Supervisor:
Serina Tarkhanian
The main ambition is to explore possibilities through which designers are enabled to respond sensibly to the design context while integrating their first-person perspective. In doing so, designers can test out their biases, making them intentionally part of the design process and creating space for subjectiveness.
The project focus is on the dynamics between the designer and the design context, specifically while engaging in participatory and co-design practices.
To explore this topic, I adopted a research through design approach and was guided by design research programs and auto-ethnographic research.
In total I performed eight design experiments, categorised into four themes:
- ‘How do you enact self-reflection?’
- ‘How can we express subjective experiences through material?’
- ‘What are subjective materials?’
- ‘How can we rehearse to design otherwise?’
To give you an example, the experiment shown in the pictures below revolves around the question:
“How can we discover materials that hold meaning to us?”
As experiment I created a material selection exercise, in which designers were asked to select samples of matter based on a personal memory.
Based on my research, I proposed a methodological and practical contribution to auto-ethnographic design. It encourages designers to make their subjectiveness explicit during interaction with others, not only in words but through material. The outcome of this project is a workshop in which designers can practice to make their assumptions explicit, through noticing exercises, embodiment practices, and interaction with materials; in doing so designers can train their muscle memory to respond from their first-person perspective.
Contact
Meike Huisman / meike.huisman@gmail.com