Using symbolic meaning as a means to design for happiness: The development of a card set for designers

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Development of an evidence-based toolkit to support safe design for children

This thesis contributes to developing an evidence-based toolkit for designers when designing products based on theoretical inputs from human-factors study. Theoretical and developmental knowledge, relevant to the design of warning and risk communications and the area of design for child safety, is translated into support for reflections to practitioners. The risk management framework derived from this study aims to increase awareness of the implications of the aspects involved and as a reference point for groups involved in design for child safety. The thesis covers a shift from risk communications with children to information about children (including physical dimensions etc.) for designers. The final output is a collation of this knowledge base and some conceptual tools that can be applied to a specific design context whether that context be in risk communications or the area of general safety design considerations. Designers with little experience in managing design for children can benefit from this study when deciding on their design strategies. This reflective support is the result of a study of risk communication as a complex and unique activity in which various groups and domains are involved. The process of building an understanding started with an analysis of the literature in the field and with the direct experience of the researcher, who worked directly within ergonomics as part of a design-innovation team. The framework presented in this thesis follows a more structured approach to risk communications. It is conceived as an aid to help practitioners reflect on the implications each stage of the development process has on the experience of developing appropriate risk communications and appropriate products. In this way, it is thought of as a dynamic and flexible reference that can be adapted by design researchers when planning and coordinating design to suit different design situations. The use of this tool in the childsafety, design, and study communities would provide validation of the effectiveness of the framework and its continuous improvement. The purpose of this study is twofold: to contribute to study and practice with the aim of providing fundamental guidance to designers. The research detailed in this thesis brings readers up-to-date with the current literature on theories of risk communications. It then highlights methodologies, tools, guidelines and requirements for risk communication advances in study and practice. A framework for risk communication for young children has been developed out of a resource review based on previous work in the area by McLaughlin and Mayhorn, (2014). The information accumulated in this study has been used to develop initial prototype tools for designers who are considering young children. The developed platform supports practitioners from two different angles: theoretical and practical. Designers engaged in the core activity of design for child safety need methods that support the consideration of ergonomics and other product requirements, such as risk communications. This study contributes to developing methods and tools that can be used by designers and other relevant groups when designing risk communications for young children. Available knowledge is collated and integrated into the framework with the intention that it will be developed further throughout the thesis to consider effective use within the design cycle. This study aims to contribute to child safety by providing the first development of tools/decision supports aimed at designers who are designing for young children and are accordingly evaluating human-factors methods in design for child safety. The aim of this study is to gather the requirements of a collaborative design tool for use by industrial designers, engineers and other groups involved in design for child safety. This thesis aims to address these needs. When considering the needs, limitations and capabilities, ( mental model ) of the intended users (i.e., children), important aspects such as safety have been considered. The general need for support methods are addressed through a review of the safety, design and ergonomics literature. After this, empirical study through interviews and observations is used to outline some problem areas: the development and implementation of human-factors methods in design, lack of available resources and inaccessibility of data. Three empirical studies were conducted to meet the requirements of this study: Study 1 in Chapter 4 involves documentary analysis of existing models and methods, Study 2 in Chapter 5 involves formal interviews with designers (N = 30), and Study 3 in Chapter 7 involves an online survey for initial feedback about the prototype-persona (N = 50) respondents. The first section outlines the study questions. It discusses the outputs of the three main studies contained within this thesis

Evaluating the Use of Persuasive Design Cards for Novice Designers

This paper examines the use of physical persuasive cards for novice designers in ideation sessions. Through experimental study, we found that the tools a designer uses affects the kind of outcome they will get. The observations from four workshop sessions indicate that persuasive cards can be a two-edged sword, as they can affect the design process both positively and negatively. Additionally, in this paper, certain insights are highlighted when it came to how novice designers interacted with the cards. One of the most interesting behaviors witnessed was how participants were depending on the cards while debating their own ideas, and in some situations, neglecting their own or their colleagues’ ideas as they believed the cards knew better. Moreover, this study was able to report “The Commonality Effect” as a new finding, as session outcomes from with-card teams showed a higher rate of repetitiveness and commonality in the persuasive ideas. This paper provides 10 design card heuristics that can be used as a guideline when it comes to producing and evaluating card-based tools

Designing with Children: Reflections on Effective Involvement of Children in the Interaction Design Process

This 
thesis 
contributes 
to 
the
 discussion 
around
 the 
practice
 of
co-design 
with 
children 
by 
providing 
support 
for 
reflections 
to
 practitioners. 
The
 framework
 that 
derived
 from
 this
 research 
aims 
to 
increase 
the
 awareness 
on 
the 
implications 
the 
different 
aspects
 involved 
on
 co‐design
 session 
have
 on 
its 
outcome. 
Researchers 
with 
little 
experience
 in
 managing 
co‐ design
 sessions
 can 
benefit 
from 
it
 when
 deciding
 on 
their 
co‐design 
strategies

Architecture and childhood development : towards establishing architectural design guidelines for children's environments in South Africa.

Master of Architecture. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban 2016.The research in terms of Architecture and Childhood Development is based on an understanding that Architecture serves society and has the potential to impact positively on children. The research is grounded in a postmodern theoretical enquiry, and the primary purpose of architecture is established as the process of creating places for people to dwell. The concern with childhood development and more specifically Early Childhood Development relates to the universally recognised potential of changing society through early intervention and provision of quality childhood development. The research relates to the principles of The UN Convention of The Rights of The Child, and aims to initiate the transformation of the architectural design of spaces for children, to achieve a positive impact on childhood development for children in South Africa. The research problem is defined in terms of the concept of the built environment and how it impacts on childhood development, seldom considered in the provision of Early Childhood Development in South Africa. The key question is: How can architectural design provide nurturing and stimulating environments that influence the care, education and development of children between the ages of 0-6 in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa? The research methodology includes a literature review, policy analysis and collective case study. The literature review examines the theoretical framework of phenomenology and perceptual theory, as well as concepts of placemaking, dwelling, child development theories, and educational studies relating to children’s spaces. The key concepts of Responsiveness, the Third Teacher and Community are established. The methodology of The Pattern Language and design guidelines from the UK and Australia are investigated to assist the understanding of these concepts translated into architecture. The policy analysis reviews the Rights of The Child, as well as ECD implementation both universally and in South Africa. The case study highlights the methods of translating the theoretical concepts of Responsiveness, Third Teacher and Community within the Kwa-Zulu Natal context as implemented by architects. The research concludes with a framework for the design guideline for children’s environments in South Africa

Making kin and taking care: intra-active learning with time, space and matter in a Johannesburg preschool

This research explores the lives and learning of a group of Grade R children and their human and non-human collaborators, (myself included) paying particular attention to the agency of the material environment. The learning spaces of a preschool and its neighbouring park emerge as key players in the lively thinking-with that is sparked off by our engagements with each other: people, other creatures, plants, spaces, things, energies, pasts, presents and futures. The spaces cannot be separated from their relationships with time and matter (of which we are a part), nor from the stories, habits and patterns of our engagement with them. All of these connected things, material and discursive, work in the research as lively assemblages or apparatuses that change and are changed by ongoing and unanticipated events. Photographs and video clips produce new ideas about and with the data created through the project and rather than reflecting reality, these visual forms diffract with time and space to offer the researcher and the participants new and different sensory, conceptual, affective and temporal experiences. These differences make a difference to the thinking that emerges. Relationships of accountability and belonging are recognized as central concepts in the learning with the park and the preschool. Paying attention to the choices we can make about taking care of our human and nonhuman relations or 'kin’ invites new thoughts about what it means to learn together in an inner-city preschool. Learning together requires a posthuman ethics that pays attention to what matters in the entanglements of learning and the becoming response-able to one another

Design with Symbolic Meaning: Introducing well-being related symbolic meaning in design

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Old Meets New: Media in Education – Proceedings of the 61st International Council for Educational Media and the XIII International Symposium on Computers in Education (ICEM&SIIE'2011) Joint Conference

A conferência ICEM&SIIE'2011 foi organizada pela Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal) – membro do European Consortium of Innovative Universities – e pretendeu reunir investigadores, professores e outros profissionais, a nível nacional e internacional, em torno de um tema aglutinador que pretendeu despoletar e colocar a tónica da discussão na dualidade ―old/new‖, ou seja, os participantes foram convidados a discutir: - os media na educação em ambas as perspetivas, mais tradicionais ou modernas, com incidência numas ou noutras ou, ainda, numa perspetiva comparativa; - a conjugação, adaptação e adoção dos media consoante os contextos e objetivos de utilização; - o que os media implicam em termos de tecnologia, barreiras profissionais e /ou sociais; - a relação custo-benefício da utilização dos media em contexto de aprendizagem; - os media em função dos diversos contextos educativos e dos perfis de aprendizagem dos alunos. Para a conferência foram selecionados 76 artigos organizados em 15 sessões paralelas, 13 posters e 9 workshops. A conferência caracterizou-se pelo caráter internacional dos contributos, reunindo 38 artigos em português, 32 em língua inglesa e 6 em espanhol. Estas atas encontram-se organizadas de acordo com o programa da conferência. Em primeiro lugar incluem-se os artigos (full paper e short paper) por sessão, seguem-se os posters e, finalmente, o resumo relativo aos workshops.The ICEM&SIIE'2011 conference was organised by the University of Aveiro (Portugal) – a member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities – and aimed at gathering researchers, teachers and other professionals, at national and international level, around a focal topic that might trigger and centre the discussion on the ―old/new‖ duality of media in education. Participants were invited to discuss: - old and new media in education, in isolation or comparatively; - how old and new media in education can be combined, adopted and adapted; - what old and new media in education imply in terms of technological, professional and social barriers; - what cost-benefit relationships old and new media in education entail; - how to compare old and new media in education given their particular educational contexts and the students' learning profiles. 76 papers were selected and organised in 15 paralel sessions, 13 posters and 9 workshops. The conference is characterized by the international character of contributions, gathering 38 papers in Portuguese, 32 in English and 6 in Spanish. These procedings are organised according to the programme of the conference. First we find the full and short papers, per session, then posters and finally the abstracts for the workshops