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

WHAT For too long pigeons have been seen as filthy rats with wings. This campaign, inspired by populist parties and political movements, aims to give this unloved bird the podium it deserves. Or is the pigeon a way to tell a bigger story? WHY Populists are masters of communication and manipulation. So what better way to engage the masses than to learn from the experts and make use of their methods? HOW Full of strong, simplistic language and bright visuals, the campaign mimics the way issues are blown up to absurdity, leading to polarised debates where the underlying causes are put aside and left undiscussed. QUOTE The real issue is polarisation. The pigeon is just a decoy.

WHAT These ambiguous objects play with perception as they balance on the border between innocence, sex and food. WHY Childish imagery of cartoons and toys have something strangely in common ground with that of erotic imagery, says Hala Tawil. Both represent the world in a perfect and delicious manner. ‘Gradual Unease’ investigates this type of kitschy imagery, and the mechanisms of desire that lie underneath. HOW The forms of these glossy meats and sweets were inspired by the food Hala spotted in children’s cartoons. Made of resin-coated papier-mâché, they create their own fun setting in a slightly unsettling way, which is emphasised by their strangely small scale. QUOTE “Where do we draw the line between what we need and what we want?” 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 series of banners made of dirty cleaning rags as a protest in support of women’s rights, showing empowering statements that have escaped from the dirt. WHY Inspired by the Black Protest in Poland, Ola Korbańska embraced the cliché that cleaning is a women’s job to make her point. By taking their undervalued chores out of the house and into the open, she publicly questions the suppressed position of women worldwide. HOW By ostentatiously scrubbing significant public places — a church, a governmental building, a square or a statue — she gave the act of cleaning a special significance. As the cloth soaks up the dirt, the tapedoff letters acquire meaning and form a clear message: ‘no woman no kraj’, meaning: no woman, no country. QUOTE “Dirt is captured and exposed to convey a message.” 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 An initiative that brings together seniors from care centres and recent arrivals in the country in a ‘language café’. WHY Elderly residents of care centres often have lots of time but little meaningful to do. ‘samsam’ offers them a chance to make a positive contribution to society by helping newcomers to learn Dutch through conversation lessons. The initiative champions equality, empowerment and inclusion. HOW Lotte de Haan created an online platform (www.samsam.org) that explains how care centres can open a language café. She guides them through the process and gives them all the tools to start and sustain the language café. QUOTE “Everybody can be meaningful in the right context.” Realised in collaboration with Tineke Kooreman, Vitalis Parc Gender and Taalhuis Eindhoven. 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 ‘Unreal Plots’ offers a new form of entertainment that uses the principles of conspiracy to turn everyday trivialities into thrilling tales. WHY We all invent stories — temporary realities that we create in our mind when facing uncertainty. This project shows how easily real events can be manipulated and turned into instant fiction via an app. HOW The story starts when you scan a photo from your own custom newspaper with your phone: it might be Harvey Weinstein’s bathroom, the Kalimantan Olympic stadium or the United States Congress — emptied of people or personal things. An actor shows up on your screen and the plot thickens. Based on recent headlines, a personal narrative begins to unravel: fake news is written on the spot. QUOTE “The news is the effect and you are the cause.” 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

Who owns the Artic ocean? By researching borders Stracuzzi got to know the border conflict in the Artic Ocean where - Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States all make their claims. Due to the decrease of sea-ice immense oil and gas riches might be uncovered which seems to overblow the actual problem of global warming. A 3D model visualises the current border dispute and creates awareness of the idea of maps being just a representation of reality. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Ottol / Wahre. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

As one of the first graduates from the new Design Writing and Curating department Botha went back to her roots in Cape Town by researching the so called ‘toilet wars’. With the two different outcomes, a Facebook chatbot and an exhibition proposal she found a new way to create a conversation and tells you the story about how the distribution of portable flush toilets turned into a political toilet war. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Farsical, The PI Sleeps / Two Dollar Token | Insatiable Toad. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

What is normal behaviour? What is a normal handshake? A letter published by the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in which he expressed the idea that if certain people couldn’t behave normally they should leave, made Henning got triggered by the absurdity of our need to be normal. Using handshakes as a metaphor for normal behaviour he did several interventions and decided to design a testing station for handshakes, an experimental format where the participants are forced to adjust to the given normality. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Two Dollar Token / Partly Sage / When in the West. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

Researching the hidden narrative of an object Lee came across a human size bolster cushion made of bamboo, which originated from Indonesia in the Dutch colonial context. By deconstructing the so called ‘Dutch wife’ and transforming it into a blanket she wants to liberate the object. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions –Drone Thistle / Cases to Rest. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

It’s hard to describe SAM in words, according to Caye, who wanted to create an intriguing future vending machine that you never saw before. Sam is a Symbiotic Autonomous Machine, showing it’s capacity to be autonomous; he calculates the costs, manages recipes and after payment pours you a cool refreshing drink. Pushing the independency of the machine to the next level Caye and co-designer Arvid Jense leave you with a question: ‘why not give SAM a legal status? Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Soothe / Sunset at Sandy Isle / Hickory Interlude. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

Whereas design research is often done from the perspective of one individual, Slot decided to push the boundaries by the use of a different methodology. Paul Slot, Melle Witteveen en Peter Cornelis Muller are three alter egos resulting into three different working methods from which he started to research linden wood. In his self-build laboratory he would rinse the wood with heavy chemicals and analyse the fibres and properties which resulted in a new material, four times stronger than the original wood. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Slow Toe / Suzy Textile / Lahaina. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org ​

What if water is left out of our household products and added later at home? De Bruin’s brand forecast shows us the future; removing 80% of the water in household products will leave us with the remaining 20%. Her cleaver approach opens our eyes and shows us that being sustainable doesn’t have to be difficult. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Solemn Application / Manele / Waltz Opus Posthume / Lead Shroud. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

What if we could decide how our skin looks like? ‘Transcendent Skin’ envisions a future scenario in which the powers of technology have rewarded us with eternal youth. Thomann’s speculates upon a revived crave for nostalgia. The defects of our skin will become a jewellery on the human body in order to express the inner layer of the human soul. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Ash and Mirage / Cobweb Transit / Disinter. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

In today’s media landscape we consume a wealth of scattered bits of information. Claessens’ noticed a lack of contextualisation and saw an opportunity to improve the communication between different parties. His online platform “Ubiquity” provides a curated information base on the topic of smart cities in order to create a mutual way of understanding before entering into a discussion. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Snowcrop / A Path Unwinding. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

Court Dance is a method to get new insights into the relation between perpetrators and victims in the system of justice. By making use of the power of connection Gazy breaks through the dynamic of othering in which you either are a perpetrator or a victim. Dancers are invited into the courtroom to embody what reasoning can’t describe. Watching the dansers move through the space will bring back humanity and offer the justice system advice through a shared experience. Interview: Katinka Baehr | Editing and sounddesign: Jair Stein | Mix: Alfred Koster | Editor in chief: Jennifer Pettersson | Soundtrack: Blue Dot Sessions – Stilness / Cloud Line. Music: www.freemusicarchive.org

What time is it? And now imagine all the different kinds of time that could be used to answer that question! How come we don’t have a wider perspective on what time is in todays society. Naama Agassi helps us on the way towards a new temporality!

The power of the Iron Dome in Israel manifests itself a lot through the believe in it. Blay questions this story by handing us another one, one of possibilities, change, and new perspectives, but which one to choose?

If you are an average length person, you probably walk through life not noticing how amazingly well public space fits you. Wouter covers confronts us with the standardised solutions that hinders diversity in the public space domain through his basic, but genius intervention!

What does high fashion advertising do to our bodies? The fashion world has an idea of itself to be innovative, always on the edge of what is coming, Olle Lundin is opening up a discussion on which parts of fashion is actually fluctuating.

Designing lamps and couches, or designing peace and justice? Maxime Benvenuto dived into the systems that defines the work towards peace in the UN. In order to make hope a bigger responsibility for nations them selves he designed a new law!

Almost like a programmer is programming a system, Jing He questions the perceptions of eastern and western design, through a grid of historical and contemporary systems, pondering about what is original and not.

What are the similarities between the mechanisms of war and design? Isabel Mager invites us to look beyond the beautiful objects and ask questions about labour conditions and production methods. Mager also proposes design as a powerful tool to shift destructive ways to produces objects and create a better future.

Henrique Nascimento proposes a new kind of working condition. Robots and humans will interact through an intricate language based production cycle, revealing some of the utopian or dystopian future scenarios that lay ahead.

In this podcast Chen Jhen is discussing the historical complexity of Taiwanese identity. At one point she asks: “What is real? Everything could be fake, if even our palmtreas are remnants of Japanese colonisation.”

Who owns the information that satellites produce? Can we trust the information or the people and institutions claiming it’s authenticity? Kubrak elaborates on why we should be concerned with where our information ends up.