Portfolio by nantia koulidou

Portfolio Design Research/Co-design

Konstantia Koulidou

jewellery, wearables, design research craft + digital co-design

CV/ Education University of Southern Denmark Msc IT Product Design, Grade point average: 10.5 /12

2011-12

MOKUME – Silversmithing and Jewellery design School Specialisation in Hand-Made Jewellery

2004-11

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Diploma in Architecture Grade point average: 8.97 /10

2008

University of Aachen (RWTH) Exchange Semester

interaction design

2012-14

CRAFT PRACTICES - Jewellery

p. 1

RE- THINKING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH AUGMENTED JEWELLERY

p. 2

CONSEAL & COUNTER - Tactics For an Overexposed Individual

p. 10

KNITTSRUMENTS - Melodies of Weaving

p. 13

SØNDERBORG WELCOME EXPERIENCE - A Participatoty Innovation Project

p. 15

DESIGNING SKIN PROBES THROUGH REFLECTIVE PRACTICES

p. 18

LUNAR POLES - An Interactive Lamp

p. 20

Re-thinking

relationships through augmented jewellery A research-through-design approach on new relationships between jewellery, technology and the wearer.

2nd Price Awarded

Appreciation of the art of craftmanship, creativity and sensitivity in my design inform my research practice. Practical skills and the vocabulary of art and craft are important tools in the search of the importance of craft in a digital age.

My thesis project investigates and explores new relationships between jewellery, technology and the wearer, based on the interplay between “form & function”. Form refers to the augmentation of material qualities of the jewellery whereas function refers to the augmentation of the different levels of communication between the self, the self and others, and the self and the object. Through the exploration of contemporary jewellery and the use of Critical Design methods, this thesis provides a new perspective on designing interactive jewellery, which is based on the dynamic forms of the object. To tackle this approach in interactive jewellery, I propose the term augmented jewellery. Taking a researchthrough-design approach, I designed and built four explorative prototypes to probe new research in the field of wearables. In order to explore the research area that I identified, I combined aspects of Co-Design (Mattelmäki,

Augmented Jewellery: Augmnent the material qualities of the form and augment the function of jewellery which is the communication with the self (intrapersonal) and others (interpersonal) and between the object and the wearer to enhance the dialogue between the maker, the wearer and the object. This dialogue can enrich the experience that wearer has with the worn object and lead to new relationships.

Master Thesis Project

2000) and I carried out a self-documentation study with four girls from Denmark to gather data about their relationships with jewellery and their new experiences with my prototypes. The analysis is based on qualitative data. I use the approach of pragmatist aesthetics (Shusterman, 2000; Petersen, 2004) in experience-centered design as a foundation from which I explore engaging interactions. My design explorations draw on the proposition, that transformative and dynamic forms can contribute to wearable design practices, as they allow wearers to become co-creators of their experience. This can open up new possibilities for aesthetic experience, as jewellery becomes triggers of new experiences and reveals things about wearers that would not be visible without the interaction.

Flour DESIGN: Flour is a necklace made from tea bags and flour that leaves traces on the body and the clothing of the wearer. The movements of the body activate the interaction and the traces. The necklace and the T-shirt can be decoupled and separated. The flour will slowly wear away and the marks of the T-shirt can be washed out of the clothing leaving no mark in the end. The only reminder of the interaction are the empty bags. REFLECTIONS: Flour was the first out of the four prototypes that I designed. The combination of the materials that I chose, flour and tea bags, give a soft touch to the piece. Apart from the sensory experience that the appealing material quality gives, the aesthetic and sensory quality evokes memories, according to Jordan (2003). On the one hand, I was interested in seeing the link between the sensory experience and memories. On the other hand, I was curious to see the reactions of the participant to the fast transformation of the piece. The interaction of the wearer and the environment leaves irreversible traces, both on the material and the T-shirt.

Plant

Stamps

Clay

DESIGN: Stamps is a bracelet that has different kinds of stamps attached to the inner side of the bracelet. The participant is requested to place ink on the desired stamp and ‘tattoo’ her skin with the stamp. The stamps have the purpose to give the wearer the opportunity to choose between different types of stamps, among them the date that the bracelet was given, a text message saying ‘’gift from’’, a text message with an open interpretation ‘here, ’, 3 crosses, an X, 46664 (Mandela’s prison number) and a dashed line. The wearer is not able to change the chosen stamps, only to try to make sense of them and link them with his/her own experiences.

DESIGN: Plant is a bracelet with an organic form that hosts living organisms, such as seeds. Grass seeds have been covered in wet cotton and filled into the empty spaces of the bracelet. The wearer has the responsibility to water the seeds once a day, but is not able to control how the plant will grow. The participant is able to add more seeds in the empty spaces of the bracelet, since grass seeds have been placed only in a few of the empty spaces. The wearer wears the bracelet and gets immediate feedback as the bracelet starts growing and transforming.

REFLECTIONS:I was interested in seeing the relationship that the participant will develop with an object and the stamps as two things that have different lives simultaneously.

REFLECTIONS: I was interested in seeing the participant’s relationship with an object that is transforming on its own, while the participant still has the responsibility to take care of it.

DESIGN: Clay is a bracelet whose material is consciously morphed by the wearer. I used clay, which dries in 24 hours, and play dough, which stays flexible. Furthermore, tools for morphing the materials were given to the participants as a way of further experimentation. The bracelet had a piece of red play dough attached to it. The transforming power of the jewellery allows for continuously customisations. REFLECTIONS: I was interested in seeing if the participant will design more versions of the same bracelet, creating different traces on the material and associating meaning with the trace. The memories related to a piece of jewellery will not be in the wearer’s mind or be activated as digital displays, however, the material itself could trigger memories.

Each of the explorative prototypes was given to one participant to live with it for four days. A self-documentation study with four girls in Denmark was conducted. The girls were from four different ages groups ranging from 15-37.

VICKI age country occupation relationship with me jewellery

EMILIE 16

SANNE

ANNE

Denmark

employee

student

B.S student

artist

friend

new contact

friend

Stamps

Plant

Flour

Clay

The self-documentation kits included cards with questions about the relationship that participants have with their jewellery. Probing daily thoughts by means of a diary, and document records about feelings, diaries and photographs are traditional instruments for self-documentation (Sanders and Stappers, 2008). According to Sanders, there are different purposes of asking participants to document their activities visually. Photographs were used like diaries to record activities visually. I asked the participants to document their interactions with the new jewellery by keeping audio data for their impressions and taking pictures as a diary of their interactions. During the third day I contacted the participants at a random time during the day, either with text messages or phone calls, to inspire and motivate them, and to get real time data from their interactions with the worn objects.

On the fourth day, I conducted semistructured in-depth interviews with all of the participants individually on Skype. Instead of preparing the interview as a follow-up activity after receiving the probe material, I used it as a method of opening up a discussion about what happened the previous days.

A Co-Design workshop involving all of the participants was set up to share their common experiences and envision future concepts. Two of the participants were physical present and the rest on Skype.

Participants identify the - (minus), something they want to change in the design of the worn object, the + (plus), a characteristic that they would rather add and an element that they would keep. Later, they combined their thoughts in new designs.

Traces/ Object/ Wearer Relationship Throughout the life span of the object and the trace, the meaning attributed by the wearer depends on his/her personal associations and relationship with the object and the trace. The wearer can create a strong emotional bond with the traces, the object or the new object, according to the sense making process. During the interaction, over time, the trace can either become an object by itself, starting to give its own life and its own meaning for the wearer (Stamps), or the object and the trace become a new object with new properties (Flour, Plant, Clay), which relate with the wearer in various ways. Any interaction with the environment or other objects in the environment or the body can add or reduce value to the trace and the object. Therefore, the relationship that people have with their worn objects is an ongoing dialogue, which make them re-think the already formed relationship. Participants were willing to control the outcome of their interaction with the jewellery. They prefer static traces and that they are able to transform according to their will.

stimuli of interaction

STAMPS ‘But the bracelet became more important to me becase it could leave a stamp on me.’ (Emilie)

CLAY ‘Even though you make a pattern that you want to stay, an non-intented pattern might occur because of the softness of the material.’ (Vicki)

‘When I had to clean my dishes, because of the water and the dishes, it made like a dough, a sort of an interesting mixture. It was intersting to see how two substances combined made sthg new’’ (Anne)

STAMPS ‘I thought that the stamps where more important than the bracelet. (Emilie) ‘I think the stamp made me think about the extra stamps when I was wearing it, instead of wearing the bracelet. I think it made a different effect on having the ink on my skin.’ (Emilie)

Transformation of the Meaning the Object and the trace has with the wearer in time.

The Role of the Wearer in the Interaction

Instead of Re-Experience a Past Event They Have a New Experience

Participants as Co-Designers of Their Experience With the Worn Piece

The jewellery that I propose invites the wearers to experience something new. Instead of recalling a past event. The objects become meaningful for the wearer during the interaction. The pieces of jewellery become triggers of people’s imagination and experiences. Objects that make people understand things about themselves, that we could not reveal without them. meaning in time

FLOUR

The Role of Jewellery in the Interaction

While jewellery works as a trigger of memories of specific events and can provoke emotions (Ahde, 2013), with the dynamic and transformative jewellery the meaning is open-ended and the interaction is needed to reveal it. In that sense, jewellery is not purely something that relates to the wearers’ experiences, but in the interaction with the person creates something new, and with others something different. Jewellery is not only an object that relates to others, but augments people’s perception of themselves and the things that they care about. Thus, a new relation between the object and the wearer is established.

‘It was smelling like spring and I love nature’ (Sanne). ‘Wearing it outside was beautiful. The flour played in the wind. It was an amazing picture in front of my eyes’ (Anne). ‘When I had to clean my dishes, because of the water and the dishes, it made like a dough, a sort of an interesting mixture. It was interesting to see how two substances combined made something new. It is funny, but I wanted to take a shower with the necklace to see what is going to happen’ (Anne). ‘Here, I thought about that. Actually I read about this author of a book, where people meet and pick up a word of the book and then together created a new story. That is what came to my mind’ (Emilie).

According to Shu Hung and J. Magliaro, as cited by Mazanti (2011), craft is the process of leaving traces which guarantees a kind of relationship between the product and the user. Mazanti takes that one step further, stating that the position is shifted from the process of making to the doing of craft. Following this notion of craft, with my research I add one more layer to the relationship between the jewellery and the wearer, which is based on the craft practices during the interaction. My research focuses not on the crafted object, and how wearers might develop an attachment with the object due to its material composition (Wallace, 2008; White, 2008), but rather on how craft is organised as a material experience, which leaves room for the wearer to become a crafter of his/ her own experience. That can open up ways of designing that is not focusing on the creation of the craft object, but on craft as a process, which can be revealed during the interaction.

‘Being aware of the message you want to send to the world Being your own creator, a small designer’. (Anne commenting on Clay) ‘I bought something for my balcony and I thought maybe I could place it on the bracelet as well’. (Sanne) ‘There was this nice exhibition in IKEA. I really like to decorate rooms and try to make them look nice and cozy. Could be of a great fun to take some of these ideas and try to transform my bracelet’ (Vicki).

Conceal & Counter

Updating Wright et al’s Framework for Analysing Experience In order to analyse the experience that my participants had with their jewellery, I borrowed Wright et al’s framework of analysing experience (2004), in which meaning is constructed out of the dynamic interplay between the compositional, sensual, emotional and spatiotemporal threads of experience. For me, the spatio-temporal thread represents the relationship between the trace and the object, and how they are coupled in the weares’ perception. The spatio-temporal thread influences the sensual and the emotional thread of the interaction. I propose a new thread in the framework as an extention of the compositional thread. Reading the interaction as an interplay between the maker, the wearer and the object, the interaction starts with the composition of materials chosen by the designer. The wearer and the environment can influence this thread of experience, and thus, I propose the Re-Compositional Thread, which is revealed through the interaction, and brings an additional layer to the experience tool experiences.

tactics for an overexposed individual STAMPS COMPOSITIONAL from the designer

RE-COMPOSITIONAL

un-deﬁned link between the stamps. The message given were not a representation of the object but a new object. tatooing by your jewelry?

__________

through the interaction

SENSUAL

EMOTIONAL

SPATIOTEMPORAL

Uneasyness and uncomfortable

Emotional bond is engaged through not wearing the bracelet. The object become more important because it would leave the traces on the body. The traces become important for the wearer

the traces(stamps) and the object are de-coupled The stamps can last on the body for a certain time

CLAY the clay and the play dough offered different levels and ﬂexibility of transformations.

FLOUR

she created a new design- a ring from clay the material transformations caused by the movement of the hands. Willingness to touch it all the time.

create her own design customisation and tranforming parts of the jewelry

The object is the trace

PLANT

ﬂour a material choosen to leave uncontrolled and temporary traces.

the organic form of bracelet designed in combination with the living plant. The design gave the feeling of something that is changing or transforming

Flour + Water = Dough Flour + Wind = Dust in the wind

add more seeds blossom = growth pick a plant that can grow the whole year. uncontrolled growth of the plant

Wearer was a designer

interaction with fabrics

Softness (through the combination of the materials)

A design research project in the field of wearables, addressing issues of privacy and personal space.

nice feeling of looking the dust in the wind

The feeling of ‘feeling good’ ‘it smells like spring’ ‘I smell like spring’ ‘I am curious to see how it is going to grow’

it reminds her her childhood and her grandmother’s house. (softness triggers memories)

Now that I am not going to have it I want to see how it will continue growing and have a green surface.

triggers her imagination(surprise of the ﬂour ﬂying in the wind)

‘I really like the nature’

As comptures become ubiquitous, they change the way we perceive our everyday activities. Wearable devices are prosthetic in the sense that they extend the capability of our memory and our ability to interact. Sensors, cameras, input methods, and displays will work their way into our clothes and bodies. They will listen for commands and whisper in our ears. On the other hand as electronic devices are becoming so prevalent many people find themselves surprisingly surrounded by them. Electronic devices may invade our personal space by betraying our privacy. The continuous exchange of what we are doing, where we are, and who we are with, change the ways we interact with each other and with our surroundings.

‘I took sthg unpersonal and I made it personal’

We analyzed existing expressive tactics for the 21st century overexposed individual from a variety of artists and frame them within its field of action and proposed two concept prptotypes.

the object and the traces are one unity for the wearer the interaction is fast and the results uncontrolled

hidden parts of the body- stamps become more private Framework of analysis experience (4 theads of experiences) Wright at al (2004)

Updated Wright et al’s Framework for Analysing and Designing for Experience (2004)

Technology gave us anonymity bring us closer, 1985

“on the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”, 1993

Everyone has access to our personal data, 2013

Should the 21st century individual learn to feel exposed/recorded/photgraphed or should he/ she react against it? What are the tools available for acceptance/reaction?

Mapping The Action Space

Design Concept

Acting upon the vistim, the space, the observer

Inspired by natural camouflage. Animals change their camouflage in accordance with a change in their surroundings.

Short++ Adi Marom

Noisolation Headphones (2011) Alex Braidwood

The thief of affections(1994-7) Anthony Dunne Cosmic surgery (2010) Alma Haser

African masks

The Tijuana Projection (2001) Krzysztof Wodiczko

Taiknam Hat (2009) Ricardo O’Nascimento

Female victims of traumatic experiences share their experience through a projected video.

Power Gesture (2013) Jennifer Cupri Communication Prosthesis (2009) Sascha Nordmeyer

Fluid textiles(2012) Lucy MacRae

VICTIM

Hiding in the city (2005) Liu Bolin

Motorola's Others Eyes (2001)

OBSERVER CV dazzle(2012) Adam harvey

Face substitution(2011) Kyle McDonald

A Opto isolator (2007) Golan Levin

Creepy spider dress (2012) Anouk Wipprecht

Electric stimulus to face(2010) Daito Manabe Wearable sculptures(2010) Tracey Featherstone

ACTING UPON THE VICTIM

We refer to the victim as the individual that participates in an interactive exchange (be it with other individuals or artifacts) and feels his or her identity being threatened in the process. The following are strategies that impact the victim directly, not necessarily to his or her advantage or benefit.

ACTING UPON THE SPACE

Participants involved in a social exchange share the same space (in a physical or virtual form). The following exploit the possibilities that acting upon space brings to human interactive agents.

Identity’s ambiguous nature blurries the active boundaries of the artifacts and maneuvers that act upon it.We have identified three main elements within a human based interactive event and classified different pragmatic and artistic approaches according to their influence on such elements.Wearable devices can help

ACTING UPON THE OBSERVER

Be an individual, a group or a camera, the observer threatens the subjective sense of the victim's identity. The following approaches impact this particular interactive element.

users to identify, remember people, places and things, can work as location reminders, for entertainment purposes, as digital diaries, as data recording, receiving and sending devices. Sharing the personal data under the scope of communication.

As the face is the most unnique part of our physical identity, the body comes second. Our main concept is to camouflage oneself and individual’s equipment to prevent detection by visual, near-infrared, infrared, ultraviolet, radar, acoustic, and radio sensors.

Mirrororigami

Physiological Escapist

A concept prototype

Mirrorigami is the conceptual mockup of a device for modular concealing of faces. Mirrorigami creates an visual interplay where the victim’s face is altered to the eyes of the observer. The victim places reflecting bits along her face which replicate and relocate

the user’s facial features to form a captivating geometric structure. The elements that form this poetic puzzle belong to the same face they act upon, hence, the distorted face displayed still preserves a sense of familiar remembrance.

The complextity of the human body demands certain tasks to be performed autonomously [breathing] while others can be triggered voluntarily [clapping]. Voluntary actions are usually subdued to social and cultural conventions whereas involuntary actions are free from them. Could a “victim” use the autonomic nervous system to its advantage and protect herself against potential identity threats? When the “victim” is under subjective observational threat, the PhysiologicalEscapist vaporizes a chemical substance which triggers a social-inhibiting physiological reaction (sneezing, caughing, nose bleeding), enabling the “victim” to escape safely.

Project in Collaboration with Enrique Encinas

Knittstruments: melodies of weaving

Project in Collaboration with Enrique Encinas

Crafting, Knitting, Sound Interfaces Knittstruments: Melodies of Weaving is a project that explores and extends the expressive capabilities of the activity of knitting and also, analyzes the role of the craftsman (knitter) and how it is influenced when the expressive domain of the activity traditionally performed (knitting) is altered to obtain a different aesthetic output (music).The main objective of this research is to investigate how an auditory feedback, which makes the knitters aware of their bodily movement, affects their performance and triggers creativity. The main contribution of this research is an further examination of knitting practices, focused on the interrelations between creativity and skill,building upon the knitters’ embodied knowledge. While knitting has been concerned as a rhythmic slow creating process, it seems less aimed to stimulate knitters’ creativity. Observing knitting, we can see the workings of a special logic of assembly between the two knitting needles and the thread following certain protocols (Busch, 2013). Knitters follow specific knitting patterns and it seems a more methodical than a creative 13

activity. In knitting, creativity lies on the creation of new patterns, the exploration of different knitting processes, or experimenting with different tools in use. Knitting has a rhythm that is based both on the pattern, that the knitter follows, and the way that the body moves. The rhythmic slow process of creating a knitting piece, thus, reflects also on the individuals’ embodied knowledge and the various skilled practices. In music rhythm is a key element. This was the starting point for my experiments. Improvise is to follow the ways of the world as they unfold. Needles, yarns and the knitters’ expertise are the instruments to complete a knitted composition. To which degree can a skilled practice, and the tacit knowledge that characterizes it, be faithfully translated into a different expressive domain? Can we in the process of making? To what extend can this traslation question knitters’ creativity?

METHODOLOGY The research is an ongoing process of multiple iterations based on action research and entails cycles of simultaneous data collection and analysis, which is based on the grounded theory methods of noting, coding and memoing. In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between craftsman, tool and skill, three different instruments (knittstruments) were assembled and tested in four different environments. Knitters had to compose music through their knitting and the help of musical instruments and digital technologies.A drumming metal Hi-hat, a directional microphone and a theremin were located in direct contact, right in front (2-5 cm) and 40 cm, respectively, from the needles. Sound output processed to synthesize audio/influence other knittstruments. FURTHER IMPLICATIONS Transform other receptive movements into creative activities (ex. physical therapy motions).

Sønderborghus, Centre for Culture, Denmark

The awereness of epistemic and pragmatic actions (Kirsch, 1993) ) where the knitter’s perception changes in the transitional moments (pulling the yarns, swifting the needles) between previous and next action, can challenge their creativity on the process of making.

From the first experiment the theremin proved to be valuable bridge translating every movement into sound. Knitters tried to adjust their skills to the new setting in various ways, from rhythmically pulling the yarn, to altering the knitting angle (from a static horizon plane to the vertical one). The knitters built upon their skills practices. The direct coupling between action and perception, through sound, bring them out of the flow state, let them experiment and improvise during the process with all the tools available (yarns,needles, body).

Participatory Innovation Sønderborg Welcome Experience

DESIGN TEAM: A.Papadimitriou, Y.You, A.M.Cifuentes, E.Ezeiza, M.Mastrone, P.Lima K.Koulidou PARTNERS : SET (Sønderborg Business and Tourist Center), Richard Nielsen (SMS)

‘Customer Journey Map’

A participatory design project that aims to improve the experience that newcomers face in Sønderborg city, involving multiple stakeholders. “Sønderborg Welcome Experience” is an event that aims to provide a meaningful experience for newcomers in Sønderborg. It also intends to create an opportunity for locals and newcomers to meet. CHALLENGE The biggest challenge that newcomers face with their arrival, is to build a social network. No matter if people come to work or study, they are trying to know more people because they need friends to have fun, to help out, to talk and share. There are some institutions working to help newcomers build the network. However, the majority of newcomers don’t know how to reach these activities or the existence of them.

shared their stories of being a newcomer here in Sønderborg. In order to avoid “taken-forgranted” assumptions and to truly understand the difficulties that newcomers need to face when they come to Sønderborg inspired by the “Cultural Probes”, we designed a “Story box” and we asked four participants with different profiles to complete some activities over the course of a three days. Participants were fully engaged providing us with interesting insights. By giving them the opportunity to express themselves in different ways increases their creativity and imagination. Personal video and daily stories were proved to be inspiring materials for us to construct the “personas”, a tool which we have planned to use later on the design process.

DESIGN PROCESS We used different Service Design Tools, in the beginning of the project, to get inspired and to come up with ideas and concepts. We used the Story-Telling Method, in which all of us

CO DESIGN APPROCH The innovative approach we applied is people working together and co-designing a change or an idea which is built by the dynamic collaboration between all the stakeholders that are be

involved (ordinary people, designers, companies, organizations, users). Every stakeholder brings knowledge and experience and together is part of the final solutions that impacts everybody. We organized a participatory design workshop where participants were invited to design solutions for others people’s shoes. ‘Cultular Probes’ DESIGN CONCEPT Coming from the concept of an welcome kit, in which newcomers would receive a package with all the material to inform about Sønderborg, the main insight of the final concept was to make the kit broader in the city. The final concept brings an interactive experience. It comes from the idea of creating a labyrinth in real scale placed downtown. Labyrinth of Sønderborg is full of interesting and interactive attractions. In the end, we unfolded the concept of individual boxes to create a complete experience of the danish culture and the city through an event in heart of the city, where people can meet, learn and interact.

‘Personas’

Co-design Workshop with the Newcomers

‘Sønderborg Welcome Experience’

Reflecting on the design process

Designing Skin Probes

cultural probes

communicating data

key meeting with Richard and SET

“ALIVE SHARING SYSTEM“, “ FINDING THE RIGHT QUESTION TO FIND THE RIGHT ANSWER”

OVERCOME THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE LANGUAGE

“MOUTH TO MOUTH“, “PEOPLE NEED PEOPLE“

LEARNING THROUGH GAMES

Through Reflective Practices A participatory design project in the field of smart textiles. enganging approach

partners

participatory design

key meeting with the team

ongoing sense-making process

co-creation workshop

personas customer journey map story- box

auto-ethnographic approach

IF YOU FIND THE RIGHT QUESTION YOU MIGHT GET THE RIGHT ANSWER

reflections

CREATE A GROUP OF INTERESTS

BUILD A NETWORK

THERE ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE COMING TO SØNDERBORG

THE JOURNEY STARTS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL

NEWCOMERS HAVE STUGGLING MOMENTS IN SØNDERBORG

designers

understanding the user

internal story telling

auto-ethography

first meeting with Richard (SMS) . We are partners!

users

PEOPLE NEED PEOPLE

EVERYBODY HAS A STORY TO SHARE

Collaboration with the stakeholders (SMS, SET)

brainstorming and consept proposals

event for the newcomers-Sønderborg Welcome Experience

SKIN PROBES was a three-week project bringing together first and second year students of the IT Product Design graduate program at the University of Southern Denmark, Design students from the Design Academy in Sønderborg and experts from the field of Engineering and Fashion Design. The project was my initiative. I was interested to explore the field of smart textiles and the benefits of applying tangible reflection tools during the design process. The first objective was to develop a probe, which reveals the wearer’s emotional state of stress and thus creates selfawareness and empathy. The other was to develop tangible tools that help documenting the design process, as well as encourages reflection on the team collaboration and spatiality. My role during the project was quite crucial. As changes throughout the design process were invitable, the rest of the group felt that I was responsible to take desicions and share tasks.

Reflecting critically and acting upon the new situations and the members’reflection and skills. I managed to see new possibilities of how we can work together and propose alternatives, when team members were frustruted or demotivated.

workshop setting where participants, who have not worked together before, come together and try to define their roles within the team.

In this study, I follow an experimental design research method. As the project was running, our multidisciplinary group of seven was divided into two smaller teams. One team was working on combining interaction design and textiles, whereas the other group focused on documenting the design process, as well as, designing tangible tools for reflection. The groups were flexible in their composition of students; all students worked in both groups according to their preference at a time.

In order to document the design process, we propose transformable tangible models that can trigger reflection on the ways in which students work and collaborate, the space where they work as well as on how the space may influence their design practices. In terms of reflection we found it useful to ask ourselves:

The goal of the tangible tools developed was to highlight the importance of individual reflection during the design process within an intensive

DESIGNING THE TANGIBLE REFLECTION TOOLS

How we work.. Where we work.. What we are doing.. 18

Lunar Poles an Interactive Lamp A interaction design project in the field of smart textiles.

Skin Probes : The design process and design experiments

How many things can we control as human beings? Technology helps us to increase the number of things that we can control, but still the “unknown” is out there. Thinking about the “unknown” I took my inspiration from the outer space. Permanent human habitation on a planetary body, other than the earth, was one of the science fiction’s most prevalent times. As technology has advanced and concerns about the future of humanity on earth have increased, the argument that space colonization is an achievable and worthwhile goal has gained momentum. The moon, because of its proximity to earth, has been seen as the most obvious natural expansion after earth. I created “creatures” from clay, a natural material, and I used technology to change the lighting. The physical parts can rotate, giving the sense that they are alive. A combination of blue and red led can change the spatial experience, whereas the user can add the green hue from a distance.

Collage inspired from the Outer Space

Designing the Prototype (Clay, Arduino, LEDs)

Contact www.ko-design.net www.academia.edu email: kkoulidou@gmail.com