-disciplinary field Information design is cross-disciplinary, and includes typography and graphic design, applied linguistics, applied psychology, ergonomics, systems engineering, design methods. Its interdisciplinarity was recognised in an academic context in 1979 when Rob Waller and Bryan Smith launched Information Design Journal (IDJ), which aimed to ‘reach beyond traditional boundaries for an appreciation of a wider range of approaches to communication.’ They aimed for dialogue ‘between the researcher and the designer, the technologies and the social scientist, the psychologist and the educationalist, the specialist and the layman.’ IDJ, now edited by Carla Spinillo, continues to be the leading international journal in the field. As well as a recognized peer-reviewed journal, information design research has been reinforced by what might be called classic collections in the field, emanating from a series of NATO conferences. The earliest collections, Paul Kolers, Merald Wrolstad and Herman Bouma’s conference proceedings The processing of visible language Volumes 1 (1979) and 2 (1980) reflected the interdisciplinary contributions at conferences in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (1978) and Niagara-on-the-Lake (1979). Ronald Easterby and Harm Zwaga’s Information design (1984) followed, arising from papers presented at the NATO conference
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on Visual Presentation of Information, Het Vennenbos, 1978. This collection clearly articulated the benefits of cross-disciplinarity for those involved in working with information; “. . . information presentation involves a wide range of professional interest groups concerned with its development and use; graphic designers, industrial designers and typographers are primarily concerned with design but will acknowledge the importance of evaluation; psychologists and ergonomists have an interest in evaluating the effectiveness of displayed information and some, but not all, will acknowledge the importance of graphic design; architects, planners and engineers have a professional interest in using information as a component in the artefacts they create for society – buildings, roads, industrial machinery and consumer products – but may not be prepared to acknowledge the importance of design and evaluation of such information.” (Easterby and Zwaga 1984, p. xxi)
The papers included research by specialists in human factors, psychology and design. They covered wayfinding and signs, instructional text, forms design, legibility, safety information, symbols and design process, setting the scene for topics that continue to interest information design researchers today. Charles Duffy and Rob Waller’s Designing usable texts (1985) subsequently focused particularly on the design of documents, and also took an interdisciplinary approach, as did Karen Schriver’s widely acclaimed Dynamics in document design (Wiley 1997). While the information presentation challenges of document design are acknowledged, many people associate information design (especially its history) with the visual presentation of particular kinds of information. Arthur Lockwood’s Diagrams (1969) introduced a compelling range of statistical and explanatory diagrams and maps, and Edward Tufte’s more recent books (1983, 1997), for example, contained beautiful, intriguing and often complex examples of information visualisations across time and place, and earlier. William Playfair and Otto and Marie Neurath have inspired research in various forms, as have visual representations, topics and genres such as time, maps and forms (eg Costigan-Eaves (1990), Burke, Kindel and Walker (2013), Roseberg and Grafton (2010), Boyd Davis (2012), Stiff, Dobraszczyk and Esbester (2010). Paul Stiff’s essay about information design history (2005) maps key documents, people and events that have shaped information design, reminding us of the cross-disciplinary nature of the field.
Designing for public good David Sless (1992, p. 1) summarized the processes involved in the quest to manage the ‘relationship between people and information so that the information is accessible and usable by people’: define the problem involve all stakeholders observe and measure the current state of things develop and text prototype solutions iteratively develop and test prototypes until an optimum solution is found
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implement and monitor the solution in use
Sless made a strong connection between information design and public good thereby reinforcing the significance of the information designers’ role in making a difference to people in their everyday life. This connection between information design, everyday life and public information has always been compelling for information designers. ‘Design for public good’ and was promoted by Harm Zwaga, Theo Boersema and Henriëtte Hoonhout’s collection of papers, Visual information for everyday use (1999), from the Lunteren symposium, ‘Public graphics’, in 1994: “. . . information design, especially the design of public information, has become an area in design that needs a special approach. An increasing number of designers admit that the complexity of current products, facilities and social structures intended to make life for everybody more comfortable can out excessive demands on people’s cognitive abilities.” (Zwaga et al, p. xxxii)
Zwaga, Boersema and Hoonhout were writing just as the impact of early web browsers, and the access they provided to information and services through the worldwide web, was beginning to be felt. This was before the launch of Web 2.0 with its capacity for usergenerated content, and long before access to information on hand-held devices. Each technology shift has brought new modes of access to and interactions with information for users and new challenges, but also new opportunities for solutions, for information designers. However, the methods described by Sless, and evident in the literature cited above, are routine among information designers, working to make considered, researchbased design decisions that will create easy access and transparent and efficient use for all, whatever the medium and mode of access.
Information design matters at DRS 2016 The provision of information to support health care represents an area where information designers have much to contribute to the public good and where they have been engaged in research projects ranging across health promotion, through clinical practice, to medicines safety. So it is not surprising that our session includes three health related papers. Myrto Koumoundouro, Panayiotis Koutsabasis and Jenny Darzentas write about their work on patient information leaflets for mobile devices, with reference to Fentanyl patches, affirming that conventions for the organisation of patient information on paper are not directly transferable to mobile devices. A team from the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art and British Red Cross present their project about a smartphone app that helps to raise the awareness of issues connected with ‘balance health’ as an aid to prevent falls in people over the age of 65. David Craib and Lorenzo Imbesi discuss approaches to creating and understanding meaning in communication design, working with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The London Underground map is both familiar and intriguing to residents and tourists and exemplifies the systematic visualization of a complex system. It forms the basis of usability study by Maxwell Roberts and Ida Vaeng that compares objective measures of performance
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and subjective ratings of design effectiveness in two variants of the map, and finds differences in the two methods of approach. Continuing the visualization theme, Joanna Boehnert presents her Mapping Climate Communication project which introduces discussion around impact and power in data visualisation. Finally, Eden Potter identifies some of skills and personal qualities that information designers need to successfully undertake a project. This reinforces that information design is as much about process as it is about artefact. As people navigate information as part of their everyday lives, ease of access, usability and confidence in their transactions continue to be critical. The forthcoming Information design research and practice (2016), edited by Alison Black, Paul Luna, Ole Lund and Sue Walker joins the other collections mentioned in this brief introduction and shows how complex and multifaceted the history, the methods and the practice of information design are. This collection has continuity with its predecessors, indeed with some of the same authors, but also an encouraging number of contributions from more recent scholars. In his foreword to the book, Erik Spiekermann highlights the relevance of information design to everyday life: “Identifying the problem and analysing the context and audience before shaping the message: this used to be what information design was all about. And whatever the medium, substrate or location, this is what we are still called upon to do. Information design can show the way through and perhaps out of the jungle that is our modern world. Applied properly, it can turn data into information and information into effective communication and appropriate action.”
This is precisely the agenda we see reflected in the papers of this conference session, which we hope will help establish information design as a stronger presence in the wider field of academic design research.
References Bederson, B. B., Lee, B., Sherman, R. M., Herrnson, P. S and Niemi, R. G. (2003) Electronic voting system usability issues. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, New York: ACM, 2003, pp. 145–152. Black, A., Luna, P., Lund, O. and Walker S. eds (2016) Information design research and practice. Oxford: Routledge. Bonsiepe, G. (1999) Interface: an approach to design. Maastricht: Jan van Eyck Academie Boyd Davis, S. (2012) History on the line: time as dimension. Design Issues, 28 (4), pp. 4–17 Burke, C., Kindel, E. and Walker, S. eds (2013) Isotype design and contexts 1925–1971. London: Hyphen Press. Costigan-Eaves, P. (1990). Some observations on the design of William Playfair’s line graphics. Information Design Journal. 6 (1) pp. 27–44. Cox, J., House, D. and Lindell, M. (2013) ‘Visualizing uncertainty in predicted hurricane tracks.’ International Journal for Uncertainty Quantification 3 (2), pp. 143–156. Duffy, T.M., and Waller, R. eds. (1985) Designing usable texts. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press.
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Easterby, R. and Zwaga, H. J. G. eds (1984) Information design: the design and evaluation of signs and printed material. Chichester: Wiley. Kolers, P. A., Wrolstad, M. E. and Bouma, H. (1979) Processing of visible language, vol. 1. New York: Plenum. Kolers, P. A., Wrolstad, M. E. and Bouma, H. (1980) Processing of visible language, vol. 2. New York: Plenum. Rosenberg, D. and Grafton, A. (2010) Cartographies of time, New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Schriver, K. A. (1997) Dynamics in document design. New York: Wiley. Sless, D. (1992) What is information design? In Penman R. and Sless D. eds Designing information for people. Canberra: Communication Research Press, pp.1–16. Stiff, P. (2005) Some documents for a history of information design, Information Design Journal, 13 (5) pp. 216–228 Stiff, P., Dobraszczyk, P. and Esbester, M. (2010) Designing and gathering information: perspectives on nineteenth-century forms. In Toni Weller ed Information history in the modern world; histories of the information age. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Tufte, E. R. (1983) The visual display of quantitative information. Second edition. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press. Tufte, E. R. (1997) Visual explanations: images and quantities, evidence and narrative. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press. Zwaga, H. J. G., Boersema, T., and Hoonhout, H. C. M. eds (1994) Public graphics: visual information for everyday use. London: Taylor and Francis.
About the Authors: Alison Black is Professor of User-centred Design at the University of Reading’s Department of Typography & Graphic Communication and Director of its Centre for Information Design Research. A psychologist by training, Black has worked for almost 30 years in information design, both as a practitioner and a researcher. Sue Walker is Professor of Typography at the University of Reading and Director of the AHRC-funded Design Star Doctoral Training Centre, administered at Reading, working with colleagues at Brighton, Goldsmiths, Loughborough and the Open University. Her research interests include analysis and description of graphic language, in particular the relationship between prescription and practice in everyday documents, typographic design for children and information design in public service.
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Informing the design of mobile device-based patient instructions leaflets: the case of Fentanyl patches Myrto Koumoundourou, Panayiotis Koutsabasis and Jenny S. Darzentas* University of the Aegean * jennyd@aegean.gr DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.326
Abstract: Patient Information Leaflets accompanying medicine are heavily regulated by European and individual national legislation in the way they need to be designed, written, and produced. Further, the design of these leaflets is still firmly anchored in a printed document-based paradigm. This means that transposing them for use by mobile devices, such as smart phones or tablets is a process that is not well understood. This paper shows how Information Designers can offer insights to a problem that will become increasingly prevalent, as the demands on the ‘message’ surpass the medium of the paper-based document and seek to harvest the potential of mobile devices to offer hypertext, multimedia and tailored information. This paper investigates the problem via a case study examining pain relieving (Fentanyl) transdermal patches and offers some lessons learnt from this experience, in order to open up and shed light on this emerging aspect of information design practice. Keywords: Information Design, Patient Information Leaflets, Mobile devices
Preamble Fentanyl is one of a small number of drugs that may be especially harmful, and in some cases fatal, with just one dose, if used incorrectly. It is used for the management of chronic and intractable pain. For home use, patients are prescribed the drug in the form of transdermal patches, that is, adhesive patches that are stuck on the skin, so the drug is absorbed in this way. In 2010, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), showcased the manufacturers’ Patient Information Leaflet as an example of ‘best practice’ (MHRA, 2010). Yet, only a few years after, the same agency issued a safety warning via the UK government offices (MHRA 2014) noting that there had already been three reports of serious incidents, two of them involving children, and strongly urged advising patients and carers to follow the instructions on the carton and in the This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Myrto Koumoundourou, Panayiotis Koutsabasis and Jenny S. Darzentas
accompanying leaflet. Given this state of affairs, the questions must be asked about how effective is the leaflet; about what should we be doing to increase its effectiveness, and more generally, to increase the health literacy of patients and carers.
Introduction Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) refer specifically to the printed paper-based information that accompanies medicinal products. These leaflets are found in the carton that contains the medicine. The instructions for the patients should leave no margin for error, since correct usage can be extremely critical. Patients who do not take their medicine correctly may not respond to therapy and get no relief from symptoms, but they may also place themselves at great risk. Due to the critical nature of the information contained in the leaflets, the information design and presentation are heavily regulated by bodies, such as the MHRA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Federal Drug and Food Agency (FDA) in the USA. There is a recommended format of headings and order in which the information is presented. These measures are laid down, in order to ensure “clarity, consistency and accuracy of the medicinal product information.” It is mandatory for PILs to accompany every medicine package: the authoring of PILs is the responsibility of the manufacturer, while the leaflets for new medicines must undergo readability tests for a licence to be granted. Typically, in readability tests, testers are asked to read the leaflets and perform certain tasks, e.g. find the correct dosage for a certain patient. Pictograms (Katz et al, 2006) are also subject to the some readability criteria. The criteria are metric based and require a high success rate (between 80-90%) on the tasks’ accomplishment. The purpose of these tests is to demonstrate that the leaflet is “..written and designed to be clear and understandable, enabling the users to act appropriately, when necessary with the help of health professionals.” (European Commission, 2001 and 2009)
This level of regulation is a considerable achievement and represents over three decades of work from various actors including: consumer organisations; regulatory bodies; pharmaceutical companies; marketing and communication experts; academic pharmacists and information designers. It is a continuous process including considerations, such as include information in braille on the packaging (European Commission, 2005). However, regulatory frameworks can only offer a basis on which to work, and information designers can offer input into creating more attractive and usable layouts and writing styles (Waarde, 1998; Bohm, 2014; Dickinson et al. 2010). The limits of regulatory frameworks, especially where compliance with regulations is mandated, can be seen in other cases, notably web accessibility, where following the guidelines does not automatically guarantee a good user experience (Petrie & Bevan, 2009). Nor should regulatory frameworks be expected to cope with every contingency, and while readability tests may be carried out,
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users in real life situations may need more support to find crucial information at the moment they need it. In addition, advances in the ways that drugs are dispensed, such as nasal sprays and transdermal patches, and even wearable insulin pumps mean that knowledge and training (Gani et al. 2001) is critically needed by patients and carers to help them understand how to handle these new pathways and avoid dangers. Although the guidelines of PILs can be adapted, a regulatory framework cannot be expected to cope with every instance. Some manufacturers collect frequently asked questions (FAQs) and include answers to them in the leaflet, thus adding this information at the end of the mandated format. This is actually a feature of the version of PIL for fentanyl patches in the USA. When a drug is particularly problematic, the regulation agency may take extra measures to inform the public. In the case of Fentanyl patches, the FDA has released information in a number of formats, such as warnings and advisories including two videos, because it “has continued to receive reports of deaths and life-threatening side effects in patients who use the fentanyl patch [‌] the reports indicate that patients are continuing to incorrectly use the fentanyl patch..." (FDA 2013)
Drug companies routinely publish the leaflet online in portable document format (.pdf), so that it retains all the characteristics of information presentation as the paper-based documents. In this way the online version is consistent with the paper version. But the .pdf of a document is linear, and may not transform gracefully to a small screen of a mobile phone. Anecdotally, many people in our survey report needing to use the official patient information online, because the paper leaflet gets lost or damaged, while others simply expressed a preference to access information online. A recent study (Hammerschmidt & Spinillo, 2014) tested the use of mobile devices to access the .pdf of the patient leaflet. Interestingly the test participants, although they performed more poorly using the .pdf on tablet devices than with the paper-based .pdf, firmly believed that the mobile devices would be their preferred way of interacting and obtaining such information. They also expressed the opinion that this would be the preference of other people as well. Modern digital technologies now offer us new ways to access information, but also new means to communicate information. However, it is not always clear what and how to present it. On the other hand, it is important to have access to mandated formats. This paper presents the results of a case study that investigated transposing the authoritative .pdf version of the manufacturer’s PIL for Fentanyl transdermal patches into an interactive presentation rendered for a tablet device. The idea was that, apart from having access to the .pdf, patients could use the new rendering to go quickly to the information they wanted, rather than have to read through information that was not appropriate to their situation; in addition, some information visualisation techniques and graphical elements were tested. The purpose of the study was to answer the research question regarding the contribution of Information Design to this situation by creating a prototype and evaluating it with a variety of stakeholders.
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Case Study An overview of the research undertaken, in terms of the literature review, data collection and analysis, the creation of a prototype, and its evaluation is given. In all the activities, the involvement of stakeholders was heavily emphasized, since this is a complex problematic area, where there are many human centred interests and activities.
3.1 Literature review phase The main tasks in the literature review phase were to carry out a general investigation into patient error in medication use, which reveals the worrying extent of the problem – between 30-50% of those prescribed medicine are not taking it correctly (Barber, 2002) and more specifically, a review of work regarding patient information, especially in terms of PILs. This included studying the design rational behind the formats for PILS set out in various legal frameworks with regard to the content and presentation of PILS, especially in terms of the rendering the equivalent information online. This revealed that there are no suggestions in the regulatory framework about how newer ways of consuming information with the use of mobile devices, such as tablet and phones, should be handled. There is an underlying assumption that the leaflets should be transposed to electronic formats in exactly the same way as it was on paper. However, in the general literature there are suggestions for pictograms (Katz et al. 2006, Mansoor & Dowse, 2004) and other visual aids (Waarde, 1998), as well as many other studies on improving PILs (Bouayad-Agda et al., 1998, Dickinson et al., 2001; Dickinson et al., 2010; Dickinson, 2014; Dixon-Woods, 2001; Maat & Lentz, 2010, Harris et al, 2015). Finally, elsewhere, in computing literature, there are attempts to provide support to health information seekers by determining the context of use, so that the information can be better tailored to needs (Schmidtke et al., 2014).
3.2. Investigating problems with Fentanyl transdermal patches A series of semi-structured interviews with seven healthcare professionals from a provincial hospital located in Sparti, Greece, were undertaken, during six visits to the hospital and related premises. In terms of their roles: three of those interviewed were doctors and four were nursing staff, and all were involved in offering training to patients and carers regarding the use of the patches. It was not possible to interview patients and carers, because of ethical constraints. Instead, research was carried out looking at the most commonly encountered problems mentioned in online support groups of patients, users of Fentanyl, and their carers. In addition, an online survey was carried out, with 253 respondents. Briefly, the profile of the respondents were more women than men (64% women and 36% men), with age range from 18 to over 65. The bulk of the respondents aged between 18-34 (64%) and 35-65 and above (36%). 81% had finished tertiary education. The healthcare professionals were asked what they felt were the main difficulties for patients and their carers. A sample of the most common questions they answer for patients
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(who, in their experience, either a) do not consult the leaflet; or b) do not find the information on the leaflet; or c) do not recognise the information as applicable to their case) are listed below: How do I stick it on? How often should I change it? Which parts of the body are the best to use /are there specific parts which are better than others? How can I bathe, if I have a patch stuck on me? The plaster came off, what should I do when that happens? What do I do about the side effects of itchiness, diarrhoea? Is the sticky part the actual drug (how does it work?)? The most common mistakes on the part of the patients and their carers as reported by the healthcare professionals (in approximate order of frequency) were:
Applying the wrapper of the plaster onto the skin, instead of the plaster itself Applying the plaster in difficult to stick places, e.g. where there is body hair Applying the plaster without having swabbed the skin to prepare it Forgetting to remove the old plaster before applying the new one Applying the plaster in inappropriate places, e.g. where it will rub on clothing, or come into contact with objects, etc.
Some of these questions and mistakes were found in the topics of concern to patients and carers in the online support groups. Their topics of concern were analysed and categorised into the following groupings (in order of perceived importance): Issues regarding the application of the plaster: Frequent reports of difficulties for the patches to stay stuck; how to correctly apply the patch again when it has come unstuck; exactly which parts of the body can help with the unsticking problem The importance of ambient temperature: Patients record experiences of using the patch in high temperatures and having signs of overdosing. Others noted that wearing the patch during very long and hot baths have also caused the same signs Dosage instructions: Concern over accidental death of a carer from fentanyl overdose caused by mishandling of patches; uncertainty about how the dosage of the patches can be lowered Can the dosage be lowered? People report experimenting with the dosage, by cutting the plaster in half and sticking half a plaster, does this really work, how dangerous is it? Stopping the use of Fentanyl patches: Withdrawal symptoms are common after cessation of the use of patches, and patients and carers draw attention to this, and emphasise the importance of gradual lessening of use.
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Storage: Because of the opiate content of the patches, patients and carers are concerned about the security of storage especially from substance abusers Interaction with other drugs or substances: Since the patches are used by people with a wide range of health problems, of which pain and its management is but one manifestation, patients and carers are particularly worried about interactions with other drugs. With regard to the correspondence of these concerns to the kind of information provided by the manufacturer of the PIL, some information, for instance the secure storage of the medicine, regards an issue that is beyond the remit of the PIL. However, other concerns, like whether it was possible to halve the dose or interfere with the frequency of patch application by cutting one dose in half, require serious responses in the PIL discouraging tampering with the product, and clearer information about how the product ‘works’.
3.3 PILs for Fentanyl transdermal patches; the opinions of stakeholders It is recognised that, with regard to PILs, there has to be a trade-off between the amount of information in the PIL and how much patients really need. Comparison of PILs for the same product and same manufacturer but conforming to different regulatory frameworks (i.e. from Greece that conforms to the European standard, from the USA and from Australia) revealed differences in length and in organisation. Even though the Greek one was far shorter than its US counterpart, the healthcare professionals still felt that some parts of the PIL were not needed for the patient. As an example, they felt that details regarding the action of the drug were not understandable by the patient. Further they felt that people were probably not paying much attention to the PIL and that just the length of the document would discourage some. Results from the online survey corroborated some of these opinions. Of the 253 replies:
59.3% replied that they always read PILs 25.9% replied that they frequently read PILs 12.4% that rarely read PILs 2.4% choose never to read PILs
To these quantitative results, the respondents added comments to the effect that they wanted the information, even if they choose not to read it always. Those who replied that they rarely read PILs noted that they got the information from other sources, such as verbal advice from healthcare professionals and pharmacists. Amongst those who always read PILs, they complained that they were not written in a way they could understand; that there was too much information that probably was of no use to them, even if they could understand it; and that often they did not find the information they wanted, or did not find it easily. However, when both the professionals and patients and carers were asked to rate different groupings of information into 3 categories of ‘very important’,’ important’ and ‘less important’, the results show a mixed picture, with some clear agreement and some strong disagreement. Figure 1 below shows the consolidated results of this exercise.
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Figure 1: Comparison of ratings from healthcare professionals and online survey respondents to PIL headings.
The qualitative comments that accompanied the ratings showed that both healthcare professionals and online survey respondents had difficulty rating the information according to the headings. In some cases the rated importance of the heading did not correspond the rated importance of the information under the heading, or the sequence of headings were not meaningful to them.
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Accordingly, an iterative card sorting exercise was carried out to understand what kind of headings and their information contents helped the stakeholders. Figure 2 below shows the results of the card sorting; the information of the 26 cards was drawn from the 3 versions of the fentanyl transdermal patches PILs that were studied. The main information to be gained from this were the seven groupings of information for patients and their carers (shown in blue at the top of each information box).
Figure 2: Final results of the card sorting.
An interesting result from these exercises was the importance non-medical professionals gave to information that medical professionals felt was not useful for patients. Such
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information is side effects and interactions with other drugs. The health professionals in our study felt that this information was not needed by their patients and their carers, because each patient was under the care of a team of doctors and nurses. However, the online survey respondents felt they wanted all the information. The doctors were of the opinion that patients spent too much time and effort on these information units, and neglected to pay deep attention to the important instructions for using and disposing of the plasters.
3.4 PILs in other renderings A number of alternative ways of presenting the information, especially videos which are a popular means of presenting such information were studied. The range here was from the authoritative to the amateur, with some carers and patients feeling strongly enough about the subject to create their own explanations of what to use to help fellow sufferers and their families. A further source of instructional material was from blogs, support group newsletters and other informal sources. In addition, a small review of literature was carried out to discover the trends in online health information seeking. The 253 respondents in the online survey were also asked to state, whether they used mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) and if so, what they used them for:
To have access to email (90%) To have access to the Internet (78%), To get news (76%) To take photographs (71%)
When asked if they would like to download PILs, in case they were available, 76% of those who used mobile devices, answered positively. This result agrees with the finding (Hammerschmidt & Spinillo, 2014) that people are very open to electronically based information. Of course, the fact that many people search generally online for health information in a browsing mode should not be confused with looking up a PIL for dosage instructions at a critical moment.
3.5 Creating a prototype of a tablet based PIL Taking the results of the research and associated analyses, along with general guidelines for accessibility and usability of web based information, and more recently mobile web based information, and retaining recommendations and best practice examples results from paper based information design regarding layout, typeface and general content design, a conceptual model of a prototype was built. A conceptual model presents a visualisation of the organisation and the functions of the prototype, along with basic meanings and activities of the system, in order to communicate it to other parties. It is by no means technically accurate, as the aim is to present a system to potential users and for them to understand what it is for. As shown in Figure 3, the model allows for visualising screen contents,
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navigation through content and gestures for interacting with the content displayed on the device.
Figure 3: Conceptual model of the prototype tablet device based PIL for Fentanyl Transdermal Patch
To build the prototype, Use scenarios were also created, as shown in Figure 4, to trial typical uses of the system, as perceived from our research, as well as the information categories derived from the card sorting exercise.
Figure 4: Part of the scenario for persona
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In terms of presentation, following the work of van der Waarde (1998), Dickinson et al (2010), Bouayad-Agha et al. (1998) regarding the ease of use of PILS, there was an attempt to reduce the amount of text with the use of visualisations, as well as the graphical elements inside the text (borders, colours, typographical elements) to make the information easier to scan, since it is acknowledged that this is the dominant reading style on the internet (Kress, 2004, Nielsen, 2007). It also makes easier to understand the relationships between blocks of information and the degrees of importance of information. Figure 5 shows the “artists’ impression” of the tablet with the application active, while Figure 6 shows a typical screen from the application.
Figure 5: The tablet application open showing the start of instructions for applying the patch.
Figure 6: A screenshot showing deeper levels of patch application instructions and explanations.
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3.6 Evaluating the prototype The resulting designs were implemented on a nine inch tablet device, and underwent both formative and summative evaluations. Formative evaluations, which allow corrections during the design process, are used to test systems, while summative evaluations take place after the completion of the system’s design. Five evaluators helped with the formative evaluations: three were design students, two of whom were tablet users of more than one year’s standing; the fourth evaluator was a student with no knowledge of design; the last evaluator was a doctor doing his residency practice in a rural community. Once the changes and corrections had been made according to their recommendations, a more substantial summative evaluation was carried out with ten new evaluators, to identify usability issues, as well as to carry out tests similar to the reading tests performed on PILs. Two of these new evaluators had been carers in the past and had administered fentanyl patches. Not all the evaluators were users of tablet devices. In this way we hoped to capture both expert opinion and that of less specialised users, both in terms of content and of use of the content presentation device. To attempt to simulate real life contexts of use, each evaluation session was carried either in the home of the tester, or outside in a simulation of a travel situation. The user was given the tablet with the application. For each session, the participants were first informed about the application, and it was emphasised that they were evaluating it, rather than being tested on their aptitude. Participants were invited to ask questions and then were left to ‘play’ with the application for a short time. This gave participants who were new to tablets a chance to try out the use of the device. The session proceeded as follows: participants filled out a short ‘entry’ questionnaire, then carried out seven tasks using the tablet and the information presented there, and filled in an ‘exit’ questionnaire. The tasks concerned dosage, application, safe disposal, etc. At the beginning of each task the participant read out aloud the task description and then began to search using the tablet, while doing a Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA) protocol, whereby the participant describes what s/he is doing as s/he does it. This was a valuable exercise, as it captured qualitative reactions of the evaluators, including their emotional reactions. After the completion of the tasks and before the exit questionnaire, the participants were asked to reply to questions about their experience of using the application using a Retrospective Think Aloud (RTA) protocol. Finally, the exit questionnaire asked participants to comment on their overall experience of the application in terms of usefulness and usability.
3.7 Evaluation results The quantitative data from the evaluation were derived from the time taken to complete a task, combined with the degree of successful completion of the task and the number of mistakes. The time-based data were used only as an indication, as the participants were also doing CTA, which would slow them down, but provide useful qualitative results. More
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interestingly, errors were considered as critical or non-critical, depending upon whether the user could recover from them. Generally speaking, the evaluators were able to complete the tasks reasonably quickly, and with a low amount of irrecoverable mistakes. Content
The evaluators felt that the amount of informational content was a good starting point, and that in future developments, users may want to have access to more information. Some evaluators commented favourably on the filtering mechanisms (gender and age), employed in the application, so that only information relevant to the chosen profile was presented, thereby lessening the cognitive load. This was gratifying as reducing the quantity of irrelevant information was one of the original aims of the application, since it had surfaced strongly in the research phase in the online survey. Operation
There were a number of problems that surfaced, some were trivial to fix, and were a consequence of the implementation, such as the interactive elements not being clear. Interestingly this problem was not evident to the inexperienced user, who managed to complete tasks by using a trial and error method of tapping on everything, rather than looking for indications of interactivity. However, a more serious consequence of this was that some evaluators did not realise that by tapping on a sketch, they could activate a box with explanatory text related to that specific part of the sketch, or that specific sketch in a series of sketches. Having understood this, they retracted some statements about the need for more than just pictures to explain the content. Despite these problems, the evaluators appreciated features like the possibility of scrolling using the vertical bar to find the information which corresponds to the choice made by a user. This is another way to reduce user effort in information seeking. This feature in combination with the horizontal bar, that depicted the seven categories of information, helped to reduce ‘time to target’ and showed that there was no need to have these in a central place on the screen, as they can remain in peripheral vision. Aesthetics
In terms of aesthetics, the participants did not report any particular problem. But they found that the design was not particularly pleasing. Also, it did not communicate a strong identity or brand. The latter was the intent of the design team, so that it could either function as an application interface onto a set of PILs from different manufacturers, or as a template for manufacturers to adopt with their own online versions of PILs. Overall
Generalising the results regarding the usefulness of the application, its operation and its aesthetics, the evaluators found it a useful tool to support rapid and easy information seeking for medicine usage instructions. They found particularly valuable the notion that they could access the information at any time and from any device that had the application running on it. They commented on the use of the QR code to scan in the barcode on the packaging as being highly valued, as medical names are not easy to spell and many variants
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in terms of different combinations of drugs, as well as drug strengths may exist for one type of medicine.
Conclusions This case study looked at a specific medicine classed as a ‘high alert’ medicine. That is, in a table of fifteen such medicines most commonly reported to have caused serious harm or death, it ranks seventh in order of magnitude (Barber, 2002). Our studies showed that there were discrepancies between what patients and medical professionals perceived as important parts of PILs for Fentanyl products. Some unexpected results are that this work was carried out using a population that is not English speaking, and who are not heavily exposed to technological solutions. The internet penetration in Greece lags behind other countries in Europe and use of internet based devices is also less widespread. In spite of this, the use of interactive devices to access information was felt to be more effective than paper-based information. Participants in the evaluation study expected the application to make more use of the dynamic information presentation formats. They would have liked to see the use of multimedia, for instance the application of patches as a video. They felt this would be a very appropriate way to use even an animation of the existing sketches. It was explained that this would be quite a departure from the balance of keeping the paper-based leaflet consistent with the tablet-based information. The evaluators also suggested a forum for patients to exchange information regarding best practices and practical tips, as long as such features could be filtered by some authority, perhaps the manufacturer, and not disorient the user. This finding was consistent with the new trend in health literacy and information, known as Medicine2.0 or Health 2.0. (Belt et al., 2010) where users have a say in the quality of content from a collective ‘bottom-up’ approach, which reflects current needs for knowledge and experience sharing in promoting health literacy. The main lessons learnt from this experience were that the use of interactive devices to access patient information is welcomed. Users immediately saw the benefit in having access to information on their mobile devices rather than relying on a leaflet that gets misplaced, dirty or damaged. Further, we saw that information presented in this way, while it requires a restructuring that still recalls the paper information layout, can offer an architecture that is transparent to the users; allowing them both to navigate and to experience graceful degrading of information that is irrelevant to them. This irrelevant information is moved into the periphery, and surfaces more prominently relevant information. Thus, it allows direct access to desired information, and obviates having to navigate, albeit via scanning headings, through a linear based document. Overwhelmingly, our case study showed that there is a need for more information and guidelines, including good practice, with regard to the information design of ‘instructions for use’ on mobile media. Having ‘just-in-time’ access to such information can be a powerful
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tool, if it can be used comfortably and quickly by those in need. Such media offer opportunities for embedding videos, for multi-tasking in the sense of listening to instructions whilst actually carrying them out, and other, as yet, mostly unused potential. Our results show that patients and carers are ready for such renderings. Swiping through ‘pages’ of ‘brochureware’ is no longer an acceptable experience for users, however neither is badly designed web based information that is scattered over many screens with embedded videos and other features, where users may be swiping through in a haphazard way in the hope of landing on something useful or required. We believe the lessons learned from this study are interesting to information designers involved in designing general ‘Instructions for Use’, as well as to further information design research in this highly critical area. The intention is not to replace PILs, but to add value to them by transposing the paper-based document into new delivery channels. This gives to information design the opportunity to provide some principled responses to the question of what information should ‘float to the top’ and allows for a new information to be fed back into mandated paper templates. Acknowledgements: The case study described in this paper was carried out by Myrto Koumoundourou as part of her final year project in the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering of the University of the Aegean. We wish to thank the medical staff of the General Hospital of Sparti, for their help and permission to use this work publicly. We acknowledge the contributions of the respondents in our online survey and our two groups of evaluators. We have no association with the manufacturer of the transdermal patches.
References Barber N. (2002). Should we consider non-compliance a medical error? Quality Safety Health Care, 11, 81-84. Belt, T.H.van der, Engelen L.J., Berben, S.A., & Schoonhoven, L. (2010) Definition of Health 2.0 and Medicine 2.0: A Systematic Review, Journal of Medical Internet Research 12(2)e18 Bohm (2014) When Information Design is a Matter of Life or Death (Blog entry) http://boxesandarrows.com/when-information-design-is-a-matter-of-life-or-death/ (Accessed 09 March 2016) Bouayad-Agha, N., Scott, D. & Power, R. (1998) Integrating Content and Style in Documents: A Case Study of Patient Information Leaflets, Information Design Journal 9 (2-3), 161-17 Dickinson, D.P.S., Raynor, D.K., & Duman, M. (2001) Patient information leaflets for medicines: Using consumer testing to determine the most effective design Patient Education and Counseling 43 (2), 147–159 Dickinson, D., Teather, J., Gallina, S. & Newsom-Davis, E. (2010) Medicine package leaflets – does good design matter? In Information Design Journal Special issue on Healthcare Information 18 (3) 225 – 240 Dickinson, R. (2014) The inclusion of a headline section and information about the benefits of medicines in written medicines information. PhD thesis, University of Leeds Dixon-Woods, M. (2001) Writing wrongs? An analysis of published discourses about the use of patient information leaflets, Social Science & Medicine 52 1417–1432 EMA (2009) http://tinyurl.com/789t5sx (Accessed 09 March 2016)
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European Commission (2001) Article 63(2)) of Directive 2001/83/EC European Commission (2005) Guidance concerning the Braille requirements forlabelling and the package leaflet - Article 56a of Directive 2001/83/EC European Commission. (2009). Guideline on the readability of the labelling and package leaflet of medicinal products for human use -Revision 1, 12 January 2009 FDA (2013) http://tinyurl.com/l9xk6ze (Accessed 09 March 2016) Fuchs J., Banow S., Görbert N. & Hippius M. (2007) Importance of Package Insert Information in the European Union. Pharmazeutishe Industrie. 69(2), 165−172. Gani, F., Pozzi, E., Crivelllaro, M.A., Senna, G., Landi, M., Lombardi, C., Canonical, G.W. & Passalacqua (2001) The role of patient traning in the management of seasonal rhinitisi and asthma: clinical implications Allergy, 56(1) 65-68 Hammerschmidt, C., Spinillo, C.G. (2014) Reading Digital Medicine Leaflets in Mobile Devices an Interactive Study Conducted in Brazil, in Marcus, A. (Ed) DUXU 2014 (Design, User Experience, and Usability) User Experience Design for Everyday Life Applications and Services, Volume 8519 Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer, Switzerland pp 34-43 Harris, K., Dickinson, R., Raynor, D.K., MacDonald, J., Knapp, P. (2015) Changes in Side Effect Risk Communication in Patient Information Leaflets over the Past Decade: Results of a Survey Drug Safety 38(8) 721-727 Katz, M.G., Kripalani, S. & Weiss, B.D. (2006) Use of pictorial aids in medication instructions: a reveiw of the literature American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacists 63(1)2391-2397 Kress, G. (2004) Reading Images: Multimodality, Representation and New Media in Proceedings of conference on Preparing for the Future of Knowledge Presentation http://tinyurl.com/q6b5z6h (accessed 12 March 2016) Maat H. P. & Lentz L. (2010). Improving the usability of patient information leaflets, Patient Education and Counseling, 80, 113–119. Mansoor L.E. & Dowse R. (2004). Design and evaluation of a new pharmaceutical pictogram sequence to convey medicine usage. Ergonomics, 2,1-13. MHRA (2010) PIL of the month: Durogesic D Trans Transdermal Patch http://tinyurl.com/zj222fj (accessed 12 March 2016) MHRA (2014) Transdermal fentanyl “patches”: reminder of potential for life-threatening harm from accidental exposure, particularly in children: http://tinyurl.com/otxf8yc (Accessed 09 March 2016) Nielsen, J. (1997) How users read on the Web http://tinyurl.com/hm3ocr4 (Accessed 12 March 2016) Petrie, H. & Bevan (2009) The evaluation of accessibility, usability and user experience in Stephanidis, C. (ed), The Universal Access Handbook, CRC Press Raynor D.K. (2008) Testing, Testing: The Benefits of User-testing Package Leaflets Regulatory Affairs Focus 1, 16-19 Schmidtke, H. R., Yu, H. Masomo, P., Kinai, A., Shema, A. (2014) Contextual Reasoning in an Intelligent Electronic Patient Leaflet System Context in Computing pp 557-573 Sless D. (2004). Designing public documents, Information Design Journal + Document Design 12(1), 24–35 Waarde, K. van der (1998). The graphic presentation of patient package inserts, Visual information for everyday use, in. H. Zwaga, T. Boersema & J. Hoonhout (eds.) Visual information for everyday use. London: Taylor & Francis, 75-81
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About the Authors: Myrto Koumoundourou graduated from the University of the Aegean, Greece (2015). She received a diploma in Product and Systems Design Engineering. She is interested in user interface design, information design and interaction design in the field of healthcare. Panayiotis Koutsabasis is assistant professor of human-computer interaction (HCI) at the University of the Aegean, Greece. His research interests are wide-ranging, including: HCI design and evaluation methods; usability, accessibility and user experience; HCI education; natural interactions and 3D user interfaces. Jenny S. Darzentas is a lecturer in the Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering, University of the Aegean. Her interests are in Information Design; Universal Design (practices-policies); Service Design (self-services for vulnerable populations); Learning Technologies; Standards for Accessible Design.
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Design methods for meaning discovery: a patientoriented health research case study David Craib a* and Lorenzo Imbesi b a
Carleton University Sapienza University, Rome, Italy *Canada, david@parable.ca DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.249
b
Abstract: Communication designers encode messages into verbo-visual presentations to be decoded later by message receivers. This demands that designers choose what meanings to encode. Various tools enabling the exploration and understanding of meaning have been developed through the disciplines of psychology and semiotics, but generally have been used as meaning-analysis tools to analyse texts, and not primarily for meaning creation. Do tools exist to empower a designer to determine the meaning of a message they are tasked to create? Are these tools scalable, able to be used iteratively, and are they efficient? We explore various meaning-analysis tools and apply one of these tools to create meaning, within a real-world design project, within a limited timeframe, for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Keywords: design tools, meaning creation, semiotic square, communication design
Introduction Designing is a mental act, supported through the use of the mind’s design’s tools – the most basic of which are the pencil and the sheet of paper. The sketchbook evolves the sheet of paper, adding possibilities of iterative design thinking, and the cataloguing of concepts. These tools have brought designers flexibility, scalability, and portability, offering them the freedom to design where and how they wish. With a pencil and sketchbook, a designer can work in an office, a park, or an airplane, envisioning a corporate logo, a hospital bed, building, or the design of an international network. Once made truly portable, the computer has added to the magnitude of this freedom by emulating the pencil, the sheet of paper, the sketchbook, and even some aspects of the mind.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
David Craib and Lorenzo Imbesi
But an elusive challenge has been hidden behind the scene, evading the computer, challenging the sketchbook, and the pencil. How do these tools – any design tools – help us understand how to design meaning? Prior to, and after the turn of the 20th century, the field of semiotics was envisioned, melding linguistics and psychology into a universal study of meaning. Charles Sanders Peirce, and Ferdinand de Saussure conceived and described the basic mental units, postulating the mechanics of meaning. In the 1950’s, George Kelly and Charles Osgood discovered tools to analyse meaning through the lens of psychology, and afterwards, semioticians such as Algirdas Julien Greimas added their chapter to this cannon. Today, the speed of business, research and academia, thwart designers’ efforts to regroup and reconstruct the discoveries of the measurement of meaning, and bring effective tools into the design domain, but nonetheless, communication designers – all designers – need tools for meaning creation. This paper aims to test the viability of certain tools in their relation to design. It asks if existing tools for discovering meaning, can be tailored for current design use, where the efficiency, scalability, iterative use and portability of tools is mandatory. This paper challenges the tools that have been historically used for analysis, to be repurposed for creation. Focusing on communication design, we acknowledge the role of visual designers as visual message encoders, engineering visually meaningful presentations through verbo-visual means. We pose the question, what tools can designers use to determine the meanings they visually encode?
Semiotics, meaning and opposition This research is based on theories of semiotics, the study of signs. For the purpose of this discussion, Sless’s (1981, p.6) definition is used; a sign is “anything which can be used to convey meaning, including such diverse cultural phenomena as language, pictures, fashion, architecture and ritual”. Charles Hockett’s (1958, p.307) description of a simple sign-system stands as a compelling illustration. “Paul Revere and his unnamed friend agreed that one light in the Old North Church should signify that the British were approaching by land, two lights that they were coming by sea.” Hockett’s example shows that anything that can be controlled or predicted, and can be seen, heard, or sensed in any way, can be adopted as a sign and used in a communication system.
2.1 Semiotics and opposition In semiotics, opposition plays a critical role in defining the specific meaning of signs. Saussure believes that these differences are between the various signs of the sign-system itself. Therefore, a sign-system creates meaning through conceptual differences between the complete set of signs of the system, and the specific signs being considered (Saussure, 1966, p.120). It is also important to realize that signs “stand for” meanings, not purely equating to, but representing them (Sless, 1981, p.184).
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Floch (2001) describes the nature of Saussure’s “differences” stating that “the value-added offered by semiotics – at least to the extent it attempts to produce it – is to demonstrate that there are different and complementary things, or rather positions, as well as others that are different but contradictory (p.10). Floch emphasises this, describing the product of the semiotic mechanism as the “transition from the apprehension of differences to the definition of relations” (Floch, 2001, p.10). This concept is echoed in visual learning studies, where Sless notes that, similar to semiotics “meaning is never a property of objects but always a property of relationships” (Sless, 1981, p. 184). In Floch’s mind, semiotics is concrete – an approach to understanding the real world. Semiotics, born through the study of linguistics, has a much wider application in interpreting and creating meaning. Not just about the meaning of language or text, it may be used to understand the behaviour of people in certain situations, or the meaning of a film, or the image of a corporate brand (Floch, 2001, p.1). Floch describes three basic principles that guide his concept of semiotics and its use: 1) Intelligibility: semiotics is primarily concerned with the “production and apprehension of meaning.” 2) Analysis of signs: the objective of semiotics is “to ascertain the system of relations that causes signs to signify.” 3) Semiotics is structural: semiotics strives to analyse sign-systems through differences and hierarchies of signification. (Floch, 2001, p.3)
2.2 Opposition’s role in the analysis of meaning Before exploring the design development process of meaning creation within communication systems, we must first present a usable definition of the word “meaning”. There are many, yet, for this paper we will borrow from Osgoode, Suci and Tannenbaum’s (1957) working definition that they proposed in their book, The measurement of meaning. “The meaning of ‘meaning’ for which we wish to establish an index is a psychological one – that process or state in the behaviour of a sign-using organism which is assumed to be a necessary consequence of the reception of sign-stimuli and a necessary antecedent for the production of sign-responses.” (Osgood, Suci, Tannenbaum, 1957, p.9)
At this point, it is valuable to illustrate several approaches to meaning analysis, and what they can accomplish. Three methods of such analysis that offer unique areas of insight include the repertory grid, the semantic differential, and the semiotic square. Each of these tools can be used to interpret the meaning of things; each of these tools employs opposition to do so. The repertory grid is based on personal construct theory, developed by George Kelly. Kelly’s theory hypothesises that what we see as reality, is built up on oppositions rather than absolute meanings (Jankowicz, 2004). Thus, a person builds sets of contrasts, which Kelly calls personal constructs, and these are used to interpret and build each person’s reality. On
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interviewing a subject, the repertory grid analyses various topics (such as, kinds of images), within groups called elements (such as photography) by numerically rating sets of constructs (contrasting pairs, such as looks less realistic vs. looks more realistic). What the grid accomplishes, is a snapshot of the personality or “psychological space” of a person (Kelly, 1955, p.146). An example grid is shown in Figure 1. In order to understand the meaning captured by the grid – the person’s psychological space as it relates to the grid’s topic – the grid information must be processed and analysed, and a full factor analysis of a specific topic can be a complex process.
Figure 1 A repertory grid taken from an interview with an instructor (Jankowicz, 2004, p.17)
The semantic differential offers another form of meaning analysis, allowing the researcher to measure a subject’s attitudes. In order to measure the connotative meaning of things, the researcher creates sets of rating scales – each with opposing adjectives – in 3 different dimensions of meaning, termed EPA dimensions. The EPA dimensions of meaning represent adjectives of 1) evaluation, such as tasty vs. tasteless, 2) potency, such as strong vs. weak, and 3) activity, such as quick vs. slow (Heise, 1970, p.237). Although the semantic differential is capable of measuring the meaning of a thing, it does this by measuring a person’s attitudes towards things. While the semantic differential and the repertory grid share common elements, both requiring factor analysis to accurately describe meaning, the key difference is that while the semantic differential measures constructs delineated by the interviewer, the repertory grid inspires the interview subject to create their own constructs.
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Figure 2 The semantic differential: Casual dining analysis. Retrieved from http://survey.cvent.com/blog/customer-insights-2/semantic-differential-reprise.
A third tool for the analysis of meaning is the semiotic square. We can think of the semiotic square as a device that enables a researcher to create and encapsulate a discussion about the signification (meaning creation) of a given topic or situation (Greimas, 1987; Floch, 2001). As an example of how the semiotic square works, we will follow Floch’s example, analysing the term good (see Figure 3). To understand if a situation is good, we must also consider that it may be bad. This kind of relation is known as a “semiotic axis” and specifically the axis of contrariety. As shown in Figure 3, Greimas places this (type of) relationship of contrariety along the top horizontal axis of the square (Greimas, 1987, p.49; Floch, 2001, p.22).
Figure 3 The semiotic square (Greimas, 1987, p. 52 modified).
If only meaning were that simple. Something surely may be good or bad, but it may also be “not bad” instead of “bad”. Likewise a situation may be “not good” as opposed to “good”. These are relationships of contradiction and Greimas depicts this type of relationship along the diagonal axis of the square (Greimas, 1987 p.49; Floch, 2001, p.22). As shown in Figure 3, the locations of the relationships of contrariety and contradiction form a third relationship between the vertically opposed pairs in the square (such as a situation that is “not bad”, while not being “good”). This is the relationship of complementarity (Greimas, 1987 p.49; Floch, 2001, p.22). Due to the simple form of the semiotic square and its ability to be used as a tool in the analysis of meaning directly by a single researcher or designer, it was chosen as the
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preferred tool for the ensuing research. By illuminating three kinds of opposition – contrariety, contradiction and complementarity – the semiotic square would enable the researcher to create and encapsulate an analysis of a given topic or situation, and ultimately, to understand its meaning (Floch, 2001). However, several key questions remain unanswered regarding the meanings described by such opposition, and what Floch means by “real-world” research and design. Is the semiotic square applicable to all project types? Is it scalable, and therefore applicable to large and small projects, quick and long-term development cycles, and can it be used iteratively? How practical is it as a tool for design creation, rather than analysis – its typical application historically? Floch himself had shown the semiotic square could be applied to large-scale marketing research projects, but could it have a place in a designer’s sketchbook?
Employing the semiotic square to design an at a glance presentation The scope of this paper will allow us to research the performance of the semiotic square by applying it to a “real-world” strategic communication design project, first, in two subsequent iterative phases where several versions of the square will be quickly developed to help the researcher to conceptualise the design challenge – an at a glance presentation – then secondarily to create a proposed design solution. An at a glance presentation is a succinct, visually-conveyed overview of an organization or a key issue, explained graphically and textually, often forming introductory, context-setting sections of complex documents such as annual reports, or used as brief stand alone overviews of complex ideas or issues. The proposed project was to create a corporate at a glance presentation using the semiotic square to drive its strategic development.
Figure 4 At a glance presentations, from 2014 BD on-line annual report (left), and University of New South Wales 2014 print annual report pdf (right). Retrieved from www.bd.com/ar2014, and annualreport.unsw.edu.au/2014/, Oct 5, 2015.
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Finding a willing client was difficult, so several of the researcher’s existing clients were considered. Two of these clients were contacted and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) accepted to participate in the at a glance development project, as they saw a potential need for such a communication tool. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) was created in 2000 by the Canadian parliament, currently reporting to government through the Minister of Health. CIHR’s key focuses include: • identifying and targeting key priorities in health research • Identifying and improving under-developed health research activities • funding health research training for upcoming generations of Canadians • knowledge sharing, that informs the public and government (retrieved from http://www.rso.ualberta.ca/en/Applying/SponsorsPrograms/TriCouncil.aspx (Nov 3, 2015) The internal project development group selected by the manager of creative services included herself and the senior writer, the production coordinator and CIHR’s internal graphic designer. The team agreed to meet several times over the following five weeks to create the fundamental design approach for a new at a glance presentation for use in their upcoming annual report, using design criteria and tools studied by the researcher, but as of yet untested in an actual design project. Initially, the goal was to develop a rough prototype, able to be used in the future to inform the development of a new at a glance presentation for the organization.
3.1 Prototype design process To plan the design development, the researcher set up meeting themes for the upcoming design sessions. The themes were: 1) 2) 3) 4)
A general at a glance discussion and brainstorming session, Defining the target of the CIHR at a glance presentation, Establishing the project meaning using the semiotic square, Establishing the look of the design based on the output of the semiotic square.
The first meeting focused on the client’s general opinions of what CIHR should be communicating in an at a glance presentation. CIHR had decided that the at a glance presentation would not become part of the annual report, but would be used by CIHR’s President in face-to-face meetings as a presentation tool for a major new CIHR program (CIHR manager, personal communication, March 5, 2013). The team had mentioned that CIHR was developing a new strategic direction, and the at a glance presentation would announce and support this CIHR initiative, to be known as the Strategy for patient-oriented research (SPOR). SPOR’s goal was to aid in future health research by making it more practical, specifically by bringing health research to the patient’s “point of care”, increasing
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health research access. SPOR also represents a health network partnership, comprised of academic institutions and researchers, health practitioners, provincial governments, policy makers and authorities, healthcare recipients, their caregivers and Canadians in general, and other health care-related partners (retrieved from http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41204.html, Oct 5, 2015). The second meeting focused on analysing the structure of a typical presentation in which the president would use the at a glance presentation. There were several kinds of meetings in which the President was involved, but we focused on two specific ones; SPOR-oriented meetings where he could be looking for potential funding partnerships, possibly with provincial health or industry departments, and meetings focused on CIHR funding reforms, where he would be presenting to university representatives and researchers. In these meetings the president would hold the SPOR at a glance presentation face-to-face, in front of the presentees and explain the system, with the visual support of the presentation tool. The at a glance had to be a strong and clear introduction to SPOR. The at a glance could not cater to any specific audience, but had to be meaningful to a broad stakeholder group. Before the third meeting initial design work was completed to enable discussion on the various health system processes that were critical to CIHR’s at a glance message. The content of the design tools stemmed from discussions from the initial meetings and from knowledge previously known to the researcher, who had public health system design experience. The meeting tools were used to help the team to understand the at a glance presentation requirements and to develop a communication strategy.
3.2 Iterative design use: putting the semiotic square to use For the third meeting, rough semiotic squares were constructed to describe various aspects of the Canadian public health system, public health system participation and health knowledge sharing, some of which are shown in Figure 5. This iterative development proved to be relatively efficient, but many of the squares did not reveal promising results, as can be seen in the top right and bottom left squares. The others reveal significant relationships but were not refined enough to become strategic communications solutions, or did not relate directly to the project communication goals.
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Figure 5 Initial rough iterative semiotic square explorations of Canadian heath system presented in the third meeting
The most promising squares were developed and refined, resulting in the examples shown in Figure 6. Once the relationships of contrariety, contradiction and complementarity align, a further level of information can be derived from the squares, as shown in the red text in Figure 6. These relationships are called metaterms (Hebert, 2006, p.19). Simply stated, these terms arise by combining adjacent terms, such as 1) what we want to know, and 2) what we don’t know; forming the metaterm, not knowing. Metaterms create vertical and horizontal axes that help in understanding the semiotic meanings invoked by the square.
Figure 6 The semiotic square: iterative exploration of aspects of the Canadian health system, presented in the third meeting.
One semiotic square was constructed to explore the meaning of funding the public health system as it related to CIHR (see Figure 6 (right figure) and Figure 7). The upper relationship of contrariety described the funding and the non-funding participants in the health system, which were: 1) CIHR’s various federal and provincial government-funding partners, and 2)
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the researchers and universities who required this funding. The contradictory pairs in the lower corners of the square were positioned as: 3) those not currently funding the system, who were seen to CIHR as potential partners, and 4) those who do not take money from the funding system, who were termed health consumers. This breakdown, offered by the semiotic square, differed to CIHR’s own breakdown of the various health system partners, shown below. It is possible the researcher’s use of the semiotic square was organizing the list into groups. CIHR’s partner list included the following:
patients and caregivers researchers health practitioners policy makers provincial/territorial health authorities academic institutions charities pharmaceutical sector (retrieved from http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41204.html, Oct 5, 2015)
This semiotic square in Figure 7 also described the level of participation in the funding the health funding system, and levels of funding the health system. The titles in each corner of the square represented four of CIHR’s stakeholder groups (as the top right corner had two stakeholders), and the fourth corner, their target group for further funding (potential partners).
Figure 7 The semiotic square constructed to describe public health system funding.
This semiotic square was reinterpreted as a typographic health continuum diagram, shown in figure 8, with the four stakeholder groups in an unending process of using healthcare services, funding, researching, and providing healthcare services.
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Figure 8 Healthcare continuum diagram: one of the discussion tools for the third meeting.
After the third meeting, the health continuum diagram was again reinterpreted, this time as an infographic of illustrated figures representing each stakeholder group, but represented in the groupings from the original semiotic square, with the health researchers and health providers shown in the same group. The illustration showed the Canadian health consumers as red figures, the government and private sector funding partners as blue figures, and the health researchers and healthcare providers as green figures – then the continuum repeated. The client team felt the infographic could enable the President to locate any potential funding partner or stakeholder that he was presenting to, within the infographic, thus inspiring and validating their participation in the SPOR program. The infographic is shown in figure 9.
Figure 9 Canadian healthcare continuum infographic – before the implementation of SPOR: with the health researchers and health providers shown in the same (green) group.
The infographic was developed further, to represent the health system before and after SPOR, diagrammatically illustrating the SPOR program. The first infographic would describe the healthcare system as it exists today, with the various stakeholders in silos, and the subsequent one, shown in figure 10, would describe the future healthcare system, after the implementation of the patient-oriented research approach, where health consumers are integrated with the researchers, health providers, and other stakeholders.
Figure 10 Canadian healthcare continuum infographic – after the implementation of SPOR.
The viewer is enabled to distinguish the separate groups in the infographic through colour differences. The viewer can immediately distinguish the change from the before to the after
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infographic through the preattentive cue of colour hue, but also colour intensity, as the red seems to “pop out� (Ware, 2013, p.152).
3.3 Prototype development In advance of the fourth meeting, the researcher prepared an initial prototype, shown in figure 11, incorporating the before and after versions of the health system infographic. The presentation was to be in print format, to use in face-to-face presentations, so various physical versions of the design had to be considered. Several approaches were evaluated, and an eight-panel gatefold format was finally chosen which allowed the before SPOR infographic to be presented on a two-page spread, then each half could fold outward exposing the after SPOR graphic, functioning well in face-to-face meetings. It would also add another page to each outer side of the after infographic that could be used for two success stories of patient-oriented health research solutions.
Figure 11 Initial prototype used for discussion. Cover is shown in upper left, first internal pagespread is shown in upper right, with inside four-panel pagespread at bottom.
The final design presented at the fifth meeting is shown in figure 12 and should be compared to the initial design in figure 11. Various changes were made based on client requests between meetings four and five, including adding CIHR’s existing SPOR program logo, and reducing visual noise by muting the colours and simplifying the cover image. The client had also requested that the infographic break out the health researchers and health providers into separate colour areas, thus the infographic would represent Canadians, government
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funders, health researchers and health providers, matching the original health continuum diagram (Figure 8).
Figure 12 Final prototype showing new cover, upper left, and outside and inside pagespreads with reduced visual noise.
Once the project development had ended, the group reflected on the process of using the semiotic square in concept development. As noted by the project manager, “using the semiotic square when you did made a big difference in our thinking of the evolution of the product – the idea changed” (CIHR manager, personal communication, April 30, 2013). The team felt the semiotic analysis had quickly identified an effective communication structure, yet, with the possibility of major changes to a project’s strategic concept, caused by the semiotic square’s ability to redefine a communication strategy, it suggested the tool was best used at the initial stages of project research and development. As shown in Figure 13, the project had incorporated five meetings over a seven-week period. On final reflection, the team felt the Floch-based use of the semiotic square proved to be effective and helped to define the central communication concepts and the target audience.
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Figure 13 The final five-stage prototype development timeline, which was adjusted to meet the availability of CIHR’s four-member project team. Design meaning development was completed within the first three weeks.
Conclusion Focusing on communication design, this paper acknowledged the role of visual designers as visual message encoders, engineering visually meaningful presentations through verbovisual means. We posed the question, what tools can designers use to determine the meanings they visually encode? It asked if existing tools for probing meaning, could be tailored for current design use, where they must be efficient, scalable, iterative and portable. It asked if tools used primarily for research could be effective tools for creation. Tools such as the semantic differential and the repertory grid have proven to be effective in measuring the opinions of a person, or groups of people, and the repertory grid has offered a glimpse into their mental space. Through information processing such as factor analysis, these tools are made more effective, but fail to meet the requirements of efficiency, immediacy and portability required by communication designers. It was therefore left up to the semiotic square to be researched to see if, as Floch claimed, it could be used in “realworld” design problems. We asked if it could be scalable and used iteratively. Our findings indicate that the semiotic square performed well as an exploratory tool for discovering the meaning of aspects of the Canadian health system, and CIHR’s specific communication challenges in communicating the essence of SPOR, the strategy for patientoriented research. It could be used relatively quickly (relative to the semantic differential or repertory grid methods), although it was found that tailoring its use so the opposing terms aligned properly, and that its metaterms could be meaningful, could be more time consuming. Arguably, the semiotic square could, for example, be sketched in a sketchbook at work, or in a café and, after an hour or so of design thinking, produce various results of value to the designer. With a few more hours of fine-tuning, the square could yield potential design solutions. We must acknowledge, however, the nature of this design exploration. Firstly, this research was part of a suite of research projects in which the various results were triangulated producing several general findings, but this specific research project incorporated one case study only. The effectiveness of using meaning analysis tools – specifically the semiotic square – to help develop a meaningful design, produced positive results, yet it was not possible within the scope of the study to have a control design process that didn’t use the
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semiotic square, and there was no knowledge generated about the degree of effectiveness of the final solution – simply that it was considered a strong conceptual solution by the client. Future research could be undertaken in an educational setting, where student researchers, armed with the semiotic square and knowledge of its use, could explore meaning creation through several design tasks, while a control group of student researchers, unfamiliar with such tools, could explore meaning creation on the same tasks without these tools. Secondly, our attempt to define patient-oriented research was somewhat structural, in that it searched for relations within various structures of the Canadian health system. Would the semiotic square prove a useful tool in non-structural meaning exploration? Other communication challenges may not align as well with the functions of the semiotic square, evading the approach of meaning discovery, being suitable for exploratory tools such as the semantic differential or repertory grid, or require tools that are currently undeveloped or unknown. As our research has indicated that the semiotic square produces usable results in structural explorations of meaning creation, and that it is relatively efficient, scalable, iterative and portable – what we still don’t know is – where does it fail?
References Canadian Institutes for Health Research. (2015) Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research. Retrieved forom http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41204.html Floch, J-M. (2001) Semiotics, marketing and communication (R. O. Bodkin, Trans.). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Greimas, J. G. (1987) On meaning: Selected writings in semiotic theory. (W. J. Berg, trans.) Redlands, CA: Esri Press. (Original work published 1967). Heise, D. R. (1970) The semantic differential and attitude research, in Attidute measurement, Gene F. Summers (ed.). Chicago: Rand McNally & Company Hébert, L. (2006) The semiotic square. In Tools for text and image analysis: An introduction to applied semiotics. Retrieved from http://www.revue-texto.net/Parutions/LivresE/Hebert_AS/Hebert_Tools.html Hockett, C. F. (1958) A course in modern linguistics. New York: MacMillan. Jankowicz, D. (2004) The easy guide to repertory grids. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Kelly, G. A. (1955) The psychology of personal constructs. Vol. 1. A theory of personality. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Osgoode, C. E., Suci, G. J., Tannenbaum, P. H. (1957) The measurement of meaning. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press Saussure, F. d. (1966) Course in general linguistics. (W. Baskin, Trans.). New York: McGaw-Hill. (Original work published 1916). Sless, D. (1981) Learning and visual communication. New York: John Wiley & Sons. University of Alberta. (2015) Tri-Council (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC). Retrieved from http://www.rso.ualberta.ca/en/Applying/SponsorsPrograms/TriCouncil.aspx Ware, C. (2013) Information visualization: Perception for design (3rd ed.). Waltham, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.
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About the Authors: David Craib has been a professional communication designer for over 30 years, and, since 1994, has operated Parable Communications in Ottawa, Canada. David is a part-time professor at Carleton University, probing into fundamental aspects of visual communication design perception. Lorenzo Imbesi, PhD, is an Architect and Professor of Industrial Design at Sapienza University, Rome, Italy (previously Associate Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada), an ICCS fellow (Canadian Government) and member of the Research Board of Italian and European Programs.
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Expectations and prejudices usurp judgements of schematic map effectiveness Maxwell J. Roberts* and Ida C.N. Vaeng University of Essex, UK * mjr@essex.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.123
Abstract: A usability study is reported in which objective measures of performance were compared with subjective ratings of design effectiveness for two novel schematic London Underground maps. One of these was designed conventionally, but was deliberately intended to have complex line trajectories. The other was a novel curvilinear design, prioitised similarly. The selection of designs was motivated by a previous usability rating study in which the curvilinear map had received the lowest scores. For the current study, people planned a series of journeys using both designs. The curvilinear map yielded superior performance in terms of time to plan each journey. Despite experience with both designs, the curvilinear map still received poor usability ratings. It is suggested that expectations and prejudices about design prevent people from making accurate subjective evaluations of usability. Keywords: schematic maps; familiarity; usability study; rating study
1. Introduction Schematic maps, such as the London Underground diagram, first published in 1933 and designed by Henry Beck (Garland, 1994; Roberts, 2005) have become particularly associated with urban rail networks worldwide (Ovenden, 2015). Typically (as per London) these are highly stylised, with routes shown as straight lines – horizontal, vertical, or 45º diagonals – joined by tightly radiused corners. Mathematically, this is known as an octolinear design. Topography may be considerably distorted, and most, if not all, surface details omitted, so that the focus of such designs is on the routes, stations, and inter-connections between lines. This method of information presentation can be amongst the most complex that members of the public are likely to be expected to use in everyday life. Indeed, with everincreasing network complexity worldwide, a mathematical analysis (Gallotti, Porter, & Barthelemy, 2016) suggests that there is cognitive limit to the understandability of large This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Maxwell Roberts and Ida Vaeng
transport networks. The challenge for designers – the creation of legible, effective network maps in an attempt to tame the complexity – therefore increases year-by-year. Despite the proliferation of journey-planning software, the network map remains an important source of information. Indeed, many applications for hand-held devices are merely standard network maps with extra functionality added, such as options to add additional layers of information to a base design. A number of suggestions have been made for optimising schematic map design, although these often take the form of lists of sometimes-conflicting criteria that are only rarely supported by evidence from usability studies (e.g., Nöllenburg; 2014, Ovenden, 2008). Roberts (2012, 2014) attempts to organise the various criteria for effective design into a broad framework of five categories, with simplicity and coherence of particular importance here. Simplicity refers to the line trajectories: the key-most requirement for a schematic map is that complex routes are converted into simple line trajectories on the diagram. Coherence refers to the need to relate the elements of a network to each other so that the overall design has good shape. Failure to address the simplicity criterion can result in routes comprising numerous short zig-zagging segments: reality has not been simplified, instead the shape of the complexity has merely been changed. The coherence criterion can be violated, for example, if the number of angles on a map is increased, and no effort is made to keep the lines parallel (see Figure 1). The worst-designed examples in these respects impact on the overall intelligibility of a map, making the elements of a network hard to identify, concealing its underlying structure, and reducing the effectiveness of a design for planning journeys and learning about the system. It is suggested by many commentators that octolinearity by itself should be a design requirement (e.g., Nöllenburg & Wolff, 2011; Ovenden, 2005, p. 39). Hence, adherence to this will result in a more effective design than any other possible method of configuration. This has been named the octolinearity as a gold standard conjecture but Roberts et al. (2013) argue that there is little evidence in its support. Roberts (2012) suggests that different networks worldwide have different properties, and that some may have line trajectories and interconnections that are a poor match for octolinearity, causing difficulties for optimisation by preventing the simplification of line trajectories. The gold standard conjecture was refuted in a series of usability studies investigating alternative Paris Metro map designs (Roberts et al., 2013). For this network, the highly interconnected lines have very complex trajectories, and the official octolinear schematic reflects this, with the result that the underlying network structure is difficult to discern. The usability study investigated the times required to plan complex journeys, and a curvilinear design (i.e. no straight lines at all) consistently outperformed the official version, with planning times up to 50% faster across experiments.
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Figure 1 The nine London Underground maps from the internet-based rating task reported by Roberts (2014). Image copyright Maxwell J. Roberts, www.tubemapcentral.com, all rights reserved, reproduced with permission.
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One difficulty faced by those who wish to produce well-motivated innovative schematic maps is that these may violate people’s expectations about effective design. Informally, this can be observed in commentaries on internet sites worldwide. Roberts (2014) discusses these in terms of the lay-theories of design that underlie them, and notes that these can be entrenched, and yet subject to considerable individual differences. This can result in costly mistakes when unexpected public reaction causes the premature withdrawal of a design. More formally, Roberts et al. (2013) noted that the correlations between an objective measure of performance (planning time) and subjective measures (map preference, and a score derived from questionnaire responses) were effectively zero. Despite the superior usability of the novel curvilinear design, only 50% of people preferred it. To investigate lay-theories of design in more detail, an internet rating study has been implemented, in which people were asked to assess the usability and attractiveness of nine different specially-created London Underground maps (see Figure 1). These were presented as a matrix of nine designs, which varied by configuration (octolinear, curvilinear, multilinear – a linear map with any angle permitted, and hence at a disadvantage in terms of the coherence criterion) and also by design priorities. The stylised maps were optimised in terms of having the simplest line trajectories, the geographical maps were intended to have high accuracy in this respect, with the inevitable consequence of more complex line trajectories, while the compact maps were intended to have the most complex line trajectories of all, but without any requirement for geographical accuracy. A preliminary analysis of data from the first one-hundred respondents (Roberts, 2014) indicated a considerable octolinear bias, with usability ratings greater for octolinear maps than for curvilinear or multilinear designs by a far higher margin than would have been expected from usability studies. However, people were sensitive to line trajectory simplicity, with map ratings within trios with shared design rules always favouring the simpler designs. Having identified the usability ratings for nine different maps, the next logical step is to conduct studies using these designs to compare subjective and objective measures. Roberts et al. (2013) organised their study such that each person planned journeys using just one map (a between-subjects design) with the consequence that when people subsequently made a selection from these, only one of the alternatives familiar to them. A more powerful design administers multiple maps to each person, so that each of these is experienced directly before evaluation, and the relative ease of use for each individual can also be identified, and related directly to their subjective assessments and choices. For the internet rating study, the maps were merely assessed visually, and so it is necessary to ask whether direct experience at using the designs (1) enables a better calibration between overall subjective ratings of usability and actual measures of objective usability; and (2) enables a better assessment of the relative usability of particular designs, so that after experience at using both, even for the novel or unusual versions, this enables a better judgement of their relative merits.
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Figure 2 The London Underground compact curvilinear map selected for the current study Image copyright Maxwell J. Roberts, www.tubemapcentral.com, all rights reserved, reproduced with permission.
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Figure 3 The London Underground octolinear map selected for the current study, intended to match the curvilinear map for design priorities – complex line trajectories without geographical accuracy. Image copyright Maxwell J. Roberts, www.tubemapcentral.com, all rights reserved, reproduced with permission.
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It would not be practical to administer all nine designs to one individual, but pilot studies have shown that it is possible to administer two or even three maps without measurable crosstalk between versions. For the usability study reported here, the worst-scored map from the internet study was identified. This was the compact curvilinear design (see Figure 2), which was rated as easy to use by only four out of 100 individuals (71 rated the design as hard to use). In contrast, the equivalent compact octolinear design (see Figure 3) was rated as easy to use by 37 people, and overall it was rated as third in terms of usability – only the ratings of the other two octolinear designs exceeded it. It is indeed possible that the difference in usability ratings between compact octolinear versus compact curvilinear will match objectively measured usability: the octolinear design uses tried-and-tested rules (albeit with poor optimisation). Alternatively, the ratings might simply be a reflection of expectations and prejudices, and there is no reason to give adverse ratings to the curvilinear map. This possibility was investigated via a journey planning task. Subjective ratings of the maps were collected after this, to see whether direct experience at the two designs would result in a close match between objective and subjective measures.
2. Method 2.1 Sample Twenty-two people took part in this experiment, 6 males and 16 females. They were all unpaid volunteers from the University of Essex with a mean age of 21.6 years (SD 1.1). All had at least some experience of travel in London by Underground, rating their frequency of use as, at the very least, a few times a year.
2.2 Materials The maps for the journey planning task were printed to fit A3 sheets and laminated. Two sets of five journeys were assembled as follows: Set A – practice trial: Moor Park (Metropolitan Line) to East Acton (Central Line) Crystal Palace (London Overground) to West Harrow (Metropolitan Line) Queeensbury (Jubilee Line) to Crouch Hill (London Overground) Colliers Wood (Northern Line) to Finchley Road & Frognal (London Overground) Acton Central (London Overground) to Arnos Grove (Piccadilly Line) Deptford Bridge (DLR) to Wembley Central (Bakerloo Line) Set B – practice trial: South Ruislip (Central Line) to Hatch End (London Overground) Heathrow Airport Terminals 1/2/3 (Piccadilly Line) to London City Airport (DLR) Vauxhall (Victoria Line) to South Acton (London Overground) Wanstead Park (London Overground) to Greenford (Central Line) Imperial Wharf (London Overground) to Northwood Hills (Metropolitan Line) Colindale (Northern Line) to Anerley (London Overground)
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These were chosen such that they would be difficult to plan, with distant start and destination stations, a requirement to cross London, and many alternative options. At least two interchanges were required to complete each journey. An attempt was made to represent all lines/regions of the map equally between item sets. Each journey was shown on an individual A4 laminated sheet with the map greyed out except for the start (arrowed) and destination stations. A 21-item questionnaire was used, based on Roberts et al. (2013). Most questions were answered using seven point rating scale. For these, statements were given along with seven options ranging from strongly agree through neutral to strongly disagree. For each question, an answer or a decision was required for both of the maps. The full set of questionnaire items was as follows. Questions 1 to 15 were seven-point rating-scale questions as described previously. Asterisks denote questions that directly ask for opinions about usability aspects of design. *1) I found journeys easy to plan using this map *2) Routes were difficult to discriminate (identify) using this map *3) Station names were easy to identify using this map *4) Station interchanges were difficult to negotiate using this map *5) Line trajectories were easy to follow using this map *6) I found this map disorientating to use *7) I would be happy to use this map to plan real-life journeys around London 8) I preferred a direct-looking route, no matter how many interchanges required 9) Some parts of the map looked complicated, and I planned journeys to avoid them 10) This map is intended for planning journeys but I think it is also geographically accurate *11) With this map, I would rather walk or take a taxi than use the London Underground 12) The best routes for me had the fewest station stops along the way *13) I found the map visually disturbing *14) I found the map clean and uncluttered *15) I would look for another design of London Underground map to use at the earliest opportunity Questions 16 and 17 requested brief sentences, i.e. qualitative responses, separately for each map. 16) Briefly, what, if any, aspect of this map did you like the most? 17) Briefly, what, if any, aspect of this map did you like the least? Question 18 was a forced choice item, one map or the other preferred. 18) Of the two designs you have used, which one do you think you would prefer for everyday use? Question 19 queried frequency of travel and gave a number of options. 19) Roughly how often do you travel by rail to make a journey in London? Every day/A few days every week/A few times every month/About once a month/A few times a year/Once a year or less/Never, or not for years
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Questions 20 and 21 repeated the map rating task reported by Roberts (2014). All nine London maps were presented (see Figure 1) and people were asked to rate each map for usability and attractiveness on a three point scale; Easy to use/Neutral/Hard to use; and Attractive/Neutral/Unpleasant.
2.3 Design All people planned journeys using both maps, five journeys for one design, then five journeys for the other. Eleven planned journeys using the octolinear map first, the remaining eleven received the curvilinear map first. Ten people received journey Set A paired with the curvilinear map (and hence Set B with the octolinear Map) and Twelve people received Set A paired with the octolinear map. This was primarily a within-subjects design, with Map Type (two levels, Octolinear versus Curvilinear) as the independent variable. Measures of map performance included the time taken to plan a journey, and an estimation, made by the experimenter, of the duration that the planned journeys would have taken had they been implemented. Questionnaire data provided a means of measuring people’s subjective assessments of map usability.
2.4 Procedure People were tested individually in quiet surroundings. They were informed that they would be asked to plan a series of journeys using two versions of the London Underground map. They were to assume that the network was fully operational and that there were no cost considerations. They were given no guidance as to journey criteria or priorities, it was simply stated that they should devise the journey that they would choose if they were actually to undertake it in real life. They were also informed that they should only change between lines at designated interchanges shown on the map. People were given an opportunity to view the first map while the initial instructions were given. The practice journey was administered, then the five test journeys for that map, presented in a random order. Each trial commenced with the experimenter placing the journey sheet indicating start and end stations above the A3 laminated map, and immediately commencing timing using a stop-watch. The subject was asked to plan the journey as requested, using a dry-wipe marker. Once satisfied with the plan, a verbal announcement was made, timing stopped, and the final chosen route was transcribed onto an A4 paper map, overseen by the experimenter. Following this, the experimenter cleaned all marks from the laminated map and the next trial commenced. Once all journeys were completed, the process was repeated with the second map. When all journeys had been planned, the questionnaire was administered. There was no opportunity to view the maps for this, except for the final two questions, where the two original maps were re-presented, along with the seven previously unseen, so that the rating task could be completed.
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3. Results For each person, mean planning times were calculated from the five test journeys for each map. For each journey, its duration was estimated by allowing two minutes per station and ten minutes per interchange. This is comparable with the heuristics that passengers themselves use (e.g., Vertesi, 2008) and ignores the variable interchange quality within most metro networks, which is virtually impossible to communicate via maps. There were just two planning errors (both involved a proposal for an interchange where none was shown), both for the octolinear map. Estimated journey durations were simply averaged over the remaining four trials for the two people concerned. Mean journey planning times and estimated journey durations are given in Table 1. The difference in mean journey planning time between maps is significant. Using withinsubjects analysis of variance, F(1,21) = 7.60, MSe = 192.4, p < .05. On average, journeys required less time to plan using the curvilinear map. There was no evidence that the superior planning time was associated with less efficient journeys, with no significant difference between maps, F(1,21) = 0.09, MSe = 18.7, p > .05. Table 1 Performance for the two maps showing objective measures and aggregate questionnaire ratings, overall, and by map choice. Means in bold, standard deviations in itallics. Octolinear Map
Curvilinear Map
Mean journey planning time (seconds per journey)
65.6 (23.0)
54.1 (20.4)
Mean estimated journey duration (minutes per journey)
68.7 (4.2)
69.1 (4.2)
Mean aggregate questionnaire score (range 11 to 77)
55.2 (10.5)
49.9 (12.9)
Mean planning time for people who chose the curvilinear map (seconds per journey)
75.8 (27.2)
58.3 (28.6)
Mean planning time for people who chose the octolinear map (seconds per journey)
59.8 (19.0)
51.7 (14.7)
Mean aggregate questionnaire score for people who chose the curvilinear map (range 11 to 77)
47.8 (10.7)
60.1 (2.0)
Mean aggregate questionnaire score for people who chose the octolinear map (range 11 to 77)
59.5 (7.8)
44.0 (12.8)
The superiority of the curvilinear map was not reflected in the questionnaire ratings of usability. Aggregate rating scores were created by using the 11 asterisked questions that were relevant to usability (see section 2.2). The questions were bi-directional, so that agreeing with the statements in some indicated positive assessments of a map, but agreeing with the statements of others indicated adverse assessments. Scores on the latter were
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reversed (so that a rating of 1 became 7, 2 became 6, etc.) and the scores for each person for each map were then totalled separately. This gave aggregate rating task scores, in which 77 indicated the highest possible rating of a design, 11 the worst possible, and 44 a neutral score. Table 1 shows that the octolinear map was given a higher aggregate rating than the curvilinear design, the opposite to the difference in the objective measure of performance, but the difference in means was not significant, F(1,21) = 1.60, MSe = 197.6, p > .05. The poor usability ratings of the curvilinear map, previously identified by Roberts (2014) are not justified by the results here. However, two maps were administered to each person here, so that it is possible to determine whether individuals are sensitive to relative differences in their own performance when evaluating the different designs. Of the 22 people in this experiment, eight chose the curvilinear map when asked to express a preference, and fourteen chose the octolinear version. If people were deciding on the basis of their performance, then those who chose the octolinear map should have better planning times for this compared with the curvilinear map, and those who chose the curvilinear map should have better planning times for this compared with the octolinear map. The means in Table 1 show that this is not the case: irrespective of map choice group, mean planning times for the curvilinear map were better. The statistical test for this hypothesis is to determine whether there is a significant interaction in a two-factor mixed design Analysis of Variance, in which Map Choice is the between subjects factor, and Test Map is the withinsubjects factor. There was no significant interaction, F(1,20) = 1.18, MSe = 190.8, p > .05. Despite the lack of a relationship between map choice and the objective measure of performance, the basis of the choice is not arbitrary, and has a clear relationship with the aggregate questionnaire score evaluation of the maps. People who gave the octolinear map a higher rating then the curvilinear map were more likely, subsequently, to select this in preference. Conversely, people who gave the curvilinear map higher ratings then the octolinear map were more likely, subsequently, to select this in preference. This time the interaction, between Map Choice and Test Map, is significant, F(1,20) = 18.2, MSe = 108.6, p < .01. There were no other aspects of individuals that could be related to map choice. Three of the six males selected the curvilinear map, and five of the fourteen females. Also, categorising people into low use (used the Underground once a month or less) versus high use (a few times each month or more), three of the seven high use individuals selected the curvilinear map, compared with five of the fifteen low use individuals.
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Figure 4 Difference scores for planning times, for individuals, rank ordered in size, also showing map preference and usability/attractiveness ratings. There is little evidence for a relationship between subjective ratings of map effectiveness and the objective measure of usability.
The lack of any clear relationship between objective performance and map selection is shown in Figure 4, where individual planning time differences between maps are plotted, rank ordered. There graph hints at the possibility that, for people who find the octolinear map particularly difficult to use, with the most adverse difference scores of all, there might be some awareness of this, so that the curvilinear map is chosen in preference. A larger sample size would be required in order to be able to test for this. Conversely, looking at the differences in questionnaire scores between the two maps (Figure 5), the findings are clearcut, and the map that is relatively positively rated is almost always selected in preference, even where there is only a slight difference in the rating scores. Unsurprisingly, the correlation between planning time advantage for one map over the other, versus questionnaire aggregate advantage for one map over the other, was low and not significant (r = â&#x20AC;&#x201C; .12, p > .05) but was at least in the expected direction. People who had a curvilinear map planning time advantage were likely to score the curvilinear map more highly than the octolinear version on the questionnaire.
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Expectations and prejudices usurp judgements of schematic map effectiveness
Figure 5 Difference scores for questionnaire ratings of map effectiveness, for individuals, rank ordered in size, also showing map preference and usability/attractiveness ratings. There is a clear relationship between the subjective measures, with differences in questionnaire evaluations for the two maps clearly related to preference/selection.
The final analysis concerns the single-question usability and attractiveness ratings for all nine maps. Ratings were combined and scaled so that if every person rated the usability of a map as hard to use (or unattractive for the other rating) then it would receive an overall score of zero. Conversely, if every single person rated a map as easy to use (or attractive for the other rating) then it would receive an overall score of 100. Usability ratings are given in Table 2, and attractiveness ratings in Table 3. Table 2 Overall usability ratings for the nine maps. The two that were used for journey planning in this current study are in bold. Data from Roberts (2014) are also included, in itallics. Octolinear Map
Curvilinear Map
Multilinear Map
Stylised (simple line trajectories)
100% 93%
55% 32%
59% 53%
Geographical (intermediate line trajectories)
73% 60%
39% 28%
30% 38%
Compact (complex line trajectories)
86% 53%
46% 17%
36% 32%
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Table 3 Overall attractiveness ratings for the nine maps. The two that were used for journey planning in current study are in bold. Data from Roberts (2014) are also included, in itallics. Octolinear Map
Curvilinear Map
Multilinear Map
Stylised (simple line trajectories)
84% 86%
55% 51%
34% 41%
Geographical (intermediate line trajectories)
64% 54%
39% 42%
18% 25%
Compact (complex line trajectories)
71% 55%
52% 36%
7% 18%
Overall, the results are similar to those reported by Roberts (2014), including the tendency for linear maps to receive much higher usability ratings than attractiveness ratings. The curvilinear maps do not show this trend, and together this implies a general expectation that maps based on straight lines, irrespective of their angles, have usability advantages which are not shared by curvilinear designs. Interestingly, compared with Roberts (2014), the multilinear map scores for both attractiveness and usability are similar, and sometimes reduced, whereas the octolinear and curvilinear scores are generally raised, with particularly high gains for the two designs tested here. This might imply some sort of familiarity effect, or else a confidence effect â&#x20AC;&#x201C; having succeeded with these designs during the testing phase, they now receive a more positive response â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and yet the gap between the curvilinear and octolinear designs, both for attractiveness and usability, is almost identical to previously, with a 40% difference in rated usability, despite the curvilinear map yielding better performance during the testing phase.
4. Discussion The key finding of the research discussed here is that there is no relationship between subjective ratings of map usability and the objective measure of time required to plan journeys. The curvilinear map actually had a statistical advantage over the octolinear design in this respect, and yet none of the subjective measures (choice of map, detailed rating question by question, single direct question) reflected this, with the curvilinear map generally receiving adverse scores. The dissociation between objective and subjective measures has been reported previously (e.g. Roberts et al., 2013) but for the research described here, everyone had experience with both designs and, therefore, in theory, should have been able to identify from their performance that the curvilinear design was not putting them in difficulty. However, this lack of self-awareness is a common finding in psychology. People tend to be poor observers of their own performance, and have little insight into their own cognitive processes (e.g., Chabris & Simons, 2010; Kruger & Dunning, 1999). Without explicit or obvious feedback, a user would simply be unaware of his or her own performance in terms of a difference in time of a few seconds required to plan each journey.
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The suggestion that expectations and prejudices are determining usability ratings is corroborated by the written statements in the questionnaire. Half of the respondents explicitly referred to the familiarity with the octolinear version and/or lack of familiarity of the curvilinear version, as a reason to like/dislike a design. Again, this is entirely in line with findings in the psychological literature. For example, the mere exposure effect is welldocumented (e.g., Bornstein, 1989). Repeated exposure to, and increasing familiarity with stimuli, results in more positive ratings compared with less familiar material. Furthermore, an important finding in the expertise literature is that novices in any domain tend to evaluate items according to superficial surface properties (e.g., Chi, Feltovich, & Glaser. 1981). Hence an octolinear map might be over-favourably evaluated by a person who is familiar with such designs but not an expert at usability issues. In terms of the other comments, these generally did not add useful additional information; both maps were praised for being simple, clean and clear, and both were criticised for being messy, disorganised and cluttered. It is interesting to note, however, that experience at using the maps in the current study does seem to have had some impact on perceived effectiveness of the designs. (Tables 2 and 3). Ratings of the multilinear maps, which were not directly experienced in this study, are comparable with Roberts (2014), whereas ratings for curvilinear and octolinear designs, in general, are higher, and are particularly elevated for the two designs tested here. In part, this might be explained as a familiarity effect, but this also might indicate an appreciation, in the light of experience, that the two designs are at least adequately usable, more so than their initial appearance might suggest. However, the gap in ratings between the curvilinear and octolinear designs was almost identical to previously, indicating that a familiarity effect is the more likely explanation. Any acquired rationally-based self-awareness about the relative usability of the designs would have been expected to close the rating gap between them. One important caveat concerning the results of the current study is that, similarly to Roberts et al. (2013), a curvilinear map was found to be easier to use than an octolinear version. It is essential not to over-generalise from this finding. The official Paris Metro map is poorly optimised for simplicity of line trajectories, but this does not rule out the possibility that this aspect of the design could be improved while maintaining octolinearity. In the current study, the curvilinear map was superior, but both designs were intended to be poorly optimised, and it is possible that this was more successfully implemented for the octolinear design than the curvilinear one. In general, as per Roberts (2012), it is likely that different networks are suited to different design techniques, and it certainly should not be concluded that one particular new approach (curvilinear maps) will always be superior to conventional octolinear designs. Overall, the findings highlight the dangers in choosing between competing designs on the basis of, for example, a public vote or similar competition (Boston Globe, 2013). A familiarlooking design that conforms to expectations is more likely to be chosen than one that does not, even if the latter is the more effective design. The subjective measures gathered in the
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current study were internally consistent and powerful. This is important considering the suggestion by Roberts (2012) that networks have structural differences so that, when creating a schematic map, non-conventional design rules might sometimes be appropriate in order to create a coherent design with simple line trajectories. In order to counter potential adverse public reaction to a radical (and supposedly more effective) innovative design, at the very least its introduction should be supported by objective data from sound usability studies. Even then, it might be advisable to have a transition period in order to boost familiarity with new designs, before phasing out old ones.
5. References Bornstein, R. F. (1989). Exposure and affect: Overview and meta-analysis of research, 1968–1987. Psychological Bulletin, 106, pp 265–289. Boston Globe (2013). MBTA map-making contest garners 17,000 votes. http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/21/map-making-contest-garnersvotes/egeCO7x7Q8rbfciGVHaSyI/story.html [accessed 01/06/2015] Chabris, C., & Simons, D. (2010). The invisible gorilla. New York: Crown Publishing. Chi, M. T. H., Feltovich, P. J., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices. Cognitive Science, 5, pp 121–152. Gallotti, R., Porter, M. A., & Barthelemy, M. (2016). Lost in transportation: Information measures and cognitive limits in multilayer navigation. Science Advances, 2, e1500445. Garland, K. (1994). Mr Beck’s Underground map. Harrow Weald, UK: Capital Transport Publishing. Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 77, pp 1121–1134. Nöllenburg, M. (2014). A survey on automated metro map layout methods. Schematic Mapping Workshop 2014, University of Essex, April. https://sites.google.com/site/schematicmapping/Nöllenburg_survey.pdf [accessed 29/05/2015] Nöllenburg, M., & Wolff, A. (2011). Drawing and labeling high-quality metro maps by mixed-integer programming. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 17, pp 626-641. Ovenden, M. (2005). Metro maps of the world (2nd ed). Harrow Weald, UK: Capital Transport Publishing. Ovenden, M. (2008). Paris Metro style in map and station design. Harrow Weald, UK: Capital Transport Publishing. Ovenden, M. (2015). Transit maps of the world (2nd ed). New York: Penguin. Roberts, M. J. (2005). Underground maps after Beck. Harrow Weald, UK: Capital Transport Publishing. Roberts, M. J. (2012). Underground maps unravelled, explorations in information design. Wivenhoe, UK: Published by the author. Roberts, M.J. (2014). What’s your theory of effective schematic map design? Schematic Mapping Workshop 2014, University of Essex, April. http://www.tubemapcentral.com/articles/roberts_theoretical_2014.pdf [accessed 09/11/2015] Roberts, M.J., Newton, E.J., Lagattolla, F.D., Hughes, S., & Hasler, M.C. (2013). Objective versus subjective measures of Paris Metro map usability: Investigating traditional octolinear versus allcurves schematic maps. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 71, pp 363-386.
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Vertesi, J. (2008). Mind the Gap: The London Underground map and usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; representations of urban space. Social Studies of Science, 38, pp 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;33. About the Authors: Maxwell Roberts has a PhD in psychology from the University of Nottingham and is a lecturer at the University of Essex. His research interests include human inference personal web page is www.tubemapcentral.com Ida Vaeng graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Essex in 2015. The data here were collected as part of her finalyear dissertation.
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Data Visualisation Does Political Things Joanna Boehnert University of Westminster j.boehnert@westminster.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.387
Abstract In this paper I advance the theory of critical communication design by exploring the politics of data, information and knowledge visualisation in three bodies of work. Data reflects power relations, special interests and ideologies that determine which data is collected, what data is used and how it is used. In a review of Max Roserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Our World in Data, I develop the concepts of digital positivism, datawash and darkdata. Looking at the Climaps by Emaps project, I describe how knowledge visualisation can support integrated learning on complex problems and nurture relational perception. Finally, I present my own Mapping Climate Communication project and explain how I used discourse mapping to develop the concept of discursive confusion and illustrate contradictions in this politicised area. Critical approaches to information visualisation reject reductive methods in favour of more nuanced ways of presenting information that acknowledge complexity and the political dimension on issues of controversy. Keywords: data visualisation; controversy mapping; datawash; discourse mapping
Introduction Data visualisation makes big data and other information accessible and meaningful in ways that reflect both the explicit intentions and the implicit assumptions of designers. Despite efforts some designers make to be neutral and objective interpreters, all information design is embedded with suppositions. When data visualisation illustrates trends and presents truth claims it privileges certain perspectives. We all rely on accurate information that effectively captures the complexity of contemporary conditions but neither data itself nor data visualisations are politically neutral. Data reflects power relations, special interests and ideologies in terms of which data is collected, what data is used and how it is used. In this paper I will advance critically informed approaches to data visualisation. Due to the inherent reductionism in data visualisation it can easily be used in ways that obscure complex
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phenomenon. For this reason, in many instances knowledge visualisation is a more effective and honest approach. This is especially true on issues of controversy. I explore these ideas by examining the politics of data, information and knowledge visualisations in three bodies of work. Firstly Max Roser’s Our World in Data project presents charts of economic, social and ecological phenomenon. Reviewing this work I develop the concepts of digital positivism, datawash and darkdata. Next, Climaps by Emaps elegantly captures the complexity of climate debates. With this work I describe and develop the concepts of knowledge visualisation and relational perception. Finally I present my own Mapping Climate Communication research. This work uses of systems and discourse mapping to capture controversy in this politicised area. The three sets of work display highly reductive methods (Roser) and then more nuanced and critically aware ways of presenting information that acknowledge the political dimension on issues of controversy.
Theorising Critical Data Visualisation In order to understand how meaning is constructed with data visualisation and what can go wrong, it helps to theorise the various practices involved. Communication design selects and orders information. Visualisations are interpretations that can only capture partial information. Data visualisation is created in a process involving multiple decisions. The decisions involving which data to collect, which data to illustrate, how to illustrate it and where to illustrate it are decisions that reflect assumptions, unstated (often unacknowledged) ideological perspectives and subjective judgments. With these choices, some information will always be missing. Catherine D’Ignazio claims that “Even when we rationally know that data visualizations do not represent ‘the whole world’, we forget that fact and accept charts as facts because they are generalized, scientific and seem to present an expert, neutral point of view” (2015, para.1).
For this reason data visualisation must be understood as “one more powerful and flawed tool of oppression” (D’Ignazio 2015, para. 2). Data visualisation reveals certain phenomenon while simultaneously concealing more complicated realities. In a world with dramatic power imbalances, some people’s interests are represented at the expense of others. Within data visualisation meaning is constructed by both the designer and the audience. Cultural theorist and sociologist Stuart Hall (1973) describes how communication is encoded by a producer and then decoded by an audience in ways that are processes of cultural translation. In both instances, interpretations occurs. Designers construct data visualisation by selecting relevant datasets and organising data to tell a particular story and to reveal certain elements about a situation. Audiences decode data visualisation by interpreting the visual strategies and codes according to cultural conventions and their own assumptions. Approaching data visualisation critically involves recognising which story is being told and also anticipating what stories are not told about the same situation. Why are some perspectives communicated while others are not? Furthermore, it is necessary to consider
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how narrative, style and approach reflects on the content. The methods used to communicate content matter in subtle ways that are not always clear. Data visualisation often uses information encoded with numbers. Numerical data is an abstract type of information captured with quantitative values. Identified elements are counted with others of the same type in order to facilitate comparison with quantities of different types. While this type of quantitative reasoning has obvious virtues, its hegemony has dramatic consequences in the manner that the society is organised. Sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos explains: “To know means to quantify. Scientific rigour is gauged by the rigour measurement. The intrinsic qualities of the object, so to speak, do not count, and are replaced by quantities that can be translated. Whatever is not quantifiable is scientifically irrelevant…[thus] the scientific method is based on the reduction of complexity” (2007, p.18).
This reliance on quantitative reasoning flattens out all phenomena to what can be captured by numbers. By reducing observable facts to numbers the “act of measurement loses more information than it gains” (Wheatley 2006, p.65). Purely quantitative approaches to information design often fail to capture power relations, ideologies, attitudes, motivations and behaviours that cannot be reduced to a number. For these reasons, data visualisation that is purely quantitative and numerical is often reductionist and over-simplistic. Clearly empirical and quantitative methods are a necessary foundation for analysis in many instances – but these modes of analysis are not the only way of knowing relevant to complex and controversial problems. The dominance and overreliance on empirical and quantitative reasoning is problematic. Qualitative and critical approaches often offer more nuanced understanding of the full set of relationships within phenomena under investigation. Digital methods and numerical data can give data visualisation an unwarranted veneer of objectivity and legitimacy. Communication theorists Vincent Mosco (2014) and Christian Fuchs (2015) describe how digital positivism advances a false certainty and an over-simplistic understanding of how data mediates knowledge. Digital positivism refers to the ways that digital methods can assume an authority associated with empirical work and the hard sciences. Digital positivism prioritizes “quantitative over qualitative data, arguing that the former provides the best opportunity for meaningful generalizations and that, when necessary, qualitative states can be rendered qualitatively” (Mosco 2014, p.196). The danger here is not only that complexity is reduced to numbers, but that the certain types of knowledge are prioritised as the expense of others. This reductive approach results in distorted meanings. “It is uncertain what is worse: that big data treats problems thorough oversimplication or that it ignores those that require a careful treatment of subjectivity, including lengthy observation, depth interviews, and appreciation for the social production of meaning.” (Ibid., p.198).
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Data visualisation is all too often made with a digital positivist approach. Pretenses to objectivity with numerical data can be deceptive. Digital positivism fosters a false sense of epistemic certainty that can be a risky on issues of the environment, technology and science; and unethical on issues of justice. Data displays embody values, perspectives, ideologies and political propositions that are obscured by the authority of digital positivism. David Brookes explains that “data is never raw; it’s always structured according to somebody’s predispositions and values. The end result looks disinterested, but, in reality, there are value choices all the way through, from construction to interpretation... This is not to argue that big data isn’t a great tool. It’s just that, like any tool, it’s good at some things and not at others.” (2013, para. 14).
The data visualisations described below are examples the dangers of digital positivism. They demonstrate why data visualisation must be approached critically.
Our World In Data Our World in Data is a research project conducted by economist Max Roser at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. The project offers overviews of global trends with dozens of charts and data visualisations on a wide variety of topics posted on the project website. The website claims it is “visualising the empirical evidence” and the headline over many charts reads: “an empirical view”. On May 10th 2015 Max Roser tweeted “Declining Racial Violence in the US since 1882” (@MaxCRoser) and embedded a line chart in the tweet displaying decreasing numbers of lynching in the United States over the past century (figure 1). On Roser’s website there is a detailed bar chart on the number of lynchings (figure 2). These charts are not a reliable summary of racial violence in the USA. Roser has cherry picked particular datasets and then made a sweeping claim about racial violence in America. By visualising antiquated data while ignoring more relevant data (such as police killings of black people) these charts bolster a political perspective and serve a particular narrative. Activists mobilising to highlight police violence towards black and brown people claim that racial killings have been systematically dismissed in the American justice system. The FBI admits that it does not collect complete information on USA law enforcement police killings and so these statistics are only collected by newspapers and activists organisations (Swaine & Laughland 2015). Decisions with political implications have been made at all stages: the necessary data is not counted by official bodies, the choice to use the lynching data to make charts, the choice to label the chart as representative of racial violence, etc.
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Figure 1 ‘Declining Racial Violence’, Tweet by Max Roser, 10 May 2015 with embedded line chart.
Figure 2 ‘Lynchings in the United States, 1882-1969 – Max Roser’. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Note the ‘Empirical View’ headline.
This example is relatively easy to deconstruct (since work has been done to gather the missing data on police killings and activists have politicised this issue). Representations of the environment are also politicised but typically it is harder to identify exactly how these hyper-complex issues are obscured in communication processes. For example, Figure 2 ‘Global death rate from natural catastrophes (1900-2013)’ supposedly illustrates the significant improvements in humankind’s capacity to survive natural catastrophes. The data here could be accurate if the approach to data collection is very narrow in its boundary conditions. Considering the ways that deteriorated environmental circumstances trigger conflict and war and the current refugee crisis – how survival is defined and measured in the wake of natural disasters must also be a contested issue. While the data could suggest that there are more survivors of natural catastrophes per capita in the short term, more extreme weather events are happening more often. The impact of climate de-stabilisation is already
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dramatic. The damage to livelihoods by extreme weather is a point of contention at yearly United Nations climate conferences. Nations on the frontline of climate impacts fiercely contest the narrative that natural catastrophes are less of a problem now than in the past (as whole island disappear under the sea).
Figure 3 ‘Natural Catastrophes: Annual global death rate (per 100,000) per decade from natural catastrophes, 1900-1913 – Max Roser’.
These charts can be understood as datawash. Datawash is a concept that refers to data visualisation that conceals or obscures knowledge on issues of controversy. Datawash oversimplifies, cheery picks and de-contextualises information in order to present sweeping claims that obfuscate (Boehnert 2015). The associated concept of darkdata refers to the fact that what isn’t measured or tracked is often as important (or more) than what is (Corby 2015). Dark data is the missing data. Where certain data is not collected this is often due to the epistemic and ideological assumptions of powerful constituencies – or simply where the communication of certain data is blatantly against their interests. For example, in the case of the charts above (figures 1 and 2), the darkdata is the dataset on police killings of black people. In cases involving the environment, darkdata can be associated with ‘unintended’ consequences as the implications of new technologies and development are not investigated and thus data on risks is missing. The concepts of datawash and darkdata open discursive space by focusing attention on what is obscured, neglected and unknown. Roser presents his work as ‘the empirical view’ (see figure 3) but his favourite datasets are by no means the authoritative datasets. The datasets he illustrates are those that suit his particular ideological perspective. It is worth repeating: data is not neutral. It is instead an assemblage of infrastructures, laws, social discourses, technologies and politics (Corby 2015). It reflects the concerns and interpretations of social science research and the institutions that collect data. Data emerges “from various social concerns and practices. It is informed by history, culture, and society, and these help define, reproduce, and shape the use of this data. What interest us here are the social and organizational conventions, values, and structures that provide
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the ‘infrastructure’ through which concepts like data and information are constructed and gain legitimacy and power” (Rasanen & Nyce 2013, p.659)
Values, sensibilities and ideologies are reflected in choices about which data is collected and selected, as well as the methods, media and styles used to communicate and use data. Decisions to use data (in a plethora of different ways) serve political priorities and agendas that must be recognised.
Climaps by Emaps Climaps by EMAPS: A Global Issue Atlas of Climate Change Adaptation was a 3-year collaborative project funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. The working group was coordinated by Sciences Po Paris. The Emaps working group published 33 issue-maps on climate change and the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference. According to the Climaps by EMAPs summary report, the project was the largest yet experiment with the method of controversy mapping: “Controversy mapping is a research technique developed in the field of Sciences and Technology Studies (STS) to deal with the growing intricacy of socio-technological debates. Instead of mourning such complexity, it aims to equip engaged citizens to navigate through expert disagreement. Instead of lamenting the fragmentation of society, it aims to facilitate the emergence of more heterogeneous discussion forums” (Venturini et al. 2014, p.1).
The figures below (4-8) illustrate themes in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of all Parties (COP) negotiation process; top climate issues according to the Internet; and funding priorities by various donor countries. The data visualisations in this series illustrate patterns over time with visual strategies including network visualisations, flow diagrams, treemaps, scatter plots, and other (often interactive) emerging strategies. We live in an information rich world but information alone does not necessarily lead to understanding or the capacity to act in effective ways. For example, we have an abundance of data on climate change but we have not created effective means to adapt much less mitigate impacts of a de-stabilised climate system. Data visualisation on climate change does not necessarily support effective action or politics to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Sometimes data driven methods can do more to obscure the problem than facilitate actual solutions (datawash and darkdata facilitate this process). On the other hand, communication design can and often does help audiences move from processing information to developing deeper understanding and new capacities for action. Knowledge visualisations aim to create deep and actionable understanding of new information. According to information theory, there is a hierarchy of four categories of communication: data, information, knowledge and wisdom:
“Data are the pure and simple facts without any particular structure or organization, the basic atoms of information,
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Information is structured data, which adds meaning to the data and gives it context and significance,
Knowledge is the ability to use information strategically to achieve one’s objectives, and
Wisdom is the capacity to choose objectives consistent with one’s values and within a larger social context” (Logan and Stokes 2004, pp.38–39 quoted in Logan 2014, para. 35).
Communication and learning occurs at different levels. Data is reductive in that it is composed of individual atomised elements. Knowledge is supported by understanding context, relationships, patterns and interdependence. Knowledge visualisation communicates trends while also supporting more integrated understanding that potentially enables agency. In the Climaps series, the visualisations support an overview of the issues. The issue maps shift “the focus from single parts to the whole” and thereby enable “the perception of the system as an integrated structure, and understanding which properties characterise the whole system, rather than belonging to any one specific component” (Valsecchi, Ciuccarelli, Ricci and Caviglia 2010, p.2). This approach engages relational perception or ecological perception, i.e. the noticing of relations. (I use these two terms interchangeably as each has connotations I would like to emphasize). Relational / ecological perception refers to perceptual habits and ways of seeing that emphasize relationships, context and patterns. Visual communication can be created with the explicit intention of nurturing relational perceptual practices by focusing attention on relationships. It is the focus of attention that “often means the difference between seeing and not seeing” (Sewall 1995, p.204). Through repetition we develop “visual systems structures, or neural networks, [which] determine our perceptual tendencies” (Ibid, p.207). Typically we see what we think we are looking for and what our attention trains us to see (Bateson 1972; Sewall 1995, 1999). In this way perceptual habits are culturally constructed; they are a result of perceptual habits that are encouraged within a particular culture. This understanding of the malleability of perception is significant for communication design. Since perceptual attention and perceptual habits are a basis for our way of seeing, designers have the potential to nurture changes in ways of seeing through directed selective attention (Boehnert 2012, 2014, 2017).
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Figure 4 ‘Climaps by Emaps: Rise and Fall of Issues In UNFCCC Negotiations, 1995-2013’. Published online http://climaps.eu.
Figure 5 ‘Climaps by Emaps’, Sectorial Specialization Of OECD Member Countries: Filter showing only top donor country of each sector.
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Figure 6 ‘Climaps by Emaps: Sectorial Specialization Of OECD Member Countries’, Filter showing only the top area of each donor country.
The Climaps project reveals patterns and offers an overview of climate change adaptation debates. What is not evident here are the intense conflicts including outright contradictions in this highly contentious area. Within climate communication the same language is often used when referring to very different sets of interests and policy proposals. The meaning of language on politicised issues such as climate change differs according to its context. For example, the word ‘sustainability’ is often rendered virtually meaningless due to its use by actors who do little or nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Obfuscations in this area have serious consequences. Policy is developed based on perspectives, interpretations and ideologies. Currently policy on climate change enables industrial systems that are undermining the stability of the climate system. My own work with controversy mapping has lead me to believe that since ideologies, power relationships and contradictions are rarely if ever evident in the available datasets, controversial issues cannot be effectively communicated with data visualisation alone.
Figures 7-8 ‘Climaps by Emaps’, top 17 sub-issues and issues on the international climate change issue agenda according to the web.
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Mapping Climate Communication This project was created during my CIRES Visiting Fellowship at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado Boulder. As the first communication designer to work as a researcher in the social science wing of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences I was keen to demonstrate the ways in which design methods could be used to address climate communication challenges. The Mapping Climate Communication project offers an overview of how climate change is communicated in the public realm. It contextualises actors, events, strategies, media coverage and discourses influencing public opinion in ways that respond to some of the most severe climate communication challenges. I used two primary visualisation methods: a timeline and a network visualisation. The Climate Timeline visualises the historical processes and events that have lead to the growth of various ways of communicating climate change. The Network of Actors illustrates relationships between institutions, organisations and individuals participating in climate communication in Canada, United States and the United Kingdom. The large-scale knowledge visualisations and a Poster Summary Report were published on-line October 2014. The mapping process serves to investigate the issues, stimulate interest and build awareness. In this case it also serves as a conduit of theory.
Figure 9 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mapping Climate Communication, No. 1 The Climate Timelineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, J.Boehnert, 2014
5.1 Research Question My research proposal described a process that not only maps events, actors, discourses and dynamics within this area but also harnessed design as a problem-solving practice to address communication challenges. Clearly climate change is not a problem anyone can solve with a communication design research project, but designers can attempt to identity problems and address these with design methods, tools and practices. Unlike posters created to present previously conducted research, this work uses design methods to explore the research question: How can this research facilitate collaboration, support learning, inform analysis and build capacity within the climate communication community and beyond?
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Figure 10 ‘Mapping Climate Communication, No. 2 Network of Actors’, J.Boehnert, 2014
The problem this question addresses is obvious. Greenhouse gas emissions in North America and abroad continue to rise despite the significant work by the climate science community and the environmental movement over more than four decades. In what ways can knowledge visualisation and mapping strategies help? I spent several months gathering data on the history of climate communication and the current major actors. This included working with Maxwell Boykoff’s media monitoring group that captured data from 50 global newspapers for monthly mentions of ‘climate change’ over 15 years. During this time I refined my research question while investigating relevant debates, actors and strategies. After an extensive review of the literature in this area and consultations with climate communication researchers, I decided the most meaningful way to organise the information was to contextualised it as much as possible within five major discourses.
5.2 Background and Rationale: Discourse Mapping Discourses are shared ways of understanding the world. They are also concepts that frame a problem. Discourses provide the basic terms for analysis and define what is understood as common sense and legitimate knowledge (Dryzek 2013, p.9). Diverse values, vested interests, critical perspectives and insights are embedded within discourses. These both reflect and construct attitudes towards the natural world and associated issues such as
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climate change. I identified five dominant climate discourses motivated by science (or not) and ideology: climate science, climate justice, climate contrarian, neoliberalism and ecological modernisation. Mapping these discursive positions illustrates similarities and differences between various ways of communicating climate change. Discourse mapping is an interpretative method that captures nuances and meaning while revealing the fluid relationships between discourses as they relate to each other and change over time. In this project climate communication refers to all of the ways in which public understanding of climate change is developed through social communication processes. Since communication happens at the level of rhetoric as well as the level of action, discourses in this project include explicit messages on climate change and also messages that are implicit within political, corporate and non-profit organisational activities and policy. In other words it includes communication by omission, i.e. what is communicated by the denial or ignoring of climate change in places where it is relevant.
Figure 11 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Network of Actors: placement of five discourses on the matrixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, J.Boehnert, 2014.
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Figure 12: ‘Environmental Discourses: a matrix of theories’, J.Boehnert, 2014. Placement of discourses as characterised in other texts.
This approach reveals tensions in climate communication by exposing contradictions between what was said and what was done about climate change. Using this approach I developed the theory of discursive confusion and used visual strategies to illustrate it. Discursive confusion describes a situation where there are contradictions between explicit and implicit communication. Institutional actors claim that climate change is a serious threat but continue to support carbon intensive development. Following debates over four decades it is clear that obscuring rhetoric masks a lack of action. Since it is easier to say that lower emissions are necessary than to do the political work that will make this possible, this conflict between explicit and implicit messaging is important. The discursive confusion that results from contradictory communication is theorised as central to the ongoing slow progress (or according to some, a deadlock) in climate policy.
5.3 Methodology: Systems and Discourse Mapping This project uses systems and discourse mapping to explore the research question. It is inspired by system oriented design (Sevaldson 2013) and visual cognitive mapping (Horn 1998; 2001; 2005). Cognitive maps are tools for communicating complex, multi-dimensional information that illustrate the “logical structure and visual structure of the emerging arguments, empirical data, scenarios, trends and policy options... and help keep the big picture from being obscured by the details” (Horn 2001, p.5). System mapping provides an
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overview of the whole and make complexity accessible with strategies that capture as much meaningful information as possible while revealing hidden connections. System mapping supports relational perception by illustrating a concern with relationships: “The systems oriented designer is initially less concerned about hierarchies and boundaries of systems and more interested in looking at vast fields of relations and patterns of interactions. She is geared towards looking at as many interrelations as possible and working with a ‘field-feel’ and holistic overview, while making details accessible” (Sevaldson 2013, p.3).
System maps display the structure of complex issues and reflect on issues from a wide range of perspectives. System mapping is a method well suited for environmental communication since it can reveal relationships, patterns, dynamics and causality in complex socioecological-political systems. In these ways system mapping enables insights across disciplines and sectors on hyper-complex issues. In the Climate Timeline events are placed within the five discursive streams. The timeline displays how the five discourses evolve over time. Quantitative data on media mentions of climate change in over 50 global newspapers (visible in the bottom right figure 9 and figure 13) is mapped alongside events.
Figure 13: Detail of ‘The Climate Timeline’. Media monitoring: world newspaper coverage of climate change or global warming. Monitoring 50 sources across 25 countries in 7 different regions. This detail of the line graph displays data from the seven regions (7 coloured lines) over a decade.
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Figure 14: Detail of the ‘Network of Actors’.
The accompanying Network of Actors (NoA) displays data on institutions, organisations and individuals. The actors are contextualised by their placement on the matrix (figure 11, 12 and 14). The discourse analysis and mapping is interpretation based on rhetoric, alliances and actions associated with each actor. Using visual codes the NoA also displays specific information on each actor (relative to the type: funding, audience, internet presence, etc.). In total six variables are illustrated for each actor: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
name location (Canada, USA, UK) discursive position: location n on framework + colour relative influence: size of the circle type of actor: circle circumference line (see legend: figure 15) Internet traffic: width of circle circumference line (see legend: figure 15)
This work displays the wide variety of actors engaged with climate communication (twelve types – see legend: figure 15) as well as the relationship of actors to each other and within a discourse map.
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Figure 15: Detail of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Network of Actorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Actor types and Internet influence: coded circle nodes. Displaying the 12 types of actors (circle style) and the Internet traffic of each actor (circle circumference width).
Placement on the matrix was a qualitative judgment based on my interpretation of the discourse emerging from this actor. This work displays the wide variety of actors engaged with climate communication; the relationship of actors to each other and within five discourses; and specific information on these actors (relative to the type of actor: funding, audience, internet presence, etc.). It also opens discursive space for the marginalised climate justice discourse by making space for these small but significant actors. I used timelines, bubble charts, network visualisations, strategies maps and other strategies in the construction of these posters. Combining quantitative comparisons and qualitative interpretations made it possible to capture power relations in this politicised area. The method was developed after experimenting with various data-driven approaches. Overtime it became obvious that reducing the scope of the inquiry to variables that could be collected and visualised with the available datasets, by means of algorithmic network visualisation software (with accompanying reductive methods) failed to capture the complexity of ideologies and power relations significant within climate communication. A more subtle approach was necessary. The maps explore the impact of neoliberal governance on climate communication. This analysis reveals why emissions continue to rise despite the significant work by the climate science community and the environmental movement over four decades. All three climate discourses that acknowledge the need for dramatic emissions reduction (climate science,
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climate justice and ecological modernisation) must be aware of the ways in which the neoliberal discourse appropriates their rhetorical positions. Neoliberal actors often use the language of the environmental movement to gain and maintain legitimacy and public trust. The danger here is that the climate movement’s work in creating awareness and policy opinions responding to climate change is simply used as convenient rhetoric and public relations messaging for continued and even exacerbated carbon intensive development. Unfortunately, acting according to climate imperatives is difficult or even impossible within the ideological scaffolding of the neoliberal political project. With these dynamics in mind, it is evident that contrarians are not the only ones preventing action on climate change.
Conclusion With an understanding of the malleability of perception (i.e. perceptual habits are learned and culturally constructed) and the politics of representation (i.e. certain groups have more power to create representations than others) truth-seeking visualisations must move beyond the presentation of data as the foundation for analysis. Information design guru Edward Tufte states that “excellence in presenting information requires mastering the craft of spurning ideology” (1990, 35) – but all communication embodies ways of knowing, perspectives and ideologies whether one is aware of our own ideological premises or not. In many cases on issues of controversy, the most relevant fact is that powerful groups are able to communicate perspectives that support their own ideological commitments and interests. Data visualisations embody values, worldviews and ideologies that are reflected in which data is collected and selected, as well as the methods, media and styles used to communicate information. These decisions often serve political priorities and agendas. This is especially true for politically loaded issues. Critical data visualisation and information design questions what is being communicated and how it is communicated. The concepts of digital positivism, datawash and darkdata are building blocks for critical information design literacy. Obviously quantitative data displays have value – but power and ideology hide behind the presentation of data such that some interests are presented and others are obscured. Articulating the limits of data visualisation opens discursive space for more nuanced approaches such as knowledge visualisation. With this awareness designers can support knowledge transfer and avoid de-contextualised over-simplified datawash that serves a highly ideological function while appearing to deliver only the facts. Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Maxwell Boykoff and to the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences for the opportunity to spend a year as a CIRES Visiting Research Fellow. I would also like to thank the AHRC for the funding my PhD at the University of Brighton and Jonathan Chapman and Julie Doyle for their support as my supervisors.
References Boehnert, J. (2012) The Visual Communication of Ecological Literacy: Designing, Learning and Emergent Ecological Perception. PhD thesis, Department of Design, University of Brighton.
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Boehnert, J. (2014) Ecological Perception: Seeing Systems. In Proceedings of DRS 2014: Design's Big Debates, Umea, Sweden. June 16-19. Boehnert, J. (2015) The Politics of Data Visualisation. Discover Society. 3 August 2015, 23. Boehnert, J. (2017) Design, Ecology, Politics. London: Bloomsbury. Bateson, G. (1972) Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Brooks, D. (2013) What Data Can’t do, NYTimes. 19 February 2013. Corby, T. (2015) From un-data to ‘un-visualisation, Transforming Data: Creative and Critical Directions in the Arts and Humanities. University of Westminster, 24 October 2015. D’Ignazio, C. (2015) What would Feminist Data Visualisation Look Like? MIT Center for Civic Media, https://civic.mit.edu/feminist-data-visualization (Accessed 10 March, 2016). Dryzek, J.S. (2013) The Politics of the Earth. 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. EMAPS, Electronic Maps to Assist Public Science. (2014) Climaps by Emaps: A Global Issue Atlas of Climate Change Adaptation. http://climaps.eu/#!/home (Accesssed 15 November 2015). Fuchs, C. (2015) A Critical Political Economy-Perspective on Big Data and Social Media, Transforming Data: Creative and Critical Directions in the Arts and Humanities. University of Westminster, 24 October 2015. Hall, S. (1973) Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse. Birmingham, UK: Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham. Horn, R. (1998) Visual Language: Global Communication for the 21st Century. Brainbridge Island: Macro VU Press. Horn, R. (2001) Knowledge Mapping for Complex Social Messes. Foundations in the Knowledge Economy, David and Lucile Packard Foundation. July 16, 2001. Horn, R. (2005) What we do not know: Using information murals to portray scientific ignorance. Futures, 38 (3), pp.372-377. Logan, R. & Stokes, L. (2004) Collaborate to Compete: Driving Profitability in the Knowledge Economy. Toronto and New York: Wiley. Logan, R. (2014) Chapter 2: What is Information? Why Is It Relativistic and What Is Its Relationship to Materialitity, Meaning and Organization. Toronto: DEMO Publishing. http://demopublishing.com/ book/ what-is-information/chapter-2/ (Accessed 15 November 2015). Mosco, V. (2014) To the Cloud: Big Data in a Turbulent World. Boulder: Paradigm. Räsänen, M. and Nyce, J. (2013) ‘The Raw is Cooked: Data in Intelligence Practice. Science Technology Human Vaues. 38 (5), pp. 655-677. Roser, M. (2015) Treatment of Minorities – Violence and Tolerance. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: goo.gl/68xybg (Accessed 15 November 2015). Roser, M. (2015) Natural Catastrophes. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: goo.gl/EwlrjV (Accessed: November 15 2016). Santos, B.S. (2007) Cognitive Justice in a Global World. Plymouth: Lexington Books. Sevaldson, B. (2013) ‘Systems Oriented Design: The emergence and development of a designerly approach to address complexity’. DRS / Cumulus Oslo 2013: 2nd International Conference for Design Research Education Researchers. Oslo, 14-17 May 2013. Sewall, L. (1995) The Skills of Ecological Perception. In T. Roszak, M.Gomes, and A.Kanner, (Eds.). Ecopsychology. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, pp. 201-215. Sewall, L. (1999) Sight and Sensibility: The Ecopsychology of Perception. New York: Putnam.
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Swaine, J. & Laughland, O. (2015) Eric Garner and Tamir Rice among those missing from FBI record of police killings. The Guardian, 15 October 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/usnews/2015/oct/15/fbi-record-police-killings-tamir-rice-eric-garner (Accesssed 15 November 2015). Tufte, E. (1990) Envisioning Information. Graphics Press, Cheshire: Graphics Press. Wheatley, M. (2006) Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Valsecchi, F., Ciuccarelli, P., Ricci, D. and Caviglia, G. (2010) The Density Design lab: communication design experiments among complexity and sustainability. In Proceedings Cumulus Conference 2010 Young Creators for Better City and Better Life, Shanghai, China, September 2010. Venturini, T., Meunier, A. Munk, R. Rogers, E. Borra, B. Rieder, L. Bounegru, N. Sanchez Querubin, P. Ciuccarelli, M. Mauri, M. Azzi, D. Ciminieri, G. Uboldi, P. Gerry, H. Kitcher, R. Schon, A. Kaltenbrunner, D. Laniado, M. Fleischhauer. (2014) Climaps by EMAPS in 2 Pages (A Summary For Policymakers and Busy People in General) http://ssrn.com/abstract =2532946 (Accessed November 15, 2015).
About the Author: Dr. Joanna Boehnert is a Research Fellow in Graphic Design at CREAM, University of Westminster. She completed an AHRC funded PhD in 2012 at the University of Brighton. She is writing a book titled Design/ Ecology/ Politics and tweets as @ecolabs and @ecocene.
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The information designer through the lens of design for learning Eden Potter AUT University, New Zealand eden.potter@aut.ac.nz DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.490
Abstract: All effective information design helps people to access, understand, and use information, but not all information design is intended to help people learn. This paper examines instructional design—the activity of creating and developing learning experiences that meet learners’ needs—and places it as a lens through which to identify the key skills and personal attributes that information designers need to succeed in their field. Keywords: Information designer; Instructional designer; Skills; Attributes
Introduction Instructional design uses information design to help people learn. Like all forms of information design, its outputs need to be accessible and usable, and it must meet people’s needs. Instructional design creates experiences for learners that promote behavioural and cognitive change. In this paper, I examine both the high-level content design and the visual design aspects of instructional design to evaluate the information designer’s role in designing educational experiences for people. First, I discuss findings from an investigation into instructional designers’ roles, workflow, collaborative activities, skills, and personal qualities. For this I conducted two separate semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to elicit the opinions and attitudes of instructional design practitioners—a senior instructional design consultant and a graphic designer who has worked in instructional design. Since these were both ‘expert interviews’ from the perspective of practitioners with two very different skill sets, a broader survey was unnecessary (Muratovski, 2015, p. 61). Interview data were coded and categorized, and then compared with information design and instructional design literature This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
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to suggest which general ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills and attributes are essential for an information designer to possess.
The situation The interdisciplinary approach from which information design has emerged means that many fields claim ‘information design’ as a core activity. Some of these are data visualization, interaction design, technical communication, user experience design, and instructional design. With such a range of fields, many still at a relatively nascent stage, definitions of information design vary widely. This is in part due to the personal biases and backgrounds of those adopting the title ‘information designer’ to describe what they do (Albers, 2003, p. 3; Redish, 2000, p. 163). Practitioners—including instructional designers— tend to adopt an identity around the practices and processes within their field. In 2003, Beth Mazur suggested that “information design is in motion” (p. 33), with research and professional activities shaping the discipline and how it is defined. In 2016, increasing globalization and the rate of technological change means that information design is still on the move. Information designers recognize that people are using technology differently than they did 10 years ago. Mobile devices, cloud computing, and Web 2.0 offer designers new opportunities and challenges (Carliner, 2009, p. 130). Globalization has created a need for international information products, so designers must be even more aware of cultural preferences and perceptions when designing for various audiences. Information designers’ on-the-job challenges are more complicated, because new trends are appearing, and designers’ essential skills are becoming more extensive (Zaballero, A.G., Tutaleni, I. A. & Briskin, J., 2015, para. 1). As information designers’ core competencies evolve, designers in some fields are suggesting they redefine their job title and roles (Moss, 2014). In instructional design, a growing number believe that the job title ‘instructional designer’ no longer represents their roles and responsibilities. A recent study showed that 31 per cent of instructional designers surveyed thought that a more generalist title would reflect their additional roles in organizational development, coaching, and communications (Zaballero, A.G., Tutaleni, I. A. & Briskin, J., 2015, para. 3). Others are using the term ‘learning experience designer’ (or LX designer). Instructional design author and critic, Connie Malamed advocates using this title. She claims it is more user-centric, that it suggests ‘learning’ rather than ‘instruction’, and that it puts more emphasis on designing experiences than designing things (Malamed, 2015). But despite changing roles and nomenclature, particular skills and personal attributes are critical to being a successful information designer. This paper examines these using the ‘lens’ of instructional design.
Instructional design: models, stages and products Design fields that use information design, such as user experience/user interface design and technical communication employ user-centred design to understand the needs of people
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who will use their products, and to guide the design process. User-centred design focuses on understanding a particular audience’s attitudes, behaviours, environment, needs, and goals. It also involves testing and evaluating how people interact with a given design product with the aim of optimizing its performance. It is a multidisciplinary, iterative process of initial project planning, understanding the user context, identifying user requirements, designing potential solutions, and testing and evaluating the design against user needs and requirements (Zaharias & Poulymenakou, 2006, p. 89). Examples of user-centred approaches to information design include formalized models for testing and measuring a design artefact’s performance (Sless, 2004, p. 5; Tyers, 2008, p. 204; Nini, p. 4), and user testing to develop internal information products within public sector agencies (Martin, Gregor & Rice, 2008). Instructional design draws on user-centric models to guide the process. Out of all of the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) models used to design learning solutions, ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) is regarded as one of the most effective and responsive (Branch, 2009, p. 1). Although some criticize ADDIE as being staid and formulaic, (Hokanson, B., Miller, C., & Hooper, S. 2007), while others argue that its solutions are imposed upon, rather than designed with learners (Carr-Chellman & Savoy, 2004, p. 702), ADDIE remains a starting point for other ISD models (ADDIE model, n.d.). ADDIE is comparable to other user-centric information design models with its focus on the user, and their performance in a given task. However, with instructional design, the content, and how this meets learning outcomes is the most important factor (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). Like other user-centric information design fields, instructional design involves knowing what information the audience needs and how they will use it to achieve their goals. Information design activities are team-based, where internal and external stakeholders and subject matter experts contribute to the process. The term ‘instructional design’ encompasses the end-to-end process involving these stakeholders, not only the visual execution aspects in much the same way that ‘service design’ describes the design of an organization’s service components and experiences. The following section discusses instructional design outcomes, and elaborates on the design team’s structure and key roles. This provides a context for my findings about the essential skills and personal qualities of an information designer.
3.1 What instructional design produces Some instructional design outcomes are designed for an educational setting; for example, teaching manuals and student guides, full course materials, entire curricula for face-to-face instruction, online distance education, or blended courses. Many instructional design consultancies work in the corporate sector—for financial, retail, manufacturing, and agribusiness clients—or in the government sector.
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In commercial and government environments, instructional design resources include (“Services,” n.d.):
paper based study resources e-learning modules online games m-learning (mobile learning) solutions quick reference guides inductions training courses animated communications webinars information graphics
The instructional design consultant I interviewed suggested that company induction resources made up 40 to 50 per cent of the commissioned projects she and her team work on (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). Three-yearly changes to organizational policies and processes, as well as new people coming on board create demand for induction material. These are mainly e-learning modules. Apart from product systems training programmes for institutions like banks, there is little information documentation produced, because most organizations already have them in-house. Instead, they “deal more with the tools and instructions that send people off to those resources” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). One of the tools described during the interview was a product systems training programme. This was designed to help bank employees to learn the processes involved in dealing with transactions, separating customer’s money, and understand the journey that money takes through the bank and back to customers. Scoping and analysis indicated that bank staff needed to understand how their individual accuracy and system use on the job had impact on other employees’ roles. The instructional design team broke down the various processes and tailored the systems training components into quick reference, succinctly worded information products that worked to troubleshoot on-the-job situations. A series of elearning modules and animations supported the tools. Another information product, induction resources are not role specific. A New Zealand government agency needed to help new employees to understand the scope and breadth of their activities (the big picture), build anticipation about their new job while showing them where they fitted in, and cover compliance issues such as codes of conduct. Three e-learning modules were developed. The first was a welcome module, where employees shared their experiences. The second module aimed to help new employees to understand the organizational structure. Instead of a ‘where do I fit in?' structure diagram, the instructional design team produced a narrative ‘roadmap’ in live action and animated video form, showing the government agency’s touchpoints that a customer might interact with, using quiz style information. The third module was scenario-based, where an array of social and
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workplace situations took users through what were and were not acceptable codes of conduct. A planner outlining the new employee’s larger induction journey supported these modules.
3.2 Key stages in an instructional design project ANALYSIS
For any instructional design project regardless of the model used, the first stage is analysis. This is critical to the project’s success (“How we work,” n.d., para. 15). Often learning design consultancies are commissioned to do some training needs analysis; working out where an organization’s staff need to be, and comparing this to what they can do now. Other times, there will be an initial meeting with the client to gain a sense of what they need (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). This is followed by a couple of scoping meetings, where project managers, instructional designers, a subject matter expert, and client stakeholders will determine the following:
learning needs objectives and outcomes learners’ experience scope and scale of this project—whether it’s a ‘just in time’ solution, or a longlasting one deliverables and their possible components budget After the analysis phase is completed, a project plan brings together all the information gathered in the discovery phase. This can be described as “the scaffold of your solution” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). It includes “what we’ve captured in terms of what the deliverables are, what the objectives are and what needs to be covered under each of those objectives, and how we’ll do it”. Once the client signs off the project plan, the design phase starts. DESIGN
For e-learning module Draft 1: initial high level storyboards of all deliverables in PowerPoint client sign off Draft 2: full draft of the solution with all content, scripts, and visual design applied, created using authoring tools such as Storylines or html client signs off draft to go to development phase (feedback meetings or document tracked changes). For paper-based learning resources Draft 1: initial high level in Microsoft Word editing and proofing client sign off Draft 2: full draft of the solution with all content and applying visual design and branding using InDesign, or Word, depending on the project client signs off draft to go to production phase (feedback meetings or document tracked changes).
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Sign-off involves feedback meetings or document tracked changes. Depending on the changes involved, there may be more feedback loops than detailed above. DEVELOP
Using an iterative process, programmers work closely with subject matter experts to develop the content assets into the finished resource. They then conduct performance testing. IMPLEMENT
This is a client hand-over phase, where online and print publishing, and workshop facilitation happens (“How we work,” n.d., para. 24). Instructional design consultancies may also give assistance with an organization’s Learning Management System. EVALUATE
Clients are interested in their return on investment and how effective the learning resource is. As well as assessing each design stage, learning design consultancies evaluate learner performance after the resource is implemented, and coach their clients’ in-house evaluators (“How we work,” n.d., para. 27).
3.3 Project teams and stakeholders in the instructional design process Multidisciplinary teams are integral to the successful development of an instructional design solution. Technical communicators spend between 20 and 80 per cent of their time working in teams through a variety of roles and specializations (Hart & Conklin, 2006). Instructional design teams include instructional designers, editors, online and print developers, graphic designers, and IT support. In the learning design consultancy I examined, project managers act as team leaders, and each key project is assigned a project manager. Senior consultants project manage much of the work, with a couple of other instructional designers taking on project management work as well. All project managers are also instructional designers, yet at the instructional designer level, roles are not strictly demarcated: We’re all doing the work, it’s just there are a few key people who are mainly managing the project, but we kind of divvy it all up evenly and at any one time one of us could be managing a large portion of small projects, or it’s all one massive one and three smaller ones” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015).
Baehr (2015, p. 116) claims technical communicators’ ability to manage complexity in general makes them good organizational team leaders. This means instructional designers can easily move into managerial or team leadership roles within their consultancy. Although project managers act as quality control, there is fluidity in the working process and lines of communication in the design phase. Project managers and instructional designers consult with the graphic design team, editors, and online developers about the solution’s feasibility at early draft stages. Not all client liaison needs to go through project managers, however. Instructional designers sometimes work directly with clients to prepare the full draft.
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The graphic designer’s role in instructional design projects is primarily execution at the end of the design process. This means taking what the instructional designers has drafted, applying the client’s brand identity, and ensuring the design is clean, clear, and makes sense. A former graphic designer at a learning design consultancy claims: …because we had the instructional designers acting as the project managers and the key contact with the clients, usually it had all been sort of locked down by the time it came to the graphic design team and our role was really just the design work… We would go back if we felt like this content’s too wordy to fit here, or we need to simplify this, or we need to do something with this diagram, but generally our role was executing (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015).
If some work does not need an instructional designer’s input—like amendments or ‘raw’ graphic design—it is passed directly to the graphic design team to manage. In the instructional design process, subject matter experts are brought in at the initial scoping stage, and are consulted throughout the design process (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). This entails collecting the information from the subject matter experts and consulting with them throughout the entire design process to check factual and contextual accuracy (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). Working with clients involves, ‘bringing them with you’ so that they understand the process and the designers’ advice. At the same time, instructional designers must listen to clients and take their feedback on board (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). Branch (2009, pp. 16–17) suggests that working with subject matter experts in an ethically sound manner—representing their ideas accurately in the finished product, respecting the value of their time, and acknowledging their contributions—builds cooperation and partnership. Prioritizing the subject matter experts’ concerns can also be challenging for the design team. Designers need to be patient with subject matter experts to draw what they need from them (personal communication, 16 October, 2015). Subject matter experts focus on the detail; they typically can’t see the big picture in terms of content. They may regard all of what they tell you as being equally important (Bean, 2014). The way a design team works with their client or primary stakeholders often determines a project’s success. Instructional design teams provide a service for clients and stakeholders, while subject matter experts and other content specialists are partners in the design process, working with the design and development team (Branch, 2009, p. 15).
Essential skills and qualities for an information designer to have The following section outlines the personal qualities and skills that contribute to an information designer’s success in producing effective information design outcomes. The focus is on what they know and can do, as well as their ‘soft’ skills and attributes.
4.1 An information designer’s practical skills BEING ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS
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Information designers must ask the right questions at the right time when talking with subject matter experts and clients. The range of subjects that information designers often work with is vast, so designers need to understand what they’re working with (O. Tomlinson, personal communication, 10 July, 2014) and be willing to move from the process of not knowing to knowing. Sometimes this also means asking the ‘dumb’ questions when you’re trying to understand something: “If you’re assuming stuff you can’t do a good job” (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). COMMUNICATION SKILLS
This includes excellent verbal, written, and visual skills to communicate with the client, stakeholders, and your audience (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). It means having the "skill to not only listen but also synthesize what's being said" (Zaballero, A.G., Tutaleni, I. A., & Briskin, J., 2015, para. 5). BEING MULTI - SKILLED AND AGILE
Information designers need to be adaptive, resourceful, and agile. They are multi-specialists who perform diverse roles (Baehr, 2015). At an individual level, it helps to have “mental agility to be able to switch between things, and remember what’s been said…” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). ABILITY TO ORGANIZE AND STRUCTURE INFORMATION
This is “the practical skill of going: this goes with that” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015), and “learning to scaffold information in its purest form” through written and visual editing (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Information designers must “be good with numbers and to be really clear about who’s doing what at what time in the project” (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). This is particularly important as designers move into hybrid roles through organizational change (Baehr, 2015).
4.2. An information designer’s personal qualities EMPATHY
Having empathy in information design practice means, “recognising what it feels like to not understand, and to be confused and overwhelmed” (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015), while overcoming your own prejudices, affinities, and needs (Albers, 2003, pp. 7–8). Empathy means having a “shared deep connectedness” with people who will use the information and being aware of people’s barriers to learning, “enabling people to seek the information they want in the way they can” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). It is understanding “how people will interpret our designs, seeing the world through their eyes” (O. Tomlinson, personal communication, 10 July, 2014). Empathy in
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design, defined as a “deep understanding of the problems and realities of the people you are designing for” (IDEO, 2009, p. 89), is critical to user-centred design. CURIOSITY
Being curious is where it starts for many information designers. In practice, this means being curious about: the situation – “asking why over and over again, and being really curious about this information and who needs to use it and what they need to use it for. Really getting curious about that scenario” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). other people – “I’m endlessly interested and curious about other people’s jobs” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). the world – including other fields, people, influences, and phenomena (Raymer, 2013, para. 13), because “nobody can do their job removed from what’s happening around us” (E. Vella, personal communication, 21 October, 2015). HUMILITY
Information designers should not believe that their job is “to fix the scenario for people” (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). Frascara (2010) echoes this viewpoint, claiming that he doesn’t believe that designers can solve problems, only reduce them. PATIENCE
When working with clients and subject matter experts, designers need to be patient with the process that takes them from not understanding to understanding, logically working through until you gain clarity (I. Parry, personal communication, 16 October, 2015). CULTURAL AWARENESS
With increased globalization and internationalization through technological advances, “…it is no longer sufficient to design based on one's cultural prism or in favor of a dominant culture. Training programs are now consumed cross-culturally and must be designed to respect other cultures” (Zaballero et al, 2015, para. 7). Increasingly, information products need to be localized—altered so that they can be used internationally, or globalized—created so that they don’t need to be modified for other cultural contexts (Hoft, 1995, p.18). CREATIVITY
Bean (2014) and Malamed (in Raymer, 2013, para. 9) regard instructional designers as creative practitioners in the way they pull the user in, tell compelling stories, and engage people to help them to remember information and learn.
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Discussion and conclusion This paper investigated the skills and personal qualities needed to be successful as an information designer, by focussing on the instructional design field and identifying skills and attributes that are common and general for practice. An information designer’s skill that did not appear in the research was competence with digital technologies. Carliner (2003, p. 39) has identified a shift in the field, increasingly moving from a focus on tools to a focus on content; this may explain the low priority on technological skill acquisition. I suggest that well-developed ‘soft’ skills are essential for an information designer. In a recent study of key instructional design skills, ‘soft’ skills were ranked as the most important (Zaballero, A.G., Tutaleni, I. A. & Briskin, J., 2015, para. 5). These include being a life long learner, knowing instructional design methods, principles, and adult learning theory, and being an excellent multimodal communicator. Information designers need to be curious about—and interested in—people. Information designers must know how and when to ask questions, and yet be humble enough to not be the ‘expert’. Creativity is less important, but without it, information design solutions are less likely to engage and delight. A key personal quality was found to be empathy; the most commonly identified personal attribute in this research. Having empathy helps information designers to ‘step into the shoes’ of their target audience, to understand them better, and to make ethical decisions. User-centred design is underpinned by designers’ ability to orient their thinking and process towards people’s needs. An empathetic approach improves designers’ awareness of cultural considerations. It encourages information designers to care about the effects of their work, and to help their audiences reach a place of understanding.
References ADDIE model. [Website]. (n.d.). Retrieved 25 October, 2015, from Instructional design.org website: http://tinyurl.com/2ufm4bc Albers, M. J. (2003) Introduction. In: M. J. Albers & B. Mazur (Eds.), Content and complexity: Information design in technical communication (pp. 1-13). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Baehr, C. (2015) Complexities in hybridization: Professional identities and relationships in technical communication. Technical Communication, 62(2), 104–117. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database. Bean, C. (2014) The accidental instructional designer: Learning design for the digital age. Alexandria: ASTD Press. Branch, R.M. (2009) Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. Springer Science & Business Media. doi 10.1007/978-0-387-09506-6_1 Carliner, S (2003) Physical, cognitive and affective: A three-part framework for information design. In: M. J. Albers & B. Mazur (Eds.), Content and complexity: Information design in technical communication (pp. 39-58). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Carliner, S. (2009) An interview with Maish Nichani. Information Design Journal, 17(2), 128–133. doi: 10.1075/idj.17.2.06car
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Carr-Chellman, A. & Savoy, M. (2004) User-design research. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communication and Technology (2nd ed., pp. 701-716). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Frascara, J. (2010, April 22) Data, information, design and traffic injuries / Podatki, informacije, oblikovanje in prometne poškodbe. [Video file]. Retrieved from: http://tinyurl.com/z97gr7p Hart, H., & Conklin, J. (2006) Toward a meaningful model for technical communication. Technical Communication, 53(4), 395–415. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database. Hoft, N. (1995) International communication. NY: John Wiley and Sons. Hokanson, B., Miller, C., & Hooper, S. (2007) The roles of design: A new method of instructional design. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/jpygfyw How we work. [Website] (n.d.) Retrieved 25 October, 2015, from http://tinyurl.com/zuzg4xn IDEO (2008) The human-centred design toolkit [Booklet]. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/jexr3jr Malamed, C. (2015, May 31) Instructional design needs a new name! [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/zad4zyd Martin, N., Gregor, S. & Rice, J. (2008) User centred information design practices and processes at the Astralian Taxation Office. Information Design Journal, 16(1), 53-67. doi: 10.1075/idj.16.1.08mar Mazur, B. (2003) Information design in motion. In Albers, M. & Mazur, B., Content & complexity: Information design in technical communication, (pp. 15–38). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Moss, S. (2014, June 15) Information design – the new name for technical communication? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/gm4eeu9 Muratovski, G. (2015) Research for designers: A guide to methods and practice. London : Sage Publications. Nini, P (2005) Sharpening one’s axe: Making a case for a comprehensive approacch to research in the graphic design process. Visual: Design: Scholarship, 1(2), 1–10. Raymer, R. (2013, September) The rock stars of eLearning: An interview with Connie Malamed. eLearn Magazine. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/j8qzgac. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2530002 Redish, J. C. (2000) What is information design? Technical Communication, 47(2), 163–166. Retrieved from Academic OneFile database. Services. [Website].(n.d.) Retrieved 05 November, 2015, from Optimism website: http://optimism.co.nz/services/ Sless, D. (2008) On clarity. Design Research Quarterly, 3(1), 1–6. Tyers, A. (2008) Performance based design. Information Design Journal, 16(3), 202-215. doi: 10.1075/idj.16.3.04tye Zaballero, A.G., Tutaleni, I. A., & Briskin, J. (2015, June) Instructional design skills need to keep up with the pace of change: Study identifies both top-ranked and least-important ID skills. T+D, 69(6), 9. Zaharias, P. & Poulymenakou, A. (2006) Implementing learner-centred design: The interplay between usability and instructional design practices. Interactive Technology & Smart Education, 3(2), 87– 100.
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About the Author: Eden Potter is an information designer and design educator. She teaches on the Communication Design degree at AUT University, New Zealand, where her research interests include information design, branding, and design for learning.
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A user centred approach to developing an actionable visualisation for ‘balance health’ Shruti Grovera*, Simon Johnsonb, Ross Atkina and Chris Mcginleya a
Helen Hamlyn Center for Design British Red Cross *shruti.grover@network.rca.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.330
b
Abstract: More than a third of people over the age of 65 fall every year in the UK (Department of Health, 2009). General gait problems and weakness are amongst the most common specific precipitating causes for falls. (Rubenstein, 2006). Qualitative research conducted by the investigators (Jan - May 2014) indicates that people do not consider balance health to be an actionable component of their overall health. This is because they do not have the vocabularies or tools to objectively define it on an everyday basis. We designed an application which can be used to quantify postural sway in the home setting, and conducted a drawing study to explore visual perceptions of balance. The emerging forms were used as inspiration to develop three categories, which communicate four core attributes in different ways. The aim is to distill an elegant information strategy, which can lead to balance health being considered as actionable rather than unalterable. Keywords: human centred design; preventative healthcare ; provocation; visual literacy
Introduction How is your balance? Would you say you are a clumsy person or do you have the stability of a ballerina? Can you simply define it as good or bad? If yes, then is it consistently good or consistently bad? Have you noticed it changing in the past few years?, , Pertinent questions such as these rarely feature within conventional health conversations. Balance or the symmetry of muscle control is a separate actionable component of an individual’s health. It is also one which gradually “declines with age due to lack of use” (Kate Sheehan, Occupational Therapist, personal communication, October 2013).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Shruti Grover, Simon Johnson, Ross Atkin and Chris Mcginley
Tracking the gradual decline in balance can be achieved through the measurement of ‘postural sway’ (PS). PS is defined as the phenomenon of constant displacement and correction of the position of the centre of gravity within the base of support during quiet standing. It reflects the interplay between destabilising forces acting on the body, and actions by the postural control system to prevent a loss of balance. Hence, balance impairments caused by altered sensory, motor, or central nervous function related to such factors as older age and pathology (e.g. Parkinson’s disease, peripheral neuropathy) are reflected in altered characteristics of postural sway. Two independent factors have been found to explain 92% of the variance in 14 time-and frequency-domain measures across 59,049 simulations of postural sway. One factor is sway amplitude, the other is sway velocity (Pavol, 2005). Over the course of the past two years, we have designed an iOS application that uses an accelerometer in a smart phone to compute postural sway and give feedback in the form of four attributes which define the Balance Footprint of an individual. This paper presents the background to the field of balance quantification; the journey of the development of this application; introduces the reader to the results of a quantitative study wherein we defined the said attributes; finally the paper concludes by presenting three categories of visualisations, which can lead to balance being considered as an actionable component of health.
Background 2.1 The context of balance health Balance is an essential component of our health, and contributes to the occurrence of falls. According to the Department of Health’s (2009) study more than a third of people over the age of 65 fall every year in the UK and those who fall once are two or three times more likely to fall again. Falls represent over half of hospital admissions for accidental injury, particularly hip fracture (Department of Health, 2009). Half of those with hip fracture never regain their former level of function and one in five die within three months. Falling in older age can lead to increased anxiety and depression, reduced activity, mobility and social contact, higher use of medication and greater dependence on medical and social services and other forms of care. Of those older people who enter falls prevention programs, most do so only after they have fallen, by which time they may have suffered serious consequences (AgeUK, 2012). Primary prevention of falls is a neglected research subject in the UK as “a lot of the NHS delivered care currently relates to rehabilitating someone who has already fallen, so there is massive gap around evidence base regarding primary prevention of falls in older people, whether that be young older or oldest old.” (Sarah Teague, Clinical Lead for falls and bone health, CLCH NHS, personal communication, October 2013)
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2.2 Current balance quantification practices In the research setting, Force Platforms are validated devices to quantify a person’s Postural Sway. Force platforms or force plates are measuring instruments that measure the ground reaction forces generated by a body standing on or moving across them, to quantify balance, gait and other parameters of biomechanics. Advancements in technology have allowed force platforms to take on a new role within the kinetics field. Traditional laboratory-grade force plates cost (usually in the thousands) have made them very impractical for the everyday clinician. However, Nintendo introduced the Wii Balance Board (WBB) in 2007 and changed the structure of what a force plate can be. By 2010, it was found that the WBB is a valid and reliable force plate when directly compared to the "gold-standard" laboratory-grade force plate, while costing less than $100 (Clark, Bryant, Pua, McCrory, Bennell & Hunt, 2010); this has been verified in both healthy and clinical populations. (Holmes, Jenkins, Johnson, Hunt & Clark, 2013) (Hubbard, Pothier, Hughes & Rutka,2012). Force platforms traditionally generate stabilograms, while plot the time-varying coordinates of the Centre of Pressure (COP) (Collins & De Luca, 1993), medial lateral (MP, side to side) and anterior posterior (AP) displacement (forward and backward) is plotted along x and y axis respectively [Figure 1].
Figure 1: Typical 30-s stabilogram for a healthy young individual during quiet standing
Traditionally, the Wii displays the postural data to the user in the form of “Centre of Balance” results [Figure 2], it also conveys information about their symmetry [Figure 3].
Figure 2 and 3: Screenshots from Wii Balance Board
Physiotherapists who want to create a posturagraphic system based on the balance board prefer the data to be showed in more traditional ways. [Figure 4] shows US patent 20140081177 A1 for a stabilometric system that uses a “balance platform to detect problems in the vestibular system via data capture, data visualisation and mathematical analysis of data.” (Patent US20140081177)
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Figure 4: Selected images from Patent submission for US patent 20140081177 A1
In the clinical setting, the Berg Balance Scale [Figure 5] is the most commonly used assessment tool across the continuum from acute care to community-based care (Blum & Korner-Bitensky, 2008). The BBS is a 14-item scale that quantitatively assesses balance and risk for falls in older community-dwelling adults through direct observation of their performance (Berg, Wood-Dauphine´, Williams & Maki, 1992). The scale requires 10 to 20 minutes to complete and measures the patient’s ability to maintain balance—either statically or dynamically while performing various functional movements—for a specified duration of time. The items are scored from 0 to 4, with a score of 0 representing an inability to complete the task and a score of 4 representing independent item completion. A global score is calculated out of 56 possible points. Scores of 0 to 20 represent balance impairment, 21 to 40 represent acceptable balance, and 41 to 56 represent good balance. For an active individual, the BBS is too simple (Blum & Korner-Bitensky, 2008). A systematic review that comments on the absolute reliability of the Berg Balance Scale among people with moderately poor to normal balance concludes, that the Berg Balance Scale has acceptable reliability, although it might not detect modest, clinically important changes in balance in individual subjects (Downs, Marquez, & Chiarelli, 2013) and since is dependent on the visual assessment of the test conductor, it does not provide a granular picture of the distribution of balance along medial lateral and anterior posterior axis.
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Figure 5: Sample from Berg balance scale
A human centred approach to making balance actionable 3.1 Researching the personal context Project balance was started in October 2013. In November 2013, we conducted nine expert interviews with Fall Clinicians and Falls Experts in the UK. According to our experts, balance health was an issue under-represented in the public sphere - “Most people don’t know about loss of balance unless they have someone who is friend or a family member who takes a fall and suddenly they become aware of the issue” (Patricia Moore, Gerontologist, Industrial Designer, personal communication, October 2013). It is “one those things, which we assume is going to be there, but as soon as you stop using the muscles, you lose them.” (Kate Sheehan, Occupational Therapist, personal communication, October 2013). Along with the lack of public knowledge, there is stigma associated with falling in later life, which leads to an estimated that “70 – 80% of falls going unreported”, (Sarah Teague, Gerontologist, Clinical Lead for falls and bone health, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust personal communication, October 2013), nevertheless falls account for 40% of UK ambulance call-outs, with the variable proportion being conveyed to hospital accounting for one in ten Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) attendances of the over 75s, a third of whom are admitted, thus comprising about 14% of emergency admissions (Martin, 2009), “often people don't report since it has got a labelling of no longer being able to stay at home
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or because they no longer want to ask for help” (Sarah Teague, personal communication, October 2013). In January 2014, we set about the task of researching the personal context for balance for the 51-70 year olds. We focused on women as they are at higher risk for falls and developing a fear of falling (World Health Organisation, 2008). Our research began by conducting a series of ethnographic interviews with members of the ‘Stable and Steady’ exercise classes at Earls Court. These initial interviews lead us to design a quant-qual research methodology (Grover, Atkin, McGinley, 2015) which aimed to understand the participant’s awareness of and attitudes towards ‘Balance Health.’ and how it features in their daily lives. The research process was human centred, with the participants being considered as collaborators and contributors to the process and the outcome. Our quant-qual research methodology contained two design provocations focused on balance health; a design provocation can be defined as a physical or digital object intended to produce a non scripted, primary and emotive response from a participant. Concepts designed as provocations are not end results but a method of enquiry, which can be used at any stage in the design process. A good provocation increases the capability of the participant to engage in the area of subject inquiry by making it personal and relevant (Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, 2010). Our first provocation focused on static balance and getting participants to reflect upon – ‘How is my balance?’. We designed an android application and a belt. The phone was strapped on to the ankle of users, who were asked to balance on one leg, while the application took readings of the the standard deviation in angular orientation of the phone and produced a single number or a ‘diagnosis’ [Figure 6]. This result was mapped on to a scale, which contained measurements of all those who had been tested previously. Our second provocation focused on dynamic balance and getting participants to reflect causally, ‘What role does balance play in my everyday activities?’ Participants were encouraged to cross the obstacle course by placing alternate feet in step (tandem walk), while answering questions designed to gauge the role of balance as they go about their daily routines [Figure 7]. By engaging their cognition and reducing their base of support, the intent was to recreate daily life movements (like shopping in a supermarket) in a lab setting.
Figure 6: Static balance provocation, getting participants to reflect upon ‘How is my balance?’
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Figure 7: Dynamic balance provocation, getting participants to reflect upon ‘What role does balance play in my everyday activities?’
All our participants had difficulty with our first provocation (i.e. quantified single leg stands). A 60 year old expressed clear surprise at this stating “I’m very shaky, and I used to be very good at this sort of thing, and this is what is bothering me right now. Because I did everything, ballet, yoga and all.” Upon completion of our second provocation, five participants identified compromised balance as impacting their activities of daily living, with crowds and stairs being described major concerns by four out of the cohort of six. Our primary findings were: Balance health is unrelated to activity levels (steps) Unless there was a clear culprit like a sprain or a bunion, general balance health was considered an abstract construct in the minds of our cohort Balance health was not considered to be an actionable component of overall health Participants had a limited vocabulary to describe their balance health using words like “unsteady”, “wobbly”, “clumsy” Participants were unaware of tools to objectively define their balance A literature review indicated that while there is accumulating evidence around structured exercise aiding in independent living by maintaining postural stability (balance), strength, endurance, bone density and functional ability (Skelton, 2001); in rehab scenarios, progress is slow with repetitive exercises required over a sustained period of time. Hence, after a fall, there is no ‘silver bullet’ for improving balance.
3.2 Aim of Project Balance After the eight week qualitative trial, the focus of our project became to develop a home usage diagnostics-therapeutic device. This would firstly, encourage a better understanding of ‘Balance Health,’ or the symmetry of muscle control over the lifetime of an individual, by quantifying and tracking changes (diagnosis). Secondly, it would act as a motivation and adherence tool (therapeutic) to keep participants engaged in a long- term exercise program. Our hypothesis being, that tracking would reduce the chances of a sudden fall, and reduce
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the stigma of impaired balance by making balance an actionable, rather than an unalterable, component of health.
3.3 Co-designing the device Between April 2014 and May 2014, the team developed three prototypes which could quantify postural sway. Prototypes have been found to support collaborative analysis and collaborative design. While functional, all our devices were designed to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;blank canvasesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to allow for co-design with users. The first a wearable, which could be tied around the thigh, the second a home usage balance platform, and the third was an iteration of our static balance provocation, an application which used the accelerometer in a smart phone [Figure 8].
Figure 8: Balance prototypes L to R; Wearable, the Balance platform and Phone application
We presented these prototypes to our cohort as part of our co-design workshop [Figure 9]. The ease of use and portable nature of a phone application was pointed out as the best medium for our concept by the participants.
Figure 9: Co-design workshop
Post-workshop, we developed a belt, which could keep the prototype stable against the lower back and added audio to give instructions to the user. When the accelerometer detected that it was stable, it began a countdown to prompt the user to adopt a single-leg and the began to record the phones angular orientation in space, along the x (ML) and z (AP) axis. At the end of a 20 second period, the application calculated the root mean square of the angular displacements from mean of the two axis. The initial version of the application produced a number, which represented postural sway of the individual. Since our qualitative research had indicated a limited vocabulary for
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expressing balance health within our cohort, we wanted to convey more than just a number to our participants, Our goal was to develop visual literacy for our participants alongside introducing relevant and jargon-free terminology.
3.4 Exploring visual perceptions of Balance Inspired by the energy drawings of Bowden, Lockton, Brass, & Gheerawo (2014), we undertook a drawing study “Drawing the Invisible” to explore visual ways of giving feedback to users of the device, to use drawing in order to uncover the current mental models our participants held of their balance. We designed a series of stimulus [Figure 10], and presented this stimulus in a fixed order to our participants in a co-design workshop. The participants were requested to draw their balance, while they were in a single leg stance [Figure 11].
Figure 10: Blank stimuli for “Drawing the invisible”
Figure 11: Participants in a single leg stance while drawing
The idea being to create a sense of heightened awareness of changes or corrections experienced. At the end of the session, the participants were requested to explain their drawings to the group. Participants made several observations about their strategies to maintain balance and symmetry for example “I have a tendency to lean that way”; or “I did find that my ankles were not that important, maybe it is to do with the fact that I have strong ankles or maybe it is it is more to do with my legs or my feet to get my balance.” Analysis of the drawings and the explanations lead following findings: Clear Visual Forms: An emergence of a clear visual form for times when the participants experienced a large number of changes in their balance- a wobbly
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line; and when the participants experienced stability-a straight line. Muscles that were used to stabilise the stance were marked with circles. Transfers of stability between muscles were represented with vectors [Figure 12]. “There was a feeling of wobbliness and I could feel it through the centre of the ankle like that. And then there was a solid grounding feeling from my ankle and that was just amazing”; and “red is the muscle pressure and green is the movement of the muscles.”
Figure 12: Selected participant drawings from co-design workshop
Increased Proprioception: The order of the stimulus, starting from a foot, the lower body, the whole body and finally a blank sheet served to remind the participants to being mindful of the role there whole body plays in maintaining balance while in a challenging single leg stance [Figure 13]. More information was received by breaking down the exercise into parts. “Until I saw the sheet with the whole body, I did not think of doing anything in my core, in-spite of all the pilates classes”; and “this one went straight up the heel of my foot and as a line straight to my crown. The nose, navel and knee were in line.”
Figure 13: Increased proprioception in participants
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These images led to the concept of a balance sparkline [Figure 14]. Sparklines are small, high-resolution graphics embedded in a context of words, numbers, images, they are dataintense, design-simple, word-sized graphics (Tufte, 1991). We concluded the compact size and the density of data of a sparkline would be ideal to convey the varying range of balance experienced by an individual over a long period of time.
Figure 14: The concept of a balance sparkline
Defining and visualising actionable attributes of balance 4.1 Quantifying balance The balance sparkline was programmed into the application [Figure 15], upon finishing a session, four sparklines were produced: medial lateral (ML, side to side movement) for the left foot and the right foot; anterior posterior (AP, forward and backward) for the left foot and the right foot. In January 2015 we began a period of quantitative testing. We tested our application 340 times with individuals between the ages of 25 and 86. The purpose of the testing was to check whether the application was sensitive to diverse abilities and to identify attributes that define a ‘Balance Footprint.’ On the initial testing day, we took 10 second long exposure pictures of every participant to get an indication of the accuracy of the device [Figure 16].
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Figure 16: Long exposure pictures of the participants
Our key finding was that the variation seen between the overall results of the participants (inter-participant scores) was greater than the variation seen within the multiple tests of a single participant (intra-participant scores). This indicated that there was potential for development of the device as an independent instrument through further testing. The raw data collected by the application was analysed to reveal four factors which comprise the unique ‘Balance Footprint’ of an individual: ‘Sway Score’, or How much does the individual sway? This consolidated measure reflects the sway velocity and sway amplitude of an individual. It is calculated by the Root Mean Square of the readings. The higher the sway score, the worst the balance [Figure 17].
Figure 17: Participant on left has Higher ‘Sway Score’ than the participant on the right
‘Sway Symmetry’, or How does the left side of the individual compare to their right hand side? Calculated by comparison of strength between the left and the right sides of the body [Figure 18].
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Figure 18: ‘Sway Symmetry’, Significant asymmetry between left and right sides balance scores in a participant due to a knee impairment
‘Sway Distribution’, or How is the movement distributed along the anterior posterior and media lateral axis? Visualised by plotting the distribution of movement along the media lateral and anterior posterior axis. ‘Consistency’, or How much does the individual’s balance vary on a day to day basis? The long exposure images enforce “comparisons..within the scope of the eye-span” (Tufte,2006), our challenge was to convey these attributes of information in an actionable form.
4.2 Visualising balance The purpose of redrawing the raw data collected from the quantitative study was to develop a visualisation which: encourages a better understanding of current ‘Balance Health’ by facilitating the development of a visual knowledge of attributes. (diagnosis) plays a role in selecting contextual goals (therapeutic) encourages adherence by removing the noise due to small naturally occurring variances (motivational) In August 2015, we began the process of identifying a visual schema for communicating the attributes of balance [Table 1]. Table 1: Schema for Balance Footprint Attributes
Importance
Visual Task
Visual Descripti
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Sway Score
provides a snapshot of balance range of the individual
Conveying a 6 scale range of balance; very stable, stable, average, mild impairment, impaired, very impaired
Size of Mark ( smaller the better ) Color of Mark ( lighter the better )
Symmetry
asymmetry may be a predictor of falls (Skelton, Kennedy,& Rutherford 2002)
3 scale range; symmetrical, NA moderately asymmetrical, function of sway symmetrical. score
Sway Distribution
reflects where the muscle strength is present or lacking, allowing for specific exercises, changes for every stance.
communicating whether ankle strategy (AP), or hip abductor (ML) strategy is more dominant
Placement of Mark
Variability
our limited study suggests greater variance in balance over short periods of time ( 10 days ) is indicative of poor postural control ( Authors 2016)
communicating 3 scale variance range; Low variance,normal variance, high variance
Small multiples of single test measure
Once the schema was defined, we selected datasets from two participants who were a part of the study. The first participant, henceforth referred to as “Participant 1”, is 26 year old, a dancer and has remarkable balance and proprioception. The second participant; henceforth referred to as “Participant 2”, is 89 year old, an urban cyclist and a member of the ‘Stable and Steady’ exercise group at Earls Court. We aim to illustrate two extremes cases which we have come across. Each visualisation illustrates a single session recorded for these participants by the application. Visualisations for participant one are on the left side and participant two on the right hand side. Both participants completed multiple sessions on the application (8 and 52) respectively. The selected sessions are representative of the larger set of data collected. Three categories have been identified for presenting the attributes. Each category has its strengths and weaknesses and presents attributes in different orders of visual importance. These categories are: movement-based, movement-time, movement-structure. Movement based visualisations [Figure 19, 20] places the most importance on sway distribution by providing detailed views with all the data. It show the data in its purest form. Instead of “boiling down” (Tufte, 1991) or simplifying the raw data gathered by the
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accelerometer, these diagrams include all the data points which have been gathered during a single tests on each axis ( ML and AP ) for each leg.
Figure 19: Scatter plots; Here a small spread indicates low sway score and a big spread indicates high sway score. Each point has a high level of transparency and while they can be identified individually they combine with each other in an additive form to highlight dense data areas. Faint concentric circles help the user get a sense of their balance scaled to others. An additional circle is highlighted to show the user’s sway score range.
There are two possible visualisations in this category; Scatter and Hull. Both Scatter and the Hull diagrams offer the advantage of a Macro/Micro display. At the macro level we can see the range. At the micro level we can see the individual data points. Faint concentric circles help the user get a sense of their balance scaled to others. An additional circle is highlighted to show the user’s sway score. The user can drill down on a particular test to see the breakdown between each foot. This allows for the user to compare the symmetry of their balance. For Participant 2, it can be seen that the left leg smaller movement as compared to the right. The strength of this visualisation is that the complexity of data here has not been reduced, so the user can see everything captured. The weakness is that this method appears to give a user a “birds eye” view, which might lead to mis-interpreting the acceleration data points as representative of displacement.
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Figure 20: Hulls; The hull diagrams draws a convex hull around the scatter plot with 10% of the outliers removed. The hull provides an easy to interpret way of seeing the breadth the data points covered. A voronoi diagram was constructed with the result being where the lines are densest the data points are densest.
Movement-time based visualisations [Figure 21,Figure 22] respects that the test happens over a period of time and uses the time dimension as part of the visualisation. Bringing this aspect into the diagrams allows the user to gain insights into how their balance varied throughout the test, for example; if there were a lot of corrections in the beginning and good balance in the middle and the end of the test it is representative of good balance, whereas, if there were corrections throughout, with an increase towards the end that is indicative of muscle fatigue. The hope here is that the user will have an easier time matching the data to their experience, identifying when the largest wobbles happened and being able to re-experience their test through the visualisation. This would their increase self awareness of balance.
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Figure 21: Sparklines; Inspired by the drawing study where many people drew their balance as a wobbly line, it uses smoothing function to create an undulating wave which matches their balance. The diagram makes it easy to pick out when the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s balance was worst during a test.
Figure 22: Scatter-Time; The scatter time is similar to the scatter plot but the data has been divided into three time segments. Ellipses are drawn around the data from each time segment. This allows the user to view the how their balance varied over the test. It has two levels of drilldown. First splitting into the individual feet and secondly into the the three time segments.
A weakness of the movement time based visualisations is that by bringing in the extra dimension of time some of the key attributes message gets diluted as there is more for the user to interpret. With the spark line the user can no longer see the difference between AP and MP movements. Movement-structure visualisations [Figure 23, Figure 24] aim to
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transform and aggregate the data into a new abstract object and to not visualise the individual data points.
Figure 23: Balance trees; The tree visualisation tries to distill the data into the main attributes we want the user to focus on. MP and AP are given their own axis. The two feet test are placed next each other reducing the need for the drill down. The sway scores are shown by filling up the bars.
Figure 24: Rainbows; The rainbow visualisation also distills the data focusing on the key attributes. AP and MP are shown by the width of the curve on the appropriate axis. The two tests are close together for comparison and the width of the curve indicates the sway score.
These visualisations bring together the left and right feet tests into one diagram. This allows for very quick comparisons between the tests by having them in close proximity and presenting them in a way that has less variables to compare. By aggregating the data we hope to reduce the mental work the user does to reach the same conclusions. By reducing the complexity the user may have harder time relating what they experienced to what they are seeing in the diagram creating a disconnect between the two.
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Table 2: Strengths and Weaknesses of the visualisations (judged by authors) Categories
Type
Visual Hierarchy
Strengths
Weaknesses
1. sway score 2. sway distribution
presents actual data
noisy and difficult to set goals
Hulls
1. sway score 2. symmetry 3. sway distribution
facilitates comparison between left and right leg
difficult to ascertain whether AP or ML is more dominant
Sparklines
1. sway strategy over time 2. sway score
facilitates accurate mental model of balance test
AP, ML dimension is lost
Scatter-time
1. sway score, 2. sway strategy over time
provides actionable basis for improving balance, “I have to concentrate more at the end”
steep learning curve for user
Trees
sway score symmetry, sway distribution all at same time
provides actionable basis for improving balance, "I have to improve my AP balance”
abstracted from experience
Rainbows
symmetry, sway distribution and sway score
provides target to aim for not as readable as the trees.
movement-based Scatter Plots
movement-time
movementstructure
Table 2 presents an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the three categories. One attribute which has not been addressed in this body of work is that of variability. The next step for us is to develop our six concepts as small multiples, so that individuals can see their inter-test variability over time and then present this work to our users and experts in the field to get their feedback.
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Conclusions Balance Health, and by extension the attributes of symmetry, sway distribution remain largely unaccessible to the general populace. Equipment that allows individuals to analyse their balance is available in a clinical and research context but not in the preventative home setting. We attempt to frame balance as an attribute of health which can be tracked and shaped. We were motivated by the notion that a clear mental model (of the abstract concept of balance) would lead to possibilities for expression and communication of the current state without stigma and as a call to action. We have created representations with different visual hierarchies. One important attribute our current work has not addressed is ‘variability’ and the next step is to address this omission by development of small multiples, which would allow tracking of improvements or decline over time. We then aim to conduct a workshop to check the effectiveness and impact of these diagrams with our participants. Selected diagrams will be programmed into the application for longer term testing.
References Age UK (2012) Falls Prevention - Don’t Mention the F-Word 2012 [Leaflet]. AgeUK: London Berg, K. O., Wood-Dauphinee, S. L., Williams, J. I., & Maki, B. (1991). Measuring balance in the elderly: validation of an instrument. Canadian journal of public health= Revue canadienne de sante publique, 83, S7-11. Blum, L., & Korner-Bitensky, N. (2008). Usefulness of the Berg Balance Scale in stroke rehabilitation: a systematic review. Physical therapy, 88(5), 559-566. Boer, L., & Donovan, J. (2012, June). Provotypes for participatory innovation. In Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference (pp. 388-397). ACM. Bowden, F., Lockton, D., Brass, C., & Gheerawo, R. (2014). Drawing Energy: Exploring the Aesthetics of the Invisible. In IAEA Congress 2014: Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics. Chicago Clark, R. A., Bryant, A. L., Pua, Y., McCrory, P., Bennell, K., & Hunt, M. (2010). Validity and reliability of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board for assessment of standing balance. Gait & posture, 31(3), 307310. Collins, J. J., & De Luca, C. J. (1993). Open-loop and closed-loop control of posture: a random-walk analysis of center-of-pressure trajectories. Experimental brain research, 95(2), 308-318. Department of Health (2009) Falls and Fractures, Effective Interventions in health and social care. London: Older People and Dementia. Downs, S., Marquez, J., & Chiarelli, P. (2013). The Berg Balance Scale has high intra-and inter-rater reliability but absolute reliability varies across the scale: a systematic review. Journal of physiotherapy, 59(2), 93-99. Holmes, J. D., Jenkins, M. E., Johnson, A. M., Hunt, M. A., & Clark, R. A. (2013). Validity of the Nintendo Wii® balance board for the assessment of standing balance in Parkinson’s disease. Clinical Rehabilitation, 27(4), 361-366. Hubbard, B., Pothier, D., Hughes, C., & Rutka, J. (2012). A portable, low-cost system for posturography: a platform for longitudinal balance telemetry. Journal of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery= Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-faciale, 41, S31-5. Martin, F. C. (2009). Next steps for falls and fracture reduction. Age and ageing, 38(6), 640-643.
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A user centred approach to develop an actionable visualisation to convey ‘balance health’
Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design (2010). Designing with People, Interventions, http://designingwithpeople.rca.ac.uk/methods/intervention-provocation (Accessed: 7th December 2015) Patent US20140081177 - Posturographic system using a balance board (Google Books)(http://www.google.com/patents/US20140081177( (Accessed 11 Nov, 2015) Pavol, M. J. (2005). Detecting and understanding differences in postural sway. Focus on “A new interpretation of spontaneous sway measures based on a simple model of human postural control”. Journal of neurophysiology, 93(1), 20-21.du Gay, P., Hall, S., Janes, L., Mackay, H., and Negus, K. (1997). Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman, Sage. Rubenstein, L. Z. (2006). Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age and ageing, 35(suppl 2), ii37-ii41. Chicago Skelton, D. A. (2001). Effects of physical activity on postural stability. Age and ageing, 30, 33-40. Skelton, D. A., Kennedy, J., & Rutherford, O. M. (2002). Explosive power and asymmetry in leg muscle function in frequent fallers and nonfallers aged over 65. Age and ageing, 31(2), 119-125. Tufte, E. R. (1991). Envisioning information. Optometry & Vision Science, 68(4), 322-324. Tufte, E. R. (2006). Beautiful evidence. New York. World Health Organization. Ageing, & Life Course Unit. (2008). WHO global report on falls prevention in older age. World Health Organization. About the authors: Shruti Grover is a design researcher and strategist specialising in designing digital medical healthcare interventions. She is interested in combining thick data and quantitive data to deliver dynamic interfaces. Simon Johnson is a data visualiser and information manager specialising in the humanitarian response context. He is currently working with the Red Cross and the United Nations. Ross Atkin is design researcher and engineer specialising in connected products and assistive technology. He works with leading UK manufacturers like Stannah and Marshalls using internet of things technology to radically improve their products. Dr. Chris McGinley is an award winning people-centred designer, researcher and writer. He has worked in the field of inclusive design and social innovation for over a decade, on a broad range of projects that have been successfully commercialised, exhibited and disseminated internationally.
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SECTION 15 DESIGN THINKING
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Introduction: Design Thinking Seda Yilmaz*, Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness and Tejas Dhadphale Iowa State University *seda@iastate.edu DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.601
Design thinking has gathered increasing momentum in both academia and industry in recent years. It has been a central mission of many books, journals, conferences and symposia (Brown, 2008, 2009; Cross, 2011; Cross, Dorst, & Roozenburg, 1992; Lawson, 1980; Martin, 2009; Rowe, 1987; Stewart, 2011). Business management magazines and books have covered stories about the power of design thinking, suggesting it provides significant value for business innovation (Beckman & Barry, 2007; Brown, 2008; Cooper, Junginger, & Lockwood, 2009; Leavy, 2010; Martin, 2009; Stacey, Griffin, & Shaw, 2000; Ward, Runcie, & Morris, 2009). This rapid transition of design thinking from design education and practice to its new interpretations and implications for business management, and other disciplines, especially, has raised new challenges. Design thinking is touted as a cure for every ill in business (Hassi & Laakso, 2011), has been dilution (Badke-Schaub, Roozenburg, & Cardoso, 2010), and has started to lose meaning (Cross, 2010; Johansson & Woodilla, 2010). In design circles, “design thinking” was originally defined as the cognitive processes of designers (Cross, 2011; Lawson, 1980; Rowe, 1987). However, today, it is associated with a mind-set and a methodology for solving complex and even wicked problems in diverse contexts beyond design. The expansion of underlying principles to business management offers an exciting new paradigm, but requires new explorations of definitions, frameworks, toolboxes and suggested best practices for integration to support its cross-disciplinary implementations and effectiveness. There are many attributes that define the characteristics of design thinking, such as tolerating and embracing ambiguity, viewing design as an inquiry, maintaining “the big picture” through systems thinking, and handling decisions as part of a team (Dym, Agogino, Ozgur, Frey, & Leifer, 2005). All of these characteristics require an important attribute: effective inquiry. Effective inquiry in design thinking includes convergent, analytical and systematic reasoning along with divergent reasoning to facilitate generative design questioning. As Einstein said: ‘we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Seda Yilmaz, Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness and Tejas Dhadphale
used when we created them.’ Design thinking helps designers identify needs, frame problems and provide solutions through a series of iterative cycles. With its expansion to business processes, Design Thinking applies the design process in creating products, services and system solutions. Design Thinking is a key capability for revolutionary innovators and a potential source of sustainable competitive advantage (Brooks, 2010; Cooper et al., 2009; Gorb, 1979; Martin, 2005, 2010). To this point, the main impact of the design thinking approach has been in education; in particular, how universities teach design thinking as a foundation for innovation. Research shows that there is a common set of phases observed in projects where design thinking was practiced; however, there is no agreement regarding the most relevant tools and methods to be applied in each phase. Gruber et al. (2015) states that: “The lens provided by design thinking might also be applied to elements within the management domain that are not so apparent; that is, within the roles of process re-engineering, workflow, the workplace itself and the design of organizations.” However, it is unclear how results obtained from studies of design thinking apply across organizational contexts, and how it may impact diverse innovations in business, social groups, and education. How can the findings from existing empirical research determine which methods or tools are more appropriate for specific contexts and stages within the process? This DRS additional theme on design thinking focused on exploring questions such as: What is the nature of design thinking? What could it bring to other professions? What are the best practices both in academia and industry in introducing/applying/practicing/advancing design thinking? What are the relevant definitions of design thinking? What does it actually mean or meant? How do design thinking approaches and practices vary across disciplines, contexts, and problems? What are the methods/ tools/ techniques/ strategies used in applying design thinking? How and why do they differ? How does practicing design thinking impact the innovation process and the outcomes? What is the impact of design thinking in socio-cultural and technological advancements? Design thinking’s human-centred, collaborative, experimental and iterative, and situated and systemic nature places the needs and motivations of the users at the centre, along with building deep empathy, and giving the designers permission to fail and learn from mistakes as they learn by doing. The papers presented within this theme refined or extended existing theories and frameworks on design thinking to uncover new patterns across disciplinary cultures, explore connections between industry and academia, generate new perspectives to broaden understanding, challenge existing assumptions and beliefs, and propose implications for implementation.
Human-centred nature of design thinking. Design thinking is a user-centred exploration where the stakeholders take “people first” approach and imagine solutions inherently desirable and meet explicit or latent needs (Brown, 2009). It requires building empathy with users through detailed observations and
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insights to inspire innovation (Brown, 2008). Tsay and Lille (2016) adopted the contextdriven, interaction-centred Vision in Design (ViP) approach (Hekkert & Van Dijk, 2011) in order to provide an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;add-on experience-drivenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; approach to an existing innovation process. They proposed an eight-phase user-centred innovation framework to support a major aviation manufacturer through its innovation process to become an active on-board service enabler. The framework enables empathy through the integration of internal and external stakeholders into the innovation process, and aims to support a transformation from technology-driven to experience-driven innovation. Their findings demonstrate how design thinking, in the form of a framework, reformed the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision formulation and influenced the organization. In a similar vein, Kaland and Lille (2016) note that organizations can be supported with design tools as they transition to become more user-centred in order to discover and develop improved customer relationships. They offer a card-based design toolkit designed and developed through multiple iterations, and piloted in a workplace setting to study its impacts on company values and challenges. You and Hands (2016) draw attention to new roles of brand development as a driving force for innovation, and propose a five-step conceptual framework based on design thinking for building innovative brands. In this approach, design thinking was highlighted as one of five dimensions for its systematic methodology based on user-centeredness and a multistakeholder engagement model. Design thinking as implemented in innovative branding is identified as a critical need in building brands and helping companies to achieve success.
Collaborative nature of design thinking. Design thinking requires cross-disciplinary pollinations through experiences in more than one discipline. The difference between a technology-driven versus a user-centred designdriven approach is further articulated in a case study by Maciver, Malins, Kantorovitch, and Liapis (2016). They locate design thinking methodology as a means for effective collaboration between the arts and sciences. They critique the application of the design thinking approach within interdisciplinary innovation context, comparing the practices of designers and technologists as they tackle complex problems in collaboration. Their findings lead to guiding principles for facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration, cultivating innovation across the cultural borders of design and technology, and integrating and balancing a range of forces. Hall (2016) focuses on synergies across disciplines, and the impact of design thinking for globalization and cultural diversity. He provides a review of the relationship between design and creative destruction, speculating that meta-level design thinking can bring together a model for enhancing evolution of cultures and functions in the space between disciplines, including, design, economics, and anthropology.
Experimental and iterative nature of design thinking. The design process can be seen as a learning process in which the designer develops an increasing understanding of the domain through studies, experiments and interventions (Dalsgaard, 2014). In most technology-driven projects, such as in the aviation industry (Tsay
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and Lille, 2016), the design brief is rarely questioned once formulated by the designer (Dorst, 2015; Hekkert & Van Dijk, 2011), resulting in incremental innovations (Lin & Luh, 2009). Studies have shown that designers tend to be solution-oriented, adopting a work process that leads to the identification of solutions early in the design process, before the problem is fully understood (Dorst & Cross, 2001; Lawson, 1980; Wiltschnig, Christensen, & Ball, 2013). The notion of problem framing and its impact on the design thinking process is emphasized by Kokotovich and Dorst (2016). They combine two methods, TRIZ (Altshuller, 1984) and Frame Creation (Dorst, 2015), to devise a third method, Thematic Analysis. Thematic analysis involves searching across information, data, ideas, contexts and creative concepts to find what is embedded or hidden in the repeated patterns of meaning. Its â&#x20AC;&#x153;search beneath the surfaceâ&#x20AC;? is suggested to facilitate technological innovation through reframing the design situation in a new way. Design thinking is always an interplay between diverging exploration of problem and solution space (Gray, Seifert, Yilmaz, Daly, & Gonzalez, 2015; Lawson, 1980; Lindberg, Meinel, & Wagner, 2011; Newell, Shaw, & Simon, 1967; Newell & Simon, 1972; Yilmaz & Daly, 2016) and converging processes of synthesizing and selecting. Contrary to the thinking styles approach predominant in the sciences, design thinking is neither representative (as in inductive thinking) nor entirely rationalized (as in deductive thinking). Hahn (2016) unfolds the iterative cycle of deduction and abduction induction processes as the foundation for design thinking theory. Through an observation-based case study, the knowledge and communication needs of caterers and consumers were analysed to explore new catering services and experiences. The deductive learning-understanding phase is an initial stage that provides stakeholders contextualized scientific information, whereas the abductive solutionbuilding phase facilitates envisioning new solutions through collaborations. McGilp, Eckert, Earl (2016) approached the design thinking process from the perspective of fashion design. Based on self-reports and observations of practicing designers, they identified design process in the fashion design industry, and identify knowledge management, team communications, and reflective practice through comparing the recording practice in fashion design with that of architecture and engineering.
Situated and systemic nature of design thinking. Although major corporations, such as Nokia, Philips, and Nike, have adopted experiencebased design thinking methodologies (Hekkert, Mostert, & Stompff, 2003), much work remains in order to systematize research findings from different industries aimed at establishing best practices. Stolterman (2008) characterizes designerly inquiry as an intentional, iterative process moving between the whole and the parts. This way of doing design is not a choice, but a rational and disciplined act. Kotlarewski, Thong, Kuys, and Danahay (2016) compared the design thinking processes used in academia and industry, with the goals of assessing the similarities and differences in the methods used, time allocated to each stage, iterations between stages and the nature of each stage. Their findings suggest that industry relies on customer relationships and reputation, play it safe through experience and repetition, and prioritize eliminating risk, with the majority of their
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time spent in planning. In contrast, academia relies on finding problems worthy of design, taking innovative risks and developing new knowledge, and the majority of time invested is spent on identifying knowledge gaps and generating knowledge through research-led design practice. Design is an interpretive practice within which particular kinds of sense-making are operative (Stewart, 2011). Gray (2016) questions the way design methods are used in academic literature compared to their situated use in practice. He explores ontological characteristics and practical outcomes of design methods in both settings, emphasizing tensions between the two. He concludes with advice on viewing design thinking as an unqualified ‘designerly tool’ (Stolterman, McAtee, Royer, & Thandapani, 2008) rather than a blueprint or prescription for doing something (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012). Methods, as he emphasizes, contain a ‘script’ (the ‘core’) of defined or potential use, and are open to interpretation of the designer or the organization rather than providing a prescriptive cookbook (Woolrych, HornBaek, Frokjaer, & Cockton, 2011). Together, the papers in this theme present a snapshot of research on understanding the nature and nurture of design thinking through the lens of its applications in industry versus academia. Currently, there is little understanding of design thinking methods, and how they shape the process, collaborations, and outcomes of design. As these papers show, there is much to learn from case studies that investigate design thinking implications from differing approaches and interactions.
References Altshuller, G. (1984). Creativity as an exact science. New York, NY: Gordon and Breach. Badke-Schaub, P., Roozenburg, N., & Cardoso, C. (2010). Design thinking: A paradigm on its way from dilution to meaninglessness? . In K. Dorst, S. C. Stewart, I. Staudinger, B. Paton, & A. Dong (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th Design Thinking Research Symposium (pp. 39-49). Beckman, S. L., & Barry, M. (2007). Innovation as a learning process: Embedding design thinking. California Management Review, 50(1), 25-56. Brooks, F. P. (2010). The design of design: Essays from a computer scientist. NJ: Addison-Wesley Professional. Brown, T. (2008). Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review, 84-95. Brown, T. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation. New York, NY: Harper Collins. Cooper, R., Junginger, S., & Lockwood, T. (2009). Design thinking and design management: A research and practice perspective. Design Management Review, 20(2), 46-55. Cross, N. (2010). Design thinking as a form of intelligence. . In K. Dorst, S. C. Stewart, I. Staudinger, B. Paton, & A. Dong (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th Design Thinking Research Symposium (pp. 9-10). Cross, N. (2011). Design Thinking: Understanding how designers think and work. New York, NY: Berg. Cross, N., Dorst, K., & Roozenburg, N. (1992). Research in design thinking. Delft, The Netherlands: Delft University Press. Dalsgaard, P. (2014). Pragmatism and design thinking. International Journal of Design, 8(1), 143-155. Dorst, K. (2015). Frame Innovation: Create new thingking by design. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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Dorst, K. H., & Cross, N. (2001). Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem-solution. Design Studies, 22(5), 425-437. Dym, C. L., Agogino, A. M., Ozgur, E., Frey, D. D., & Leifer, L. J. (2005). Engineering design thinking, teaching, and learning. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 103-120. Gorb, P. (1979). Design and its use to managers. Royal Society of Arts Journal, November. Gray, C. M., Seifert, C. M., Yilmaz, S., Daly, S. R., & Gonzalez, R. (2015). What is the context of “Design Thinking”? Design Heuristics as conceptual repertoire. International Journal of Engineering Education, 32(2). Hassi, L., & Laakso, M. (2011). Conceptions of design thinking in the design and management discourse. Paper presented at the 4th World Conference on Design Research, Delft, the Netherlands. Hekkert, P., Mostert, M., & Stompff, G. (2003). Dancing with a machine: A case of experience-driven design. Paper presented at the Proceedings of DPPI03, Pittsburgh, PA. Hekkert, P., & Van Dijk, M. (2011). Vision in design: A guidebook for innovators. Amsterdam, Netherlands: BIS Publisher. Johansson, U., & Woodilla, J. (2010). How to avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water: An ironic perspective on design thinking. Paper presented at the EGOS Colloquium, Lisbon, Portugal. Lawson, B. (1980). How designers think: The design process demystified London, UK: Architectural. Leavy, B. (2010). Design thinking – a new mental model of value innovation. Strategy & Leadership, 38(3), 5-14. doi:doi:10.1108/10878571011042050 Lin, C.-C., & Luh, D.-B. (2009). A vision-oriented approach for innovative product design. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 23(2), 191-200. Lindberg, T., Meinel, C., & Wagner, R. (2011). Design thinking: A fruitful concept for IT development? . In C. Meinel, L. Leifer, & H. Plattner (Eds.), Design Thinking: Understand-Improve-Apply (pp. 3-18). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. M., G., De Leon, N., George, G., & Thompson, P. (2015). Managing by design. Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 1-7. Martin, R. (2005). Embedding design into business. Rotman Management. Martin, R. (2009). The design of business: Why design thinking is the next competitive advantage. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press. Martin, R. (2010). Design thinking: Achieving insights via the "knowledge funnel". Strategy & Leadership, 38(2), 37-41. Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2012). The design way: Intentional change in an unpredictable world (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Newell, A., Shaw, J. C., & Simon, H. A. (1967). The process of creative thinking. In H. Gruber, G. Terrel, & M. Wertheimer (Eds.), Contemporary approaches to creative thinking (pp. 63-119). New York, NY: Atherton Press. Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Rowe, P. (1987). Design thinking. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Stacey, R., Griffin, D., & Shaw, P. (2000). Complexity and management: fad or radical challenge to systems thinking? London, UK: Routledge. Stewart, S. C. (2011). Special Issue: Interpreting Design Thinking (Editorial). Design Studies, 32(6), 515-520. Stolterman, E. (2008). The nature of design practice and implications for interaction design research. International Journal of Design, 2(1), 55-65.
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Stolterman, E., McAtee, J., Royer, D., & Thandapani, S. (2008). Designerly tools. Paper presented at the Undisciplined! Design Research Society Conference, Sheffield, UK. Ward, A., Runcie, E., & Morris, L. (2009). Embedding innovation: design thinking for small enterprises. Journal of Business Strategy, 30(2/3), 78-84. doi:doi:10.1108/02756660910942490 Wiltschnig, S., Christensen, B. T., & Ball, L. J. (2013). Collaborative problem-solution co-evolution in creative design. Design Studies, 34(5), 515-542. Woolrych, A., HornBaek, K., Frokjaer, E., & Cockton, G. (2011). Ingredients and meals rather than recipes: A proposal for research that does not treat usability evaluation methods as indivisible wholes. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 27(10), 940-970. Yilmaz, S., & Daly, S. R. (2016). Feedback in concept generation: Comparing design disciplines. Design Studies, 45(Part A), 137-158.
About the Authors: Seda Yilmaz is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design. Her research crosses multiple disciplines, including design, engineering, and psychology. She studies strategies for design innovations focusing on front-end design processes and translating those strategies to tools and education for design thinking practices. Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design. Her research focuses on the diffusion of design thinking and doing practices in design and non-design oriented disciplines, with a focus on exploring visualization as a gateway to creative confidence and design-ability Tejas Dhadphale is an Assistant Professor in Industrial Design. He is currently developing a methodological framework for designers and researchers to integrate cultural aspects into the design process.
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From Technology-Driven to Experience-Driven Innovation: A Case from the Aviation Industry using VIP Wan-Jen Jenny Tsay* and Christine de Lille Delft University of Technology * Wanjentsay@gmail.com DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.464
Abstract: Manufacturing industries have been challenged to transform their technology-driven innovation towards experience-driven innovation for forecasting innovation. This paper presents a vision-driven innovation framework that is contextbased and user-centered, for supporting a major aviation manufacturer in the transition of its innovation process to become an active on-board service enabler. This paper describes an action research case study that was carried out in the R&D department of the aviation manufacturer. The developed eight-phase approach uses user-experience insights as the main driving force to support forecasting of innovation for Zodiac Aerospace, to enable multiple internal and external stakeholders (designers, sales managers, passengers, cabin crews, and airline inflight service teams) to play active roles in different phases of the innovation process (from providing qualitative insights of air travel experience, to co-formulating future vision, and to evaluating the designed concepts). This paper contributes knowledge by a step-by-step approach to guide manufactures to innovate from a holistic perspective, extending the ViP approach by taking end-users into account to support a transformation from technology-driven to experience driven innovation. Keywords: Experience-driven, innovation, ViP, co-creation
Introduction Industry case studies have pointed out that experience design or experience-driven design can be considered as a new strategy in industrial design (Hekkert, Mostert, & Stompff, 2003). Major corporations, such as Nokia, Philips, and Nike that used to be technologydriven have adopted experience-driven design for their product development (Hekkert, Mostert, & Stompff, 2003). The aviation industry is currently experiencing a similar move. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Wan-Jen Jenny Tsay and Christine de Lille
1.1 Commercial Aviation Industry in Transition The commercial aviation industry is in transition, where airlines strive to pursue a distinctive role in this competitive market by providing better on-board customer experience (Hall et al., 2013). Fattah et al. (2009) emphasized that a superior and integrated passenger experience has become the key differentiator for airlines services. In addition, Robinson (2014) stressed that the future of air-travel experience is not merely meeting the needs of people in the context (e.g. airline crews or passengers), but more importantly, anticipating the desires of these users. As a result, these current developments in the commercial aviation field show a need to bring the on-board products and services closer to desired user experiences. Market observation from the authors further points out the targeted airline types that are in need for this user experience knowledge. Treacy and Wiersema (1993) pointed out that in order to achieve market leadership, companies are currently competing with three main focuses; operational excellence, product leadership or customer intimacy. Companies going the operational excellence path eliminate their operations to become most lean and effective. They compete on prices and bring service to the most minimal. An observation from the authors suggests that low-cost-carriers, such as Easy Jet and Ryan Air holds this strategy. Product leadership focused companies strive to produce continuous stream of state-of-the-art products and services (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993). They offer the most premium products they can offer to their customers. Therefore the authors categorize Cathey Pacific, Emirates, and Etihad for example into this category because of their strategy in excelling for premium offerings spanning all passenger types. Lastly, companies that concentrates on providing customer intimacy are like KLM, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, who innovates out-of-the-box and tailors product and service to what the different customer groups want. They focus on long-term customer relationship through addressing each customer or market segment individually. In conclusion, airlines who follow customer intimacy or product leadership discipline, depend highly on understanding what their users need and desire. In order for these airlines to achieve market leadership, user-experience insights should become a core input for product development and service innovation. Besides this trend of user-experience focus in the consumer aviation industry (Fattah et al., 2009; Hall et al., 2013; Robbinson, 2014), Fattah et al. (2009) also pointed out that through deeper collaboration of the different stakeholders in the air-travel industry, a stronger and more complete value proposition for passengers can be created. This collaborative approach would also create a better overall passengersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience that spans the entire journey rather than being confined to a segmented part of the journey (Fattah et al., 2009). Responding to these two main transitions, aviation suppliers are also challenged to shift their innovation process and bring their development closer to airlines and passengers.
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1.2 Challenge for Onboard Equipment Supplier â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Zodiac Aerospace Traditionally, aircraft equipment suppliers have been introducing new products through direct requests from airlines. Most importantly, the requests have been heavily driven by regulations, safety, weight reduction, and cost effective aspects of products (IATA, 2007). Thus it can be said that the innovation process of aviation suppliers has been focusing on product-level improvements and their innovation strategy is technology-driven. As a result, the aviation manufacturing industry is highly engineering dominated. However, with the arising focus on user experience in the commercial aviation field, suppliers are undergoing the transition from passive product producer to active innovation partners (W.W.A. Beelaerts van Blokland, 2012) to support airlines in achieving market leadership by differentiating through experiences.Zodiac Aerospace is the world leader in aerospace equipment, mastering in engineering design. Its product ranges from cabin structure to onboard equipment, such as seats, galleys, trolleys, electric equipment to aircraft and aerosafety systems. From internal sources, consequently to the current development of the commercial aviation landscape, Zodiac Aerospace, as an aircraft equipment supplier is also challenged to take up the role as service enabler in the air-travel context. To better enable the on-board services, it is beneficial for Zodiac Aerospace to investigate the increasingly complex relationship between the users (e.g. cabin crews and passengers) and the context of which their products are being used.
1.3 Trigger of the case study : The Innovation Process Transition of Zodiac Aerospace The focus of airlines wishing to provide better customer and crew experience has lead Zodiac Aerospace to realize the need to actively involve end users into their innovation scope for long-term innovation. Zodiac Aerospace started exploring what passengers and flight attendants perceive as useful, desirable and beneficial in the future air travel context. Looking at the traditional Zodiac Aerospace innovation process, although the company is highly effective in finding technically-advanced solutions that are suitable for certification procedures, they had limited understanding to the context of how the products are used and the relationship with the users (Debacker et al. 2014). In the last three years, more research and design activities with user centered focus have been introduced by the Experience Center of Zodiac Aerospace (Alkmaar, the Netherlands). In order to deepen the user centered focus, the first author proposed an experience-driven approach for the Experience Center activities with the aim to support Zodiac Aerospace to bridge the gap from productlevel innovation to design for future air-travel experiences that are supported by their products. This is because, through an experience-driven approach, user-context relationship, interactions and emotions are taken into account. This paper addresses how the new methodology looks like and how it supports the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innovation transition. Given the challenge of Zodiac Aerospace, the aim of this case study was to demonstrate how Zodiac Aerospace can evolve its innovation process to become closer to customers and advance beyond its comfort zone of excellence in technical-
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driven incremental innovation. The case study illustrates what should the design process look like when the industry moves from technology and regulation-driven to experiencedriven and long-term innovation. As a result, it provided Zodiac Aerospace with an usercentric innovation framework, which gave a step-by-step guidance to translate user insights into supporting material and direction for the development of on-board product-service solutions.
From technology-driven towards experience-driven using ViP In order to be develop an approach that enables to build on the existing design process but adds a more experience-driven approach, the Vision In Design (ViP) Approach (Hekkert & Van Dijk, 2011) was adopted as a basis and adapted to the aviation suppliersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; context. The first author, encompassed various roles ranging from designing a new proposition for Zodiac Aerospace, up to investigation what an experience-driven approach would look like. The various roles of the design researcher in this case study were: a researcher (role 1), a userexperience researcher (role 2) and the concept designer (role 3). The results consisted not only of a designed vision statement for air travel in 2020 and translated into an in-flight service concept with involvement of internal stakeholders and external stakeholders (such as crews, passengers and the in-flight service team of a major European airline) but also a new experience-driven innovation approach for Zodiac Aerospace. The demonstrated approach showed how Zodiac Aerospace can include also user-experience insights next to product requirements in the innovation process. In the next paragraph, we will introduce ViP and discuss why ViP was chosen as the backbone of the new experience-driven approach as well as the major difference between ViP and the proposed experience-driven approach.
2.1 Using the Vision in Product Design (ViP) approach as a starting point: ViP follows different stages as in traditional product development methods, as shown in Figure 1. In traditional product development, designers often directly start the design process from a problem statement, which normally is communicated in the form of a design brief with multiple requirements. In most technology-driven projects the design brief is rarely questioned once formulated by the designer that acts upon it. (Hekkert & Van Dijk, 2011). Design projects that focus on the product-level generally are effective for redesigning existing products for current customers, or for generational improvements of a product family (O'Connor & Veryzer, 2001). These design results are likely to be incremental innovations as Lin and Luh (2009) pointed out. ViP aims to move away from the product-level by focusing on the context-of use, and the interactions users have with the product (service-system). It offers designers another way of designing products that bring people (new) meaning or value (Hekkert & Van Dijk, 2011). ViP consists of two major phases, the deconstruction of current situation (phase 1: primary aim is analyzing the current situation), and the design of the future situation (phase 2). In
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the deconstruction phase, ViP invites designers to broaden the scope of input for the new design, by not just focusing on the product itself (Step 1 in Figure 1), but also investigating the user-product interaction (Step 2) and the context of use (Step 3). When moving into the second phase, ViP firstly encourages designers to envision a new context and what needs to be taken into account to shape that world (Step 4). In this new context, designers formulate a â&#x20AC;&#x153;vision statementâ&#x20AC;? that opens up new opportunity rather than focuses on solving the original problem. The vision statement should contain where the process is going and what the end goal will be, however without defining what the end product is or does. Then the designer investigates what kind of interaction fits in (Step 5), and finally designs a product (in this case, it could be a service, a product-service system, a tangible product or whatever form that best represents the intended interaction) that makes the intended interaction possible (Step 6). Formulating a vision is central to the ViP approach. It forces designers to free themselves from restrictions and requirements in the first place and, instead, look for desirable possibilities.
Figure 1 Comparison of vip and traditional product development.
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2.2 Encouraging designers to question the design brief to unravel the underlying user needs: ViP supports designers in moving away from a functional design brief, and encourages designers not to start designing from the given problem statement but to formulate a vision that emphasizes on defining what to design and what values does the new design intend to bring for its user (Hekker et al., 2003). This type of formulation of the starting point for a design process (e.g. “design a new way of service for business class”) avoids familiar concepts or straight forward solutions compared to results of “closed” formulation (e.g. “design a new tray for business class to serve business class passengers”). Vergragt and Brown (2007) also indicated vision as a heuristic device to map a “possibility space”, an instrument for inspiring designers to investigate different problem definitions, opening up the solution space. Within the Zodiac Aerospace, the technology-driven formulations are omnipresent, where the experience-driven formulations are entirely absent. When Sales Managers discuss new product orders with Airline Procurement, the conversation revolves around new features on the current product (very technology-driven, oriented towards new materials, weight reduction and new smart functionality). “We normally receive requests about easy fixes (changing a hinge, different wheels, etc.). A complete new product, a whole new use for the product or a new idea, we will hardly ever get these requests from our customers!” was what higher management of the sales department of Zodiac Aerospace expressed. Two main reasons are expected to be at the basis of this phenomenon: First, sales from Zodiac Aerospace is so because of the company tradition focused on a technology-driven sales process (knowing what they can deliver), and/or the airline procurement department is focused on costs, and has limited knowledge of the underlying requests that come from elsewhere in the organization (why a certain new functionality of product is required). The two features of the ViP approach, being context-driven and providing a wider experience-driven solution space through vision formulation, illustrate a suitable ground for a more long-term oriented experience-driven design process. Zodiac Aerospace’s vision if to not only improve current products, but expand from product to enabling on-board services, and gain affinity of the complex relationship between the users and the context of which their products are being used.
2.3 Adding active involvement of multiple stakeholders to ViP In the context of Zodiac Aerospace, multiple stakeholders could play an important role in enabling the company to move away from a technology-driven focus. In order to fully understand the context of use as well as the interactions of the users with the products, the perspectives of people such as pursers, crew, service managers, caterers, passengers etc. are needed. These interactions are quite far from the regular experiences of the designer from Zodiac Aerospace. In ViP, users are not involved in the design process. Designers are given the task to empathize with the future user in his/her world with various generative tools. The reason behind this is to avoid undesirable constraints resulting from user fixations on
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familiar solution directions (Hekkert & Van Dijk, 2011). The involvement of user-stakeholders is in the interest of engaging the company as much as possible for creating a co-creation mindset with its clients (airlines) and end users (crews and passengers) to have a good understanding of the main components for ViP. As mentioned previously, since we are not entirely sure which is the cause of the product-oriented design briefs, including the various stakeholders will enable to investigate the underlying reasons.
Research Method In order to build on ViP, and investigate how it could be used for the purpose of this study (developing an experience-driven design process for a technology-oriented company) an action research approach was used within the setting of an empirical case study. The actionoriented approach was carried out through developing and applying ViP in the daily innovation practice of Zodiac Aerospace, and resulted in the proposed experience-driven design process. As Reson and Bardbury (2006) pointed out, action research focuses on bringing change (taking conscious actions steered by research) and contributes to knowledge through lessons learned (by reflecting on the actions undertaken and investigating their effects). By the process of action and reflection in this case study, this study builds know-how on how a technology-oriented company can make use of an experience-driven design process.
3.1 Undertaking Multiple Roles during the Study The first author took the role of the researcher (Role 1) to observe and reflect throughout the entire process of the case study, where she developed the new approach and took the organization along the way through the proposed step-by-step approach. The researcher was also the main user-experience researcher (Role 2) during the phases where passengers and cabin crews were actively involved. In addition, she provided tools and methods of translating user-insights into supportive tools for different stages in the design process. The main reason of this multi-tasking of the design researcher was because the Zodiac Aerospace did not have capabilities yet for conducting explorative userexperience research in the fuzzy front-end. The main user-centered activities in the company were oriented towards validating user research, such as, usability testing of a product function or feedback session on an existing product (in order to meet the strict aviation regulations). Therefore with the combined roles of researcher and user-experience researcher, the author was able to introduce new methodologies of gathering first-hand user insights and analysis techniques into the organization. Lastly, the researcher also took the third role of the concept designer, where she facilitated the co-creation session where internal and external stakeholders ideated and formulated the 2020 vision. As a nature of co-design, when stakeholders involvement becomes complex, it is important to have an integrator, and this was the role of the concept designer.
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Firstly, as a contributing result, with the researcher interplaying the roles of user-experience researcher and concept designer, the case study was able to demonstrate designing from user-insights to its most ideal situation. Secondly, the researcher, by switching among the three roles, was able to govern the process to fully introduce a different innovation process to Zodiac Aerospace and create user affinity. In order to differentiate between the various roles, the first author used a research journal to keep track of the considerations and decisions throughout both the research and design process. This data was triangulated with the other data collected.
3.2 Overview Of The Action Research Process Figure 2 shows the iterations of action and reflection conducted in this case study. The design researcher firstly took action in reviewing the current aviation industry development (Action 1) and pinpointed the need to transform Zodiac Aerospace’s innovation process to be closer to airline’s end-customer driven strategy (Reflection 2). By reviewing existing NPD processes, the vision-oriented ViP approach was chosen as a suitable basis for developing Zodiac Aerospace’s User-Centric Innovation Framework (Action 3). By reflecting on the needs of the commercial aviation context, ViP was adapted to fit the Zodiac Aerospace context (Reflection 4). The developed experience-driven design approach was applied by the researcher with internal designers and sales involvement, carried out through the design of a vision statement for 2020 air travel experience and transformed into service concepts. Lastly, the process of applying this new innovation framework was reflected upon and provided know-hows to the question of “How can aviation suppliers start their innovation process based on user insights?”.
Figure 2 Overview of iterations of action and reflection the design researcher undertaken in the action research process of this case study.
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Results As mentioned in previous sections, the current technology-driven approach, which focuses on incremental product feature improvements, does not allow room for including multiple stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences to enable re-thinking the in-flight experience and coming up with new designs that enhance the customers experience. Through various iterations intervening in the current design process, an eight-phase experience-driven innovation framework building on ViP was developed. This framework starts from the fuzzy-front-end of reframing the design context and ends at the service concept design phase to provide Zodiac Aerospaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; designers and engineers a concept to carry further on into the technology readiness level (TRL) engineering process. In this section, we will present the eight different phases of the proposed approach and point out what went well and what is subject to improvement.
4.1 The Step-by-Step Zodiac Aerospace User-Centric Innovation Framework Figure 3 provides an overview of the phases, the activities undertaken in each phase, and results (milestones) in the proposed framework, which was developed with the intention to support Zodiac Aerospace in its organization transition towards an on-board service enabler. Also to provide a step-by-step approach to design product-service concepts that ideally carry more values for different stakeholders in the eco-system. Detailed guideline for each phases in the proposed user-centric innovation framework is provided in Table 1. It gives an overview of the Zodiac Aerospace user-centric innovation framework and its relevance of stakeholder involvement and experience-driven aspect in the respective phases.
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Figure 3 Overview of the Zodiac Aerospace user-centric innovation framework (the graphic representation of each phase indicates whether the phase is divergence or convergence parts of the whole process.)
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Table 1 Overview of the Zodiac Aerospace user-centric innovation framework and its relevance of stakeholder involvement and experience-driven aspect in the respective phases. (Color shading indicates the relative degree of stakeholders involvement. Darker shading means deeper more active involvement.) Phases of the Proposed Framework
Description of Each Phase
Overview of Stakeholders Involved
Overview of Experience-Driven Design Aspect
Relevance and Impact of the Phase
Define Domain
This phase sets the start of the innovation process by defining an initial context of use (e.g. in-flight context or airport journey context) as the search field.
External client Internal project owner
Starting the innovation process by focusing on a specific context of use (e.g. Enhance the catering experience of long-haul economy class flights) provides more opportunities to incorporating user experience elements, rather than starting with a fixed problem statement (e.g. Reduce waste of onboard catering in passenger’s seat space).
This phase provides the organization with a starting space but also gives space to later reframe the context with valid arguments.
Formulate the Future Context of 2020 Air Travel
Future trends were collected through desk-top research, expert interviews and review of airport and airline master plans . The factors illustrated the future air travel experience of 2020, of which the new design would be based in.
External experts in the following three fields: Airport Consumers Group Airline Hub Operation 2030 Vision Airline Inflight Service Team
Based on ViP, the design process starts with collecting relevant factors that build up the future context. This gives a time frame and perspective for designers to concern what experience they would like to introduce or create into this future context.
The focus on upcoming trends and projecting a future that is currently developing supports the organization to explore what is possible tomorrow instead of solving the problems of today.
Passenger’s Concern / Passenger’s Experience Research
Based on the model of product emotion experience (Desmet, 2002) and with the use of inflight probes, passengers’ real-time emotional reaction
Various passengers traveling long-haul flights
Different from userevaluation tools that could only tap into explicit and observable insights, generative techniques enable to
The identified concerns of passengers provide inflight the various stakeholders guidelines of what
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during inflight service was documented.
uncover user’s tacit and latent needs and desires (Berdillon & Guenand, 2011) (Sanders & Stappers, 2012).
To find the concerns that triggered emotional reactions from passengers, indepth interviews were performed with the various passengers after their flight.
Passenger’s activity, positive and negative experience, reasons the resulted in the emotional response were discovered through the combined methodology of inflight probe, in-depth interview, and emotional journey mapping.
These passengers’ concerns were later used as idea generation topics in the co-creation phase.
Crew Service Analysis
Crews were interviewed using generative techniques. The main goal of this phase was to understand cabin crew’s service and cabin crew’s opinion of the uncovered passenger’s concern.
Co-creation Ideation
The co-creation ideation phase was undertaken to diverge on inflight service ideas for 2020 with multiple internal and external stakeholders through a co-creation workshop.
Six cabin crews from three airlines: Flight attendants In-flight service managers
User-experience designer as session facilitator. Session participants include:
Nine ideation topics were formulated from the user-concerns found in Phase 3 and 4.
Internal Zodiac Aerospace stakeholders: R&D designers Sales managers
Pre-workshop
External airline
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is needed (the basic requirement of inflight service) and what is desired (the service level up elements) from passengers.
Within a userproduct-context, there are often multiple users. Therefore understanding the multiple perspectives of users provides a full overview of the context of use.
The multiple userstakeholder involvement in the innovation framework enables the organization to have a holistic view of the different stakeholders involved in the system. This supports the creation of a concept that integrates multiple values.
Input from multiple stakeholders were gained, including crew’s perspective and passenger’s perspective. The internal participants were given sensitizing tools (Sanders & Stappers, 2012) to prepare them for having passenger’s perspective for the session.
The ideas generated in this phase ranged from product solutions to fragments of a service concept or even suggested a shift of service attitude. This provided abundant creative inputs for the conceptualization phase.
From Technology-Driven to Experience-Driven Innovation: A Case from the Aviation Industry using VIP
sensitizing tools were given to all participants to prepare their mindsets as crews or passengers.
stakeholders: Cabin crews In-flight service team managers
During the workshop, various generative tools and visual inspirations were provided to guide the participants step-bystep. Create 2020 Vision Statement
The 2020 Vision Statement articulated a summary of selected factors of the previous research phases. The vision statement stages the future world of what the company and the designer want to offer the multiple stakeholders.
The user experience researcher also took the role of the main concept designer with input from R&D designers from Zodiac Aerospace.
The vision statement provides a design direction for the later phase of design iteration.
In order to richly materialize the 2020 Vision, three service concepts were created.
The formulation of a vision emphasizes on defining what to design and what values does the new design intend to bring for its user, meaning that the context and the experience offering are designed before the physical attributes of the products are decided. Interaction qualities (analogies) were defined to help describe the experience we want to create in 2020.
The co-created ideas were filtered according to the vision.
7.1 : Service Conceptualiz ation Iteration
This phase supported the organization to gain empathy towards its client and end user (Berdillon & Guenand, 2011).
None (Only the design researcher who was also taking up the role of
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Following the vision statement and the coupling interaction qualities, the
Norman (2004) states, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good behavioural design has to be fundamental part of the design process from the very start; it cannot be adopted once the product has been completed.â&#x20AC;? Therefore we do not want to jump directly into conceptualizing products with the input of the cocreation phases. The vision helps to scale down the design scope and goal in an inspiring way while at the same time coming down to a concrete design level the {Anonymous Company} designers start feeling comfortable with. Ideating first about service offering and experience
Wan-Jen Jenny Tsay and Christine de Lille
Each concept focused on a different information type we wish to provide to passengers. 7.2: Stakeholder Evaluation
Customer journey maps of the three developed service concepts were used to visualize and envision the future scenarioexperience journey of passengers, making it easier for the stakeholders to interpret them and relate what they would mean to their daily practice. During the first session with a major European airline, the researcher walked through the journey maps with twenty-eight cabin crews, to collect their inputs and make sense of how the designed concepts fit their service value. R&D designers also participated in an internal feedback session using the same visualizations.
concept designer was involved).
designer does not immediately design products but firstly identifies service qualities.
offering provided the internal stakeholders knowledge of how to speak airlineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and end userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language.
Cabin crews In-flight service team R&D Designers
This phase incorporates user feedback for concept interaction through an early stage.
Users were not only included in the research phase, but also the generation phase, and now the validation phase. This provides the organization a good demonstration of how to apply user-centered design methodologies in different phases of innovation.
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4.2 General Impression of Conducting the Framework
Figure 4 Impression of the phases
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Reflection on the Proposed Framework and its Effect on the Organization In the previous section we proposed an user-centered innovation framework to support Zodiac Aerospace to transform its innovation process from technology-driven to experiencedriven. Here we would like to review and discuss how the adapted ViP approach added with co-creation perspective successfully supported Zodiac Aerospace in its transition by creating user-experience empathy within the organization, advanced its relationship with airline clients, and initiated mind set change. Reflections on the process is also presented to show how other companies that are facing the similar challenge can learn from this case study.
5.1 Vision Formulation Provided Different Kind Of Design Brief That Opened Up The Design Space For The Organization As the aviation industry is highly technology-driven and mostly, new product requests are requirement-oriented, internal stakeholders of Zodiac Aerospace are not familiar with rethinking a given problem (design assignment). This resulted in a fixation of solution and confined innovation. However, through the proposed framework, by following the ViP structure, the internal designers and engineers were asked to not think about the product outcome until Phase 7 in the eight-phase approach. They were guided through a wellorchestrated process of, starting from reframing the question, to formulating the future ideal world, and gathering in-depth user insights that projects experience offering. This exercise of starting from abstract to gradually pinpointing a potential opportunity space, to step-by-step become concrete in the concept offering provided the R&D team a different format of design brief. The new format of design brief contains mainly context features and desired interactions, this opened up broader design space for the organization to move towards experience-driven design solutions.
5.2 User-Stakeholders Involvement Created User-Experience Empathy And Transformed Reactive Supplier Into Proactive Partner With Clients The involvement of user-stakeholders was to engage the company intensively for creating a co-creation mind-set with its clients (airlines) and end users (crews and passengers). This successfully infused the R&D activities with an experience-mind-set by bringing in passengers’ experience and airlines’ values. For example, the design researcher actively engaged passengers through in-context generative tools, in-flight probes, to ask them to document the actual happenings in their fourteen-hour flight. This demonstrated to the company how to gather useful real-time user-insights (what happened on-board and what passengers’ reactions on the spot were). The developed user research tools (e.g. in-flight probe, analysis tools) were proved to be very useful for Zodiac Aerospace as most imperial studies on passengers’ on-board experience relied on reports of passengers recalling the experience after the flight (Ahmadpour, Rober, & Lindgaard, 2014). However, what people recall and what they actually experienced and felt have been proven by studies to be very different (Sanders & Stappers, 2012). This makes these first hand user insights and the
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approach of gathering them valuable for companies that are differentiating through product leadership or customer intimacy, Zodiac Aerospace. With the developed user-experience research knowledge, Zodiac Aerospace can better understand its airline clients and the customer of their clients, the passengers. This upgrades Zodiac Aerospace from a reactivesupplier-role to an proactive-partner-role with airlines. The transition is shown by the extended activities of Zodiac Aerospace and its airline partners. Zodiac Aerospace no longer only talks sales pitches with airlines, or invites crew users only for usability testing of a developed product, Zodiac Aerospace also envision future experience and visions through deeper understanding of the end-users.
5.3 Influence On The Organization: Co-Creation Perspective Initiated MindSet Change Within The Organization The involvement of internal Zodiac Aerospace stakeholders enhanced the sharing of different levels of user insights between different departments within an organization. In this case study, Sales department, the R&D department and Product Development department were involved starting from the beginning of the innovation project. As Alkaya et al., (2012) pointed out that different departments within an organization might possess various types of user insights which are meaningful to them, but which might also be meaningful for other departments. In this case study, through the co-creation session (Phase 5) and research insight update sessions of Phase 2, 3, 4 with the internal stakeholders, sales, designers and engineers were able to share insights and learn from the user-experience researcher. This enhanced a culture and mind-set change of open innovation. To provide an overview, co-creation with different stakeholders happened in multiple phases of the framework and resulted in various research and design tools. For example: Context inquiry with passengers to investigate inflight positive experience principles. Generative session with internal stakeholders and external users to ideate on concepts. Concept evaluation with cabin crews. Besides bringing tools that could be called upon in the design process, the usage of cocreation perspective in Zodiac Aerospace initiated a mindset change. The co-creation process invited internal stakeholders to take part in not only the design of solutions but also the problem reframing phase, this required a change of mentality, to break through their own roles in the design process.
5.4
Tips For Improving Always define the specific goal for a co-creation session: Co-creation can be used for different purposes. According to Tassoul (2009), the purpose could be to define a project, to ideate on a broader topic, or to detail a design. Therefore it is recommended to clarify the goal of the co-
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creation session before starting. Or use a pre co-creation session to engage stakeholder brainstorming on the goal of the main session. Formulate future vision with stakeholders to start the design phase: It was a conscious decision for the designer researcher to take the task to translate the trend and user inputs into a 2020 Vision. However, in practice, it is strongly advised to engage stakeholders in formulating the “future vision”. The purpose of starting the design process with a vision is to avoid the risk of directly jumping into “solutions“ or “products“ without exploring the meaning and the intended interaction of the design. For service-oriented projects or projects that are highly interaction-centred, the stakeholders (users, service enabler, service providers) should be engaged when envisioning the future.
Figure 5 Example of visually supported vision and interaction qualities
Engage participants with visually supported material: Reflecting on the crew feedback session, where 28 cabin crews participated in giving comments on the three service concepts, it was found that huge printouts of storyboard and illustration of the concepts were great tools to engage users in a service-oriented design. The printouts on the wall provided a
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clear and transparent discussion platform. Participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ideas were exposed to the whole group and therefore, triggered feedbacks from the other participants. In addition, the crews were asked to express their ideas specifically by sticking post-it to the specific function/feature they would like to comment on. In this way, the storyboard was also a structure to collect and analyse feedbacks.
Figure 6 Example of visually supported material to illustrate a service concept
Conclusion By adopting the features of the ViP approach, being context-based and providing a wider experience-driven solution space through vision formulation, the proposed User-Centric Innovation Approach successfully demonstrated to Zodiac Aerospace how an experiencedriven innovation process could look like in order to support Zodiac Aerospace in supporting their customers, the airlines in differentiating. Moreover, in order to fully understand the context of use as well as the interactions of the users with the products and to gain user empathy, multiple stakeholder involvement through co-creation was added to ViP. Active involvement of the perspectives of people, such as pursers, crew, service managers, caterers, passengers etc., enabled the company to move away from a technology-driven focus and get a thorough understanding of both the interactions with their products and the overall context of use. As a result, an eight-step detailed approach that allows for cocreation and emphasizes on how experiences are addressed and taking in account for each phase provided Zodiac Aerospace a step-by-step approach to adapt to the (underlying) needs and requests of the customer.
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Due to the nature of the study, we were only able to explore indepth how the approach could work within one company. In future research we will need to investigate the generalizability of the approach and validate our decision-making. We do expect necessary changes based on prior experiences user-centered of the company involved and the industry they operate in (B2B or B2C, user-centered, service or product-oriented etc.). Through the case study of first creating a future domain, then formulating a vision and finally to a well-formulated experience-driven design brief, Zodiac Aerospace recognized that more time and effort for the exploration and research phase is needed to develop concepts that carry more value for stakeholders. At the moment of writing, we have seen evidence in the organization of this recognition, a meaningful innovation framework was introduced to capture the iterative exploration process before TRL concept development system (the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traditional innovation process). This recent action created awareness and clarity within the organization that good ideas donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come out of nowhere or purely intuition, but instead come from well-structured involvement of multiple stakeholders and a deep understanding of the (future) context. The experience-driven innovation adaption supports Zodiac Aerospace to look into the deeper and prominent issues they are facing. Acknowledgements: Special thanks to the colleagues of Zodiac Aerospace (Netherlands) that gave input and participated in my research, especially the R&D team of both galleys and air-catering business units, the PD team, and the Sales team. Thank you both of my core users, passengers and cabin crews that provided rich input and the always enthusiastic attitude for explorative researches.
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About the Authors: Wan-Jen Jenny Tsay is an User Experience Researcher at Zodiac Aerospace (Netherlands) and a PhD candidate of Delft University of Technology (Netherlands). She focuses her research on in-flight experience and bringing design thinking into organizations to support their innovation. Christine de Lille is an Assistant Professor at the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She focuses in her research on user-centered design and service design and its impact on organizations.
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Critically Exploring the Development of a Conceptual Framework for Building Innovative Brands Xinya You* and David Hands Lancaster University, UK. * youxy429@hotmail.com DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.350
Abstract: The success of today's brands increasingly relies on consumer-centred coinnovation. In this context, brands must play a role that is more proactive than their traditional one of serving as a communication tool. Based on an extensive review of the literature, this paper defines the new role of brands as a driving force for innovation and, to illustrate the potential of that new role, proposes a conceptual framework for building innovative brands that comprises the following five dimensions: (1) the command centre—the brand management team; (2) the strategic vision—the context of building innovative brands; (3) the organisational foundation—the organisation's innovation capability; (4) the cross-cultural perspective—driving innovation cross-culturally; and (5) the human-centred innovation approach—design thinking. It is hoped that the comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and strategic outcomes will inspire researchers and marketing professionals to apply the findings described here and to conduct further study on this topic. Keywords: branding; innovation; design thinking; strategic management
Introduction O'Cass and Viet Ngo (2007) suggested that building successful brands does not always depend on the interpretation of feedback received from current consumers and competitors but rather on an organisation's ability to innovatively develop unique ways of delivering superior value to consumers. This challenge to management science (Ind & Watt, 2006; Payne, Storbacka, Frow, & Knox, 2009) has been echoed for several years by those who hold similar pioneering views. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and strategic perspective from which to approach this challenge as an opportunity. Initially, it critically reviews the theoretical background and analyses the context of the challenge. It
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Xinya You and David Hands
then addresses the research question of this paper: how does one build innovative brands systematically? To answer this question, a five-dimensional, conceptual framework for building innovative brands was mapped out based on a broad literature review of branding, innovation, organisation, and design theories. Design thinking, a human-centred approach to innovation, was introduced to inspire the framework.
The New Role of Brands as a Driving Force for Innovation 2.1 The Early Era of Brands as a Communication Tool The term brand can be traced back to 1876, when Bass Ale submitted its trademark and became the first officially registered brand in the world (Millman, 2011). During the last three decades, the term has developed and expanded to encompass a disciplinary status known as branding. Not confined to consumer goods and services fields, branding has also extended to business-to-business, to regions and countries, and to organisational management domains (Allen, Fournier, & Miller, 2008). A brand is often regarded as a communication tool and a part of the product strategy in brand development (Rooney, 1995). The following are two definitions that provide relatively comprehensive understandings of the term: ď&#x201A;ˇ A brand encompasses the benefits offered by a product or service, the consumer experience, and the assets critical to delivering and communicating that experience (Leventhal, 1996). ď&#x201A;ˇ A brand is "a multidimensional construction, matching a firm's functional and emotional values with the performance and psychosocial needs of consumers" (De Chernatony & Dall'Olmo Riley, 1998, p. 417). A debate on the "death of the brand" began in the early 1990s (Leventhal, 1996, p. 17), since the simple world of mass production technology and television advertisement in which branding theory thrived turned into a more complex world. This complexity is reflected in various aspects of marketing, such as knowledgeable consumers, multiple media, proliferating distribution channels, and the rapid development of Internet technology (Allen et al., 2008; Leventhal, 1996). Accordingly, the role of brands as a communication tool ended. This argument can be partly verified by the four eras of branding theory development identified by Merz, He, and Vargo (2009; see Table 1). It is evident that the debate on the "death of the brand" was initiated at the beginning of the relationship-focus brand era; since then, involving multiple stakeholders to co-create brand value has become the central task of brand development.
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Table 1 The four brand eras identified by Merz, He, and Vargo (2009). Brand Era
The Role of Brands
1. Individual GoodsFocus Brand Era (1900sâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;1930s)
Brands were considered identifiers that constituted a way for customers to identify goods.
2. Value-Focus Brand Era (1930sâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;1990s)
Brands were regarded as functional images and symbolic images to meet customers' external and internally generated consumption needs, respectively.
3. Relationship-Focus Brands were seen as knowledge, which considered Brand Era (1990sâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; brand value to be the collectively perceived value co2000) created by all consumers. Moreover, they were seen as relationship partners, which highlighted the idea that consumers formed emotional relationships with brands and constantly co-created brand value through these relationships. Furthermore, they played the role of promises, which stressed the notion that employees constituted important brand value co-creators by communicating a certain brand image through their interaction with customers. 4. Stakeholder-Focus Brand Era (2000 and forward)
Brands are identified as dynamic and social processes, which emphasized the concept that brand communities and all stakeholders are active co-creators of brand value.
2.2 The New Era of Brands as a Driving Force for Innovation As discussed in the previous section, the exploration of mutual relationships among stakeholders to co-create brand value has been the dominant direction of branding theory. Some constructive suggestions have been proposed, which can be grouped into the following two approaches to building innovative brands. Consumer-centred innovation: Norton (2005) indicated that some brands provided consumers unprecedented innovative products and services and were thus responsible for the company's market leadership. Further, Ulaga and Chacour (2001) pointed out the importance of knowing what customers need and desire, and then developing and delivering consumer-valued innovations, to the success of today's businesses. These findings led to a newly established logic: consumer-centred innovation is the key to brands' success, a conclusion that has been confirmed by many scholars in the branding field (De Chernatony, McDonald, & Wallace, 2011; Payne et al., 2009; Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004; Sheth & Parvatiyar, 1999). Cross-boundary collaboration: De Chernatony (2001) pointed out that brand development is a set of cross-functional activities in the value-adding process. Similarly, Merz et al. (2009) argued that stakeholders co-create brand value continuously, dynamically, socially, and interactively. Correspondingly, the collaboration relationship among stakeholders has
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become an ideal opportunity for brands to survive and thrive (Cravens & Piercy, 2008; Hatch & Schultz, 2010). As collaborative partners, stakeholders can contribute in many ways, such as supplying economic resources and political support as well as the specialist knowledge that provides mutual benefits for brand development and innovation (A. Gregory, 2007; Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). The two approaches are interrelated and therefore can be combined into consumer-centred co-innovation, which implies the new role of brands. In this regard, Abbing (2010) put forward a new concept, brand-driven innovation, and the following four-stage approach to achieving it: 1. Human-centred branding connects the brand to the people who develop new products and services, as well as to its current and future customers. Organisations can achieve this goal by involving multiple stakeholders throughout their entire brand-building processes. 2. Building innovative strategy involves developing an innovation approach that sees the promise of the brand as a springboard. The question to answer is "How can we deploy our capabilities and resources as best we can to develop new products and services that delight our customers in every stage of their relationship with us?" 3. Building design strategy comes into play after an organisation has discovered its unique capabilities and gained an understanding of how these can be transformed into value for its customers. A multi-disciplinary strategic design will help to transform the understanding into practice. 4. Touchpoint orchestration is the course through which, every time the consumer encounters a brand touchpoint, the organization has an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with that customer. In this way, Abbing (2010) creatively demonstrated the new role of brands as a driving force for innovation. It can be said that the early era of brands as a communication tool has been replaced by the new era of brands as a driving force for innovation. This classification of the two brand eras offers a new perspective that raises brands to a dominant position in businesses and reveals their potential power in continuously driving consumer-centred coinnovation.
2.3 Defining the Research Question While the latest studies towards the new brand era are inspiring, they continue to be undeveloped and require improvements. For example, the four-stage approach of branddriven innovation has several limitations. First, it requires the fundamental knowledge of branding theory as a prerequisite. In addition, the application result highly relies on the organisation's innovation capability. Moreover, it simplifies the process of brand-driven innovation (Abbing, 2010). As a result, organisations can hardly implement it without expertise. Hence, a valuable research approach is one that focuses more on relevant topics, which is what this paper aims to do. In the new brand era, the core responsibility of brands
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is driving consumer-centred co-innovation systematically and thus helping organisations to achieve sustainable development. Accordingly, this paper defines a critical research question: how does one build innovative brands systematically? To answer this question, this paper presents a conceptual framework comprising the following five dimensions: (1) the command centre—the brand management team; (2) the strategic vision—the context of building innovative brands; (3) the organisational foundation—the organisation's innovation capability; (4) the cross-cultural perspective—driving innovation cross-culturally; and (5) the human-centred innovation approach—design thinking (see Figure 1). Companies and public sectors are the two primary domains that need to build brands. Due to space limitations, this paper concentrates on companies.
Figure 1 The five-dimensional, conceptual framework for building innovative brands.
2.4 Inspired by Design Thinking The fifth dimension of the framework introduces a mature concept of design theory: design thinking, an idea whose development can be traced back to the 1960s (Simon, 1969). Now, a half-century later, the world has come to a common understanding of design thinking. The following are two clear definitions of the concept: Design thinking is a human-centred approach to innovation that integrates the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success (Brown, 2015). Design thinking is "a human-centred innovation process that emphasizes observation, collaboration, fast learning, visualization of ideas, rapid concept prototyping, and concurrent business analysis, which ultimately influences innovation and business strategy" (Lockwood, 2010, p. xi).
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The essence of design thinking can be described as consumer-centred co-innovation, and it is also the core idea of brands as a driving force for innovation. Hence, this paper suggests that design thinking as a mature concept can be applied to inspire brand development.
The Conceptual Framework for Building Innovative Brands Systematically In Section 2.3, this paper proposed a five-dimensional, conceptual framework for building innovative brands systematically. This section enriches the framework based on a broad literature review and builds a solid foundation for further exploration.
3.1 The Command Centre: the Brand Management Team Abbing (2010) argued that brand-driven innovation requires releasing the brand from the marketing department into the entire organisation. This argument is valid, because developing and implementing brand strategies within the marketing department is beyond its capacity for in dealing with the complexity of consumer-centred co-innovation. Further, Webster Jr, Malter, and Ganesan (2012) proposed an idea that a small "centre of excellence" can be built to enable collaboration among an array of dispersed marketing elements. Similarly, De Chernatony (2001) encouraged companies to grow and to sustain their brands strategically by building a brand team composed of knowledgeable employees. Consistent with these opinions, this paper presents the view that it is important to establish a brand management team as the command centre of building innovative brands systematically. A competent brand manager should be appointed to administer the brand team (Brexendorf & Daecke, 2012) and to engage multiple stakeholders in developing brands together.
3.2 The Strategic Vision: the Context of Building Innovative Brands The success of building innovative brands is closely linked to the strategic vision of thinking of all key aspects of brand development as a whole. This paper identifies five key aspects of brand development. Key Aspect 1: Developing Business Strategy The value of brand strategy and business strategy are equivalent in this new brand era. Urde (1994) confirmed the equivalence by arguing that brands should be used as a starting point in the formulation of business strategies through creating brand orientation. Moreover, empirical evidence indicates that the most brand-oriented companies have almost doubled the profitability of the least brand-oriented companies (Gromark & Melin, 2011). Business strategy comprises three key dimensions: (1) the product-market scopeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the heart of business strategy; (2) the value propositionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the prerequisite of new products; and (3) strategic assets (such as research expertise and a well-recognized logo)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the foundation of business strategy (Aaker, 2009). Based on these three dimensions, this paper maintains that the relationship between business strategy and brand strategy in building innovative brands should consider the following:
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ď&#x201A;ˇ The product-market scope: The consumer-centred co-innovation process of building innovative brands can generate meaningful insights to help formulate an appropriate product-market scope. ď&#x201A;ˇ The value proposition: A unique brand promise should be constructed to connect the organisation's capabilities and vision to the customer's needs and aspirations, which is a precondition for developing the value propositions of new products. ď&#x201A;ˇ The strategic assets: These assets should be legitimately deployed to support the building of innovative brands. Key Aspect 2: Formulating Brand Strategy The brand vision and the brand promise construct one set of the most significant concepts in building innovative brands. The brand vision should indicate the long-term intent for a brand and must excite employees and enable them to understand how they can contribute to the brand's success (De Chernatony, 2001). The brand promise is the statement made by a brand to its customers that identifies expectations for all interactions with its people, products, services, and company (Cameron & Wilcox, 2003). The corporate brand and the product brand construct another set of the most important concepts. From the relationship perspective, the corporate brand is the dominant master brand and drives the product brand(s) (J. R. Gregory, 1997). From an audience perspective, the corporate brand aims to develop a coherent brand promise to all stakeholders, and the product brand(s) focuses on providing and communicating its benefits and value proposition to its consumers (Schultz & De Chernatony, 2002). In practice, some corporations have adopted the multi-brand strategy, which establishes a large portfolio of product brands to take advantage of disaggregation (Dawar, 2004), whereas some companies apply the single-brand strategy, which uses the corporate brand to communicate important messages on behalf of all its product brands (J. R. Gregory, 1997). Key Aspect 3: Managing New Product Development Most companies begin with a single product and gradually become multi-product corporations (Rao, Agarwal, & Dahlhoff, 2004). Usually, new product development projects are conducted in three stages: the product strategy and planning stage, the product development organizing stage, and the project management stage (Krishnan & Ulrich, 2001). When new products are planned to be added, the product development manager needs to answer five critical questions: what to launch; where to launch; when to launch; why to launch; and how to launch (Hultink, Griffin, Hart, & Robben, 1997). It is valuable for a corporation to build a product portfolio that includes many product development projects targeting existing and potential markets. The creation of several product platforms is also valuable to enable resource sharing across different projects (Krishnan & Ulrich, 2001). Key Aspect 4: Customizing Brand Experience Scholars in the branding field hold a common view that a brand is an accumulation of brand experience collectively gleaned from all brand touchpoints (Davis, 2000; Meyer & Schwager,
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2007; Rockwell, 2008). Therefore, the ultimate aim of brand management should be to deliver a consistent and distinctive brand experience of the brand promise through every brand touchpoint (Burmann & Zeplin, 2005; Mosley, 2007; Noble, 2006). The touchpoints of a brand may include advertising, packaging, the out-of-box experience, the product or service itself, customer service, and informational channels (Rockwell, 2008). The use of mapping tools can help to improve or create brand experience (Patterson & Marketing, 2009), such as customer journey. Key Aspect 5: Engaging Multiple Stakeholders The stakeholders of brands usually include brand owners, corporate investors, financiers, suppliers, consumers, employees, trade unions, competitors, and authorities (DitlevÂSimonsen & Midttun, 2011; J. R. Gregory, 1997). Among them, consumers are the end-assessors of products and thus should be seen as the core stakeholders (S. Kumar & Blomqvist, 2004; Pike, 2007; Willmott, 2010). Employees are also essential stakeholders: a company needs to understand its employees' values and aspirations to unleash their potential and to align their values with its brand promise (De Chernatony, 2001). Moreover, stakeholders other than consumers and employees are additional value co-creators for brands. Hence, it is necessary to think about how to engage multiple stakeholders in building innovative brands to generate maximum value.
3.3 The Organisational Foundation: the Organisation's Innovation Capability Companies need to distinguish the key factors of nurturing the organisation's innovation capability, which supports brand development (Koberg, Detienne, & Heppard, 2003). This section describes the following four sets of factors: Key Factor Set 1: Tangible and Intangible Resources Organisational resources can be categorized as either tangible or intangible. Tangible resources include people, equipment, technologies, and cash. Intangible resources comprise product designs, knowledge, brands, and relationships with suppliers, distributors, and consumers (Christensen & Overdorf, 2000; Prahalad & Krishnan, 2008). Among all of these, knowledge is the key resource in nurturing the organisation's innovation capability (Anand, Gardner, & Morris, 2007; Gold & Arvind Malhotra, 2001). The organisation's innovation capability can be translated into its ability to continuously create, absorb, and integrate knowledge while adapting it to changing market conditions (Verona & Ravasi, 2003). As a prerequisite, however, organisations need to first figure out what type of innovation they want to pursue, since different types of innovation require particular types of knowledge and knowledge management (Koberg et al., 2003; Popadiuk & Choo, 2006). Conceptually, explicit knowledge is firmly related to incremental innovation, while tacit knowledge is closely linked to radical innovation (Popadiuk & Choo, 2006). Key Factor Set 2: Organisational Processes and Structure Organisational processes constitute the patterns of interaction, coordination, communication, and decision making that people use to transform resources into products
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(Christensen & Overdorf, 2000). It is important for companies to pursue and to sustain innovation by formulating organisational processes that encourage it. In this regard, Mumford (2000) recommended the work styles that emphasize curiosity, persistent interest, focused interests, self-discipline, and skills related to the integration of a variety of work activities and interests. Organisational structure can be described as the orchestration of processes (Damanpour & Schneider, 2006; Dhanaraj & Parkhe, 2006). Ramezan (2011) defined it as the power and responsibility structure formed in the managing process, which can find expression in the policymaking structure, the governing structure, the controlling structure, and the information structure. The success of every strategy depends heavily on its alignment with organisational structure (Jabnoun, 2005). There are some general principles of designing organisational structure for fostering long-term innovation capability. For example, organisational structures that are relatively flexible and decentralized but integrated can support sharing, learning, and collaboration across boundaries, both internally and externally (Anand et al., 2007; Chen & Huang, 2007; Gold & Arvind Malhotra, 2001; Koberg et al., 2003; Tsai, 2001). Additionally, organisational-structure design should meet the requirements of reducing uncertainty and of focusing employee efforts on the accomplishment of strategic goals (O'Neill, Beauvais, & Scholl, 2001). Key Factor Set 3: Corporate Values and Culture Corporate values refer to a company's institutional standards of behaviour (Kelly, Kocourek, McGaw, & Samuelson, 2005). They are articulated and embedded in a company's practices for purposes of playing the guiding role in the decision-making process (BrÄ&#x192;tianu & BÄ&#x192;lÄ&#x192;nescu, 2008). The fostering of an organisation's innovation capability requires corresponding corporate values that set up the standards of innovation practices. Culture refers to the values shared by a group of people that tend to persist over time, even when group membership changes (Kotter, 2008). This definition also applies to corporate culture. When a business grows larger and more complex, its corporate values become increasingly important and gradually evolve into a corporate culture (Christensen & Overdorf, 2000), which is an important determinant of climate for innovation (Sarros, Cooper, & Santora, 2008). Innovation-supportive cultures can nurture expectations and guidelines for members' experimentation, creativity, and risk-taking (Jassawalla & Sashittal, 2002). Key Factor Set 4: The Development Stage of the Organisation Companies can be classified into four different categories according to their size: microenterprise, small enterprise, medium enterprise, and large enterprise (European Union Commission, 2003). This classification indicates the four development stages of organisations. As Knight and Cavusgil (2004) pointed out, smaller companies are more flexible, less bureaucratic, and enjoy internal conditions that encourage innovativeness, whereas larger corporations usually experience massive bureaucratization, which hinders their innovative activities; this does not mean, however, that small companies are more innovative than large corporations. Christensen and Overdorf (2000) demonstrated that companies commonly experience a migration of capabilities during their growth: they start in resources, in particular human resources, and then shift to processes and values before
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finally migrating to culture. Therefore, organisations at different development stages need to nurture their innovation capability with particular focuses and hold a long-term strategic vision.
3.4 The Cross-cultural Perspective: Driving Innovation Cross-culturally Many proactive research findings have been put forward regarding building innovation brands cross-culturally. On the one hand, some studies have furthered the understanding of cultural similarities and differences in organisational behaviour (Lytle, Brett, Barsness, Tinsley, & Janssens, 1995; Mueller & Thomas, 2001). For example, Shane (1993) demonstrated that high rates of innovation are closely associated with the cultural value of uncertainty acceptance, individualism, and lack of power distance. On the other hand, some studies have shown that there is a global formula for successful innovation (Murovec & Prodan, 2009). For example, Lee, Lee, and Souder (2000) found that top management support, research and development (R&D)-marketing integration, product champion's influences, and project manager's authority, skill, and motivating ability are essential for new product development (NPD) success regardless of the country in which a company operates. These findings are valuable in providing a cross-cultural perspective of building innovative brands. Moreover, driving innovation cross-culturally can be strengthened by engaging relevant stakeholders of different cultures. The involvement can bring in-depth communications and interactions that help to gain cross-cultural knowledge for building innovative brands, which will then be able to connect the organisation's vision and capability to the consumer's needs and aspirations cross-culturally. In this way, cultural similarities and differences become cross-cultural innovation opportunities for brand development.
3.5 The Human-centred Innovation Approach: Design Thinking This section discusses how design thinking can bring benefits to the whole process of building innovative brands systematically. The discussion follows the sequence of the fivedimensional, conceptual framework. Dimension 1: The Command Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Brand Management Team Because it holds a central position in building innovative brands, the brand management team should take the leadership in applying and disseminating design thinking throughout the entire organisation. The team needs to engage employees from different departments in working together to develop brands by applying design thinking. This method is effective because it has been shown that there is a learning progression during the design thinking process that can transform a novice into an expert design thinker (Goldschmidt & Weil, 1998). Dimension 2: The Strategic Visionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Context of Building Innovative Brands Applying design thinking can bring strategic value to the systematic building of innovative brands. Overall, design thinking offers companies a shared customer-centric language with which to discuss the opportunities available to them (Design Management Institute, 2015).
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Furthermore, design thinking can provide specific value to each aspect of brand development. In developing business strategies, some of design thinking's nondenominational concepts, such as teamwork and visualization, can help companies to create a powerful platform through which to support incremental improvements and to drive innovation. The improvements include reductions in time to market, increased margins, and a better product/market mix. In formulating brand strategies, design thinking can encourage companies to focus on building brand loyalty based on customer-centric empathy and by aligning their internal culture with the external brand offer (Design Management Institute, 2015). While managing new product development, design thinking provides a fundamental process that can guide a company to translate its abstract brand vision, brand promise, and capability to consumer-centred innovations. The process consists of five steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test (the d.school, 2012). In customizing consumer-valued brand experiences, design thinking is useful, as well. In 2006, for example, IBM started to apply design thinking to improve clients' experience of visiting IBM centres (Clark & Smith, 2008). Finally, design thinking offers an opportunity to open up the roles that multiple stakeholders play in constituting value creation (Kimbell & Street, 2009). Dimension 3: The Organisational Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Organisation's Innovation Capability Design thinking can help to nurture the organisation's innovation capability by managing each of its key factors. Design thinking is useful in managing tangible resources to enhance the organisation's innovation capability. For example, its visual artefacts and prototypes can help multidisciplinary teams work together (Kimbell, 2011). Likewise, design thinking can contribute to managing intangible resources. For instance, knowledge and skills are central to the design thinking approach, but they are embedded within an embodied understanding of practice (Adams, Daly, Mann, & Dall'Alba, 2011). Moreover, design thinking is about finding a better balance between exploration and exploitation and between abductive, inductive, and deductive reasoning (Martin, 2009). This characteristic makes it particularly valuable for inspiring the design of organisational processes and structures that balance organisational tensions between divergent intuitive exploration and convergent analytical exploitation (University of St. Gallen, 2011). In addition, the comparatively organic process of design thinking that stresses interdisciplinary collaboration also serves as a good example of developing organisational processes and structures that encourage and enable innovation. Furthermore, companies can train their employees to be design thinkers with the following characteristics: empathy, integrative thinking, optimism, experimentalism, and collaboration (Brown, 2008). These characteristics will lead to the establishment of corporate values and corporate cultures that motivate consumer-centred co-innovation. As designer thinkers, employees will be able to not only meet the requirements of tasks but also to solve problems innovatively (Rylander, 2009). Additionally, they can be "knowledge brokers" and "glue" in an organisation because of their ability to embrace many types of thought and knowledge and to solve problem holistically (Hargadon & Sutton, 1999; Kimbell, 2011). Encouragingly, design thinking is powerful for companies at different development stages in
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practice. Some SMEs (e.g. Challs International and Oxford Biosensors) and some large corporations (e.g. SAP and IBM) have already benefited from the application of design thinking (Clark & Smith, 2008; V. Kumar, Ward, Runcie, & Morris, 2009; SAP, 2015). Dimension 4: The Cross-cultural Perspectiveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Driving Innovation Cross-culturally The value of design thinking has been confirmed cross-culturally. For example, Rau (2014) and the d.school (2015) emphasized the value of design thinking in understanding different cultures and, subsequently, their users. In addition, researchers have started to explore the power of understanding design thinking in multicultural workplaces (University of Canberra, 2015). Nevertheless, this paper presents the belief that there is more that design thinking can contribute to cross-cultural studies, especially in building innovative brands crossculturally. Potential contributions include understanding multiple stakeholders of different cultures, improving cross-cultural collaboration, delivering outstanding products and consumer experience for different cultures, and nurturing an organisation's innovation capability cross-culturally. Dimension 5: The Human-centred Innovation Approachâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Design Thinking A previous portion of this section discusses the idea that the application of design thinking would energize the entire process of building innovative brands. The utilization of design thinking tools and techniques can significantly enhance the applicability of design thinking in this process. First, the tools and techniques can be designed to train new design thinkers from a novice level to that of an expert. For example, non-hierarchical mind-mapping techniques are useful for training novice designers to adopt a design problem-solving framework or processes of expert designers (Kokotovich, 2008). Secondly, generally everyone can easily and quickly grasp these tools and techniques, such as the Empathy Map created by The d. school (2015). Thirdly, these tools and techniques can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the collaboration among multiple stakeholders. For example, sketches and visualization techniques allow design thinkers to represent problems and solutions and to develop their ideas in conversation (Dorst, 2010). In practice, design thinking tools and techniques, such as the Business Model Canvas, which has gained a high reputation in business management and entrepreneurship areas, have proved valuable in many areas (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010).
Conclusion This review of the development of branding theory clearly reveals that a new brand era has arrived. In this new era, pursuing consumer-centred co-innovation is crucial if brands are to survive and thrive. Hence, instead of their traditional role as a communication tool, today's brands must take a more proactive role. This paper defines the new role as a driving force for innovation and proposes a research question through which to illustrate the new role of brands: how does one build innovative brands systematically? To answer this question, a five-dimensional, conceptual framework was mapped out. According to the framework, companies are first suggested to establish a multifunctional brand management team as the
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command centre of building innovative brands. The framework then offers a strategic vision of brand development by explaining its five critical aspects: developing business strategy; formulating brand strategy; managing new product development; customizing brand experience; and engaging multiple stakeholders. Next, it distinguishes four sets of interrelated key factors of an organisation's innovation capability: tangible and intangible resources; organisational processes and structure; corporate values and culture; and the development stage of the organisation. Moreover, it adopts a cross-cultural perspective by engaging relevant stakeholders from different cultures in brand development. Finally, the framework elaborates how design thinking can bring value to the whole process of building innovative brands systematically. In conclusion, this paper suggests a new direction for further branding theory and, based on that, creates a strategic blueprint for brand development that is comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and strategic, and thus valuable in the real world. Specifically, the paper offers an overall picture of running and sustaining innovative businesses; it encourages companies to break the boundaries of different departments, stakeholders, and cultures; it provides a simple and flexible framework for fast learning, easy application, and further exploration; it implies a time dimension of gradually nurturing organisations and their brands; and it equips organisations with a human-centred innovation approach. This paper contributes towards design discipline by raising design thinking to a critical position in building brands and by broadening an understanding of the value of design thinking in helping companies to achieve their success. Nevertheless, further empirical research is required to enrich and to verify the findings of this paper. The authors' next task is to make a theoretical contribution to theory building and theory testing by conducting a multiplecase study guided by the five-dimensional, conceptual framework. Building innovative brands systematically, a previously unexplored process, will serve as the foundation for the new theory.
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About the Authors: Xinya You is a PhD student at Lancaster University. Previously, she worked for two years as an analyst at Siegel + Gale. She obtained her MA in Design & Branding Strategy (Brunel University) and BA in Industrial Design (Tsinghua University). Dr David Hands is Course Leader for MA Design Management at Lancaster University. His research interests are varied and diverse, encompassing design policy development; design briefing; design leadership; designing against crime; and new product development.
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United We Stand: A Critique of the Design Thinking Approach in Interdisciplinary Innovation Fiona Macivera*, Julian Malinsa, Julia Kantorovitchb and Aggelos Liapisc a
Norwich University of the Arts VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland c Athens University of Economics and Business * f.maciver@nua.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.37 b
Abstract There has been a recent upsurge in the promotion of ‘creative thinking’. The input of several disciplines is necessary to innovate new products and services. However, there remain many challenges to collaboration amongst creative and science-based disciplines. This paper examines disparities between designers and technologists when innovating and tackling problems. It is suggested that dominance of one party is likely to result in inadequate results. This paper seeks to explore how collaboration can be mediated by design thinking. A case study of designers and technologists working on a software development project is presented. The case study highlights challenges resulting from differences between designers and technologists. Guiding principles aimed at facilitating collaboration are outlined. Finally, the paper reflects on the symbiosis between the disciplines, and how difference in fact cultivates innovation.
KEYWORDS: Interdisciplinary teams; design/technology collaboration; design thinking; design projects; project management
Introduction While there are inherent differences in how the arts and sciences have evolved, rapidly changing present contexts are demanding greater intersection of disciplines. There has been a shift towards uniting creative- and science-based disciplines over the past decade. The value of ‘creative thinking’ gained popularity as a means to stimulate the industrial sector in the 2000s. Official reports (e.g. in the UK, The Cox Review (2004) and the DTI’s (2005) Economics Paper 15; in Ireland, the Forfás (2009) report on skills in creativity, design and innovation; in Denmark, the Danish Design Council’s (2003) report on the economic This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Fiona Maciver, Julian Malins, Julia Kantorovitch and Aggelos Liapis
effects of design) herald a change in attitude towards the importance of creativity, and particularly design, as a means for stimulating economic growth through innovation. This shift is reflected in the inclusion of design within innovation and technology projects, for example in those run by Innovate UK and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, whose programs recognise the importance of design and creativity as a critical component in interdisciplinary projects. In terms of innovation, it seems that the division between disciplines is outmoded and is potentially restricting, as forecast by C.P. Snow almost 60 years ago (Snow, 2001). However, in modern education, the divide is still evidenced in the early specialisation between arts or sciences subjects in some national systems (Archer et al., 2013). The dichotomy of selfdefinition as either creative or scientific (i.e. having a disposition for analysis and logic, or intuition and holistic thought determined by dominance of the ‘left brain’ or ‘right brain’) is equally dated and false. Rather, recent research in the field of neuroscience emphasises equal connectivity and activity in both hemispheres of the brain when problem solving (AzizZadeh, 2013; Nielsen et al., 2013). Table 1 summarises the qualities conventionally associated with the sciences and the arts, and delineates the groups of professionals categorised as ‘technologists’ and ‘designers’ in the course of this paper. While the arts/science dichotomy is an overly simplistic categorisation, the notion of difference endures, making collaboration and interdisciplinary projects challenging. Interand intraorganisational projects are often blighted by problems (Lovelace et al., 2001). Research focusing on interdisciplinary design projects illustrates that several problems arise relating, for example, a lack of shared vision (Kristensen, 1998) and difference in language (Murray and O’Driscoll, 1996), leading to strained and misunderstood relationships (Dumas, 1994; Svengren Holm and Johansson, 2005). In terms of academic research, funding sources tends to divide disciplines, creating difficulties when establishing cross-disciplinary projects (Bruce et al., 2004). Table 1: Qualities of the sciences and the arts Sciences
Arts
Mathematics, physics, engineering
Creativity, language
Logic
Intuition, subjectivity
Left brain
Right brain
Linear, sequential
Holistic, chaotic, divergent
Reductionist enquiry
Naturalistic enquiry
Facts, figures, formulae
Interpretive forms, subjective expression
One correct answer
Many solutions
Technologists - computer scientists, software engineers, information science experts, coders…
Designers - product designers, interface designers, design researchers, graphic designers…
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The trend towards interdisciplinary collaboration highlights the need to revisit the dichotomy. How disciplines approach problems reflects their inherent differences. While disconnect can be problematic in projects spanning disciplinary divides, it is in fact difference upon which interdisciplinarity thrives (e.g. Kelley and Littman, 2006), and which can be considered to enhance innovation. This paper explores the variation in approach, methodology and working methods of two divergent disciplines. Using a case study of an interdisciplinary software development project to investigate this issue, the authors look specifically at the case of designers and technologists. The article highlights divergences and convergences in the working processes of designers and technologists, including problem-solving approaches, terminologies, and methodologies. From this discussion, the benefits of resolving disciplinary divides emerge, particularly in relation to the adequacy of project outcomes. The paper offers guiding principles for addressing interdisciplinary differences. It is suggested that acknowledging and embracing difference is crucial for the success of interdisciplinary collaboration.
2. Innovating across cultural borders: The case of design and technology The need for disciplines to work collaboratively enhances NPD (new product development) success (Felekoglu et al., 2013), particularly where products are highly complex. NPD stakeholder collaboration is assisted by 24/7 digital communication, the ability to instantaneously share updates to work-in-progress via the internet (Maciver et al., 2015), and the capability to work alongside partners in different time zones on production and manufacture (Kumar and Whitney, 2007). These shifts propagate the shift from traditional, bounded forms of working towards an expansive, holistic, interdisciplinary viewpoint. In this paradigm, collaboration with others stakeholders – from different countries and subject disciplines – is vital to contemporary practice. Working practices are inextricably linked to the types of problems faced by disciplines. According to Rittel and Webber (1973), problems faced by technologists are ‘tame’ and can be solved rationally according to the principles of mathematics and physics, and with a correct or incorrect answer. By contrast, those of the design discipline are ‘wicked’, not conforming to any logical sequence, framework or methodology, and with many possible solutions. The starting point and style of problem solving strategies therefore varies for designers and technologists, and this can be stifling for innovation. In interdisciplinary projects, conflict and misunderstanding can occur as a direct result of the difference in backgrounds, approaches and expertise (Kim and Kang, 2008). New product development theory offers insight into the variation in styles of innovating. The traditional modes are ‘market pull’ and ‘technology push’. In the technology push approach, effort is focused on the acquisition of scientific knowledge, and in constructing new products around technology (de Assunção, 2008). This implies a passive role for users, the market being a receptacle for technological endeavours (Rothwell, 1986). By contrast,
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the market pull approach has its focus on demand and user research. By learning what the customer needs and desires, firms then respond by developing appropriate products. These contrasting approaches to innovation are compared in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Two modes of the innovation process (adapted from Rothwell, 1986:110)
Factors such as product type, newness of the market, and age and expertise of the firm also affect the adopted strategy. For example, it has been suggested that smaller firms commercialising disruptive products are better suited to the push approach (Walsh et al., 2002). In general, where technologists instigate and lead NPD, the technology push approach is more common, while the market pull approach is more likely where design leads. However, one is not exclusive of the other: Lubik et al. (2012) posit that the strategic orientation can alter over time. Indeed, both modes have value and application in different situations, while Brem and Voigt (2009) suggest that the two styles can be combined. The following sections discuss and compare the paths of design and technology approaches in greater detail.
2.1
People at the centre: the ‘market pull’ design approach
In discussing the design approach to innovation, it is first necessary to reflect on the design discipline. Design by nature is concerned with the unknown, and with possibility. The role of the designer is considered to centre on improving existing situations (Roth, 1999; Simon, 1996). A fundamentally inquisitive disposition creates fluidity in structure, where the problem space is undefined and constantly evolving (Galle, 1996). New information is continually entering the process, meaning that the design problem and its solution evolve simultaneously (Cross, 1997; Lawson, 2005). Moreover, the requirements of the actors in the process (e.g. the society and people for whom the outcome is intended; the designer's personal subjectivity, taste and style) are balanced in the solution (Dorst, 2008; Forty, 2005). Significantly, the focus on people and problems permeates the design approach. Form, function and materials are only one part of a wider investigation where designers need to understand what makes a product ‘useful, useable and desirable’ for the people for whom it is intended Buchanan (2001:13).
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The design process itself also offers insight on methodologies. The unpredictability of design means that there is no single methodology (Candy and Edmunds, 1996; Design Council, 2007), but broad principles underlie every design process. The Design Council’s Double Diamond, a widely accepted framework, identifies four basic phases through which any design project progresses that allow teams to explore ideas, test solutions and innovate. The model also indicates that iteration can occur during phases, and that previous phases may be revisited during the process, a proposition which takes into account different modes of thinking (generative, externally-focused divergent loops, followed by evaluative, iterative, internal-facing convergent loops) occurring throughout the process. The characteristics of design, such as lateral thinking and the ability to deal with ambiguous questions, can be deployed in a variety of contexts to bring new insights. The result is reflected in the designer’s typically broad starting point in projects. Indeed, the Double Diamond encourages divergent thinking for generating multiple alternative ideas. Theory and practice suggest that an expansive approach to idea generation fosters innovation. For example, innovation consultancy IDEO retains all ideas gathered in the early phases of the design process for a later evaluation stage (Kelley and Littman, 2001). Common techniques used by designers focus on user research (e.g. Bruseberg and McDonagh, 2001; Fulton-Suri, 2005; Sanders, 2002) – integrating users in product creation (Redström, 2006) – as well as design-focused activities such as sketching (van der Lugt, 2005) and collaborative sketching (Malins et al., 2007; Tang et al., 2011); team-based brainstorm sessions (McAdam and McClelland, 2002); and mind mapping (Kokotovich, 2008). Notably, the influence of human actors in design – designers and users – is at the forefront of the evaluation of ideas. In essence, how well the solution meets the needs of the intended user rests upon a range of distinctive criteria, including specific user needs (Papanek, 1984), rather than upon a standardised framework. In practice however, this unfixed, ambiguous stance can be misunderstood by other disciplines. We now contrast this with the technology push approach.
2.2
Science leads: the technology push approach
The development of new technology is driven by skills- and technological knowledge. In the technology push approach, customer groups and needs are investigated after the innovation is developed. This approach is typically adopted by SMEs and start-ups whose focus is on one particular innovation, or by university research teams where there is a premise for basic science and radical breakthroughs (Souder, 1989; Lucas, 1994). While engineering literature highlights the importance of applying the principles of usability engineering (Nielsen, 1994), such as the technology acceptance model (e.g. Davis, 1989), and the user-driven design paradigm (e.g. Beyer and Holtzblatt, 1998; Greenbaum and Kyng, 1991; ISO, 2010; Koskinen, 2003) during the technological development of products and services, research on users is rarely deployed from the early phases of development. Market research is more likely to be undertaken in later phases, such as during evaluation of product performance, and to gauge perceived usefulness. How valuable such research is
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subsequent to costly development processes is questionable: Cooper (2011) emphasises the value of front-end homework in enhancing product success. Indeed, a user-centric approach is considered to have significant drawbacks. For example, users are often unable to express latent needs or to imagine the possibilities of technology not yet in existence (Norman and Verganti, 2014). Furthermore, many innovations have been conceived without an initial clear purpose. For instance, the need for mobile phones and data connectivity arose post-invention (Pantzar, 1996).
2.3
Design thinking: Evolution of a unified, interdisciplinary method
Both the design and technology approaches have application in different situations. As previously described, the current context of innovation requires greater collaboration and the exchange of ideas across disciplines. However, in Brem and Voigt’s view, reliance upon science based, technology push modes, at the expense of creative dominated market pull, is potentially damaging. There is symbiosis between the knowledge and insight brought by both sides. Therefore, flexibility and the ability to shift between different modes of innovation, as well as knowing when to do so in the course of a project, is key. In doing so, balance, mutual understanding, and better integration are required to meet the evolving challenges of the current climate (de Wit and Meyer, 2005). This proposition has great currency in interdisciplinary innovation. While the modes of innovation deployed by design and technology disciplines have different starting points, there exists inter-reliance between the knowledge brought by both sides during collaboration. A tangible product cannot be conceived without the application of creative ideas and attention to users brought by design, nor can it be realised without technological skills and knowledge. Recent interest in creative thinking suggests that multidisciplinary teams can harness the tools and approaches of design thinking (Nussbaum, 2013). The notion of integration is core in the design thinking methodology. Design thinking is considered to offer a methodology for the collaboration of arts and science poles of project teams. Brown (2008) emphasises crossover between creativity, technology and commerce, and suggests that this approach excels in strategically converting need into demand (Brown, 2009). Indeed, design has precedence in assuming an integrating role where art and technology disciplines are concerned. The word ‘design’, derived from the Latin meaning ‘sign’ (Flusser, 1999), has evolved to bridge the cultural gaps between art and technology since the Industrial Revolution (Coles, 2005). Likewise, design management literature emphasises its strategic placement in organisations, suggesting that it acts as a bridge between the technology and R&D and commercial management functions (e.g. Lorenz, 1990; Rassam, 1995). Similarly, Verganti (2006) suggests design straddles several disciplines, and is a lynchpin in interdisciplinary networks. Such integrative approaches can be applied in a range of contexts and situations. In Simon’s (1996) view, design skills are transferable to nondesign functions. At organisations such as Google, employees are referred to as ‘designers’ regardless of function: engineers,
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biologists, technologists, researchers. Furthermore, these inclusive approaches can be deployed in different situations to tackle a variety of problems. Design thinking methodologies have been used in multidisciplinary teams innovating and improving situations as diverse as crime prevention, social work and health care, and education (e.g. Brown, 2009; Kimbell, 2011; Press and Cooper, 2003). However, how projects unfold, and the level of creativity enabled, depends in a large part upon the interactions occurring between team members (Vissers and Dankbar, 2002). Surmounting division is therefore essential in innovation. The paper now explores the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration by way of a contained case study detailing a research and development project with which the authors are involved.
A case study of interdisciplinary collaboration The collaborative project used to examine the issues explored in this paper focuses on a research group developing new software. Funded by the European Commission under the Framework 7 programme, the project is entitled ‘COnCEPT’ (an acronym for ‘Collaborative Creative Design Platform’). As the name would suggest, the software is targeted at the design profession. The development of such software is complex, calling for the expertise of a range of disciplines. The pan-Europe specialists in the assembled consortium work together collaboratively, sharing knowledge and skills. The team meets periodically for workshops, plenaries and review meetings, as well as speaking regularly on bi-weekly conference calls. Partners from academe and industry represent the disciplines of computer science and software development; information science; design; design research; and human-computer interaction (HCI). The project coordinator is a leading software company. In the course of their participation in this team, the authors have observed and identified three key areas of challenge affecting how effectively the consortium works together. These are: a) incongruity in the project foundations; b) varying interpretations of terminology; and c) methodological disparity. Interestingly, formation of subdivisions along the lines of the design and technology division, have been noted. The case study illustrates the theoretical discussion on disciplinary divisions operating in practice. It also makes suggestion as to how constructs of design thinking have been strategically deployed to manage collaboration with varying degrees of success.
3.1
Where to start? Reconciling incongruity in project foundations
At the outset, the project was divided into seven work packages (WPs), which progress through the stages required to realise a new piece of software: 1) an initial scoping of the requirements of users, and gaps in existing market offerings; 2) enquiry into inner knowledge management structures of the solution; 3) conceptual modelling of the software application; 4) technical feasibility, integration and realisation; and 5) evaluation and piloting of beta versions in the field (Figure 2). Two further WPs deal with dissemination and exploitation of the results, and overall project management.
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The project structure resembles the design thinking approach. Figure 2 compares the sequences of COnCEPT WPs with the design thinking methodology developed at Stanford University’s d.school1. The project structure acknowledges areas of overlap between disciplines, both in terms of timing of tasks, and in content. For example, smaller chunks of work undertaken as part of prototyping the software as part of WP3 overlap with the testing in WP5. This is reflective of the non-linear, unpredictable nature of the design process.
Figure 2: Organisation of tasks in the COnCEPT project
While in theory the design thinking approach emphasises the value of interdisciplinarity in each phase, in practice this has been problematic. The initial meeting, where the parameters and focus of the future COnCEPT platform were discussed, set the precedence for the project progression, and reflects the predilections of the technical and design partners. During this meeting, the technical experts concentrated discourse on technical and practical aspects of realising the software application, for example on deep coding, interoperability and search tools. In contrast, the design partners’ priority was to discuss workflows in studios, and explore how these may be supported. This illustrates a marked difference between the practical, logistical approach of the technologists, and the conceptual, holistic approach of the designers. In effect, the ‘how’ of the COnCEPT platform quickly became the realm of the tech team, and the ‘what’ became the designers’ domain. There was no challenge to encourage disciplines to move beyond comfort zones or areas of expertise, and by consequence, the workload for each partner per WP was subsequently allotted along these boundaries. Although all partners have input in
1
For further information, see: http://dschool.stanford.edu/dgift/
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United We Stand: A Critique of the Design Thinking Approach in Interdisciplinary Innovation
all WP, the weightings and partner interfaces adhere to disciplinary boundaries, and this has the repercussion of distinct cycles of activity which unfold according to the characteristics summarised in Table 2. For example, WP2 and WP4 are dominated by the technical partners’ quest for practical advances in the software’s development, while WP1 and WP3 focus on the design partners probing for deep understanding and to produce a range of potential solutions. There were several opportunities to amalgamate the views of all partners, particularly concerning the choice of prototype alternatives. However at workshops to arrive at consensus, technical partners homed in on the feasibility of the solutions, while design partners discussed usability issues, reinforcing the disciplinary stereotypes set in the initial discussions. Table 2: Comparing work processes in the COnCEPT project Technologists
Designers
The ‘how’
The ‘what’
Approach
Practical, logistical
Conceptual, holistic
Process
Linear, step-by-step
Iterative responsive to user feedback
Scientific discovery, testing
Idea generation, user research
Focus
Methodologies
Despite the disciplinary divides in COnCEPT participants, the division of tasks has reaped a functioning beta version of the software, currently in the iteration phases. The prototype connects the operational back-end of the software being completed by the technical partners, with the front-end work on interface and functionalities being completed by the design partners. Therefore, while there have been breakdowns in approach and priorities, it is surmised that each has had value at different stages of the development process. The strongest indication of the success, however, will be its pending evaluation with end users. Pilots will build the foundations for subsequent iterations.
3.2
Deciphering conflicting languages
Interpretations of certain terminology vary according to the background and discipline of the speaker and listener (Snow, 2001). This proposition has currency when working in interdisciplinary teams, especially those composed of creative- and science-dominant experts. In the COnCEPT consortium, there is evidence that terminology can lead to misunderstanding of the focus of areas of work, summarised in three examples in Table 3. First, a key term in the development of the COnCEPT platform is ‘ontology’. How ontology is understood and interpreted varies between partners. For the designers, it signifies a philosophical debate around the essence of design knowledge. By contrast, for the
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technologists, ontology refers to a form of taxonomy that allows for the sorting of data in the software according to a particular structure. Unsurprisingly, this has led to incongruity between partners regarding the focus of the tasks. Second, technologists use the term ‘annotation’ to refer to how the software adds and makes use of metadata assigned to files, which can be either manually or automatically added to the application. For the designers, annotation was interpreted as the adding of further layers of detail over an existing visual. Third, for the technologists, the term ‘storyboard’ is used to signify to the identification of a sequence of activities when a user is operating a piece of software; for designers it is the visual communication, usually by sketching, of a broad range of issues relating to the design problem or solution. Table 3: ‘Lost in translation’ - Examples of disciplinary terminology TERM
Technologists’ interpretation
Designers’ interpretation
‘Ontology’
Taxonomy of the organisation of data
Philosophical understanding of the essence of the design discipline
‘Annotation’
Tagging of information
Adding extra layer(s) of detail over an existing visual
‘Story board’
Identification of a sequence of requirements between user and software
Visual communication of a range of issues associated with the design solution
While the difference in interpretation may be subtle, such terms have very precise connotations for different disciplines. Specific meanings can be misconstrued, often with the repercussion of inconsistency in tasks intended and work actually undertaken. In the COnCEPT project, this has had impact on the expectations of consortium members. Moreover, the challenge is especially pronounced in situations in which partners speak different languages. In navigating such misinterpretations, the authors have concluded that the best approach is to be explicit in acknowledging problematic terms. Immediate clarification helps to circumvent disagreement and time-wasting. Identification of disparity becomes more important than solely establishing a common definition in the first instance. This concept is developed in section 4.
3.3
Methodological disparity
A third key area of divergence centres on how the design and technical partners work to solve problems. In developing the COnCEPT project, the design partners have adopted a qualitative approach, spending time with end users, and accruing a rich knowledge of underlying issues and needs. Conversely, the technical partners have engaged in quantitative research to gain insight on competitor software. How the partners worked to envisage the software also highlights a profound disparity in approach. The design partners worked to produce a visual model (Figure 3), using icons and simple language, to illustrate
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how the software may be structured. This prototype is viewed using a web browser, and interactive buttons connect functionalities through interconnected screens. In contrast, the technical partners produced a diagrammatic interpretation (Figure 4) of the software architecture, featuring technical language to describe components and sequences of activities.
Figure 3: Visual interpretation of the COnCEPT architecture conceived by design partners
Figure 4: Diagrammatic interpretation of the COnCEPT architecture conceived by technical partners
Methodologies affect the outcome of the project perhaps more than any other area of divergence. Whether the focus is on ‘what is’ or ‘what could be’ – openness to creativity –
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influences whether the project outcome is more innovative or continuous in nature (Norman and Verganti, 2014; Vissers and Dankbar, 2002). The attempt to manage the COnCEPT project using a design thinking approach has had successes, but has highlighted the difficulties in fostering an interdisciplinary approach. While the range of expertise brought by disciplinary groups is undoubtedly a strength, it is essential to actively manage collaboration, as well as to instil the design thinking ethic in all partners. The next section presents ideas that extrapolate design thinking principles to explicitly suggest how interdisciplinary effort can be enhanced.
Principles for Interdisciplinary Collaboration It has been acknowledged that all design projects are unique, hence that deploying a consistent methodological framework when boundaries are continually shifting is counterintuitive. However, from the lessons learned from the COnCEPT project, there are underlying principles that can enable more productive interdisciplinary projects that adequately balance technologists and designersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; respective defaults. This section discusses these principles. These guidelines, that aim to facilitate interdisciplinarity in design thinking projects, can be applied in projects regardless of domain.
1. Fostering appreciation and unifying activities Creating a balanced approach requires a mutual respect of othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; roles within the interdisciplinary team. Establishing appreciation for one anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roles can be gained by understanding what others do and what they bring to the project. However, in unmanaged situations, the separation between technologists and designers is often highly pronounced. A means to foster mutual understanding is active involvement in all tasks to prevent the separation of roles. In the COnCEPT project, this may have enabled a fuller understanding and ownership of the entire project. For instance, it would have been beneficial for each partner to visit and talk directly with end users in order to comprehend their issues. This is a concern for Japanese managers seeking to instil harmony (Song and Parry, 1997). This would have allowed a more equal knowledge base, circumventing lengthy debates. Firsthand knowledge of the design situation is crucial. Time and effort could have been more focused, and there would have been a greater understanding of the work of all parties, had tasks not been labelled as either design- or technology-related.
2. Recognising, acknowledging and embracing difference in approach A key benefit of interdisciplinary teams is harvesting the strengths and values of all participants. Active exploitation has major repercussions for the robustness and innovativeness of the project outcome, and is a means to stimulate new ideas and innovative solutions. However, having a clear roadmap in place from the earliest stages, as well as formal times to amalgamate work in progress (such as the workshops and calls organised on the COnCEPT project) is vital to keep all parties informed and on track,
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reinforcing the notion of periods of convergence and divergence in the Double Diamond model. This is especially important in interdisciplinary projects.
3. Challenging of assumptions It is crucial that previous experiences, beliefs and assumptions do not become part of a new team culture. The acknowledgement of such differences in a verbalised and explicit way is recommended. An early questioning of assumptions – such as those concerning user needs, how others work, and project constraints – is essential. The first meeting of a new project team is a crucial step to establishing project culture. It is suggested that significant management effort is spent consolidating what partners understand their roles to be, and sharing expectations are of the project. Doing this helps to foster a climate for innovation and appreciation of others’ roles.
4. Synthesising ideas via alternative forms of communication As evidenced in the COnCEPT project, a lack of a common language hinders collaboration and the progression of ideas. The authors suggest that alternative forms of communication can assist with such challenges. The use of visual methods, such as mind mapping, rough sketching and prototyping can be deployed to develop common understanding. A key component of the design thinking process, in the COnCEPT project it had two clear benefits: 1) it allowed design partners to come to a consensus on the software interface, and 2) it provided a vehicle by which the dialogue could be built between design and technical stakeholders.
Conclusion This paper has sought to examine the challenges of interdisciplinary innovation projects, and to delineate the differences between design and technology approaches. On the surface, the focus and processes of designers and technologists are seemingly opposed. However, it has emerged that this difference actually brings about more innovative outcomes. The COnCEPT project fortifies the necessity of symbiosis between design and technology prerogatives. For example, in the development of the software, undertaking qualitative research with the intended primary users resulted in deep understandings, which allowed the development of insights. Yet these insights could not have been translated into a functioning, tangible piece of software without the technologists’ know how. Rather than an imposition of choice, the approaches are complementary: each adds value. Reliance on the choice of either the design- or technological approach is inadequate to develop and realise new products and services. The case study illustrates that allowing one approach to dominate can result in products unfit for purpose. For instance, had time not been spent with designers in their studios, their lax attitudes towards tagging and organising of visual material would not have been detected, and the technologists may have developed a solution resting on tagging which would prove redundant. The contrary is also true: excess focus on current user needs is likely to limit the confines of innovation. Taking heed of both
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sides forges a more complete view of the problem, and requires conscious effort to appreciate the roles of the different partners participating in the project. Indeed, design thinking implies integration and balance of a range of forces. This study has suggested achieving balance requires active management. To surmount the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration, recognition and acknowledgement of difference is necessary. The COnCEPT case study contributes explicit guidelines for managing interdisciplinarity to design thinking theory. The principles are intended as a means to manage the meeting of sides, and can also be applied in other domains.
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About the Authors: Dr. Fiona Maciverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s area of expertise is the intersection of design, business and technology. She has published research concerning the strategic deployment of design in modern organisations, the evolving role of designers in industry, and how technology is impacting new product development. Prof. Julian Malins is a senior researcher at Norwich University of the Arts, and contributes to the EU funded COnCEPT project. He has published on a wide range of topics including: design thinking for SMEs, computer supported design, and collaborative practice. Lic. Sc. Julia Kantorovitch is a senior scientist at VTT - Technical Research Centre of Finland. Adaptable service technologies, knowledge intensive products and services, and semantic technologies applied to smart pervasive computing environments are the central topics in her current and past research projects. Dr. Aggelos Liapis is a senior R&D manager, researcher and ICT specialist. His areas of interest and expertise include: creativity and innovation, CSCW, semantics, Web 2.0, eGovernment, eLearning, eHealth, crisis management, cloud computing and enterprise interoperability. Beyond his academic and industrial duties, he has authored several papers, journals and books in the areas of CSCW, collaborative design and semantics.
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Designing Creative Destruction Ashley Hall Royal College of Art ashley.hall@rca.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.186
Abstract: This research aims to make a contribution in the context of design thinking at a global cultural scale and specifically how design methods are a feature of the homogenising and heterogenising forces of globalisation via creative destruction. Since Schumpeterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s description of economic innovation destroying the old and creating the new, a number of other interpretations of creative destruction have developed including those driving cultural evolution. However a design model showing the impact of different types of design method on cultural evolution can develop an understanding on a more systemic level from the medium to longer term impact of new designs that homogenise or increase the differences between various cultures. This research explores the theoretical terrain between creative destruction, design thinking and cybernetics in the context of exchanging cultural influences for collaborative creativity and concludes with an experiment that proposes a feedback loop between ubiquitising and differentiating design methods mediating cultural variety in creative ecosystems. Keywords: Creative Destruction; Design Thinking; Cybernetics; Globalisation
Introduction The design thinking developed in this paper is drawn from a number of publications (Hall, 2013; Hall, 2011; Hall, 2015; Hall, forthcoming 2016) and keynote speeches delivered by the author (Hall, 2009; Hall, 2015). Primarily it seeks to bring together a more coherent set of thoughts on the relationship between design and creative destruction and in particular two important elements of this relationship. The first is a meta-level attempt to theorise on how the use of homogenous (ubiquitising) and heterogeneous (differentiating) design methods can affect the future development of creative cultures via design initiatives for the generation of products and experiences. The second is to attempt to explore the connections between the concepts of creative destruction and design thinking on
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Ashley Hall
globalisation to investigate if design practice can tangibly engage to develop more positive variations in cultural diversity. Design is a key agent in mediating the impact of globalisation due to its direct effect on products and services experienced by consumers and its role in increasing global communications. For example franchises designed for global food and consumer goods outlets have for the last few decades appeared in larger number of cities in more diverse corners of the world, offering on the one hand a reliable unified experience but on the other homogenising choice and reducing diversity and affecting local cultural traditions. On the other hand it could be argued (Hall, 2015) that ubiquitisation has also democratised choice and removed what has in the past been seen as unwelcome colonial imprints that some have viewed as being contrary to the future good of particular communities. Design and geographically Liberated Difference (Hall, 2011) was a concept initially exploring the role that design could take in extracting and communicating cultural influences through collaborative design activity in local communities. This line of thought was developed through a practice based doctoral thesis (Hall, 2013) that linked frameworks of global cultural anthropology to visualising the exchange of cultural material that impacted on physical features in designed products leading to a theory of ‘translocated making’ in collaborations between crafts people and industrial designers (Hall Forthcoming 2016). A recent publication (Hall, 2015) pursued this line of thinking in terms of the ubiquitisation of global mass produced products and began to unpack the design influences that drive homogeneous and differentiated designs for a global mass market. In parallel to the practice based research, two keynote speeches on city design innovation in Shenzhen (2009) and Taipei (2015) initiated a line of thought around the future development of design innovation cultures at a city scale. Furthermore this led to thoughts on how urban cultures are nurtured and what sets them apart from the other competing global cities who are also experiencing similar homogenising tendencies. What unites the diverse scales between local practice based design projects to city scale creative ecosystems is to ask whether design thinking can have a meaningful impact in directing more positive and equitable results via cultural change. At this point it’s worth clarifying that a ‘culture’ is used as an open term here to recognise both the traditional geolocated, alongside emerging transnational and the increasingly fragmentary and spatially liberated cultural affinities that are emerging as products of globalisation. In moving towards a design exploration of creative destruction it is necessary to conduct a review of the term that can provide us with a useful historical perspective of how thinking has evolved and moved into new disciplinary fields.
Creating Destruction Joseph Schumpeter described creative destruction as an economic innovation model that impacted on the business cycle by destroying the old in order to make the new (Schumpeter, 1943). Although previous examples of technology led disruptive innovation through
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industrialisation including the telegraph and the railroad had been noted previously, Schumpeter can be credited with unifying the concept and describing its impact at an economic level. Schumpeter’s model directly contradicted the ‘guiding hand’ of Adam Smith’s (1776) economic theory that gave so much support to the idea of a nation state directing future economic matters. Instead, industries, products and innovations were the disrupting forces in Schumpeterian economics, a series of variables much harder to govern at national level and a situation that continues to this day as globalised corporations increasingly outpace national governments in their ability to shape the lives of citizens. The impact of Adam’s Smith’s economic model can be associated as much with conservative homogenising tendencies as Schumpeter’s with radical disruptions. The impact of disruptive innovations in economics can also be allied to Appadurai’s concept of disjunctions in his suffixscapes framework (Appadurai, 1990). A theory that is useful in supporting discussions on how inequalities in cultural material flows affect different types of recipient by creating impactful ‘disjunctions’ or events that divert previously expected futures. Disjunctions are the effects of disruptions to cultures sometimes driven via creative destruction where new technologies change material and behavioural worlds. As explored by the author (Hall, 2013; Hall Forthcoming 2016), the Suffixscape framework can be connected to direct tangible interactions between individuals and can show that global concepts can have local impacts in the production of artefacts. Suffixscapes comprise a series of inter-operable landscapes of media, technologies, finances, ethnographics and ideas, and can be described as the cultural impact points of creative destruction. Tyler Cowen (2002) positions creative destruction into a cultural context by describing a broad field of cultural interactions creating differences that can enhance or subtract from an existing cultural group. In many ways this relates to Appadurai’s suffixscapes (1990) in its proposition of non-linear relationships for information exchange. Cowen deconstructs the process of cultural exchange to expose the potential benefits of increasing the differences that arrive from other geographies and how these can challenge or support the future cohesion of cultural groups. Where there is loss in some areas, others have greater gains. He states that all successful cultures become hybrids and that their future survival is based on their ability to evolve and absorb new differences. The patronising idea of ‘museum cultures’, a state where groups are preserved for future study is roundly demolished. In addition the assumption of global homogenisation where cities across the world have the same fast food chains, clothing stores and mobile phone concessions is challenged by the volume, density and diversity of cultural interactions that are negotiated via each culture’s value filtering system. It is argued that this scenario accelerates diversity rather than producing homogenisation. Cowen writes: The benefits of cultural exchange usually have come from dynamic settings in great imbalance, rather than from calm or smoothly working environments...Does trade in cultural products support the artistic diversity of the world, or destroy it? Will the future bring artistic quality and innovation, or a homogenous culture of least
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common denominator? What will happen to cultural creativity as freedom of economic choice extends across the globe? (Cowen, 2002, p. 7)
From a similar direction the philosopher Kwame Appiah (2006) offers a viewpoint promoting cultural contamination as a necessary and present ingredient to evolve and sustain healthy cultures. He describes the concept of cultural contamination as a vital and necessary force of interaction and enrichment for future development and describes the evolutionary pace of cultural contamination: Living cultures do not, in any case, evolve from purity into contamination; change is more a gradual transformation from one mixture to a new mixture, a process that usually takes place at some distance from rules and rulers, in the conversations that occur across cultural boundaries. (Appiah, 2006, p. 6)
Appiah contends that all cultures are hybrids by nature and that successful survival depends upon continued refreshment from external sources that helps cultural behaviours to develop and adapt to evolving situations. This contrasts with the conservative view of preserving cultures intact and attempting to reduce the external influences that are deemed to be harmful. In essence this view promotes the isolation of cultures from what are seen as contaminating influences that may dilute certain practices. The nostalgia for pristine cultures that are observed and controlled externally could be seen as both colonialist and undemocratic in limiting the choices and freedoms enjoyed by others. Appiah sees this approach as increasing the risk of cultural collapse and asymmetrical disconnection. Bridging the gap between design research that has brought important insights into cultural influences and the value to industrial design in the emerging field of cultural exchange research (Lin, 2007; Moalosi, 2007; Yao, 2015) and transnational cultural frameworks and concepts (Appadurai, 1990; Cowen, 2009; Fiss, 2009) is the practice of selecting design methods. Choosing different design methods can promote either homogenising or heterogeneous effects on different cultures. Savov (2015) amongst others (Hall, 2015) have been highly critical of the ubiquitising tendencies in mass produced consumer products and has highlighted the dangers of: While their approaches and economic models differ, the near future that Apple, Google, and Microsoft perceive is remarkably similar. Ask any of them about the smartphone of tomorrow and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get an answer that involves a grid of icons, an app store, a great display and camera, and broadly the same industrial design proportions and philosophy (Savov, 2015)
It is clear that in this example homogenizing design strategies are being selected that produce minimal ubiquitous products with very similar aesthetics, operating systems and technologies with an effect that reduces variety and competition for consumers (E.G Apple, Samsung, LG, Huawei smartphones as above). Conversely it could be argued that reducing cultural imprints allow the production of more units to cover broader markets lowering prices and democratising choice alongside reducing negative cultural impact from strong influences. Whichever versions of these realities play out it is clear that design is a major factor in mediating the forces of creative destruction.
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At this point we can ask; What are the strategic meta-level roles that design thinking can play in being a positive agent of change in the enormous flow of information and cultural expressions that are exchanged globally on a day-to-day basis? It would seem that a good starting point is to look at design methods and begin to ask where and when should we consider deploying different types of methods depending on whether we can foresee that ubiquitous or differentiated outcomes are most desirable. Can design thinking and design methods affect the balances and tipping points of ubiquitising and differentiating forces in the circulation of cultural exchange?
Requisite Variety One of the key concerns at the centre of this discussion is the quota of variety that exists in any creative ecosystem and how that affects design practice (Hall, 2015). The amount of variation in a system affects the number of possible solutions of the combination of its elements and also directly relates to the potential for creative destruction impact. It follows that for example if we are looking to develop creative communities that are resilient and able to generate responses that adapt to future global disruptions either human-made or human-caused then this is a highly desirable capacity to encourage. Whether it is developments in biotech products, nanotechnology or environmental tipping points, the future requirements of creative and responsive innovation will need more, not less variety in the potential number of solutions we can generate. However developments in design education (Inella 2011; Hall, 2015), design strategies from design studies of global massmanufacturers (Savov, 2015) and 3d printing systems are producing ubiquitising tendencies that encourage global conformity, lowest common denominator solutions, culture free products and other impacts that are causing serious concern for the amount of creative variety on offer. In addition the creative communities of our global cities are so successful at rapidly sharing ideas and insights that it is increasingly difficult to be surprised or delighted due to the decreasing differences encountered in city experiences. The impacts of these developments will surely rebound up to national and transnational economic models as design and innovation capacity continues to rely on creating more variety as a measure of success and future value. W. Ross Ashby developed the concept of requisite variety (Ashby, 1958) to describe the potential number of given states of any system. Later on this was developed in second order cybernetics to offers us a potential way of modelling a set of relationships in terms of feedback loops where the observer is in the interaction and recognised as being capable of affecting the information flow in the system (observing the observer who may or may not be oneself). Second order cybernetics is crucial in recognising the observer as an active participant in the relations between human and machine and that the relationship is recursive and interdependent. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that we are interested in here are the number of different design solutions that may be generated within a particular design culture and the impact of those solutions on recipients or users of the designs either within that culture or globally. Design methods in this case can be selected for a number of reasons, one of which
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includes approaches that could be said to increase the variety between design solutions on the market and those that decrease variety. Variety in this instance includes the functions of the products themselves and the features, affordances, material choices, colours, aesthetics, technologies and any other attributes with the capacity for generating differences to the lives of users.
Designing Creative Destruction What follows is an experiment to try and bring together a way to understand how cultural materials flow and influence cultures in an economy geared towards greater variety for future resilience. Glanville’s extensive discussions and philosophies relating second order cybernetics to reflective and practice based design (E.G. Glanville, 1994) are important in this respect and especially his discussion of ‘knowledge for’ future action and possibilities rather than ‘knowledge of’ past actions and events (Glanville, 2005). The intention is that the model sketched out here may be useful for considering future possibilities when organisations, institutions and policies consider projects and initiatives in terms of how they can impact on creative diversity for cultural benefit. In order to develop a model of designing creative destruction it is important to set out the context for variability and the operational scale within which this may occur. Two distinct sets of variables will be required to reflect the needs of creative ecosystems of organisations and individuals as well as the effects of those individuals through manufactured products, designs and systems released into the public sphere. The model will therefore need to cope with the increase or decrease of variety through the effects and influences of manufactured products and design in circulation and increase or decrease the variety of creative solutions in circulation. In addition the model will also need to reflect the different scales that could be operational in this sphere, for example from the individual small-scale local collaborations between designers and craftsmen through to city scale decisions. For example the best area to set up an innovation park, technology centre or creative hub. It was suggested earlier in this discussion that ubiquitised and differentiated design outcomes can vary the amount of creative destruction in circulation. Whilst it may sound relatively simple in theory to list practices that homogenise and practices that differentiate, the reality is more complex. For example a new communications product may be designed with a very minimal black geometric case yet contain disruptive technologies that adversely affect the user on a behavioural level. The aesthetic impact of the product may be negligible but the technology disruption may be very high. The physical effect is ubiquitous with a low potential impact for change but the function is disruptive and differentiated with a high potential impact for change. Going forwards a ‘design’ is considered in all of its potential impacts on cultural influence both in terms of technologies, experiences, new behaviours, aesthetics and other factors. In order to consider how design methods can change the amount of creative destruction in an ecosystem a number of methods and approaches are listed. These are intended as examples for populating the model but it is recognised that they are not an exclusive or
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exhaustive list and that their effects will not be limited to exclusively homogenise or generate heterogeneous differences in outcomes. Examples of design methods and approaches that can encourage a homogenous result include: minimal design, ubiquitous design, focus groups, user-centred design. Examples of design methods, tools and approaches that can encourage a heterogeneous result include: experimental design, critical design, brainstorming, translocated making and cultural transfer. Figure 1. introduces a concept model for designing creative destruction as a feedback loop regulating the selection of design methods for more equitable cultural development. In order to aid description we will begin with the designers or organisations who select methods, tools and approaches that produce more or less variety in the cultural ecosystem due to their homogenising or differentiating effects. The method examples above have been used to populate the model but there are many others that could also be used with varying effects. In some situations combinations of methods may need to be used for more complex projects or when tacking nested or complex wicked problems. The impacts are assessed at a point where a decision is made to increase variety or decrease variety and can be based on a number of factors affecting cultural development from similarity to existing cultural typologies suggesting homogenisation through to the need to cope with new technologies or other impacts suggesting greater differentiation.
Figure 1: Model for regulating variety for designing creative destruction
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The aim of producing this model however is not to propose a system that can cope with all the myriad complexities of a system of cultural influence in the full flow of global information exchange with all of its many media platforms, actors and agenda’s, but to begin building the main blocks associated with the system to ask what can be achieved and what is required from the parts in order to ask if meta level design approaches can bring value. In practice when considering a scenario where greater cultural variety is required in order to be more competitive or include a wider section of users a decision would be made to select design methods and approaches that generate more differences. This could take place in projects between collaborating designers from different cultures up to city planners deciding which approaches would increase creativity and innovation in different urban sectors. Criticisms of the model have to take into account Schumpeter’s assertion that capitalist systems of creative destruction cannot be analysed in real time and instead can only be assessed retrospectively: We are dealing with a process whose every element takes considerable time in revealing its true features and ultimate effects, there is no point appraising the performance of that process ex visu of a given point of time…since we are dealing with an organic process, analysis of what happens in any particular part of it-say, in an individual concern or industry-may indeed clarify details of the mechanism but is inconclusive beyond that. (Schumpeter, 1943, p83)
However Schumpeter’s concerns are with exploring the real nature of a capitalists system and its macro economic effects whereas the discussion here is around cultural influence on a number of scales from the micro to the macro and so it is not clear that the limitations described above continue to stand, especially in light of new digital means of researching and gathering evidence across networks. The central issues concerns if we can ever form an understanding of cultural exchanges that can affect the requisite variety of a creative ecosystem in a timescale such that it can produce beneficial directed results. Essentially the inputs are the selection of homogenising or differentiating design methods and the outputs are cultural changes. Another concept from cybernetics can be of assistance here, the black box (Ashby, 1956). Principally this can be summarised as a method of dealing with a complex or unknown system that we can interact with via its inputs and outputs. While we cannot see the mechanism inside the box we can develop an understanding of how to interact with it via the differences between inputs and outputs. If we use an increase number of homogenising design methods the amount of variety will lower and it may be easier to understand the mechanism of cultural exchange, the box will become more transparent or to use the cybernetic term ‘whitened’ (Glanville, 2002). However if we increase the differences then we also increase the complexity and the box will be ‘darkened’. While this effect may not reveal the underlying mechanisms it may well indicate the state or balances of ubiquitising or differentiating methods being used.
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Conclusions This paper has reviewed the relationship between design and creative destruction and speculated on an experimental system for understanding if meta level design thinking can bring together a model for how creative destruction can be designed to enhance the evolution of cultures through mediating in the choice of design methods selected for a variety of output scales from individual products to urban and city scales. It can provide support for more strategic choices in terms of the types of design approaches and design methods selected in terms of cultural impact. Variety is at the core of the rationale for the selection of different design methods and while these relationships have been sketched in outline there remains significant work to develop and explore these aspects in more detail. In terms of regulation more work is required in order to understand what sort of agencies, whether governments, institutions, private companies and design organisation can have a role to play. There may well be systemic complexity beyond that which is governable and this is represented by the complex cultural exchanges and influences that take place in the black box. The politics of increasing or decreasing diversity are likely to be a point of contention, especially in light of the fact that more diverse groups are more likely to challenge authority hence there could be a tendency to reduce variety in order to increase the tendency to conform. One key question that remains is how can we assess the future amount of requisite variety needed in such a system, especially as future impacts may be disruptive and not forecastable on an on-going basis from historical models. The likelihood of future global climactic tipping points being breached are a clear scenario when more diverse problem solving skills maybe be required in a short timeframe. A more complex situation is the rapidly increasing urbanisation of global citizens, mass migrations and the difficulties in maintaining cultural belief systems in new locations alongside the proliferation of ‘everything everywhere’ digital networks. If we can find ways to see the ‘whitening’ or ‘darkening’ of the black box of cultural impacts and create a barometer of variation influencing cultural systems then this could be highly beneficial, even if it is applied to specific product categories like smartphones which are increasingly criticised for their ubiquity (Hall, 2015; Savov, 2015). Elements of mechanisms designed to detect this state may well exist across a number of fields including design thinking, social sciences, anthropology and economics and require an interdisciplinary effort to draw these together. Since the formation of Schumpeterian economics our understanding of capitalist forces of competition, market supply and disruptive technologies alongside quantitative and qualitative methods of assessing impacts have grown substantially. However the design impact goes beyond disruption and also includes the value of homogenization where value can come from reducing variety in a system and we could draw an analogy between Adam’s economic model of the guiding hand and Schumpeter’s model of creative destruction as both seem to align with a system that attempts to govern the amount of variety in circulation for creative practices and cultural economic benifit.
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In terms of cybernetics the projecting and assessing of cultural impact may possibly fall into the sociocybernetic approach of scaling to a social set of feedback loops described by (Felix and Van Der Zouwen, 1991) or Stafford Beer’s viable system model (1984) is challenging from the point of view of how designing creative destruction via varying the use of homogenizing or heterogeneous design methods is meeting the demands of surviving in a challenging current or future creative cultural environment. Third order cybernetics (Glanville, 2002) may solve the issue of needing to observe the outcomes of cultural change and replace it with an acting/observer to cope with the impacts by selecting different design methods or approaches in a more tacit or reflexive manner. It is hoped that the thinking initiated here positions design thinking as a key mediator in the space between a number of disciplines including design, economics and anthropology in steering our future efforts in shaping the worlds between socio-economic systems and cultural evolutions that provide us with the creative variety we need to develop resilient societies with diverse cultural expressions and a capacity to design and innovate to meet future global sustainability challenges.
References Appiah, K. A. (2006). The case for contamination. New York Times, Sunday Magazine, Jan 1. Ashby, W. (1956) An introduction to cybernetics, London: Chapman & Hall, chapter 6: The black box, pp. 86–117. Ashby, W.R. (1958,) Requisite Variety and its implications for the control of complex systems, Cybernetica (Namur) Vo1 1, No 2, 1958. Appadurai, A. (1990). Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy. Theory, Culture and Society, 7, 295-310. Beer, Stafford. (1984) "The viable system model: Its provenance, development, methodology and pathology." Journal of the operational research society, pp7-25. Cowen, T. (2002). Creative destruction: How globalization is changing the world's cultures. USA: Princeton University Press. Fiss, K. (2009). Design in a global context: Envisioning postcolonial and transnational possibilities. Design Issues, 25(3), 3-10. Felix, G. and van der Zouwen, J., (1991) "Cybernetics and social science: Theories and research in sociocybernetics." Kybernetes 20.6, pp81-92. Glanville, R., (1994), Variety in Design, Systems Research, 11(3). Glanville, R. (2002). Second order cybernetics. Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems. Glanville, R., 2005, The Unthinkable Doctorate: Brussels, Design Prepositions. Cyberethics Research, American Society of Cybernetics, UK and Australia. Hall, A. & Barker, T. (2011). Design and geographically liberated difference. Design Principles and Practice: An International Journal, 5(3), 507-516. Hall, A. (2011). Experimental design: Design experimentation. Design Issues, 27(Number 2, Spring 2011), 17-26. Hall, A. (2013),‘Translocated making in collaborative experimental design projects’, PhD thesis, University of Technology Sydney.
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Hall, A. (2015). Ubiquitous Tendencies: Cultural Inspirations and the Future of Industrial Design for Global Mass Market, Korean Society of Design Science (KSDS). Hall, A. (Forthcoming 2016), The Emergence of Translocation in The Encyclopaedia of Asian Design Vol 4. Bloomsbury (Berg), London. Innella, G. Rodgers, Spencer, N., & Bohemia, E. (2011). Examining the physical to visual shift in how we now experience designed objects. In IASDR. Lin, R. (2007). Transforming Taiwan aboriginal cultural features into modern product design â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A case study of cross cultural product design model . International Journal of Design, 1(2). Moalosi, R. (2007). The impact of socio cultural factors upon human centred design in Botswana. Thesis, Australia: Queensland University of Technology. Savov, V., (2015). Never mind the future, we need more diverse visions of the present, The Verge, Retrieved 21/9/2015 http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/18/9351197/apple-google-microsofttech-innovation-uniformity Schumpeter, J. (1943), Captalism, Socialism, Democracy, Routledge, London and New York. Smith, A. (1776). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1st edn 1776, vol. II of The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, edited by RH Campbell, AS Skinner and WB Todd." 1976. Yao, W., (2015) Approaching Chineseness: Investigating the cultural transfer of behavioural factors in and through Chinese industrial design, PhD thesis, Royal College of Art.
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About the Author: Ashley Hall is Professor of Design Innovation at the Royal College of Artâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Innovation Design Engineering programme where he is head of research. He researches in a number of design and innovation fields including design thinking, experimental design, future of making, cultural transfer and translocated making.
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Blending Hard and Soft Design via Thematic Analysis Vasilije Kokotovich* and Kees Dorst University of Technology Sydney * V@uts.edu.au DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.280
Abstract: As the world becomes increasingly complex, from both a technological perspective and a sociocultural perspective, we need to adapt our problem solving and design capacity to match these changes. This paper will compare aspects of TRIZ and the emergent Frame Creation methodology as examples of design-based problem solving methodologies for resolving technical and sociocultural problems. We argue that while on the surface TRIZ and Frame Creation merely appear to diverge, a close analysis reveals noteworthy similarities, such as the drawing upon core attributes of the problem situation and building up a solution frame from first principles. We then introduce the latent thematic analysis methodology as a common ground that can lead to a possible blending of the two. Keywords: Technological Change; Frame Creation; TRIZ; Latent Thematic Analysis
Introduction As time moves forward literature surrounding technological change suggests technology is increasing at an exponential rate. Indeed Kurzweil (2005) notes the acceleration of the pace and exponential growth of the products of a technological evolutionary process exceeds Moore’s law. Schmidt (2008) notes much of our past has been shaped by a number of complex convergences, and that in a real sense complex converged technologies do not exist in isolation, but in a complex socio-cultural context. Indeed, the literature discussing technological change makes it clear the increasing rate of technological change is not just about the technologies and patents, it is closely related to a number of other issues advancing at a similar rate [See for example: Girifalco (1991); Karamchedu (2005); Porter (1980)]. These include: Economic – Psychological – Institutional/ Political – Social – Technological – Legal – Environmental – issues [in short, the acronym = EPISTLE]. We contend that these larger socio-cultural EPISTLE issues must be embedded in the design
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Vasilije Kokotovich and Kees Dorst
processes of our future designers and engineers. Designing purely from a technical /functional perspective alone is going to be a thing of the past. If designers are to cope with complexity in the future we need to understand the “underlying structure” of the newly emerging problems associated with technological change. In the past designers have focused on what Checkland (2000) describes as hard systems thinking in contrast to soft systems thinking. In terms of systems thinking theories, these are seen as two distinct philosophical perspectives of thought. In the future hard and soft systems thinking will need to be integrated. It will be important to embed both these types of thinking within our future design thinking processes. We can ill afford to maintain two distinctly different philosophical perspectives if we are to address the exponentially increasing complexity of the design problems facing us. In short, how we learn to cope with our future problems is now a problem in itself. The design literature suggests that design problems are often ill-defined and ill-structured [See: Buchanan (1995); Kunz and Rittel (1970); Rittel and Weber (1973)]. This suggests a perplexing conundrum for us as designers in the future: Conundrum = If technological change increases problem complexity exponentially, we need to find the “underlying structures” that allow us to get the problem complexity somewhat under control. But how may we find structure in the ill-structured? Fundamentally, the conundrum above remains irrespective if the problems were of a technological nature, or a sociocultural nature. In this paper we will discuss various aspects of this conundrum. Section 2 explores various common aspects in relation to Emergent Patterns/Themes found within the TRIZ methodology, and provides a brief historical background. Following on from this, in Section 3, we discuss various Emergent Patterns/Themes in relation to the Frame Creation methodology. Given the different benefits emanating from Section 2, in relation to a methodology which holds great utility for resolving technical problems, and Section 3, in relation to a methodology which holds great utility for resolving socio-cultural problems, Section 4 will discuss what we see are common aspects of the two methodologies and indicate how a third methodology [Thematic Analysis] may be seen as a bridging methodology between the two.
Emergent Patterns/Themes and TRIZ As suggested earlier, technology is advancing at an exponential rate. Notwithstanding this, the TRIZ design methodology has stood the test of time. The early development of TRIZ is attributed to Genrich Altshuller who in the late 1940’s began its development. His pioneering work related to developing an understanding of how engineered systems have evolved since the origin of mankind. Emerging from his theoretical studies was his work known as Patterns of Evolution of Technological Systems. At its core TRIZ is grounded on technological growth patterns emerging from a careful analysis of inventions and patents. What is more, it was based on the realisation that
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successful solutions to problems resulted from the resolution of contradictions. From here he further developed the TRIZ model noting that most problems are complex and systemic in nature. Moreover, Altshuller stated that the initial problem [problem as given] could be related to larger more complex systems, which may be broken down and related to subsystems, and sub-sub systems. In a real sense the problem-as-given is part of a complex network of issues. Hence, it is important to note he was of the view that despite the existence of contradictions one should strive for an ideal solution [despite the fact one may never get there]. In terms of product development the product should: cost nothing, be made from nothing, use no energy, use no resources, not cause any harm, takes up no space, require no assembly, take no time to make etc…. These basic core precepts as discussed in Altshuller (1997) formed the foundations of ARIZ, the precursor to TRIZ. This laid the groundwork for the TRIZ tools in use today. The above notwithstanding, as discussed in Altshuller (1999), in 1985 / 1986 his research focus shifted to the area of creativity, diverging from the area of technology. It was around this time Altshuller concluded the technological tools for solving inventive problems did not need to be improved much further since its application had been tested on thousands of real problems and proven to be effective. Hence he now considered further evolution of the “Theory of Technical Systems Evolution” as a major step towards a “General Theory of Powerful Thinking”. Consequently, Altshuller switched his attention away from developing technical TRIZ to studying creative thinking. Indeed, as discussed in Altshuller and Vertkin, (1994), they studied a vast number of biographies of outstanding creative people and started developing a “Theory of Creative Personality Development” (abbreviated TRTL in Russian). According to Orloff (2006) TRIZ is a qualitative theory, not a mathematical or quantitative one. In essence, as suggested by the later work of Altshuller, TRIZ is heavily reliant upon the thought processes of an individual. At first blush the notion of TRIZ being person dependant may appear counterintuitive as much of the TRIZ literature has a technical and engineering focus. When introducing the TRIZ methodology Orloff (2006) argues the theory’s formal ideas and concepts are like categories, patterns, and metaphors. Hence, TRIZ is a conceptual, phenomenological, and finally a psychological theory. Fundamentally a person selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given", in our case here the “the brief as given”. Constructivism relies on the notion of ‘Buildable’ bodies of knowledge. Each person brings to the situation/problem, a previous pattern of experience which they endeavour to map into a current experience, situation or context. In essence the user constructs new knowledge based on previous knowledge. Once a person has gained an understanding of the fundamentals of an area, learning transference can more easily occur when they are presented with new and novel information [or a new design]. An understanding of a context, product, or problem does not
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occur sui generis. It occurs based on previous understandings, experiences, and associations (Orloff ,2006). We need to determine how we can find the appropriate transformations in new situations in order to use them for a new task, as a pattern or model for the search for solutions. If we use a special transformation model (like TRIZ) so that patterns are questioned and analogues for the development of solutions are made using associations and analogies, this will enrich our ability to solve complex problems. As indicated earlier, when introducing the TRIZ methodology Orloff (2006) argues the theory’s formal ideas and concepts are like categories, patterns, and metaphors. In an increasingly complex future, designers will need to use tools to both model and “navigate” through various complex competing issues directing their thinking towards a complex goal. Indeed this resonates within much of the TRIZ literature [See: Rantanen and Domb (2002); Savransky (2000); Orloff (2006); Altshuller (1997)]. Moreover, as discussed in Rantanen and Domb (2002), over time ARIZ evolved to TRIZ, which at its core moves through 5 basic phase states as in figure 1 below. Understanding the problem analyzing the history of the problem owner and of the initial problem formulation etc… V Identification of the contradictions analyzing the problem situation: what makes this hard? V Identification of appropriate resources for the ideal final solution exploring and analysing a wide variety of potential resources available V Identify and draw upon evolutionary patterns that may inform the ideal final solution exploring linking and crosslinking both the broad and detailed emergent patterns V Propose an “IDEAL” final Result that either eliminates or resolves the contradictions drawing upon the emergent patterns and resources develop final resulting solutions
Figure 1 The five basic phases of the “TRIZ” model
At its core the TRIZ methodology has two major phases, analysis and synthesis [see Figure 1 above]. Moreover, it is a deliberate approach to changing both understanding a problem and problem situation, then changing it. In order to evolve TRIZ theories over time, extensive modeling, trials and tests were necessary in order to move towards a fully evolved methodology.
Emergent Patterns/Themes and Frame Creation As with the TRIZ methodology, at the core of the Frame Creation process is a complex movement of zooming out and first considering the problem itself within the immediate context, and then on to the wider context of other important interrelated issues that need to be incorporated in the problem situation. Like phase one of the TRIZ methodology, the key principle of Frame Creation lies in its deliberate approach to changing both ones understanding a problem and the problem situation. As suggested earlier, problems often cannot be solved directly, at least not as given. All problems and their associated
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formulations have their roots in a specific context. This context needs to be critically appraised and then altered before the problem itself can be attacked. Frame Creation teases out the history and assumptions behind the rationalities that have led to the original problem formulation. In a sense the problem as given is “Transformed” into something “New”. Given the above, this begs the question, how does one open up new avenues of thought, critically analyse, and challenge assumptions mired in historical precedent. We assert it is the fixedness of frames of persons within organisations that cause the perception of being stalled within the entrenched normative frames of reference. In order to shift from normative frames of reference, expert designers use nine phases as shown in figure 2 below [see: (Dorst, 2015) for an extensive description of this Frame Creation model]. A careful review of the “Frame Creation” reveals that while there are nine phases, these may be notionally characterised as having two major phases, analysis and synthesis [see Figure 2 below]. While these phases appear to be consistent with Lawson (2006), within the context of this paper we will focus on various aspects of the analysis phase. More specifically we are concerned here with the emergence and analysis of themes to facilitate the development of transformative ideas and approaches (“Frames”). From a TRIZ perspective this relates to the need for developing an understanding of where and how the problem is situated within both larger systems and associated sub-systems. As in TRIZ, in “Frame Creation” it is argued we must expand our horizon to the broader field (in Engineering terms: changing the system border). Then we establish common Themes, and from these we create new Frames for the problem situation, which then lead to proposed actions (‘Futures’) that can be appraised critically. Hence, it is recommended to formally map out the required transformations in the stakeholder organizations help to judge the proposed approaches on their realism.
Archeology analyzing the history of the problem owner and of the initial problem formulation V Paradox analyzing the problem situation: what makes this hard? V Context analyzing the inner circle of stakeholders V Field exploring the broader societal field V Themes investigating the themes that emerge in the broader field V
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Frames identifying patterns in the themes to create frames V Futures exploring the possible outcomes and value propositions for the various stakeholders V Transformation investigate the change in stakeholder’s strategies and practices required for implementation V Integration draw lessons from the new approach and identify new opportunities within the network
Figure 2 The nine phases of the “Frame Creation” model
As our focus here is squarely on the analysis phase it makes sense that we discuss, in general terms, the characteristics of the first five finer phase states of the “Frame Creation” model [Archeology; Paradox; Context; Field; Themes]. These phases lead to the development of new frames. As suggested earlier if we are to understand the “problem as given” we need to “dig” into its background. Given archeology deals with past/present human life, and their associated activities by studying the material worlds they inhabit, one can examine the history of the problem owner and of the initial problem formulation. This pursuit for understanding socio-cultural aspects of human nature has parallels in the TRIZ methodology where developing an understanding of where and how the technical problems are situated within both larger systems and associated sub-systems is equally important. Given both the socio-cultural and techno-physical aspects of any problem are important, understanding their pattern of associations is equally important. Consequently, these associations need to be formally mapped out and externalised. Once the problem and their pattern of associations has been carefully developed and analysed, it is important to understand that all problems contain perplexing conundrums, contradictions, or paradoxes. In general, irrespective of the detailed nature of the problem there is a lead question. The lead question is: what makes this problem hard to solve? We need to identify both the trade-off contradictions and the inherent contradictions. These paradoxes do not exist in a vacuum, they exist in a context. Hence it is important to shift the problem situation by first studying the core group of stakeholders that is very close to the problem situation. Mapping and understanding the relationships between these stakeholders is of extreme importance. By then also mapping the broader field of both problem specifics and the players we concentrate on the EPISTLE issues, stakeholder interests, values, and the frames of reference that could push the problem in a new direction. Some deeper patterns began to emerge, where shared “underlying structures” can lead to new solutions. Through this in-depth ‘creative analysis’ of the broader field, common themes emerge that can shift the original paradox. This in turn will underpin the
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solution that will address the future EPISTLE issues discussed. By investigating the themes that emerge in the broader field this in turn leads to the development of new frames.
Triad of Methodologies: A common Theme The central issue for design in the 21st century relates to the finding of emergent themes / patterns in complex and ill-structured problem situations. Where may we find methodologies to support us? We argue that both TRIZ (on the technological side) and Frame Creation (on the humancentered side) share valuable common characteristics. Both TRIZ and Frame Creation rely on the development, mapping, and analysis of clear emergent themes and patterns in relation complex problems, sub-problems, issues, and data emerging from the complex EPISTLE issues as we move into the future. Themes could also be the “bridging” tool between the two methodologies [as suggested in figure 3 below] – but then they are defined slightly differently in TRIZ and Frame Creation. If Themes and Thematic Analysis are emerging as such an important key concept in our quest to create an integrated design methodology, we need a much clearer understanding of what Themes are, and how Thematic Analysis works. Our understanding needs to be uncoloured (untainted) by the preconceptions that come from the Technical or Social domain.
Thematic Analysis Social problems and Frame Creation
Technical problems and TRIZ
Figure 3 Thematic Analysis as a Bridging tool to help solve Future Socio-Cultural and Techno-Physical problems and issues.
We turn to the domain of social science (specifically, recent developments that link into psychology, building on earlier theories in Semantics) to introduce a third methodology, specifically aimed at the finding/emergence or creation of themes, that could be used to start creating the bridge between TRIZ and Frame Creation. A critical review of the psychology literature surrounding Latent Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) reveals that while this methodology is predominately used in areas relating to socio-cultural research [psychology, sociology, anthropology, hermeneutics, etc…] it may be utilised to shed light on the nature of the Themes emerging from the TRIZ methodology, as well as with the socio-cultural Themes that emerge in applying the Frame Creation methodology.
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Braun and Clarke (2006) advocate Latent Thematic Analysis as a useful and flexible method for qualitative research beyond its source discipline, psychology. They also suggest there are six basic and core phases in thematic analysis, as indicated in Figure 4 below: Familiarizing yourself with your data Transcribing data, reading and re-reading the data, noting down initial ideas V Generating initial codes Coding interesting features of the data in a systematic fashion across the entire data set, collating data relevant to each code V Searching for themes Collating codes into potential themes, gathering all data relevant to each potential theme V Reviewing themes Checking if the themes work in relation to the coded extracts (Level 1) and the entire data set (Level 2), generating a thematic ‘map’ of the analysis V Defining and naming themes Ongoing analysis to refine the specifics of each theme, and the overall story the analysis tells, generating clear definitions and names for each theme V Producing the report The final opportunity for analysis. Selection of vivid, compelling extract examples, final analysis of selected extracts, relating back of the analysis to the research question and literature, producing a scholarly report of the analysis
Figure 4 The Six basic phases typical of Latent Thematic Analysis
Some may argue semantic analysis may be appropriate as a bridging tool. However, when comparing and contrasting semantic analysis and latent thematic analysis, in general the semantic approach relates to a specific question or area of interest within the data, whereas latent thematic analysis seeks to identify particular ‘latent’ themes across the whole or majority of the data set. Moreover, with a semantic approach themes are identified at a rather superficial level. It is argued this is of little help to the design thinking process as the themes are identified within the explicit or surface meanings of the data. Fundamentally, as designers move towards an ever increasingly complex future, with the semantic approach they would not be looking for anything beyond what is explicit in the data set, be it the technical aspects of the data or socio-cultural aspects. Accordingly Patton (1990) indicates ideally, the analytic process should involve a progression from description. That is to say the data should not simply be organized to show patterns in semantic content, and summarized. It is argued semantic analysis is of little help to the design thinking process as the themes are identified within the explicit or surface meanings of the data. In using latent thematic analysis, the development of the themes themselves involve interpretative work, and the analysis that is produced is not just a description, but is theorized and extends the ideas inherent in the data. There is a need to move to interpretation, endeavouring to theorize the significance of the patterns and their broader meanings and implications. As latent thematic analysis moves beyond the semantic content of the data, it starts to identify or examine the underlying ideas, assumptions, and conceptualizations / and ideologies / that are theorized
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as shaping or informing the simplistic semantic content of the data. Hence, we contend that latent thematic analysis as a design tool brings depth and indeed rigour to the design process as we confront technological change. Latent Thematic analysis starts to identify or examine the underlying ideas, assumptions, and conceptualizations that are theorized. It shapes the simplistic semantic content of the data/information. Thus future designers are able to capture and map the more nuanced possibilities spanning both the socio-cultural and techno-physical issues while moving through the design process. In order to express how we may adopt, adapt, and extend the six phases above to seven phases, they may be envisaged in a design context. We propose the following very simplistic exemplar: 3D printing and Additive Manufacturing [AM] in emerging nations. Let us say we are given the task of assisting a developing country in evolving their capacity to leverage their workforce in taking advantage of the growth in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. As they do not have a large technically skilled workforce they need to rely on the project team to creatively address the large number of interrelated systemic issues/problems associated with this problem task. In phase 1.), we may generate and code topic titles/issues/nodes emerging from this problem space. We could start to do things like list varieties of additive manufacturing technologies, lists of surrounding technologies involved, various human resources involved, industries, products and services [direct and indirect], educational requirements, power requirements, costs of start-up, physical and environmental issues, legal issues, the politics of local infrastructure issues, materials for manufacture, skill levels of existing workforce, natural resources available, etc… etc…. Once we have done this we turn our attention to phase 2.) Generating and coding Creative linkages / connections /relationships between topic nodes, ensuring both socio-cultural and techno-physical topics are linked and cross linked. Given some of the nodes listed in phase 1, we may make some links as follows: we may make a connection/relationship between the skill level and the local workforce developing surrounding technologies may or may not easily adapt to the technologies in relation to additive manufacturing [techno-physical link]. Hence the politics of local infrastructure may or may not need to reshape local educational curricula to prepare a new workforce [socio-cultural link]. Additionally, additive manufacturing requires various technical materials which have a relationship/link to the different specific technical manufacturing processes [techno-physical link]. Moreover, we may link materials for manufacture with both natural resources available in the local area and physical environmental issues. Etcetera… Given this illustrated network of links and nodal connections, we may move to phase 3.) Identifying, clustering, and codifying related latent thematic linkages and cross linkages. We may group the relationships and technical issues surrounding old manufacturing available with the new technologies. The nature of the necessary mergers force new local educational strategies to emerge. Once we have related latent thematic linkages and cross linkages, we may move on to phase 4.) Identify, frame, and name large and small latent thematic clusters - generating clear definitions and names for each cluster / theme [Themes such as: technology education; merging existing and new technologies; environmentally sustainable material issues, etc…]. Then we may move to phase 5.) Explore and Reshape large and small latent thematic clusters – actively seeking different stories and frames. This phase offers the opportunity to find common aspects both between and among themes and clusters of “mapped” issues. Given
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some of the themes will converge and others will diverge in phase 6.), the ordering, listing, and ranking of the different thematic briefing directions and potential new project directions offers an opportunity to better structure the themes for the purposes of clarity. This in turn assists in the progression to phase 7.), formally reporting different briefing and project directions. This is a final opportunity for analysis while presenting a wide selection of vivid, compelling extracted examples. Additionally, the report offers an opportunity for a final analysis of selected extracts, and innovative well considered projects / briefs and directions.
Given the above it makes sense to turn our attention to comparing and contrasting what is considered the “Typical” six Latent Thematic phases with proposed “Design” Latent Thematic Phases. In reviewing the example above it should be noted we have both added an additional phase and brought forward the “naming” phase in the process. That is to say the typical phase 5 is brought up to phase 4 in the design context. Additionally, when reviewing the similarities and differences, data and design problem information flows are acquired, generated, and then “mapped” in the case of design. Conversely, “typical” latent thematic phases rely on transcribing data. By using latent thematic analysis, the development of the themes, technology education; merging existing and new technologies; environmentally sustainable material issues involves interpretative work, and the analysis that is produced is not just a description, but is theorized and extends the ideas inherent in the problem space. Latent Thematic analysis starts to identify or examine the underlying ideas, assumptions, and conceptualizations that are theorized in a designerly way. It both informs and indeed shapes the simplistic semantic content of the data/information. We see the adapted latent thematic phases as a starting point to evolve a more considered and developed methodology in the future. It is anticipated this more evolved methodology will span both the socio-cultural and techno-physical issues while moving through the design process in the future.
Conclusion Here we are advocating that latent thematic analysis will be a useful and flexible method for helping future designers learn to cope with looming technological change issues facing them. We argue the synergies in these methodologies will assist in developing an underlying structure in the complexity of problems. In brief, thematic analysis involves searching across information, data, ideas, contexts, and creative concepts to find what is embedded / hidden in the repeated patterns of meaning. In essence it is the search for what lies beneath the surface. It is imperative future designers be able to step outside of the ways of thinking embodied in their original value systems and nuanced technical details in order to frame the design situation in a new way, moving away from the manner it was initially phrased and presented. A review of the literature surrounding latent thematic analysis revealed it could bridge the gap, and we see our next steps are to research and test the utility of using latent thematic analysis as a tool to bridge the techno-physical and the socio-cultural aspects [TRIZ and
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Frame Creation] of technological change. This is an important step toward the creation of a methodology that is both theoretically and empirically grounded.
References Altshuller, G. (1997) 40 Principles – TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation. Technical Innovation Center, Worcester, MA. Altshuller, G., B. Zlotin, A. Zusman, & V. Philatov, (1999) Tools of Classical TRIZ, Ideation International Inc. Altshuller, G. & Vertkin, I., (1994) How to Become a Genius: A Life Strategy of a Creative Person, Minsk, Belarus, (in Russian). Braun, V., Clarke,V., (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3:2, 77-101. Buchanan, R. (1995) Wicked problems in design thinking in V Margolin and R Buchanan (eds) The idea of design, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 3-20. Checkland, P., (2000) Soft Systems Methodology: A Thirty Year Retrospective, Systems Research and Behavioral Science ,17, S11–S58. Dorst, K., (2015) Frame Innovation – create new thinking by design, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Girifalco, L.A. (1991) Dynamics of technological change, New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold. Karamchedu, V. R., (2005) It's not about the technology : developing the craft of thinking for a high technology corporation, New York : Springer. Kunz, W and Rittel, H W J (1970) Information science: on the structure of its problems. Information Storage and Retrieval, 8, 95-98. Kurzweil, R., (2005) The singularity is near: when humans transcend biology, New York : Viking. Lawson, B., (2006) How Designers Think: The design process demystified, London: Architectural Press. Orloff, M., (2006) Inventive Thinking Through TRIZ: A Practical Guide, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative evaluation and research methods, second edition, Sage. Porter, A. L. [et al.], (1980) A Guidebook for technology assessment and impact analysis, New York: North Holland. Rantanen, K. and Domb, E. ( 2002) Simplified TRIZ- New Problem Solving Applications for Engineers, and Manufacturing Professionals, S. Lucie Press, NY. Rittel, H. and Weber, M. (1973) Dilemmas in a general theory of planning, Policy Sciences, 4, 155-169. Savransky S.D., (2000) Engineering Creativity Introduction to TRIZ Methodology of Inventive Problem Solving, (CRC Press, Boca Raton). Schmidt, S., (2008) The coming convergence: surprising ways diverse technologies interact to shape our world and change the future, Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books. About the Authors: Dr. Vasilije Kokotovich is currently a Research fellow within the new Design Innovation Research Centre [DI:rc] at the University of Technology Sydney. His areas of specialisation and current research relate to design thinking, design creativity/innovation, and design systemics.
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Professor Kees Dorst is Professor of Design Innovation at the University of Technology Sydney, and Co-Director of the new Design Innovation Research Centre [DI:rc]. He has published numerous articles and five books in relation to various aspects of Design.
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The cycle of interdisciplinary learning and theorysolution building in design research Young-ae Hahn Yonsei University, Wonju, South Korea yahahn@yonsei.ac.kr DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.521
Abstract: This article discusses a new perspective on the sustainable product/service development process as an iterative cycle of interdisciplinary learning phase and theory-solution building phase. Such a perspective puts emphases on deductive or abductive-inductive communication activities between stakeholders, difference in research paradigms within which involved researchers act in, and how given information leads to useful insights for theory-building or solution-building via cognitive operations. The cycle is described with the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s observations made during a research project, with specific cognitive activities pronounced in stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning and ideation activities. Keywords: design process and method; interdisciplinary communication; deductive learning; abductive-inductive ideation
Introduction Designing for sustainability is tackling a wicked problem that requires investigations from multiple perspectives (Rittel & Webber, 1973). An interdisciplinary team of stakeholders, i.e., scientists, design researchers, business owners, and consumers are called for co-designed solutions. For the collaborative practice of co-design, various methods, either original or adapted from other disciplines, have been put forward. First, on the process level, methods for participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; collaboration and hands-on experimentation are emphasized. Tangible artifacts, representations and visualizations, provide a common ground for participation, expression of knowledge and opinions, analysis, reflection, and prototyping (Simonsen et al., 2014; see also Brandt, Messeter, & Binder, 2008; Dindler & Iversen, 2007; Gaver, Dunne, & Pacenti, 1999; Koskinen et al., 2011; Sanders & Stappers, 2008; Sanders & William, 2002; Sleeswijk Visser, 2009; Vaajakallio, 2012). Second, on the project level, human-centered This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
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design (hereafter HCD) process models, although some of them do not put any particular emphasis on co-designing activities, have been adopted to guide the interdisciplinary team’s problem definition and other activities. MUST method (Simonsen et al., 2014), Owen (2007)’s Cyclical Knowledge model of analytical–synthetical activities in abstract–concrete realms, the Double Diamond model (“Introducing design methods”, 2013) of divergent and convergent natures of design thinking and activities, and IDEO’s Inspiration, Ideation, and Implementation model (Brown, 2008) for knowledge building from both learning and making. Building on current models and methods, in this article, the author proposes a new perspective on the interdisciplinary product/service development process, with focuses on the following aspects: 1. Deductive or abductive-inductive communication activities between stakeholders: A project team consists of stakeholders with diverse expertise, so each person partakes in various communication relations as either an expert or non-expert. Between stakeholders, deductive or abductive-inductive communication activities occur. Deduction starts from known, established premises (scientific theories, e.g.) to draw conclusions about the design problem at hand. Deductive communication, in this study, is the act of explaining established knowledge or describing current practices for non-experts in the subject area, following the principles of deduction. During the early stages in a design project, deductive communication activities are carried out for stakeholders’ proper understanding of design problems, involved actors, artifacts, environments, and their interactions. Abduction and induction, in contrast, start from observations of the design problems at hand, to propose best explanations—that may contradict established scientific theories—about them. Abductive-inductive communication, in this study, is the act of discussing new hypotheses, knowledge or solution ideas, following the principles of abduction and induction; solution ideas are devised accordingly. The author argues that, whether a communication activity is deductive or abductive-inductive is, after all, discussion of the information dependency (Gudowsky & Bechtold, 2013), types of knowledge barriers (Carlile, 2004), and types of knowledge shared (Glicken, 2000) between stakeholders. Such dimensions of interdisciplinary communication deserve more attention from the design research community, so described in length in Section 2.1 in this article. 2. Universal or situated types of resulting knowledge: Some issues in an interdisciplinary collaboration arise from the participating researchers’ different epistemological stances on what knowledge to pursue and what methods are valid for the purpose. Scientists’ theoretical studies ask welldefined research questions from an objectivist position in hypothesis-led
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controlled experiments. They aim to find universal knowledge (Friedman, 2002) of how the world currently is. Design researchers, from a constructivist position, might look for possible solutions to the illstructured research problems in discovery-led constructive design research (Koskinen et al., 2011). They intend to build situated knowledge (Lawson, 2004) of how the world can be. An interdisciplinary collaboration might provide opportunities for both theoretical and constructive types of studies. The terms will be defined in detail in Section 2.2 in this article. 3. How such knowledge is generated: While current HCD process models recognize cognitive activities (that include tinkering with physical objects) in abstract - concrete realms as key parts of the creative process, specifically how given information leads to useful insights for theorybuilding or solution-building needs to be more explicitly discussed. The author found inspirations from theories of learning (Kolb, 1984; Michalski, 1993; Peirce, 1878)—how new knowledge is generated from the learner’s logical and analogical reasoning through various cognitive operations. So this article is structured into four main sections. Section 2 is a brief introduction of theoretical backgrounds in the areas of interdisciplinary communication, research paradigms, and learning theories. Section 3 illustrates the author’s conception of an interdisciplinary design research process. The process is articulated in terms of communicative activities for interdisciplinary learning between scientists and constructive design researchers. The learning leads to the scientists’ theory building and design researchers’ solution building. Section 4 is a provocation – whether various mental operations discussed in learning theory literature are commonly observed in both new theory building and solution designing. The author’s observations made during a research project with scientists will be presented. Section 5 sums up conclusions and limitations of this article.
Theoretical backgrounds In this section, theoretical backgrounds of the author’s conception of an interdisciplinary design research process are introduced, in the areas of interdisciplinary communication, research paradigms, and learning theories.
2.1 Information dependency, knowledge barrier and knowledge type in interdisciplinary communication Expert and non-expert collaboration, e.g., scientists explain for consumers the relationship between GHG emissions and food consumption, will reveal the information dependency relationship between them. Gudowsky and Bechtold (2013, pp. 7-9) addressed that, if experts and non-experts rely on each other in resolving certain goals, the flow of information will be two-way, but otherwise the flow will be one-way. Possible cases of information flow are: (i) unidirectional supply of information from experts to non-experts,
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(ii) bi-directional one-way communication where one’s opinion does not necessarily influence the others’ activities, (iii) two-way dialogues for understanding each other, and (iv) two-way communication to reach a consensus after analyzing topics from different angles. Expert and non-expert collaboration will also reveal the knowledge boundaries between them. Carlile’s framework describes syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic types of boundaries between people or disciplines (2004, pp. 558–559). A syntactic boundary, caused by a difference in the areas of expertise, can be resolved by transferring knowledge. A semantic boundary created by novelty (from new lexicon or uninterpretable outcomes) calls for translation of interpretive differences. Lastly, a pragmatic boundary is created with different interests between actors. For an effective negotiation and collaboration, involved parties need to learn others’ knowledge, as well as transform their own domain knowledge for others, to show how each person’s knowledge is useful in solving others’ problems. Expert and non-expert collaboration, or collaborations between experts from different domains, will externalize/exchange three types of knowledge (Glicken, 2000, p. 307): cognitive knowledge (“factual arguments about issues”); experiential (or local, cultural ) knowledge is built “based on common sense and personal experience”; lastly, value-based knowledge that is “derived from social interests, and is based on perceptions of social value.” People’s value-based knowledge becomes explicit, when they compete over limited resources and try to prioritize their needs. All three types of knowledge will emerge during a conversation of sustainable development, at varying mixtures. Knowledge sharing between experts and non-experts beyond the personal and disciplinary barriers is a prerequisite to an effective collaboration.
2.2 Research paradigms – theoretical or constructive study Often different research paradigms clash in an interdisciplinary collaboration. A study is (at least implicitly) built on the researcher’s understanding of what the reality consists of/what can be studied (ontology), what can be known and how close the researcher and the subject can be (epistemology), and how the subject can be legitimately investigated (methodology). To start a study, Crotty (1998, pp. 3-9) suggests considering epistemology first, i.e., the researcher’s philosophical belief on the nature of knowledge discoverable in the study, then it guides you to choose theoretical perspectives, research design, and particular methods for data collection and analysis. Collaboration between scientists and designers may lead to a theoretical study from an objectivist position. Theoretical research is based on positivist theoretical perspective where the subject of research is limited to well-defined problems. The research problem is investigated to discover objective truth about natural and man-made worlds that is believed to exist apart from the researcher’s conscious mind. A theoretical study (1) organizes personal–practical observations into systematic thoughts that are applicable to different contexts, and (2) produces theories, a set of propositions, or models of natural and manmade worlds to allow for prediction of future consequences. (Friedman, 2002, pp. 399-400).
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Evidently, findings from theoretical studies have been contributing to the thriving of mankind throughout the history, with knowledge of the world itself and its immensely practical applications. Such knowledge, as Friedman (2000, pp. 45-54) points out, also let design researchers understand the world, the different social, cultural, industrial and economic circumstances, and the human beings for which they design various artifacts, and foresee the outcomes of their design decisions and avoid failures. Collaboration between scientists and designers may also lead to a constructive design research of “construction [of] product, system, space, or media […] becomes the key means in constructing knowledge” (Koskinen et al., 2011, p. 5) from a constructivist position. In contrast to the well-defined problems in theoretical research, Lawson (2004) discussed the immediate and situated nature of design knowledge (pp. 13-19) that arises from solving illstructured, open ended, or non-formal (Dreyfus, as cited in Lawson, 2004, pp. 116-117) problems. A designer’s situated—emerges as the problem situation unfolds—knowledge or experience lets her recognize more crucial issues, and match the problems and potential solutions throughout the design process. It is unique to each designer in each project.
2.3 Theories of deductive learning and abductive-inductive ideation The cycle of deduction and abduction-induction has long been considered part of a creative process, where stakeholders’ current knowledge is expanded and transformed into creative solutions. Three types of logical reasoning—induction, deduction, and abduction—are defined as follows (Peirce, 1878): deduction is an act of drawing conclusions by examining a case against given rules, while in induction, rules are induced from many connected observations over time. With abduction or hypothesis, rules are given and observations can be made, but the relationship between the rules and observations (i.e., case) are not obvious, so it is guessed considering the rules, observations, and the thinker’s background knowledge. Merrel (2000) argues that the process of abduction, in fact, precedes deduction and induction, because a person has to have a hypothesis (abduction) before applying it to a larger set and making it a confirmed thesis (induction). Later, more cases will be evaluated against this confirmed thesis (deduction). In relation to design research, first, deductive learning between scientists and designers during the problem analysis is critical in problem definition: involved artifacts, environment, stakeholders and their goals in various contexts are explained based on current scientific theories. Second, what is more interesting and deserves more attention is the abductiveinductive process of theory building and solution building during the synthesis phase. The following literature attempts to illustrate how creative ideas are born. Kolb (1984) argues that knowledge is generated from transforming the learner’s concrete experience into abstract concepts or theories in a dialogical manner, through (1) a deductive phase of assimilating current scientific theories to explain problem phenomena, and (2) later through an abductive-inductive phase of accommodating, i.e., experimenting tentative hypotheses that are generated with abductive thinking. Michalski (1993)’s Inferential Theory of Learning (ITL) is more specific in what cognitive operations are relevant to transforming given
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information into new knowledge: generalization–specialization, abstraction–concretion, explanation–prediction, similization–dissimilization, selection–generation, agglomeration– decomposition, characterization–discrimination, and association–dissociation. The cognitive operations unfold either in an inductive direction to gain a more conceptual nature of knowledge, or in a deductive direction to show how conceptual knowledge applies to specifics. In this article, the role of abduction that precedes induction is highlighted, because abduction can lead to either more conceptual knowledge by theory-building in scientists’ theoretical research, or, to concrete solution-building in design researchers’ constructive research. The cycle of interdisciplinary design research, however, starts with deductive learning to empower participating stakeholders with knowledge in the problem and solution spaces. Both deductive learning and abductive-inductive ideation are facilitated with stakeholders’ communication activities.
3. The cycle of interdisciplinary design research In this section, the authors’ conception of interdisciplinary design research cycle is described (Figure 1) where deduction and abduction-induction processes unfold in an iterative manner through which new theory-solution ideas are conceived.
Figure 1 The cycle of interdisciplinary design research: learning and theory-solution building.
The first phase in the cycle is the deductive communication activities for learning at the center, where (1) experts’ knowledge—typically presented in abstract theories and principles—is communicated for non-experts’ theoretical understanding of research problems in a unidirectional manner (Gudowsky & Bechtold, 2013), and (2) all stakeholders’ current beliefs and practices are shared in forms of cognitive and experiential types of
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knowledge in a bidirectional manner; popular understanding of research problems, and how stakeholders’ current practices improve or exacerbate the problems are uncovered (Glicken, 2000). With deductive communication, syntactic and semantic types of knowledge boundaries (Carlile, 2004) can be crossed. For sustainable product/service development, deductive communication activities are of particular importance, because non-expert stakeholders (e.g., consumers) need significant empowering through learning experts’ scientific knowledge, to apprehend the problem phenomena and acquire relevant vocabulary; otherwise their contributions become naive and useless. During the first phase of deductive learning, stakeholders’ daily observations are illuminated with scientists’ conceptual knowledge. The second phase in the cycle is the abductive-inductive communication activities where original insights were conceived. From the learning/understanding experience in the first phase, stakeholders move on to (1) ideation on the left side, where activities invite them to exercise creative power in devising local and indigenous solutions, or (2) theorization of the right side to develop new theories and models. Ideas are developed in two different directions, in a more abstract direction for theory-building, and in a more concrete direction for solution-building. The new theories and solutions will be communicated as established knowledge in a deductive manner for a while, before their efficacies are questioned and replaced with other theories and solutions. In this phase, information dependency relationship is bidirectional; stakeholders’ unweighted ideas pitched in from diverse perspectives, and later the ideas are prioritized, negotiated, validated, or connected to many of other concepts to form promising solutions or dominant theories in the end; ideas are further developed through active brainstorming, discussions and negotiations. Particlularly with negotiations, value-based type knowledge (Glicken, 2000) is revealed and the pragmatic type of knowledge boundaries (Carlile, 2004) can be crossed. In the next section, with examples of a research project the author has participated, how such an interdisciplinary communication activities led to theoretical and constructive knowledge development, and what cognitive operations entail in the process will be illustrated.
Cognitive operations for theory-building and solution-building In this section, the author would like to present a speculative—because it has not been proven with a large set of data—idea of how creative theories and design solutions are conceived from given information, inspired from Michalski (1993)’s seminal work and observations made from an interdisciplinary research project. The bottom line is that the seemingly whimsical inspirations for new theories and design solutions are, in fact, products of the thinker’s background knowledge transformed with logical and analogical reasoning. Unlike the popular myth of creativity as a flash of insight, researchers argue that it comes with “deeply structured representations that […] admit limited, structurally guided alterations.” (Gentner et al., 1997, p. 34) In other words, a creative idea is born when the thinker has a clear, structured understanding of the current concept, and also is capable of
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altering the current structure to change the concept itself or the relationship among the elements of the concept. With such backstage operations, the thinker finds either new explanations of the problem phenomena, or latent relevancy between the problem and solution ideas. The research project the author has participated, in a team of scientists and design researchers, caterers, and consumers, lasted for two years. Together, the team investigated (1) knowledge and communication that caterers and consumers need, in order to build common competence, understanding, and practices toward sustainable development, (2) customers’ current lunch practices, willingness and hindrances to behavioral changes, and understanding of climate changes, and (3) future developmental paths for new catering services and targeted changes in the consumer behavior with following research activities.
4.1 Deductive learning-understanding phase The study started with learning activities designed to provide stakeholders contextualized scientific information (Figure 2, left). Stakeholders’ daily observations were illuminated with scientists’ conceptual knowledge of GHG emissions from food production and consumption. Active discussions on sustainable catering in environmental-technical, economical, and socio-cultural aspects followed. Equipped with scientific theories and principles, non-expert stakeholders became fluent in vocalizing four GHG types, frequent emission events, the networked actors/activities, and involved chemical processes.
Figure 2 Deductive learning and understanding activities between expert and non-expert stakeholders.
Then understanding activities followed (Figure 2, center) to uncover stakeholders’ current knowledge and practices of having catering lunch meals. The activities evoked discussion on consumers’ knowledge, concerns, interests, and preferences in eating at public catering venues. Their ideas of (i) current, usual, and realistic lunch, (ii) ideal lunch, and (iii)
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sustainable lunch at public catering cafeterias were described with printed cards of food ingredients. Stakeholders shared where and what they prefer to eat, along with personal circumstances (e.g., living with a girl friend who cooks for him, having stomach problems with some food items) and attitude towards sustainability (considering taste and nutrient more than environmental concerns). In another session (Figure 2, right), the different, abstract values that consumers seek in food were clarified with concrete examples. From the learning-understanding activities, the author observed learners’ assimilation (Kolb, 1984) of current scientific theories that are applied later to explain problem phenomena. For instance, from lecture sessions, the environmental-technical knowledge boundary between scientists and consumers, the economic-managerial knowledge boundary between caterers and consumers, and the socio-cultural knowledge boundary between consumers and scientists–caterers, are mediated by supplying scientific concepts, catering business guidelines, and various analytical viewpoints to expand understanding of consumer behaviour. Sessions for understanding explored different values of food and how consumers interpret them. Stakeholders’ following cognitive operations are observed. GeneralizationSpecialization: Generalization refers to the making of a larger set by adding more elements that fit the description, while specialization means reducing the larger set into smaller subsets by making distinctions between them. In this deductive phase, the consumer’s vague understanding of scientific concepts were specified by differentiation and making contrast. Classification of GHGs into four gas types (CO2, CH4, N2O, and F-gases), according to molecular structure, potency, concentration, and lifetime in the atmosphere. Comparison of fertilizer types in relation to N2O emission. Nutrient types in the plate model. Categorization of food based on season, nutrient and environmental impacts. Classification of catering practices, different preparation processes and the types of meal served. Prediction Explanation: Explanation elaborates the underlying causes and following consequences of the given facts, while a prediction is made based on understanding of the causal relationship. In this study, the complexity of ecosystem, and the causal relations of how actors and their interactions with the material world lead to GHG emissions was explained.
Meat farming and CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions. Industrial processes and F-gas emissions. Fossil fuel, electricity and other energy consumption and CO2, N2O emissions. Food and other organic waste and CH4 emissions. Urbanization, construction and CO2 emissions. CO2, ocean acidification and biodiversity.
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Abstraction Concretion: Abstraction reduces details in a description of a set of elements, to transform the description into higher-level concepts, while concretion is about finding specific examples of scientific theories and abstract concepts. In this study, the different, abstract values that consumers seek in food were clarified with concrete examples. Healthy food: foods traditionally collected from forests (mushroom, berries, fish caught from the lake, and game meat), as opposed to cultivated foods (rye and other grains, and bread made of such grains). Eco-friendly food: domestic foods, foods made of leftovers because of food waste reduction. Profitable food: items that are inexpensive to produce but yield higher profit margins, such as alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and coffee. Super food (healthy, eco-friendly, and profitable altogether): fried potato, onion, and meat mix) made of locally grown ingredients, because they can be made of healthy, leftover, and inexpensive vegetables. In summary, deductive activities led stakeholders’ shared knowledge ground building. With the learning-understanding experience, design researchers, caterers, and consumers started co-exploration of new theories and design solutions, as described in the next section.
4.2 Abductive-inductive theory-building and solution-building phase Abductive-inductive communication activities in this phase explicitly asked for new theory and solution ideas by staging collaboration, maintained their explorative and creative attitudes, and facilitated their enacting and envisioning of how the world could be. Particularly, comments made on current catering services led to hypotheses of how new, improved services might yield the targeted effects. Involved cognitive activities are generalization–specialization, abstraction–concretion, explanation–prediction, association– dissociation and agglomeration–decomposition. Scientists’ abductive-inductive theory-building: With the inductive theory building on the right side in Figure 1, scientists (nutritionists and sociologists) participated in the study conducted a qualitative study of investigating sustainable food culture in the catering business sector. Caterer and consumer interview data reveal: Caterers are not convinced of using more local, seasonal, or organic ingredients: the environmental benefits of local ingredients are ambiguous to them, and the unstable availability, higher costs, and the municipality regulations of tendering make caterers hesitant of using seasonal-local or organic food. Consumers do not know what GHGs are, how GHGs are emitted from food production and consumption, and how food items impact the environment. Consumers’ rather surprising understanding of food sustainability: wild food was frequently described as eco-friendly, because it does not incur any
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agricultural cost, due to the country’s unique natural environment and lifestyle. While the idea has a logical ground, it takes the consumer’s attention away from the core issue: the sustainability of daily-consumed cultivated food. Consumers showed a wastage-focused attitude (Hall & Prior, 2011), thinking more about avoiding waste, unaware of major GHG emissions from food production, especially meat or dairy farming. Consumer comments revealed that few consumers were reasonably knowledgeable or interested in looking up the GHG emissions when they were in a fast-moving lunch line. Consumers see no rewards in choosing more plant-based, organic, local, and seasonal catering menus. The scientists proposed two tentative models as research outcomes. First, a sustainability model calculates the ecological sustainability of the catering meals, to quantify CO2 emissions in an average portion. Second, a communication model calls for improved sustainability communication via diversified touch-points to change the consumers’ perception for the better. The two models will be developed into more rigorous scientific theories with more controlled, large-scale experiments. Consumers and caterers’ abductive solution-building: Scientists’ research findings, and the assimilated knowledge in the previous phase guided the design researchers’ solutionbuilding on the left side in Figure 1, to develop tools to communicate the quantified ecological information of lunch menus, and a service design concept for food sustainability communication as part of customer experience at catering places (Figure 3). While consumers proposed rather naïve ideas during the deductive learning phase, the ideas were refined in this ideation phase, after caterers resolved their questions and critically discussed their proposals, with explanations on (i) government regulation on hygiene, safety and quality control in the kitchen where raw proteins are handled, (ii) various challenges at the caterer’s working environment, and (iii) how abiding by the regulation is in both the customer’s and caterer’s best interest. Ideas put forward include: Improved procurement criteria – choosing fresh or processed ingredients depends on the type and quantity of meals served. Displaying provenance when it is available. Cooking methods for preserving or enhancing nutrition, appearance, and flavour of the food, while reducing energy consumption. Food waste reduction by adjusting meal portion sizes of a la cartè menus. Repurposing CH4 from waste landfill sites. Handling of unsold food - consumers wanted to see unsold food to be donated, but for consumer safety and due to caterer’s limited resources, it should be discarded after reheated once. Seasonal, organic, and local menu ideas.
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For the communication model, design research team hypothesized that providing more information and immediate, tangible rewards in the context of eating may improve consumer awareness and behavior. Consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current knowledge or beliefs were considered as a starting point of a new communication strategy. Ideas for encouraging them towards sustainable menus, while easing their cognitive burden, were put forward via the abductive process of reframing the problem situation, causality, and the involved product, process, and people. Some ideas were developed based on the quantified CO 2 data calculated with the sustainability model. Two major directions are: ď&#x201A;ˇ For off-site communication, an information system was proposed for a group of collaborating catering venues. The site displays their menus, availability, waiting time in real-time, to distribute consumer demands in the neighborhood, while encouraging sustainable eating. In this system, sustainability information gradually unfolds, starting from simple sustainability rating. If consumers are interested, comprehensive nutritional values and provenance information is provided. ď&#x201A;ˇ For on-site communication, during serving and dining, plates, napkins, and serving table signs guide consumers to the preferred behaviour. After dining, disposal signage guides consumers to properly sort waste.
Figure 3 A collection of solutions for off-site and on-site sustainability communication: online systems for food nutrition, availability, and sustainability information (left), and on-site signage of food ingredients to encourage consumers to make more healthy and sustainable choices.
Conclusions This article discussed a new perspective on the sustainable product/service development process as an iterative cycle of interdisciplinary learning phase and theory-solution building phase, with emphases on deductive or abductive-inductive communication activities
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between stakeholders, difference in research paradigms within which involved researchers act in, and how given information leads to useful insights for theory-building or solutionbuilding via cognitive operations. In the first phase, stakeholders’ deductive learning occurs across the environmental-technical, economic, and socio-cultural knowledge barriers between them. Their daily challenges and current practices were accounted for with contextualized scientific knowledge. In the second phase, scientists’ inductive theorybuilding guides design researchers’ co-exploration of design solutions with non-expert stakeholders. While non-expert stakeholders’ suggestions are corrected, accepted, or transformed with the experts’ in-depth knowledge, the discussions inspire them to materialize the abstract concept of sustainable product/service in local or personal contexts. Whether cognitive operations observed from both theory-building and solution-building are analogous in nature is the subject of future studies.
References Introducing design methods. (June 2013) Retrieved from http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/newsopinion/introducing-design-methods. Brandt, E., Messeter, J., & Binder, T. (2008) Formatting design dialogues - games and participation. Codesign, 4(1), pp 51-64. Brown, T. (2008) Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, June, pp 85-92. Carlile, P. R. (2004) Transferring, translating, and transforming: An integrative framework for managing knowledge across boundaries. Organization Science, 15(5), pp 555-568. Creswell, J. W. (2009) Research Design – Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Los Angeles, London: SAGE Publications. Crotty, M. (1998) The foundations of social research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. Dindler, C., & Iversen, O. S. (2007) Fictional Inquiry—design collaboration in a shared narrative space. Codesign, 3(4), pp 213-234. Friedman, K. (2000) Creating design knowledge: From research into practice. IDATER 2000 Conference, Loughborough. pp. 31-69. Friedman, K. (2002) Theory construction in design research: Criteria, approaches, and methods. In Commonground: Proceedings of the 2002 Design Research Society International Conference, London, UK, pp. 388-414. Gaver, B., Dunne, T., & Pacenti, E. (1999) Cultural probes. Interactions, 6(1), pp 21-29. Gentner, D., Brem, S., Ferguson, R. W., Markman, A. B., Levidow, B. B., Wolff, P., and Forbus, K. D. (1997) Analogical reasoning and conceptual change: A case study of Johannes Kepler, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(1), pp 3-40. Glicken, J. (2000) Getting stakeholder participation ‘right’: A discussion of participatory processes and possible pitfalls. Environmental Science & Policy, 3, pp 305-310. Gudowsky, N., & Bechtold, U. (2013) The role of information in public participation. Journal of Public Deliberation, 9(1), pp 1-35. Hall, L., & Prior, G. (2011) Exploring food attitudes and behaviours: Findings from the food and you survey 2010: Food safety segmentation. (No. JN 197020 Food and You Segmentation Report). N/A: Food Standards Agency.
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Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., RedstroĚ&#x2C6; m, J., & Wensveen, S. (2011) Design Research Through Practice. From the Lab, Field, and Showroom. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. Lawson, B. (2004) What Designers Know. Boston, MA : Elsevier/Architectural Press. Merrel, F. (2000) Abducting the process of abducting: An impossible dream? Unpublished manuscript. Michalski, R. S. (1993). Inferential theory of learning as a conceptual basis for multistrategy learning. Machine Learning, 11, pp 111-151. Owen, C. (2007) Design thinking: Notes on its nature and use. Design Research Quarterly, 2(1), pp 1627. Peirce, C. S. (1878) Illustrations of the logic of science, Popular Science Monthly, vol. 13. Poggenpohl, S., & Sato, K. (2003) Model of dissertation research in design. Proceeding of the 3rd Doctoral Education in Design Symposium, Tsukuba, Japan. Rittel, H. W. J., & Webber, M. M. (1973) Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4, pp 155-169. Sanders, E., & Stappers, P. J. (2008) Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. Codesign, 4(1), pp 5-18. Sanders, E., & William, C. (2002) Harnessing peoples creativity: Ideation and expression through visual CoCommunication. In J. Langford, & D. McDonagh-Philip (Eds.), Focus groups: Supporting effective product development. New York, USA: Taylor and Francis. Scrivener, S. (2000) Reflection in and on action and practice in creative-production doctoral projects in art and design. Working Papers in Art and Design, 1. Seliger, M., & Hahn, Y. (2015) Thesis design: Research meets practice in art and design master's theses. Helsinki, Finland: Aalto ARTS Books. Simonsen, J., Svabo, C., Strandvad, S. M., Samson, K., Hertzum, M., & Hansen, O. E. (2014) Situated design methods. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Sleeswijk Visser, F. (2009) Bringing the everyday life of people into design (Doctoral Dissertation). Vaajakallio, K. (2012) Design games as a tool, a mindset and a structure (Doctoral dissertation).
About the Author: Young-ae Hahn, is an assistant professor of Visual Communication Design. She currently studies (i) the nature and formation of designerly knowledge, (ii) persuasive solutions for healthy and sustainable lifestyles, and (iii) participatory systems for promoting social inclusion.
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Don’t Look Back: The Paradoxical Role of Recording in the Fashion Design Process Helen McGilp*, Claudia Eckert and Christopher F Earl Open University * Helen.McGilp@open.ac.uk DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.220
Abstract: Although there is little systematic research in academia or industry examining design processes in Fashion, anecdotal evidence, based on self- reports and observations, suggests that designers very rarely record the process of designing. Conversely, benefits and requirements of recording the design process within other domains, such as Engineering and Architecture, are well supported in the literature. This paper attempts to explore the dichotomy of recording and non-recording practice across these fields through a review of the literature, semi-structured interviews and a report on one case study in particular, drawing out further detail. Commonalities and differences are identified and new directions for research proposed. Keywords: fashion design; recording; design process; comparative design
Introduction “All Fashion is now and tomorrow. Who cares about the past?” Karl Lagerfeld (Schneier, 2015)
As one of the most successful and prolific practicing designers in Fashion today, Karl Lagerfeld is the subject of many interviews. In recent conversations, he asserts his position of looking only forward, actively disregarding his past designs, noting “I don’t even have archives, myself. I keep nothing” (Schneier, 2015; Ellison, 2015). He rejects also the possibility of preserving exploratory work, suggesting “I work a lot for the garbage can. I have huge bins next [to me], for whatever I do” (Schneier, 2015). Initial investigation suggests that this antipathy towards recording has a broader (if less extreme) spread across the Fashion domain, with designers rarely recording the process of designing.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Helen McGilp, Claudia Eckert and Christopher F Earl
This perspective raises a curious contradiction, given the practices in Fashion of drawing inspiration from previous styles, appropriation and adapting past designs for new collections (Eckert & Stacey, 2003; Jackson & Shaw, 2006 p42; Blakley, 2010). Lagerfeld himself is a significant influencer for the industry, which has recently seen a major retrospective exhibition of his work (Gaboué, 2015) – and which he refused to attend (Ellison, 2015). This paper examines this dichotomy of recording and non-recording practice. As a driver for an industry that revolves around a constant and fast paced cycle of change, it is also perhaps surprising that Fashion Design has not developed a culture of recording to underpin future development. Fashion practices appear to be at odds with the literature in fields such as Engineering design, Product design and Architecture, which describes approaches to systematic and routine recording of design processes. The activity is understood to play an important role in these domains. This raises the question of whether Fashion is an anomaly in the recording of design practice. In order to better understand the differences and commonalities in rationale and strategies that lie behind recording in the design process, in section 2 a review of the literature examines domains within Engineering and Architecture engaging in different approaches. As there is little empirical data in Fashion examining the design process or recording, section 3 outlines the background to a case study, with section 4 presenting this current practice in more detail. From these findings, provisional understandings are outlined and new strands of research identified.
Recording in Different Design Domains: from the Literature Approaches to recording the design process necessarily vary across the design domains. Much of the published work is prescriptive in nature, focusing on ‘best practice’ in industry with relatively fewer descriptive studies of day-to-day recording activity. The literature is therefore predominantly positive, advocating the benefits of recording activity and suggesting that recording plays an important role. Capturing a picture of current activity from the literature presents some difficulty, due to the unstructured and fragmented body of research. The broad topic is discussed from a number of perspectives, rooted in the various contexts of their ‘native’ fields. Forms of recording vary in their purpose and implementation according to the requirements of the industry. This might include a system of recording decisions or ‘roadmaps’ of the design process for understanding design rationale or evidencing the provenance of data. The demand may come from internal or external operators. For example, a company may implement an internal system to record elements of the current design development for reuse in future projects or improve efficiency. In other cases, such as the design of military aircraft (MOD and MAA, 2014), industry regulations and legal accountability require stringent design records to be kept. What is understood as recording varies across the body of literature reviewed. To explore this further, the examples outlined below describe and examine two overlapping strands of
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activity: that which records the design process itself, where understandings of the practice of designing can bring about benefits, and the recording which takes place as part of the process of designing. Each of these has a different role in supporting design practice or serving objectives external to this immediate context.
2.1 Recording in different fields In Architecture, where direct contact and negotiation with the client is central to the design process, the recording activity centres on communications, which Norouzi et al (2005) note “facilitate the flow of information and proprietary knowledge between clients and architects”. They suggest that improvement of this aspect increases understanding between stakeholders and decreases ambiguity. Failure to communicate with the client ultimately results in failures of the design, so processes for externalising the design and process assume an important role for the designer. Records are produced before, during and after the design process. Porter (2004) relates that these artifacts “mediate between the earliest thought and the finished building . . . intended, from rough and early ideas, to represent the finished building with increasing accuracy”. A subtler picture of the (re)use of design records in Architecture emerges in a study of the role of Case-Based Design (CBD), whereby previous design ‘cases’ feed into the development of new work. Here, Heylighen and Neuckermans (2002) report that although initially the designers interviewed were reluctant to acknowledge this practice; as most associated it with malpractice and copying; further discussion revealed a range of uses made of past work. Cases used might relate to earlier designs by the Architect, adapting, evolving or “embroidering on” their own designs or those of others. This might involve drawing inspiration from completed designs, “the underlying idea” or adopting design approaches and processes. Types of record noted in this account include: sketches; photographs and illustrations of finished work; plans; architecture books; and completed buildings. Bracewell et al (2009) make the case for a software tool that records design rationale in Engineering design as the team progress through the design process, but point out that design rationale capture tools only improve the design process, if they “fit naturally with the working methods of designers and not impede them”. In a study of capturing design rationale in chemical plant design, which is also highly regulated and requires multiple disciplinary co-operation of experts from different domains over many years, Chung & Goodwin (1998) observed that “modifications of chemical plants have sometimes led to undesirable consequences which have caused injury to people, loss of lives, and serious damage to property”. This indicates a clear and pressing motivation for a better recording and understanding of initial design decisions. However, they found that “the reasons for the final decision (the design process) are poorly recorded, if at all. For a design information system to be used by engineers to record information it must naturally support the design process. Otherwise, engineers will consider the use of the system as a distraction.”
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2.2 Reasons for Recording In reviewing the literature across design domains, some common approaches emerged. Those outlined here do not form a comprehensive list, but offer a sense of the motivations for recording within the scope of this paper. Knowledge Management It is understood that experience, and the expertise that comes with it holds irreplaceable value for the designer, their team and the wider organisation in which they work (Lawson, 2004). Visser (2010) observed that “the importance of knowledge holds for most professional domains, but it is of course particularly critical in an activity that essentially consists in representational activities”. This type of experiential knowledge is stored in the memory of the designer, which creates vulnerabilities. In a study of the design of jet engines, “90% of designers’ information queries in that company were answered by approaching another person and only 10% from external repositories, such as documents and drawings” (Marsh, 1997 in Bracewell et al, 2009). The unstable nature of memory, alongside an increase in movement of designers between companies, has prompted some organisations to implement systems to record aspects of design practice important to their operations. As the complexity of products increases, the need to capture knowledge will also increase. Communication in Teams A number of formal and informal approaches to externalizing design thinking take place as part of design practice to facilitate communication across teams. One example central to this activity is Sketching. Goldschmidt (2007, p43) proposes that “members of a team designing an artifact must share their mental models of that artifact to a sufficient degree, so as to enable an integrated end-solution despite labor division in its development”. These sketches, developed or shared collaboratively, are an example of boundary object, which “form the boundaries between groups through flexibility and shared structure” (Star, 2010). Each participant in the design team, the client, or other stakeholders in the work, may use them in different ways. For example, in her examination of the role of such objects in Engineering, Henderson (1998) found that visualisations in the design process, including prototypes, are “the holding ground for collectively negotiated design ideas” whilst also potentially serving as “recruiting devices and gatekeepers”. Reflective Practice A highly influential strand running across the literature in each design domain is the perceived value of recording as part of reflective practice (RP), developed by Schön (1986, 1991). As this approach involves learning while doing, it might be considered to incorporate both recording in and of the design process to increase effectiveness and efficiency of processes (Reyman, 2003), and facilitate continuous learning (Dyba et al, 2014, p32). In Civil Engineering, Dias & Blockley (1995) argue for a more structured reflective practice introducing “a systematic framework and some tools to link more clearly the behaviour of people to the normal systematic processes we apply to engineering, such as planning and
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performance analysis”. From the perspective of an industry that faces severe consequences in the case of accidents, they argue that reflective practice analysis would identify factors, such as “lack of competence and ill-informed management attitude”, which could be used to mitigate risk.
2.3 Discussion There is overlap across the domains and their adoption of recording approaches, but each differs in response to the context of the field and organisation. From the literature, it is not entirely clear how much recording actually takes place in practice in these fields. The publications more frequently advocate theory rather than describe implementation in design practice. There is, however, some ambivalence on the part of designers in their take-up of recording practices. This struggle is highlighted by Dyba et al, (2014, p35) in their description of a call for a special issue on reflective practice in Software Engineering: “As well as recognizing a belief in the importance of reflective software practices, all the articles also agree on something else - that reflection in the hectic life of software practice is difficult to achieve.”
Adoption of recording practices in the design process appears to be subject to the weighting of factors such as the presence of a clear rationale. This might be an incentive in the form of perceived benefits for the designer, or the presence of risk in the design context. As indicated above, availability of time will affect the priority attached to this activity. These aspects are discussed further in section 5.
Methodology There is a generally positive sense of the merits of recording from across the literature in the design domains outlined above. This apparently contradicts Fashion design, where anecdotal data suggests that recording practices are disregarded or even rejected. However, there is little corresponding published research examining the design process or recording in Fashion. In the academic literature, where outputs include peer-reviewed publications, conference proceedings and PhD theses, topics relating to ‘Fashion Practice’ are elusive. It is difficult to form a clear picture of the domain, as much of the existing research is dispersed across a variety of fields. What we know about the Fashion design process is largely based on a small number of primary published studies (such as Eckert & Stacey 1994, 2000; Goworek, 2010; LaBat and Sokolowski, 1999; Lin, 2011; Pitimaneeyakul et al, 2004; Sinha, 2002), mainstream fashion publishing and anecdotal reports. Within this relatively limited body of literature, recording practices receive little coverage.
3.1 Prior experience of the First Author A motivation for this paper has also come from prior experiences in developing and running a course, as part of a Fashion and Textiles Masters programme, the focus of which was
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recording and reflecting on individual experiences of the design process (Gillham and McGilp, 2007). Student, staff and institutional feedback have been positive regarding support for both the learning process and developing design practice for students. However, although noted as useful in obtaining employment, through interview and informal feedback, graduates report that the practice tails-off once they are situated in industry.
3.2 Interviews As an initial exploration, a number of semi-structured exploratory interviews were carried out with six designers in Fashion (see Table 1). Participant selection took into account representation of practice across industry sectors. Some had also previously undertaken the design process recording as Masters students (outlined in 3.1), which provided a useful point of reference. Table 1 Interview participants Age
Specialism
Interviews
Participant 1
F
35-45
Womenswear Printed Textiles Knitwear Accessories
1. Exploratory 2. Follow-up (detail) 3. Refine 4. Studio tour
Participant 2
F
25-35
Womenswear Textile design
1. Exploratory
Participant 3
F
25-35
Weave
1. Exploratory 2. Workplace tour (studio and mill)
Participant 4
F
25-35
Weave
1. Exploratory 2. Follow-up (detail)
Participant 5
F
25-35
Administration Marketing, Giftware
1. Exploratory 2. Workplace tour
Participant 6
F
25-35
Accessories Menswear
1. Exploratory 2. Studio tour 3. Follow-up (detail)
Data collection additionally included: studio visits offering a level of observational data; participant-generated data such as notes and photographs of process; found data such as imagery posted on the designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social media sites; and researcher-created data which included photographs of the work space. The interview recordings, documents and imagery were analysed through multiple methods and progressive refinement (Carney, 1990 in Miles and Huberman, 1994, p92). Follow-up sessions clarified detail and extended the discussion. Although it is not possible to include a full account of the interviews within the confines of this paper, the following sections are drawn directly from the data. Section 4 presents a single case study investigating themes in more detail. Centered on Participant 6, an
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examination of her varied experiences in industry (see Table 2), offers a deeper understanding through this first hand empirical research. Section 5 discusses commonalities across the domains, incorporating elements from the interviews.
3.3 Case Study Research Highly typical in terms of Designer characteristics in Fashion (British Fashion Council, 2009; Eckert and Stacey, 1994; Goworek, 2010), ‘Participant 6 is Female, aged in her late twenties, and has BA (Hons) and Masters degrees in Textiles and Fashion. Her movement through a range of relatively short-term posts is also representative of current employment patterns in the industry. From ‘high street’ to ‘high end’ companies, the designer has worked across different layers of the industry, in various roles, over an 8-year period (see Table 2). Table 2 Case Study Designer’s Experience in Fashion Industry Role: Intern (broad range of design and related roles) Company 1 (C1)
London, UK
Established fashion independent brand stocked internationally
Company 2 (C2)
New York, USA
“Upscale” independent knitwear brand
Company 3 (C3)
London, UK
Leading international high-end fashion brand
Role: Graduate Placement Scheme (design and production roles) Company 4 (C4)
Lancashire, UK
High street knitwear fashions (own label)
Company 5 (C5)
London, UK
Luxury heritage brand specialising in knitted leisurewear
Company 6 (C6)
Collaboration with C5
Tokyo based international fashion label
Role: Assistant Designer (design role) Company 5 (C5)
Different role within C5
Role: Designer (independent design role) Company 7 (C7)
Scotland, UK
Solo Enterprise specialising in luxury menswear accessories
The focus of the case study is on the formal and informal approaches to recording in the design process, the records produced and value attached to them. The case study presented here offers an initial overview, with limited scope for generalizability at this stage. However, it allows for further examination and reveals new provisional understandings of the topic, discussed in section 5.
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Recording in the Fashion Design Process: A Case Study 4.1 Fashion Designer Roles The role of Fashion Designer varies across the Fashion industry, incorporating design, planning and production aspects. Common characteristics are broadly represented below. These factors influence the design process and attendant recording practices. The industry runs on a perpetual calendar of new seasons, which demand continual change and renewal. This fast-paced work culture, coupled with competition for posts, creates a general concern over Job Security, particularly in the early career stages and often leads to a nomadic career path. The designer observed that there’s a lot of movement between labels in the same ‘market’, noting, “if you work for High Street then you’ll maybe move between similar companies”. Knowledge, retained by individual designers, is transferred within the loops of these industry sectors. Through the early career activity outlined (see Table 2), the designer became aware of the broader range of roles in Fashion Design. She recalled that I didn’t realise until I left Art School … all the different jobs. People think of Fashion as being about designers, but not at all, not at all. No, they’re such a small part of it.
A set of core roles was outlined as participators and influencers in the design process, which include Product Developer, Merchandiser, Buyer and Sales. This interdisciplinary design team requires and produces generic and specific records to facilitate communication, as well as drive and control the design process. Even as a solo enterprise, the designer has to take on elements of these roles or work with external operators who provide these functions.
4.2 The Design Process Gaining an understanding of recording practices in Fashion requires examination of the dayto-day activity for the designer. This can vary depending on factors such as company size, market position, and production base. Aspects discussed are summarised below. See Table 2 for company descriptions (C1-C7). Starting Points: On occasion, a Brief is used as a starting point for design work, but more commonly a design originates in response to the new season collection requirements developed by the design team. Inspiration & Research for Design might come from archives incorporating a strong heritage influence such as C5. It might alternatively be directed through a Head Designer. The designer described this experience in C3 “he’d come in and be like “I’m looking at tsunamis” … we’d just be his little ants and … go off and do all the research”. For C7, the designer observed that time for research is a luxury. Building on her expertise and collection development (informed by negotiation with manufacturers), the designs and collections reuse and adapt elements of previous work. The designer noted that “instead of doing fresh research … I kind of … put the bits together that I like”.
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Design Development: The designer commented that in all companies but C3, instead of working directly with the materials, “I do an Illustrator sketch, so you go from research to sketch”. Reviews: Usually part of an informal or formal design team activity, reviews are a way of moving the design process forward. At C5 this involved a “womenswear designer that kind of filtered the information to us”. In C7, the designer recruits feedback from external participants. Review may lead to revisions, subject to the constraints outlined below. Manufacturing: Contrary to the student experience, with textile sampling forming part of the design process, the designer noted “if you go and work for a company, it’s made somewhere else. You’re just sending a sketch and seeing what you get back”. Post-Collection: Following production of the collection, the process may continue for the design team. Presenting a collection to potential Buyers requires consideration of how it functions together and with other garments. Activity may include styling and photographing the final designs. Day-to-Day Administration: Design in all companies discussed requires relatively mundane organisational activity, including communication, reporting and scheduling. This is a fundamental part of the design process.
4.3 Cost and Time Constraints Influencing the Design Process Fashion designs are usually created for a particular price point and have to be ready for shipping to shops at a particular time, which forces designers to take a pragmatic approach to recording, focusing on the communication and control functions outlined in 4.4 and 4.5 below. Cost influences the design in various ways. In the context of supply and manufacture, the designer highlighted economies of scale, noting that for C7, minimum order quantities bear the greatest unit cost. Seasonal planning requires a range of considerations, such as Fashion Weeks and the Buyers’ Calendar. Ordering for manufacture has variable lead-in times: the designer commented that in C7 “you have to allow at least eight weeks for a first prototype”. The importance and complexities of establishing a schedule, and influencing other partners in the design process to reliably fit this model were underscored.
4.4 Recording OF The Design Process The designer initially maintained that little to no recording routinely takes place in her design practice. Through discussion and observation, however, various forms of record and recording activity were revealed. Her student practice of logging and reflection was reviewed. Whilst acknowledging its value, the designer felt that there was less need for it in industry, partly because she had already used it to develop insight,
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“that’s the connection to the log … I know … all that stuff about me so well, because I went through such in-depth… logging of what I was doing on my [courses] … so I feel like I kind of … skip quite a lot of that”
Some of the functions undertaken as part of her day-to-day practice form a recording of her design process. Most notably, this included Planning, which the designer describes “initiates kind of how you work”. This centrality is evident in the studio. The designer confirmed “yes, I mean, I definitely use… post-its and organise… my wall planner… all that kind of thing”. Another form is the ongoing photographic documentation. The designer explained that this is used to record everything across the design process. She noted “as soon as I got a sample in, the first thing that I’d do, I’d probably put it on someone and take a photo”. This is useful for visualisation, supporting review, styling and development of the design, but also buildsup a body of material that can be used for social media. The practice has grown to include documenting aspects of the production process on site visits. The benefits of using the records of the design process as part of the blog were outlined as a way of revisiting and reusing the material. The designer also considered the difference in approaching this kind of public recording (as opposed to the private log) noting that “maybe it’s not as true”.
4.5 Recording IN The Design Process Documents generated through the activity of designing, en route to the final product, were discussed: alongside the role they play. Adobe Illustrator (Ai) is an important tool for development and specification of designs. It supports flexible working and communicating within the wider design team. Design files are also more standardized and retrievable. The designer commented “all my Illustrator sketches would be on my computer”. Although a mainstay of design education, beyond Ai, the current context allows little time for generative drawing and experimentation activity. However, sketchbooks play a role throughout the design and production processes. The designer observed “I’ve always got a sketchbook”. Sketchbook work has evolved to incorporate some logging, planning activity and noting ideas. The designer explained “I probably write a lot of stuff down, make a lot of lists”. While the Ai work is shared, and functions as boundary object (see section 2.2), the sketchbook provides a more personal working space. Much recording is retained in the textile samples. These objects variously show the colourways, scale, pattern, weight, finish and quality of the designed textile. As such, they are used for various purposes, including as point of reference in discussion with the manufacturer or buyer, for reviews or as the basis for new designs. In this way, the samples function both as record for the designer and to communicate the product to others. Those created in C7 tend to be prototypes of the full accessory design. They are kept for reference. In previous companies, the swatches were not routinely retained. The more mundane task of filing is formalised, functional and retains records for future access. Records might typically include business administration, communication and planning materials.
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4.6 Observations Overall, a pragmatic approach is adopted, with a rationale offered in each instance. For example, in discussing the process documentation imagery on the blog, the designer explained that “you need to show transparency in your supply chain”. Many recording activities support multiple functions and may achieve a range of benefits, offering greater expediency. Conversely, some practices were modified or ruled out on the basis of their perceived cost to productivity.
Discussion Although the interview participants (Table 1) represent different specialisms, approaches and sectors within Fashion design, the case study account generally reflects core threads arising through research with Fashion designers at interview. In addition, this investigation draws out several themes related to recording activity in the design process for other design fields. Approaches were examined and factors influencing adopted practices identified. Interlinking commonalities can be found across the domains in the areas discussed below. Risk: A primary factor in the development of recording strategies is the level of risk and accountability the field is subject to. Recording practices can be employed to help mitigate risk, for example in Engineering systems design or Architecture, which typically develop low volume, complex and costly designs (see section 2.1). In Fashion, where simpler, massproduced products have a short lifespan, risk lies primarily in managing fast turnaround of new designs. Participant 4 touched on this contrast in discussing fabric designed for commercial (transport) upholstery, where “everything has to be recorded”, such as “the fabric actual quality, construction and the requirements it needs to be under to be an airline fabric”. She notes that “it’s a completely different marketplace and its turnover is a lot slower, whereas the fashion it’s boom boom boom” Time: Designers across the domains face pressures of time, which can render potentially useful recording approaches impracticable in day-to-day activity. Benefit: Given the effort and time limitations, take-up of recording practices must be underpinned by sufficient clear benefit to the designer or company. Recording as a ‘Side Effect’: Each field generates records in the design process, as part of the activity of designing. This spans a range of formal and informal types of record, such as sketches created for communication or illustration, samples, prototypes, written specifications and oral descriptions. Record Storage and Retrieval: Not all records are kept. Section 2 outlines studies in other domains, which examine systems for capturing and accessing design records. Electronic records, such as CAD files are more easily stored, so tend to have a longer life span. With a particular emphasis on retaining knowledge in memory, records generated in Fashion are less likely to be kept beyond the duration of the immediate design. Participant 4 commented “you need to move on” after completion of the design, adding “when you reflect, it’s on the [final] fabric”, rather than the working material produced or used throughout the design
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process, which she returns or discards. Some designers noted at interview they keep a personal and informal record of photographs (often on their phone), linking to remembered reviews and inspiration. Participant 1 uses an inspiration folder in this context. Although archived, these tend to be replaced with new imagery in an ongoing cycle. Rather than revealing a clear dichotomy between the fields of practice, the findings bring into focus more subtle, yet distinct, differences, which lie in the degree and emphasis of the above factors for each domain.
Future work This explorative study indicates potential strands for further research. Gaps are identified in the literature spanning recording in the design process across the domains. The review in section 2 revealed a focus on prescriptive research. Further descriptive empirical studies from these contexts would generate a richer picture of actual practice in the field. Building on the findings outlined here, and drawing more fully on the body of empirical data outlined in section 3, future work will examine the degree and emphasis of influences discussed above. If recording is not a goal in its own right, and take-up by designers is low, if regarded as a distracting â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;add-onâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the next step would be to better understand when recording is understood to generate benefit: in what circumstances, for whom and why.
Acknowledgements: A part of the Design Star Centre for Doctoral Training, this study is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (award 1507030) and the Open University. The first author would like to thank the interview participants for their generous contribution to the research. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers. She would also like to acknowledge the support of colleagues at Glasgow School of Art.
References Blakley, J., (2010, April). Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture [Video file]. http://tinyurl.com/nl5m693 (Accessed 2 November 2015) Bracewell, R., Wallace, K., & Moss, M. (2009). Capturing design rationale. Computer-Aided Design, 41(3), 14. doi:10.1016/j.cad.2008.10.005 British Fashion Council, & Oxford Economics. (2009). The Value of the UK Fashion Industry. London: British Fashion Council Chung, P. W. H., & Goodwin, R. (1998). An integrated approach to representing and accessing design rationale. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 11(1), 11. doi:10.1016/S09521976(97)00052-3 Dias, W. P. S., & Blockley, D. I. (1995). Reflective practice in engineering design. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 108(4), 9. Dyba, T., Maiden, N., & Glass, R. (2014). The Reflective Software Engineer: Reflective Practice. Software, IEEE, 31(4), 5. doi: 10.1109/MS.2014.97
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Eckert, C., & Stacey, M. (1994). CAD Systems and the Division of Labour in Knitwear Design. Paper presented at the Women, Work and Computerization: Breaking Old Boundaries – Building New Forms, NorthHolland, Amsterdam. Eckert, C., & Stacey, M. (2000). Sources of inspiration: a language of design. Design Studies, 21(5), 523–538. doi:10.1016/S0142-694X(00)00022-3 Eckert, C., & Stacey, M. (2003). Sources of inspiration in industrial practice: The case of knitwear design. Journal of Design Research, 3. Ellison, J. (2015). Karl Lagerfeld: King of Couture. Financial Times (online edition), http://tinyurl.com/qctczx8 (Accessed 22 July 2015) Gaboué, S. (2015). The Karl Lagerfeld Retrospective that's Definitely Not a Retrospective. Hint Magazine (online), http://tinyurl.com/n9qwyxu (Accessed 30th September 2015) Gillham, B, & McGilp, H. (2007). Recording the Creative Process: An Empirical Basis for PracticeIntegrated Research in the Arts. International Journal of Art & Design Education 26(2): 8. Goldschmidt, G. (2007). To see eye to eye: the role of visual representations in building shared mental models in design teams. CoDesign: : International Journal of CoCreation in Design, 3(1). doi: 10.1080/15710880601170826 Goworek, H. (2010). An investigation into product development processes for UK fashion retailers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 14(4), 648-662. doi:10.1108/13612021011081805 Henderson, K. (1998). The Role of Material Objects in the Design Process: A Comparison of Two Design Cultures and How They Contend with Automation. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 23(2 (Spring, 1998)), 139-174. Heylighen, A & Neuckermans, H. (2002). Are Architects Natural Case-Based Designers? Experts Speaking. The Design Journal, 5(2), 8-22. Jackson, T., & Shaw, D. (2006). The Fashion Handbook. Oxon: Routledge. LaBat, K. L., & Sokolowski, S. L. (1999). A Three-Stage Design Process Applied to an IndustryUniversity Textile Product Design Project. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 17(1), 11-20. doi:10.1177/0887302X9901700102 Lawson, B. (2004). Schemata, Gambits and Precedent: Some Factors in Design Expertise. Design Studies, 25(5), 14. doi:10.1016/j.destud.2004.05.001 Leigh Star, S. (2010). This is Not a Boundary Object: Reflections on the Origin of a Concept. Science, Technology & Human Values, 35(5), 601-617. doi:10.1177/0162243910377624 Lin, S. (2011). Investigating sources of creativity in the UK fashion industry: a resource-based view. Paper presented at the Fashion Colloquia, London, UK. Marsh, J. R. (1997). The capture and structure of design experience. (PhD-thesis), Cambridge University Engineering Department. Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: an expanded sourcebook, 2nd ed. California, Sage Publications Inc. Ministry of Defence and Military Aviation Authority. (2014, 13 August 2015). 5000 series: design and modification engineering regulations (DME). http://tinyurl.com/pqde5dp (Accessed 4 November 2015) Norouzi, N., Shabak, M., Bin Embic, M. R., & Khan, T. H. (2015). The Architect, the Client and Effective Communication in Architectural Design Practice. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, 635 – 642. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.413
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Pitimaneeyakul, U., LaBat, K. L., & DeLong, M. R. (2004). Knitwear Product Development Process: A Case Study. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 22(3), 113-121. doi:10.1177/0887302X0402200302 Porter, W. L. (2004). Designers' Objects. In G. Goldschmidt & W. L. Porter (Eds.), Design Representation (pp. 63-79). London: Springer. Reymen, I. M. M. J. (2003). Research on Design Reflection: Overview and Directions. Paper presented at ICED 03, the 14th International Conference on Engineering Design, Stockholm. Schneier, M. (2015). Karl Lagerfeld on Fur (Yea), Selfies (Nay) and Keeping Busy. New York Times (online edition). http://tinyurl.com/pmus4ry (Accessed 13 March 2015) Schรถn, D. A. (1986). Educating the reflective practitioner, Kindle Edition Schรถn, D. A. (1991). The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Sinha, P. (2002). Creativity in Fashion. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, 2(4), 16. Visser, W. (2010). Visser: Design as construction of representations. Collection, on "Art + Design & Psychology(2), 14. About the Authors: Helen McGilp is a doctoral candidate with Design Star CDT and the Open University. She is interested in broad themes around Fashion, Design and Recording Practices. Over the past decade, she has developed and delivered a related course as part of a Masters Fashion programme. Claudia Eckert is Professor of Design at the Open University. After her doctoral research on communication and inspiration in the knitwear industry, she researched process planning and engineering change in the Engineering Design Centre in Cambridge. Christopher Earl is Professor of Design at the Open University, UK, with research interests in generative design and modelling design processes. At the Engineering Design Centre, Newcastle University, (1991-2000) he concentrated on integrating design and manufacture in complex, engineer-to-order products.
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Contrasting similarities and differences between academia and industry: evaluating processes used for product development Nathan Kotlarewskia*, Christine Thonga, Blair Kuysa and Evan Danahayb a
Swinburne University of Technology Timberwood Panels Pty Ltd * nkotlarewski@swin.edu.au DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.214
b
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the process-based similarities and differences between academia and industry projects engaged in product design and development. The literature discusses similarities and differences between various product development processes but there is little published regarding the methods used, the time spent in different stages, iterations between stages and the nature of the activities that happen in each stage in academia and industry. To investigate this two case studies of product development; one from academia and one from industry were contrasted using the framework of Ulrich and Eppinger’s product design and development process, combined with Frayling’s research model into, through and for design. This paper visually maps the differences and similarities between academic and industry product development processes used in timber products and construction sectors. Keywords: Industry; Academia; Product Design and Development Process.
Introduction There have been many attempts by academics to model a satisfactory description of the design process as highlighted by; Wynn and Clarkson (2005); Howard, Culley and Dekoninck, (2008); and Cross (2008). “A key weakness of all the literature reviewed… is the difficulty of application to real design problems” (Wynn & Clarkson, 2005, p.55). There is a lack of comparative studies that measure the similarities and differences between how a design process is used in academia and how the same design process is used in industry. To address this gap, the authors introduce Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) product design and development process and Frayling’s (1993) research into, through and for design model to This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Nathan Kotlarewski, Christine Thong, Blair Kuys and Evan Danahay
highlight how these models were used in an academic design-based PhD project. An Australian SME was interviewed to identify and compare the process used in industry. The industry process and research findings were aligned with Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) product design and development process and Frayling’s (1993) research into, through and for design model to identify obvious discrepancies between the processes used in academia and industry. The purpose of this study is not to detail the product outcomes developed by academia or industry, rather it is to highlight key elements that influence the product design and development process. The importance of this is because the share of basic funding for universities is decreasing, forcing more universities to engage with industry. This is substantiated by data from HERDC where between 1993 and 2013 (20-year period) National Competitive Grant (Category 1) funding for Australian universities increased by 492 per cent (HERDC 1992–2013), however between the same period, the total industry and other funding (Category 3) for Australian universities grew by 685 per cent (HERDC 1992–2013). This data shows the importance of Category 3 income for universities, as while both categories are growing, it is the industry funding that is growing faster. Because of this, more industry-linked projects will be encouraged, making it important to show others how this form of research is conducted within the context of a university.
Academic product design process There are multiple product design and development process models that attempt to illustrate the design process. According to Cross (2008, p.29) the process is heuristic where experience and general guidelines are used to inform design decisions. In its simplest form Cross (2008, p.30) noted the design process follows a four stage sequence: exploration, generation, evaluation and communication where an iterative feedback loop between evaluation and generation exists. Cross (2008, p.30) stated the design process is often presented as flow-diagrams because the design journey is clearly illustrated in this form, demonstrating direction and necessary iterations between process stages informed by feedback or new knowledge. All design process models demonstrate in one way or another the sequence of design activities to develop products. These processes are generic and are used by industry (product manufacturers) and academia (design researchers). For the purpose of this study Ulrich and Eppinger’s product design and development process (2012) was chosen to direct and manage the design activities used in an academic PhD project.
Figure 1 The generic product development process (Ulrich & Eppinger, 2012, p.14).
“A product development process is the sequence of steps or activities that an enterprise employs to conceive, design, and commercialise a product” (Ulrich & Eppinger, 2012, p.12). Ulrich and Eppinger (2012) summaries the generic product design and development process in six phases; planning, concept development, system-level design, detail design, testing and
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refinement and production ramp-up (p.13-16). These stage descriptions can be summarised as: planning (identify opportunities), concept development (generating ideas), system-level design (define product architecture), detail design (detail product genetics), testing and refinement (preliminary construction and refinement) and production ramp-up (transitioning to full production). Like most design process models the generic stages can be interpreted to suit the project at hand. Ulrich and Eppinger noted their model could take the form of a spiral design process.
Figure 2 A spiral product development process flow diagram (Ulrich & Eppinger, 2012, p.22).
The spiral product design and development process presented in Figure 2 follows the same stages as presented in Figure 1, however an iterative cycle is highlighted like Cross’s (2008) simple design process. The purpose of Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) design process model used in the academic design-based PhD project was to assist the development of a commercially viable product for industry. The PhD design process also aligned with a design research model. Like the product design process there are multiple examples of research models that exist. Frayling’s (1993) research into, through and for design model was chosen in the PhD project because it emphasises the development of a design artefact that is intended to communicate a new contribution to knowledge to its audience. Frayling’s (1993) research model is categorised in three areas of design research: into, through and for design.
Figure 3 Frayling’s (1993, p.5) research into, through and for design model.
Research into design considers the existing literature and historical evidence of products. Research through design is the use of design skills to practice design to find and embed new knowledge into the product design and development process and research for design is the presentation of the design artefact/outcome to demonstrate the contribution to knowledge. This alignment of the research model and the product design and development process is illustrated in Figure 4.
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Figure 4 Alignment of Frayling’s (1993, p.5) research into, through and for design model with Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012, p.22) spiral product design and development process.
The merging of Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) product design and development process with Frayling’s (1993) design research model was used in the academic project presented in Case Study 1. The following section introduces the background of the two case studies used in this paper.
The research framework Case Study 1 is about product development for the Papua New Guinea (PNG) balsa wood industry. Initial planning and research identified the PNG balsa industry currently has an over-supply of balsa grown by smallholders. The lack of design innovation and product development has led to a lack of international demand for the resource generating financial hardship to smallholders and industry processors in PNG. The objective of the design PhD was delivered through a research question – How can research-led industrial design practice generate and communicate knowledge for PNG balsa? This PhD study was used to develop a commercially viable product for the construction industry to generate international demand for PNG balsa, thus rectifying the current hardship to smallholders and the PNG balsa industry. Research and design methods, reflective practice and feedback loops were used to direct the product design and development process. Similarly, Frayling’s (1993) design research model determined the nature of the activities conducted at each design process stage. The academic project presents the product development process featured in a PhD study, exploring how research-led industrial design practice can lead to new commercially viable applications for PNG balsa and communicate a new contribution to knowledge. The design based PhD followed Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) product design and development process and Frayling’s (1993) research model to demonstrate the use of design skills to identify commercially viable product solutions that are needed to answer the research question. Traditional research methods — external to the design discipline — were used to find information that informs the product design and development process. Design research methods were implemented to source primary information to inform the process and were used to embed and communicate new knowledge into new products to reach a wider audience outside of academia and design. The role of the research model was to help substantiate the use of design to communicate a new contribution to knowledge and to maintain academic research rigor. The role of the product design and development process similarly, was to learn through practice, generate new knowledge and embed that
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knowledge into commercially viable products that provide solutions to society and associated industries. Case Study 2 presents an Australian SME timber product manufacturer and distributer who was interviewed in this study to identify the typical industry product design and development process. The interview was 40 minutes long and conducted at the industry’s manufacturing plant. This particular enterprise was sourced as they are experienced timber product manufacturers and suppliers to small-medium post manufacturer enterprises and the construction industry. Interview questions inquired about the typical product development process the company uses when a client delivers a brief. The research participant was not introduced to Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) design process or Frayling’s (1993) research model to avoid influencing the participant’s response. The journey from client brief to delivering the product was discussed and documented. Questions about project iterations such as feedback loops and client interactions were also highlighted. The time spent on each stage was discussed and justified to indicate the level of importance of a particular stage. After the interview and without the research participant the interview results were transferred to Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) product design and development process to directly compare similarities and differences between the same process used in academia and industry. In addition the research findings highlighted the resources consulted, time spent in different stages, iterations between stages, activities that happen in each stage and the type of design research — into, through or for design — conducted at each stage.
Case study 1: Academic product development process Case Study 1 presents the product design and development process used in academia. This process was used by the authors to develop a new product for the PNG balsa industry which was analysed through reflective practice. Figure 5 maps out the process according to Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) and Frayling’s (1993) process models. The activities conducted in each process stage are listed. Process iterations and the general flow of information and product development are highlighted with black arrows. The time spent at each process stage is given as a percentage under the product design and development stages and the overall time spent on the type of research — into, through or for — is highlighted above Frayling’s (1993) design research model stages.
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Figure 5 Product design and development process used in academia
Four key research methods were employed in this project: observations, interviews, material testing and prototyping. Observations and interviews were used extensively with industry practitioners to identify opportunities, gather industry tacit knowledge to inform the product design process and for feedback on the product being developed. Material testing was used to determine the properties of PNG balsa and prototyping was used to communicate research findings in product form. Iterations typically reverted back one stage to reconsider new knowledge attained along the design journey. As previously presented in Ulrich and Eppingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2012) spiral design process a larger iteration between testing and refinement to system-level design was necessary to implement product test results into low and high-fidelity prototypes. These prototypes were used to communicate new knowledge to industry practitioners for product feedback in order to assist the product detailing and refinement process. Some iterations involved interviewing participants a second time to review feedback and other iterations were evident to refine product genetics because of newly found research results or product tests. Figure 5 also demonstrates the process breakdown using Fraylingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1993) research into, through and for design research model. Research into design was the planning stage of the process to identify market gaps and opportunities. A review of the literature, observations and interviews were first used to provide evidence that the research problem existed. The literature highlighted knowledge gaps and informed the need to conduct observations and interviews with industry practitioners to begin identifying project opportunities. The academic product design process heavily invested time in conducting research through design practice to develop new knowledge so it can be embedded into a product outcome. The majority of the design process from concept development to testing and refinement was categorised as research through design â&#x20AC;&#x201C; almost three quarters of the project. Design skills such as sketching, low and high-fidelity prototyping, CAD and product testing were used to
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research through design to communicate new knowledge and ultimately to develop a commercially viable product outcome. Research through design was also used to generate new knowledge through process reflection and product evaluation. The remaining proportion of the project was dedicated to research for design. This area of research was used to promote the new knowledge contribution embedded into the artefact. Less time was spent on research for design because the focus of the PhD was to use industrial design practice to develop new knowledge and embed that knowledge into a commercially viable product. The communication of product manufacturing and detailed product specifications for commercialisation was not the focus of this project as it would be for industry production. The manufacturing process was considered and documented in the production ramp-up stage, however the time spent on research for design was far less than research into and through design.
Case study 2: Industry product development process Case Study 2 presents the product design and development process used by an Australian SME timber products manufacturer and distributor to the construction industry. Figure 6 maps out the process.
Figure 6 Product design and development process used by an Australian SME.
Ulrich and Eppingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2012) design process and Fraylingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1993) research model were deliberately not introduced to the research participant. This allowed the participant to communicate and illustrate the typical process the SME normally uses. The process stages, activities, iterations and time spent on each stage was collected through an in-context interview using design probes to map out the product design and development process used by the SME. This information was then transferred to Ulrich and Eppingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product development process so a direct comparison could be made with the academic process. The primarily purpose of the above process was to eliminate the risk of damaging company
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quality reputation and financial losses. The majority of resources are used early in the process to understand client expectations and what is needed to satisfy the brief. The following stages consider the variables which may affect the ability to satisfy the client and brief. Once the project constraints and considerations are addressed and the company is confident that the risk is eliminated the job is created. The remaining stages are work as usual – product manufacture and deliver.
Figure 7 Product design and development process used by an Australian SME aligned with Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) and Frayling’s (1993) process models.
Figure 7 presents the same data however the industry process was mapped using Ulrich and Eppinger’s (2012) design process and Frayling’s (1993) research model. While the iterations between the stages were unchanged some of the activities in the later process stages were merged or moved to another stage. Key to the success of the industry job was understanding the client’s expectations and the brief deliverables. An exceptional amount of time and resources are spent building a relationship with the client to develop trust between the two parties. The majority of the methods used in this process were used to justify the ability to deliver products to a client that are commercially achievable and economically beneficial to the manufacturer. Once a relationship was established between the client and the manufacturer the process typically proceeded by answering key questions identified as stages in Figure 6; Can we do it? What can’t we do? How do we eliminate risk? The concept development stage focused of what the manufacturer could do. The system-level design broke the product down into components to identify what the manufacturer cannot do. If ‘what cannot be done’ is a significant process block, the manufacturer would go back to the concept development stage to reconsider other ways of satisfying the client brief. It is rare that a job would be rejected after the planning stage due to the amount of time invested in building a relationship with the client, however sometimes solutions cannot be found to solve a problem and the
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manufacturer must reject the job or they may risk tarnishing their reputation. The detail design stage considers how the manufacturer eliminates the remaining risk. The activities identified in this stage are key to ensuring the product is suitable for manufacturing, high quality products are achievable and the components/materials are reliable. These first four stages of the product design and development process are considered research into design because the level of planning to ensure the manufacturing process runs smoothly is prioritised. The next stage, research through design is significantly smaller. This stage is the final checkpoint prior to manufacturing a client’s product. Material tests and pre-production trials are conducted to ensure quality. The final stage – research for design is considered the ‘no risk’ area. This stage is the procurement documentation of the job and the commitment to full production. The participant noted “this stage is our profession… to us this is easy, we do this every day. The hard part is eliminating the potential 97 per cent risk before you commit to production”. The iterations illustrated in Figure 7 was recognised as constant feedback to the client to ensure the job remained on target. The process of product design and development continues as much as needed to satisfy the client and guarantee the job will be successful and profitable. Unforeseen constraints and considerations need to be rectified prior to committing to full production. If alternatives are available and the client is happy to reconsider their original demands then the job continues. If materials or manufacturing techniques require additional research the process is reverted back to the start to ensure they are incorporated into the job. Once full production is committed the process becomes linear and the job is complete.
Discussion This section directly compares four elements of the product design and development process: the methods used, time allocated to each stage, iterations between stages and the nature of the stage. Each figure presented in this section highlights what was done in academia (top), the process stage (middle) and what was done in industry (bottom). The results shown differed a great deal when comparing the role of design practice in academia compared to that of industry for product development. Academia uses design practice to create new knowledge and products, where design practice takes on a research role through risk taking. Industry however uses design practice to prove a product can be manufactured, where design practice takes on an engineering role to eliminate risk. In some occasions the use of design can be limited in industry when a client has predetermined the outcome, however it is up to industry practitioners to execute the product to satisfy the client. It is also important for industry practitioners to incorporate controlled risk taking to offer innovative products and outcomes when problems or opportunities arise. Although design is used in industry for its creative nature this is not its only purpose. The case studies presented in this paper are context specific. The industry product design and development process example used in this paper demonstrates the goal of product development in industry, which is ultimately to satisfy a client’s brief even if that means the role of design is
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to engineer a product outcome. Regardless if a product is predetermined by a client the creative capacity of a designer is still required to execute the tangible outcome. Similarly the methods used in the academic product design and development process can take on more of a research role than a design role. This demonstrates the importance of product design, as it can be applied and adapted to either area. Ideally a balance between the two would ensure research informs the need to practice design and through design practice, a wellrefined product can be developed.
6.1 Methods The methods employed by design researchers are used to answer design research questions where the findings fulfil knowledge gaps. The methods used by industry practitioners are used to satisfy a client and their brief. The methods used in the academic project were typical design research methods (sketching, prototyping, CAD and product testing). The purpose of the methods was to generate new knowledge to inform the product design and development process and communicate new knowledge embedded into commercially viable products. Observation and interviews were used in almost every stage of the design process to gather product feedback. Material testing was practiced early in the design process to inform concept development and product testing was conducted later in the design process to justify the performance and competitiveness of the developed product. Prototypes were used to communicate ideas and observe industry interactions with the product. Moreover knowledge was attained through practicing design skills to develop a new balsa product that could not have been identified without physically executing an idea as a tangible prototype. Industry methods were less repetitive and did not seek external feedback to satisfy the clients brief. Industry practitioners contacted clients to reassure them that the planning and concept development would satisfy their brief deliverables. The methods used by industry are safe. Detailed research and material testing has already been conducted by suppliers and clients. The relationship built early in the design process places a level of trust into the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to inform industry of what they want. Industry therefore use their experience to overcome problems, offer alternatives, control the quality of the outcome and produce a quality end result.
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Figure 8 Methods used at each stage of the product design and development stage: Academia (top) vs Industry (bottom).
6.2 Time A significant difference in the time spent on each stage of the product design and development process is evident in Figure 8. The obvious dedication to planning and relationship building early in the design process was noted in industry. This stage is imperative for industry as it dictates whether or not a job is accepted. By comparison the planning stage was used in the academic project to review the literature and identify opportunities, knowledge and market gaps. This highlights the academic planning stage is used for problem finding whereas industry uses this stage for relationship building and identifying a commercially viable opportunity. The concept development stage has similar goals. In academia the concept development stage required additional research to justify the appropriateness of early concepts, and in industry practitioners begin to consider the elements that are appropriate for concept development to satisfy the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demand. Similarly, the system-level design stage is used to overcome early problems. Both professions use experience and tacit knowledge to justify the success of early concepts. Due to the level of experience this stage is usually resolved quickly. The detail design stage was prominent to developing high-fidelity prototypes in the academic project. CAD and full-scale prototypes demonstrated the product genetics from materials, tooling, assembly and the quality control. Less time was spent on this stage in industry because of prior experience and existing relationships. The testing and refinement stage again was imperative to proving the product functioned and was competitive for the product development process used in academia. Industry is well aware of what is accepted as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;industry standardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; therefore they are aware of what clients/consumers minimum expectations are. For an academic who has less experience in timber products and the construction industry, comparative testing is required to determine the benefits of the new product outcome in order to understand if it is viable. A similar time frame was dedicated to the production ramp-up stage. The academic
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process focuses on knowledge generation and the communication of that knowledge. While the manufacturing process is imperative to the success of a product developed, less time is dedicated to documenting how a product should be manufactured because industry will typically manufacture a product their way which is determined by available facilities, experience and skills. The process of manufacturing for industry is everyday work and has been proven time and time again. The time spent documenting the production process was less of a concern to the academic project and experienced industry practitioners are already well aware of what works and what fails.
Figure 9 Time spent at each stage of the product design and development stage: Academia (top) vs Industry (bottom).
6.3 Iterations The iterations presented in academia and industry are repetitive. Figure 10 demonstrates the iterative process flow of each project. The number of iterations is not presented however the transition from a process stage to the other stages is illustrated. Noted in the academic project most of the iterations repeat from the testing and refinement stage back to the system-level design stage. Unlike the industry process the concept development stage is only reverted back to the planning stage during the early stages of the design process. Most of the interactions occur during the product testing, where new knowledge is fed back to the system-level design stage for product refinement until the desired product is achieved and then set up for production ramp-up. The iterations evident in the industry process typically revert back to the concept development stage. This is because this is where industry knows what they can do. The system-level design stage is the problem stage. This is where industry identifies what they cannot do; hence the reject job is denoted with a circle arrow. The detail design stage often reverts back to the planning or concept development stage to offer alternative products to clients or to start the product development process again. Another iteration is from testing and refinement to detail design. This iteration is typically used to finalise product details prior to committing to production ramp-up.
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Figure 10 Iterations between each stage of the product design and development stage: Academia (top) vs Industry (bottom).
6.4 Nature of activity The final variable is the nature of the activities conducted in each process stage. Fraylingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1993) research into, through and for design was used to evaluate what the intentions of the activities at each stage were. The academic process used the planning stage to justify the existence of a research problem and to identify opportunities. Historical product evidence, a review of the literature and preliminary methods were used to research into design to inform the need to practice design skills/methods. Concept development through to testing and refinement where used to practice design to generate new knowledge and embed that knowledge into products. Production ramp-up was therefore used to communicate the embedded knowledge to a wider audience. The nature of the industry process differed as the majority of the design process was used to eliminate risk by better understanding the constraints and considerations of the client and the brief. Only in the testing and refinement stage does industry use practice to research through design to communicate that the job is commercially viable. Different to academia, research for design was used by industry to communicate the production process of the product not to present a new body of knowledge.
Figure 11 Type of research activity at each stage of the product design and development stage: Academia (top) vs Industry (bottom).
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Conclusion The differences and similarities presented in this study are context specific to the case studies presented. Industry relies on relationships and reputation; they play it safe through experience and repetition and prioritise eliminating risk. Academia relies on finding problems worthy of design research, taking innovative risks and developing new knowledge that is embedded into commercially viable products. It is the intention that this study will offer a comparative model that can be used by industry and academia to compare other design processes used for product development. Further research on other industries and more examples of product development would be useful to defining the obvious similarities and differences between academia and industry. The success of the product and what it means to be successful is also worthy of further research. The difference in design and manufacturing processes would also identify different ways of getting to the same product development goal. This study measured the similarities and differences between the same product design and development process used in an academic design-based PhD project and an industry product design and manufacturing project. The methods used, time spent on each design process stage, process iterations and the nature of the activities were presented. The academic project presented differs to the industry project by focusing on new knowledge generation where that knowledge is embedded into commercially viable products. Industry focuses on maintaining a quality reputation and building relationships with clients. The majority of time is spent planning, identifying opportunities and eliminating risk in industry projects. Academic design-based projects however spend more time identifying knowledge gaps and generating knowledge through research-led design practice.
References Cross, N. (2008). Engineering design methods: strategies for product design, John Wiley & Sons. Frayling, C. (1993). Research in art and design, Royal College of Art London. HERDC 1992â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2013, 2014. Research Intensity & Output. Total Research Income by Institution 1992 to 2013. 07 July 2014. Howard, T. J., et al. (2008). "Describing the creative design process by the integration of engineering design and cognitive psychology literature." Design Studies 29(2): 160-180. Wynn, D. and J. Clarkson (2005). Models of designing. Design process improvement, Springer: 34-59. Ulrich, K. T. and S. D. Eppinger (2012). Product design and development. New York, New York : McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
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About the Authors: Nathan Kotlarewski is a PhD student focusing on new product development for Papua New Guinea Balsa wood. Through researchled industrial design practice, Nathan developed an innovative product that targeted the Australian construction industry winning him the 2015 Student International Green Interior Award. Christine Thong is Academic Director at Design Factory Melbourne. At the intersection of academia and industry, she leads international, interdisciplinary collaboration projects. Christineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research explores combining (product) design and (material) science for outcomes relevant and beneficial to society. Blair Kuys is an Associate Professor at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia and is currently Department Chair of Interior Architecture and Industrial Design. Blair completed a PhD in 2010 and has been instrumental in promoting the benefits of industrial design to industry. Evan Danahay is an operations manager of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest veneer panel production facility. It is both the companies and his responsibility to educate customers, designer and architects alike of the advantages and uses of Timber Veneer in the interior fit out environment.
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What is the Nature and Intended Use of Design Methods? Colin M. Gray Purdue University gray42@purdue.edu DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.307
Abstract: Interest in the codification and application of design methods is rapidly growing as businesses increasingly utilize “design thinking” approaches. However, in this uptake of design methods that encourage designerly action, the ontological status of design methods is often diffuse, with contradictory messages from practitioners and academics about the purpose and desired use of methods within a designer’s process. In this paper, I explore the paradoxical nature of design methods, arguing for a nuanced view that includes the (often) conflicting qualities of prescription and performance. A prescriptive view of methods is drawn from the specification of methods and their “proper” use in the academic literature, while a performative view focuses on in situ use in practice, describing how practitioners use methods to support their everyday work. The ontological characteristics and practical outcomes of each view of design methods are considered, concluding with productive tensions that juxtapose academia and practice. Keywords: design methods; design practice; research/practice divide
Introduction In the past decade, many texts have flooded the market that include curated collections of design methods (e.g., Curedale, 2012; Hanington & Martin, 2012), often riding the “design thinking” wave of popularity and the increased interest of businesses in applying design approaches to wicked problems in their everyday work. These collections of design methods follow a relatively standard format, often organized by their intended use in a sequential design process, and including a description of each method, citations of where the method originated, and how it might be applied by a practitioner in a generic, context-free sense. However, the curation and codification of methods in this way begs the question: What about a design method is being represented? What ontological assumptions about methods
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do these collections make? And how do these representation- and ontologically-oriented assumptions affect the projected or intended use of design methods? Curedale (2012), in an introduction to a recent collection of design methods, notes his belief about how such lists of design methods should be utilized, pushing the responsibility surrounding use to the individual designer, explaining in the introduction: “I have kept the descriptions simple to give readers the essential information to adapt, combine and apply the methods in their own way. We hope that you will gradually build a personal toolkit of favored methods that you have tried and found effective. Different design practitioners can select different methods for their toolkit and apply them in different ways. There is no best combination.” (emphasis added). This view of emergent use, where methods are pragmatically applied or appropriated, resonates with contemporary perspectives on design practice (Lawson & Dorst, 2009; Stolterman, 2008). In the context of interaction design in particular, where approaches to design practice have emerged without consistent and pervasive academic influence, the use of methods has been found by Goodman and colleagues to be highly complex, drawing on the material qualities of specific stakeholder interactions (Goodman, 2013; Goodman, Stolterman, and Wakkary, 2011). This pragmatist view has been echoed in design education, with Harrison, Beck, and Tatar (2006) noting that methods have often been taught to students as more predictive than is warranted, with the conclusion that method use in practice is itself designed (see also Woolrych, Hornbæk, Frøkjær, & Cockton, 2011). Underlying this understanding of the emergent use of method is a growing realization that our modeled understanding of design activity often does not represent authentic design practice (Gray, Stolterman, & Siegel, 2014; Rogers, 2004; Stolterman, 2008), and this mismatch stems from research on methods and practices that are only proven to be effective in research settings (Mullaney & Stolterman, 2014). While many authors of methods from academia intend their methods to influence or extend practice, Roedl and Stolterman (2013) demonstrated, through a review of method-oriented papers in the ACM SIGCHI community, that few papers demonstrated resonance with practice, and even fewer appear to be adopted or otherwise used by design practitioners. On the other hand, methods have been described as blueprints for effective, or potentially more “rigorous,” design practice (Hanington, 2003; Pahl, Beitz, Feldhusen, & Grote, 2007). At one extreme, following a prescribed method in a careful way might constitute a high likelihood (i.e., approaching a “guarantee”) of an appropriate or valid design outcome. Established design methods such as personas have been explored in the research literature in a prescriptive way that is in alignment with this view, describing designers that did not use personas in the “correct” way, and often resulting in criticism when authentic design activity is held to a certain academically-derived standard of rigor (e.g., Nielsen & Hansen, 2014). Even in curated collections of design methods, this prescriptive view of method can easily dominate, with a description of how to carry out or apply a method taking on an implicit authority or guarantee. Many collections include citations explaining where the method was derived, lending additional credence to the designer’s role as simply applying a method that
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has already been scientifically determined to be valid in producing effective outcomes. Whether the method has been scientifically validated, and under what conditions, is not as important as the reader’s perception of such validity. This paper exists at the intersection between these two apparently contradictory notions of method—as pragmatically applied or as prescriptive—by addressing what a method actually is. To begin this discussion, it is important to note what design methods are not. In opposition to implicit or explicit claims in a portion of the extant literature, I claim that design methods in this definitional space do not: make design decisions for you, tell you what to do next in the design process, model design activity in a direct sense, operate in isolation from other methods or techniques (even when self-referencing), or must be applied only to the design project that is foregrounded while being used. For the purpose of this paper, I define design methods simply as any tool that enables a designer to think about, reflect on, or otherwise pursue design activity. This paper extends general knowledge on design expertise (e.g., Lawson & Dorst, 2009) and reflective practice (e.g., Schön, 1990) into the domain of design methods, elaborating the complex ways in which designers extend and assimilate methods as a natural part of their design activity. What is a method then? Some scholars have called them “prescriptions,” while others treat them as specifications—more like blueprints or sets of instructions, which may be altered based on the context or emergent issues. What is the relationship of methods to design activity itself, though? Do methods model authentic design behaviors? Or provide designers with a generative “creative spark” (e.g., Schön’s generative metaphor) to engage in additional design activity? Many of the questions raised here I will attempt to resolve in the remainder of this paper.
The Proposition Speaking from this space of potential confusion and conflicting views on what methods are and how they should be used, I propose a return to a lower-level conversation: that is, what are design methods in their essence? What is their epistemology and ontology, and how are these characteristics reflected in the ways that methods promote or reify understanding and use in academic and professional settings? What I will posit in this paper is that while methods themselves may act as reifications of explicit design activities, expressed in an objective or objective-like form, the objective description of a method is not equivalent to the enactment of, use of, or cognitive processing of that method in a performative sense. To support this assertion, I will trace the designer’s cognitive use of methods through some examples of design activity, with the goal of showing the limitations of viewing design methods as only a model of appropriate design activity. Instead, I will attempt to show how, in design activity, designers use the language of method to describe their work, but only as a form of shorthand—or as a grounding object— not as a complete retelling of their activity. This use of method as shorthand can be confusing in documenting design activity through research, where multiple instantiations of
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method with many levels of fidelity to an “original” academic method may be unintentionally conflated—where similar terminology is used, but with often dramatically different intent. This phenomenon likely stems from an application of empiricism to the enactment of practical knowledge (Dunne, 1997; Polanyi, 1966; Stolterman, 2008), where researchers tend to treat methods as prescriptive enactments of known, objectively defined activities—drawing on original understandings of design methods as an exploration of design cognition (Jones, 1970), rather than as emergent activities that manifest through a generative performance (Goodman, 2013; Rittel, 1984; Schön, 1990).
The Argument: In Three Parts I will now explore and argue for this proposition through three perspectives on methods use, attempting to “muddy the waters” and show how the conception and use of method varies depending on our collective understanding of methods as a prescriptive or generative tool. The first two parts provide competing arguments for how design scholars might view the use of methods—as performance or prescription—and how this perspective impacts the agency of designers involved in their use, and implications for communicating using methods. The third part provides a brief summary of how these perspectives may interact through productive tensions, potentially causing a clash of priorities and vocabulary between academic and practice communities.
3.1 Arguing for Performance This first perspective draws from the vantage point of a designer as she engages in authentic design activity (i.e., research in the ethnographic tradition, such as Goodman, 2013). Notably, this activity varies from research carried out on the use of a particular method (in a speculative sense, e.g., research through design or design-based research; see Mullaney & Stolterman, 2014; Roedl & Stolterman, 2013) or study of method as used in classroom instruction (e.g., Person, Daalhuizen, & Gattol, 2012). To trace the designer’s use of methods, I will use a standard analytic method in design—affinity diagramming—to stand in for a variety of methods, both convergent and divergent. At this stage, I am explicitly scoping the exploration to standalone methods that are common across multiple design fields. This scope excludes comprehensive design methodologies (e.g., contextual design) or descriptions of process or philosophy (e.g., Agile, Six Sigma), although many of the performative or prescriptive attributes may still be present. G ENERIC S EQUENCE OF M ETHOD U SE If we were to imagine the use of any standalone method as it emerges in the process of a specific designer, the following stages may provide a framework for us to think through how and when a method is applied, how it is used, and what happens after the explicit use of the method has concluded. Consider the following stages, which are intentionally broad and decontextualized: 1) In situ design activity
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2) A next step is needed (e.g., a way to think differently, communicate, extend, collaborate) 3) A method is selected, created, or adapted based on its perceived salience to the design context (i.e., from a pastiche of lived experience and available or known tools) 4) A method, set of methods, or appropriation of method(s) is enacted or performed until its utility has been achieved or exhausted 5) The enactment or performance of a method (ideally) has some perceptible impact on the design situation (e.g., a new insight, validation of a previous hunch, raising consciousness of previously tacit ideas, realization a concept in a new form) 6) In situ design activity continues P ERFORMANCE AS C ONTROLLED BY THE D ESIGNER This general process description presents methods as tools—fully in the control of the designer, ideally employed in ways that are perceived by the designer to be beneficial to the design process at large (e.g., “designerly tools”; Stolterman, McAtee, Royer, & Thandapani, 2008). It is notable that methods in this framing do not drive the process, constraining the decisions of designers in a larger sense, and are not employed in a purely mechanical manner. Methods are being used by the designer to promote new ways of thinking about a design problem; the level of fidelity of the specific method performance as related to the originating method specification is irrelevant when considering the utility the designer may derive from the use of a method in a situated way. There are many junctures (i.e., Steps 2-5, above) where judgments must be made by the designer: a) to determine which method to select from a group of methods the designer is familiar with, and when to commence use of the method; b) knowing how to begin using the method in the specific design context (i.e., what inputs to use); c) deciding when use of the method should conclude (i.e., what outputs were desirable and when those outputs are present); and d) choosing which outputs from the method to employ in guiding the design process forward. Interestingly, none of these judgments are included explicitly in the method, but rather are left up to the individual designer to make a judgment (e.g., instrumental judgments, Nelson and Stolterman, 2012) based on the specific design situation. A generative method such as affinity diagramming only provides a rough approximation of behavior and output—sorting and clustering—that doesn’t tell the designer how to cluster, or how to know when they are done. How are elements to be produced or processed in order to sort/cluster? How are elements unitized and then sorted in physical or digital space? What insights does the designer or design team draw from such an activity? These are just some of the questions that method representations leave underspecified in favor of flexible judgments made by the individual designer. While all of these judgments are continuously occurring in the context of design activity, the individual designer may not be explicitly aware of them in the moment they are made. Schön (1990) describes this process of explicit and implicit awareness of design decisions that weaves through the design cognition as a “reflective conversation” between the designer and the design process or artifact. The judgments being made regarding when the
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designer commences or concludes the use of a method are discursive and emergent in nature, although increasingly tacit as design expertise increases (Lawson & Dorst, 2009). Method use which may be easily labeled as such after the fact may not appear to be explicitly selected in design activity, and these stages may be much more interleaved or chaotic than they are presented here. The sense of performance is unique and nonrepeatable, bound to the individual designer, the unique design context, and the temporal dimension of emergence in a larger sociocultural space. P ERFORMANCE AS D ISTRIBUTED A MONG M ULTIPLE S TAKEHOLDERS An alternate view of methods use might be imagined, however. If the focus is placed on the design organization level rather than the level of an individual designer, a different set of conclusions might emerge regarding the use of method. While the same general activities described above may still take place, the instrumental judgments able to be applied by an individual designer may be substantially more constrained. The organization may rely on several branded “house methods” (e.g., IDEO’s standardized consulting model; experience maps from one participant in Gray, 2016) that designers select from at any given stage of the design process; or specific constraints may be applied around the amount of iteration allowable for a given method—measured in time, resources, or involved stakeholders. In these cases, the function of method has not changed in a holistic sense, but the freedom around the application of that method has been distributed among multiple stakeholders in the organization. As with the view of the individual designer in the previous section, the lines between the design judgments of the individual and that of the organization—or even professionalized design discipline—become very blurry indeed (Gray, Toombs, & Gross, 2015). Individual designers may feel as if they are acting freely, while they are being constrained by dominant approaches in their organization that are tacitly rewarded. Conversely, recognized methods on the organizational level may be co-opted and augmented by individual designers, while still being referred to in a more uniform way when discussed with management. Gray, Toombs, and Gross (2015) trace the ways in which competence around UX processes and method use can flow between the organization and individual (or vice versa), demonstrating the fluidity of performance that is shared between an individual and the company within which they work. While this is an area of nascent research activity, the work of Goodman (2013) and Lallemand (2015) provide some initial guidance on how organizational culture shapes—and is shaped by—the actions of individual design practitioners. C OMMUNICATING ABOUT M ETHOD P ERFORMANCE A view of design activity as performance represents an organic space, where design activity “just happens” and is difficult to objectively document, even via multiple means of data collection. While design activity may begin more organically, with a designer or design team in “flow,” eventually the gestalt of the specific situation can be read in some way (often after the activity has taken place) by the designer or third party as a “method” (see descriptions of a hybrid method by “Phil” in Gray, Stolterman, & Siegel, 2014). If a designer would be asked
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to reenact the situation from an objective, third-person position, they would likely be able to chunk activities together into a language that is accessible to another designer—often employing known methods as a way of talking about what they had done, even if these labels may have not been explicitly accessible to the designer in the moment of performance. This post hoc form of negotiation between design activity and the labeling of design cognition or phenomenon in an illocutionary manner is also the foundation of design research, such as the protocol studies used in early instantiations of the Design Thinking Research Symposium. However, in this latter case, it is a third-party that is determining the meaning or labeling of emergent activity, and rarely the designer engaged in that activity herself. Scholars often see this ontological clash between one’s espoused theory and theory-in-use (Argyris & Schön, 1974) in design activity. I don’t believe this is dishonesty, but rather representative of the difficulty of articulating complex human activity, appropriately bringing tacit design knowledge into explicit language. Much of what professional designers do, including the embedded rationality of their actions, lies in the tacit dimension (Lawson & Dorst, 2009; Polanyi, 1966), and thus the particulars of how design cognition occurs is obscured, even to the designers who have made the relevant decisions. Thus, fifteen minutes of panicked sketching before a client meeting is languaged as “wireframing”; research to develop empathy with potential users is later called “contextual inquiry” or the development of “personas”; clustering of ideas scribbled on paper, Post-It notes, or by using digital tools becomes “affinity diagramming.” These post hoc descriptions reference the goal of the design activity as seen from the present looking into the past, focused on the designer’s intention (often tacit in nature), rather than their actual cognitive state.
3.2 Arguing for Prescription This second perspective begins from a larger question in design scholarship: if there isn’t rigor in the method used to inform design action, how do we know the outcomes are valid? How can we compare the work of multiple designers or design communities? This question has been answered in substantially different ways by the engineering and design communities, respectively, and is echoed in Cross’ (2001) differentiation between a science of design (i.e., studying design activity using scientific methods) and design science (i.e., a “rational and wholly systematic approach to design”). In a dominant strand of the design literature, design ethics are drawn from the designer herself. In this case, the guarantor-ofdesign (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012) is located in the ethics of the designer, her reflective awareness of design decisions, and the impact of these decisions on future use. In the engineering literature, ethics are more often described as a form of failure prevention, with methods, processes, and structures serving as guardrails to ensure that the resulting solution is sound (e.g., Pahl, Beitz, Feldhusen, & Grote, 2007). In the latter case, the guarantee of a successful design is bound up in the systematic nature of the approach— including the methods, processes, and structures that ensure a positive outcome. This view draws on a prescriptive understanding of design process and method use, with the system or
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approach functioning as the guarantor-of-design, as contrasted with the designer-(ashuman)-centric view. While Cross (2001) notes that few design scholars would argue for a “wholly systematic” rendering of design activity, a continuing preoccupation with the rigor and scientific validity of certain design methods (e.g., Lallemand, 2015; Pahl et al., 2007), particularly in disciplines more closely aligned with the hard sciences prompts me to position this description of design methods guaranteeing a positive design outcome as one interesting, and potentially provocative edge case. R EPRESENTATION OF P RESCRIPTION In beginning to parse questions such as the location of the guarantor-of-design, it is first important to note the formal representation of methods, and the way in which the verbalization of methods circumscribes their potential use. While there is great variety in this representation, for this discussion, I claim that most methods include four distinct segments: 1) the “method” or blueprint name, 2) inputs from previous design or research, 3) the prescribed activity, and 4) the output or outcome. A few common methods aligned in this way perhaps makes these segments clearer: Affinity diagramming (1) will filter your data (2) through clustering and sorting (3), elucidating important themes and generating insights (4) Personas (1) will allow for the creation of user profiles (3) from existing research (2) that helps you design for and empathize with users that are economically desirable (4) Wireframing (1) will provide a low-fidelity mockup of a final project (3) based on known specifications (2) to encourage early changes without the need for investment in a high-fidelity or fully functioning prototype (4) While these four segments do not necessarily result in a prescription, this format often lends itself easily to excluding or including certain kinds of activity. Leveraging the structure of these method descriptions, one is easily able to say, like Nielsen and Hansen (2014), that a company is using personas in an incorrect or inappropriate way; similarly, Stone and Wood (2004) declare a functional decomposition only valid if the function is defined in a particular, precise way. So there is a sense in which even if a specific prescription is not given, the formal representation of a method projects what an appropriate pattern of use might look like, or at the very least provides a set of unique characteristics or attributes that may be located in design activity. This issue is of particular concern in design education, where students often assume that documented methods have a scientific validity and holism that requires prescriptive use (Harrison, Back, & Tatar, 2006), even when students are directly taught that such a scientific base is not present, or should not constrain the use of methods within the context of situated design activity. P RESCRIPTION AS G UARANTOR The guarantee of success in many fields is bound up in the methods or overarching methodologies that are used. The Six Sigma approach, for instance, prescribes a number of
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steps that employees at varying levels of management must take in a variety of contexts, with the promise of lower defect and error rates. In engineering, the process of materials testing is undertaken with scientific precision, with the goal of determining the physical properties of a material, such as its reaction to temperature fluctuations, bending, shear forces. The goal of such testing is to produce an objective result that can be trusted by the larger engineering community—and thus must be replicable if enacted in the exact same sequence of steps. In interaction design, Lallemand (2015) references the scientific rigor of Attrakdiff 2 scale, identifying areas where misapplication (e.g., non-native status, translation, subset of questions) of this instrument that measures usability and design of interactive products may lead to results or design insights that are not valid. This goal of objectivity applies to some methods—particularly in areas where safety or compliance are paramount—but does not neatly account for the diversity of convergent and divergent methods that currently exist. There are some in the design community that see a method as a blueprint of what should be in a more general sense; for instance, in an extended conversation on this topic led by Dr. Terence Love on the PhD-Design Listserv, Love claimed that “[m]ethod is a prescription for a way of doing something” (January 5, 2014). This claim drew on instantiations of design research in an engineering and/or artificial intelligence tradition, where methods often represent a distillation of human judgment into a quantitative tool. This understanding of “method as blueprint” is a largely normative statement that circumscribes so-called “proper” use of a method, which often presumes that a designer is unconstrained by time or contextual factors (Roedl & Stolterman, 2013). Method as prescription provides an aspirational state, often coinciding with a guarantee about what the method will accomplish for the designer if enacted as it was intentionally designed. P RESCRIPTION AS I DEALIZED M ODEL OF D ESIGN A CTIVITY This picture of an objective, rational human activity matches well with the notion of a design science—the promise of something that is replicable and knowable, which has defined inputs, activities, and outputs. While not every proponent of method as prescription would also identify with design science, this stance results in a focus on describing and talking about the method, which, in its most blatant form, treats methods as a way to model and describe design activity. The prescriptive element occasionally takes over the management of the design process itself, as in a purportedly holistic method or methodology such as contextual inquiry (Beyer & Holtzblatt, 1998) or mental models (Young, 2008). These methods not only seek to direct design activity or process through a specific instantiation of a design method, but also in engineering the flow of the design process itself. A method “swallowing up” the process— perhaps what could be called a “meta-method”—is perhaps the best example of arguing for prescription, even while these method authors also claim that the method can be applied in a flexible and designer-directed way. In most “meta-method” cases, the documentation of the method is focused on aspects of prescription, not on flexibility; and focus is often shifted
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from generative, in-the-moment use of design methods to the management of entire design processes. As in the case of the organization constraining the judgments of individual designers, so too do these methods qua design processes begin to remove the potential for diversity of use in the enactment of methods. C OMMUNICATING ABOUT M ETHOD P RESCRIPTION Some confusion lies in when and where objective or objective-like descriptions, like those represented as prescriptions here, are seen to be appropriate. In design research, there is a desire to label and systematize things. Scholars like to define phenomena, attach a name to that phenomena, and then apply inclusion and exclusion criteria so other scholars are able to “know it when we see it.” These names are important—both for development of scholarship around methods, and for their dissemination in practice communities. However, a method blueprint is frequently adapted for a variety of uses, with sometimes only the core of a method remaining (Gray, 2016; Gray et al., 2014; Rogers, 2004), stripped of its original prescriptive detail. Unlike the discussion of method as performance, above, communication about prescription raises the issue of context and community. While performance lies primarily in the realm of practice, method creation and prescription is a task historically taken on by the academic community (e.g., Jones, 1970; Rittel, 1984). This indicates that many academic creators of methods may actually imagine, project, and communicate a different use than is tenable in a performative sense (Roedl & Stolterman, 2013); and this very penchant for labeling and systemization in a scientific or scientized manner privileges the scholarly discourse over the practice discourse (Gray et al., 2014; Rogers, 2003), moving a discussion of method to be dominated by prescription.
3.3 Prescription in Academia and Legitimation of Practice The tensions between these two perspectives on method, and the professional and academic communities these perspectives represent, have the potential to be productive— drawing together the need for humans to communicate their often complex activities with each other, and the desire for scholars to name, categorize, and taxonomize. When these perspectives conflict, the potential for ontological uncertainty ensues. The ontological entity named or referred to by a designer in service of communication during design activity can easily be confused by a scholar as a designer using an ontologically-bounded and taxonomized method as a blueprint or prescription. This results in an objective or scientific reification of practical knowledge, which is better understood and represented on its own terms (Dunne, 1997; Stolterman, 2008). The realities of the cycle of method creation and use inevitably brings these two different perspectives into discussion and conflict, often unknowingly. Each perspective and associated community brings with it a unique set of imperatives relating to activity, knowledge production, and rigor. Participants in each of these communities value certain forms of communication over others. But when these communities interact—and this
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interaction is desirable in many ways (Gray et al., 2014)—many of these imperatives clash. In relation to methods, the issue of over-specification (as in the prescriptionist perspective) and under-specification (as in the performative perspective) becomes potentially divisive, limiting the quality of communication that can occur in a bridging way between communities around the purpose and substance of methods. If the design research community seeks to bridge academia and practice, we must be committed to finding ways to understand and communicate intentions regarding methods and method use in productive ways. The bridges already exist: in academic institutions, professors train designers to join the ranks of professionals; and in professional settings, methods that often originate in academic institutions serve as a basis for design practice. Yet these bridges are occluded by differences in vocabulary, standpoint, and ontology— particularly around the nature and purpose of design methods.
Conclusion I began this paper with the assertion that methods themselves may be seen as a form of objective or objective-like knowledge, but that the objective description of a method cannot be viewed as equivalent to the enactment of that method as performance. I have presented each view separately, with some of the limitations and strengths of each, and will provide some additional synthesis in these closing paragraphs. Methods can be viewed in a prescriptive stance as a rationalist view of reality, where a method is intentionally and systematically reified to represent underlying scientific rigor. Viewing a method as a blueprint or prescription for doing something is a natural outcome of this perspective, moving the role of the individual enacting the method from that of a designer to something more akin to a technician (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012)—and thus changing the locus of design activity from the designer and her professional ability to make judgments to an abstract representation via method, process, and structure. While some might choose to take on this prescriptive view for the small areas of design practice where objectivity is moderately attainable (e.g., high stakes design contexts such as safety systems), I suggest that this is not a view that is tenable for the vast majority of design production, which is much more nuanced, and brings with it substantially less cause for prescription. I therefore contrast this view with a more practice-centric assertion. That methods have inside them a generative “script” (a la Madeline Akrich, 1992) which can be interpreted in a simultaneously subjective and intersubjective way. This perspective allows scholars and practitioners alike to view a method as an unqualified “designerly tool” (Stolterman et al., 2008) for getting work done—as a way of approaching design activity, and potentially as a means for labeling such activity in the sense of a shared professional language or grounding object. In this view, methods contain within their very structure a “script” of defined or potential use, which is subject to the interpretation (and often appropriation) of the individual designer or design organization. This script could be as potentially reductionist as
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a defined “core” of a method (e.g., clustering and sorting in affinity diagramming), but could be much more complex as well, taking into account aspects of the individual designer’s lived experience, the culture of the organization or stakeholders, or other salient factors relating to the unique design situation. Importantly, this script is read by the person choosing to perform it, with an interpretive, intersubjective quality that is temporally and contextually bound. And this brings us back to where I began our discussion of the ontological constitution of design methods. I have argued that methods are only approximated in reality, and cannot be directly located or “found” in a traditional scientific sense. Even robust and highly structured methods meet practical challenges when they are applied in practice, distancing the performance of the method from any objective blueprint from which the performance is derived. The translational process encountered by designers and design researchers when they use methods as a “cookbook” makes it appear that they can be found, but this is an interpretative move, with human actors required (Woolrych et al., 2011; Harrison et al., 2006). If a method is inscribed into a machine-based process (and is this still design?), is it any longer a method? Then a designer would have to make decisions about the limits of the method in situations that are explicitly coded for. A shift from method as prescription to method as tool and performance changes the conversation. It moves the object of conversation from an objective set of activities and outcomes, and moves it to a place where the designer and design activity are front and center, and methods are “merely players.” Acknowledgements: This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Award No. 1115532. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire research team or the NSF. I also express deep thanks to the participants of the Spring 2014 Philosophy and Theory of Design seminar at Indiana University, which enabled the formulation of many ideas represented in this paper. I particularly value the insights and discussions of these ideas with Erik Stolterman and Elizabeth Boling.
References Akrich, M. (1992) The de-scription of technical objects. In W. E. Bijker & J. Law (Eds.), Shaping technology/building society: Studies in sociotechnical change (pp. 205-224). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1974) Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1998) Contextual design: Defining customer-centered systems. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. Curedale, R. (2012) Design methods 1: 200 ways to apply design thinking. Topanga, CA: Design Community College. Dunne, J. (1997) Back to the rough ground: Practical judgment and the lure of technique. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. Goodman, E. S. (2013) Delivering design: Performance and materiality in professional interaction design. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley, CA.
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Goodman, E., Stolterman, E., & Wakkary, R. (2011) Understanding interaction design practices. In CHI’11: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 10611070). New York, NY: ACM Press. Gray, C. M. (2016) “It’s more of a mindset than a method”: UX practitioners’ conception of design methods. In CHI’16: Proceedings of the 2015 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY: ACM Press. Gray, C. M., Stolterman, E., & Siegel, M. A. (2014) Reprioritizing the relationship between HCI research and practice: Bubble-up and trickle-down effects. In DIS’14: Proceedings of the 2014 CHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 1645-1654). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/2556288.2557264 Gray, C. M., Toombs, A., & Gross, S. (2015) Flow of competence in UX design practice. In CHI’15: Proceedings of the 2015 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 32853294). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/2702123.2702579 Hanington, B. (2003) Methods in the making: A perspective on the state of human research in design. Design Issues, 19(4), 9-18. Hanington, B., & Martin, B. (2012) Universal methods of design: 100 ways to research complex problems, develop innovative ideas, and design effective solutions. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers. Harrison, S., Back, M., & Tatar, D. (2006) It's just a method!": A pedagogical experiment in interdisciplinary design. In DIS'06: Proceedings of the 6th conference on designing interactive systems (pp. 261-270). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/1142405.1142445 Jones, J. C. (1970) Design methods. London, UK: Wiley-Interscience. Lallemand, C. E. (2015) Towards consolidated methods for the design and evaluation of user experience. Doctoral dissertation, University of Luxembourg. Lawson, B., & Dorst, K. (2009) Design expertise. Oxford, UK: Architectural Press. Mullaney, T., & Stolterman, E. (2014) Why ‘design research practice’ is not design as we know it. In Proceedings of the design research society. Umeå, Sweden: Design Research Society. Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2012) The design way: Intentional change in an unpredictable world (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Nielsen, L., & Storgaard Hansen, K. (2014) Personas is applicable: A study on the use of personas in Denmark. In Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1665-1674). New York, NY: ACM Press. Pahl, G., Beitz, W., Feldhusen, J., & Grote, K. -H. (2007) Engineering design: A systematic approach (3rd ed.). London, UK: Springer Verlag. Person, O., Daalhuizen, J., & Gattol, V. (2012) Forming a mindset: Design students' preconceptions about the usefulness of systematic methods. In E&PDE 2012: 14th international conference on engineering and product design education: Design education for future wellbeing, Antwerp, Belgium. Polanyi, M. (1966) The tacit dimension. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books. Rittel, H. (1984) Second-generation design methods. In N. Cross (Ed.) Developments in Design Methodology (pp. 317-327). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Roedl, D. J., & Stolterman, E. (2013) Design research at CHI and its applicability to design practice. In Proceedings of the 2013 ACM annual conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1951-1954). New York, NY: ACM Press. Rogers, Y. (2004) New theoretical approaches for HCI. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 38(1), 87-143.
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Schön, D. A. (1990) The design process. In V. A. Howard (Ed.), Varieties of thinking: Essays from harvard’s philosophy of education research center (pp. 111-141). New York, NY: Routledge. Stolterman, E. (2008) The nature of design practice and implications for interaction design research. International Journal of Design, 2(1), 55-65. Stolterman, E., McAtee, J., Royer, D., & Thandapani, S. (2008) Designerly tools. In Undisciplined! Design research society conference 2008 (pp. 116:1-14). Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Hallam University. Retrieved from Google Scholar: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/491/ Stone, R. B., & Wood, K. L. (2000) Development of a functional basis for design. Journal of Mechanical Design, 122(4), 359-370. Woolrych, A., Hornbæk, K., Frøkjær, E., & Cockton, G. (2011) Ingredients and meals rather than recipes: A proposal for research that does not treat usability evaluation methods as indivisible wholes. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 27(10), 940-970. Young, I. (2008) Mental models: Aligning design strategy with human behavior. Brooklyn, NY: Rosenfeld Media.
About the Author: Colin M. Gray is an Assistant Professor at Purdue University in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology and a Faculty Fellow in the Educational Research and Development Incubator. His research focuses on the development of design ability in education and practice contexts.
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Becoming a More User-Centred Organization: A Design Tool to Support Transformation Lennart Kaland* and Christine de Lille Delft University of Technology * lennart.kaland@gmail.com DOI: 10.21606/drs.2016.352
Abstract: This paper describes how organizations can be supported with design tools through their transformation towards becoming more user-centred. Existing business model tools are starting points and extended through a design perspective, which allows additional flexibility and user-focus within an ongoing continuous change process. In this sense, the tools act as boundary objects facilitating stakeholder collaboration by creating a common understanding, a shared vision and values translated into actionable insights. The designed toolkit was developed using three design iterations and identifies three key levels of activities needed: on the organizational, customer and empathy level. Each level has its own perspective, involvement and actions. Findings indicate that the designed tool may indeed assist organisations in describing, discovering and developing improved customer relationships with cards and turn them into actions in a organizational context. The card-based approach with keywords and images offers an open-structured way in the modelling process to design tangible user-centred solutions. The paper reflects upon design-decisions in exploring this developed toolkit and suggests further research on usage areas, trials with companies and toolkit usability. Keywords: user-centred; organisational change; transformation; toolkit; co-creation.
Introduction In the last century, the introduction of technology has changed our lives drastically. Technology provided us with the possibility to live in comfortable houses, to travel and to communicate with each other in various ways. Technology also provided us with consumable products that enriched our lives. However, over the last decade, our materially oriented economy has been in transition towards an experience economy in which experiences are more important in the eyes of customers than products and technology as such. This implies that in order to generate true value for people innovations will have to entail an experience element on top of the product offering. Organizations have to become This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Lennart Kaland and Christine de Lille
more customer oriented and co-create a new kind of value focusing on their users. Not only does this change require a different mind-set, it also requires changes in the organization, involving the entire company, the innovation process and often its business model. This change has already been frequently explored in literature (Sangiorgi, 2011), but actual insight into how the transformation process within organizations can be supported is still quite open for discussion.
1.1
Existing tools to support transformation
Various tools currently exist to illustrate the current state or desired state of an organisation, its stakeholders and value propositions. They are also widely recognised as a way to create new value in the industrial context (Osterwalder & Pigneur. 2010; Board of Innovation, 2011; Clatworthy. 2009). Literature on this topic reveals the ongoing search to understand the procedure of supporting organizations to address new opportunities, often related to becoming more customer oriented (Osterwalder et al. 2005). These existing tools (such as the widely known Business Model Canvas from Osterwalder, 2010) are used as boundary objects. This means that the purpose of them is, as mentioned by Spee & Jarzabkowski (2009), to be a discussion basis, to make communication (of e.g. something as intangible as a CX) clearer, to stimulate interaction between departments to then move forward and to show why something does not work and which boundaries of knowledge and understanding there still are. The previously discussed business model tools can be used to describe, discover and develop the core business of organisations, such as the Business Model Canvas (BMC) by Osterwalder & Pigneur in 2010, the recently released Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) by Osterwalder & Pigneur (2014), and the Business Model Toolkit (BMT) by the Board of Innovation (2011). The BMC focuses on 9 elements within organisations (customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, income revenues, key resources, key activities, key partners, and cost structure) visualised within a rigid structure for organisations to explore innovation in their business. The BMT focuses on creating a stakeholdermap with 6 stakeholders (organisation, company, the consumer, supplier, nonprofit, and government) and the exchange 10 key-activities (product, service, experience, reputation, money, less money, exposure, credits, data, and rights) between these stakeholders. These tools are primarily used in two different settings: describing the current state of the organization, or envisioning the desired state of an organization. Where the BMT already has a more flexible underlying structure, the described tools lack providing actionable insights to support an ongoing change process in transforming the organization towards becoming more user-centred.
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1.2
Design tools to allow flexibility and support ongoing change
This paper builds on the existing tools to investigate, identify, and implement opportunities to support an organization in becoming more user-centred. The primary way to allow this is to investigate how from a design perspective these organizations can be supported in transformation. Gruber et al. (2015) states that “design has become a strategic tool for business, helping to translate technological innovation into user value, connecting with consumer needs, and creating compelling product and service experiences that leading firms have, in turn, successfully transformed into business value.” (p. 1) They also go into detail about the design of a new organizational environment, which can be related closely to the design of a company’s transformation: “The lens provided by design thinking might also be applied to elements within the management domain that are not so apparent; that is, within the roles of process re-engineering, workflow, the workplace itself, and the design of organizations.” (p. 3). Designers tend to see problems as opportunities for the invention of new alternatives. They think more in terms of creating new possibilities than in terms of selecting between existing alternatives (Boland and Collopy, 2004). The very nature of design problems is that they are wicked problems (Buchanan, 1992). This makes designers able to deal with uncertainty, to take risks and to work in the fuzzy area of the design process. Designers are furthermore people-persons, they have empathy for different stakeholders and have experience in dealing with people. Therefore it’s no surprise that increasingly, business managers look to the field of design to help them get in touch with their customers’ (and other stakeholders’) unarticulated needs and desires. When made a part of an organization’s work processes and competencies, the designers’ tools enable an organization to embrace change as a normal part of managing its business. (Coughlan and Prokopoff, 2006).
Concept design toolkit Currently, three important parts created for the proposed design toolkit (figure 1) are the empathy-cards during the preparation phase, and the cluster-cards with the play board for co-creation during the second phase. The empathy-cards can be used to write upon, helping to create ideas that are exchangeable while the internal team sits together. Four colours represent the cluster-cards; yellow, orange, red, dark-red, and indicate different stages in which the cards should be used. First, yellow represents the cluster containing assumptions about the user’s context based on insights, thoughts and things that have been heard by the organisation, while not yet been confirmed. Also, initial targets of the project should be discussed to ensure a shared mindset. Second, orange represents the cluster containing the pain and gains users/other companies may or may not currently experience within the context. Third, red represents the cluster through which the organisation could connect with the other companies in co-creation. By mapping out resources and brand values which could be involved in the pain and gains and looking for possible pain relievers and gain creators, the transformation framework will take its form. By connecting the cards with involved companies, a collaborative network of companies can be set-up. Fourth, dark-red represents
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the final cluster that convey products or services that need to be developed, ending with an action plan of action cards.
Figure 1 - Current parts of proposed design toolkit including empathy-cards, cluster-cards, and play board.
Additionally, a guide with rules has been designed to structure the toolkit’s gameplay. The guide, however, has not been included in the image above as the gameplay will be explained in paragraph 4.4. The three parts function together as a tangible framework between the organisation and clients to initiate transformations with an user-centred approach. At the end of the session, ‘to-do’ actions are listed by involved companies in order to realise the created ideas from the session. Doing so might create clear tangible goals to commit them in co-working on innovation in the future.
Research approach The research took an explorative approach focusing on tools and co-designing with the industry (Sanders & Stappers, 2014). The data collection process started by going through literature and the comparison of three business models as an inspiration: the rigid structure of the Business Model Canvas by Osterwalder & Pigneur, the card-based game of Business Model Toolkit by the Board of Innovation, and the user-centeredness of the Target Experience Tool by Clatworthy. The exploration started with the ‘WHY’ in ‘Why do we use business models?’ to analyse the different tools and literature for inspiration (Sinek, 2009). The next step was to extract and combine parts in a process of repetitive prototyping, and finally implement a promising combination of a conceptual business model tool with a customer focus. Second part of the study investigated the continuous development to explore different aspects of transformation using the conceptual toolkit during a pilot test and two design workshops with organisations from the B2B and B2C industry fields, conducted over one
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year time. The aim was transforming interactions between organisation and customers during early stages of the design process. Observing and tracking activities of these organisations over time who were extending the project level, as well by participating in organised design activities, asking questions, facilitating workshops, making notes and explaining various aspects of the toolkit concept helped to improve the design of the tool along the way, see figure 2.
Figure 2 - Visualisation of stages in the research approach in the design toolkit development.
3.1
Description of the design iterations
In a pilot test, a recently established company was used as organisation in a 3-months trialand-error session to test the tool’s usability with one-way directed input for the B2C-side. The main reason why this company was chosen is their activities being highly serviceoriented and performed in a successful way. Creating a physical, card-based version of the theoretical model enabled to play the participatory design game while simultaneously test the logic of the necessary steps to go through a design-session. The order of the steps was observed, notes were made, and the details for a visual representation of the business model tool were developed in a parallel session. The second iteration included a main player in the energy producing and supplying industry in collaboration with two representatives of the energy organisation and six designers in a project team. The 6-months project concerned the major transition from producing-andselling energy as a commodity towards energy-services in the industry sector, thus mainly B2B-focused. The project team recognized “becoming more user-oriented” as a primary way to achieve the transformation in a highly competitive commodity market. Since the organisation’s internal team was something completely new for the energy organisation, the project team focused on developing tools for the necessary steps. First, a full-day vision alignment session facilitated by the project team was performed for getting the internal team aligned to work as one industry cluster team. The session creating company awareness
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using the why/how/what method of Sinek (2009). Second, the development of a guide for approaching other companies or clients helped creating a commitment story for the internal team. This guide included envisioned goals and an explanatory timeline with the change process. Third, by facilitating a co-creative session with a client of the energy organisation the toolkit would start an open discussion with other companies. During this third step, goals-cards could be presented on the toolkit’s play-board on which both companies could react and discuss. These were considered the three important steps to be made in the case study. Interactions in this project were observed as well decision-makings between the organisation and the client. The third iteration involved one of the largest carrier airlines in collaboration with one of their main suppliers and focused on improving the quality of onboard service within the organisation. In the initial stage of the case study, the service team has to obtain a usercentred mindset before they could improve customer experience operations. The designer and the author worked together during 4 months to organize and facilitate a workshop based on team-alignment, creating commitment and provide a vision for the service team. As stated by Junginger (2008) organisational change will only happen by the people who are involved, in this case the service team, could provide purpose to the organisation’s valuesystem. The goal is to sensitize them for the next step: create commitment with other teammembers and let them empathise with the service from another context as well as support the present supplier in making sense of their service-routines and the airlines’ according values and considerations. Only then an overview of possibilities can be created for new services towards flight passengers and partners of the airline. Notes made by the facilitator pictures and recordings were used for confirming the toolkit’s usability with case-study members as well the interactions, the decision-makings, and the reflections.
3.2
Data collection
Describing the research approach separately from the findings is difficult, since the design and research process is intertwined and strongly linked. Observation field notes, design interactions, decision-makings and the theoretical reflections were continuously noted down in a research journal focusing on the underlying design and research considerations. Cocreative sessions and participant observations were well-suited methods to receive input for the development of a conceptual toolkit because they reflect how users deal with complex situations (Sanders & Stappers, 2012). The data collection methods, still, may be subjected to forms of bias. One significant source of bias is the fact that the conceptual toolkit is developed by the researcher that also collected data from the study cases. Bias may also be introduced through other designers in collaborative projects as their educational background was similar to the researcher’s. The authors attempted to account for these effects by triangulation: finding multiple data sources, co-creating with other designers and companies, and observing design workshops.
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Findings 4.1
Toolkit design and implementation
Existing tools to support organizations in the design process (such as BMT and BMC) provide a starting point for investigating the structure of an organisation and mapping all stakeholders in the whole process. However, none of these tools seem to place the customer in a central perspective and instead start from all his/her interactions with the organisation without providing the organization itself support during their transformation. The conceptual toolkit would have to visualise the customer’s point of view and allows to be used on a continuous basis during an organizational change process. The new toolkit intents to guide the participants through 3 levels: I.
Organisation level - Identify the different elements that help changing from manufacturing to useroriented (Clatworthy. 2009; Oliva & Kallenberg. 2003; Osterwalder et al. 2010). II. Customer level - Create customer value by identifying the resources and capabilities aimed at enabling employees to gain empathy (Hou & Neely. 2013; Kinnunen et al. 2012). III. Empathy level - Design new ways to serve and improve your customer relationships by emphasizing (Baines. 2013; Brandt. 2006; Clatworthy. 2013; Kowalkoswki et al. 2013; Osterwalder et al. 2014).
Figure 3 - Visualisation of the first iteration in developing the basic tool design.
Thus, the toolkit can be roughly distinguished in three parts; the Organisation part, the Customer part, and the Empathy part (see at insights in figure 3). Firstly, the organisations’ side can be abstracted from the BMC and combined with the openstructure in the BMT to support the ‘how’ approach (Sinek, 2009). A healthy customer relationship can be considered as a combination of pain relievers and gain creators, which is
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suggested by the Value Proposition Canvas of Osterwalder (2014). The 7 smaller cards representing the organisations’ side in this toolkit are organisation, products, services, capabilities, brand value, gain creators and pain relievers. The organisation-, products- and services-card overlap with the BMT-toolkit. The cards are considered to uncover servicecapabilities or challenges to overcome when no capabilities may be discovered (Nudurupati et al. 2013; Kinnunen et al. 2012). The company likely goes only once through this organisational level to initiate the transformation-process, unless they intend to transform another time after a few years. Secondly, Osterwalder (2014) describes ‘Customer Insights’ as one of the most important parts in designing successful business models. Also, Sinek (2009) states that organisations should deeply understand the ‘why’ towards their customers in order to know what they see, hear, think, say, do, and experience. Migrating the company-perspective to a customerperspective seems to help empathising with customers and mapping these into an ‘Empathy Map’. Osterwalder suggests also that the experience of customers can be divided into gainand pain-experiences. The result is 7 cards representing the customers’ side in this toolkit: customer/client, sight, action, emotion, hearing, gain and pain. The Customer level can be performed multiple times by a company to receive insights from existing or new customersegments. Thirdly, the toolkit can be used to empathise with your customer by mapping motivations and causes that generate gains & pains. The empathising experience may be stimulated by the bigger cards containing questions like ‘What would keep her awake at nights?’ (Emotion question-card). The formulation of the questions is based on the Value Proposition Canvas of Osterwalder and the ‘what’ by Sinek. Multidisciplinary teams may be able to visualise chains of reasoning and actions carried out by the customer using these question cards. The developed cards are based on the open structure of the BMT while at the same time reach for in-depth information like the BMC. This empathy-level will likely be used often during transformation process as mentality of customers may change over time. The proposed toolkit should not be considered as replacement but rather as an additional tool with added value in receiving insights on customers’ experiences and relationships related to the company’s offering. The technique considers a different approach for companies where they start with expanding their primary product offering towards offering solutions for their customers often result into eventually complex service-systems.
4.2
Pilot - Young innovative company
The pilot with a young innovative company (such as Netflix, AirBnB, or Uber) was performed as a first iteration on the toolkit’s usability and to check if all the elements on the iconic cards were included for a co-creative design toolkit (figure 4). European Commission states ‘to qualify as a Young Innovative Company, a company must be small, have existed for less than 10 years and spend at least 15% of its total costs on R&D’. Perceived gains of the cardbased design were the workable flexibility and the open-structured design. The small iconic cards offered the flexibility to create in a high pace business models in an iterative process.
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The 14 small iconic cards seemed, by visualising the trial as B2C organisation, to provide a seemingly easy and quick way in the development of a visual representation, which includes the customers’ senses, motivations, and pain- and gain-emotions. The pilot gave also the insight that a different approach may be used when working with a B2B organisation. In a B2C approach, the organisation might want to co-create only with designers to map the customer insights within co-creative sessions. During B2B co-creative session, the designer could facilitate the session between the client and the organisation.
Figure 4 - Pilot study showed an easy setup of the client-business context with an open-structured workflow.
4.3
Second iteration - Energy providing and supplying organisation
The second workshop included a main energy organisation who had a hard time gaining trust of their partner organisations during their transition from producing-and-selling energy towards energy-services. In contrary of the pilot company, the energy organisation is active in both the B2C as the B2B industry. Convincing their partners was the most important part of this iteration. This resulted in creating an internal commitment journey based on all the necessary activities, tangible touch-points, and relevant stakeholders before reaching a commitment with a relevant, external company: enabling the organisation to approach a company to start an open discussion with them to join an energy cluster. The internal team was recently formed and had to reach a common mindset, thus in the preparation phase a vision meeting at the organisation was performed. The workshop was based on the work from Simon Sinek about the Golden Circle and facilitated the shift in their way of thinking from ‘what’ to ‘why’.
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Figure 5 - Internal team performing the preparation phase.
Figure 6 - Co-creation session with an involved client.
The tool design was developed in two parts: preparation phase and co-creation phase, see figure 5 and figure 6. The internal team prepares before starting a co-creation session with other involved cluster companies. First, the energy organisation maps their resources and brand values, which they find valuable in the respective industry cluster, and translates these values and resources into capabilities. Second, the organisation maps out their
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thoughts, sights and hearings of their perception of the industry cluster. These perceptions form the basis for the pains and gains, and the industry cluster map. In the co-creation phase the energy organisation approaches an industry cluster with a draft of the cluster map. The organisations discuss their assumptions on the draft and indicate their pains and possible gains. Then organisations start co-creating and try to connect on each others brand values, resources, pain relievers and gain creators. The final step conveys developing product- and service-cards as goal cards, resulting in a business plan including a network of companies with action cards. In order to enable a certain platform for the business plan, a play-board including a set of rules was developed to streamline the co-creation phase. All elements together formed an advanced design of the tool, see figure 7.
Figure 7 - Visualisation of the second iteration in developing the advanced tool design.
4.4
Third iteration - Carrier airline organisation
The third iteration was performed at one of the largest carrier airlines’ headquarter. This iteration focussed on the preparation part of the process flow shown in figure 8. Questions like ’what do we do?’, ‘how we do it?’ and ‘why do we do it?’ (Sinek, 2009) were prepared to ask during the workshop. The service team-members of the airline were asked to share about their personal experiences related the topic of interest for the workshop. After this first co-creative part managers of the organisation hesitated, were worried that participants did not like the workshop and took the lead. The co-creation was turned into a discussion session in which the designer could only extract some ideas and elements. These ideas and elements were clustered in the end but no real values were discovered. This result reveals the high difficulty for organisations to transform when have no experience with user-centeredness yet. In case of the carrier airline organisation, skipping the preparation process where a vision could be formed, and instead directly start with a
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discussion instead of each having their role in the co-creation process turned out to be too challenging. In this case, the facilitator changed with the according stakes, capabilities and comfort with user-centred design. The importance of the facilitator as came forward in this session is consistent with other studies (Debacker et al., 2015).
Figure 8 - Visualisation of the steps in the design tool process flow.
Discussion The work here is one of the few studies presenting a new toolkit for a user-centred approach in the field of business modelling. The toolkit offers insights and creates points of discussion on how organisations could use a user-centred approach to work from the customer’s perspective. This section discusses decision-makings in the development of the design toolkit.
5.1
User-Centred Approach Extending a Project View in the Fuzzy Front End
This paper presents a new toolkit with the user-centred approach as leading design approach to initiate transformation of the organisational-perspective towards a usercentered organisation in the ‘Fuzzy Front End’. Workshops have shown that organisational change is not merely an unidirectional, stepwise process that starts from simply adding empathy or the user perspective to the total value proposition, but that there are many alternatives like ‘reverse’ innovation, focusing on a bottom up approach (Turunen, 2011). The toolkit can be considered as alternative way for transforming the organisational on short-term by creating a shared mindset, while creating and staying committed to a shared vision by realising innovative ideas transforms the organisation on the long-term. Keeping companies committed on the long-term requires a business-plan, however more research has yet to be done on how to continuously address customers’ needs throughout the process with a user-centred approach.
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5.2
Role of Designer during B2C and B2B Approach
Developing the current version of the toolkit showed significant different roles for the designer while co-creating with B2C or B2B companies. In B2C approach, the designer may act as leader or a facilitator to benefit the most from the toolkit’s value within co-creative sessions. In B2B approach, however, companies working in the same industry share already the same values, enabling them to discuss over the toolkit’s play board. The designer’s role may be reduced as participant or even as observer during co-creation, leaving the role leadership to the organisation. Inviting companies to co-create using the toolkit may be easier with the designer acting as facilitator, although research is needed to confirm this. Another insight was the important role of the designer during internal preparation. Workshops with internal multidisciplinary teams revealed that they have trouble to reflect on the organisation’s practices, as team-members come from different departments. In this case the designer should act as leading facilitator and enable the team getting a shared mindset to reflect and explore opportunities together.
5.3
Young Innovative Companies versus Old Companies
Different companies were assessed during the workshops, however no distinction was made between young or old companies. European Commission defines Young Innovative companies as being small, and have existed for less than 10 years. The author beliefs creative sessions are significant different between young and old companies. Workshops with companies older than 10 years are difficult as internal teams have more trouble to think ‘out-of-the-box’. Also, the small-sized business of younger companies is flexible in adjusting towards a new approach, where older companies which have grown big through time may have gotten a rigid structure and has gotten used to making decisions using pastknowledge.
5.4
From One-tool-stop towards an Entire Process
Although this research started with the idea to make one design tool to support transformation in organisations, the result contains more steps that together can be formed into an entire transformation process. Whereas we expected at the start that one design tool could allow an organization to have regular intermediate reflection moments to establish what next steps needed to be taken next in becoming more user-centred, we quickly realised that this is difficult to achieve as needs shift throughout the transformation process. Therefore the on-tool-stop has shifted towards a support process in which several design tools are developed and use.
5.5
Suggested Further Toolkit Developments
This design toolkit is not fully developed and still leaves space for further improvements. Suggested is to test this design toolkit with young and old companies to see if different approaches should be created for both types in the next version. Depending on the findings, this could result into additional or fewer steps in the toolkit. Also, the current guidebook has
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been designed for the Dutch energy organisation and mainly focused on the co-creating phase. Developing a new guidebook that describes both preparation and co-creation phases into detail and include this in the design toolkit would increase the structural approach.
Conclusion The preceding discussion depicted the development of a design tool through various iterations trying it out in a real life setting with an actual company and their according questions, values, and challenges. Through the conducted iterations the design tool has achieved a level of detail that allows more insight in what kind of level of detail, flexibility and topics are needed to address and support an organization in transformation to becoming more user-centred. The design tool has ended up into a collection of different aspects where it is not about being a set of methods or achieving merely a certain mind-set, instead, it is a network of actions, which evolve through joint interactions and collaborative moves supported by the designed tools. The tool focuses on provoking reflection moments to the organization in question, providing structure on which elements to discuss, enables and encourages preparation of the moments of contact with the various stakeholders, as well as translating the results of the moments of contact into actionable steps. The combined tools revolve around co-creation both in a B2B and a B2C setting. From this perspective, the design tools and the according mind-set they trigger can be understood as a kind of resource, which are interwoven with the enacted practices and whose meaning is just understandable and made in the relation to the enacted practice of the organization itself. The initial results of the three conducted iterations show the potential use of a user-centred approach combined in a design tool during the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fuzzy-frontendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; phase of the organisational change. Although further developments are needed to test these results on reliability and validity, interesting insights for the innovative role of an usercentred approach have been created with a card-based toolkit for internal transformation. Next steps that are undertaken is further iterating the design tools within similar types of organizations as the last iteration. At the moment we are conducting two more iteration with large carrier airlines. This allows comparing the use of the design tool in similar circumstances, ruling out the influence from the type of company (established, or young as well as B2B or B2C differences). Acknowledgement: The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the designer colleagues and case study members of the energy-project and carrier airline-project for generously giving their time in the benefit of this study.
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Spee, A. P., & Jarzabkowski, P. (2009). Strategy tools as boundary objects. Strategic Organization, 7(2), 223-232. Turunen, T. (2011). Users as a development driver in manufacturing: the case of reverse servitization. User-based innovation in services. Edvard Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 177-199.
About the Authors: Lennart Kaland - Lennart is studying the Master Strategic Product Design at Delft University of Technology. He is interested in Service Design as mean to transform organizations, and holds a Bachelor in Industrial Design Engineering. He will start his graduation in September 2016. Christine de Lille - Christine is an Assistant Professor at the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She focuses in her research on user-centered design and service design and its impact on organizations.
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Index of Authors
Abdelmohsen, Sherif, 1969 Aftab, Mersha, 3181 Ahmadpour, Naseem, 1457 Ahmer, Arif, 593 Aish, Robert, 111 Alhonsuo, Mira, 3069 Alshawaf, Eman, 959 Andrietc, Ekaterina, 157 Annable, Louise, 303 Arvidsson, Anna-Karin, 1411 Arvola, Mattias, 1089 Atkin, Ross, 2391 Atkinson, Harriet, 2583 Atman, Cynthia J., 593 Bachman, Leonard, 295 Baek, Joon Sang, 3943 Bailey, Jocelyn, 3619 Bakir, Ramy, 1969 Barbosa, Janaina Teles, 4045 Bastian, Michelle, 2107 Bauer, Birgit S., 569 Baule, Giovanni, 1039, 1047 Baur, Ruedi, 1139 Beck, Jordan, 17 Benford, Steve, 3033 Berghman, Michaël, 139, 277 Bingham, Guy, 2239 Bissett-Johnson, Katherine, 637 Bitterman, Noemi, 1433 Black, Alison, 2301 Blackler, Alethea, 2063, 3149, 3251 Blomqvist, Mikael, 1411 Bobroff, Julien, 555 Boehnert, Joanna, 2359 Boess, Stella, 625, 1573 Bofylatos, Spyros, 3449 Boggs, Charles, 513 Bohemia, Erik, 1699, 1881 Bonja, Susanne, 1411 Börekçi, Naz A.G.Z., 795 Borgford-Parnell, Jim, 593 Boyd Davis, Stephen, 2591 Boyko, Chris, 1677 Boztepe, Suzan, 1253 Braga, Mariana Fonseca, 1863 Brischke, Lars-Arvid, 3913 Broadley, Cara, 1737 Brooks, Judy, 539 Brown, Michael, 3033 Brulé, Émeline, 1985 Burnett, Dan, 1609, 1625 Burns, Kathryn, 303 Büscher, Monika, 1123
Buur, Jacob, 1723 Cadavid, Ana, 179 Cain, Rebecca, 1271, 1433 Calvo, Mirian, 3591 Canina, Marita, 2075 Caratti, Elena, 1039, 1047 Carmen Bruno, 2075 Casais, Mafalda, 1553 Castanedo, Rebeca Torres, 2163 Catoir-Brisson, Marie-Julie, 2285 Celi, Manuela, 2015 Ceschin, Fabrizio, 3731, 3785 Chamberlain, Paul, 1499 Chamorro-Koc, Marianella, 1643 Champion, Katherine, 1737 Chan, Jeffrey, 3539 Chatzakis, Emmanouil, 1881 Cheng, Peiyao, 215 Chiapello, Laureline, 17 Chou, Wen-Huei, 3133 Christensen, Anders, 1757 Chueng-Nainby, Priscilla, 969 Chun, Min Hi, 1935 Ciastellardi, Matteo, 1111 Ciuccarelli, Paolo, 941 Claxton, Stella, 3815 Coddington, Alicen, 781 Connor, Andy M., 83 Cooney, Richard, 2201 Cooper, Rachel, 1677, 1699 Cooper, Tim, 1277, 3831 Corrigan-Doyle, Emily, 1529 Coskun, Aykut, 1357 Côté, Valérie, 3669 Coulton, Paul, 369, 1609, 3019 Craib, David, 385, 2325 Craig, Claire, 1499 Craig, Mark, 609 Cranny-Francis, Anne, 2985 Dallison, Delphine, 609 Danahay, Evan, 2533 Darzentas, Dimitrios, 3033 Darzentas, Jenny, 3449, 3771 Darzentas, Jenny S., 2307 Darzentas, John, 3771 Dawes, Cecilie, 3435 de Eyto, Adam, 2709 de Kerckhove, Derrick, 1111 de la Rosa, Juan, 2121 de Lille, Christine, 2423, 2563 De Moor, Eva, 3435 De Paoli, Giovanni, 853 de Ruijter, Laura, 1473
Index of Authors
De Smet, Annelies, 2759 DeEyto, Adam, 3573 Del Gaudio, Chiara, 2121 Deni, Michela, 2285 Derksen, Gerry, 2121 Desai, Shital, 3149 Deserti, Alessandro, 2015 Desmet, Pieter, 1553, 1589 Desmet, Pieter M. A., 1999 Dhadphale, Tejas, 2415 Dias, Julia, 2121 Djaelani, Robert, 3705 Dong, Hua, 3199, 3229, 3247, 3263, 3279 Dorst, Kees, 2493, 2667 Downing, Niamh, 3485 Downs, Simon, 321 Dunn, Nick, 1677 Durrant, Abigail C., 2181 Duste, Tessa, 1589 Dziobczenski, Paulo Roberto Nicoletti, 705 Earl, Christopher, 3687 Earl, Christopher F, 2519 Eckert, Claudia, 2519 Edwards, Liz, 3485 Eftekhari, Farzaneh, 1389 Elliott-Cirigottis, Gary, 609 Elzenbaumer, Bianca, 4005, 4015 Emili, Silvia, 3785 Erbug, Cigdem, 1357 Escobar-Tello, Carolina, 1433, 1529, 3961 Evans, Mark, 813, 2239 Evans, Martyn, 97 Fassi, Davide, 3407 Feast, Luke, 3569, 3635 Felsing, Ulrike, 1139 Fenko, Anna, 3467 Fennell, Jac, 1441 Ferronato, Priscilla, 2121 Fisher, Tom, 3479 Flintham, Martin, 3033 Forlano, Laura, 927 Frankel, Lois, 3103 Franz, Fabio, 4015 Fredriksen, Biljana C., 2911 Freimane, Aija, 1271 French, Tara, 2965, 3653 Fundneider, Thomas, 401 Gabrielse, Gorm, 1211 Gagnon, Caroline, 3669 Galeotti, Anamaria, 2837 Galluzzo, Laura, 3407 Gamman, Lorraine, 3479 Garde, Julia Anne, 2043 Gardin, Astury, 969 Gasparin, Marta, 881
Gaved, Mark, 609 Gaziulusoy, Idil, 3731 Gentes, Annie, 555 Germany, Jason O., 3085 Ghassan, Aysar, 471 Giaccardi, Elisa, 3553 Giang, Colin, 781 Gideonsen, Hanne, 3435 Godin, Danny, 355 Görgül, Emine, 2825 Goworek, Helen, 3831 Gradinar, Adrian, 1609 Graf, Laura K. M., 203 Graham, Alexander, 781 Grangaard, Sidse, 3393 Gray, Colin M., 2549 Graziano, Valeria, 4005 Green, William, 881 Gribbin, John, 3181 Gristwood, Simone, 2591 Groth, Camilla, 2889, 2895, 2941 Grover, Shruti, 2391 Gudiksen, Sune, 1757 Gudur, Raghavendra Reddy, 3251 Guité, Manon, 853 Gullick, David, 3019 Gulliksen, Marte S., 2889, 2925 Hadfield, Mark, 2709 Håkansson, Lena, 1411 Hall, Ashley, 2481 Hall, Peter A., 2625 Hands, David, 2445 Hanington, Bruce, 729 Harland, Robert, 385 Harrison, David, 3785 Haslem, Neal, 2201 Hasselqvist, Hanna, 3929 Haug, Anders, 1903, 3873 Hazzard, Adrian, 3033 Heaton, Lorna, 853 Heiltjes, Sanne, 3467 Hekkert, Paul, 139, 277 Henriksen, Pernille, 1757 Hermannsdóttir, Hafdís Sunna, 3435 Hermansen, Pablo, 895 Hermsen, Sander, 1323, 1375 Hernandez, Maria Gabriela, 2089 Hesselgren, Mia, 3929 Heylighen, Ann, 3199, 3229 Hill, Helen, 3831 Hofmeister, Tobias Barnes, 3847 Hogan, Trevor, 3005 Hornecker, Eva, 3005 Hough, Simge, 751 Hrinivich, Ellen, 3103
4081
Index of Authors
Huang, Tao, 2699 Hung, Chung-Wen, 3133 Huotilainen, Minna, 2941 Hutchings, Maggie, 2709 Hyltén-Cavallius, Sara, 1411 Hyysalo, Sampsa, 3889 Imbesi, Lorenzo, 2325 Ingram, Jack, 303 Ings, Welby, 483 Ivanka, Tania, 2201 James, Meredith, 719 Janssens, Nel, 2759 Jernegan, Elizabeth, 2121 Johnson, Michael Pierre, 1737 Johnson, Simon, 2391 Jones, Derek, 295 Jonkmans, Anna, 767 Joost, Gesche, 3913 Joutsela, Markus, 259 Jowers, Iestyn, 609 Jun, Gyuchan Thomas, 1809 Jylkäs, Titta, 3069 Kaland, Lennart, 835, 2563 Kantorovitch, Julia, 2463 Karlsson, Monica Lindh, 4029 Keirnan, Alen, 1457 Keitsch, Martina, 3847 Kelly, Veronika, 425 Kempenaar, Annet, 2271 Kenning, Gail, 1441 Kerridge, Tobie, 1025 Ketola, Anne, 1179 Kettley, Sarah, 1277, 2985, 3121 Kim, KwanMyung, 1919 Kim, Sojung, 3943 Kimbell, Lucy, 3605 Kirk, David S., 2181 Knutz, Eva, 1827 Kocsis, Anita, 781 Kokotovich, Vasilije, 2493 Komatsu, Tamami, 2015 Koskinen, Ilpo, 1013 Kotlarewski, Nathan, 2533 Koumoundourou, Myrto, 2307 Koutsabasis, Panayiotis, 2307 Kristensen, Tore, 1205, 1211 Krzywinski, Jens, 2869 Kuijer, Lenneke, 3553 Kuys, Blair, 1163, 2533 Kuzmina, Ksenija, 1809 Kymäläinen, Tiina, 1627 Lahusen, Miriam, 3913 Laivamaa, Laura, 3069 Landwehr, Jan R., 145, 203 Langrish, John Z., 51
Lee, John, 969 Lee, Seong geun, 157 Leinikka, Marianne, 2941 Lenskjold, Tau U., 1827 Lewis, Huw, 3573 Liao, Cai-Ru, 3133 Liapis, Aggelos, 2463 Lim, Christopher Sze Chong, 3295 Lima, Verena, 3983 Linde, Per, 913 Lindley, Joseph, 369 Liu, Sylvia, 1205, 1237 Liu, Tsai Lu, 501, 1389 Lloyd, Peter, 3619, 3687 Lønne, Irene Alma, 1223 Loudon, David, 1515 Lu, Xiaobo, 3373 Lucas, Rachel, 3121 Ludden, Geke, 245, 1271, 1305, 1433, 1473 Lulham, Rohan, 1777 Ma, Xuezi, 3279 Macdonald, Alastair S., 1515 Macduff, Colin, 1515 Maciver, Fiona, 2463 Mackrill, Jamie, 1433 Mages, Michael Arnold, 3503 Maguire, Martin, 1809 Mahar, Doug, 3251 Maher, Carmel, 2709 Mäkelä, Maarit, 2889, 2941 Malins, Julian, 2463 Manohar, Arthi Kanchana, 3591 Marchand, Anne, 2653 Marenko, Betti, 2755 Margolin, Victor, 5 Markussen, Thomas, 1827 Marlen Dobler, Judith, 997 Marttila, Sanna, 4063 Mattila, Pauliina, 781 Mauri, Michele, 941 Maxwell, Deborah, 3485 Maya, Jorge, 179 Mayer, Stefan, 145 Mazzarella, Francesco, 3961 Mazzilli, Clice, 2837 McAra, Marianne, 3213 McGaw, Janet, 669 McGilp, Helen, 2519 Mcginley, Chris, 2391 McHattie, Lynn-Sayers, 1737 McLaren, Angharad, 3831 Mercer, Lisa, 2029 Messell, Tania, 2737 Meyer, Guilherme, 2121 Michura, Piotr, 2121
4082
Index of Authors
Micklethwaite, Paul, 2163 Mitchell, Cynthia, 2255 Mitchell, Val, 1809, 3961 Mok, Luisa Sze-man, 3889 Moncur, Wendy, 2181 Moreno, Mariale, 1809 Morris, Andrew, 1271 Mota, João Almeida, 4045 Moussatche, Helena, 513 Mugge, Ruth, 215, 1553 Mulder, Sander, 1375, 2809 Munro, Tasman, 2219 Murphy, Emma, 97 Murray, Lesley, 1123 Neira, José, 895 Nevay, Sara, 3295 Neven, Louis, 3553 Niedderer, Kristina, 1271 Nimkulrat, Nithikul, 3177 Ning, Weining, 3263 Noel, Lesley-Ann, 455, 501 Nordvall, Mathias, 1089 Norris, Jane, 2795 Ó Catháin, Conall, 125 O’Rafferty, Simon, 3573 Oberlander, Jon, 2991 Olander, Sissel, 985 Oppenheimer, Maya Rae, 2583 Orzech, Kathryn, 2181 Ou, Li-Chen, 233 Oxborrow, Lynn, 3815, 3831 Ozcan, Elif, 1433 Ozkaramanli, Deger, 1999 Paepcke-Hjeltness, Verena, 2415 Page, Rowan, 1487 Pahk, Yoonee, 3943 Paiva, Isabel, 3165 Palmgren, Marianne, 653 Park, Sumin, 3181 Parker, Chris, 1809 Pasman, Gert, 1659 Person, Oscar, 705 Peschl, Markus F., 401 Petermans, Ann, 1433 Pillatt, Toby, 3485 Piper, Anna, 2959 Pisanty, Diego Trujillo, 2181 Piscicelli, Laura, 1305 Pizzichemi, Catherine, 513 Plowright, Philip, 295 Plowright, Philip D., 339 Pohlmeyer, Anna E., 1573 Poldma, Tiiu, 295 Pollastri, Serena, 1677 Popovic, Vesna, 2063, 3149, 3251, 3373
Porter, Samantha, 1809 Potter, Eden, 2379 Prince, Anne, 781 Prochner, Isabel, 2653 Prytherch, David, 1441 Pschetz, Larissa, 2107 Pui Ying Lo, Kathy, 1529 Quam, Andrea, 3861 Radtke, Rebekah, 685 Raman, Sneha, 2965 Rankanen, Mimmu, 2941 Ranscombe, Charlie, 637 Rashidi, Ingrid Halland, 2637 Reddy, Anuradha, 913 Redström, Johan, 4029 Reimer, Maria Hellström, 4045 Renes, Reint Jan, 1323, 1375 Renner, Michael, 1073 Renon, Anne-Lyse, 555 Renström, Sara, 1339 Reumont, Marie, 853 Revsbæk, Line, 1723 Riccò, Dina, 1101 Richardson, Mark, 1487 Ritzmann, Susanne, 3913 Rive, Pete, 83 Rizzo, Francesca, 2015 Roberts, Maxwell J., 2341 Rochead, Alan, 609 Rodgers, Paul A., 2677 Rogel, Liat, 3407 Rontti, Simo, 3069 Rosenqvist, Tanja, 2255 Roto, Virpi, 259 Roy, Robin, 3755 Ruecker, Stan, 2121 Ruiz-Córdoba, Stefany, 179 Rytilahti, Piia, 3069 Sadkowska, Ania, 3521 Sadkowska, Anna, 3121 Sakurai, Tatiana, 3983 Salinas, Miguel, 1411 Salvia, Giuseppe, 2075 Sametinger, Florian, 3913 Santos, Maria Cecília, 3983 Sarmiento, Ricardo Mejia, 1659 Scaletsky, Celso, 2121 Schaeffer, Jennie Andersson, 653 Schifferstein, Hendrik N.J., 3427 Scupelli, Peter, 539, 729 Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Pirita, 2889, 2941 Self, James, 157 Selvefors, Anneli, 1339 Shroyer, Kathryn E., 593 Sice, Petia, 1291
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Index of Authors
Sissons, Juliana, 3521 Siu, Kin Wai Michael, 1793 Skjerven, Astrid, 43 Skjold, Else, 1223 Smith, Madeline, 3591 Smith, Neil, 1881 Snelders, Dirk, 767 Sosa, Ricardo, 83 Southee, Darren, 813 Speed, Chris, 1123, 2107, 2991 Spencer, Nicholas, 1291 St John, Nicola, 3349 Ståhl, Ola, 1191, 1411 Standaert, Achiel, 3329 Stappers, Pieter Jan, 1659, 3329 Stead, Michael, 3049 Steenson, Molly Wright, 31 Stergiadou, Zoi, 3449 Sterte, Marie, 1411 Stewart, Nifeli, 2201 Storvang, Pia, 1843 Strömberg, Helena, 1339 Sun, Qian, 1699, 1707 Sung, Kyungeun, 1277 Sustar, Helena, 3635 Svensén, Tobias, 1411 Taylor, Damon, 1123 Teal, Gemma, 2965, 3653 Tham, Mathilda, 1411 Thong, Christine, 781, 2533 Thurgood, Clementine, 1777 Tironi, Martín, 895 Tomkin, Douglas, 2611 Tovey, Michael, 419 Townsend, Katherine, 3521 Treadaway, Cathy, 1441 Trimingham, Rhoda, 3725 Trogal, Kim, 4005 Tromp, Nynke, 2141 Tsang, Kaman Ka Man, 1793 Tsay, Wan-Jen Jenny, 2423 Turns, Jennifer A., 593 Uhlmann, Johannes, 2869 Umney, Darren, 3687 Uri, Therese, 441 Urquhart, Lewis, 1951 Väänänen, Jenni, 3889 Vaeng, Ida C.N., 2341 Vaes, Kristof, 3329
Valentin, Frédéric, 1985 Valtonen, Anna, 525 van den Berg-Weitzel, Lianne, 3467 van der Bijl-Brouwer, Mieke, 2141, 2147 Van der Linden, Valerie, 3199, 3229 van der Lugt, Remko, 1375 van Dijk, Jelle, 3313 Van Essen, Anita, 1323 van Grondelle, Elmer, 1589 van Onselen, Lenny, 767, 835 Van Rompay, Thomas J. L., 245 Van Steenwinkel, Iris, 3199 Vardouli, Theodora, 65 Verhoeven, Fenne, 3313 Vernooij, Annelijn, 835 Vial, Stéphane, 2285 Victor, Ole, 1411 Voort, Mascha Cecile van der, 2043 Vuontisjärvi, Hanna-Riina, 3069 Vyas, Pratik, 1291 Walker, Sue, 2301 Wan, Susan, 1515 Warwick, Laura, 3705 Wasserman, Arnold, 539 Watkin, Thomas, 2285 Whitehead, Timothy, 2239 Wilkie, Alex, 873 Williams, Alex, 1699 Williams, Tim, 1643 Wodehouse, Andrew, 1951 Wölfel, Christian, 2721, 2869 Wölfel, Sylvia, 2721 Woodcock, Meghan, 513 Wurl, Julia, 767 Yee, Joyce S.R., 2677 Yilmaz, Seda, 2415 Ylirisku, Salu, 1723 York, Nicola, 813 You, Xinya, 2445 Young, Robert, 1291, 3181 Zahedi, Mithra, 853 Zamenopoulos, Theodore, 1123 Zhang, Wenwen, 1163 Zhao, Chao, 3373 Zhou, Ningchang, 2699 Zhou, Xinyue, 2121 Zi, BingXin, 969 Zingale, Salvatore, 1061
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over fifty years the Design Research Society has been fundamental to developing and supporting the field of Design Research. In that time many influential and innovative conferences have been held and the 50th Anniversary in Brighton conference continues that tradition. The breadth and depth of design research represented in these proceedings is extremely impressive and shows, I think, not only how important design research has become, but also the considerable potential that it holds for the future.â&#x20AC;? - Professor Nigel Cross PRESIDENT OF THE DRS
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