This article explores the relatively underexplored potential for physicalisations to materialise qualitative data related to human experiences and knowledge domains. Our reading of 'data' in this context extends from imperceptible systems and infrastructures to mental models and the phenomenological dimensions of experiences themselves. Physical objects can be regarded as a form of knowledge with which to inquire about human life, bring about improved conditions, and imagine alternative realities. Objects are made of materials, which are manipulated materials into various configurations. The materials used in the process of externalisation have a profound influence on the resulting forms, and through them on how knowledge is constructed and internalised. We pay detailed attention to the characteristics of materials and how they are combined, in the context of interdisciplinary exchange. We are motivated by the need for a shared understanding of what work materials can do in the making of physicalisations. We suggest this work is useful in the analysis of physicalisations, specifically where they seek to articulate the phenomena of lived experience.
This paper presents findings from design research related to a Design Competency Framework (DCF). The DCF is a visually-oriented system for developing curricula in design and is an example of the application of design research to design education. The DCF is divided into a set of sixteen categories including core skills, such as visualisation, and meta competencies such as synthesis. These are presented in the form of a matrix. We see three distinct advantages of using such a system. Firstly the DCF is personalisable at various scales such as individuals, units, courses, and programs. Secondly it is student centred -while we do not assume that design students are passive consumers of their own curricula in non-competency based design education we make the case here for student access to curriculum design processes. The DCF allows students to participate in the design of their own education. Finally, the DCF is resistant to imposition from above and as such questions the modes and institutional dynamics through which design courses come into being.
Design research, design competencies, design curricula, competency frameworkFigure 1 Design competency framework matrix
This paper describes an approach to the narrative organisation and experience of browser history. It can be difficult to remember where you have been online and consequently hard to get a sense of how much time you have spent, what you did, and why. Web browsers are limited to bookmarks and browser history for retrospective examination. This study is focused specifically on a narrative construction of browser history and the resolution of the resulting experience. The paper establishes a methodological and theoretical connection between expressions of browsing activity and the tradition of narrative enquiry and suggests a range of experimental outputs.
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