Nature’s Intelligence and Human Endurance

[The Design Journal Editorial, 24.1]

At the close of 2020, scientific research, development and innovation brought approved vaccines to the world for COVID-19. Bravo! Bravo! Unequivocally, it is a joyous historical moment enabling the new year, 2021, to begin with hope; with a glimmer of the future where everyday life returns to a new and much valued state of normalcy.

The ordinary lives of people are forever changed by the realities of a pandemic. Nature’s intelligence working amongst us. Unseen in this instance, it stealthily brought a cloak of disbelief and fear with its ability to permeate every aspect of our lives. We must however take the positives in what this presented us with – our endurance and resilience, our ability to rethink, to pause, change, react and step up in the collective global search for a designed suite of positively impactful solutions.

Opening this first issue of 2021 is ‘What is Psychosocially Inclusive Design?’ by Yonghun Lim, Joseph Giacomin, and Farnaz Nickpour at Bournemouth University, in the UK: a contemporary subject with relevance for many subjects in the discipline of design and the ever-growing interdisciplinary team culture. It argues for and builds on the importance of non-physical aspects in inclusive design such as psychological, emotional, social, and ideological. As a concept, they explore ‘Psychosocial Inclusivity’ (PSI) by identifying its definition and key constructs within the specific contexts of supermarket shopping and assisted mobility. The methodology which includes a systematic review of the literature is detailed and a full set of combined ideas of PSI in design is presented with themes (cognitive, emotional, social and value), sub-themes and codes. It offers a coherent piece of research with a refreshed formal definition and evaluation of PSI in design.

‘The Impact of Co-Creation on the Design of Circular Product-Service Systems: Learnings From a Case Study With Washing Machines’ is authored by Sonja van Dam, Froukje Sleeswijk Visser and Conny Bakker at Delft University of Technology, Delft in the Netherlands. They study the function and impact of co-creation on the development of a circular product-service system for washing machines in a multinational company. In doing so the article offers new insights in two ways: (1) through the use of co-creation – while these methods are established in design the model is underused in the circular economy community; and (2) a deeper understanding of how the new business of circular product-service systems, such as access models, product-as-a-service models or pay-per-use models, are perceived as key for successfully closing loops in a circular economy. Servitization and service transformation are also incorporated. This article reports on a study funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

‘Addressing Infection Risk in Veterinary Practice through the Innovative Application of Interactive 3D Animation Methods’ is the third article. It centres on developing effective communication and teaching tools to ensure individuals’ understanding of Antimicrobial Resistance and their subsequent risk of infection-related behaviours are in line with scientific recommendations. Authored by Alastair Macdonald et al. of The Glasgow School of Art in the UK, the study is developing a training intervention to change the perception of behaviours among veterinary staff during routine preparation for surgery.

Graphic design is the framework for ‘Inquiries on the Everyday Online Conversations of Design: Typologies, Comments, and Threads’ by Jessica Barness at Kent State University, Ohio, in the US. The descriptive article offers a study sampling activity on graphic design blogs and Social Network Systems platforms. It explores the use of everyday writings as a critical catalyst to provoke debate in design education and it considers the value of everyday conversations by ‘professionals’ for scholarship. The relation between formal and informal conversation in the delivery of education, or the usefulness of analysed criticism versus informed opinion for the training of creatives is exposed. In doing so, the legitimacy of everyday social commentary as a learning context is discussed.

Namkyu Chun, of Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Finland, brings ‘Fashion Design Rediscovered: A Theory on Dressmaking Practice’. Employing grounded theory to theorize this design activity, this descriptive article details the research methods, process, insights and outcome. Engaging with professional designers the study distils three fundamental components of fashion design practice. It creates the basis of a model to develop a fuller understanding of fashion in relation to design practice discourses and fashion research discourses.

The final article in this issue seeks to provide new insight into the complexities of aesthetic perception. ‘The Emotive and Semantic Content of Pattern: An Introductory Analysis’ by Lewis Urquhart and Andrew Wodehouse, at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, in the UK. This is an exploratory study investigating culturally significant patterns and their connection(s) to unique emotive experiences. The nature of pattern, how aesthetic form relates to experience, and how people experience pattern via emotions such as trust, fear and interest is the subject of investigation.

Craft practice contextualizes the first PhD report in this issue, ‘Design for the Sustainment of Traditional Making Practices: A Research Study in Central China’ by Wanlin Zhang at ImaginationLancaster, Lancaster University in the UK. It investigates how design can meaningfully contribute to the business of making traditional craft in a modern world, where the intrinsic and extrinsic values of craft and its consumption are regularly at odds.

Ziyu Zhou from the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy, authors the second PhD Study Report, ‘Engaging Material Education in Design’. Drawing on a rise in the use and work for a circular economy, this study proposes a pedagogical framework based on the concept of materials experience. It asks what State of the Art for material education in design is today, it discusses a need for change, and articulately presents its four-phase methodology with visuals.

Louise Valentine
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
Email: [email protected]