Design Labels: The Words that Divide & Unite Us

"This paper explores the limitations and functions of design labels, such as social design, codesign, and sustainable design. It argues for a clearer and more nuanced approach to describing design practices. The authors collected over seventy of such labels and categorized them into five clusters. Four of these clusters derive their name from a...

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...

Using Empathy-Centric Design in Industry: Reflections from the UX Researcher, the Client, and the Method Expert

Empathic design provides tools and frameworks supporting designers to understand users’ experiences with products or services. However, how does one hand over this empathic understanding of users to other internal stakeholders shaping the service experience? In this contribution, we reflect on a three-year implementation of an empathy-centric...

Actionable attributes of service design for business

The role of service deliverables in the early phases of service development has been studied both in academia and practice. We lack knowledge on the impact of service deliverables for the later phases of the service development process in which service designers are usually not engaged. In this paper, we aim to understand what attributes of...

Towards Actionable Forms of Communicating and Sharing Design Knowledge

Design research aims to construct knowledge that is useful for designers and non-designers in the processes of designing for various types of challenges: from making products to solving complex<br/>social problems. Designers and non-designers seek information and inspiration for their work both in a non-design world, e.g., in films, illustrated...

MyFutures: Imagining speculative care and support futures in The Netherlands

In many Western societies, decisions about leaving home and spending your last years in a care home are often taken suddenly. Immediate health issues force family, friends and neighbours who offer informal support to ask for immediate formal support. Such urgent situations do not lead to the best solutions.

Structuring roles in Research through Design collaboration

In Research through Design knowledge is generated, but not always captured and shared effectively. When working in a multidisciplinary team of, e.g. designers, design researchers, academic researchers and domain practitioners confusion about<br/>roles, processes, and results easily occurs. In a series of three Research through Design cases we...

Meta-levels in design research: Resolving some confusions

Doing design and doing research are related activities. When doing design in a (PhD) research project, a number of confusions pop up. These confusions stem from the fact that most of the basic terms, such as ‘designer’, ‘research’, and ‘product’, have many connotations but not a shared definition. Because design research often happens in a multi...

Service design: Tuning the industrial design profession

Design is not only about the design and production of goods, but is increasingly addressing complex social issues nowadays. Roles of designers are becoming more and more varied, and at the same time other professionals are increasingly using design tools in their business, organizational or other innovation projects. New terms such as ‘service...