1.4 Experiences as Knowledge Contributions

Corresponding Chairs

Nithikul Nimkulrat, OCAD University, Canada 

Camilla Groth, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway

Co-Chairs

Spyros Bofylatos, Royal College of Art, UK

Haian Xue, Tongji University, China

Abstract

This theme track calls for design research that includes experiences as knowledge contributions. Ideas are not just concretised into material forms but developed through interaction and negotiation with materials, people, non-humans, and environments through multiple iterations. In this context, the process of thinking through materials in the act of making and the practitioner-researcher’s role, are valued in generating knowledge through situated material practice. Materials are not limited to the physical but extend to digital and virtual ones.

Many aspects of experiences matter: the designer’s experience in developing ideas and artefacts; the experiences of collaborators (human/non-human); and the experiences of users, viewers, buyers, or sellers. All bring nuanced and complex knowledge that offers insights to enhance design practice, our knowledge about it,  and how we communicate such knowledge.

Areas of interest encompass the changing material landscape of designing, as many tools and manufacturing processes are now digitised and AI becomes more common. The experiential aspects of design products and material experiences of designers and users are shifting. Knowledge about material properties in the virtual landscape differs from the physical one. Attitudes may also change with material values, such as the transformed aesthetics and user experiences sustainable materials bring. Questions include:

1. How might designer’s introspection expand our theoretical understanding of the experiential dimensions of design  experience?

2. How does the changed materiality, such as in hybrid craft,  affect the practices of the designer/maker that engage with tacit and embodied knowledge? 

3. How does the awareness of material sustainability change perceptions of aesthetics?

Keywords

experiential knowledge, making, design for experience, practitioner-researcher, introspection

References

Bofylatos, S., & Spyrou, T. (2017). Meaning, knowledge and artifacts, giving a voice to tacit knowledge. The Design Journal, 20(sup1), S4422–S4433. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2017.1352938

Groth C. & Nimkulrat, N. (2024) Introduction: Making as reflecting through interaction with the material environment. In N. Nimkulrat & C. Groth (Eds.), Craft and design practice from an embodied perspective. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003328018-1 

Nimkulrat, N., Groth, C., Tomico, O., & Valle-Noronha, J. (2020). Knowing together – experiential knowledge and collaboration, CoDesign, 16(4), 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2020.1823995 

Vermeersch, P. & Heylighen, A. (2015). Mobilizing disability experience to inform architectural practice: Lessons learned from a field study. Journal of Research Practice, 11(2), Article M3. http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/495/419   

Xue, H., & van Kooten, K. (2023). Inside out: Addressing the “how” of data collection in experience design research applying introspective methods. Advanced Design Research, 1(2), 109–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijadr.2024.02.001