Research Through Design Research Articles

Universal Open Space Design to Inform Digital Technologies for a Disability-Inclusive Place-Making on the Example of Hungary

This study explores the ‘people’ and ‘place’ components of the smart city concept in order to inform its third component, ‘technology’, for augmented disability inclusion. The research objective was to reveal the capability of the universal open space design (UOSD) method in classifying key spatial factors according to their type of digital applicability as a channel or subject for information and communication technologies (ICTs). Results were derived from three Hungarian design projects presented as case studies, using the research through design (RtD) method. User needs and usage patterns, open space environmental components and types according to their tolerance towards physical modification, and relevant disability-related concepts linked to UOSD were hierarchized and interrelated to digital technologies that can replace or complement the environmental components. Findings were represented in the spatial Maslow pyramid of user needs related to the relevant spatial design concepts, open spaces public services, and digital technologies. The results showed that upper (less basic) levels of the digital Maslow pyramid related to public services other than transport and concepts other than physical accessibility lack digital completion or replacement. In particular, a more detailed and consistent knowledge about spatial–digital interrelations for sensory accessibility should be incorporated into the practical and theoretical background of “smart” UOSD. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates how the combination of the concepts of UOSD and the smart city support a more complex disability-inclusive experience in an interconnected physical, sociocultural, and digital network of open spaces.

A Mobile App Adopting an Identity Focus to Promote Physical Activity (MoveDaily): Iterative Design Study.

BackgroundWeb-based and mobile interventions to influence physical activity behavior have had limited effects on sustained behavior change. One reason may be that the interventions aim to change largely habitual behavior. Following an identity-oriented approach could be a successful strategy to behavior change because people are committed to behave in line with their self-perception of identity.ObjectiveIn this paper, we take a closer look at the role of motivation in long-term adherence to lifestyle interventions. The paper outlines a method for web-based or mobile intervention development that allows exploration of integrating behavior change theory into the design process. We will describe the development of a mobile app that allows people to be self-determined and to value and self-regulate physical activity by adopting an identity-oriented approach.MethodsThis paper describes a Research through Design (RtD) process in which design activities are carried out as part of the knowledge-generating process. Two RtD phases were completed, followed by a conceptual design phase. In the first RtD phase, 8 participants used diary cards to study initial attitudes toward starting with small changes in physical activity. In the second RtD phase, 26 participants used a web-based app to study changes in physical activity. We used an adapted version of the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) to evaluate individuals’ perceptions of a particular behavior with respect to the three facets of a habit. The conceptual design phase consolidated the results from first two RtD phases into a design of a mobile app that combines an identity approach with gamification principles. The conceptual design was evaluated in a user-experience study with 4 participants.ResultsIn the first RtD phase, we found that interacting daily with diary cards and reflecting on physical activity patterns is a promising strategy but works better through a digital medium. In the second RtD phase, SHRI ratings from all participants generally increased each week. In the conceptual design phase, we found that the concept of the mobile app was positively evaluated by participants. However, participants mentioned that terms such as “identity” do not resonate with them and that scenarios could be simpler.ConclusionsThis paper provides deeper insights into designing for electronic health (eHealth) interventions and services and suggests a new way that motivation can be shaped by the design of an intervention and adherence to physical activity. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first iterative design study in which the effects of adopting an identity approach to both motivation and physical activity were included and observed. Initial promising results were found for using a web-based intervention where habits and identification with the personal importance of a behavior were repetitively triggered.

The Wearable Co-Design Domino: A User-Centered Methodology to Co-Design and Co-Evaluate Wearables.

This paper presents a user-centered methodology to co-design and co-evaluate wearables that has been developed following a research-through design methodology. It has been based on the principles of human–computer interaction and on an empirical case entitled “Design and Development of a Low-Cost Wearable Glove to Track Forces Exerted by Workers in Car Assembly Lines” published in Sensors. Insights from both studies have been used to develop the wearable co-design domino presented in this study. The methodology consists of different design stages composed of an ideation stage, digital service development and test stages, hardware development and test stage, and a final test stage. The main conclusions state that it is necessary to maintain a close relationship between human factors and technical factors when designing wearable. Additionally, through the several studies, it has been concluded that there is need of different field experts that should co-design and co-evaluate wearable iteratively and involving users from the beginning of the process.

Generating applicable urban design knowledge

ABSTRACTThis article explores how the combination of research approaches in Research Through Design (RTD) can contribute to generating applicable urban design knowledge. The article is based on learnings from the ‘Really cooling water bodies in cities’ project, a pragmatist RTD combining post-positivist, constructivist and transformative/participatory approaches along six design iterations. The results indicate that the combination of research approaches in RTD can contribute to generating applicable urban design knowledge when the approaches are carefully chosen and combined as to provide feedback on each other, based on a coherent rationale driven by clear research questions and goals.

Exploring speculative methods

This article explores approaches to propagating interspecies understanding and examines the most appropriate ways to investigate the topic as a form of research. It addresses making, or Research through Design (RtD), as a more appropriate research method to generate new knowledge around interspecies embodied experience and to help audiences consider what it might be like to be a nonhuman animal than more traditional forms of scholarship. It presents a range of approaches to exploring interspecies understanding and then situates this knowledge in context with reference to a series of prototypes and design artifacts which constitute the body of work Equine Eyes. The Equine Eyes project consists of a mixed-reality headset, which uses immersive technology to help the user adopt the “point of view” of a horse. The work and the knowledge it produces is experiential in that it requires the audience to wear the headset which simulates horse-like vision to consider how tacit knowledge can be explored through making. The project adopts a RtD method to explore how speculative design artifacts, and play, can be utilised to help foster interspecies thinking and understanding and generate new speculative methods for interspecies design practice. It emphasizes the importance of developing usable speculative design artifacts that can be experienced by users to enact the speculation as an embodied experience.

Research through design for energy transition: two case studies in Germany and The Netherlands

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to enlarge the body of knowledge on research through design (RtD) methods that can be employed by landscape architects and others working on (but not limited to) sustainable energy transition.Design/methodology/approachA specific approach to RtD – qualitative landscape structure analysis (QLSA) – is introduced and illustrated by means of diagrams and photographs. Two case studies showcase the application of QLSA for research on solar parks in the Netherlands and research on wind turbines in the Alpine foothills in Southern Germany.FindingsThe case studies show how RtD can help to define design principles for large solar parks and arrangement of wind turbines in particular landscape types in the Netherlands and Germany, respectively. In doing so, RtD can help to expand the breadth of spatial research beyond well-established methods such as multi-criteria decision analysis and environmental impact assessment.Originality/valueThe paper provides insights into contemporary RtD in two countries and affirms the importance of such research with regard to landscape transformations while starting to define a research niche for landscape architects and other environmental designers working on the topic of sustainable energy transition.

Design as Research in Landscape Architecture

Research through design (RTD) is a frequently used concept in the day-to-day practice of education and research in the field of landscape architecture. RTD as a concept usually refers to a research method in which spatial design plays the leading role. The underlying premise is that design is a form of research and involves a culture of thought. Though there is a wealth of literature available on the relationship between research and design, there is a dearth of literature addressing the act of design as a research process in the field of landscape architecture. This paper contributes to the RTD discourse by addressing how spatial design can be applied as a research strategy. The article defines design as a form of research and identifies how design relates to other more conventional definitions of research methods. It elaborates on RTD as a concept and the types of knowledge that it generates. The paper also addresses the design process and design methods in landscape architecture. In addition, criteria for accepted, responsible research are translated into practical requirements that can guide RTD processes in academic and professional contexts. In order to continue developing landscape architecture as a design discipline, it is important that the theoretical, methodological, and technical foundations of spatial design are clarified and strengthened.

Developing digital applications for tailored communication in orthopaedics using a Research through Design approach.

ObjectiveTailored communication and information provision is expected to contribute to patient-centred care (PCC) in total hip arthroplasty (THA). In previous research, three subgroups of THA patients were identified that are similar in their clinical, psychological and communication characteristics. Preliminary subgroup-specific design guidelines were also formulated. Using these insights as a starting point, a theoretical framework was developed for tailored information provision and communication using digital applications. This study aims to refine the framework as well as subgroup-specific design guidelines for digital applications.MethodsThis study uses a Research through Design (RtD) approach, generating insights both from the development and evaluation of prototypes in the early design stage. Paper-based prototypes will be made for each subgroup and evaluated with patients and care providers. Semi-structured interviews are held with participants exploring their experiences with the prototype. A quasi-experiment with a non-random control cohort is used to validate the qualitative findings. Post-surgery consultations with and without prototype are videotaped and scored using a structured instrument.ResultsA design diary will be used to summarize design decisions and considerations. Feedback from participants is analysed inductively. Adaptations in subgroup-specific guidelines will be based on comparison of verbal feedback and descriptive statistics from consultations with and without prototype.ConclusionsAlthough mixed-method feasibility studies of digital health interventions are common, this protocol also considers the utility of the early design process and the designer’s perspective for realizing PCC and tailored care.

Co-Producing Collections: Re-imagining a Polyvocal Past with Cultural Probes

In this article, we describe findings and methodological implications from a research through design (RtD) process conducted as part of larger research project in Istanbul, Turkey. The project aimed to identify and valorise alternative heritage narratives from communities around Istanbul concerning a UNESCO heritage site, The Theodosian Land Walls. Following a large-scale ethnographic phase, we produced and deployed ‘cultural probes’: sets of creative, speculative tasks given to participants in ethnographically-oriented design processes. Our probes were intended to gather rich personal data from participant interviews and to inform the design space of a mobile, locative media installation. The process of this research, however, revealed another use for probes in informing and organising co-production activities around heritage sites. We identify implications for this proposed use for heritage practice with collections exploring the potential of probes to support new kinds of participant engagement.

Crafting a place for attending to the things of design at CHI

Over the past two years, we have organized workshops at the CHI conference that have focused on the “Things of Design Research. The goal of these workshops is simple: to explore and develop a venue at CHI for research through design (RtD) practitioners to materially share their work with each other. RtD often centers on the making of things— artifacts, systems, services, or other knowledge in the interaction-design and human-computer interaction (CHI) research communities. Yet, over the years, we have felt that the things of design research have remained conspicuously overlooked, under-engaged with, and, for the most part, absent from the CHI conference. If RtD is to continue to develop as a research practice in the HCI community—and we want to build a community of designers doing research with and through designed objects—we need more things at CHI.

Shybo – Design of a Research Artefact for Human-robot Interaction Studies

This article discusses the role of Design Research in the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Notably, the Research through Design (RtD) approach is proposed as a valuable method to develop HRI research artefacts due to the importance of having a physical artefact, a robot, that enables direct interaction. Moreover, there is a growing interest in HRI for design methodologies as methods for investigation. The article presents an example of a design process, focused on hands-on activities, namely sketching, 3D modelling, prototyping, and documenting. These making practices were applied to the development of Shybo, a small sound-reactive robot for children. Particular attention has been given to the five prototypes that led to the definition of the current solution. Morphological, behavioral, and interaction aspects were investigated throughout the whole process. Each phase of the design process was then documented with the intent of sharing potentially replicable practices and contributing to the understanding of the role that RtD can play in HRI.

Wicked, Open, Collaborative: Why Research through Design Matters for HCI Research

Abstract In contrast to the first and second wave of Human Computer Interaction, the third wave grapples with wicked problems. However, re-solutions to wicked problems embodied in artifacts frame and change the understanding of the problem itself. Research through Design (RtD) is a constructive methodology to understand this interplay of problem framing through designing artifacts. RtD is also suited to resurface the theory within those artifacts through annotation. These annotations expose and emphasize qualities, values and assumptions held within artifacts by its creators. In addition to those modes for annotation, we will suggest two additional abstract frames through which RtD artifacts can be further annotated: Open Research Agenda and Interdisciplinarity. We will apply both frames to one research artifact, Loaded Dice to distill qualities from this artifact’s framing. Through this we will show how creating and deploying an artifact can change its environment which also includes its creators.

Reflecting on RTD 2015: Making Connections to Doing Research Through Design

This article shares the connections I have made between having experienced the Research Through Design 2015 Conference (RTD) and my experiences of doing Research through Design (RtD). To provide an example of doing RtD, I outline the projects situated at the heart of my doctoral studies, critically examine the features of my experience, and present how they have emerged from doing RtD. The purpose of this article is to provoke further discussion on the reflective processes of doing RtD and, in doing so, reveal the potential to map and inform the progression and effects of RtD methodology.

Planting and Tending Digital-Nature Hybrids in a Walled Kitchen Garden

This paper presents various digital-nature artifacts designed to support visitor engagement in a National Trust garden environment. While selected critical theory guided the initial design of interpretation artifacts, we discuss how a research through design approach (RtD) and our attendance at the Research through Design (RTD) 2015 conference informed our subsequent design practice, notably in relation to iterations of the artifacts. In particular, we reflect on how each design iteration within the RtD process revealed knowledge about materials, values, engagement and place.

Research Through Design: Twenty-First Century Makers and Materialities

The Research Through Design (RTD) conference is a new, experimental dissemination platform to support design practitioner-researchers. Founded in 2013, RTD was established as a biennial conference series with RTD 2015, held in Cambridge, UK (March 25 – 27, 2015). This special issue brings together a set of perspectives from those who attended the RTD 2015 conference, offering new experiential insight about what it means to practice, disseminate, and understand design-led inquiry within academic communities and beyond.

Artefact Matters

In this paper we consider the current lively discussion on how and whether to formalize the Research through Design (RtD) approach and argue that the role of the artefact is essential but underexposed in this discussion. Through three case studies we investigate the different roles the artefact can have within RtD and show that design relevant knowledge is in the process of designing the actual artefact, in the artefact itself as well as in its evaluation. Considering the role of the artefact more thoroughly portrays insights on how theory is built in the RtD approach, as well as in matters that do or do not make sense to formalize in the first place. We discuss this at the end of the paper through identifying similarities and differences between the three cases.

Framing IxD knowledge

Interaction design (IxD) research cuts through many domains of HCI yet remains distinctive. There are convincing arguments that Research through Design (RtD) is a valid research method in the conce ...

Digitally printed textiles: A number of specific issues surrounding research

The digital printing of textiles currently encompasses a wide range of processes, from craft related to technology based. As a result, artists, designers and craft practitioners are increasingly provided with new and exciting ways of combining and intertwining multiple layers of meaning from within the handmade and the digital. This article focuses on doctoral research into some of the opportunities for, and consequences of, using craft practices as interventions in the digital printing of textiles. The article discusses a number of issues surrounding research through design (Frayling 1993: 1; Scrivener 2009: 76), and considers the impact that multiple materials, multiple processes and multiple technologies can have on practice. It seeks to explain why established research methods and methodologies are often inadequate for capturing and analysing the range and depth of interactions that exist between the material and the immaterial in digitally printed textile design. It argues instead for the development of a new generic methodology to take advantage of advanced technologies and extend existing methods for the benefit of researchers, practitioner–researchers, artists and designers, in order to bring the digital printing of textiles into line with established disciplines, such as those from the social sciences.