News

Craft Round Tables at Future Forum Lucerne 2020: This year’s motto; ‘More of Less’

The Future Forum Lucerne 2020 offered our research associate Dr. Bettina Minder and her ITC project Craft Round Tables the opportunity to explore the potential of manual and craft methods for the challenges of digital transformation. She tested various methods with motivated participants in three workshops. First Andrea Kumpe (HSLU School of Music) introduced participants to how to practice techniques from the field of music. Then Ewald Trachsel (HSLU School of Art & Design) challenged them with techniques from the field of carving, and finally an improvisation workshop with Marcel Altherr (HSLU School of Computer Science and Information Technology) and Alain Hofer (musician / Bern) followed.

All workshops were analysed immediately after the exercises together with the participants. ‘Openness’ emerged as an important topic: One participant said that the workshop enabled her to “move somewhere else” and “leave behind fixed ideas”. The topic of trust (e.g. in one’s own strengths and possibilities) was also frequently mentioned in the analysis. With regard to the communication of such non-disciplinary methods, the importance of a good ‘story’ and the use of technical/analytical terms in the moderation of the workshops became apparent.

The Craft Round Tables test series will be continued in autumn with a course for students at HSLU School of Computer Science and Information Technology. Special thanks go to the Vice Dean of HSLU School of Computer Science and Information Technology Ursula Sury who made the workshops at the Future Forum Lucerne possible.

Digital Transformation in Municipal Administration – Cooperation between Research and Teaching

 

 

 

How do you bring ‘Digital Switzerland’ to life, which was approved by the Federal Council as a strategic goal in 2016?
How does a digital Switzerland actually look like?
What opportunities does this open up for public administrations?

As the Competence Centre Design & Management (CC D&M), we pursue these questions within the framework of a cooperation agreement with the Municipality of Emmen. As the researchers at CC D&M support the graduate and undergraduate education at HSLU School of Art & Design, they try to involve the students in this cooperation as well.

Design researcher Dr. Bettina Minder (CC D&M), together with the Municipality of Emmen and the head of the BA Digital Ideation programme, designed a three-week module on the topic of ‘Digital Transformation in the Municipality of Emmen’. Using design methods, the students are to develop visions for the future; how the community can benefit from the digital transformation and develop innovatively. Their tasks include identifying those affected and decision-makers (‘stakeholder’ and ‘user’ groups) as well as articulating and visualizing their situations and resulting needs. The goal is to develop a better and more realistic understanding of the topic in order to show students future fields of work in which the development of innovative concepts for technology-driven societal change and social innovation are highlighted.

Official Research Partner of Municipality Emmen on Digital Transformation

We are delighted that our ongoing collaboration with the Municipality of Emmen on Digital Transformation has now been formalized with a mutual Letter of Intent. The Competence Centre Design and Management supports Emmen’s efforts to implement meaningful, sustainable and desirable digital services along with necessary changes in infrastructure and the organizational level. Current projects with the Municipality include the UmUmUm project that seeks to capture the learnings and insights of the home office experiences of staff. A second project focuses on the possibilities of voice assistant technologies to manage and reduce the workload of employees while improving the citizen experience and interaction with administrative processes.

The Professor is IN

We proudly announce that Dr. Sabine Junginger, head of Competence Centre Design and Management, has been appointed Professor by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Congratulations!

**Zoom Live-Talk** Design Education: Moving the Conversation to the Schools

 

25 June 2020, Thursday, 18.00 Zurich (UTC/GMT+2)

In November 2018, Guillermina Noël started a conversation with Ken Friedman, Donald Norman and Jorge Frascara that resulted in the idea of a She Ji special issue on Design Education. Their goal was to provide actionable information to help people implement positive change in design education.

The issue presents reflections from leaders and educators in the field: their decisions, practices, perspectives, lessons learned and recommendations for action. This issue demonstrates that design education is full of potential. We now would like to move the conversation from the paper to the school.

Discussion Part I – 18:05 to 18:25 
Michael W. Meyer and Donald Norman discuss their article with two Deans: Gabriela Christen, Dean Lucerne School of Art and Design, and Celeste Martin, Dean Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, Canada.
Discussion Part II – 18:30 to 18:50
Pieter Jan Stappers and Ena Voûte from Delft University of Technology discusses their article with two Professors: Carla Spinillo, National University of Parana, Brazil, and Praveen Nahar, Director of National Institute of Design, India.
Discussion Part III – 18:55 to 19:15
Jorge Frascara and Gjoko Muratovski discuss their articles with two students
Closing – 19:20 to 19:30
Ken Friedman and Guillermina Noël

Invitation only.

**Zoom Live-Talk (in German)** Design im Wandel: Welche neuen Berufsbilder entstehen im Design und wie können Praktizierende von Designforschung profitieren?

 

22. June 2020, Monday, 16.15 – 16.45 UTC/GMT+2

Das Feld und die Disziplin des Design haben sich in den letzten Jahren drastisch und rapide verändert. Was bedeutet das für Praktizierende und Professionals heute? Welchen Beitrag kann Designforschung leisten und wie gestaltet sich hier die Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Hochschule Luzern Design und Kunst und der Swiss Design Association, dem Schweizer Berufsverband für das Design seit 1966.

Dr. Sabine Junginger, Leiterin CC Design & Management Hochschule Luzern – Design & Kunst ist dazu im Gespräch mit SDA Präsident Dominic Sturm und SDA Vize-Präsidentin Meret Ernst. Geplant sind 30 Minuten im informativen und interaktiven Austausch. Die Gelegenheit, mehr über die Arbeit des Competence Centres Design & Management und der Swiss Design Association zu erfahren!

Das Interview findet Live über Zoom statt

Interessierte können sich hier ab 16:05 in den Warteraum einwählen und sich mit Fragen und Kommentaren in die Diskussion einbringen.

https://hslu.zoom.us/j/97429158580?pwd=ZGtDenJiS3VYSjlIN1g4aEhXZUx2dz09#success

**Zoom Live-Interview** Design Research in Turkey and Beyond

 

22. June 2020, Monday, 17.00-17.30 UTC/GMT+2

The term ‘design research’ has first appeared in Turkey around late 60s and 70s with the scientification of design disciplines such as architecture. Later in the 80s, the term started to spread to other design disciplines e.g. urban design, interior design. And in the mid 90s, the term ‘industrial design research’ entered into the Turkish design academia with major national conferences. Since then, the field has made great progress in Turkey, thanks to many national design educators, researchers and professionals.

In this live interview, Dr. Aysun Aytac, Competence Centre Design & Management Lucerne School of Art and Design, will talk with Prof. Dr. Özlem Er to learn about the current state and the future challenges of design research in Turkey, its existing and potential contributions to the shared body of knowledge in design theory and practice globally.

The talk will allow students, researchers and practitioners unique insights into the developments of design in Turkey.

https://hslu.zoom.us/j/98075701313?pwd=ckdYK1FaYmx1bHZoYkVMNkI2S0RSUT09

Meeting-ID: 980 7570 1313

Dr. Sabine Junginger is to co-host the workshop Systemic We-Construction: Exnovation as a Key to a Common Future as part of the States of Change ‘Learning Festival’

Exnovation is the necessary counterbalance to innovation. It is characterized by the deconstruction of systems, practices or technologies that are no longer effective or in line with strategic development. The concept of exnovation is crucial for the design of mission-oriented transformation.

Dr. Sabine Junginger is co-hosting this online workshop with Caroline Paulick-Thiel, the Director of Politics for Tomorrow; a non-partisan initiative for public sector transformation in Germany since 2015,  cooperating with change makers in Austria, Switzerland and internationally.

During this interactive workshop, the notion of exnovation will be examined, applying it to the participants’ own context. The focus will be on collaborative deconstruction, as exnovation requires collective intelligence and empathy.

Date & Time: June 8, 2020 at 12.00

Project ‛Umdenken, Umschalten, Umgestalten (Um3)’ to start in June

Our research project proposal Umdenken, Umschalten, Umgestalten (Um3) Die digitale Transformation des Gemeindelebens (Rethink, redirect, reshape: The digital transformation of community life) has just been granted funding by the Interdisciplinary Clusters (ITC) ‛Spatial Development and Social Cohesion’ (Raum und Gesellschaft) of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. This university-wide funding organ encourages and promotes cross-departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration and is one of two ITCs; the other focuses on the ‛Digital Transformation of the Working World’ (Digitale Transformation der Arbeitswelt).

The project aims to evaluate the current ‘working from home’ situation as it was and still is being experienced by working people due to CoViD19 pandemic. The focus is on the work life of civil servants within the Municipality of Emmen. We are trying to find out if they encounter, how they experience, and how they cope with issues of the home office that concern physical/spatial conditions; digital/technological matters; social relationships and self-management. The results will be used to identify and inspire future concepts of the ‘home-office’ along with future products and services that aid and support people when working from their homes and away from their traditional offices.

This research is led by Dr. Aysun Aytac and Prof. Dr. Sabine Junginger in collaboration with Prof. Sibylla Amstutz and Katharina Kleczka from Research Group Interior Architecture, Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture.

Dr. Sabine Junginger; elected member International Advisory Council DRS

Congratulations! Dr. Sabine Junginger, head of our research group, has been elected to the International Advisory Council (IAC) of Design Research Society (DRS), to serve until 2026. 41 candidates were nominated to stand for election to the IAC and among them the 18 candidates were successfully elected. IAC members will help develop policy, work on specific projects, and enhance the range of activities offered by the DRS to strengthen the network of existing design researchers and nurture the development of new researchers. https://www.designresearchsociety.org/cpages/nominations

Dr. Sabine Junginger to co-chair Swiss Design Network Conference 2021

The Swiss Design Network just announced its 2021 Conference Design as Common Good. Dr. Sabine Junginger is co-chairing this conference with Dr. Massimo Botta from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, SUPSI. She encourages everyone interested in reflecting upon what constitutes a common good and specifically what constitutes a common good in and through design to submit either a paper abstract or a workshop proposal. The conference aims to develop new and relevant points of entry for research, education and practice around this topic. More info at www.designascommongood.ch

Dr. Bettina Minder; elected Board Member of KUKA Kinder- und Kulturatelier Emmen

Our team member Dr. Bettina Minder is now a member of the Board of KUKA Kinder- und Kulturatelier Emmen: The KUKA Kinder- und Kulturatelier replaces the former Akku Kinderclub. It offers art and design workshops for kids, families and everyone that is interested. The KUKA aims building bridges between the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the community of Emmen city.

Online Brown Bag Lunch with Dr. Aysun Aytac

Dr. Aysun Aytac -who recently joined the Competence Centre Design & Management, will be presenting her work on the Appropriation of the Bathroom in Everyday Life at this week’s Brown Bag Lunch on April 30th at 12.15. The presentation will be in English.

Please register until April 28th, 18.00 via this zoom link.

Aysun completed her doctoral education at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey in July 2015. For her doctoral thesis Appropriation of the Bathroom in Everyday Life: Towards a Cultural Analysis of the Contemporary Bathroom and its Elements in Turkey, she analysed the (Turkish) domestic bathroom to understand how people appropriate this important space in everyday life to make it fit their needs. Appropriations in the bathroom space are important because through them, users turn a space into a place and make it their own. The study reveals the interactions between users and this space and its artefacts. It reveals the creativity and ingenuity of users, reflects on users’ identities and shows how they intervene with their environment to meet their personal needs. These interactions are important for design discipline because placing the users and their experiences in the centre of design research enables a better understanding of people, their values, lifestyles thus of society, which in the end could provide better product/service development processes. The  study uses a qualitative approach with an ethnographical focus to identify types of appropriations employed in the bathroom as well as their influencing factors.

New Team Member

We are happy to announce that Claire Weizenegger has joined the team as Intern. Claire is in her last year of her Design Management, International (DMI) bachelor’s degree study and after earning her bachelor’s degree, she wants to join an organisation where she could contribute with her knowledge and skills or start a master’s degree study.

New Team Member

We are happy to announce that Dr. Aysun Aytac has joined the team as Research Associate. She is a design educator and researcher with a background of product design.

Prior to joining the Competence Centre for Design & Management, she was employed at the Department of Industrial Design, Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey as a full-time lecturer and researcher. She taught core and elective courses at graduate level, such as Research Methods, Seminar, Advanced Product Development, Design Studio and Design Evolution. Her research interests centres around material culture, visual culture, visual ethnography, everyday life, culture and design, everyday life creativity, objects as cultural products, design thinking and design education.

Aysun completed her doctoral education at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey on the appropriation of the domestic bathroom, providing an insight into the use, organisation and experience of the domestic bathroom in the context of Turkey. Within her study, she points out that these interactions are important for design discipline because placing the user and his/her experiences in the centre of design research enables a better understanding of people, their values, lifestyles thus of society, which in the end could provide better product and service development processes.

Dr. Sabine Junginger gives a talk on ‛Policy Design’

Dr. Sabine Junginger gave a talk titled ‘Policy Design’ at the 2. Speyerer Zukunftsgespräche: Design trifft Verwaltung at Deutsche Universität der Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer on 27 January 2020. The first Speyer Zukunftsgespräche (future talks) took place in July 2018 on the topic of ‛Digitization and Artificial Intelligence’. Due to the success of the first event, the series was continued in January 2020 with the topic ‛Design trifft Verwaltung’ (Administration meets Design).

New Research Project by Dr. Dagmar Steffen

The research project ‛HCI – eine Revision aus designtheoretischer Perspektive’ which will be led by our team member Prof. Dr. Dagmar Steffen has been granted funding by the Interdisciplinary Clusters (ITC) of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The university encourages and promotes cross-departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration for some ten years and ITC has been launched in 2018.

The research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Marcel Uhr from Lucerne School of Information Technology,  Clemens Nieke from iHomeLab Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture and Prof. Dr. Thilo Schwer from Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Essen and Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main.

Keynote Speech on Digital Transformation by Dr. Sabine Junginger

Dr. Sabine Junginger was invited by the Municipality of Emmen to give a keynote speech at Dreikönigsgespräche Emmen on Digital Transformation on 6 January 2020. Her speech was titled as ‛Co-Designing our Digital Era’. Almost all aspects of digital transformation present new challenges but also new opportunities for communities and their local administrations. In her talk, Dr. Junginger explained how members that make up a local community,  i.e. citizens, business people and staff in local government can work together to develop sustainable visions and scenarios that allow for new structures, products and services. The talk illustrated how designing for human experiences and human interactions can produce outcomes for the common good.

She also contributed to the panel discussion with Michael Kost, Deputy Clerk of the Emmen Community and Benjamin Szemkus from Smart City Switzerland. The panel was moderated by André Gassmann, Head of Communication and Marketing/Business Promotion at the municipality of Emmen. More in the Luzerner Rundschau (in German).

Brown Bag Lunch with Dr. Sabine Junginger

The head of our research group Dr. Sabine Junginger will be presenting Design and Public Management: Inquiring into the Design Implications of Agile Governance at this week’s Brown Bag Lunch on November 28th at 12.15. Her presentation will be in English.

Please register here until November 25th 18.00. Snacks will be offered.

About the presentation:

Many public organizations are currently pushed to introduce agile approaches, which have their roots in software development and are detailed in the Agile Manifesto. Already, a new term has been coined: ‘Agile Governance’. For design researchers, practitioners and educators, ‘Agile Governance’ offers an opportunity to reflect on the implications of design principles, practices, methods and processes in systemic contexts and management.
As part of this research, Dr. Sabine Junginger conducted a research seminar at the Hertie School with scholars in public management, organisational studies and political science which identified the need for Agile Governance 2.0. A workshop she hosted during the Creative Bureaucracy Festival 2019 with public managers from German ministries and public administrations tested the current limitations of agile governance. A series of conversations with public sector Innovation groups in Brazilian ministries and city governments produced additional insights into the role of design in these innovation efforts and identified agile methods. Initial findings were captured in a short essay for the DGTF conference 2019. The projects were supported by the Hertie School and the NGO Politics for Tomorrow, Berlin.

Designers in Innovation Processes; Brown Bag Lunch with Dr. Bettina Minder

At this week’s Brown Bag Lunch, Dr. Bettina Minder will be presenting her doctoral study which she has successfully completed at Aalborg University in November 2018. In her doctoral research, Bettina dealt with the role of designers in interdisciplinary innovation processes. The focus was on the extent to which and in what form designers enable and hinder collaborative work. She will also share her experiences in the PhD process.

The Brown Bag Lunch will take place on  17.October at 12.15 and it will be in German. Please register here until October 14th 18.00. Snacks will be offered.

New Team Member

We would like to welcome Dr. Guillermina Noël to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (LUASA). She is the new Head of the Design Management, International Bachelor Programme and will also be part of our team.

Dr. Guillermina Noël is a design researcher and educator. She applies a human-centred, evidence-based and outcome oriented approach to design. Prior to joining the LUASA, Guillermina was a human-centred designer at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Canada. She works with multidisciplinary health teams to improve care practices (Quality Improvement) or transferring and implementing health research into practice to influence every day decisions (Knowledge translation/Adoption of innovation).

Guillermina is the director of the Health Design Network; a platform to enable health design professionals to exchange knowledge. The network is an initiative supported by the International Institute for Information Design, with headquarters in Austria. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of Information Design Journal.

Bettina Minder receives PhD degree

We proudly announce that our team member Bettina Minder now holds a PhD in Innovation Management from Aalborg University, which she completed at the Centre of Industrial Production under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Astrid Heidemann Lassen. The title of her doctoral dissertation is The Perceived Attractiveness of the Designer in Innovation Processes.

Participation in Insight 2018

Prof. Dr. Dagmar Steffen and Bettina Minder joined the Insight 2018 International Design Research Symposium at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India. Insight 2018 is an international design research symposium for design educators, practitioners, design researchers and advocates of design. It brings together, on a common platform, design educators, practitioners, design researchers and advocates of design to reflect upon, discuss and debate what constitutes design research and design epistemology, its multi-faceted nature and forms, research ethics, issues in contemporary design research and its implications for design education and practice.

Prof. Dr. Steffen presented paper titled Transdisciplinarity: A Key Factor in Applied (Design) Research and Bettina Minder presented the research Embedding Design Strategies in Craft-Based Social Innovation Project: A Challenge of Different Understanding of Craft, a study conducted with Dr. Sabine Junginger and Elian Grüter.

Bettina Minder moderates workshop at the Future Forum Lucerne 2018

Our team member Bettina Minder moderated one of the future workshops at the Future Forum Lucerne 2018 at the Lucerne Exhibition Center. The Future Forum Lucerne is an action conference and experiment room // with an interactive podium and key presentations // with agile workshops and challenges for practice // for those interested in the future and those who make tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The Future Forum Lucerne 2018 has attracted many enthusiastic visitors, who are interested in innovation and questions about the future. Click here for some snapshots.