Experimental Design: Design Experimentation

This paper was selected for publication in MIT’s Design Issues. The research takes an original approach by positioning experimentation as a comprehensive design methodology, rather than using the traditional industrial design approach of employing experimentation as a problem-solving tool within a standard design model. It is an evolution of design thinking on non-linear design methods first developed by Hall and presented to the ‘International Association of Societies of Design Research Conference’, Seoul, South Korea (2009), and in a paper entitled ‘Innovation design engineering: Non-linear progressive education for diverse intakes’ presented at the ‘International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education’, University of Brighton, UK, which offered a non-linear pedagogy (Hall and Childs 2009) that uniquely supports a diverse interdisciplinary intake. Experimental design is well known in the science domain but very little evidence has been recorded of experimentation in industrial design and its position in relation to work in other science and research domains. Connections are made with theories on research methods, an analysis of case studies and comparisons of literature on experimentation from science disciplines, especially that of Kuhn (1962), Galison (1987), Pasteur’s quadrant for scientific research in Stokes (1997) and Borgdorff (2007). Hall makes significant claims in exploring and articulating a model of design experimentation that highlights the differences between scientific and design experimentation. This work was original in describing an experimental design model for the increasing activity in early phases of design development by recording and enhancing knowledge in this important area for future design research and practice. The methods researched in the paper were later used in experimental design workshops in Daegu, South Korea (2011) and Busan, South Korea (2012)

e-Artisans: Contemporary Design for the Global Market

The aim of GoGlobal Ghana was to consider whether the creative industries in a developing country could be nurtured through design collaboration and an e-commerce model to contribute significant economic growth through increasing the level of international trade. The project was initiated with three phases planned for execution: a creative studio with design students from the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London and the Kwame Nkruma University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana, an e-commerce process for supply, distribution and marketing; and finally a “hub” location to facilitate project delivery and dissemination to other African regions

GoGlobal: How can contemporary design collaboration and e-commerce models grow the creative industries in developing countries?

Using previous case studies by the authors and a current live project, this paper considers whether the creative industries in a developing country (Ghana, Africa) can be nurtured through design collaboration and an e-commerce model to contribute significant economic growth through increasing international trade. The paper draws on practical experience of five annual projects, with a focus on GoGlobal Africa. Initiated in 2005, GoGlobal is a collaborative design research activity between the University of Technology Sydney, the Royal College of Art, the London School of Economics, RMIT Melbourne, and other partnering organisations. GoGlobal Africa was initiated in 2008 with 3 phases: creative studio with design students from the RCA UK and KNUST Ghana; an e-commerce process for supply, distribution and marketing; and a “hub” location to facilitate project delivery and dissemination. The context to GoGlobal is informed by the UNCTAD studies of global creative industries

Design and Geographically Liberated Difference

The concept of geographically liberated difference has emerged from the overlap of cultural studies and economics as a critique of the effects of globalisation on cultures through the manufacturing and distribution of artefacts with unique differences across diverse territories. Although this concept is known in the domains of cultural studies and economics, very little has been written on its effect and understanding within design, especially industrial design. Industrial design has vast influence on the production and distribution of products across the globe from small scale to mass production of millions of units. The mechanisms by which design influences the evolution of cultures through the concept of geographically liberated difference are important for future development. Research by the authors indicates parallel streams of both digital and analogue methods supporting successful models of geographically liberated difference in design practice. Examples of these approaches are discussed to uncover the operable mechanisms and arguments concerning the future value and influence of this feature of globalisation

The Data Framework: A Collaborative Tool for Assessment at the UNLV Libraries

Keeping track of the data that academic libraries capture is a massive task. The University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries developed a data framework as a tracking tool for data points. This framework is both a data dictionary and a manual that records data-gathering procedures. This ensures that the data is continually gathered and reported in the same way, and also ensures that institutional memory of those procedures is preserved, regardless of staff turnover. Additionally, the revised Data Framework, and the revision process, transformed staff attitudes about data reporting and strengthened the libraries\u27 culture of assessment

Foroba Yelen: Portable Solar Lighting and Sustainable Strategies for Remote Malian Villages

‘Foroba Yelen’ is a conference paper recording the case study led by Hall of a design enterprise project in Mali that investigated how designers can co-design and develop portable, sustainable solar lighting for remote off-grid Malian villages and how this can ultimately assist in an overall national-level strategy for slowing the rural urban migration patterns of West Africa. The project had a positive impact on the local community by enabling sustainable local lighting that helped maintain cultural practices, encouraged enterprise and facilitated education. The lights would be rented out by villagers and profits used to construct new lights designed to use locally sourced materials, construction techniques and components. The research builds on existing expertise of cross-cultural collaboration by the lead author (Hall 2009; Hall 2010; Hall 2012; Hall 2013), and describes the technical and cultural challenges faced by designers working in this challenging context – in particular, the challenge of whether to use imported or locally sourced technologies, locating suitable making processes and issues of deploying co-design methods across cultures. Impact is demonstrated by improvements in the social life of villages through public lighting as part of a strategy for slowing the rural–urban migration patterns and helping to maintain food production in the countryside. New knowledge, including methods for sustainable development, communication by remote design teams and design pedagogy, is presented in practice-related activities by designers in international collaborations. The range of project communications was mapped and diagrams generated to identify the most successful remote communication platforms. Following the project completion, the work was exhibited at the Royal College of Art (2011) and featured in three articles in Lighting Design (2012), Axis (2012) and New Design (2012). The project was funded by the eLand Foundation in Switzerland, Nakumatt Holdings in Kenya and Philips Lighting in Holland

An Opportunistic Approach to Adding Value to a Photograph Collection

The Semantic Web can, among other things, be used for photograph annotation. Many implementations of this idea exist, but all are limited by the fact that a human must manually create the annotations for the photographs, often using a program with which he or she is not familiar. This poster discusses an opportunistic method of photograph annotation that uses logical inference in conjunction with existing data from various sources in order to obtain information about the images being annotated

Ubiquitous Tendencies: Cultural Inspirations and the Future of Industrial Design for a Global Mass Market

This paper is aimed at academics, students and practitioners in order to discuss ideas that relate to design practice and academic research exploring whether designers should seek to include cultural influences in contemporary mass-produced consumer products aimed at a global mass market. It is often assumed that designers are adept at drawing from a wide range of cultural influences for generating differences leading to novelty and innovation when conceiving new designs. However developments in a range of areas from design education to 3d software and digital printing tools alongside the global strategies of major mass manufacturers has drawn this into question with the production of increasingly ubiquitous physical products. The discussion contrasts a number of diverse experiences from the author’s design and research practice working with highly skilled craftspeople in endangered practices through to global mass consumer products to assemble a picture of how industrial designers in the 21st century deal with cultural influences in their work. It questions the value of incorporating specific cultural influences in mass produced global products and asks whether we should continue the practice of earlier generations of designers in using our skills to enrich the lives of users and enhance product values by introducing expressive cultural influences. This develops the arguments of transnational design activity in relation to the homogenizing and heterogeneous globalising polarities produced through industrial design activity and ultimately suggests a reappraisal of how anthropocentric values are communicated in mass produced products

RCA and NASA collaboration leads to Mars rovers of the future

Article in Wired magazine recording the outputs from the IDE & Vehicle design module developed and coordinated by Ashley hall and Daniele Bedini with support NASA, ESA and PRAMAC

On teaching design innovation: Interview with Ashley Hall

This article features an interview between Ashley Hall and Cristina Ferraz Rigo, design strategist at Philips Lighting. The discussion centres around the differences between design innovation and other design disciplines, the key factors in understanding innovation and strategies for educating future innovators