Guiding Practice
Asynchronous Session
Knowledge from Sexual Minorities: Design Anthropology as a Manner of Triggering Gender Reflexivity on Everyday Objects View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Xinyin Bao, Wentao Zhu
Everyday objects are crucial to the representation of an individual’s gender identity and sexual orientation. Despite the visibility of objects, gender stereotypes are usually implicitly embedded in the design phase and can only be identified by those who are gender reflexive. Therefore, it is extremely important to challenge gender stereotypes by distinguishing the role of design and exploring opportunities to redesign everyday objects. This study provides practical strategies to trigger gender reflexivity on everyday objects by adopting a design anthropology methodology that combines a cultural probe with a design game workshop. The cultural probe was conducted with 24 interviewees, enquiring how everyday objects influence the participants’ gender identity representation. This was followed by a design game workshop with six participants that explored visual design strategies for representing gender diversity. Finally, a reflexive analysis was conducted to examine the interaction between the participants and the researcher. The results suggest that gender reflexivity is primarily generated by sexual minorities and is then communicated and augmented among participants with diverse gender identities. Accordingly, three gendered design strategies are proposed for everyday objects to trigger gender reflexivity: (i) deconstructing conventional gender norms; (ii) encouraging diverse gender representations; (iii) improving the understanding between people with different genders and sexual orientations. The results of this study contribute to more gender-diverse and inclusive design methods on the micro-level, which is part of a broader discussion on gender culture.
Design beyond Disability: Emotional Scenarios for the Well-being of People with Parkinson's Disease View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ester Iacono, Francesca Tosi, Mattia Pistolesi
In today's society, the social inclusion concept embraces numerous aspects and contexts of everyday life. Inclusive Design, going far beyond the design of products/services, plays a crucial role in fostering the inclusion of individuals within society and improving their living conditions. Inclusive design, however, must ensure a more humane and conscious design process that does not limit its attention solely to artefacts' usability requirements but allows for the inclusion and evaluation of the emotional effects associated with interacting with them. This aspect is of particular importance in the case of products and environments aimed at vulnerable, elderly or disabled people, which can induce a perception of threat and stigmatize their physical and mental condition. Therefore, the work proposed in this article presents the results that emerged from the "Home Care Design for Parkinson's Disease" research project. Through literature review, it was possible to analyse the contribution of technologies in generating pleasurable sensory experiences, but above all, to investigate the role of Emotional Design, Empathic Design and Evidence-Based Design approach. They can play a role in enabling the resolution of problems related to environmental, perceptual-sensory and stress factors and, in some cases, in slowing down the course of the disease, ensuring greater well-being. Therefore, the research work, developed through the application of Human-Centered Design methodologies, aims to: -define Design Guidelines to identify people with Parkinson's disease needs and difficulties within the home context; - propose design solutions and future intervention scenarios that can improve their quality of life, their families and caregivers.
Opening Frontiers While Using Classical Techniques View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Claudia Scaff
Studies suggest that most design disciplines have evolved so much through the years that specialization in design disciplines has become a reality. Graphic design is no different. Students interested in graphic design can now focus on web design, illustration, animation, publication, branding, and the list goes on. This evolution became possible with the introduction of the computer and design software. While the ideation process may start with just a pen, pencil, marker and a piece of paper before moving to the computer; printmaking processes as part of design exploration has been eliminated from many graphic design programs of study. In the past, printmaking processes such as frottage, monotype, intaglio, stenciling, serigraphy were part of the curriculum, unfortunately nowadays, these techniques are not always available to design students as exploratory methods. This study investigates current graphic design student experiences with the inclusion of printmaking techniques during a study abroad program in Brazil. It explores the challenges of working with students from different disciplines and backgrounds in an unfamiliar setting. It analyses group dynamics and conflict management practices while working towards a common goal, the production of marketing materials for a nonprofit organization. Finally, this paper reflects on the positive and negative outcomes from this experience and recommends approaches that promote the incorporation of different disciplines to achieve a common goal.
A Study of User Experience Design at International Airport View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sang-Duck Seo
This study aims to develop a new service design for the international airport based on user storytelling. Travelers face long flights on their international trips, but we often notice they are excited to explore various airport facilities. International airports accommodate people from different countries, and each major airport provides entertainment and hospitality. Most travelers have a new experience with dining and shopping. Travelers may have or may not have good services or impressions depending on the ease of accessibility in various service designs such as wayfinding systems, restaurant/food information, and other facilities information. So, this study investigates how travelers experience Incheon International Airport and what kind of experiences have affected their travel satisfaction or dissatisfaction. In-person interviews with people who have been at Incheon International Airport over the last two years were conducted. With collected data and individual responses from user experience storytelling, this study developed an interactive wayfinding app design. The app function and features were designed as a self-driven AR wayfinding and virtual interaction for the service design concept. The prototype mockup as a conceptual model was shown to prior survey participants as to what they may see as a positive solution in their future experiences. The effectiveness of service design in the app based on their prior experiences shows the potential to move forward to further study in an interactive app for international airport service design.
Using Linguistic Landscape Frameworks for Comparative Analysis of Typography in Singapore’s Malay-Arab and Chinese Ethnic Enclaves for Nostalgia Design Approach View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Min Yee Angeline Yam
This paper demonstrates how designers can use the interdisciplinary nature of Linguistic Landscape studies to make typography observations charting novel methods of analysing nostalgia design approaches. A comparative analysis of language composition and typography was done on signages of traditional shophouses in two Singapore’s ethnic enclaves – Haji Lane (Malay-Arab) and Bukit Pasoh (Chinese). Both areas have seen a surge of private enterprises offering nostalgia-based experiences for consumers in the last decade, gentrifying what were once modest residential areas for Chinese and Malay immigrants in the 19th century, are now vibrant ‘hipster areas’ of leisure and entertainment. The comparison reveals that signages from both sites displayed English as the prominent language (80%). Both sites however reveal huge differences in their ethnic language. Bukit Pasoh has 30% of signages retaining Chinese characters in simultaneous use with English. There is however less than 2% of Malay words and Arabic script on Haji Lane’s signages. Further typographic analysis of both areas has led us to observe that despite the salience of English language, enterprises in the two enclaves have developed distinctive approaches to ‘nostalgia aesthetics’. Bukit Pasoh signages pay homage to its Chinese origins, while Haji Lane’s is mostly stripped of it's Arab-Malay identity evolving into a haphazard re-enactment of nostalgic visuals with little context to the area’s origin. Singapore’s approach to nostalgia-based design can thus be revealed through the treatment of typography that is informed by the absence/presence of ethnic language, contextual placement of the written form, and the area’s historical narratives.
A Comparison of Direct and Indirect Inputs in Adobe Illustrator View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sohee Park, Raenna Mae Aldabe, Doanh Ly, Sang-Duck Seo
This study compares the effectiveness and accuracy of touch pen-based (direct) and computer mouse-based (indirect) inputs in Adobe Illustrator, a popular design software application. A pilot study was conducted to test the feasibility of the key steps for the main study, and three tasks were performed for both touch pen and computer mouse inputs to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of Pen Tool, Shape Builder, and Brush tool. The study found that Apple Pencil input was more accurate because of its direct interaction, while the mouse input showed fast interaction when combined with keyboard input. Participants experienced with Adobe Illustrator relied on keyboard shortcuts to assist them in all tasks. These findings highlight the need to examine the application interface combination between computer mouse or touch pen input to improve computer-human interaction for design applications. The results of the pilot study have practical implications for designers, developers, and researchers. They can be used to inform the development of future design software applications, making them more intuitive and user-friendly. The study also provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of touch pen and computer mouse input in design applications, and it is a significant contribution to the field of computer-human interaction.
