"uuid","repository link","title","author","contributor","publication year","abstract","subject topic","language","publication type","publisher","isbn","issn","patent","patent status","bibliographic note","access restriction","embargo date","faculty","department","research group","programme","project","coordinates"
"uuid:f22e9a89-5cee-4d7d-be1d-d818de2b7d73","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f22e9a89-5cee-4d7d-be1d-d818de2b7d73","Promoting well-being among adolescents: Exploring the added value of a systemic design approach","Vos, Kirsten (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","van der Bijl-Brouwer, M. (mentor); Huisman, G. (graduation committee); van der Wal, Koen (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2024","75% of all mental health issues arise between the ages of 14 and 25 (Kessler et al., 2005). Suicide is the number one cause of death among young people (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2023), one in three adolescents experiences performance pressure (Kleinjan et al., 2020), one in seven adolescents has depressive symptoms (Kleinjan et al., 2020) and life satisfaction has decreased significantly over the past 20 years (Kleinjan et al., 2020). All of these statistics show one thing: a lot of adolescents have poor mental health and they seek more professional help because of it. However, youth care cannot handle this increased demand. This combination leads to problems and therefore a new approach is needed. In my project, I used a systemic design approach and focused on promoting well-being instead of only fixing mental health issues. Accordingly, the main research question in my project is:
“How can the systemic design approach contribute to improving well-being among adolescents (ages 16-18)?”
I used a systemic design approach to look at the larger system around adolescents to find new opportunities for possible interventions. I interviewed a lot of different stakeholders and explored their perspectives and their interactions with other stakeholders. I processed these insights into a giga-map, which helped me formulate three themes and eventually choose one theme: ‘Who is responsible’. This theme deals with a social norm where parents are held responsible for the upbringing and well-being of their children, whereas adolescents at this age distance themselves from their parents and need other adult support figures (McElhaney et al., 2009). In addition, the support adolescents receive in this system depends on individual motivation: some people recognize their role, others do not. From this theme and all the insights from the stakeholder sessions, I formulated a future vision which is represented by this African proverb:
“It takes a village to raise a child”
The shift needed to achieve this future is from scattered islands to a connected proverbial village. To achieve this, I chose teachers' mental models as a leverage point (Meadows, 1999). By showing teachers the value of their role, the value of promoting well-being and the value of connections, I hope they will also change their behaviour. From that goal, I designed my intervention OmDraaien, where three teachers are each given a role: a teacher, a parent and an adolescent. They play an interactive game in which they play a scenario and interact with ropes (connection pieces) that represent their relationships. After this interactive game, the participants reflect on the game they just played and relate it to their own work.
To shortly answer my research question, a systemic design approach has helped me to look at the broader system around adolescents and has therefore helped to create not only stakeholder value, but also potential systemic value. In addition, a systemic design approach has allowed me to discover an underlying problem: stakeholders focus just on symptomatic solutions rather than also on fundamental solutions.","Well-being; Adolescents; Systemic design","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:fd233065-a854-4477-8009-497282dff5b4","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fd233065-a854-4477-8009-497282dff5b4","From Scroll to Soul: Design Features of Social Media Platforms and Their Impact on Users' Mental Well-Being","Jaff, Mani (TU Delft Technology, Policy and Management)","de Reuver, Mark (mentor); Marin, L. (graduation committee); Figueroa, C.A. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2024","The prevalence of mental health issues among adolescents and young adults is increasing, with social media usage identified as a potential contributing factor. As technology becomes more integral to daily life, the design decisions of social media platforms emerge as significant determinants of users' mental well-being.
Despite awareness of social media's general adverse effects, there is a gap in understanding the specific impact of different design features. Academic literature identifies features like likes and direct messaging as having nuanced effects on mental well-being, but lacks a comprehensive overview for developers to reference. This thesis seeks to bridge this gap, focusing on design features and their psychological impacts to propose design interventions for enhancing mental well-being.
Employing Value Sensitive Design (VSD) as an analytical framework, this study is the first to apply VSD to social media in the context of mental well-being. It involves a tripartite methodology — conceptual, empirical, and technical investigations — to identify significant design features and values related to mental well-being on social media platforms. A novel social media platform, Dime, designed with mental well-being in mind, serves as a case study for evaluating these features and proposing design requirements.
The study identifies 8 key design features affecting mental well-being and outlines 13 values divided into higher and lower levels, facilitating focus on critical values for desired outcomes. It explores value interrelationships and conflicts, particularly noting indirect tensions between values like authenticity and connection, and between personalization, control, and autonomy.
Proposed design interventions aim to resolve identified value conflicts, enhancing authenticity to support connection and enhancing personalization and control to support autonomy.","Social media; Mental well-being; Value Sensitive Design","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Management of Technology (MoT)","",""
"uuid:27a06549-10eb-40c6-ae78-38a898241194","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:27a06549-10eb-40c6-ae78-38a898241194","Well-being Indicators for Car-Free Policies: A study into the selection and operationalisation of well-being indicators for representing local stakeholder interests in the ex-ante evaluation of car-free policies","Verbeeke, Ruben (TU Delft Civil Engineering & Geosciences; TU Delft Transport and Planning; TU Delft Integral Design & Management)","Bosch-Rekveldt, M.G.C. (mentor); Snelder, M. (mentor); Lim, Y. (graduation committee); Pel, A.J. (graduation committee); Heezen, M.J.M. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2024","Governments worldwide are planning car-free policies to increase the livability of cities. However, car-free policies often face opposition from local stakeholders, and policy-makers often lack relevant model indicators to represent all stakeholder interests in their ex-ante car-free policy evaluations. Well-being (Dutch: Brede Welvaart) indicators can be more relevant for the various stakeholder interests in car-free policies by covering aspects in the domains of living environment, accessibility, safety and health. This thesis investigates how relevant well-being indicators can be selected and operationalised for the ex-ante evaluation of car-free policies. A well-being indicator selection process was developed and applied to a case study in the Oude Westen neighbourhood in Rotterdam. This process involved conducting thirteen semi-structured stakeholder interviews. The resulting stakeholder interests were analysed to determine the relevant aspects of well-being and the relevant indicators for these aspects. From the shortlist of relevant indicators, three indicators were selected and operationalised in this thesis. At last, two validation interviews were conducted to validate the results of this case study and the developed indicator selection process.
The most relevant stakeholders - municipality, local residents, and local business owners - were selected to be involved in the well-being indicator selection process in the case study. Based on their interests, the most relevant aspects of well-being were found to be the use of space, accessibility of mobility options, accessibility of activities, traffic safety, and noise pollution. This resulted in the operationalisation of three indicators: the use of space for car parking, the number of mobility options, and the traffic mix safety warning.
While the small sample size does not allow for generalisation of the case study results, the results of this thesis do show that the well-being indicator selection process can yield relevant indicators of well-being and that this process can be applied in practice. The operationalised indicators can be relevant to represent stakeholder interests in car-free policy evaluation and can be applied to other cases as well. However, the relevance of the indicators does depend on the type of policy and the stage of the planning process. Using well-being indicators in policy evaluation can enhance the relatability of the evaluation results for stakeholders and potentially increase stakeholder support for policies.","Well-being; car-free; indicators; Policy Evaluation","en","master thesis","","","","","","Double degree in Civil Engineering - Transport & Planning and Construction Management and Engineering","","","","","","Civil Engineering | Transport and Planning","",""
"uuid:7a86c434-ef73-4ea6-a3d6-4eb390b9e10b","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7a86c434-ef73-4ea6-a3d6-4eb390b9e10b","Cargo Plus: The Cargo Terminal Design for Enhancing Working Conditions","CHEN, MENG (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","van Zalingen, J.M. (mentor); Eckardt, H.F. (mentor); Söylev, Y. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2024","In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive global trade environment, cargo terminals have become crucial hubs for the transportation of goods. However, workers in these environments often face physically demanding tasks, such as heavy lifting, awkward body postures, harmful noise, and extreme temperatures. Besides, they also mentally face the mentally demanding working conditions, resulting from the time pressure, increasing complexity of logistics systems and the integration of advanced technologies. These factors have significant implications for employee health, well-being, and productivity, which in turn affect the overall efficiency of cargo operations.
The architectural design of cargo terminals has the potential to offset these demands and address the consequences by creating environments that actively support employee well-being. By exploring innovative design strategies that consider both functionally and mentally, architecture can play a crucial role in alleviating demanding working conditions,
promoting well-being, and boosting productivity within cargo terminals.
This has led to the development of a justice framework constructed from three core justice values: Sufficiency, Limitation and Opportunity. These are made more concrete to the housing domain through two applied values each: (I) Availability and (II) Acceptability for the quantitative and qualitative aspects of Sufficiency; (III) Sustainability and (IV) Moderation dealing with intergenerational justice and intragenerational justice for Limitation; and (V) Influence and (VI) Diversity related to opportunities to assert influence on the living environment and to choose a living environment. These applied values are further specified using housing dimensions and strategy directions in two consecutive rings.
The first advantage for spatial planners is that the justice framework summarises and combines several abstract justice theories into digestible values relevant to the Dutch context. To test and demonstrate the justice framework it has been applied to the case study area of the Regio Stedendriehoek, which enabled answering the research question. First the justice framework helps to structure regional spatial analysis and policy analysis on a wide range of justice values, which can bring to light different types of injustices. Second, based on the analyses, clusters can be made of areas with similar problems regarding the applied values, which helps determine which type of strategies require priority in different areas. Then, based on these priorities, strategies can be developed using the outer ring of the justice framework. The justice framework helps to structure strategy development per applied value, but the justice framework can also be used as a tool to assess whether strategies can contribute to solving injustices for different applied values. In this way fruitful strategies can be prioritised and interventions that cause conflicts between different justice values can be avoided or mitigated.","Spatial justice; Strategic framework; Spatial planning; Stedendriehoek; The Netherlands; Housing justice; Well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Complex Cities","","52.270202, 6.170599"
"uuid:5692b4d9-292a-4eed-b5a0-8b9e05f3eaab","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:5692b4d9-292a-4eed-b5a0-8b9e05f3eaab","Gardening together: Enhancing the shared experience of gardening through designing with dilemmas","Wijshoff, Fabienne (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Xue, H. (mentor); Ozkaramanli, Deger (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2024","Within this report, we explore the opportunities of the enhancement of well-being among hobby gardeners in the Netherlands using the principles of Positive Design realized through the methodology of Dilemma-Driven Design. Data was collected through qualitative in-depth interviews involving 12 participants who all engaged in either home, community or pot gardening. These interviews primarily focused on the exploration of the emotional landscape and pinpointing the underlying dilemmas experienced within the corresponding gardening context.
The research process involved thorough analysis of interview results which led to dilemmas which offered a base to the ideation process employed within this project. Through ideation and iteration, a creative solution could be generated that holds promise for fostering human flourishing. In lines with the principles of Positive Design, this condition is key for enhancing subjective well-being and offers an insight on the potential of design to contributing to this within the domain of gardening.
Prior to the field research, extensive desk research and a literature review was conducted, where the existing sources between well-being and gardening were explored. Additionally, the role of gardening tools within the aspect of how they contribute to well-being was explored, given the collaborative nature of this project with the company Talen Tools, renowned for its high quality gardening tool craftsmanship.
As a final result, this project offers a new perspective on how designers can harness Dilemma-Driven Design to actively contribute to Positive Design, embodied through the design of the “PocketHelp”, a device that aims to overcome the dilemma of desiring help from fellow gardeners without seeming helpless, which is a dilemma commonly faced by community gardeners within the gardening complex Delftse Hout. The project offers insights into various design strategies which can be utilized to the enhancement of subjective well-being, in this case particularly within the context of communal gardening.","dilemmas; well-being; design; Gardening; tools","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:3a2dbc59-f4ea-4223-ad42-802b55ee5e44","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:3a2dbc59-f4ea-4223-ad42-802b55ee5e44","The (Re-)Model Market: Street Food Market as Urban Restorative Entities","Dosheva, Ana (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","Fokkinga, J.D. (graduation committee); Kuijper, J.A. (graduation committee); Alkan, A.S. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2023","Street Food markets have been a key ingredient of the urban life for centuries. In many cases the direction and intensity of urban expansion was strongly reliant on the emergence of the street food market and vice-versa. These link between the two has been inevitable historically until now and will probably continue as such in the future. However, the city changes on daily basis and, being a reflection of it, so does the market. While the former speeds up, becomes more erratic and stressful, the latter slows down, transforms into a space of gather and pleasure, exceeding beyond its food trade function. Therefore, their relationship also changes, with the market becoming an instrument of healing for both the city and the individual. London, being a distinct example of the contemporary megapolis and having a key role in the historic evolution of street food markets, was chosen as a test bed for the research to untangle what is the situation of the street food market today as an urban and experiential entity and question its future potentials.","street food; market; urban well-being; restorative environments; food in the city; nature in the city; material cycles; urban behaviours; affective atmospheres","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Architectural Design Crossovers","",""
"uuid:6a8134a2-a40b-47ed-9427-49ac9f793797","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6a8134a2-a40b-47ed-9427-49ac9f793797","Mindful Matching: Enhancing Wellbeing through Positive AI on Dating Platforms","Wang, Gigi (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Hekkert, P.P.M. (mentor); van der Maden, W.L.A. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2023","The growth of dating apps has changed the way relationships are formed. These applications have enabled users to widen their dating pool of potential partners through profile recommendations based on proximity and shared interests. However, dating app usage was also found to impact well-being negatively, with the AI systems of these platforms, contributing to it. In this project it was therefore explored how well-being can be enhanced, by mitigating the detrimental impacts of dating apps.
Contextualising well-being
Literature research was conducted to explore the features within a dating app along with its effect on well-being. By linking the various experiences with dating apps to well-being theories, a theoretical model could be developed. This contextual model of well-being was validated in a participatory workshop with dating app users. Findings from this workshop indicated that autonomy and relatedness were mostly affected, especially during the profile setup, which also influenced the overall app experience such as during swiping.
Operationalising well-being
As relevant constructs were identified for further study, it was necessary to determine how these facets of well-being could be measured, in particular for the context of dating apps. In-depth research on the relationship between autonomy and relatedness indicated that in order for people to become more autonomous (showing one’s true self to others), the need for relatedness (being understood or feeling a sense of belonging) had to be fulfilled first. For dating apps, a sense of relatedness could be achieved through sharing similar interests (or by experiencing a sense of belonging) with others, while autonomy relied on choosing qualities that are not necessarily desirable, but valuable to the user themselves (when it concerned self-expression).
Optimising well-being
Based on these insights, a design direction was formulated. This concerned, enhancing social connection by highlighting individuality (uniqueness of a person) within similarity (through a shared connection). This direction was used as a base for ideation. AI Ideation cards, which showcased the capabilities of the technology, were utilised. The possible interactions enabled by the technology were linked to desirable well-being outcomes defined previously.
Implementing well-being
This resulted in the design of a new dating app, MiHue. The app highlights a person’s unique attribute and tries to find a common ground with others either through an uncommon trait or through mutual passions. The experience of autonomy and relatedness upon this design was measured and the outcomes were used for recommending future cycles.
Initiating a new cycle
For the next cycle, it was recommended that other well-being related aspects which were not considered in the design, but present in the theoretical model (such as self-acceptance, positive emotions and physical health) to be considered for future research. Furthermore, it was advised that the involvement of minorities should also be included and that gender differences should be taken into account for the next cycle.","Well-being; Artificial Intelligence; Dating apps; App design; Relationships; Positive AI; Platforms; Social Connection","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Integrated Product Design","",""
"uuid:27b7495c-473f-4a18-be46-dfd51c51c0a2","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:27b7495c-473f-4a18-be46-dfd51c51c0a2","The Effectiveness of Participatory Value Evaluation in National Transport Projects: Uncovering the Added Value of Participatory Value Evaluation in the Multiyear Program for Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, and Transport Process through Policymaker Interviews and Respondent Answer Analysis","Mulder, Reinout (TU Delft Technology, Policy and Management)","Mouter, N. (mentor); Wieringa, S.H.P. (graduation committee); Hermans, L.M. (graduation committee); de Vries, M.O. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2023","The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, responsible for major infrastructure projects in the Netherlands, is exploring methods to incorporate well-being in its project evaluations and designs. To address the limitations of expressing well-being in monetary terms, a new evaluation method called Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) has been developed. PVE engages citizens in policy decisions, mapping their values and concerns, and providing a more inclusive approach to decision-making. This research focuses on investigating the added value of the PVE when applied to national infrastructure projects, with a case study of the Lelylijn project, a proposed railway line connecting regions in the Netherlands. The research addresses three key areas: where the PVE can be applied in the project process and its perceived added value in the research phase, how policymakers experience the PVE, and how participants perceive their involvement in the PVE. Through interviews with policymakers and analysis of PVE responses, the study found that the PVE has the potential to incorporate public values into decision-making, enhance the quality of decisions, and promote accessibility and inclusivity. Policymakers perceive the PVE as valuable in understanding public opinion comprehensively and improving decision-making. Participants appreciate the PVE's accessibility and educational aspect but suggest improvements in question design and representation of diverse groups. In conclusion, this research highlights the potential benefits of using the PVE in national infrastructure projects, providing valuable insights into its impact on decision-making and public involvement. The study contributes to the growing emphasis on well-being in policy decisions and offers important considerations for the effective implementation of the PVE in future projects.","Well-being; Participatory Value Evaluation; Transport evaluation; Participatory methods; Case study; Added value; MIRT","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Complex Systems Engineering and Management (CoSEM)","",""
"uuid:699b920b-e20d-4359-8120-7185036610ed","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:699b920b-e20d-4359-8120-7185036610ed","Urban Nature in Daily Doses: Restorative design strategies for improved personal and ecological well-being in Berlin","Bechmann, Clarissa (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","Rooij, R.M. (mentor); Tillie, Nico (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2023","The graduation project within the field of Urbanism investigates the impact of urban environments on personal and ecological well-being, with a focus on the decreasing quality of life in cities due to the diminishing urban green spaces resulting from growing urbanisation and densification. Moreover, the project highlights the importance of natural environments in mitigating daily stresses and the consequences of climate change. Therefore, preserving and enhancing urban nature at all scales is vital.
As part of the study, the pattern language “Restoration with Urban Nature” was developed to create design principles for improving personal and ecological well-being. The pattern language is organized into six categories that provide overarching, general patterns as well as suggestions related to activity, environment, senses, and implementation. Additionally, it contains a few “bonus patterns”.
Resulting from the pattern language, design principles are applied to the design location Moabit West in Berlin and then transferred to two other areas in Berlin: Helmholtzkiez and Flughafenkiez. A co-creation workshop with stakeholders from the first design location was also held to test the pattern language and ensure a participatory design process. Furthermore, the project utilises ecosystem services and parameters of restoration to evaluate the effectiveness of the design principles.
The results of the study provide insights into how urban design can improve personal and ecological well-being in urban areas by creating restorative environments with a focus on urban nature. Thus, an integrated approach that considers the various needs of humans and natural systems is needed to improve restoration and the provision of ecosystem services in Berlin and other urban contexts.
As personal and ecological well-being are strongly related, social-ecological urbanism holds high potential for cities. Consequently, the thesis contributes to the development of sustainable urban design strategies that prioritise the preservation and enhancement of urban nature for the benefit of both residents and the environment.
The findings are relevant for urban planners, designers, and policymakers who seek to create health-promoting and climate-adaptive urban environments. In order to implement the developed principles, raised awareness of the urgency of the topic is needed among all stakeholders. Furthermore, interdisciplinary cooperation fosters the successful development of restorative environments.
Finally, with its versatile green structure, the city of Berlin holds high potential for providing restoration and ecosystem services. The challenge lies in discovering and valuing those potentials.
cities. At the same time, the growing population, urbanization, and crowding in cities negatively impact well-being, bringing to the forefront the need for integrating restorative environments. In the context of multi-ethnic cities, there is a pressing need for integration to foster social cohesion and well-being. This thesis challenges these issues, with a case study of South Rotterdam, an ethnically segregated multi-ethnic area, with the reported need for improved quality of public space, safer urban environments, and opportunities for developing trust among residents. This thesis illustrates a methodology for designing public spaces that promote ethnic diversity by stimulating inter-ethnic social interaction in restorative environments.
I approach this assignment by proposing a network of public spaces that encourages participation in public life to stimulate social interaction, improving the social cohesion and well-being of residents in the area. To develop the network, I introduced a multi-method approach in both research and design, by integrating computational tools for urban design. Bringing together three disciplines, urban design, landscape architecture, and urban analytics, I propounded specific design strategies for the formation of the network and
the transformation of public space, toward inclusive restorative landscapes that promote diversity.
The outcomes of this project determined that implementing multi-methods approaches in urban design requires careful consideration and acknowledgment of the extent to which each method can be applied. However, there is great potential in advancing knowledge through different perspectives and creating innovative methodologies to approach such projects.
Finally, public space design has a promising opportunity to accommodate places that bring people together and increase feelings of belonging and trust, while embracing diversity. By reimagining the value of the street, I illustrate a strengthened public space that accommodates diverse activities in South Rotterdam, enhancing shared spaces and identity expression in public spaces.","public space; ethnic diversity; social cohesion; restorative environments; well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanism","","51.892724, 4.490203"
"uuid:db8dd22a-d474-4e76-baed-a1758cf3bdf7","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:db8dd22a-d474-4e76-baed-a1758cf3bdf7","The sensory-healing scape","Kok, Rutger (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft Old - Section Dwelling and Public Building)","Kuitenbrouwer, P.A.M. (graduation committee); Eckardt, H.F. (mentor); Corbo, S. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2023","An architect should not only design spaces and functions, but he or she can bring architecture to another level whereby the architecture itself can influence the environment and their people, such as health conditions, (safety) feelings, behaviour and productivity. Within the contemporary architecture, buildings are mostly designed for our visuals. “We have allowed two of our sensory domains— sight and sound—to dominate our design imagination. In fact, when it comes to the culture of architecture and design, we create and produce almost exclusively for one sense—the visual.” (Mau, 2018, p. 20). Our experience of space, as of anything else, is much more multisensory than most people realize. (Spence, 2020). Designing in a way that all senses will be touched gives the opportunity to influence human well-being and health-conditions, and create a community out of all the individuals. “Environmental multisensory stimulation can potentially affect us at the social, emotional, and cognitive levels.” (Spence, 2020).
A public condenser, a place for all people, no matter which culture, age, gender and interests, is a perfect place to improve people’s well-being and the health of the city. Stimulating people to improve their well-being by creating certain ‘Atmospheres’ - places that you can read, becoming involved with and that manages to move people. (Zumthor, 2006). – using multisensory design techniques. “The quality of a space or place is not merely a visual perceptual quality as is usually assumed. The judgement of environmental character is a complex multi-sensory fusion of countless factors, which are immediately and synthetically grasped as an overall atmosphere, feeling, mood or ambiance.” (Pallasmaa, 2014).
The main question within this research is: ‘How to create atmospheres based on multisensory design, that stimulate people to improve their well-being, physically and mentally?
The goal of this research is to investigate and experience how Atmospheres – that stimulates people to improve their well-being (physically and mentally) with interactive experiences - should be designed, based on touching all human senses in a sustainable, hybrid and resilient way.
This design of a public condenser could be a prototype. The concepts of how to create atmospheres that stimulate people improving their well-being using multisensory design can contribute to the larger architectural disciple. The techniques and arguments of this project can be used in other designs as well.
With the growing pressure on the Dutch health care sector, growing climate problems and pressure on the Dutch housing market more should be done to resolve this. Therefore, a project statement has been made of what is technically possible resulting in the use carbon fibre as building material for this project. On a location that because of shortage of space in the Netherlands has been reconsidered and now is approved for residential development. Giving a possibility to deal with the problems of today while incorporating the solution of the future into a new healthy home design.
Though there are many definitions of play floating about, Van Fleet & Feeney (2015) define play as an activity or behaviour built of three characteristics: (1) goal of amusement, (2) highly interactive and (3) immersive & absorbing.
These core elements are exactly what makes play so difficult to implement, though simultaneously so valuable to employees in a work environment, which in many ways reflects the opposite of such elements. For example, in a work environment one is expected to strive for efficiency and success, whereas play aims to amuse. This thesis focuses on the conflicts that arise when playful behaviour meets the office setting, which were identified through qualitative research activities. Results of these activities indicated that there are many motives that withhold employees from using break facilities such as a ping pong table when they are offered by the company. For example, some individuals expressed that they want to spend their time efficiently, and therefore did not have time to play with such facilities. Others felt that they want to take a break at their own convenience, and gathering tools and opponents to play with, would certainly take away from that convenience. These motives formed the basis for design criteria to be used for evaluation of the design during development and a scope, which was based on two core user dilemmas:
1) I want to be fully engaged in an activity but still be mindful of those around me;
2) I want to spend time with colleagues, but I don’t want them to see my shortcomings.
Through various iterations of ideating, prototyping and testing with users (including CREFM employees and StudioLab members), a final design was created to ultimately help energise office workers through playful breaks. This concept, aptly named Button Bash, consists of interactive, modular panels featuring buttons and light, as shown on the next page. In interaction with and appearance of the product, it adds a playful character to stiff surroundings, and helps users find opportunities to recharge through active play.","play; office; break; energising; activity; behaviour; dilemmas; play at work; well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:36bf51a9-fb72-4dfe-b8c8-c2a095dc60d4","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:36bf51a9-fb72-4dfe-b8c8-c2a095dc60d4","Building mental resilience for young adults: Exploring strategies to support the wellbeing of young adults in the overwhelmed society of 2032","van Klaveren, Leon (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","van Dijk, M.B. (mentor); Snelders, H.M.J.J. (graduation committee); Tromp, N. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2023","Mental health among young adults is in sharp decline, with over 68% of young adults in Europe reporting signs of burnout in the past year (Strava, 2021). This increasing prevalence of mental health problems among young adults, including burnout, anxiety, depression and feelings of hopelessness, has been exacerbated by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and societal pressures. Despite increased awareness, reduced stigma and efforts to improve mental health, the number of diagnoses appears to be increasing. The demand for professional mental health care is outstripping the capacity of institutions to provide it, making it difficult to access professional care in a timely manner and leading to an increasing reliance on biochemical solutions for symptom relief rather than psychotherapy. This sudden increase in mental health diagnoses among young adults cannot be attributed to changes in genetics, as genes don't change in a population over such a short period of time. If we assume that neither reduced stigma nor a change in genetics is solely responsible for the increase in mental health diagnoses, then we seem to have created an environment that is conducive to mental health problems in young adults. In particular, the transition from a learning environment to a working environment seems to be a moment of vulnerability for young adults, and this research therefore focuses on a transitional group, mostly aged 20-28, who can identify with this life transition. The aim of this thesis is to address the social phenomenon of declining mental health among the transitional group and to look for novel ways forward.
In order to find ways forward, a probable vision for the future of 2032 is defined through the collection of 168 contextual factors; concise statements that serve as building blocks for the future context. These are collected through semi-structured interviews with the transition group, interviews with experts such as philosophers, psychologists and psychiatrists, books, journals and documentaries. This probable future context is made understandable through a framework that describes six states of mind into which the transition group can be trapped.
By articulating the normative values of the designer, a number of goals and ambitions emerge for each state of mind that help to move closer to a desired future. For each of these goals, ideas were generated and a strategic set of six promising interventions was developed. Due to time constraints, only the 'One on One' concept was selected for further development into a prototype...
Terrain vague is defined by its ambiguous character. The project, which establishes the terrain vague as a walled garden, is a response to the scars that are made by the historic urban interventions. It defines itself as a space with a public character and gives it to those who require it. It gives meaning to a meaningless void in the city. It keeps the ambiguous, informal, and improvised character that is found on terrain vague, and translates it to a space of possibilities and forming a new center point in the European quarter in Brussels.
for more information, please send an email to:
meert.sander@gmail.com
This thesis focuses on the neighborhood Estação in Faro, Algarve, Portugal, which historically was an agricultural area but nowadays contains only a few green spaces and lacks connection with the Ria Formosa National Park (lagoon). Assumingly, these natural elements primarily convey, e.g., aesthetical and ecological values but may also bring a broader cultural significance to the community of Faro.
Participatory methods, in particular gaming, are used to reveal the values of the community. Gaming is a participatory method that enables co-creation in representing, visualizing, and redesigning architecture and the urban landscape. Both sides can learn by engaging the local community. The method supports raising awareness about values and considering them in the redesign process.
The design of the agent followed the guidelines for Stress First Aid. The agent uses text input and output and went through an iterative design process using expert feedback. The experts provided feedback on both text and structure of the conversation. Based on their input, informal language was chosen for the presentation of the agent. The lessons for similar projects drawn from this design process are managing expectations from users, scoping broad questions, getting feedback from users on wording and not to push people when discussing suicide.
The proposed evaluation would determine if the agent is effective at improving people's awareness of their mental well-being status. This is done by comparing perceived mental well-being before and after interaction to reported mental well-being. To achieve this, a survey to measure perceived mental well-being was developed. The evaluation also provides insight in what aspects of the agent need the most improvement in future iterations.","mental well-being; chatbot; awareness; conversational agent","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Computer Science","",""
"uuid:4f278e0e-77b4-4961-b09b-866de3162500","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4f278e0e-77b4-4961-b09b-866de3162500","What are the impacts on well-being and climate change of a four-day workweek for The Netherlands?: A time-use and consumption-based scenario analysis of the impacts of a four-day workweek","Kort, Mando (TU Delft Technology, Policy and Management)","Ward, H. (mentor); Hoekstra, R. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution); Universiteit Leiden (degree granting institution)","2022","The time we spend on activities has consequences for consumption and related emissions. A four-day workweek is assumed by some to have an improved effect on well-being and reducing emissions, however, the consumption from additional leisure time could counteract the benefits. Therefore, this research looks at the impact of a four-day workweek on well-being and climate change for The Netherlands. Time-use survey data and Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE MRIO) consumption data for full-timers are linked to create carbon footprints per activity. Well-being data is added to also see what the effects of a change in time-use on consumption, its emissions, and happiness are. Five leisure time scenarios are picked to predict the consequences of a four-day workweek, with a sixth control scenario, being working one day from home.
The findings of this research are that changing towards a four-day workweek could increase well-being in all investigated scenarios. Household emissions are also increasing for all scenarios, however, if the intermediate emissions for commuting are taken into account, ‘Relaxing’, ‘Media’, and ‘Working from home’ show positive monetary results, while only the latter shows positive environmental results. The higher emitting scenarios of ‘Social contact’, ‘Sports’, and ‘Holiday’ are also intertwined with high costs, making it difficult to pursue continuously with average budgets. Reducing wages could be a consequence of decreasing work hours, which will lead to a decrease in consumption and their emissions already at a few percent. Whether a reduction in work hours is favourable for the competitive position on the global market is up for debate.
A mix of multiple scenarios is likely to be the real-world result, but this research has the potential to aim individuals toward a less costly, higher well-being, and more sustainable mix. Policymakers could use this consumption/time-use matrix to calculate their predicted scenarios to see whether to pursue the four-day workweek. The results of their input can in addition be used to steer society towards higher well-being and fewer emissions by promoting low carbon-intensive activities and demoting high carbon activities, which are usually involved with large travel distances. Lowering wages seems to be the most effective in reducing emissions, however, the effect on well-being of this sanction is not known. ‘Working from home’ is found to have both positive impacts on climate change and well-being.","Four-day workweek; Time-use; Consumption; Well-being; Sustainability","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Industrial Ecology","",""
"uuid:43b6e6ec-5a02-46e7-af68-19d88051b041","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:43b6e6ec-5a02-46e7-af68-19d88051b041","Relieving gloominess through non-verbal communication and social support from loved ones at a distance","Bresser, Hannah (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering; TU Delft Human-Centered Design)","van der Helm, A.J.C. (graduation committee); Xue, H. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2022","Loved ones play a crucial role in people’s happiness by regulating interpersonal affect to maintain and build relationships (Niven et al., 2012). Something existing services and mediated technologies do not cover as desired: leaving out the more subtle and often non-verbal communication qualities that bring warmth and positive mood-regulating effects.
In this thesis, I explore through a literature study and user research how loved ones can help regulate a gloomy mood when they are apart. This exploration resulted in a solution space with different possible directions. Through brainstorming, ideating, using the non-verbal cues of sympathy found during user research, and clustering these ideas, a final concept direction was chosen through a Harris profile. This evaluation resulted in the final concept direction, which was prototyped and tested further into the final design: Uppie. This final design is prototyped and evaluated through a final user test to validate the design and gather new insights.
Explorations of the topic showed that it is challenging for a gloomy person to talk about their mood, lacking communication channels for social support. This resulted in the final design goal and direction to let a gloomy person feel more comfortable sharing their gloomy mood with their loved ones over a distance by receiving non-verbal cues of sympathy from loved ones while sharing the need for social support in a gloomy mood.
Through Uppie a gloomy person can share their gloominess indirectly by asking for a hug through hugging Uppie. A loved one can respond by hugging back, which is felt through vibrations. These vibrations are dynamic and change depending on how the user holds Uppie, mimicking the loved one being close. The final evaluation showed how Uppie does comfort a person in a gloomy mood to share this mood in not having to talk to ask for support. And in hugging Uppie, the loved one shows they have their full attention available, making the gloomy person receive the sympathy and the initial social support of the loved one at a distance. The gloomy person can start relieving their gloominess through social support. Enable loved ones to communicate comfortably and stay connected in the physical world, even at a distance.
at the future and its liveability. As a result, residents who live or work in this area spend a significant amount of time in this area and have a difficult time finding a place to retreat.
This touches on the problem of noise pollution. The growing noise pollution determines the daily life of the citizens. And with it, psychological well-being is under pressure. According to Schafer (1993), there are only two ways to solve this problem: 1. a global energy crisis, which would eliminate the greatest sources of noise pollution; or 2. research into soundscape atmospheres and a focus on an auditory landscape (Schafer, R., 1993, p.181). The second choice seems to be a more optimistic one.
In this handbook, I will look at the role of noise pollution in the everyday lives of urban dwellers. The main focus here is the urban landscape, psychological well-being, and the relationship to sound perception. Urban planners place too much emphasis on vision, with the other senses playing a limited or non-existent role. As a result, the city’s image is incomplete (Castro, R., & Carvalhais, M., 2014, p.61).
This study aims to decrease the gap between psychology and urban planning but also to show a different ‘image’ of the world around us. And let’s hope that the composition of the sounds of the city will sound like your favorite song.","Soundscapes; Psychological well-being; Inner typology; Places to retreat; Quiet spaces","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanism","",""
"uuid:326af6a6-0cbe-4f6d-b696-d52e40946c1c","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:326af6a6-0cbe-4f6d-b696-d52e40946c1c","To what degree can we use NLP to mine current and trending topics with respect to well-being?","Manglani, Neel (TU Delft Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)","van der Maden, W.L.A. (mentor); Gadiraju, Ujwal (mentor); Lomas, J.D. (mentor); Allen, G.M. (mentor); Erkin, Z. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2022","The increase in global internet users brings forth a vast amount of social media users and therefore opinions that are shared online. A subset of those users, adolescents, seem to develop some sort of addiction towards social media, which could lead to low life satisfaction. This paper tries to extract trending topics and their relation to well-being in order to help organizations like MyWellnessCheck check in on adolescents and students. The results indicated that this was possible, despite the vast amount of spam that is present online. Unsurprisingly, current events made the list of trending topics with negative sentiment like ”school shootings”, as well as unexpected topics with positive sentiment that could potentially im- prove well-being, like ”safe snacks”.","nlp; social media; well being","en","bachelor thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Computer Science and Engineering","CSE3000 Research Project",""
"uuid:3d9f2ae1-d70e-4904-b255-788948e4eec3","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:3d9f2ae1-d70e-4904-b255-788948e4eec3","The performing arts academy: a generator of human well-being","Abe Nijenhuis, Maarten (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","van Bennekom, H.A. (mentor); van der Meel, H.L. (mentor); Mateljan, M. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2022","Over the last century, Rotterdam has become one of the world’s key port cities and will continue to broaden its horizons. Feijenpoort area, located in the city district Feijenoord, became one of the migrant labourers‘residential areas during this period. Since, it has been regarded as a socio-economically challenged, deteriorated and underprivileged part of Rotterdam. Today’s multi-cultural population’s well-being is considered one of Rotterdam’s lowest and the municipality seeks to remedy this in a sustainable way. An approved urban waterfront development strategy based on gentrification and targeting mid- to high-income groups however, might lead to even more urban anxiety and socio-economic related stress for the existing community. By acknowledging that well-being must be defined as a system of interconnected dimensions of physical, mental and social well-being the project investigates how this might be used to improve the poor conditions of Feijenpoort through architecture. How can spaces oriented at well-being let city residents flourish in a context of sustainable city development? The project targets mental well-being as the way to enhance multiple dimensions of well-being. It aims to achieve this through its educational and cultural program and concept as the Performing arts academy for youngsters. The design integrates biophilic design principles with art education. With the premise of combining biophilic design principles with lessons learned from educational typologies, the Performing arts academy aims to enhance the community’s mental well-being. The project gathers neighborhood and urban goals by harmonizing the boundaries between nature and spaces that encourage physical activity are socially stimulating and mentally rewarding to its users. The design aims to enhance encounters and encourages inclusive interaction by creating an abundance of informal setting where spontaneous public performances may take place.
One of the evident reasons for this is the obstruction of daily activities and disrupted routines of people. From a humanistic perspective routines and habits are built towards positive experiences as our behaviors are motivated by need fulfillment, and hence they are reliable sources contributing to one’s subjective well-being. Research by Desmet and Fokkinga (2020) states that there are 13 universal psychological human needs that are the basic requirements for the functioning of an organism. Supported by a body of research, these needs are ‘built-in’ to the human nature that fulfillment of them is subject to enhance a person’s feelings of well-being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2000). This project focuses on contributing to the subjective well-being of young adults in daily life in the context of Covid-19, and for this theory of 13 Fundamental Needs is chosen to be operationalized.
The dynamics of 13 Fundamental Needs were explored for future possibilities to operationalize the theory and to understand the daily manifestations of need fulfillment by collecting daily moments. Through this intervention research, how the theory can be operationalized was explored. The observations of the intervention using this need-based theory showed an opportunity to lead people towards new and fulfilling engagements in daily life within the limits of the current NPIs.
Based on this understanding a constructive framework, influenced by experiential learning model, was built on sustaining enjoyable engagements. According to this framework people would be motivated to repeat engagements either when they find or they think they will find joy through these engagements.
Generative interviews were conducted with 11 young adults to understand the effect of Covid-19 on their daily lives and routines, and in terms of need fulfillment. These interviews showed five main influential factors within the context, leading to languishing: not feeling in control and not motivated to take action, accompanied by a limited perception of behavior space.
Personas were developed in order to understand and address each of their needs better. The framework was detailed further as the findings were implemented. This new layer added to the framework defined the point of intervention using a need-based tool as well as the moment. The scope of the project was narrowed down to converting daily activities into pursuits of joy. Design criteria was refined and design vision was set as: encouraging young adults who are languishing to pursue joy in daily life by facilitating an experiential understanding and exploration of 13 sources of joy. Towards this goal a concept was created and refined through an iterative design process. Cue cards under 13 categories were created that lead to authentic and fulfilling experiences that makes the user focus on each of the 13 Fundamental Needs individually through the same activity. The concept was tested as a card set through the final test with 6 users over the course of 10 days, and the framework was validated as the need-based intervention led to sustained enjoyable experiences. A last set of iterations were made to design the user journey of the concept better to accompany long term use. Unravel_cooking kit was created as the design implementation of the final concept: an explorative journey that aims to show how a mundane activity that has been overlooked can bear so many enjoyments.","Well-being; Humanistic approach; Covid-19; Languishing; 13 Fundamental Needs; Experiential learning","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:eecbd239-638f-4920-862f-926bb01cae41","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:eecbd239-638f-4920-862f-926bb01cae41","Increasing employees’ sense of belonging: Design of an intervention to stimulate meaningful chats in offices","Wang, Jun (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering; TU Delft Human-Centered Design)","van der Helm, A.J.C. (mentor); Colenberg, S.E. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","This project aims to improve employees’ social well-being in offices through informal interactions. It consists of 3 phases in total, context research, idea generation and concept development. Experiencing prototyping was mainly used in the design process.
In the first phase, observation and interviews were conducted in 2 offices in Beijing to know about the context and discover problems and design opportunities. Another round of research was carried out in StudioLab for verification of the insights from Beijing offices. The results, combining with the results of the literature review, led to the design goal defined.
Then the project started to focus on stimulating meaningful chats among employees to increase their sense of belonging. Ideas were brainstormed and selected, prototypes and storyboards were made to let participants evaluate the concepts through interviews. After 3 cycles of idea generation, the final concept direction was defined.
After that, 2 cycles of concept development were conducted to iterate the concept. Again, prototypes were made and interviews were done to evaluate the concept and get feedback from participants. In the end, the final design was defined, final prototypes were made and final evaluation was conducted.
Overall, it is a design project exploring solutions for solving one of employees’ social problems in offices, lacking the sense of belonging.","social well-being at work; user experience design; design for well-being; experience prototyping","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:80a851a1-4f13-49fa-a3df-e5a17e911a82","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:80a851a1-4f13-49fa-a3df-e5a17e911a82","Student Living in 2040: A vision for student housing corporation DUWO to stimulate social well-being","Keulen, Hannah (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Mooij, S.C. (mentor); van Heur, R.J.H.G. (graduation committee); Pluim, Hans (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","DUWO, the largest student housing corporation in the Netherlands, strives to contribute to the best time of a student’s life by offering suitable and affordable housing for both national- and international students. An opportunity here is to explore the wishes and expectations of student housing in the future to build new innovative/ successful student buildings that also contribute to the student’s well-being. The research question of this project: How can DUWO contribute to the better well-being of all students, now and in the future? Literature research concludes that quality of life, life satisfaction and happiness are all different terms describing well-being. Findings on happiness research show that the human biopsychological pathway, which balances positive/negative feelings, predominantly determines our overall feeling of happiness. As human interaction heavily affects our positive feelings, one can see that valuable relationships make people happy. To stimulate the formation of these valuable relationships, one should start to facilitate social contact. Internal research shows the increasing interest of DUWO in the well-being topic, which results in practical ideas. Nonetheless, the main focus still lies with affordability and availability. This focus and the stimulus of the Dutch rent allowance/valuation system results in the corporation mostly building studios. This result affects the way students build these valuable relationships. From an abstract level, it also seems that there is a gap between the corporation’s intentions and the expectations of the students. DUWO focuses on the future and the collective, whereas students ask themselves what it implies for their individual situation in the present. The reframed challenge: Find out how DUWO can support social relations between students living in the same building and get a better understanding of students’ needs, to be able to design for those needs and support well-being. To stimulate the formation of valuable relationships, one should promote community building. People within the community dare to be interpersonally vulnerable, which creates emotional safety and intimacy. To be part of a community also provides a feeling of belonging. The best way to stimulate community building is to facilitate contact and to create a feeling of involvement. Design requirements: 1. DUWO has to get a better understanding of the students their needs. 2. Student housing should stimulate social contact and create a feeling of involvement. 3. Students need to know beforehand how they can give input and how DUWO will use their input. 4. Students should be able to respond to specific topics which they care about The final design outcomes:1.Internal policy change. Embrace well-being internally. Make it the basis to inform the policy. Ensure that affordability and availability no longer determine the future of student living. 2.Enrich the communication between DUWO and the student. Involve students via statements inside the DUWO app. See what students think and how many are concerned about which subject. Link these polls to offline discussion evenings where students can share their input elaborately. 3. Architecture recommendations. Ensure the building itself promotes social contact, plus create a feeling of belonging through designing for hierarchy.","Student Housing; Future Vision; Well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Strategic Product Design","",""
"uuid:1b54aaf2-7144-4f0f-ad72-88a309540d20","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:1b54aaf2-7144-4f0f-ad72-88a309540d20","Project Vital Presents Spiritus: Designing a Data Supported Breath Practice for a TU Delft Student's Journey Towards Inner Peace","Abraham John, Arun (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Lomas, J.D. (mentor); Sonneveld, M.H. (graduation committee); Van Niekerk, E.A.J. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","Spiritual wellbeing is an important part of human wellbeing. As the field of positive design aims to design for human well-being, how may we design for spiritual well-being? As we address this question in a secular society, an opportunity is presented by a rise in practices that were not explored by traditional western religion but are indeed known to create experiences that are regarded as spiritual. For this graduation project, I looked at breathwork following the research through design methodology for my design process. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected students in a significant manner leading to increasing accounts of stress and even burnout. To address this, the design was aimed at TU Delft students. Embodying the research through design method, the final design is Project Vital presents Spiritus. Project Vital is research platform design researchers can use to produce knowledge about breath enabled experiences of which the first research through design artifact is Spiritus. Spiritus is a data-supported breath practice aimed at guiding the students of TU Delft on their journey towards inner peace. This practice is uniquely different as participants who start the practice, start the same with an understanding of how their mind and body respond to the breath through their data. This data is comprised of electroencephalogram (EEG) data and thoracic data (Expansion/contraction of the chest). While addressing spiritual well-being directly in a secular society proved to be difficult, inner peace, a component of spiritual wellbeing, resonated with the target group. Spiritus, here while addressing the target group also produces data, which is used to further knowledge about how breath-enabled experiences can be used to promote human well-being.","Data driven design; Positive design; Design for well-being; Spirituality; Research through design","en","master thesis","","","","","","http://www.project-vital.org This link will lead you to the website of the research platform developed during the course of this project: Project Vital The showcase for this project is the website of the research platform (www.project-vital.org). Please visit the pages of the website to come across mixed-media content to get to know more about the work.","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:f3f96965-02ba-4269-871d-dcd975c8a80b","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f3f96965-02ba-4269-871d-dcd975c8a80b","Design for Youth's Flourishing: Intervention design strategies to enhance teenagers’ mental resilience and well-being","Fonda, Sofia (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Hekkert, P.P.M. (mentor); Cila, N. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","The urge to promote mental health and well-being is gaining increasing importance and attention in recent years. Adolescents, who are among the most vulnerable under this aspect, are experiencing an increase in mental health complaints and need of youth care in the Netherlands. In addition, they perceive current means of care as inappropriate to their needs. Generally, mental healthcare remains hard to access due to its elevated costs and lack of resources. Alternative ways to promote mental well-being appear necessary. These could be provided by implementing design to mediate and promote positive activities through human-product interactions. Teenagers make heavy use of smartphones with continuous internet connection; this creates the possibility to take advantage of digital phenotyping, the practice of gaining information on users’ (mental) state by collecting and interpreting data from smartphones’ sensors and interactions. This system would allow to detect when teenagers experience risk states and provide proper (design) interventions.
This project aimed at providing designers with strategies to create interventions promoting teenagers’ mental resilience and well-being through product-mediated activities. The research entailed literature review, interviews with experts and adolescents, examination of tools, prototyping and user evaluation. The Vision in Product design and Contextmapping methods were employed. Academic stress and depressed mood were identified as the two most relevant detectable risk markers for teenagers. The goals of ""making adolescents embrace resilience as a collaborative learning process by identifying purpose and stick to congruent behaviour"" (for academic stress) and ""by reframing negative emotions, translating them into learning opportunities"" (for depressed mood) led to the development of 14 intervention design strategies. These are presented in a card deck, whose evaluation stressed the importance of implementation, detailing and user testing to reach intended impact, and the necessity to evaluate and prevent potential counteractive effects.
This work contributes to the field of Design for Well-being and specifically to the Smart-CUEing MEntal health research project, whose aim is to promote adolescents’ well-being by implementing digital phenotyping and design interventions.","well-being; teenagers; adolescents; design for well-being; Cardset; design research; academic stress; depressed mood; Contextmapping; ViP; Vision in Product Design; Design for behaviour change; digital phenotyping; mental health; resilience; growth mindset; collaborative approach; user experience; Positive Psychology; cognitive behaviour therapy; mindfulness; smartphone; personal sensing","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:8f933373-3a73-4ad5-9645-1b6ac75a0f4f","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:8f933373-3a73-4ad5-9645-1b6ac75a0f4f","From Prototype to Proposition: a Design Perspective on Scaling The Box: Framing Design Opportunities for Scaling while Supporting an Efficient Workflow that Reduces the Burden on Healthcare Professionals","Verschueren, Eveline (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Kleinsmann, M.S. (mentor); Snelders, H.M.J.J. (graduation committee); Pannunzio, V. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","The Box contains monitoring devices patients can use to perform monitoring activities in the comfort of their home. The success of the service relies on active patient participation. With The Box, the treating medical team now has insights in the patient’s health condition from a distance. It doesn’t require the patient to be physically present in the hospital, and there’s now even more reliable data available to adjust the treatment to. It makes the carepath insightful and approachable by both parties, resulting in accessible digital consultations. Since The Box has proven to be a success in patient care, several departments started adopting this service as well. However not much attention has been given to how the healthcare staff at LUMC is experiencing the implementation of The Box. As the idea of patient home monitoring looks very promising, the reality however is quite discrepant. Not having the physical presence of patients in the hospital, would appear to reduce the burden on healthcare staff, as instead these “empty” hospital bed will simply be taken up by other, even more severe cases, causing a larger amount of patients to both monitor digitally and take care for physically. It leaves us with the question of “Who will do it?”. Who will take on the so to speak additional workload? The healthcare staff at LUMC is experiencing more workload with the implementation of The Box as its intended use is mostly focussed on remote and safe patient monitoring, while missing out on an opportunity for assisting the care-team. It occasionally happens that additional staff is hired to cope with the excessive workload, or that LUMC is also investing in an intelligent system that prioritizes patient data. But momentarily, healthcare staff’s solution is simply to not check up on every patient that sends in data. The Box may appear as an implemented innovation in the care practice of LUMC, but in reality it is still a prototype. Therefore it requires scaling to towards an improved standard healthcare practice. The goal is to turn The Box into a mature proposition that can be implemented hospital-wide, but also that has the ability to change the current healthcare system. The burden on the care-team must be suppressed or else the future will include an immense scarcity of healthcare professionals of which the majority will be burnt out. A roadmap is created to show opportunities for continuous prototyping and what value it brings, scaling strategies, patient monitoring and what level of staff involvement it demands, required developments and finally stakeholder collaboration. What it actually proposes are the changes to be made to create an integrated healthcare solution that is focussed on “unburdening” the staff. LUMC is not capable of changing this alone: they are specialized in research, education and healthcare, yet they lack expertise on data management, financial resources, digital developments, etc. It therefore needs support of multiple organisations. The deliverable aims to show a designer’s perspective on scaling The Box from a prototype level towards a mature healthcare proposition.","eHealth; Remote Patient Monitoring; Workload; The Box; Roadmap; Quadruple Aim; LUMC; Philips; Workflow Efficiency; Care-team well-being; Future Vision; Healthcare; CardioLab","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Strategic Product Design | Medisign","",""
"uuid:6fbb6dec-5779-4cbf-b388-f2cd9d4b0d9b","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6fbb6dec-5779-4cbf-b388-f2cd9d4b0d9b","A Health and Wellness Centre for the city of Nijmegen: A place for escape in Nijmegen’s city centre","Kelso, Andrew (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","Vermeulen, P.E.L.J.C. (mentor); Reinders, L.G.A.J. (mentor); Fokkinga, J.D. (mentor); Mensinga, Peter (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","This thesis aims to develop a new urban and architectural condition for the site of the existing Molenpoort shopping centre, within Nijmegen’s city centre. The project aims to investigate how play can be considered as part of urban and architectural design in an attempt to make a healthier and more engaging city to live in.","Urban Architecture; Nijmegen; Play; Well-being; Health; Shopping centre; Bricolage; Adhocism","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Urbanism","Urban Architecture","51.844365,5.863055"
"uuid:ef7632ca-6d9d-4de0-a249-5d08bd935164","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ef7632ca-6d9d-4de0-a249-5d08bd935164","Compact Nature for Compact Cities: Towards an urban nature network in streets and on buildings that enhances ecological values and well-being, a Rotterdam case study","de Roode, Menno (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft Urbanism)","Tilie, Nico (mentor); Rooij, R.M. (mentor); Ottele, M. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","As cities are getting denser and larger, space for conventional green features is diminishing. Cities without green alienate people from nature, deteriorate ecological systems and directly harm personal well-being. Limited open areas and many sealed surfaces in today’s cities raise the need for a renewed green space approach that fits in an increasingly dense and compact urban landscape; an approach in which green space is not limited to large open spaces at ground level, but one where greenery is truly integrated with built structures. The concept of compact urban green space (CUGS) is introduced in this study to refer to green space compatible with this approach. Too often, current CUGS on buildings and in small spaces solely serves aesthetic purposes and is treated as mere (architectural) decoration. This attitude results in pragmatic but disconnected interventions with little added value to ecology and well-being.
This study puts forward that urban planners and landscape architects should embrace these new and unconventional green spaces, because, when planned and designed from a larger social-ecological perspective, compact urban green space can functionally solve several urban challenges simultaneously while also improving ecological quality and human well-being. This graduation project explores the qualitative aspects of small green spaces that result in major improvements in ecological resilience and personal well-being. It is concluded that CUGS can provide quality for people and nature. E.g. by encouraging stewardship of local communities and allocating space for natural processes.
A pattern language approach is used to better understand the relations between a variety of CUGS patterns across different scales. Novel CUGS patterns, such as rooftop landscapes, bioreceptive building envelopes and topographic building blocks are tested in the spatial and ecological context of Rotterdam. The resulting spatial framework for the city centre guides the development of future CUGS. A design experiment performed in the neighbourhood of the Wijnhaven Eiland shows that multidimensional green structures and networks can improve well-being and ecological resilience in Rotterdam when they add value at different scale levels and are fundamentally integrated into the design of the city.","Compact urban green space; Ecological resilience; Well-being; Rotterdam; Urban ecology","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences","","51.916508400340525, 4.487010112264623"
"uuid:27a34ea6-c956-4878-866c-ebbf8fb771dd","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:27a34ea6-c956-4878-866c-ebbf8fb771dd","Design for happiness-enhancing activities: Development of design strategies for the activities of learning to forgive and avoiding overthinking","Speek, Michael (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Hekkert, P.P.M. (graduation committee); Wiese, L. (graduation committee); Pohlmeyer, A.E. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","class=""MsoNormal"">This research-by-design project provides designers with new strategies to design for sustained well-being.Positive activities have been proposed as the most promising starting point to improve well-being (Wiese et al., 2020). Currently, 14 activities have been identified (Lyubomirsky, 2007; Wiese et al., 2019). Avoiding overthinking and learning to forgive were chosen to design for in this project, as few existing products meaningfully support people in engaging in these activities. The Vision in Design approach (Hekkert & van Dijk, 2011) was applied to construct future world views of both activities, in order to create meaningful design goals. Two design strategies were developed for both activities and evaluated by PhD candidates and a design practitioner. This concluded that the strategies meet most of the requirements of a strategy (Wiese et. al., 2020), and could support designers. Recommendations to improve the strategies were composed and presented in the report. The conducted research and developed strategies contributed to existing knowledge by showing how designers can promote sustained well-being on an activity level. Further research should be conducted with more designers to evaluate the strategies’ usefulness in practice more extensively.","Design for Happiness; Positive activities; Well-being; Design methodology; Design research; Design strategy; Vision in Design; Forgiveness; Overthinking","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:72f76f90-dab5-446a-b116-e5a78f985409","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:72f76f90-dab5-446a-b116-e5a78f985409","everydAI - An AI assistant supporting balance between work and personal activities to increase wellbeing in the home office","Unterweger, Jim (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Smit, I.R. (mentor); van der Helm, A.J.C. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","This project explored the domain of the home office worker to shape an AI driven concept guided by positive design principles to increase subjective wellbeing and resolving problems related to working from home. The 13 fundamental needs, which are an operationalisation of the positive design framework, are used as components for subjective wellbeing. Research and interviews with both managers and home office workers have shown that people working from home experience difficulties to detatch and take effective breaks, feel guilty for doing personal things during office hours, and lack routines to structure their day. Exploring possibilities to use AI as an integral part of a product design addressing these problems have shown that recent developments in natural language processing make it possible to process and work with abstract human concepts. Two interaction concepts were tested to gauge promising concept directions and explore possibilities of how to intervene in people‘s established routines. Co-creating use cases for AI to act in a product to increase work/life balanece, combined with previous ideas and insights have led to the final concept vision. The final concept vision is an AI driven to-do list concept which helps users to maintain work/life balance by giving personalised tips and suggestions for balancing activities and informing people about their fundamental need fulfilment. It is a concept vision leveraging the capabilities of natural language processing to classify human tasks, learn form behavior and personal data and give users individual suggestions tailored to their needs and interests. The concept vision was tested with home office workers in real-life conditions for one week using a „Wizard of Oz“ prototype. Evaluations of the prototype have shown interesting insights into the perception of receiving personal suggestions from a machine and a promising response to the concept. Especially regarding needs classification and tracking triggered curiosity and left users wanting to know more about their need fulfilment pattern. The concpet offers the starting point for the use of AI for the human good using fundamental needs and subjective wellbeing at the core.","Artificial intelligence; Subjective well-being; Home Office","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:4dc97c47-0d89-4356-927a-2e811a2b0ca9","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4dc97c47-0d89-4356-927a-2e811a2b0ca9","Atrium: Facilitating social interactions for sustained wellbeing in a digital campus life","Monteiro Rego Meyrelles, Henrique (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Lomas, J.D. (mentor); Sonneveld, M.H. (graduation committee); van der Maden, W.L.A. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","It would be hard to think of someone who isn’t benefiting from their social circles and social interactions within them. The many and varied social interactions we all experience are intrinsic to nurturing and maintaining our social connections, which are arguably one of the core capabilities to which we can attribute our dominance as a species. In parallel, we have our capacity to develop technologies. Which goes from the first tools and deliberately making of fire to antibiotics and the world wide web. All of which undoubtedly elevated our quality of life in general.Still, in spite of all these advancements, we seem to struggle with the pursuit of well-being - to achieve a balance between our capacities and the challenges we face. To be in a state of satisfaction while still driven and stimulated. And to flourish.One can say that today we are more connected to one another than ever before, with hundreds of people one touch away in our powerful smartphones and computers. Yet we seem to feel more isolated than ever (Coombs, 2020). Even more now with the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, literally isolating us even more.It shows that simply having the means to connect isn’t enough. It is necessary to understand what motivates us on a behavioural level, what makes us engage and maintain quality social interactions?This graduation project sets out to explore the experience of university students, in the Netherlands, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Aiming to be informed by the unique set of circumstances we face today, in the hope to design better digital solutions for our future. The project has the goal of assisting students in a remote study situation to be able to build and nourish their networks and personal relationships. The project’s approach is focused on qualitative data gathered in context mapping activities (Sanders & Stappers, 2012), combined with literature studies and fitting within a double diamond approach(TU Delft, 2019). In order to design for sustained well-being, the project follows the multi-stage framework for sustained wellbeing promoted by technology proposed by Wiese, Pohlmeyer & Hekkert,(2020).In order to understand the target group’s experiences, we have looked into their routines during the lockdown and collected their recollections of their previous university experiences. With the insights from the research, a problem statement was formed, leading to a design direction.The design direction was focused on stimulating and facilitating the engagement with positive activities related to the nurturing of personal relationships (Wiese, Pohlmeyer & Hekkert, 2020), exploring how to reinstate the drivers of behaviour necessary for the engagement with such activities in a virtual scenario.The ideation phase explored 10 different ways of virtual social interactions, which were later exposed to the target group for feedback and combined into one final concept: Atrium, a close-knit environment to feel connected and interact with your peers in digital university life.Atrium is a well-being informed digital platform. Designed to lower the friction in initiating social interactions between university peers. It creates an environment that conveys belonging and keeps you connected to the community, motivating students in their daily work and enabling moments for spontaneous and more natural online social interactions. Atrium means a communal space to be together and naturally connect, not only for tech-savvy and extroverted personalities but for all students.","Well-being; interactive technology","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:617db3fb-849b-4f1e-95f3-43406afe1365","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:617db3fb-849b-4f1e-95f3-43406afe1365","Families versus Machines: On how a startup can improve digital well-being in the family life","Weggeman, Niels (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Price, R.A. (mentor); Lomas, J.D. (graduation committee); Rigter, Jorn (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","The goal of this project was to find a way to improve digital well-being in family life through design for the startup Unpluq. In this thesis, the designer combined a design approach called Value Sensitive Design with the list of requirements methodology taught at Industrial Design Engineering. This resulted in a new methodology that allowed the designer to develop a concrete list of requirements and wishes for improving well-being through design. To establish this list of requirements, the design student performed a detailed literature review on positive psychology, behavioural economics and digital parenting literature. In addition to this, he interviewed both parents and children to empathise with their world views. Lastly, he performed a market analysis to understand how the context and available resources could affect Unpluq’s capacity to take up a role in this new market. Based on this research, the answer found is that improving digital well-being in the family life requires the design of a choice architecture that helps parents and children take more conscious control of their time and attention (both transactional values). Doing so should allow them to spend these transactional values on activities that align with things they intrinsically value. This choice architecture should help rearrange actors, artefacts, and stimuli within the family home environment so that time is less easily spent without intentional consent. Based on this list of requirements, the design student initiated a design process to translate these insights into a physical design concept that Unpluq could bring to the market to help families rearrange this choice architecture. This design process was executed by iteratively evaluating design concepts with both the client, potential end-users, experts, and professionals from different psychology and pedagogics fields. In the end, the designer delivered a concept that stimulates reflective thinking about what users find intrinsically valuable and provides tips, tools and challenges that push them to try and change habits. This is done by focusing on conversations that help raise awareness of the critical issues and stimulating the iterative goal setting that the family should engage in to start solving these issues for themselves. The way that time can and should be allocated for intrinsically valued activities was so unique for each individual and family that it is hard to find one solution to help everyone. Therefore, the core insight of this project for Unpluq is that if they would be interested in entering this market, their focus should be on helping families reimagine the way they use their environments within their own family homes. This should be done both individually and together through reflection and iteration and supported in that journey by scientific and expert information.","Digital Well-being; Positive Psychology; Behavioural Economics; Start-up; Parenting; Value-Sensitive Design","en","master thesis","","","","","","https://unpluq.com/graduation-niels/ Presentation webpage","","","","","","Strategic Product Design","",""
"uuid:fce0825d-3701-4a21-9289-1cd033f875bc","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fce0825d-3701-4a21-9289-1cd033f875bc","Reframing Financial Well-being for Adolescents: From Economic Flourishing to Human Flourishing","Verbeek, Oscar (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","van Dijk, M.B. (mentor); Desmet, P.M.A. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","The goal of this project was to create a new and meaningful product, using Vision in Product design, and Positive Design methods, that could give the Dutch network of financial support organizations directions for improving the financial well-being of adolescents in 2025. The project was hosted by Wijzer in Geldzaken and Geldfit, who both concern themselves with supporting individuals in navigating the complex and fragmented landscape of personal finances in the Netherlands, in order to further national financial well-being. Following the Vision in Product design method, research was conducted towards the driving forces that make up the future context, by collecting factors, discovering clusters, and finally structuring a worldview that can be used to reveal future experiences and behaviors of adolescents in the context of financial well-being. The key characteristics of this future context have been identified as being overwhelming, with a high likelihood of experiencing personal vulnerability, as well as developing financial vulnerability. Through adherence to the Positive Design Manifesto, further research into economics, and clarification of the designer’s opinions about the future context, the designer takes a position on a desired future society. This position is presented as an ambition for a society that supports the well-being of adolescents, illustrated by a number of transformational values and principles that outline how a focus on human flourishing instead of economic flourishing can be realized. Moreover, four visions, that flow from the ambition, are presented on how to improve the individual and social financial well-being of adolescents in 2025. An illustration of how these visions can be used to create transformative products is presented, by outlining the development of a conceptual product. The product facilitates resilience to financial shame experienced in social situations, through the integration of principles from scientific theory, and the stimulation of maintaining small amounts of debt. Finally, a brief letter of advice intends to help individuals and organizations interested in this work to understand how to apply it for themselves.","financial; well-being; adolescents; money; vulnerability; worthy; economic; human; flourishing; dilemma; shame; resilience; design; society; reframing; vision","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:478f2651-c351-4460-a817-f06468ecfdfd","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:478f2651-c351-4460-a817-f06468ecfdfd","SLOWLY: A digital reflection tool to help Dutch nurses tell their story.","Sabée, Merijn (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering; TU Delft Design Aesthetics)","Ozcan Vieira, E. (mentor); Vegt, N.J.H. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","The extraordinary working conditions caused by the first wave of COVID-19 patients caused stress, anxiety and lack of sleep in frontline nurses. This negatively impacted their psychological well being which is important for providing optimal care and maintaining long-term employability (Schoonhoven & Trappenburg, 2020). There is a lack of accessible and low-threshold support tools such as online peer support platforms for nurses. While storytelling driven online peer support is a promising tool, it is unclear how it should be designed. This project aimed to design a storytelling tool, specific to the psychological needs of the Dutch nurses, that best facilitates online peer support. This report describes the research, design and evaluation activities as part of the design process of SLOWLY - A tool that helps nurses reflect on their experiences, preparing them to write a story to be shared as part of online peer support. A context and target group analysis lead to the assessment of the thirteen fundamental needs (Desmet & Fokkinga, 2020). Fulfilment of autonomy, competence and relatedness, as part of self determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), was found to be critically low. This was the primary source for the design requirements of SLOWLY. After using the design requirements to access a wide variety of design interventions, SLOWLY proved to be the most promising concept due to its potential to provide understanding about an experience in an accessible, low-threshold and safe manner. A detailed digital prototype was created, which used five storytelling prompts (character, setting, plot, conflict and theme) to guide nurses in a five day reflection process. Their responses were shown to them during the writing process to help them write stories with more details relevant to their experience. SLOWLY was found to provide increased understanding of the experience based on user testing with seven participants. It showed potential to fulfil all three critically affected fundamental needs. An additional expert review with one nurse yielded a positive response to the likeability, ease of use, clarity and benefit of SLOWLY. The results of this project provided insight into the potential role of storytelling in facilitating online peer support for nurses. Further research is recommended to evaluate longitudinal effects and possible interactions as a result of story sharing.","Nurses; Healthcare; Reflection; Well-being; Peer support","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:0fd717ea-7edc-4b25-bea1-f3d8276f5f07","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:0fd717ea-7edc-4b25-bea1-f3d8276f5f07","Zachte Wacht: a concept promoting long-term social support for CSN parents","Kingma, Irene (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering; TU Delft Human-Centered Design)","Stappers, P.J. (mentor); van Boeijen, A.G.C. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2021","When a child with special needs is born, the lives of all family members radically change, and so does their family culture. For the well-being of their parents, it is crucial that they feel connected with the people in their surroundings, for fulfilling their fundamental human needs, for maintaining their connection with their surrounding culture, and to get support in the many challenges they encounter. Therefore, the first aim of this graduation project is to provide the designers of Ontzorghuis with an overview of information that contributes to their understanding of the bigger picture regarding the relationship between CSN parents and the people in their surroundings. Insights from literature research, interviews with experts, and contextmapping research with 6 highly educated CSN parents with Dutch heritage, have resulted in 3 overviews of information. The Opportunity Framework lays out the different levels in capacities that CSN parents desire from people in their social surroundings, going from a vague acquaintance to a close friend. The Framework of Values illustrates 3 influential values of CSN parents, to better understand what is important to them and how their coping strategies are affected. The Practical Learnings and Attitudes offers designers an understanding on a more practical level. It offers insight into the psychological challenges CSN parents can face, navigating their own and other people’s expectations and attitudes. Secondly, this project proposes a design intervention that supports CSN parents in awaking a feeling of ownership among a few people in their social surroundings. The final design is a DIY-booklet with the following key aspects: it invites CSN parents to be soft with themselves, it promotes the common recognition and acceptance of long-term social support, and it inspires CSN parents to make it a positive event to ask for long-term support. The main message incorporated in the booklet is: it is important to be kind to yourself and it is okay to need support. First, the booklet introduces them to the novel concept of ‘zachte wacht’ or soft guard, a long-term social support circle for CSN parents. Secondly, it encourages them to reflect on what they expect of themselves, what they need to stay on their feet in the long term, and what they can expect of people in their surroundings. Thirdly, it guides CSN parents through the steps of setting up their own support circle, the final step being a small ceremony to seal their supporters' commitment. Although there is still room for iteration, the evaluations of 6 CSN parents demonstrated that the design is desirable for the target group. Everyone that expressed their opinion of the zachte wacht, CSN parents as well as experts, considered it to be a beautiful concept. The design capabilities, understanding of the target group, and network needed to implement the booklet and other aspects of the concept are a perfect fit with the unique strengths of Ontzorghuis. The concept has the potential to appeal to a large and growing target group. Moreover, promising opportunities for collaborations, funding, and subsidies are awaiting.","culture change; CSN parents; Design for well-being; Context mapping; Medisign","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:4c90803a-4980-44e4-9edd-29184d687207","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4c90803a-4980-44e4-9edd-29184d687207","Identifying barriers hindering the Aquaponics as an emerging value-conscious socio-technical system in the Netherlands","Piptová, Marianna (TU Delft Technology, Policy and Management; TU Delft Applied Sciences; TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Kamp, L.M. (mentor); Pesch, U. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution); Universiteit Leiden (degree granting institution)","2021","In the current times when ""facts [are] uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent"" (Funtowicz & Ravetz 1990) humanity reaches for new ways of improving our life through resilient technology enhancements embedded in a socio-technical landscape. This thesis presents an effort to develop a theoretical framework that can be used to analyse the barriers hindering the Aquaponics as an emerging value-conscious socio-technical system in the Netherlands. The barriers are identified in institutional, technical, economic, infrastructural, knowledge, socio-cultural, ethical and biophysical dimensions. In the research, the initial barrier criteria theoretical framework was established based on combining Functions of innovation system, Circular economy theoretical models in the Verhulst (2017) theoretical framework with ethical barriers based on Value Sensitive and Value Conscious Design approach. This primary theoretical framework Piptová 1 (2018) was applied to the current Aquaponics case in the process of desk research and in-depth interviews with stakeholders. This resulted in a list and description of barriers. The high initial investment costs, scalability issues due to the niche character of the market for Aquaponics products, cold climate in the Netherlands, current non profitability due to incumbent infrastructure of cheap vegetables supplied by elaborate Dutch horticulturalists from their greenhouses and cost-effectively imported fish, biophysical limitations as well as several ethical barriers in the form of value tensions and values not represented by a value advocate in the Aquaponics discourse were identified as the barriers hindering the Aquaponics as an emerging value-conscious socio-technical system in the Netherlands. Based on the list and description of barriers, the primary theoretical framework was revised and adapted by adding and removing indicators. The final theoretical framework Piptová 2.0 (2020) was established. It reflects on the malfunctions, ethics and risks of new technologies but also democratisation in the design process and science in general through an ecocentric prism due to the fact that it contains a consideration for all directly and indirectly affected stakeholders, whether presented or not by an actor, including the non-human ones. Via employing the fundamental capabilities of the created framework and adapting it in order to be able to detect a wider horizon of developmental bottlenecks from the systemic Industrial ecology perspective, a novel generally applicable theoretical framework was also created. Producers, consumers, scholars, practitioners, policy makers and other actors might utilise this framework with improved generalizability when executing improvements on targeted hotspots in the transition towards a ‘responsible society’ via a variety of ‘fair’ innovations emerging as value-conscious socio-technical systems. These are the advancements that not only ‘look good on paper’ but truly are more innovative in a ‘responsible and responsive’ manner due to the fact that they challenge the status quo of problem shifting; the one which Beck (1998) in his sociological understanding defined as the ‘organized irresponsibility’.","Industrial Ecology; Aquaponics; Value Sensitive and Value Conscious Design; Ecocentrism; Responsible Innovation; Functions of Innovation System; Circular Economy; Non-human Well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Industrial Ecology","",""
"uuid:73f14f72-6597-4c5b-89c4-4cc79ec5a7ac","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:73f14f72-6597-4c5b-89c4-4cc79ec5a7ac","Improving Work-From-Home Satisfaction During COVID-19: Helping homeworkers manage work and family together for better work-from-home satisfaction.","Parukoor Thomas, B. (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Jaskiewicz, T.J. (mentor); Romero Herrera, N.A. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2020","This project deals with the creation of mechanisms for self-assessment in work-from-home (WFH) environments to enhance people's satisfaction. The core of the project lies in increasing WFH satisfaction by incorporating self-experimenting into work and family activities. This relies on the determinants of satisfaction and how homeworkers relate to personal satisfaction during these days of forced working-from-home. Based on the challenges of work-from-home satisfaction, the project explains the idea of a shift ritual, and how a design intervention can enable, stimulate, guide, and support homeworkers to use the ritual to achieve satisfaction. This concept is facilitated using a physical design for day to day use in the home-work environments, thereby providing homeworkers the option to easily switch between work and private activities and also feel accomplished for their daily tasks.","satisfaction; work-from-home; WFH; cube; Motivation; COVID-19; Rituals; Self-experiment; Self Determination Theory; Behavioral change; Well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","","",""
"uuid:77bc721c-7a92-4cae-8d38-3adfe1d4d5fd","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:77bc721c-7a92-4cae-8d38-3adfe1d4d5fd","Mindscapes & Healing Gardens","Walker, N. (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","Kuzniecow Bacchin, T. (mentor); Holst, S. (graduation committee); Marzot, N. (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2020","Mental health issues are becoming ever-more common in contemporary societies as urban landscapes are over-stimulating and stress-inducing. Studies suggest that lacking access to green infrastructure may be a fundamental factor. In post-industrial cities and health care systems, nature’s healing abilities are however commonly neglected and have only recently become subject to scientific research. This project explores how health is impacted by the built and natural environment.
Caused by the environmental crisis and dynamics of the global market, many European port cities are in transition leaving the territory vacant and afficted with industrial leftovers. In Dunkerque, the former refinery grounds bordering the old habour are such vacancy. Stricken with remnants of an industrial past, both structural and in form of contamination, they have been abandoned and become in a sense wild. At the same time, they are testimony to the city’s relationship with the North Sea that has been shaped by its industrial heritage as well as historic war events drawing an invisible boundary between land and water.
Seizing the void, this project comprehends an urban garden and a mediator of health; environmental, socio-cultural and human health alike. As a novel form of green infrastructure it endeavours to renegotiate existing thresholds –
between the inhabitant and the territory, the city and the port of Dunkerque, between land and sea – to become a piece of collective conscience of place, nature and health.
Through a sequence of gardens, the visitor is invited to reconnect to and explore the natural world present in a place so foreign to nature due to its anthropomorphic history and heritage. It is precisely this atmosphere that grants a new perspective on the vegetative actors of the place and not only stimulates a re-joining with the territory but also with the inner self. The territory itself is subject to remediation through the vegetation on site. Phytotechnologies degrade substances and allow a subtle opening of the site through time. By that, hitherto marginalised port areas and the North Sea foreshore are increasingly reconnected with the city converting the site into a link between land and sea.","Bioremediation; Phytoremediation; Industrial Heritage; Contamination; Green infrastructure; Garden; Health; Well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","","","51.041827"
"uuid:9e944d34-b54e-4845-9b6d-e4dcc874ddb1","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:9e944d34-b54e-4845-9b6d-e4dcc874ddb1","Meaningful Voice Interactions: How to design smart speakers that foster well-being","da Motta Rezende Pierantoni, Felipe (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Desmet, Pieter (mentor); Giaccardi, Elisa (graduation committee); Kudina, Olga (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2020","What is the impact of smart speakers on our well-being? As the popularity of these devices continues to grow, so does the discussions around their potential dangers. From reports of children developing aggressive behaviours to studies on the perpetuation of sexist stereotypes, our interactions with smart speakers are accompanied by a series of risks. This project aims to propose a repertoire of meaningful voice interactions that mitigate those impacts and foster well-being instead. To achieve this, a categorisation of seven dangers of voice interactions was created based on literature review: impoliteness, aggressiveness, gender stereotyping, exposure, shallow mindedness, emotional dependency and social detachment. Each danger was analysed to define which of the fundamental human needs of the Self-Determination Theory they harm: autonomy, competence and relatedness. This theory proposes that people experience well-being when these three needs are satisfied. Also, a phase of exploratory research was conducted, combining established research methods such as user interviews with emerging More-Than-Human design approaches in the form of Thing Ethnography. The findings inspired the ideation phase, where more than 70 ideas were created to prevent the dangers of smart speakers. These ideas were clustered, filtered and remotely tested with participants who expressed their perceptions and examined the potential impact on the fundamental human needs. The resulting data revealed the interaction concepts perceived as most meaningful, which served as the basis for the final repertoire of voice interactions. The repertoire includes design guidelines, traps to avoid, in-depth analysis and reflective questions to guide ideation. Its goal is to serve as a tool for designers and researchers involved in voice-related projects to foster well-being by designing more humane voice interactions. It was designed to be shared as an online platform and a booklet, but its content could take various forms beyond those.","Smart Speakers; Voice Assistants; Well-being; Voice Technology; Voice Interactions; Design for Emotion; Thing Ethnography; More-than-human design; Conversational Agents","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:7952ca03-16a5-48ec-9b79-3bb1b1c1c5f8","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7952ca03-16a5-48ec-9b79-3bb1b1c1c5f8","Feel Good: Designing a sound experience to reduce stress and optimize sleep","Bereket, Mert (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Sonneveld, Marieke (mentor); Ozcan Vieira, Elif (graduation committee); Latul, Julien (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2020","Sleep is a vital restoration mechanism for our health and well-being. Deficiency in sleep can cause physical and mental health problems and reduced quality of life. How well we sleep is closely related to our behavior, and day to day stress can immensely influence sleep quality. Sound and music, on the other hand, is a powerful way to influence human emotions, reduce anxiety, and improve the quality of sleep. Feel Good is a personalized sound experience, designed to reduce stress and induce sleep. It steers the listener’s thoughts to a positive reflection state to prepare the mind and body to fall asleep in contentment. Feel Good’s ever changing layers of sounds are orchestrated by monitoring physiological and environmental data and curates a listening experience made with the listener’s “feel good” moments. Nevertheless, it suggests to improve the quality of sleep by reducing sleep onset latency, sleep fragmentation, and prolonging deep sleep. This research holds an interdisciplinary approach to investigate sleep influencing behavioral factors, stress coping orientations, and sounds in an attempt to bring a sound driven technology to optimize sleep and improve well being in the consumer electronics market.","Sleep; Affective computing; Sound design; Music; Stress reducing; Philips; Behaviour change; Well-being; Interaction design; Connected care","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:c5340750-3938-4d6c-b592-859dad6271c9","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c5340750-3938-4d6c-b592-859dad6271c9","Space for the Brain / Ruimte voor het Brein: Ground for focus and creativity for every brain","Broshuis, Lauren (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","van de Pas, Roel (mentor); van Dorst, Machiel (graduation committee); van der Meel, Hubert (graduation committee); Bobbink, Inge (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2020","We can all relate to the experience of wanting to shut of all the environmental stimuli around us, as our brain is overwhelmed and overstimulated by it all. Our surrounding environments can be improved if architects and designers learn more about how multi-sensory stimuli can enrich our perception of space, and when these triggers can take a back seat. Hence, we should strive for a well-balanced design regarding sensory stimuli, instead of creating overwhelming environments that are unnecessarily stressing ourselves. Buildings affect behaviour and wellbeing of its users. The goal of my research to make architects and designers more aware that creating spaces has certain effects on mental health of perceivers. And more importantly, that these effects can be different for each person. A design for a building should serve every user, instead of designing for the average person. Architects should take into account that every individual perceives a space differently and reacts differently to environmental stimuli. They should implement this varying demand for environmental stimuli in the building/environment, based on an individual’s needs. A stimulating space is an environment that stimulates a person’s way of working, thinking and being, whether it is stimulated by internal or external factors. The role of the architect is getting more multidisciplinary, but the way students are educated at our faculty is falling behind this multidisciplinary approach. My design for an interdisciplinary design school at the TU Delft campus will contribute to this collaboration between students of various faculties. Besides that, it will show how we can design for every user, instead of for the average one, by offering a gradation of spaces, based on the order of interaction with the environment and the degree of environmental stimuli included.","stimuli; perception; space; personality; design school; school buildings; overstimulation; environmental stimuli; mental health; well-being; brain; TU campus; focus; creativity; stimulation","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Explorelab","",""
"uuid:eab350a4-0309-4798-ad5f-0cccfafd46b3","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:eab350a4-0309-4798-ad5f-0cccfafd46b3","The future of the municipal service center: A focus on experience and well-being","van der Loop, Koen (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Desmet, Pieter (mentor); van Erp, Jeroen (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","Municipalities all over the world are struggling to find their role in this fast-paced society. The general attitude towards the government is negative and people experiencing its services as inefficient, irrelevant and unpersonal. Their functioning shapes people’s sense of trust in and expectations of the municipality. Despite efforts by incorporating modern technologies the relationship between citizens and governmental bodies are not improving. To date, service optimizations focusses on improving efficiency, accessibility and transparency. A problem-driven approach might achieve in a state of neutrality. However, the goal of the thesis is concerned with enhancing well-being of citizens in the municipal service center. Reducing or preventing inconveniences does not promises increased well-being. Moving into the positive zone requires a different strategy: a positive design approach. Activities make up 40% of our happiness level and are vital to our well-being. By investigating what people experience during these activities, possibilities will arise to enhance well-being. Analyzing people’s micro-emotions yielded 144 emotional events that elucidate that people experience one positive on two negative emotions. Dissatisfaction, confusion and unpleasant surprise make up for 23% of negative emotions while satisfaction makes up for 47% of positive emotions. Emotional events are either beneficiary or harmful to our needs. The universal need for Acknowledgement and Ease are carrying the majority of negative emotions in the current situation. However, an opportunity is found in contributing to a sense of belonging when framing interactions in a municipal service center of well-being. It aims to bring municipality and citizens closer, shape trusting relationships and aims to provide citizens a feeling that they are accepted and part of a bigger whole. Creating a sense of belonging is put at its core to design a positive and meaningful moment that contributes to people’s well-being. With many concerns in the context, a dilemma driven approach was applied that juxtapositions people’s concerns to inspire ideation. A concept was created that introduces a positive moment in the waiting room. The concept keeps track of people’s appointments, and meanwhile people can listen to stories that stimulate a sense of connectedness in citizens. An iterative process resulted in a final concept that was tested with 12 people. User test concluded that the prototype evoked only positive emotions, one rich experience and it contributed slightly to a sense of connectedness. Altogether, the concept positively created a moment that elevates people, making them feel connected to others and shed a fresh perspective that broadened people’s horizon.","Well-being; Interaction; Experience; Positive design","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:5788379a-66df-478f-8395-8567ff6b9aab","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:5788379a-66df-478f-8395-8567ff6b9aab","Well-being Driven Design: Creating a Meaningful Streaming-platform","Huijbregts, Matthijs (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Hekkert, Paul (mentor); Lomas, Derek (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","People are actively looking to pursue happiness by spending their precious time on meaningful experiences, which are often sought for in media entertainment as it is people’s most engaged in leisure activity today. However, current services fail to support them or even counter them, with their manipulative media-platforms in favor of their goals often at the cost of people’s goals. This creates a world of regret instead of happiness. The student of this graduation project claims that media entertainment designers should feel responsible to design services that respect and allow people to pursue their goals in finding happiness through it. This project can be considered an example, or even proof that there is indeed a manner to realize that and that, as company, it is crucial to do so as people are starting to reject services that are threatening their happiness.
APPROACH
This graduation project first investigated what happiness consisted of, and how media entertainment could contribute to that. The conclusion was that people need to engage in mindful, intentional, intrinsically motivated media-experiences which well-balances short-term pleasure (Hedonia) with long-term happiness (Eudaimonia). Then, current platforms were analysed to understand why they exist and why they are currently designed the way they are and how this affects well- being. The conclusion was that current streaming-platforms are being created to maximize media-consumption which resulted in an over-focus on hedonia at the cost of eudaimonia and therefore people’s long-term happiness. As ViP focuses on re-framing and reinvention by creating future opportunities, instead of solving the present-day problems, a future context of 2020 had been outlined through an extensive analysis using academic literature, trend reports- and sites and interviews. The result was three meta-factors that described the world of 2020 as “embracing the mindful pursuit of meaningfulness’.
SOLUTION
ViP states that as a designer, you should take a position in this future vision. The goal of this project is to design a new streaming-platform that improves people’s well- being through media-entertainment, which resulted in the following statement:
I want to empower people to experience media-entertainment meaningfully, by guiding them in articulating their intentions through trusted others.
DESIGN
The new concept considers media-entertaiment as meaningfull experience packages and facilites people in finding these packages through the suggestions of trusted others, such as people close to the user (like family and friends) but also famous people/accounts (like inspirational influencers or design blogs).
Plus it empowers people to experience these entertainment-packages meaningfully by increasing their mindfulness through 6 steps.
The concept contributes to well-being by focussing on improving both the hedonic and the eudaimonic experience by increasing people’s autonomy, competence and relatedness, focussing on personal growth, achieving goals, finding meaning in life and improving people’s vitalty by better self-regulating their media-behavior.
This graduation project is an extension of an elective course of Design for Emerging Markets in the winter semester of 2018 at TU Delft. The field research of this graduation project was conducted in India in order to get closer to the problem and get emerged into the context. The field research included interviews with different experts in the field to understand how this problem has been approached from different angles.
As the topic of menstruation is a sensitive one in India, one must work from a comfortable and safe space of people to create a change, and this lead to the family context. The tests were conducted with 9 families to understand what is the behaviour people have in their homes and how does the conversation go around this topic.
Research brought to a conclusion how pre-menstruating girls are not informed on the subject until they get their first period, which causes them to experience shock, fear and anxiety when they start menstruating. Men are often excluded in the discussion around menstruation, and in the family, the discussion is often occurring between the girl and her mother.
Through research a correlation was found between the positive attitude in girls towards menstruation and their freedom of conversation on menstruation with both parents.
That is why this project has focused on enabling discussion in a family home between all members prior to the girl’s first menstruation.
Even though the problem around menstruation in India is a complex one, enabling discussion can be that one step towards the desired behaviour change to enhance the well-being of the girl.
Gamification came as a solution as it can bring all family members together through an engaging and fun activity. Creating an engaging activity can help in subtly bringing to the surface the otherwise stigmatized topic, and the fun aspect of the game helps in creating a positive atmosphere which makes the discussion more enjoyable.
After testing 4 different designs, the outcome design is a pairing type of card game, Mix-A-Body-Match. As the entire aim is to create funny pairs, the game doesn’t require prior knowledge on the subject, which allows both the pre-menstruating girl and male members of the family to get involved into the game-playing with ease. The game comes with a booklet that contains the rules to the game and explains the content on the cards. The booklet also provides information on puberty and menstruation for the family to learn more. The game intents to normalize menstruation by presenting it as a part of puberty and a normal aspect of growing up. It serves as an ice-breaker. The game creates a positive atmosphere in the home through laughter, and in that way creates the way for the discussion to appear.
● Help you reflect on which eudaimonic activities they already partake in
● Get you to connect these actions to the items necessary for them
● Urge you to avoid non-eudaimonic actions and items
Aside from these three principles, some insights on how to best implement each of the principles were found as well. To illustrate how these principles and insights are best put to use, some design examples were developed. Firstly, a time capsule was designed which people can put items they are not sure they need into; during the month that the items are locked away in the capsule, it gets people to reflect upon whether they need the items. Afterwards, people are urged to give away any of the unneeded items. This helps people gain an understanding of what they do and do not need. Aside from this, redesigns to eBay, Bol.com and Climate Activist websites were developed to give some examples of how the findings could be used by other designers.","Design for Happiness; Subjective well-being; Sustainability; Sustainable Consumption; Eudaimonia; Minimalism","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:809796c6-1022-4db9-8d73-2cbf8e3e22b4","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:809796c6-1022-4db9-8d73-2cbf8e3e22b4","Towards Smart Flexibility: A study on how IoT can improve employees' well-being in flexible office environments","Abbes, Madelon (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","den Heijer, A.C. (mentor); Koutamanis, Alexandros (mentor); Valks, B. (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","","Flexible office environment; Well-being; Employees; Internet of Things (IoT); Smart tools","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences","",""
"uuid:e0d80347-1877-4f74-ab33-e3d95537039b","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e0d80347-1877-4f74-ab33-e3d95537039b","Towards an optimal thermal comfort and energy efficient workplace","Navaradnam, Tarish (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment; TU Delft Management in the Built Environment)","Koutamanis, Alexander (mentor); van den Ham, Eric (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","We, humans, spend 80-90% of our lives indoors. Thereby the building has two main functions, namely: protect their occupants and provide the occupants a comfortable indoor environment. However, the last one seems a big challenge, since every individual is different from each other, based on the factors as age, gender, clothing, activity, positioning within the building or body mass. At the current situation, building service systems in most buildings are maintained at a steady level based on fixed schedules and average values. As a result, the thermal comfort of building occupants are hardly met. In the meantime, the same building service systems account for up to 50% of the energy consumption in the commercial sector. A response to this challenge is started with the introduction of personal comfort systems, which focuses on the individual occupants instead of average values of a large group of people. However, we are not there yet. This thesis is contributing to the response by focusing on efficient usage of personal comfort systems and tries to close the loop between the building service system and building occupants by finding a proper balance between providing thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption.","Personal comfort system; Energy Efficiency; Office buildings; Facility Management; Property Management; Build enviroment; User Satisfaction; Well-being","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Management in the Built Environment","",""
"uuid:4179b27e-8b72-49a7-b83d-0957ffb3467c","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4179b27e-8b72-49a7-b83d-0957ffb3467c","Energizing sleep-deprived parents: Unlocking parents evening activities with mindful and secular rituals","Li, Lina (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Romero Herrera, Natalia (mentor); Weerdesteijn, Jeske (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","Being mindful in the evening is overlooked for sleep-deprived parents with young children, especially with tv's and smartphones grabbing their attention. This graduation project explored in the context of personal energy care to unlock evenings for parents and found out that mindful and secular rituals can energize them. The core elements of a ritual consisting of a focus, mood, and space, led to analyzing what the focus and intention behind the rituals were. Seeking relief, restoring balance, seeking control, and nurturing relationships are four secular ritual intentions/focus in the evenings to re-energize tired parents in the evening.
These findings result in the mobile application: Tada. A gentle and guiltfree tool that suggests personal rituals with the four ritual intentions to energize parents in the evening. The direct way of choosing rituals creates moments of frictions that make you reflect what your current energy level is in the evening. It motivates you to try out new rituals you have not tried before. Tada does not make choices for you, but it only supports your choices. In this way, Tada makes you slow down and mindful to recharge you for the next day.","behavioral design; positive design; rituals; personal energy care; well-being; parents; mindfulness","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:2add12f8-3a2b-48b9-b672-c691647c106d","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2add12f8-3a2b-48b9-b672-c691647c106d","Well-being for all: Using the theory of Consumer Wisdom to guide design that promotes the consumer, societal and environmental well-being","van Diest, Charlotte (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Mugge, Ruth (mentor); Magnier, Lise (graduation committee); Luchs, Michael (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","The aim of this thesis is to explore how designers can create well-being for all through product or service design. Well-being for all can be achieved through designing with the focus on Consumer Wisdom. Consumer Wisdom is defined as the pursuit of well-being for oneself and for others through mindful management of consumption-related choices and behaviours. The theory gives insights on providing consumers with products or services that enrich life with well-being for all (Luchs & Mick, 2018). The Consumer Wisdom theory was researched from a consumer perspective by Luchs and Mick (2018) and through a literature study the theory was transformed into a design strategy. Various design theories relate to wisdom, although they do not call it wisdom nor mention it. From these theories existing design directions were added to the 6 dimensions of the Consumer Wisdom theory to provide designers with the information to use the theory into practice. To cluster all the theories addressing wisdom into one tool is unique. Study 2 generated proposed design categories for the established design direction to gain insights on how to design for Consumer Wisdom. These 48 design categories were found through a categorisation task done by my supervision team and me with the use of 135 product and service examples. Merging all the information of study 1, 2 and research on existing design tools, developed three design tool concepts. The ideation was done through the use of a brainstorm session on the format of the tool and by using the ‘HOW-TO’ method. The best concept was chosen with the use of the Plus-Minus-Interesting matrix and the C-Box methods.Before evaluating the tool an iterated on the concept was done. A brainstorm session helped to evaluate the design tools visibility and feasibility. The evaluation showed that the provided examples were necessary to understand the theory. The design categories directed the focus on and helped to design easier for a certain design direction. The final tool is the Consumer Wisdom design tool consisting of a card set to design with. The set consists of: an informative card, dimensions cards, design category cards, design purpose cards and an instruction manual. The tool helps designers use and understand Consumer Wisdom in their design process. In the future the final tool should be tested with design students and design professional to validate its usability, feasibility and visibility.","Design Tool; Well-being; Consumer wisdom; Design strategy; Consumer behaviour","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Strategic Product Design","",""
"uuid:3bf697d3-2cc0-43e6-8277-04a1eeed3d1f","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:3bf697d3-2cc0-43e6-8277-04a1eeed3d1f","Design for connectedness: Designing a playful product for people living with moderate to severe dementia to support emotional well-being","de Rond, Maartje (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Sonneveld, Marieke (mentor); Wang, Gubing (graduation committee); van Zuthem, Hester (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2019","This project focuses on contributing to a feeling of connectedness for people in the mid to late stages of dementia living in a nursing home. Feeling connected is still important for people living with dementia. They may suffer from disabilities caused by their disease, losing their memory and ability to make decisions, but there are also things that are not likely to be affected by dementia. A person with dementia stays capable of feeling negative emotions, like fear and pain, and positive emotions, like interest and happiness. Therefore, it is important to contribute to feelings of connectedness, to support emotional well-being.
My framework on connectedness identifies that, based on universal human needs, connectedness can be divided into three types: social, personal and physical connectedness. Fulfilling one or more of the human needs related to a type of connectedness, leads to an increased feeling of being socially, personally or physically connected. People with moderate to severe dementia living in a nursing home, spend of their time in static environments every day. This means that they are surrounded by static objects and non-responsive, apathetic fellow residents. These static environments cause people to become apathetic or restless, which negatively impacts all three types of connectedness and hereby decreases emotional well-being. As the moments where people spend time in static environments happen when care givers are busy with their caring duties, I envision to offer something for these moments that can be used by a resident without the help of care givers and can be used individually, without the need for fellow residents. Therefore, this project focusses on the individual side of connectedness: personal and physical connectedness. The goal is to design a playful product that enables moments of physical and personal connectedness for people in the mid to late stages of dementia, to support emotional well-being in static nursing home environments. To guide the design process, the following interaction vision was created: the interaction should feel like playing with a ladybug: proactive, lively, explorative, enchanting, subtle and open-ended. In an iterative design process, multiple idea directions were explored, and a concept was developed through the creation and evaluation of several prototypes. This resulted in the final concept: Twinkle., Twinkle consists of a sphere, with an interactive dynamic light inside of it. This light can move across the surface of the sphere to proactively try to attract the attention of residents and trigger the curiosity in them to initiate interaction. When an interaction is started, the behavior of the light will change depending on the actions of the user. This way, it allows the user to explore the possibilities of the object. This way, Twinkle provides both cognitive and sensory stimulation to enhance personal and physical connectedness and thereby support emotional well-being for people living with moderate to severe dementia to bring back the twinkle in their eyes.","Dementia; Connectedness; Well-being; Design for connectedness; Quality of Life","en","master thesis","","","","","","","","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:df4ecb5d-5ca6-4cf9-acd8-d6ecdf4e195f","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:df4ecb5d-5ca6-4cf9-acd8-d6ecdf4e195f","Meaningful Gift: A website that inspires and supports people in finding and preparing gifts","Li, Jin (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Desmet, Pieter (mentor); Pasman, Gert (mentor); Fokkinga, Steven (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2018","Nowadays, individuals always find themselves in various situations where they need to choose gifts. Gift exchange helps individuals to signal commitments as well as promote social closeness. However, in many cases, people are also facing the occasions in which finding a gift for an unknown-preference person, or miss-predict recipient’s reaction after receiving the gift. Inspired by the value of gift exchanging and the findings of Positive Design (the study of how design can contribute to human flourishing), Emotion/Studio started some explorative work to study qualities of meaningful gifts, which refers to the gifts that contribute to the well-being of recipient. The objective of this graduation project was to develop a practical online gift-selecting tool that can help people find “meaningful gifts” for their recipients.
The final concept is Meaningful Gift website. It is a platform that offers users with diverse gift-planning
toolkits. It targets on giving inspirations, escorting explorations instead of suggesting or marketing
goods. Users can use the tools by starting a “gift project”, this function is also designed to allow them tracking their previous works. Two of the most essential tools of this website is “Get gift ideas” and “Weave a gift story”, which focus on finding gifts and creating gift accessories respectively. Both tools are consist of multiple explorative steps, users will complete these tasks with the help of visual and textual stimuli.
At times high care patients have no distraction from the negative experiences that come with their hospitalization, a lot of negative feelings arise. They often feel lonely, for not having the possibility to play with peers. Luckily, the new playroom can create opportunities for these children to interact with peers. To include bed-bound children as well, the design goal was to come up with a concept that would: create interactions in the playroom that give high care patients, aged 6-11 years old, a sense of belonging towards each other, also when confined to their beds.
Challenge.
Although all these patients have in common that they are hospitalized on the high care ward, they also know many differences in interests, development and physical abilities. To provide the patients with a sense of belonging towards each other, the challenge was to create a concept that every child can use in its way, but at the same time enables them to play and socially interact with each other.
The final design.
‘Het Interactieve Bouwlab’ is a play environment in the playroom where children can build with LEGO in an interactive environment. To create a meaningful interaction, the bed-bound child can control this environment via the ‘Bouwlab’ App, while also sharing a video and audio connection. The concept is designed with no predefined game rules to support open-ended play in which the users can create their games and building plans. However, to spark the imagination, a weekly theme will be announced where the users can build for.
Evaluation.
The user tests showed that ‘Het Interactieve Bouwlab’ has the potential to give the patients a sense of belonging towards each other since it stimulated social play and made the children willing to interact with each other.","Subjective well-being; Pediatric healthcare; Play","en","master thesis","","","","","","","Campus only","","","","","","",""
"uuid:dfa0ccee-1a20-4728-90e2-7b1da14360e9","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:dfa0ccee-1a20-4728-90e2-7b1da14360e9","Erosion for Betterment: Designing with Erosion to improve well-being | a case study of the Volta Delta, Ghana","Ventura, Eva (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)","van Loon, Frits (mentor); Reinders, Leeke (mentor); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2018","Erosion for Betterment is a graduation project within the Landscape Architecture master track at the TU Delft. The project examines an underdeveloped coastal area in Ghana that is sadly facing severe erosional threats due to previous unfortunate human activities. It offers an unexpected direction in handling issues as such by proposing an inventful and sustainable way of living profiting from the originally presumed risks.
In this thesis, tools are developed to encourage people to actively perform the helping behavior. These tools consist of awareness, guidance and triggers. They are implemented in daily life products, to inspire, guide and remind people to perform the helping behavior.
The analysis of public transport behaviour
and the current use of travel time by business commuters has revealed the potential for autonomous mobility to improve the everyday urban commuting experience. Thereby, the proposed concept introduces a radical approach for innovating the meaning of urban mobility and travel time. It envisions to transform the everyday business commute into a well-being ritual, that empowers urban citizens to dedicate their travel time to sustaining their personal well-being. The latter was found increasingly challenging due to the pressure caused by high-performance-driven societies and their fast pace lifestyle
in western cities. Hereby, the concept of mobility for well-being is further rooted in growing trends of consumers seeking for methods and activities helping them to sustainably foster what it
takes to live a happy life.
The proposed concept provides commuters with a progressive well-being experience that includes the positive effects of personal engagement
and the daily commuting routine. The proposed concept is a combination of both product and service design, that can be accessed while booking and traveling on-board an autonomous vehicle. Empathy, customizability and proactivity were given high priority during the development of the design system. Hence, an open service platform was generated that provides the customer with variable and progressive
content. In addition, affective computing and
the potential of involving machine learning was investigated with the aim to offer a more natural human-machine interaction.
The design process followed an agile approach that allowed the designer to analyse, synthesise and elaborate on genuine design solutions that would do the context justice. Hereby, the project started with a user-centred and generative research phase which was then, concluded with the identification of several opportunity spaces. From this, a clear design vison was formulated, that guided the designer in generating a pool of apt ideas. The following conceptualization phase focused on the elaboration of one design direction that revealed to become a holistic system solution. The latter was influenced by the application of various design fields, including design activities in product, service
and interaction design. In close collaboration with strategic experts, working in the field of autonomous mobility and design experts from the TU Delft, specialized in design for innovation and well-being, the designer was eager to create based on both facts and imaginative power. Subsequently, a user-centred, meaningful, radical and complex design innovation resulted. The proposed concept highlights the added value daily mobility could have for urban well-being.
Firstly, a literature study, two brain writing sessions and a focus group on prosocial behavior at work were executed to define various ways of- and incentives for these behaviors. These studies have shown that, in order for extra-role prosocial behaviors to occur more frequently, the most substantiated strategy is to invest in the improvement of collegial relationships across disciplines.
This leads to the second theme, interdisciplinary bonding at work. Interdisciplinary bonding encounters challenges due to differences in interests and practices. These differences are rooted within the organization’s culture. A literature- and generative study is performed, consisting of a questionnaire, interviews and observations, on cultural differences in organizations. These studies have shown that a common ritual can function as a way to enhance interdisciplinary bonding. A creative co-design session with an interdisciplinary group of participants resulted in the definition of four design strategies to strengthen interdisciplinary bonding in office environments.
The aim of fostering prosocial behaviors in office environments requires a sustainable change in routines and behaviors from the people in that environment. Research on the third theme, behavior change at work, has shown that for certain target behavior to happen, a person must have sufficient motivation, sufficient ability, and an effective trigger. Furthermore, the involvement of employees, for instance by allowing environment personalization, can have a positive effect on positive attitudes towards change. In addition, one can not neglect people’s different characters and their naturally different responses towards change. Three behavioral personas were defined in order to take these differences into account. Thereafter, the four defined design strategies are analyzed based on the above mentioned essentials for a sustainable change in behavior. As a result, the most viable design strategy is finding common ground in personal interests through environment personalization. The desired interaction consists of a ‘sharing’ and a ‘caring’ part. The design should facilitate employees to share personal interests, and for other employees to care for these interests. Three intervention iterations in context were performed based on the desired interaction. These interventions have shown that the development of genuine interest in one another is most important for sustainable change towards prosocial behavior. This led to the design goal: motivating knowledge workers to develop genuine interest in interdisciplinary colleagues. A benchmark analysis of existing interactions was performed to define the unique perspective of this desired interaction.
The conclusion from this benchmark analysis resulted in a definition of a product-service-system for Ahrend: the Ahrend Portrait. The Ahrend Portrait allows employees to visually portray their interest on the walls of their organization to personalize their work environment. Furthermore, it allows employees to develop interest in the portrayed interests on the wall by interacting with them. The concept combines the benefits of digital interactions (bridging distance) with benefits of the physical interactions (explicit and passive). Different use case scenarios of the concept describe the opportunities for interdisciplinary bonding and prosocial initiatives. In order to find backing for the effect of this concept, two validation tests were performed at two different offices. The results of these validation tests suggest that the concept is capable of fostering interdisciplinary bonding and attentive, prosocial, behaviors. Furthermore, the concept inherits the potential to lower communication thresholds and increase mutual understanding and tolerance in organizations.
From here, multiple validation tests are required, for a longer period of time, to prove its positive effect on prosocial behaviors in offices. Furthermore, further research has to show how misuse of the concept can be prevented, whether the incentive to interact with the concept is self sustaining and what the most effective way is to introduce the concept in offices.","Prosocial behavior; office environments; positive design; well-being; interdisciplinary bonding","en","master thesis","","","","","","","Campus only","","","","","Design for Interaction","",""
"uuid:9f0bde7c-cf48-4035-b85b-e96104cfbc12","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:9f0bde7c-cf48-4035-b85b-e96104cfbc12","Occasions: Enhancing the psychological well-being of office workers through smart building technologies","Fröhlich, Tobias (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Jaskiewicz, Tomasz (mentor); Price, Rebecca (graduation committee); Wernand, Anne (graduation committee); de Planque, Bouwe (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2018","Over the past few years, workplaces have placed increasing importance on enhancing well-being. The benefits are clear: increased productivity, improved employee engagement, and reductions in health care costs. Another recent development has been the rise of smart office buildings. MAPIQ, a system integration company, is an active player in the smart building ecosystem, and has hosted this graduation thesis to investigate how smart building technologies can be applied be to effectively enhance well-being in the workplace. The research phases of the project identify an opportunity to enhance psychological well-being by stimulating the creation of specific workplace relationships. Consequently, a feature for a mobile application is proposed to bring candidates for such relationships together at a particular time for a particular occasion. The concept is evaluated as being relatively complex, but also as having good desirability and good potential to help Mapiq reach its vision. The thesis makes clear that applying smart-building technologies to build relationships at work is effective in enhancing well-being and in guiding a smart-building system integration company to achieve its strategic objectives.","Well-being; Smart buildings; organizational culture; relationships","en","master thesis","","","","","","","Campus only","","","","","","",""
"uuid:054ebd17-95d9-4557-b392-1e3a49d71e61","http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:054ebd17-95d9-4557-b392-1e3a49d71e61","Increasing awareness about the influence of air quality and noise on well-being","Aerts, Jozet (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)","Kuipers, Henk (mentor); Romero Herrera, Natalia (graduation committee); Delft University of Technology (degree granting institution)","2018","The aim of this master thesis is to create a product that can increase awareness about the influence of air quality and noise on well-being. About 6% of the total burden of disease can be accounted to influences of the natural environment on well-being. Part of the problem is the unawareness of people about these influences. In order to improve well-being, people first have to reflect on the current situation and therefore become aware. Therefore, the goal of the product is to increase awareness and give people the knowledge to make different or better decisions. Studio Überdutch for who the project was conducted saw potential in measuring, interpreting, processing and adjusting the quality of the living environment. As a result, this project was initiated.
It was found that the variables that have most impact on human health are air pollution and noise. Based on the outcomes of the influence of the different variables, a look was taken at the influence of stress on well-being. Being able to cope with environmental stressors can only be done when being aware of the interpretation of the stressor. This led to the need to measure the subjective experience of these variables as well. It was decided to measure air pollution and noise for the rest of the project, both objectively and subjectively. During the project scope phase, a concept direction was chosen, being a product connected inside and outside the home environment to measure air quality and noise and comparing the outcomes. This means the products will consist of two parts, Part A for indoor and Part B for outdoor. The final concept consists of two parts attached on opposite sides of the window. Feedback will be given by indicators in a transparent ring and input will be collected by touch. This concept was validated by a user test. From the user test it was concluded that the product can increase awareness on the level of air quality and noise, but that the experienced need for providing input is missing.