J. of Design Research (10 papers in press)

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  Co-positioning design for sustainability transitions, practice theory and transitions theories: towards dialogue and collaboration ( Free Full-text Access )

  by Elif Erdoğan Öztekin, Idil Gaziulusoy 
  Abstract: This paper examines the integration potential of three bodies of knowledge that theorise and strategise about sustainability transitions and societal change: design for sustainability transitions (DfST), transitions theories (TTs) and practice theory (PT). After presenting an overview of their particular conceptions of change, narratives of change and foci of interventions, we comparatively assess (i) the dynamics of societal change that they highlight, (ii) the scopes of change that they target and (iii) the phases of change with which they actively engage. Our findings suggest that DfST, TTs and PT undertake distinct and yet equally relevant and necessary lenses and practices to understand and steer sustainability transitions. We argue that there is a need for establishing dialogues and collaborations between these three approaches, linking their activities, processes, learnings and propositions in order to initiate the formation of an aligned sustainability transitions research.
  Keywords: sustainability transitions; societal change; transdisciplinary integration; phases of change; design for sustainability transitions; practice theory; transitions theories; narratives of change.
  DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2021.10038130
   
  
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• Flexible tools in mould and formwork making: a review  
  by Hülya Oral, Meryem Birgül Çolakoglu 
  Abstract: The rigid and one-off moulds are quite insufficient to fabricate differentiated and non-standard building components due to the low adaptation capability of mass production to changing demands of the market. Aligning with mass customization, flexible tools are developed to solve time, cost and waste problems in moulding and casting of variable building components in the architecture, engineering, and construction. This study guides architects and engineers in the development of flexible moulds and tooling for building components. This article aims to review the latest research trends by analysing the publications from 2004 to 2019. The systematic mapping method was adopted from software engineering to determine the-state-of-the-art technologies in flexible tools. The review study shows that flexible tools can be used to cast variable and non-standard building components by further researching on large-scale implementation, process capability and control. A survey of future trends in this promising field concludes this paper.
  Keywords: flexible tools; moulds; formworks; review; casting; tooling; reconfigurable; adjustable; variable; digital fabrication.
  DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2021.10038074
   
  
• The influence of user characteristics, product characteristics and context in everyday design behaviour  
  by Chajoong Kim, Soyoung Kim, Henri Christiaans 
  Abstract: As the world is increasingly aware of the necessity to contribute to a sustainable future, the concept of eco-design has considerable influence on the attitude of designers. Under such circumstances, this study considers how to extend the life of a product through everyday design (ED): the redesigning by users of their existing everyday products into products with a new or similar function. For the study, 100 female and male participants aged between 20 and 80 years were interviewed with his or her reused ED product. Looking at the user, product, and context as triggers of everyday design, the results show that both context and product characteristics play a dominant role. The study results in an overview of the factors that might trigger everyday design among users, the understanding of which can be integrated into new designs to extend the product's life cycle.
  Keywords: everyday design; product reuse; sustainability; affordances; upcycling.
  DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2020.10038241
   
  
• Design judgement processes in mature Swedish manufacturing companies  
  by Torbjörn Andersson 
  Abstract: Industrial designers make decisions in a different way from other professions. This creates a discrepancy in cross-functional development projects that impacts both the organisation and how strategic decisions are made in a company. A multi-case study was conducted to investigate how design functions in five mature Swedish manufacturing companies were organised and how they made design decisions. Sixteen senior design managers, chief designers, and senior studio engineers were interviewed. The research found that design teams could be organised in three separate ways, depending on the level of strategic involvement in the company and how many were assigned to the team. The respondents described a dual decision process where proposals are judged in a continuum between two intuitive measures, 'Wow' and 'Shame', and a compromise phase with input from other company functions. The results can aid senior management in their understanding of strategic design functions and further the academic design decision discourse.
  Keywords: design management; dual decision-making; intuitive decision making; industrial design; new product development.
  DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2021.10038513
   
  
• Analysis of dimensioning activities involving industrial designers: data sought, tools used, and validation process  
  by François Ranger, Steve Vezeau, Monique Lortie 
  Abstract: The aim of this study was to improve our understanding of the dimensioning activities involved in industrial design: what is used, how it is used, and the strategies used to cope with difficulties encountered. Eight recent projects were documented using a case-study approach. The designers and their collaborators were interviewed on-site regarding the processes involved in the five design phases: analysis of existing objects, ideation, Computer Aided Design (CAD) modelling, validation, and technical development, with a specific focus on the successive development of intermediary objects of conception (IOC). The study highlights the importance of the activities implemented to fill gaps in data, the implication of participants in various steps and perspectives, custom-made tools and frequent back-and-forth between real and virtual objects.
  Keywords: dimensioning; anthropometry; product design; intermediary object of conception; mock-up; prototype; scan; mannequin; DHM; CAD; ergonomics.
  DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2020.10038516
   
  
• Narratives in design toolkit  
  by Silvia Grimaldi 
  Abstract: Given that all design is narrative in some way, this paper describes and assesses a toolkit that helps designers and design students identify, analyse, articulate and manipulate the narrative elements that are present within design work. It is significant for designers to be able to talk about the narrative within design artefacts, looking at the narrative inherent in the design process or in the user experience of that artefact can help to articulate what a design is about and plan for how it can be interpreted. Narrative is not an easy concept to define; studied by different fields, it is defined differently by each narratology school. This toolkit provides a language with which to articulate how narratives work within design. The toolkit is tested with groups of design students as both an analytical and generative tool. This paper presents examples of the resulting work and the results of the workshops.
  Keywords: narratives in design; narrative; story; storytelling; product experience.
  DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2020.10038518
   
  
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