Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 25

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Reflections on an industrial design curriculum paradigm shift from material production to behaviour change by practice based on a case study

This article narrates on work towards a new industrial design curriculum launched in 2016. The makeover promoted transitioning from traditional design education focused on both, industrial age manufacturing and first-generation Bloom’s taxonomy, to recent expressions of new product development and innovation driven by constructionism and social constructivism. It integrates design research, heuristics, human-centred design, human-computer interaction, participatory design, user experience, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and design, and mathematics) and CDIO (conceiving, designing, implementing and operating) frameworks. The new approach upgraded expected final outcomes from concept proposal to proving practically how solutions work, operate and their likelihood for user adoption. A water conservation project for a household serves as metaphor of that shift from material production to behaviour change with a third-generation activity theory and artefact mediation analysis. Designers and users participated as co-designers in an organisational and design intervention to improve sustainability awareness and performance. Water is a premium commodity because its scarcity. Research showed the most likely influence to change habit in a family came from their shared construction of knowledge based on their interaction. Instead of applying normative measures that were often seen as penalty. Design as persuasion was also essential for confirming habit change. Results made the project a students’ benchmark because it’s working prototype as unique value proposition and minimum viable product with prospect for user adoption and industry take up for manufacturing. The project also evidenced favourable and disparaging steps in the process of new curriculum implementation and redefinition of design as value adding

Persuasive industrial design and human computer interaction in child development for sustainable behaviour and water conservation

This article narrates on work in progress relating to influencing sustainability awareness and knowledge with subsequent change in behavior from childhood. The project was based on CDIO (conceiving, designing, implementing, operating) syllabus, industrial design and human computer interaction. The study focuses on issues of water conservation as a resource said to become premium commodity in near future and its scarcity in our country. Background information and literature review supports the view sustainability goals require more than efficient planning, strategy, implementation and regulation. Importantly, behavioral change through persuasion becomes pivotal to enable a generational cultural transformation relating to sustainability and wellbeing. Researchers found behavioral formation and change happens preferably through daily familiar practice rather than regulatory or financial penalty, as with water bills. One such instance, is the daily ritual of bathing where parents/guardians and children connect with each other through a task and also allows for a child to increase experiential learning through play based on projectbased learning. Project findings based on conceiving-designing-implementing-operating framework are leading to a working minimum value product (MVP) and system solution closer to its next stage of deployment with a subgroup of possible customers or early adopters