AIGA Design’s Post

Building Identities Brick by Brick 3.5 years ago, I started my Ph.D. research at Nyenrode Business University. I must admit that all the clichés about doing a Ph.D. are true. You start with a very clear roadmap of what you want to do, how you want to do it, and when you want to do it. And then, after a few bumps in the road, you get lost in understanding what research is, who you are as a researcher, and what exactly you want to do research on. During my Ph.D. journey I came to the conclusion that when it came to the topic of my research - navigating multiple identities - the research methods I was familiar with felt like trying to fit a round shape into the square of a shape sorter. You can push all you want, but it's not going to fit. Quite soon I realized that I needed to think about different methods that would help me get the results I wanted. I felt like I was longing for creative curiosity in an academic world. Over the past 1.5 years I hosted multiple LEGO SERIOUS PLAY workshops together with Geoff Marée and Jelmer Weijschede during different events and conferences. The aim of these workshops was to explore how LSP could be used as an academic research method that would help me to investigate how individuals perceive their work and nonwork identities, and how these identities would change after the hypothetical experience of job loss. As we are currently in the process of further unpacking these results, please stay tuned for the final outcomes. Want to read more about how LEGO SERIOUS PLAY can be used for science? Please check out the latest issue (13) of The LSP Magazine.

In this minimalist graphic design, I aimed for simplicity and readability, utilizing a straightforward color scheme. The quote underscores the vital role of computer science in driving innovation across various domains. In today's world, computing permeates every aspect of our lives, fostering creativity and offering solutions to complex challenges in engineering, business, entertainment, education, and the sciences. As technology evolves, computer science assumes increasing importance, with problem-solving emerging as its cornerstone, a skill essential for life. The versatility of computer science skills opens up limitless employment opportunities in diverse fields. Continuously evolving, computer science has profoundly shaped our modern world, making it dynamic and expansive. Obtaining a degree in computer science enhances understanding of theories and cutting-edge technologies, empowering individuals to develop innovative solutions to contemporary problems. With expertise and knowledge in this field, individuals are equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern world and contribute to its ongoing evolution. #karllaurencelopres #day6 #newerauniversity #steveballmer #creativity #personaldevelopment #inspiration #motivate #generation

Stoked that Heather L. Cribbs, Morgan White, Danielle Daugherty, M.L.I.S., and I received a Research, Scholarly and Creative Activities (RSCA) grant to develop our UX partnership between the library and technical and professional communication at Cal Poly. Some awesome projects were funded this year! https://lnkd.in/g7DEx77d Here's our abstract: "In response to growing student interest in the field of user experience (UX), the goal of this project is to prototype a scalable UX Learn by Doing program in which Cal Poly student researchers will work alongside instructors and librarians to improve accessibility and usability of the Robert E. Kennedy Library’s digital interfaces. The project leverages the recent establishment of Cal Poly’s User Experience for Social Impact Project by implementing a collaborative project between Robert E. Kennedy Library (REKL), faculty and students in Technical and Professional Communication. Through developing and piloting user experience curriculum and activities, students, faculty, and librarians will improve the accessibility and usability of the REKL’s digital interface for all community members. Specifically, students will learn to align library interfaces with contemporary design standards and ensure an optimal user experience for all members of the campus community. The proposed research methodology and collaborative approach make this project innovative and impactful, contributing to the advancement of inclusive digital practices within educational institutions. The proposed project emphasizes active student and faculty engagement in applied research, enhancing student learning outcomes by integrating hands-on projects within academic library settings."

In addition to individual mini studies using the iMotions Online education platform, Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago honors students enrolled in the BH343 course are implementing (mostly in teams) complete studies using the UX&Biometric lab’s eye-tracking, facial action coding, and galvanic skin response capabilities. Since the middle of January, students obtained Human Subject Research certifications (HW1), created research proposals, submitted complete IRB documentation (protocol, consent, experimental conditions, tasks, etc.), obtained full IRB approval, went through software training and implemented their approved studies in the iMotions Desktop platform (UX&Biometrics lab), most already collected data from 20-30 participants each (studies with surveys, eye tracking, GSR, facial expression, debrief), and literature review draft. And we are still in March (roughly in 60 days, given the spring break). I am reasonably sure this is the only course in the US (if not the world) with such a robust and experiential focus on biometric data for business undergraduate students. I am certain other universities will follow soon. In the meantime, it allows Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago students to develop research skills, understand human behavior better, create new knowledge, and differentiate themselves as they enter the marketplace/graduate studies. The comments below provide a short summary of each research project. I am excited to hear their findings and see work leading to journal/conference proceeding publications. Thank you to all volunteer participants and the IRB board for their support. #Research #BehavioralInsights #Biosensors #NextLevelTech #StudentEmpowerment #ExperientialLearning #HCI

Another conclusion to the course User-centred Collaborative Design with design topics on designing for older adults, for promoting local produce, for reducing plastic wastage and for infants with special needs (whose ideas are not shared for proprietary reason). The students learned about framing problems from users’ perspective, to test ideas with users and to re-frame problems even more so accurately for the subsequent iterations. I am delighted to see students testing their ideas on anti-spillage container for active youths, collapsible sports equipment to support active aging, fit-for-industry wastage sorting, and other ideas. However, the bigger “rewards” is reading students reflecting about how they thought the problem was something, but through the techniques taught in the course, they realised the problem was really something else – the essence of problem re-framing. To paraphrase students, it is not that older adults do not want to be active, but they want to be active in the way that connects emotionally with others and suited to their physical conditions. The other “rewards”? Of course, photo taking opportunities. 😀 Thank you to all students for the wonderful time learning together, to Serene Yip and Prerana Cheekoty for the instrumental roles of teaching assistants and to K.Z. Tang for co-teaching the course.

The arts are so much more than “Coolness Enhancement” STEAM, which advocates for the addition of the arts to STEM inspired curricula, is a great initiative, but honest efforts towards this goal may still greatly limit the unique benefits the arts bring to education. In Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, brilliant scientist Flint Lockwood develops the FLDSMDFR which turns water into food. During the creation montage, there are many rigorous clips of various experiments and coding. Then there is a clip where Lockwood paints orange stripes on the outside of the FLDSMDFR while saying “coolness enhancement”. This is a great example of art falling abysmally short in a STEAM setting. The arts explore tacit knowledge which is knowledge that cannot easily be put into words. A sensitivity to materials and aesthetics provoke new ways of being and making in the world. By simply painting or color a project at the end does not engage any of these essential qualities of the visual arts. Rather, the arts should lead in a STEAM setting. Aesthetic properties greatly influence the success of products. Think of all of the cars or cell phones with similar technical properties to popular models that flop due to poor aesthetics! Using gaming chairs as an example, students could work to design a unique gaming chair to pair with one of their favorite video games. While there are certain technical properties that the chair must feature to be a high functioning gaming chair, the aesthetics for these chairs is a clear top priority. While this is a small example, don’t apply the arts like Flint Lockwood! If you are curious what this could look like in your own teaching or curriculum development, feel free to reach out!

Listening to another of the https://lnkd.in/gu8me3Nm from Philip Murdoch 🤙 this time featuring Aaron Patching, I only got half way through before my brain went into overdrive. Here is the start of quite a provocative train of thought around Design & Technologies, Digital Technologies, schools and curriculum. Here's how I see things: For years, the divide between Design and Technologies and Digital Technologies/IT/Computing in schools has reflected more than just a curriculum issue. It’s a question of culture, priorities, and the norms that have shaped our education system. Design and Technologies subjects like woodwork, textiles, and food tech are seen as practical, skill-based, and pathway-driven. In contrast, Digital Technologies/IT/Computing often feels marginalised, perceived as a singular subject rather than a diverse, multi-faceted field that is just as relevant—if not more so—in today’s rapidly changing world. At least that's the way it plays out in most schools even if we think otherwise. This divide isn’t just about subjects; it’s about the narratives we create. Why is a student designing a chair seen as inherently creative, while a student coding a game is viewed as merely "using technology"? Let's consider resource allocation. Walk into a typical Design and Technologies workshop, and you’ll find specialised machinery—laser cutters, woodworking tools, fully equipped kitchens for food technology—that costs a fair bit of money. But when it comes to Digital Technologies, how many schools are investing in high-end computers, AI labs, or VR equipment? And how can we change the perception that digital skills are essentially a cross-curriculum priority and there is little need to develop specialist and advanced areas or less “real,” than physical craftsmanship? There is a lot to unpack here but I am looking forward to doing just that. Tom Oliphant Matthew Esterman 🧔🏻 Tom Wiseman Peter Twining Thomas Jenkinson Andrew Wright Sofia Fenichell Darren Coxon Jo Rea Adrian Cotterell Geoffrey O'Neill Monique Green Joanne Villis Ben Branford Karen Schoff Ryan Hatcher Ghazali bin Abdul Wahab Chris Goodall

Amazing student projects coming out of Loyola University, bringing cutting-edge physiological techniques into the classroom for teaching communications, marketing and UX. This is a perfect example of the value of iMotions EduLabs - leveraging the accessibility and scalability of iMotions Online for classroom mini-studies, and treating those as a gateway to more sophisticated honors-level projects using the full sensor suite of iMotions Desktop. These students will gain such a competitive advantage for when they graduate. What prolific output! Way to lead the charge in innovation, Dinko Bačić (Bacic) and Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago!

It was amazing giving the first test hologram lectures yesterday at Loughborough University yesterday together with Vikki Locke and lovely volunteer students from Loughborough School of Design and Creative Arts and the Business School. This Proto Hologram box will be used to 'beam in' guest lecturers from across the globe from next academic year onwards - but we have several other use-cases in mind, especially in the creation of student-generated digital content to be presented in box, e.g. for future degree shows. In yesterday's testing for live lectures, I gave a mini lecture on vehicle occupant packaging and Vikki one on planning for agility. We collected lots of survey and video data which will be reported in detail at a later date, but five quick takeaways: 1) students can be very engaged in these lectures, but distraction is still a possibility for such novel technology 2) there is a clear perception from the students that the lecturer is co-present with them and the experience is much closer to an in-person lecture than a video conference session 3) interactivity is hard and needs really good audio-visual connectivity especially to enable the teacher to 'read' the room 4) despite the remote nature of this form of teaching, it is still possible for the lecturer to have authority over the class - although a moderator in the room is still needed 5) it's definitely worth bringing in some props as if 'by magic' from outside the students' field of view to add interest to teaching session!

I am fully embracing my studies at Rhine-Waal University, where I am pursuing my Master's in Interaction Design. This program has been nothing short of an amazing journey, and I am truly excited for what's to come. In this break, I am immersing myself in some essential readings, including: Donald Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things Kim Goodwin’s Designing for the Digital Age Bill Moggridge’s Designing Interactions These books have been a great source of insight and inspiration for me, fueling my passion to explore new horizons in design and human-computer interaction. Stay tuned for more updates! 😊 #InteractionDesign #DesignThinking #BooksToRead