Critical Insights (Asynchronous Session)
Kind Materials: Bio-digital Textile Design
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Laura Morgan
There are systemic problems with the way we design and use objects that contribute to a linear model of growth in the global economy. Resource use and consequent waste in textile manufacturing, distribution and end-use poses significant socio-environmental issues, globally. Cited among the most pollutive industries, research towards a circular textile economy is imperative. Material cycles are recognised as a fundamental factor towards responsible design. However, biological and technical cycles are often seen as two separate material solutions. For example, in the biological cycle, emerging material innovations for bio-based plastic alternatives aim to increase sustainability and reduce non-biodegradable waste. This is a growing field of research, yet, only few alternatives have reached the commercial market. This study proposes that value-adding potential of technological advances can enhance our engagement with natural materials, taking a holistic view of design responsibility and intersectional human, animal rights and environmental stewardship. With a rise in professional and academic interest in bio-integrated design solutions, this paper reviews state of the art research in the field with focus on a case study of a current research project, “Digital Processing for Bio-Material design and Sustainable Material Finishing”. In which, digital fabrication methods are integrated into the design of natural and bio-based materials as an approach for textile design and finishing. The study shows how harm-free bio-digital processes can be used as sustainable alternatives to disrupt the current wasteful and problematic textile dyeing, printing, and supply chain.
Yin and Yang Design Development Process: An Exploration of Merging Online Modeling with a Product Design Development Process View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jinseup Shin
This paper presents a study that highlights the collaboration between online modeling and industrial design development process. The study is focused on developing a new design process that can replace a well known double diamond design process developed by the British Design Council in 2005. The ultimate goal of the study is to be relevant in the age of fast-changing technology by establishing an iterative product development process.
Kalon - Ideal Beauty: From Philosophy to Design
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Paolo Grazioli
What are the relations between philosophy of design and philosophy at large? Philosophy of design can draw on insights from other fields of philosophy, like ancient Greek and Chinese philosophy. Can these ancient philosophies also offer a new insight to a more general philosophy of design? Moreover, can results from the philosophy of design be put to use in contemporary design practice, by leading us towards better artefacts, better design methods and, especially, better ethics for the creation of a more ethical society? We see design reflected in countless artefacts with which we furnish and sustain our environment and even our bodies; no doubt design shapes our lives just as much as science and technology – or even more so. But what shapes design? Design may be seen, presumably, as significantly depending on technological and scientific knowledge, but it cannot be understood in terms of science and technology alone. The design process is related to the creation of objects (artefacts) and this process of creation of the “invisible” gives to the artefacts a duality of meanings. Designers, in fact, talk about what they design as if they already were real artefacts to talk about.
Indigenous Principles: Informing Social Design Practice in a Decolonized Framework View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Andrea Navarrete Rigo, Peter Hasdell
Social design, as a practice to recognize and mobilize collective agency, aims to promote the use of design methods and tools to create new relations and relink broken connections between social and environmental aspects. It gives people the ability to envision different paths towards the construction of sustainable futures. However, if framed under unequal power dynamics and guided by imposed objectives, social design could be labelled as a neo-colonial practice. This paper explores indigenous knowledge and values and suggests these as an ontological framework to inform social design practices. On one hand, the principles of Buen Vivir, ‘good life’– an indigenous concept enacted by a collective force based on respectful relations and harmonious interconnections between all living forms – have the potential to advise and guide towards an alternative path for a sustainable development. On the other hand, Zapatista principles’ of Buen Gobierno, ‘good government’ – the seven principles inspired by the concept of ‘command by obeying’ establish a democratic political structure based on cooperation, autonomy, and respect – serve as an approach to reconfigure power dynamics and the hierarchical structure of collaboration within communities and design practitioners. Together Buen Vivir and Buen Gobierno provide a better understanding of social and material sensibility. Revising the application of these principles as ongoing experiences allow social designers to reconstruct their knowledge and praxis around decoloniality.
