Supporting Community Needs
Bridging Classroom and Community: Collaborative Design Education for Social Change View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Antonio Gorgel Pinto, Hande Ayanoglu, Davide Antonio Gambera, Juliana F. Duque
The paper presents a project-based learning (PBL) initiative developed between IADE–European University and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in Lisbon, Portugal, in the third semester of the academic year 2023/24. In this context, the second-year students of the Global Design Bachelor's Degree were challenged to develop a project in synergy with the AKF, which works to improve vulnerable populations' conditions and their quality of life. This transdisciplinary project covered the different curricular units of the program. In the Project course, around which all the other courses work, students developed a visual identity, branding, and product design for artisans linked to the AKF. In other courses, students developed an ethnographic approach to the community of artisans previously identified by the foundation to better understand their design problems and contribute with useful solutions. The materials they created demonstrate how a collaborative approach, which goes beyond disciplinary boundaries and the classroom itself, can give rise to meaningful experiences and a more inclusive and sustainable world. In addition to the main design subjects that inform the PBL briefing, such as visual identity, branding, and product design, the literature review explores the concepts of transdisciplinarity, design for social innovation, wicked design problems, and design ethnography. Informed by these subject matters, the methodology is explained and validated by a panel of experts made up of professors from other design universities.
Generative AI in Senior Footwear Design: Exploring Aesthetic Preferences and Innovation for Aging Consumers View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ling Cheung, Chui Shan Lee
The research aims to elucidate a fundamental scenario of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) driven image content generation in senior footwear design and development. The study explains how GenAI works with fashion ideas in the footwear industry. The extraordinary potential of AI drives trends to create exquisite designs that captivate the sophisticated preferences of the senior female population. This study integrates a comprehensive analysis of existing academic literature with quantitative analysis findings derived from the survey about the aesthetic design of senior footwear involving the ageing population in Hong Kong. Through examining existing solutions and cases of GenAI-based generation of images, the exploration of the underlying synergy between artificial intelligence algorithms and fashion concepts reveals the perceptions and requirements surrounding footwear design that resonate with senior consumers in the market. According to the survey, women demonstrate a higher acceptance of the aesthetic footwear design. Decisive features of senior footwear have come up with illustrating a new design of pink in colour, flyknit fabric, no fastenings and a one-inch heel height. By intertwining various creative concepts from the findings, the generative artificial intelligence programme generates a series of women's footwear designs. Indeed, these images present abundant visual inspiration, accelerating the evolution of ideas and refinement of product development through designated GenAI Prompt description of keywords, including pink colour, slip-on, flyknit materials, one-inch heel and ultra-high resolution. The result concludes with an exploration of how these design elements can enrich the theoretical concept grounded in scenarios of GenAI-driven footwear styles.
Arm Prosthetics in Medical and Social Models: A Semiotic, Phenomenological, and Hermeneutic Approach View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Wildan Trusaji
Arm prosthetics have evolved from a functional tool to help physical impairment to a cultural artefact that holds broader social meaning. This paper reviews existing research on prosthetics especially arm prosthetics to explore their role within the medical and social models of disability. The medical model emphasises prosthetics as tools to restore physical function, while the social model highlights societal inclusion and the reduction of barriers. This work seeks to understand better the relationship between functionality and social meaning in prosthetic design, offering practical insights. This study employs semiotics, phenomenology, and hermeneutics as approaches for analysis. Employing semiotics, we examine how prosthetics function as both physical aid tools (denotative) and cultural symbols (connotative). Using phenomenology we address the user's experience with prosthetics, particularly how these devices integrate into their daily lives. With hermeneutics, we explore the sociological and cultural stories around prostheses and their impact on how they are seen. This study shows that research often focuses on either functional or societal aspects, with limited efforts to combine these perspectives. Through semiotics, phenomenology, and hermeneutics, we investigate how prostheses operate as physical assistance as well as symbols influenced by cultural narratives and user experiences. Furthermore, the application of semiotics, phenomenology, and hermeneutics integration in the context of arm prosthesis development appears to be limited. We feel that considering both the medical and social model viewpoints is critical for appropriate prosthesis development.
