“Understanding and Connecting with me as I get Young”  

Project architects:

Benjamin Walker, Industrial designer in charge of the masters program ‘Responsible Innovation at l’Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique

Elyssa Sfar, Design strategist and coordinator of the Responsible Innovation Masters Program

Nathalie Ciprian, head of postgraduate studies, l’Ecole de Design, Nantes Atlantiqu

Sue Alouche, Design strategies and Aged design specialist

Number of credits: 5 ECTS

Organization: 1 x 5 day workshop

Overview:

In the context of the European TANGO project, this workshop will look at prototyping empathy in a transgenerational context.

The aim of the project is to come up with a toolkit of methodologies to model intergenerational empathy. These methodologies will be illustrated by “concept-products”, or scenarios for prospective use.

Skills objectives:

- To be able to identify and develop a range of  methodologies to prototype empathy.

- Creativity in a co-designing context.

- To be able to share cross cultural research and experiences.

- To be capable of implementing a methodological thought process adapted to the complexity of the topic.

- To be capable of communicating the process and results in the form of a design project.

Teaching objectives:

Exploring 7 themes for transgeneration empathy:

1. Impacts of physical ageing
2. Memory
3. Health
4. Sexuality
5. Autonomy – socialization, isolation
6. Youth in the world of Adults
7. Older generations empathizing with digital natives and broader challenges of generation z.

The Empathy model – is it possible to build a toolkit of methodologies to facilitate this?

Design workshop led by a designer and a design strategist professor.

Students may also be supervised by key figures (Mme. Sue Alouche) with an involvement in the project.

Working in small groups of local and international students (ideally 3-4) each thematic group will be responsible for identifying a design opportunity (problem), developing and prototyping an ‘Empathy methodology’ – an experience that illustrates enhances our understanding of the problem (empathy), and creatively ideate and communicate a TANGO scenario.

While the processes of analysis and creation constantly alternate and overlap, the project is punctuated by intermediary presentations defining 2 phases.

Phase 1: Context analysis and preliminary designs, proposals (end of day 2)

Phase 2: Prototyped Empathy expressed through innovative methodologies and illustrative design concepts. (end of day 5

Methods:

Learning through the completion of a project:

- workshop (group work and personalised follow-up): exchanging ideas, researching and sharing information, creative research, analysis and synthesis and prototyping emapthy

- lessons and examples providing aspects of methodology or knowledge input depending on the project.

Planning:

Exhibitable deliverables:

-        Tool kit to model empathy (physical prototype on unrestricted media)

-        User Scenarios presented in poster/video form

Assessment:

Clarity and efficiency of the design methodologie(s)

Richness and innovation in the capacity to empathise through design.

Group presentations will be held on the afternoon Friday May 25^th in Sottsass auditorium. The criteria of assessment will be based around:

- definition of a empathy opportunities with reference to determined theme

- conception and exploration of methodologies (Tools)

- realization of production stages

- presentation of prototyped empathy ‘tool’

The course presents an approach to design environmentally sustainable products to provide students with knowledge, sensibility, tools and methods to integrate environmental requirements in the design of industrial products.

The first part of the course includes a series of lectures and particular attention will be paid to the design of sustainable exhibitions and to relevant case studies in that sector.

The second part of the course is dedicated to a design exercise that aims at teaching how to develop an environmental sustainable concept and when to use tools to orientate the design towards environmentally sustainable solutions (e.g. Life Cycle Assessment, indicators of strategic environmental priorities, idea tables, …).

The products to be redesigned are different standard elements part of a sustainable exhibition for design students’ concepts.

Timetable:

October 2012 – January 2013

Download the PDF.

Click here to have a complete overview of the students’ concepts for the innovative and sustainable exhibition system (section P1 P2).

Click here to have a complete overview of the students’ concepts for the innovative and sustainable exhibition system (section P3 P4).

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System Design for Sustainability

The course introduces to the theory and practice of Product-Service System (PSS) design for Sustainability.

A first theoretical part presents the following topics: sustainable development and designer’s role; evolution of sustainability within design; Life Cycle Design: methods, tools, strategies, guidelines and examples; system (PSS) design for eco-efficiency: criteria, guidelines and examples; system design for socio-ethical sustainability: criteria, guidelines and examples; designing transition paths for the introduction and diffusion of sustainable PSSs; methods and tools for system design and system design for sustainability.

The second part of the course is a design exercise: the students are asked to design new sustainable PSSs to promote social inclusion and intergenerational dialogue in four neighborhoods in Milan (Baggio, Barona, Giambellino and Gratosoglio), in collaboration with Consorzio SIS and the Punto e Linea project (www.progettopuntoelinea.it).

Timetable:

March 2012 – June 2012

Download the PDF.

Click here to have a complete overview of the students’ projects.

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Design per la Sostenibilità Ambientale (Design for Environmental Sustainability)

The course presents an approach to design environmentally sustainable products to provide students with knowledge, sensibility, tools and methods to integrate environmental requirements in the design of industrial products.

The first part of the course includes a series of lectures and particular attention will be paid to the design of sustainable exhibitions and to relevant case studies in that sector.

The second part of the course is dedicated to a design exercise that aims at teaching how to develop an environmental sustainable concept and when to use tools to orientate the design towards environmentally sustainable solutions (e.g. Life Cycle Assessment, indicators of strategic environmental priorities, idea tables, …).

The product to be designed is the travelling exhibition.

Timetable:

October 2011 – January 2012

Click here to have a complete overview of the students’ concepts for the innovative and sustainable exhibition system.

The objective of the course is to identify the identity of Kannelmäki area to address ways for increasing its potential and profile. During the course the students will create meeting places for intergenerational and multi-cultural inhabitants. Local culture and the arts will be utilized as mediums for delivering beneficial intergenerational interactions and revitalization models in the everyday life of suburban neighborhoods. During the course students will evaluate their ideas with the locals in real context situations through design interventions. The process and results of the course will be published in Aalto University and World Design Capital 2012 web site, as well as in the course own blog among others. The course is part of a European level AH-Design project and also part of Wellbeing 365 WDC2012 project. The works will be exhibited in Helsinki, Milan and Nantes in 2013. The assignments of the course consist of individual and group work, lectures, workshops, field study and an activist/interventionist approach to design.

20 students can attend

Teachers:

Sandra Vina, Kirsi Niinimäki

Timetable:

Pre-assignment 16th-27th of April. The task and all materials will be provided through Moodle. Students will work individually on their own time during this period.

Intensive workshop in Kannelmäki 2 nd-8 th of May 2012. The workshop will be organized as an open event in Kannelmäki Cultural center.

Blended learning period 9 th of May until 8 th of June. Virtual and face to face tutoring.

Topic:

-Define the identity of Kannelmäki area to address ways for increasing its potential and profile.

-Create meeting places for intergenerational and multi-cultural inhabitants.

-Develop participatory design models to understand and deliver beneficial intergenerational interactions in the everyday life of suburban neighborhoods.

Objectives:

-Understand the potential of intergenerational approach in design and especially in suburban areas to provide positives ways of living.

-Collaborate through participatory design sessions and interventions to activate new working models between local people and public sector.

-Test ideas and evaluate them with local people in real context.

-Produce concept ideas as research experiments and for paper writing.

-Provide strategy models for suburban renewal.

Results:

-Alternative design concept solutions to active suburban living.

-International exhibitions in Nantes, Milano and Helsinki (year 2013)

-Publication, web site.

Approach:

-Participatory design

-Empathic design

-Social design

-Practice and explorative design

Intergenerational Accessibility in a Sustainable Exhibition

The focus of this workshop is on pedagogical models where people of different ages would meet each other and create new understanding of design and intergenerational exhibition pedagogy. The students are able to respond creatively to the exhibition context and exhibits, and gain knowledge on different age groups, gallery education in the field of design, and reflect upon the notion of a good life. Through the workshop, e-learning and tutoring students will learn and find ways of how the different groups of people can encounter interactively during the organized activities in a museum, in public spaces or/and in a design fair. The issues of intellectual accessibility are also emphasized.

Themes:

-Intergenerational encounters

-Accessibility in open learning environments focusing on elderly and children

-Social involvement and open museum

-Gallery education in the field of design

Timetable:

Oct–Dec 2012, timetable will be sharpened during the spring 2012.

The program will be consisting an intensive workshop week as a kick off start for the course featuring the themes by morning presentations and working towards a two day open platform event for the surrounding community. After the workshops the work on the course will continue through e-learning and tutoring + a gathering in Helsinki to finish the plans by the end of the year.

Spring 2013

A possibility to execute the workshops, interventions and guided tours in all three TANGO exhibitions