Projects

TransFabriC - Institute of Circular Transfabrication materializes the ambition of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts to accompany the development of social and citizen practices for the emergence of a social, solidarity and circular economy (SSCE). The aim is to create an operating eco-system, training courses and a research program, together capable of bringing about the emergence of an ESSC that meets the historical missions of the CNAM. Eco-system Create places where material transformation practices can be shared (in companies, workshops, fablabs, labs, recycling centres, etc.) Enable the transformation of materials Unite ESSC participants by creating an interface between the higher education sector and the socio-economic world Education Acculturating to practices related to l'ESSC, for all audiences Training for the professions related to ESSC and to the transformation of matter Training for the challenges of citizen recycling Building a community of learners and contributors Research Characterising the social and ecological dimensions of appropriation in everyday life Contribute to the transforming practices related to the ESSC Designing devices for the integration of civic creativity at ESSC projects 01 December 2022 2022-12-01T13:38:26+02:00

projects 17 June 2021 2021-06-17T10:27:15+02:00 A video on the role and the engagement of design in the time of expected apocalypse. A manifesto by Gion van den Broek, Nils Hollestelle, Lupe van Ratingen, Roshni Suresh, Yvonne Ubbink, and Joep Vossen

projects 26 April 2020 2020-04-26T13:38:26+02:00 Transforming Practices (TP) considers the transformations of our societies, dealing with major societal issues, local challenges for social resilience, or everyday activities, as well as their interrelations. Envisioning transformative practices, we question through designing the how, who, why and what of design for these major societal issues.

How would our world look like 20, 30, 40 or 50 years from now? Will we monitor each individual on the planet to live a low-risk life? Will we replace organs, eyes, or other parts of our body with artificial alternatives? Will we upload our brains and live on a server? Or do we seek ways to embrace a life more related to mother earth? In this Design Fiction project, several potential healthcare futures are explored. The project is a collaboration between Philips Design, Eindhoven University of Technology, Design Academy Eindhoven, and Frank Kolkman. When designing and developing for an audience, as was done in this project, a wide range of different opinions have to be dealt with. A well-known example are robots and Artificial intelligence (AI). Some people only see the positive side and potentials: what if robots could take over all our work so we have full-time vacation? Others only see the downsides and risks: what if robots become smarter than people and start attacking us? Either way, the truth will be somewhere in the middle, but it is very important to capture such opinions and discover what society thinks of current developments. The goal of this project was to do exactly that by developing design probes for four potential healthcare futures – based on a framework by Philips Design – and exhibiting them during the Dutch Design Week (DDW) and within Philips to provoke a debate. During the first part of the project, four teams each developed a design probe for one of the potential futures, which were exhibited at the Dutch Design Week. The project was continued within another team and a fifth probe was designed based on the insights gathered at the DDW. This time, the focus was laid on preventive healthcare in the present time, which led to the design of a fictive device that helps parents to monitor their baby’s health and aids them in growing a healthy child. projects 03 September 2019 2019-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 In this Design Fiction project, several potential healthcare futures are explored in a collaboration between Philips Design, Eindhoven University of Technology, Design Academy Eindhoven, and Frank Kolkman.

Stewart has received: the Core77 award for best interaction design student work the Golden A’ design award in engineering and technical design Stewart is a tactile interface designed for a fully autonomous car. Self-driving cars offer obvious benefits such as faster travel and enhanced safety. However, they also eliminate a sense of freedom, expression, and control while driving. Stewart’s objective is to accommodate a healthy relation between man and machine, to be achieved by an intuitive and expressive form of interaction. Stewart provides you with constant updates about the car’s behaviour and its intentions. If you don’t agree on the car’s next course of action, you can manipulate Stewart to change this. Stewart will learn from you as you can learn from Stewart, hopefully resulting in a mutually trustful relation. Interaction through Stewart will bring about a haptic discussion about what the car’s next move will be. Who will win this discussion? Who knows best? Stewart is on: core77 | Design News | BBC | Creative Applications Network | and many other places… projects 03 September 2019 2019-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 Stewart is a tactile interface designed for a fully autonomous car.a final bachelor project by Felix Ros

The prototype was inspired by the moment of perceptual crossing that occurs when you meet a stray cat in the street, and a moment of anticipation makes time stand still, as you and the cat try to figure each other out.Using a single sheet of folded paper and embedding it with motors and custom-built touch-capacitive sensors, an object which breathes and responds to the presence of human touch was designed, creating the perception that the Kinetic Fold is alive. projects 03 February 2016 2016-02-03T16:27:15+02:00 This research focuses on what happens to our relationship with objects when they come alive and engage in reciprocal communication with us.An (es)sense research project by Kevin N. Andersen

Nobody ever said that defying gravity is easy! The aGravity is a device which lets one experience the challenge of levitation. The fingerboard allows one to float over a straight platform, while experiencing a constant evolving environment within. It creates unique interactions that makes one able to develop a new skill and improve over time. The aGravity aims to make more aware and sensitive to what is being perceived and how the slightest movement can influence the whole system. To get the board hovering, requires focus, concentration and some skill. Though once it is learned to hover the board, it is up to the user how far he or she can go. Giving no precise guidelines, the only rule is to explore, interact and challenge yourself. (Alex Jurtan) projects 03 September 2014 2014-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 Nobody ever said that defying gravity is easy!a final bachelor project by Alex Jurtan

What does data feel like? Data Resonance makes the table resonate with surrounding Wi-Fi traffic. Qualities of the digital signals are translated to something you can feel. This gives you a sense of activity at the workplace that is otherwise quiet and hidden. It creates a feedback loop about your own network usage, and a new connection with the activity of colleagues. Data Resonance is inspired by how the traditional shared workshop acted as an extension of the craftsperson’s body. You saw and heard your colleagues work, and awareness of their activity influenced what you did. Now that much of our creative work happens on the screen, we lost something. With Data Resonance, we become more aware again of colleague’s work in a calm way: we notice when someone is dealing with heavy traffic and when people are taking a break, or just tune in to the rhythms of data that flow through space. (Sander Dijkhuis) projects 03 June 2014 2014-06-03T16:27:15+02:00 What does data feel like?by Sander Dijkhuis

We are accepting technology more and more into our lives as means to enhance the experience of the everyday. Intelligent products and systems are omnipresent, weave into our everyday life, and consequently have the power to transform our society. Adoption of these systems in our environments invites for exploring further how we interact with our environment. This research is grounded on the phenomenology of perception and ecological psychology, considering perception to be active. Perception is result of the dynamic coupling between a person’s action in relation to her or his environment and the sensory input this environment provides. In other words, we have to act to perceive and we concentrate our senses in the direction of the stimuli: e.g., turn our body around to see what is behind us, in order to perceive. The research focuses on how interaction with interactive artefacts can add intrinsic value on space being experienced as a transitory space. Four topics are introduced to investigate our experience of space as transitory space: ritual, space, light and craft. They serve as the backbone of the project and we could say that the ritual is the means for the technology (light) to enable the value (sense of place) to emerge in interaction with (hand) crafted artefacts. In this project I investigate if an interactive lighting installation can trigger our sense of place and belonging in spaces. Throughout this project I follow a ‘research-through-design’ approach. This is an approach where products are designed to explore implications of theory in context. The idea of perceptive qualities in interactive lighting installations is explored, and I question if an interactive artefact contributes to the experience of transition and allows for a greater feeling of involvement in the space. The project is divided into three cases: - In the first case (Homelab), different light behaviours and interaction in a home situation are explored. - Simultaniously, we investigate the relationship with an interactive artefact in context. In the second design case (Videolab), the influence of an additional object on the space being experienced as transitory space is explored. In the third design case (Mirror), the gained relevant designknowledge is united and expressed in a concluding interactive light object. - With this project I aim to get a grip on how interaction with interactive artefacts can add intrinsic value on space being experienced as transitory space. (Nadine Amersvoort) projects 03 September 2012 2012-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 Intelligent products and systems are omnipresent, weave into our everyday life, and consequently have the power to transform our society. Adoption of these systems in our environments invites for exploring further how we interact with our environment.by Nadine Amersvoort

This research project focuses on how to design for perceptive activity in artifacts in order for crossing in perception of expressivity between person and artifact to happen. It is part of the research of Deckers et al (2011), on designing for perceptual crossing between person and artifact. In their work they propose a series of design notions which are meant as a tool for synthesis when designing for perceptive activity in artifacts. In this research we follow a research through design approach in order to generate design specific knowledge on the application of these design notions when designing an artifact capable of showing expressivity through its perceptive behavior. We designed LUMA, an dynamic light design capable of expressing a variable level of excitement thought its perceptive actions. We conducted research using the LUMA design in order to investigate how the stage of perception of expressivity can be reached in an artifact and if crossing of perception of expressivity can happen over the course of interaction between person and artifact. For this we specifically investigate the relation between the perceived expressivity and the occurrence of a cross-influential interplay of expressivity between person and artifact. The results of our experiment show that clarity in variability of this expression is essential for this interplay to occur. We discuss possible changes to the design to improve the clarity in variability of expressivity as well as further research steps. (Koen Beljaars) projects 03 September 2012 2012-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 This research project focuses on how to design for perceptive activity in artifacts in order for crossing in perception of expressivity between person and artifact to happen.by Koen Beljaars

Monty a curious entity that has the ability to perceive activity within its field of vision. When Monty detects activity it will gradually move towards the activity until it is in centre of its perception. If its interest is kept on the activity long enough, Monty becomes engaged and will start taking pictures of the activity. The envisioned environment in which Monty can be used is a designer’s working environment. Here Monty will mainly be interested in the activity of the designer which will lead to process pictures of all the activities performed by this designer. This in turn gives the designer the possibility to reflect on his own process by scrolling through the visual representation of his activities. And will give him process pictures that can be used for communicative purposes. Due to its curious nature Monty might not always be focused on what you are doing. He can however be temporarily motivated to move towards a particular area on your desk. (Rens Alkemade) projects 03 September 2012 2012-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 Due to its curious nature Monty might not always be focused on what you are doing. He can however be temporarily motivated to move towards a particular area on your desk.by Rens Alkemade

(Excerpt from my Habilitation) Passage is a project carried out in 2012 by Gracia Goh, Chiyong Lim, and Kate Vermeyen at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Passage focuses on the place of transition between two physical spaces, i.e. their inter-space. The project statement invites students to create a design for the inter-space without influencing the experience of either space. This statement seems a priori phenomenologically incoherent, since the experience of something external to oneself necessarily takes place in a space and requires that the user’s attention be directed at least partially towards this thing. Yet, not only does the inter-space not seem to be a space (but rather a surface), and the attention of a person passing through a door is most often directed towards the space in which they intend to travel. After multiple iterations including prototype production, situation tests, reflections based on the Kansei context, etc., a remarkable design has gradually taken shape. Passage is an installation mounted on the frame of a door. This installation consists of a line of light-emitting diodes (RGB LEDs) projected on a thin aluminium foil that reflects light back towards the door once it is ajar. The diodes very slowly change the emitted color. The aluminium foil undulates depending on how the door is opened: a quick opening will create much more turbulence than a slow opening. The light impression projected on the door is therefore unique with each opening and closing. What is remarkable about this design is that the light projection is not visible to the passer-by when the door is fully closed or open, so that interaction only takes place in the action of the door opening. The experience begins as soon as you start opening the door and ends before you finish opening it. Not only is the installation (almost) located in this inter-space, but the experience is also located in this inter-space: it almost does not interfere with the passer-by’s intentionality to pass into the next space. The design objective is thus achieved. In addition to certain “classical” kansei descriptors, such as the grain, the light-shade interaction or the feeling of an invitation to appreciate this inter-space, kansei descriptors specific to this project have been established: instantaneity and the elusive, and even more so their couple. What is remarkable is that this experience is engaging from the point of view of its expression, engaging by the gesture, and that its intensity comes from the fact that it is very short, unavoidable, and elusive: in an instant it engages us then liberates us, without us being able to really escape it, or do anything about it. That is the beauty of this design. projects 03 September 2012 2012-09-03T16:27:15+02:00 Passage is a kansei design project on the in-between space carried out in 2012 by Gracia Goh, Chiyong Lim, and Kate Vermeyen at the Eindhoven University of Technology.