Author: Design Incubation

Place Matters: Design for Regenerating Under-Utilized Spaces

An investigation of the affordances of a local theatre and an escape room in Ohio to seek for opportunities of under-utilized space design.

Yi-Fan Chen
Assistant Professor of Interaction Design
Farmingdale State College

Jerald Belich
Assistant Professor
Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies
Miami University

Yashodhan Mandke
User Experience Consultant
Fusion Alliance

This design research project began with an investigation of the affordances of a local theatre and an escape room in Ohio to seek for opportunities of under-utilized space design. The participation observations were conducted and found that people, community, content, and environment made positive user experience and increase the users’ loyalty to the spaces. When people co-create a meaning of the spaces, they are likely to make the spaces “their own” and bring their social networks to the spaces.

Kenneth Burke’s Dramatism provides this project with a theoretical framework for the design process. Dramatism analyzes human relationships and has been applied to a broader range of cultural productions. Design researchers and scholars are seeking opportunities to apply Dramatistic Approach to analyze and create designs. For examples, Sadler and Bellew (2009) propose to utilize Burke’s perspectives to analyze and understand a usability situation of design whereas Bowie (2015) proposes to employ Dramatism to examine design products, processes, and discourses. Moreover, Bemer (2010) utilizes Dramatism to design a computer lab for an English Department. According to Burke (1945, 1950, 1968), just as in any plays, the acts in life are keys to revealing human motives. Dramatism provides researchers a method to examine the relationship among human, text, and environments.

A prototype was created by combining empirical research findings and Burke’s (1945) pentad, including act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose, to build positive user experience and increase the users’ loyalty to the spaces. The space design includes three phases, before during and exiting the space. Each phase tells stories that focus on how users see, touch, hear, smell, and feel. Additionally, the design is hoping to change the under-utilized space into a new community space. The users could make the space to their own and revisit the space often with their social networks.

References

Bemer, A. N. M. (2010). The rhetoric of space in the design of academic writing locations. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Utah State University, Logan, Utah. Retrieved from  https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/752

Bowie, A. (2015, April 22-24). Exploring the rhetorical orientations of design trends: A Kenneth Burkean approach. In L. Valentine, B. B. de Mozota, J. Nelson, S. Merter, and P. Atkinson (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th International European Academy of Design Conference. “The Value of Design Research”, Sheffield: Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Retrieved from https://ead.yasar.edu.tr/conferences/ead-11-france-2015/11th-ead-proceedings/?csrt=9122487017854515442

Sadler, V., & Bellew, K. (2009, July). Introducing rhetoric into usability: Applying Burke’s pentad. In 2009 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 6.1: Quinnipiac University on October 5, 2019.

The Hamden Hunger Project

Addressing the often-overlooked issue of food insecurity in our local community.

Courtney Marchese
Associate Professor of Interactive Media + Design
School of Communications
Quinnipiac University

Amy Walker
Assistant Professor
Journalism
Quinnipiac University

Michaela Mendygral
Design, Journalism Student
Quinnipiac University

https://www.hamdenhungerproject.com/

Over the past year, an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from the School of Communications have worked to address the often-overlooked issue of food insecurity in our local community of Hamden. Members of the journalism and graphic design programs have been using a combination of listening booths, two-way texting, billboards, flyers, surveys, and data visuals to build a dialogue with the community. That dialogue has helped raise awareness of hunger in Hamden, and guide those in need of food to available resources near them. Through this project, we also designed a comprehensive report with the United Way of Greater New Haven to help share key findings with the town, news outlets, and government figures.

The project is part of a broader endeavor to not only “design for good,” but to embrace all that is possible in a School of Communications. Our goal is to make important data and stories more accessible–aesthetically, strategically, and verbally–while teaching students to be collaborative, informed citizens.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 6.1: Quinnipiac University on October 5, 2019.

Teaching Procedural Rhetoric: Some Lessons

Challenges of analyzing and designing artifacts that presume to use interactivity for communication.

Ian Bellomy
Interaction Designer

This presentation will summarize lessons learned from studio coursework that incorporated Bogost’s concept of procedural rhetoric — an idea about how interactive artifacts make claims, i.e. communicate, by way of their behavior. I incorporated the topic in response to observing multiple senior communication design capstone students treat interactivity as a kind of generic value-add opposed to a space for making communication-affecting decisions. My hope was that the concept would lend students a better conceptual scaffolding for engaging the general challenges of analyzing and designing artifacts that presume to use interactivity for communication.

Results were mixed.

Crafting procedural rhetoric requires crafting emergent phenomena, which is difficult even absent communication goals. Moreover, my initial attempt to simply this challenge by having students design analog artifacts instead of digital ones only replaced the student need for programming competency with a non-trivial need for analog game design competency.

Moderately successful solutions did occur however and project development often showed some movement towards solutions that better integrated visuals and interaction in support of some subject matter. A few students also formulated sophisticated procedural insights about their project’s topic, indicating some systems-thinking growth.

Unexpected positive outcomes also manifest. Some students discovered solutions that worked, in a sense, despite not fitting the procedural rhetoric structure. This helped me formulate alternative strategies for interactive communication in general. I also learned I could isolate components of the procedural rhetoric concept in ways that afforded valuable learning opportunities about causal relationships. I incorporated these insights into later projects.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 6.1: Quinnipiac University on October 5, 2019.

Guns ARE Alive: How Design/Technology Literacy is Missing From the Gun Debate in America

Design illiteracy affects the gun debate by obscuring how firearms fit into our culture.

Glenn LaVertu
Professor
Parsons, The New School

Gun rights advocates often use arguments like “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” or “Cars kill people, too.” These arguments expose a serious design illiteracy issue: that we either ignore or misunderstand the process, evolution, and purpose of weapon design and industrial design in general. Design illiteracy affects the gun debate by obscuring how firearms fit into our culture as well as how they have shaped our history.

Philosophical issues in fields such as aesthetics, technology and ethics greatly affect the gun debate in America in three distinct but overlapping areas: first, as a historical recognition of the gun and its presence as an emblematic container of a legacy of violence, death and power; second, for guiding gun control legislation via a determination and consequent categorization of firearm technology as being appropriate or inappropriate for civilian use; and third, by creating a set of ethics that considers the gun an active and animate object, complicit in the phenomenon of human violence.

This presentation will feature research on six pivotal technological innovations in gun design and the historical contexts for which new firearms features were created, and how an understanding of these design intentions can reshape the political discourse. I will also examine arguments made within the gun debate and how a better understanding of design can change our perception of guns as more than mere objects to become physical extensions of ourselves, reshaping the ethics from which they are considered.

We rarely consider the role which design plays in our lives and in the things we use, let alone as part of the discussion about guns; and in those rare instances when we do, we prove that we don’t know much about design, or guns. The analysis here will show that design, while an important and foundational facet to the debate, is an area of knowledge we are sorely lacking.

Whatever your stance on the gun issue, better design knowledge can raise more nuanced questions and can steer the argument in more positive ways. Perhaps by broadening the debate to design we can find a new consensus or allow for compromise. It is crucial at this moment, with so much gun violence at the center of our lives, that we give it a try. Lives are at stake.

This research was presented at the Design Incubation Colloquium 6.1: Quinnipiac University on October 5, 2019.

Colloquium 6.3: Fordham University, Call for Submissions

Call for design research abstracts. Deadline: Saturday, December 28, 2019.

Fordham University Manhattan Campus
Saturday March 28, 2020

Submission Deadline: Saturday, December 28, 2019

Design Incubation Colloquium 6.3 (#DI2020mar) will be held at the Visual Arts Department at Fordham University Manhattan Campus on Saturday, March 28, 2020, 10:00am-5:00pm. Hosted by Abby Goldstein. This event is open to all interested in Communication Design research.

We invite designers—practitioners and educators—to submit abstracts of design research. We recommend reviewing our white paper on best practices for writing an academic research abstract.

Presentations format is Pecha Kucha.

For more details, see the colloquia details and description. Abstracts can be submitted online for peer review.

A Day of Writing

Come spend an uninterrupted day working on a writing project.

Quinnipiac University
School of Communications
Room CCE140
October 6th 2019
10:00am –4:00pm

Design Incubation is proud to be able to partner with Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut to offer a Day of Writing. Join long-time author Robin Landa and spend an uninterrupted day working on a writing project of your choice. This event will be held the day after the Design Incubation Colloquium at Quinnipiac University.

Participants will spend the day writing or conducting preliminary work on a writing project. The Day of Writing is open to design faculty and to those working in related fields.

Using the online registration system (see below), applicants should submit a 150-500 word synopsis of the project they intend to work on along with their title and institutional affiliation. The cost is $30 for the day. A total of 12 seats are available for this event.

Optional Event at 9:00am 

Start the day early and get your creative juices flowing with a short hike on Sleeping Giant Tower Trail. Host, writer and fellow hiker Courtney Marchese will lead the group to the stone tower and overlook (3 miles total). The hike starts directly across from the main QU entrance and is rated as “moderate” and appropriate for all skill levels.

Applications will be considered immediately upon submission and they can be submitted through September 30th, 2019. Official letters of acceptance can be provided to allow attendees to request funding from their institutions.

Parking

Parking is available in either the Admissions Visitor Lot or the School of Communications lot. Security will be notified and can help to direct attendees. Both of these lots are on Mount Carmel Ave. across from Sleeping Giant State Park.

Quinnipiac Day of Writing Application Form

Complete the form below and submit online. Payment will be required upon acceptance to secure the seat.

  • 200–500 word description of the writing project.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
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CFP: The Fellowship Program at Design Incubation 2020

Call for Participation: 3-day academic design research and writing workshop. Application deadline, October 15, 2019.

Application deadline: October 15, 2019

Fellowship dates: June 4–June 6, 2020

Location: St. John’s University, Manhattan Campus, 51 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003

Target Audience: Design academics in one or more of the following areas: graphic design, information design, branding, marketing, advertising, typography, web, interaction, film and video, animation, illustration, game design. Full-time tenure track or tenured faculty are given preference but any academic may apply.

Format: All Fellows accepted into the program participate in the Fellowship Workshop as part of the overall experience. The Fellowship workshops offers participants the opportunity to share and develop ideas for research and individual writing projects while receiving constructive feedback from faculty mentors and peers in their field.

Fellows arrive with a draft of their writing and work on this specific project throughout the various sessions of the Fellowship Workshop. Each meeting includes a number of short informational sessions and a session devoted to analyzing and editing written work. The remainder of the 3-day workshop will be focused on activities which allow participants to share their projects with peers and receive structured feedback. Between sessions, Fellows will have time to execute revisions, review others participants work, and engage in discussions. Initiation of and work on collaborative projects is encouraged.

For more further details visit:
The Fellowship Program at Design Incubation

To apply visit the application details and online form:
Fellowship Program format and online application process

For Frequently Asked Questions visit the FAQ page:
Fellowship Program frequently asked questions

Call for Entries: 2019 Communication Design Educators Awards

An international juried competition of communication design research, practice, teaching, and service.

We are excited to announce the beginning of the 2019 Communication Design Educators Awards season.

The aim of the awards program is to discover and draw attention to new creative work, published research, teaching, and service in our broad and varied discipline. We hope to expand the design record, promote excellence and share knowledge within the field.

Promoting Excellence

Help us support fellow design educators and advance the discipline by sharing this announcement. Encourage your colleagues to help us find the most talented faculty in our field and to recognize their efforts through a peer-review process.

New this year—Nomination

This year we are launching a new initiative—a nomination process. We ask mentors and colleagues to identify outstanding creative work, published research, teaching, and service being done by educators in our field and to nominate these individuals for an award.

How the nomination process work

Beginning from April 15 through July 31, 2019, you are invited to nominate a colleague’s creative work, published research, teaching, and service. Our short online nomination form will automatically notify your colleague that their project has been recommended for an award.

We will also contact the nominee to ensure they have received your recommendation and encourage them to submit their materials. All nominees are offered early submission to the awards allowing them to begin their entries immediately.

Self-nomination

We will continue to accept self-nominated entries to the awards. These applicants should submit their materials between June 1 and August 31, 2019. (No form completion needed for self-nomination. Simply enter.)

Important dates

  • April 15–July 31: Nomination Process Opens
  • April 15–August 31: Nominated educators may submit application materials
  • June 1–August 31: Self-nominated educators may submit application materials
  • September 2–30: Jury reviews applications
  • October 10: Award recipients notified
  • October 15: Award recipients announced

The Design Incubation Residency at Haddon Avenue Writing Institute 2019

Rolling acceptances until Sept 30, 2019. Only 14 seats are available for this event.

October 25-27, 2019

Design Incubation is proud to be able to partner with the Haddon Avenue Writing Institute to offer a design-writing residency. This 3-day residency allows researchers and scholars time to work on existing writing projects or to start a new writing project. The residency is open to design faculty and to those working in related fields. It offers participants concentrated time to work on writing projects and the opportunity to take advantage of one-on-one consultations with event facilitator Maggie Taft. Using the online registration system (see below), applicants should submit a CV and a 200-500-word synopsis of the project they intend to work on. The cost is $180 for 3 days. A total of 14 seats are available for this event.

Applications will be considered immediately upon submission and they can be submitted through September 30th, 2019. Official letters of acceptance will be provided to allow attendees to request funding from their institutions.

October 25-27, 2019
Haddon Avenue Writing Institute
2009 W. Haddon Ave, Chicago Illinois

Please note: Housing is not included as part of this residency. Participants are encouraged to stay in Ukrainian Village or a nearby neighborhood though if you choose to stay at a hotel you may have to stay in downtown Chicago as options in the immediate area are limited to Airbnb’s.

The Haddon Avenue Design Writing Residency Schedule:

Friday, October 25th: 10-5

10-11:00: Individual Writing Session

11:00-12:00: Welcome; Goal setting

12:00-1:00: Individual writing session

1:00-2:00: Lunch (bring your own or in the neighborhood)

2:00-5:00: Individual writing session

Saturday, October 26th: 9-5

9-9:30: Goal setting

9:30-12:30: Individual writing session and optional one-on-one strategy sessions by appointment

12:30-1:30: Lunch (bring your own or in the neighborhood)

1:30-2:00: Techniques for overcoming writer’s block, the blinking cursor, and other writing obstacles

2:00-5:00: Individual writing session and optional one-on-one strategy sessions by appointment

Sunday, October 27th: 9-1pm

9-12:00: Individual writing session and optional one-on-one strategy sessions by appointment

12:00-12:30: Group wrap up

12:30-4:00: Open writing (Optional)

CFP — Issue 4: Archives | Full Bleed: A Journal of Art & Design

Deadline: January 1, 2020

CFP Website: https://www.full-bleed.org/submit

Full Bleed, an annual print and online journal of art and design, seeks submissions for its fourth issue, Archives, forthcoming in Spring 2020. In particular, we are looking for submissions that critique, investigate, or rely on archives of various kinds. We seek new writing about artists working with, playing with, re-contextualizing, or elevating archival materials; art/design projects responsive to historical documents; and essays, fictions, and poetry related to the work of archiving.

We would be excited to see submissions that address:

  • The construction of narrative through objects and historical documents.
  • Digital archiving as a subject for rumination.
  • New archives under development.
  • The ethics and politics of archival practices.

Published annually by the Maryland Institute College of Art, Full Bleed is committed to cultivating aesthetic experience and progressive design while furthering understanding of contemporary conditions. We favor criticism that emanates personality and experiments with form, as well as ambitious critical essays on cultural phenomena that are of active concern to living artists and designers. Read past issues at Full-bleed.org.