Positive Strategic Design: The development of a design tool that facilitates positive organizational and business development

This report is the result of a self-initiated design graduation project that regarded positive design in a strategic design context. The goal of the project was to design and develop a tool or method that integrates positive design knowledge into strategic design processes. To get to the bottom of this, desk research and user research into the...

From good to the greater good

In this chapter, we outline why and how design can (and cannot) support the sustainable wellbeing of individuals and communities. Building on findings of well-being researchers, we first address the reasons why material well-being, as experienced through the consumpfion and ownership of products and goods, does not necessarily contribute to...

Using symbolic meaning as a means to design for happiness: The development of a card set for designers

Using design to improve the lives of people towards a positive flourishing state is the main premise of Positive Design. Our contribution to this growing field focuses on making use of the symbolic meaning that design can have to bolster<br/>human happiness. This paper presents the development of a card set for designers aiming to inspire design...

Feeding your piggy bank with intentions: A study on saving behaviour, saving strategies, and happiness

The act of saving money can connect one’s present state to a meaningful future state, especially if we consider money not as a direct source of happiness, but as a resource for engaging in meaningful activities. To explore how design can contribute to making the act of saving more meaningful, we conducted two studies. The first consisted of...

A Gratitude Ritual

This project started off with gathering information on gratitude: what it is, how it can be practiced and how it contributes to subjective well-being. Amongst scientific papers, two specifically interesting books can be found: Gratitude works! (Emmons, R. A., 2013) and The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want ...

Positive design: An introduction to design for subjective well-being

This paper addresses the question of how design can contribute to the happiness of individuals–to their subjective well-being. A framework for positive design is introduced that includes three main components of subjective well-being: pleasure, personal significance and virtue. Each component represents an ingredient of design for happiness, and...