Introducing the third space of design for well-being: Exploring the intersection between problem- and possibility-driven design through a design case on online dating experience

This paper explores the traditional distinction between problem- and possibility-driven design for promoting user well-being. Problem-driven design identifies and addresses unfulfilled needs to reduce ill-being (i.e., the first space of design for well-being), while possibility-driven design seeks to enhance well-being without addressing...

The City as a Self-Help Book: The Psychology of Urban Promises

Despite the many negative aspects of life in cities, urban promises of economic prosperity, freedom and happiness have fuelled the imagination of generations of migrants, who have flocked to cities in search of a better life, invariably exaggerating the opportunities and neglected the potential disadvantages of their choice. This paper uses...

Long-Term Goals or Immediate Desires?: Introducing a Toolset for Designing with Self-Control Dilemmas

This paper suggests that designers can frame user behaviour in terms of the conflicts between long-term goals and immediate desires (i.e. self-control dilemmas), and address these conflicts by facilitating the pursuit of long-term goals. A phenomenological study provided an understanding of self-control dilemmas and the strategies people use to...

Extending product life by introducing symbolic meaning: An exploration of design strategies to support subjective well-being

Because products are often discarded while still fully functioning, it may be possible to support durability with design that stimulates a more enduring product-owner relationship. This paper is based on the proposition that one promising approach to support such prolonged relevance is by developing products with a higher predisposition for the...

Learning from the positive: A structured approach to possibility-driven design

This paper discusses an approach to possibility-driven design as an alternative to traditional problem-driven design approaches. the first parts discuss merits and challenges when design- ing for possibilities, and present some examples of existing design theories that exemplify the potential contribution of this view on design. Next, a five...

The pursuit of happiness; redefining the interior design of a Car2Go vehicle.

This graduation project redefines the interior of a Car2Go vehicle by using Design for happiness as explorative research. Design for Happiness is a fairly new term in the design world and is increasingly applied, though there is still no existing methodology. The outcomes of this report will be used as a case study for a scientific paper at the...

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 ...

Does migration make you happy? A longitudinal study of internal migration and subjective well-being

Marie Curie programme under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / Career Integration Grant n. PCIG10-GA-2011-303728 (CIG Grant NBHCHOICE, Neighbourhood choice, neighbourhood sorting, and neighbourhood effects). The majority of quantitative studies on the consequences of internal migration focus almost exclusively on...

Does Migration Make You Happy? A Longitudinal Study of Internal Migration and Subjective Well-Being (discussion paper)

The majority of modelling studies on consequences of internal migration focus almost exclusively on the labour market outcomes and the material well-being of migrants. We investigate whether individuals who migrate within the UK become happier after the move than they were before it and whether the effect is permanent or transient. Using life...