Integrating ideas from design disciplines into the STEM curricula

The ‘Future of Jobs’ report from the World Economic Forum (2016) highlights that the three most important skills needed by the workforce from 2020 onwards are complex problem solving skills, critical thinking and creativity. To try and address the needs of the workforce, the report also recommends that higher educational institutions need to break away from “the dichotomy between Humanities and Sciences and applied and pure training” and to “work closely with governments, education providers and others to imagine what a true 21st century curriculum might look like.” One way of imagining what a 21st century STEM curriculum could look like is by taking inspiration from how design disciplines such as product design are taught and practiced

Perspectives on innovation within medium-sized firms in Wales

The Welsh economy is heading towards a post-Brexit future with historically lower levels of productivity continuing to leave the country lagging behind the UK average (Huggins and Williams, 2011; Welsh Government, 2017). An understanding of how new models of innovation are constructed and developed are then particularly important for policy makers and academia in Wales. As noted by Baughan (2015), innovation accounts for 25-50% of labour productivity growth

How student engagement has been enhanced through research into factors affecting creativity

Student engagement is critical in helping students learn effectively and achieve success. For students working in the areas of art and design, there is also a strong emphasis placed on the importance of creativity. Over recent years we have conducted research into the factors and processes affecting creativity and explored how these insights can help improve student engagement and student creativity. The paper discusses the relationship between factors affecting student engagement and creativity; how our curriculum has been designed to develop student creativity; and how we have evaluated and refined our curriculum to enhance student engagement, based on our research into creativity. We present results from the National Student Survey (NSS) and from our own internal qualitative and quantitative data analysis highlighting areas where we have made a positive impact on student engagement. We also reflect on areas for further development and the possible impact our approach and curriculum design could have on other disciplines

The physiological response to drawing and Its relation to attention and relaxation

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the physiological response of participants during a creative activity and compare the results to their physiological response during states of high attention and relaxation. Our interest was not only about the relationship between creativity and attention, but also about the role of valence and arousal. We used heart rate variability (HRV) as our physiological measure. We asked twenty-two participants to undertake three activities: a stroop test; a relaxation activity; and a drawing activity. After each activity, the participants were asked to reflect on their levels of attention, relaxation and enjoyment. The results showed significant physiological differences between the three activities: mean heart rate, F(2, 42) = 8.96, p = 0.001; log-transformed low frequency HRV power, F(1.43, 30.07) = 18.12, p < 0.001; and log-transformed high frequency HRV power, F(2, 42) = 6.25, p = 0.004. Overall, the results suggested that participants had high levels of attention during the drawing activity, with positive valence. The results also suggested that participants’ levels of arousal differed between the three activities. The implications of these results are described in the discussion

Indigenous research methodologies: The role of human-centred design in indigenous research - Reflection piece

Gareth Loudon reflects on insights gained from discussions at the Indigenous Research Methods Workshop in Brazil, held at Casa Rio and Museu do Índio in Rio de Janeiro from the 19th to the 23rd March 2019, a partnership between the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the People’s Palace Projects (People’s Palace Projects, 2021). The workshop in Brazil brought together researchers who had undertaken twelve different collaborative indigenous research projects across ten different countries (Brazil, Colombia, India, Mongolia, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Dominica). The focus of the workshop was to discuss issues relating to indigenous engagement, research partnerships and knowledge mobilisation. Gareth Loudon highlights some of the key themes arising from the workshop including issues raised relating to self-determination; the importance of creating tangible benefits for indigenous communities; the role of interdisciplinary research; and the emphasis on building capabilities. Gareth then goes on to give a brief explanation of why he believes that human-centred design principles and practices can be effective in addressing these key themes, with an example of work undertaken by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham with an indigenous community in India. Finally, he addresses some of the challenges raised at the workshop and suggests possible ways forward for the field

Using Real-time Biofeedback of Heart Rate Variability Measures to Track and Help Improve Levels of Attention and Relaxation

The main purpose of the study was to investigate if it was possible for a person to use the real-time biofeedback of their heart rate variability (HRV), recorded from a heart rate monitor watch, to help improve their level of attention and relaxation. Attention and relaxation are important factors affecting creativity, so improvements in ‘relaxed concentration’ could help enhance creativity. New HRV analysis algorithms were developed and tested together with three different user interfaces to explore how the interaction design affects user performance. Initial results suggest that it is possible to estimate levels of attention and relaxation, at least at a crude level, and that people are able to use this information to help improve their level of attention and relaxation. In addition, the results suggest that the interaction design of the application has a very important role to play in supporting user engagement and to maintain motivation levels

Product user testing: The void between laboratory testing and field testing

User testing will frequently make the difference between an excellent product and a poor one. Moreover, in certain fields such as medical device development or training, the defence field or automotive industry, such testing can literally be the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, design teams rarely have the luxury of either time or budget to user test every aspect of a design at every stage, and so knowing where and when to devote time to testing, and the fidelity required for accurate results are all critical to delivering a good result. This paper introduces research aimed at defining the optimum fidelity of mixed-reality user testing environments. It aims to develop knowledge enabling the optimisation of user testing environments by balancing effort vs. reward and thus developing critical and accurate data early in the design process. Testing in a laboratory setting brings advantages such as the ability to limit experimental variability, control confidentiality and measure performance in great detail. Its disadvantages over ‘in the wild’ approaches tend to be related to ecological validity and the small but vitally important changes in user behaviour in real life settings. Virtual reality and hybrid physical-virtual testing environments should theoretically give designers the best of both worlds, finding critical design flaws cheaply and early. However, many attempts have focussed on high fidelity, technology-rich approaches that make them simultaneously more expensive, less flexible and less accessible. The final result is that they are less viable and hence somewhat counter-productive. This paper presents the results of testing at a variety of fidelity levels within a mixed reality testing environment created by a team of artists and designers. It concludes with a series of recommendations regarding where and when fidelity is important

Simulated Environments for Food Packaging Design Assessment

Using applied retail research, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the viability of using a simulated environment to conduct packaging design validation tests in order to gain deep insights into the ways in which shoppers make buying decisions. The resultant knowledge will provide empirical data on packaging design for Welsh food Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Geometry vs Realism: an exploration of visual immersion in a synthetic reality space

With the broader aim of using a synthetic reality environment to improve and develop packaging designs for Welsh food Small-Medium Enterprises (SME), two studies were undertaken in a simulated environment to explore the geometry and realism of visual content of supermarket shelves, in relation to psychological variables that correlate with sense of presence. The first experiment compared two types of visual geometry: Linear perspective and ‘Natural’ perspective (using non-linear projection techniques) as well as the realism of the depicted supermarket scene (by comparing a Computer Aided Design (CAD) image versus a photograph). Results from the first experiment showed that the type of image geometry had more of an impact on the sense of presence than the realism of the depicted supermarket scene. A second study was then conducted to test whether a hybrid image of CAD components and a photograph could create a similar sense of presence compared with a photograph alone (because the use of a hybrid image can reduce costs). The results showed that there were no significant differences between the hybrid image and the photograph in terms of creating a sense of presence