How designers work - making sense of authentic cognitive activities

In recent years, the growing scientific interest in design has led to great advances in our knowledge of authentic design processes. However, as these findings go counter to the existing theories in both design research and cognitive science, they pose a serious challenge for both disciplines: there is a wide gap between what the existing theories predict and what designers actually do. At the same time, there is a growing movement of research on authentic cognitive activities, which has among other things documented the central roles of action and the physical environment in these activities, something that existing cognitive theories have overlooked and cannot properly account for. This creates an explanatory gap analogous to the one found in design. This book aims to fill both of these gaps with a cognitive theory of how designers work. It revolves around the roles of physical activities and working materials in design, and the theory explains at length how these have functions that are essential to cognition. The two threads of design and cognition run in parallel throughout the book: the cognitive theory is applied to design, but is also consistently related to cognition in general. The result is, in back cover text parlance, a 'provocative' account of cognition and human performance, which should be of interest to cognitive scientists as well as to design researchers

Co-creating social and sustainable innovation in makerspaces and fab labs. Lessons learnt from the SISCODE European project

“Making” and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have been extensively investigated in the last few years. Several pieces of research have been carried out on the topic of fab lab networks and makers movements; in many cases, these studies highlighted problems of their economic sustainability, stressing -however- their cultural-related role. Nowadays, it is evident that Makerspaces and Fab Labs do not only produce physical goods, but they also develop knowledge and relationships, which are expressed through physical productions and activities. The European Union has been particularly interested in the study and development of innovative ecosystems, which might serve as levers for sustainable growth, because of their focus on co-creation and the involvement of different groups of stakeholders. SISCODE Horizon 2020 project was developed according to this European requirement. Within the SISCODE project, a co-creation methodology for societal challenges was proposed and tested throughout ten pilot projects carried out by Living Labs, Science Museums and Makerspaces, and Fab Labs. In this paper, we are going to present the three pilot projects developed by three Makerspaces and Fab Labs (Polifactory (Milan), Maker (Copenhagen), and Fab Lab Barcelona) and discuss main insights on co-creation practices

Participatory flows: A comparative analysis of co-design processes in the field of cultural heritage

This paper intends to explore co-design processes in the field of cultural heritage, based on an examination of the scientific literature and a comparative analysis of case studies. These cases, which involve different interlocutors, contexts of application, tools and output, are expressed not only in a discursive manner, but also represented in diagrams and visual syntheses of the co-design processes. The analysis was conducted on the basis of shared parameters: project description, year, partners, goals, context, co-design process, stakeholders and output. Starting with a consideration of the key concepts that emerged in the processes under investigation, the paper moves on to present the “MEET – Multifaceted Experiences for Enhancing Territories” project, which relies on the tools of design to enhance elements of the local culture and involve the community. It concludes by identifying good practices and the potential of co-design processes applied to the field of cultural heritage

Re-Entangling Design and Science Fiction: The Case of Daleko

The present article discusses how speculative design relates to technoscientific extrapolation, an important science fiction feature, to plan for potential scenarios and prototype viable models of futurity. Through it, the paper outlines some important nuances between different approaches concerning speculative design’s role, considering their particular epistemological assumptions. A specific case is presented and discussed: Daleko (2020), a project developed for the Strelka Institute’s Terraforming program. This project consists of nine science fiction pieces that entangle issues of waste management, technical infrastructure, and climate politics, discussing the problematic conception of waste as a form of externality and imagining future scenarios for managing it through a more holistic perspective. By analysing Daleko’s approach to speculative design, in its final section the article suggests further developing speculative projects in contexts of design education. This would serve towards stimulating designers to ponder how their craft relates to anthropogenic impact and how it can play a decisive role in prospecting more viable future scenarios

From Research Prototype to Research Product

Prototypes and prototyping have had a long and important history in the HCI community and have played a highly significant role in creating technology that is easier and more fulfilling to use. Yet, as focus in HCI is expanding to investigate complex matters of human relationships with technology over time in the intimate and contested contexts of everyday life, the notion of a ‘prototype’ may not be fully sufficient to support these kinds of inquiries. We propose the research product as an extension and evolution of the research prototype to support generative inquiries in this emerging research area. We articulate four interrelated qualities of research products—inquiry-driven, finish, fit, and independent—and draw on these qualities to describe and analyze five different yet related design research cases we have collectively conducted over the past six years. We conclude with a discussion of challenges and opportunities for crafting research products and the implications they suggest for future design-oriented HCI research

The Child-to-Child (C2C) Method: Participatory Design for, with and by Children in a Children's Museum

In this paper, we present the Child-to-Child method (C2C) for co-designing with children for children. The method is illustrated using a design case, where an interactive space for young children in Children’s Museum was designed. A three dimensional interactive books are envisioned and explored with children, and consequently embedded into the “Book Nook” exhibit. This interactive environment, intended for young children aged 3-5, was developed and prototyped by an intergenerational design team. The paper reflects upon challenges and opportunities provided by working with C2C method and presents results of preliminary investigation of an interactive space design that employs a novel concept of a 3D book. Further, we argue that C2C method is indeed a participatory design method for, with and by children. Reprint of a paper published in: IADIS International Journal on WWW/Internet Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 92-113. Made available here with permission from IADIS. http://www.iadis.org

The Intellectual Property Implications of the Development of Industrial 3D Printing

This commissioned project/report for the European Commission explores the IP Implications of the Development of Industrial 3D Printing from a European perspective. The report aims to enhance the European business sector and foster innovation. Through a legal and empirical analysis, involving qualitative data drawn from interviews with 41 industry stakeholders, the findings from the project demonstrates the areas which needed to be addressed – and resolved. Being the first large-scale empirical project of its kind, the report delves into the heart of EU IP regulation and makes policy recommendations for all aspects of IP whilst also providing recommendations for industry. The report was authored by a team of national and international researchers including a team of academics and practitioners and consisted of Lead Author, Dinusha Mendis together with partners from UK (Julie Robson, Phill Dickinson), Austria (Maria del Carmen Calatrava-Moreno and Alfred Radeur); Finland (Rosa Ballardini); and Germany (Jan Nordemann and Hans Brorsen)

Improving desktop FDM 3D printer by user-centered design

3D printing technology has been receiving more attention in the last decade since it was invented in the 1980s. This trend is especially obvious among desktop FDM 3D printers due to the contribution of the RepRap project. However, there are voices claiming that the undesirable user experience of these desktop machines caused users to believe that 3D printers are just professional toys, instead of a tool. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the needs of users in order to make desktop FDM 3D printers become meaningful equipment. This is the main focus of the thesis. The main research question of the thesis addresses how User-Centered Design can be used to make the entry-level FDM 3D printer become a useful tool that improves the work efficiency of architects. Besides, the secondary research question is to explore how UCD should be located in the startup business. In order to fulfill the mentioned tasks, this thesis, on one hand, describes the product development process of the 3D printer project. The project consisted of three phases. The first stage was to define the target consumers and the user requirements, in which I followed UCD methodology, using interview, fieldwork observation and online research to understand their needs and pain points about using 3D printers. The second stage of the project was to come up with solutions and to design the product. I carried out the benchmarking about the existing products and designed the hardware features with my teammates. The last phase was about six-months piloting with five architecture firms in Helsinki. We made 10 prototypes for this pilot and the constant feedback given by clients enabled us to finalize the prototypes. Meanwhile, this pilot also empowered architects to realize that 3D printers are a useful tool that benefits their work. At the same time, by documenting each stage of the development of the project, the thesis also reflects the mistakes and insufficiencies that happened in this project. At the end of the thesis, the author discusses what would be other possible results of the project if UCD could be applied in a different order. At the end of the thesis, conclusions are drawn and answers to its research questions are provided. To start with, interacting with users throughout the entire product development process and understanding the requirements of both the general users and the target users are two essential factors that enabled the project to achieve its goal successfully. In addition, it is important that startup companies should place the user research and customer development on the same level. UCD should not be limited by the frame defined by customer development. An inclusive UCD plays a vital role in the success of the startup business