Creative Lab Research Articles

Visual Judgment: Physiognomy, Law, Medicine, and Art in Sixteenth-Century Venice

Sixteenth-century Venice was a creative lab in which physiognomy was undergoing major transformation. The development of art theory, especially the theory of proportions, as well as a new attention to direct observation, parallel to developments in anatomy, decisively enriched physiognomic knowledge and practice, thus defining more refined criteria for reading the external, bodily “signs of nature in man”—as reads the title of Antonio Pellegrini's 1545 physiognomic dialogue. In this framework, the particularities of criminal physiognomies entered into physiognomists’ scope of interest, and the direct observation, description, and explanation of bodily signs that could reveal an inclination to crime naturally took on a decided importance in physiognomic treatises. This interest in criminals went hand in hand with the special attention that jurists and judges gave to physiognomy. As an aspect of judicial procedure, physiognomy supplied a critical tool that allowed jurists and judges in court to ground their judgment of a defendant's body when assessing the likelihood of whether the accused committed a crime.

The Silicon Valley – Singapore connection: The role of institutional gateways in establishing knowledge pipelines

The literature on clusters emphasizes the necessity to integrate external knowledge to maintain their viability. This task, however, is aggravated by institutional differences between clusters. The central question for accessing diverse knowledge then is how to mitigate institutional differences between clusters. We propose that “institutional gateways” between clusters circumvent institutional barriers. Institutional gateways provide a configuration that consists of institutions from both clusters. This hybrid institutional configuration helps to mitigate institutional and cognitive distances and provides an entry point for firms from one cluster into the other. As an example, we explore the ‘Block71SF’ open creative lab in San Francisco. Block71SF was set up by the Singapore government to facilitate the movement of firms between the Singapore and Silicon Valley software clusters.

Life, Matter, Poetry: Blurred Lines and Bilayered Representations of Materials Science

Abstract This article charts the authors’ collaboration resulting from their partnership in the Leeds Creative Labs: Bragg Edition. The authors describe their motivations for working together and the conversations that developed as they discussed artificial life, synthetic matter, and shared terms from the humanities and sciences. They discuss how, after the project was delayed in 2020, they adapted to digital collaboration and secured funding for further outputs, mapping new possibilities for public engagement with materials sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the authors consider the layering of biophysical research images with experimental poems that aim to convey complex yet complementary concepts from philosophy without distorting the underlying scientific data.

Open creative labs as functional infrastructure for entrepreneurial ecosystems: Using sequence analysis to explore tempo-spatial trajectories of startups in Berlin

• Open creative labs are explored as functional infrastructure to entrepreneurial ecosystems. • Combines rich tempo-spatial data from corporate registers with qualitative data. • Sequence analysis is a used to benchmark the functions of open creative labs in entrepreneurial ecosystems. • Coworking spaces and incubators help startups transition between stages. • Seed accelerators facilitate connections between regional ecosystems through inter-ecosystem ties. By analyzing the tempo-spatial trajectories of startups, this paper proposes a new method to benchmark functions in entrepreneurial ecosystems based on longitudinal data. To demonstrate this novel method, a regional case study of the ecosystem infrastructure in Berlin is considered, for which tempo-spatial trajectories of startups are analyzed with quantitative sequence methods. It is explored empirically how open creative labs such as co-working spaces or seed accelerators supply core functions within entrepreneurial ecosystems based on the aspects of regional integration and trans-local connection. Open creative labs do not only provide important resources for startups and entrepreneurs but also have systemic functions within entrepreneurial ecosystems. Namely, they provide conditions under which critical links within regional entrepreneurial ecosystems can be formed and they facilitate inter-ecosystem ties between regions.

Folktales as a creative lab : a participatory design-based digital storytelling model to develop creative potential

reativity is our ability to look at a problem and come up with an ideal solution. It has nothing to do with the subject, the job or what we learn. In the Sri Lankan education systems creativity is nurtured but not at a suitable level. It is more suitable to mention in that way rather than mentioning creativity is not fully nurtured. Creativity should be accessible to all, since everyone is creative. It is full of optimism, hope and the joy of changing things by making the truth come true. With the arrival of digital technology, children have ever-increasing opportunities for knowledge gathering and study. It encourages students to open up their creative abilities to share and build continuous relationships through their creativity. Therefore, students actively partici-pate in the process by taking responsibilities, working with the organisation, and experimenting and developing unique proposals for solutions. This project adopts the participatory design approach which is a design methodology in which the potential users of a design participate as co-creators in the design process, as a framework to develop a digital storytelling model and reflect how students express their creativity. In this process, students’ thoughts are interpreted using active participatory approaches such as illustration, photography, audio recording, writing, and drawing. This process involves creating a story based on students’ creative abilities and forcing students to act and make decisions to solve their creative problems. Participants use participatory approaches to analyse and synthesise stories through creative abilities.

Diversity Unlocks Creativity and Innovation

A research lab where international students are working toward their PhD and Master’s degrees along with senior researchers is like a unit cell in the body of the university. What better model can be available for analyzing the success of research by providing a supportive and inclusive work environment that welcomes and encourages students, coming from a diversity of countries, languages, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds? This paper presents the mechanism that was instrumental in making the women researchers as well as the international students feel comfortable and helped them to explore and contribute to the multidisciplinary aspects of our lab.We highlight the important milestones in our lab work environment over the last fifteen years, with a focus on diversity, and we stress the beneficial role of the direction of the lab and the diversifying faculty in providing critically needed role models to our students. We emphasize the strength of diversity that unlocks imagination and intellectual curiosity. The paper includes stories showing the building of strong and creative lab culture.

스핀오프 스타트업 창업자의 사회적·인적 자본이 사업 성과에 미치는 영향 : 정형적 개념분석 활용

This study aims to identify the social and human capital of spin-off startup founders, and explores the relationship between capital and business performance. We propose a new method using formal concept analysis to address its relationships based on small-scale data, which incorporates the partially ordered capital evolution path with its business outcomes. For this research, we conducted in-depth case studies on spin-off startups from Samsung’s Creative Lab by collecting information from both sites - Linkedin for social and human capital information of founders, and KISLINE. for financial data of startup companies. The analysis revealed that the number of co-founders and industrial experience were positively related to the amount of funds raised by investors.

Editorial: Creative industries at the intersection between local agglomeration, national regulation, and global networks

Editorial: Creative industries at the intersection between local agglomeration, national regulation, and global networks

Диалог с классиком как метапоэтический принцип А. И. Солженицына («Окунаясь в Чехова»)

In this article one of the metapoetic principles of A. I. Solzhenitsyn is analyzed – ‘a dialogue with a classic writer’. In his sketch Immersing into Chekhov Solzhenitsyn renders the pleasure of aesthetic insights from the encounters with Chekhov, enters into a conversation with him, argues with Chekhov’s world outlook. Thereby Solzhenitsyn’s own ‘creative lab’ is revealed to the reader.

Social networks in coworking spaces and individual coworker\u2019s creativity

Coworking spaces (CWS) are open creative labs that provide a community-like environment and the necessary surroundings for their users to build and maintain networks with different actors inside and outside the CWS. With a wide variety of knowledge and skills available in trusted surroundings as well as similar value orientations, coworkers enjoy favorable conditions to establish their network-style. However, research has not investigated the benefit of coworkers’ social networks as far as their individual creativity is concerned so far. This paper takes several network characteristics into account: structure in terms of network size and centrality in the CWS, but also trusted and reciprocal relationships, supportiveness, diversity of knowledge exchanged, and the individual openness to core coworking values. Based on the literature on social networks and small group research, we developed a research model. We tested it to get deeper insights into the phenomenon by relying on 113 coworkers in 33 private German coworking spaces. The results show that a central position in the CWS allowing for direct exchange and high individual openness to core coworking values positively affects social involvement and the diversity of knowledge exchanged, and finally, a coworker’s individual creativity. Managerial implications include the vital role of a central position in the CWS for creativity and a somewhat balanced composition of coworkers working alone or in a team.

Agglomeration and coagglomeration of co-working spaces and creative industries in the city

ABSTRACT The present paper investigates the location patterns and the effects co-working spaces (CWS) generate on the urban context. The focus is on Barcelona, one of the most important creative hubs in Europe in terms of knowledge-based, creative, digital, and sharing economy, and the city hosting the largest number of co-working spaces in Spain. The paper addresses three main questions: (1) Which are the location patterns of co-working spaces in Barcelona? (2) Do CWS agglomerate in the same areas? And, (3) Do CWS coagglomerate with the creative industries (CIs)? To do that, this paper uses open data on Barcelona neighbourhoods’ socioeconomic composition provided by the Statistics Department of the Council of Barcelona and micro-geographic data of private CWS and creative labs in Barcelona. By using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Kd functions of agglomeration and coagglomeration, results show that CWS are highly concentrated in central areas of Barcelona where there are greater chances to meet customers and suppliers, the proximity to urban amenities and the fact of being associated to a specific place-image. Moreover, they coagglomerate with CIs firms, especially with symbolic and synthetic knowledge-based CIs. These results are relevant when assessing the actual goal of urban policies in Barcelona.

The Evolutionary Model of Corporate Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Samsung Creative-Lab

Despite international interest in corporate entrepreneurship research, relevant knowledge has not been systematically accumulated. Even in practice, the discussions of corporate entrepreneurship revolve around the appropriate level necessary and the preferred method of action. This paper proposes an evolutionary model that outlines corporate entrepreneurship overall in terms of an organization’s entrepreneurial activities. For the research objective, this paper includes in-depth case studies on Samsung’s Creative Lab. The Creative-Lab of Samsung has been actively implementing corporate venture system for eight years. We conducted collective case studies by focusing on a single case (Creative-Lab) and then moving to multiple cases (Creative-Lab spin-off companies). Firstly, the study identifies the development process of entrepreneurship from the individual-level to the firm-level, and from the firm-level to the social-level. Secondly, the study confirms that corporate venturing and the corporate spin-off system have a positive impact on entrepreneurial behavior, which is crucial to seize opportunities. Thirdly, based on the growth factors and performance of corporate entrepreneurship, an evolutionary model of corporate entrepreneurship is proposed in this paper. This study can contribute to the establishment of an integrated and structured mechanism of related research as it comprehensively reviews the antecedents, elements, and outcomes of corporate entrepreneurship.

Through the entrance door: presença e cultura visual em Entrances & Exits de Reif Larsen

O presente artigo tem como objetivo introduzir e discutir a obra Entrances & Exits, de Reif Larsen, publicada pela editora inglesa Visual Editions em colaboração com o Google’s Creative Lab Australia em uma parceria que produziu, até hoje, nove títulos. A Editions at Play, como foi batizado o projeto, é descrita como um “experimento em literatura digital”, tendo sido responsável por publicações inovadoras que utilizam recursos exclusivamente digitais para a leitura. O livro em questão faz uso do Google StreetView e das coordenadas geográficas para estruturar e guiar o leitor pela narrativa, utilizando elementos que podem ser encontrados ao se navegar pelo sistema de mapeamento digital. Os desafios de lidar com objetos como esse e usar toda a sua potencialidade são os temas deste texto.

Design of a Hand Orthosis for People with Deficiency of the Medial, Radial, and Ulnar Nerves

The reduced mobility in hand is a problem that prevents daily activities such as feeding, bathing, brushing, dressing, grabbing objects, and losing autonomy in everyday situations. The hand disability is mainly due to the deficiency of the ulnar, medial, and radial nerves, which prevents adequate hand movements. In consequence, various assistive technologies are proposed to assist mobility, communication, self-help, and domestic activities. An alternative is the use of active orthosis, which by this proof of concept, the person can perform adequate hand movements. This paper aims to introduce a 3D active orthosis of PLA Plus designed by the Creative Lab in the Universidad Santiago de Cali, which includes an actuator and a low-cost myoelectric signal acquisition system, with two input channels. Finger flexion/extension movements and resting-state were performed. The user’s intention is decoded processing rectified and integrated myoelectric signals. An on-off control algorithm was implemented to generate commands that control orthosis movements. The system is controlled by a person who has a disability due to a C5 and C6 spinal trauma that generated muscular atrophy in the distal level of the hand. Results showed the controlled flexion and extension of the fingers with a good performance. This system assists people with disabilities in the ulnar, medial, and radial nerves to make proper hand movements. The design of the above-mentioned orthosis allows individuals to carry out daily living activities to improve their quality of life.

In the making: Open Creative Labs as an emerging topic in economic geography?

AbstractIn the past 15 years, we have witnessed an upsurge of collaborative spaces providing an arena for individual and collective creativity, (co)creating craft‐based products, urban manufacturing, and experimentation with business or creative ideas using innovative technologies such as 3D printing or CNC milling machines. The discourses on spaces such as coworking, hacker‐ or makerspaces, accelerators, Fab Labs, and open workshops promise new communities, more innovation, and a transformation of work. This has called for interdisciplinary scholarly attention, primarily from organization and management studies, sociology, and entrepreneurship studies. However, little attention has so far been paid to this development from the perspective of geography. This paper employs Open Creative Labs as an umbrella term for the diversity of spaces and aims at, first, providing an overview of recent interdisciplinary perspectives on the functions of labs in coordinating creativity and entrepreneurship, as well as the motivations of users to utilize these spaces for their projects, and, second, offers an approach to a multiscalar spatial conceptualizations of labs. The paper concludes by exploring policy implications that may benefit from an economic‐geography perspective.

Mobilizing the “Multimangle”: Why New Materialist Research Methods in Public Participatory Art Matter

This research study is focused on new materialist modes of social inquiry and in particular the material-discursive practices that situate all bodies, human and nonhuman, in relations of matter and mattering. The present study investigates the work of the Mobile Art Studio (MAS), a transitory creative research lab that brings participatory art into pub-lic space to develop greater community engagement with issues of social justice. We explore MAS's recent performance, Reconstruction (2016), as a case study for new materialist arts-based methodologies that decenter the human as an exclusive maker of meaning, shifting instead to focus on the relationships between humans, lived spaces, and creative media. We situate this discourse within Leisure Studies as it is a vital site for developing a broadly interdisciplinary scholarly conversation on arts-based practi-ces oriented toward the public good. The paper first outlines how Reconstruction (a sculptural, mixed media, sitespecific, participatory, screen-based project) can elucidate posthuman understandings of the subject/object divide as a multimangle. That is, Reconstruction's research design and collected data reveals a research space constructed through the contingent relations between public architecture, the performance installation, the art materials, and participants. These relations offer an understanding of space as agential, containing multiple temporalities, materialities, and affective resonances. We then argue that creative intra-actions with such spaces produce knowledges that are scarcely, if at all, represented in the academy.

‘And Since I Knew About the Possibilities There …’: The Role of Open Creative Labs in User Innovation Processes

AbstractOpen spaces for experimentation and innovation are receiving growing attention from economic geography and beyond. They are discussed as new material settings for temporarily working on projects and ideas. Moreover, individual users are increasingly regarded as potential innovators who might benefit from “Open Creative Labs” and the (shared) resources provided there. This paper situates Open Creative Labs within the research strands of user innovation and the geography of knowledge creation and explores how Open Creative Labs have been used in four specific user innovation processes. On the basis of innovation biographies, it is reconstructed how Open Creative Labs concretely influenced the pathways of innovation. In all innovation processes, Open Creative Labs have been resources of innovation. In two cases, they can also be regarded as their local sources.

Screen Circuits: Fear and Paranoia in the Sprawl (circa 1995)

The 1990s was a strange time to be alive: a saxophone playing U.S. president waltzed into a Cold War vacuum left behind by the crumbling of the Soviet Eastern Bloc, while Gulf War 1.0 was the first mediated war, yet one lacking any meaningful optics - Baudrillard's so-called weak event. Meanwhile, technology, culture and information was rapidly beginning to coalesce in unexpected ways. The 1990s was more of a feeling than a knowing, there was certainly change afoot and the clock was ticking on a century of acceleration and shrinking horizons. Zygmunt Bauman (Liquid Modernity, 2000) and Paul Virilio (Open Sky, 1997) capture this time from the perspective of the machine's lens and big data's gathering torrents. We were only just beginning to stockpile our algorithmic future. There is of course a strong human element to all of this as well, as domesticity was about to be transformed in ways not seen since the automation of white goods in the 1950s. Installing a telephone line in a new rental was a priority as this was not just a communication device but a gateway to a new digital epoch (chat rooms, conspiracy theories, gaming mods and a seemingly limitless archive of music). Australians, who would become the new suitors of the boom in computer peripherals and digital gadgetry, turned the latent ability to send short text messages from their mobile phones into a new form of digital dialectics. Meanwhile, the cinema was signalling a grave warning of what all of this might mean if we could indeed become virtual, if the machine was in fact alive and information networks consciousness itself. From James Bond confronting a Rupert Murdock/Conrad Black-type media demigod in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), to the digital psychedelics of the millennial rush in Strange Days (1995) to Henry Rollins raging against reality in the William Gibson penned Johnny Mnemonic (1995). These mid-nineties films tapped a rich vein of paranoia around the new vanguard of networked information and computer-generated image making while also expressing - in often garish terms - a deep anxiety about a not-to-distant future crackling into view beyond the millennial divide.

Pop-Up Art and the Aesthetics of Assembly

This article considers the phenomenon of pop-up practice as a medium of public art and collective assembly. I argue for the pedagogical potential of the research-creation pop-up to situate aesthetic contributions as relevant and necessary to broader public discourse. Discussing a series of case studies developed through the Mobile Art Studio, a transitory creative lab space that I founded in 2014, I consider how the pop-up becomes the vehicle for brief, carnivalesque transformations of institutional settings toward critical ends. The pop-up’s performative assemblies open up provisional and contingent understandings between audiences, artists, and participants. What remains from them is the memory of a lived, embodied experience of knowledge production and translation outside traditional institutional confines. The article speaks to the pop-up as a pedagogical and research-creation tool; throughout, I explore the possibilities for resistance offered by the pop-up within the spatial and temporal contexts of late capitalism.

Visual Literature in the 21st Century: An Interview with Anna Gerber

This interview addresses the innovative work of the London-based publishing house Visual Editions since its creation in 2010. One of its founding members, Anna Gerber, provides valuable insights into the shaping of the experimental projects they publish, as well as the diversity of endeavors Visual Editions is involved in. From experimentation with the visuality and the form of the print book medium to VE's collaboration with Google's Creative Lab and the production of mobile narratives, Anna Gerber shares her views into the emerging opportunities for literary texts across media.