Design Research Podcast

On Popular Culture, Norms and Values

Crys Leung (Communication, BA), Felicity Morris (Social Design, MA) and Lara Chapman (Design Curating and Writing, MA) in conversation with Agata Jaworska and Arif Kornweitz

How do we participate, and how are we implicated, in the production and circulation of narratives that shape certain norms and values? In the project Through the Emoji Looking Glass, Lara Chapman creates an augmented tour of the Rijksmuseum, exploring cultural battles that transcend a collection of historic artworks and emoji. In Confident Face Swap, Crys Leung photoshops her face onto the models featured in the September issues of 50 years of Vogue in order to mimic the standard of beauty propagated by the magazine. In Post-Bed-Post, Felicity Morris creates a self-broadcasting bed that live streams to Instagram, turning an intimate object into a site for public broadcasting. From the supposed privacy of our bedroom to the public museum, the projects manifest various techniques of infiltrating and inhabiting mediascapes—from imitation to superimposition and augmentation—as possible modes of critical engagement and commentary.

On design communicating about abstract phenomena

Marianne Drews (Social Design, MA) and Camilla Kennedy (Information Design, MA) in conversation with Liesbeth Fit and Arif Kornweitz

This podcast was recorded during the Dutch Design week in the Design Academy’s Arena. Both Camilla Kennedy and Marianne Drews address abstract and hard to grasp topics in their graduation work. Camilla Kennedy’s project 'The best descriptor is Fuzziness' deals with the representation of quantum gravity while Marianne Drews discusses a possible future peak soil in her project 'Soils in Residency'. We talked about how design can bridge communicating about these abstract or even invisible phenomena and how to make them visible, understandable or even experienceable to an audience. What role can design play in representing or complementing science?

Camila Kennedy Image:

Copyright: Design Academy Eindhoven

Photographs: Ronald Smits

Marianne Drews Image:

Copyright: Design Academy Eindhoven

Photographs: Iris Rijskamp

On Whiteness

Héloïse Charital (Design Curating & Writing, MA) and Baiba Soma (Well Being, BA) in conversation with Liesbeth Fit and Arif Kornweitz

Whiteness is a construct that maintains credence in contemporary society. From the illusion that white products are newer, safer, more hygienic, and somehow more “pure”, to the false assertion that Ancient Greek sculptures were and are supposed to be white, whiteness is a myth that not only promotes throw-away consumerism, but also erases history, fuels white supremacy, and incites racist violence.

In different ways, Héloïse Charital with her project When is White, White Enough? and Baiba Soma with her project Expired White problematise the signification of whiteness. By staging a re-enactment of the infamous “cleaning” of the Parthenon sculptures by the British Museum at the late 1930s, Héloïse Charital brings the subtle violence enacted through the Museum’s maintenance activities to the fore. By salvaging discarded white consumer goods, and transforming them into “new” products, Baiba Soma challenges the prevailing mentality that perpetuates throw-away consumerism. They speak of their sources, their understandings of research and materialisation, and their publics. Two contrasting examples of “digging into whiteness”, the conversation points to the necessity of gaining greater literacy and awareness of how whiteness continues to perpetuate the unequal distribution of power through myth formation and its institutionalisation.

On Mythical Animals of the Food Industry

Anne Kamps (Food Non Food, BA) in conversation with Liesbeth Fit and Arif Kornweitz

Anne Kamps was struck by the mystery of an alleged six-winged chicken used for the fast-food industry. Could this animal really exist? Through visiting farms and other institutes within the food industry she ‘discovered’ more mythical animals that in their specific forms each talk about the possibilities and challenges of the meat industry. In her project 'The Six Winged Chicken and other Mythical Animals of the Food Industry' she uses the format of a children’s book to describe the mythical world of animals that might be found today.

On Borders

With Irakli Sabekia (Leisure, BA) and Axel Coumans (Food Non Food, BA) in conversation with Agata Jaworska and Arif Kornweitz

Can borders ever do justice to that which they contain? Irakli Sabekia with his project 'Voicing Borders' and Axel Coumans with his project 'Streaming Sandwaves' concern themselves with various injustices that borders are bound up with. By turning the Russian-Georgian barbed-wire fence border into a radio transmitter that emits in morse code the names of the Georgian towns that have been erased due to Russian occupation, Irakli Sabekia subverts a weapon of occupation into a tool for voicing a protest against itself. With a self-made machine that scans ripples left in the sand by a retreating tide and translates them into an audible signal, Axel Coumans underlies the integrity of the North Sea, with the longer-term ambition of contributing to the recognition of the North Sea as a political entity. Through inventive technical interventions, both projects enable alternative readings of border regions, and voice perspectives that for too long have gone unheard.

On Subjectivity and Artificial Intelligence

Vera van der Burg (Contextual Design MA) in conversation with Agata Jaworska and Arif Kornweitz

Vera van der Burg speaks of her educational background in neuroscience, and her struggle in bridging gaps between science and design as they are understood at the department of Contextual Design. What tools, languages, and other tactics enabled her to create a meaningful exchange, and produce a work that would resonate in her department, and speak to a broader audience? Her quest resulted in an installation 'Still Life' that speaks to the core of human-machine differences, based on the binary logic that continues to pin subjectivity opposite to objectivity. Will machines ever be able to emulate a human understanding of things, and is that even desirable?

On Voice and Democracy

With Louise Gholam (Leisure BA) in conversation with Agata Jaworska and Arif Kornweitz

A radio-cum-backpack, the project 'Hackacity' is a response to the political system of democracy, which often can feel removed from the voices of the people it represents. How can constituents of a city have a stronger voice in the decisions that are made on their behalf, particularly in so-called ‘smart’ city developments, where in initiatives like Stratumseind Living Lab passively detect the motion and voices of pedestrians, but tend not to involve their voice in decision-making processes? Through conversations that are broadcasted on local radio stations, Louise Gholam engages citizens and asks how they feel towards issues that are shaping their city. Diplomatic actor, and link between citizens and institutions, Louise speaks of a process that she continuously needed to reshape, adapting her ambitions based on the reality on the street. In part inspired by vocal political engagements she witnessed while growing up in Lebanon, Louise also reflects upon the role that cultural backgrounds are made to play at the Academy, and the difficulties of being a translator between two contexts.

Please note: This is the second graduation project of Louise, which is not present at the Graduation Show.

WHAT Sara Kaiser explores our increasing life expectancy. A video imagines a future when people live longer through medically enhanced diets, and an interactive installation invites people to take part in a partly scripted discussion.

WHY With scientific advancements, our life spans have increased continuously. Some enthusiasts believe that soon we will be able to completely eliminate ageing processes. Predictions like these raise many questions on the moral and ethical consequences of living longer. Sara Kaiser offers a context to explore these.

HOW The film translates scientific technologies into a fictional narrative. It acts as a teaser for the role play that allows participants to explore different ideas and opinions on life extension.

QUOTE “Future wealth may not only manifest in money, but also in time.” Realised in collaboration with Dividere Foundation and sponsored by Kvadrat.

Interview: Tom Loois | Editing and sounddesign: Lotte van Gaalen | Mix: Lotte van Gaalen | Editor in chief: Tom Loois | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

WHAT A presentation that reveals how the barriers erected to prevent suicides reflect conflicting requirements dictated by mental health, government policy and public opinion.

WHY Barriers and nets are increasingly installed on high bridges in an effort to prevent suicides. As physical manifestations of the line between public life and private crisis, they are tools used to tackle a problem, while the public demands that they be invisible.

HOW Kirsten Geekie compiled statistics — dates, materials, heights, fatalities, and so on — about 30 sites and presented them as infographics. Using Google Earth, she created a video that captures the mundane reality of the bridges, an effect enhanced by digital speakers that convey sounds recorded on the bridges.

QUOTE “A barrier is a physical representation of private crisis in the public realm.”

Interview: Tom Loois | Editing and sounddesign: Lotte van Gaalen | Mix: Lotte van Gaalen | Editor in chief: Tom Loois | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

WHAT A glass room divider with double-sided mirrors inspired by digital interfaces. A reflection of our need to see ourselves, the mirrors also confront us with our digital behaviour.

WHY Social media has turned us into regular showoffs as we pout and pose to broadcast our success online. This self-important behaviour is nothing new, as 18thcentury period interiors reveal: stuffed with ornaments to display the owner’s status. In a modern parallel, Elvira von Wieding Lidin brings our digital vanity into the physical living space.

HOW Normally we cannot see ourselves as we engage online. In this mirrored screen, we can catch a glimpse that may put our actions in a different light.

QUOTE “This is the story of an ornamental species in a digital age.” Realised in collaboration with Dividere Foundation and supported by the Danish Art Foundation.

Interview: Tom Loois | Editing and sounddesign: Lotte van Gaalen | Mix: Lotte van Gaalen | Editor in chief: Tom Loois | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org