Framing complexity, design and experience: A reflective analysis

The paper discusses theory and practice in the roles of refl ective practice and contextual design in addressing issues of complexity in design. The author defi nes a new understanding of the role of complexity in design. The paper reviews theories in design and HCI related to refl ective practice, context, and embodied interaction. A case story of practice in interaction design and museums is presented as a practicebased investigation of the complex. The paper calls for the framing of larger research agendas in this area with the need to further work on issues of context, refl ective practice, embodiment and human activity in order to provide a more comprehensive and integral view of design activity. The paper concludes with the need to reframe concerns in design in order to emphasise situated participation, non-rational design strategies, in situ design and a re-orientation in focus from tasks to experience

Navigating difference: a framework to support understanding of design research.

The social practice of design and design research is continually evolving to meet the needs of society. Research has always been an integral part of the design process, yet as a profession which developed outside of the university, its methodologies are fundamentally different from more traditional academic models by incorporating elements of creativity, intuition and tacit knowledge. Increased collaboration with the wider academic research community combined with greater focus on public research assessment and accountability creates a clear need for design to develop, define and communicate its particular research methodologies. The research was conducted in three phases. A documentary analysis of the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (UK REF 2014) captures an understanding of how research, and in particular design research, is represented, defined and evaluated within the wider discursive and social practice of research assessment. This was followed by a constructivist grounded theory study of practising design researchers to capture their approach and understanding of design research. Finally, building on the themes emerging from the documentary analysis and grounded theory study, a hermeneutical circle of interpretation is developed to explore the contextual social and historical structures, practices and cultures shaping the evolution of design research. Based on the findings, a framework titled Navigating Difference has been created to support understanding of design research practice. Navigating Difference represents the experience of design researchers as they navigate the opposing values of design practice and academic research. Addressing research questions framed in terms of ‘what could be’, design research practice was found to be determined by the embodied interaction of the design researcher with the human situation, drawing on a combination of creativity, intuition and theoretical knowledge. The Navigating Difference framework maps and explicates the range of design research approaches as evidenced in the research interviews and the continued evolution of design research practice as it navigates and addresses design practice and academic research values

Ensemble artifact design for context sensitive decision support

Although an improvement of design knowledge is an essential goal of design research, current design research predominantly focuses on knowledge concerning the IT artifact (tool) design process, rather than a more holistic understanding encompassing the dynamic usage contexts of a technological artifact. Conceptualising a design in context as an ensemble artifact (Sein et al., 2011) provides the basis for a more rigorous treatment. This paper describes an IS artifact design framework that has been generated from the development of several practitioner-oriented decision support systems (DSS) in which contextual aspects relevant to practitioners\u27 decision making are considered as integral design themes. We describe five key dimensions of an ensemble artifact design and show their value in designing practitioner-oriented DSS. The features are user centredness, knowledge sharing, situation-specific customisation, reduced model orientation, and practice based secondary design abilities. It is argued that this understanding can contribute to design research knowledge more effectively both to develop dynamic DSS, and by its extensibility to other artifact designs

Adopting Design-Based Research to Conduct a Doctoral Study as a Micro-Cycle of Design – A Practice Illustration

In this practice illustration, I elaborate on the methodological aspect of my doctoral research, developing a multilayered participatory approach to explore learning spaces drawing on Design-Based Research (DBR). Reflecting on my work, I explain “why” and “how” I adopted DBR in my doctoral research in Education. I argue that DBR is feasible to conduct doctoral research as a micro-cycle of design to develop design methodology and/or domain theory. I provide a rationale for choosing DBR as an underpinning methodology through which I designed the study and selected the data collection and analysis methods. I also describe how DBR was interrelated with the tenets of my study and the research questions. Providing an explanation of the relationship between DBR and participatory design, I explain how design methodology was developed in the context of my study. At the end, I briefly outline the findings and the contextual design principles that emerged from the findings

Designing 21st Century Standard Ware: The Cultural Heritage of Leach and the Potential Applications of Digital Technologies

This practice-based research investigates the potential applications of digital manufacturing technologies in the design and production of hand-made tableware at the Leach Pottery. The methodology for the research establishes an approach grounded in my previous experience as a maker that is informed by an open, experimental, emergent, and responsive framework based on Naturalistic Inquiry. A critical contextual review describes the cultural heritage of Leach which, for the purposes of the research, is developed through the Leach Pottery as a significant site, the historical production of the iconic Leach Standard Ware and the contemporary production of Leach Tableware. This is followed by an examination of Potter’s Tools in the Leach production environment, and a review of makers’ digital ceramic practice. The contextual review is followed by an explication of ‘standards’ presented through visual lineages of Standard Ware and Leach Tableware to define ‘standard’ at a design (macro) level, followed by an examination of how ‘standard’ operates at a making (micro level) level. This chapter presents new knowledge in relation to defining the visual field of Leach Pottery tableware production and its standards of design. A chapter focussed on practice presents the outcomes and analysis of my engagement with digital manufacturing technologies which resulted in the development of new tools to support Leach Tableware production and the interrogation of Leach forms, in different mediums, which led to the creation of Digital-Analogue Leach forms. The practice culminated in the design and development of new 21st century Standard Ware: a range of 9 forms, called Echo of Leach, that were developed by myself using digital and analogue methods: the designs were realised by myself, the Leach Studio, and a further four makers. The outcomes of the research were presented in a three month exhibition at the Leach Pottery in 2013. The conclusions of the research draw on the key points raised in the analysis of the practice and relate these to the approaches to making pottery that are highlighted in the cultural heritage of Leach in the contextual review. These are also discussed in relation to ways in which these findings could be taken forward into development of knowledge about Standard Ware, especially in a broader studio pottery context

Zero-waste fashion design : a study at the intersection of cloth, fashion design and pattern cutting

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.This thesis examines zero-waste fashion design: design activity that results in zero-waste garments. Conventional design approaches waste approximately 15 per cent of the fabric used in the design and make of a cut and sew garment. The responsibility for this wastage belongs with manufacture, which is constrained by what has already been designed and pattern cut. The economic systems that underpin fashion design and manufacture are such that there is little economic incentive to be concerned with this wastage. An examination of the material and social investments embodied in fabrics alongside their environmental impacts, reveals that these investments are wasted in the wasted fabric. The context of this study is contemporary fashion design within the ready-to-wear industry: fashion design that leads to the manufacturing of multiples of one design. The contextual review of this study examines different methods of fashion creation. Design ideation tools and the relationship between fashion design and pattern cutting in current industry provide the frame for design practice in this study, together with an analysis of historical and contemporary zero-waste and less-waste garments. Findings from the contextual review frame a series of briefs for design experiments. This study asks: What are the opportunities for creating zero-waste garments within contemporary menswear fashion design practice using cut and sew methods? Fashion design practice is the primary research tool in this study. Design processes and their outcomes are documented in a journal, and the journals are transcribed and analysed. Successful strategies for zero-waste fashion design, emerging from the data, are presented. Pattern cutting emerges as integral to zero-waste fashion design. Zero-waste fashion design is examined in relation to fashion manufacture, as particular manufacturing issues such as fabric as material, and the grading of garment patterns to achieve size ranges of garments, create new kinds of opportunities for zero-waste fashion design. This study also asks: To what extent is a zero-waste approach feasible and desirable within contemporary fashion industry? This study demonstrates that zero-waste fashion design generates new opportunities for fashion design to engage with fashion manufacture that may not currently exist. This study calls for fashion design to consider pattern cutting an integral part of the fashion design process. Such an approach to fashion design creates new opportunities for the fashion industry and fashion design education. Zero-waste fashion design is part of a larger picture of beauty for everyone, that fashion is capable of being the source of