Constructing and storytelling: accommodating different play orientations in learning spatial thinking

Spatial ability is malleable and belongs in the preschool. For preschoolers, many analytical activities with one correct answer such as tangram have been developed. Less is known about employing open-ended design assignments to creatively practice spatial thinking. Little attention has been paid to the mutual qualitative differences between...

Let’s step into each other’s worlds: designing for local transformation processes

In our densely-populated cities, fostering harmony between differing communities is an increasingly difficult art, and one in which design can provide positive contributions. This paper describes a design project which aimed to decrease tensions between youth and residents in a city neighbourhood through an empathy- building process. Individuals...

Invoking ‘Empathy for the Planet’ through Participatory Ecological Storytelling: From Human-Centered to Planet-Centered Design

In sustainable design and innovation, appreciation of the Planet as an equal stakeholder with humans and businesses continues to rise. Yet a consistent challenge arises in that people have difficulties relating to the nonhuman and interpret the world in terms of human values and experiences. We need more practical tools to stimulate a...

Fast Drink: Mediating Empathy for Gig Workers

The digitization of services and global lock-downs have led an explosion of delivery services, which use gig-workers as delivery personnel. They can face apathy from both their employers and users of the service. Previous studies focused on mediating interactions between workers or workers and tasks. However, delivery presents the opportunity...

The EmpathiCH Workshop: Unraveling Empathy-Centric Design

EmpathiCH aims to bring together and blend a diverse set of expertise to develop a new research agenda in the context of "Empathy-Centric Design".<br/>Building on the discussions that emerged in the previous edition, the main research objective is to form a comprehensive and coherent framework that utilizes empathy as a new dimension of human...

COCTEAU: an Empathy-Based Tool for Decision-Making

Traditional approaches to data-informed policymaking are often tailored to specific contexts and lack strong citizen involvement and collaboration, which are required to design sustainable policies. We argue the importance of empathy-based methods in the policymaking domain given the successes in diverse settings, such as healthcare and...

AAC Technology, Autism, and the Empathic Turn

Augmentative and Alternative Communication Technology [AAC Tech] is a relatively young, multidisciplinary field aimed at developing technologies for people who are unable to use their natural speaking voice due to congenital or acquired disability. In this paper, we take a look at the role of AAC Tech in promoting an ‘empathic turn’ in the...

Meaningful Encounters: Explorative studies about designers learning from children with autism

Emphaty oriented 'creative' teaching and learning methodologies

Understanding learners’ minds has become one of the major issues of some methodologists in education system. The entire matter is learning. It seems obvious to me it is necessary to explain what learning is in terms of knowledge, in the widest sense. We should also try to find out what kind of cognitive structure is behind of it regarding all...

Bringing the everyday life of people into design

Products play a role in our everyday lives. Insight into the experiences of people in their everyday lives is of great use for designing products. For example, the contexts in which products are used (physical, social, culture etc.) and the state (excited, tired, concentrated etc.) of the users influence how they experience using products....