Browsing by Subject "design research"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Listening to Patients and Talking to Doctors: A Case for Design in Medicine, & A Call to Action
    (2014-03) Sanematsu, Helen; Wiehe, Sarah E.
    This paper describes how design can work at a fundamental level to improve health in the United States. It argues for a design application that levels the playing field between the doctor and the patient in a way that re-establishes the person as the center of medical advancement. It uses the inclusion of a design research oriented Patient Engagement Core within a current study at the Indiana University School of Medicine as a way to demonstrate the relevance of design to health research. We touch upon the research environment established by the National Institutes of Health as a driver for the relevance of design in medicine, and finally, we suggest that designers use their visual communication and design research skills within health research to increase its relevancy to patients and the population, and ‘make the science stick’ through better understanding of patient perspectives. We assert that by entering discourse in health at this foundational stage we contribute to a new understanding of what health is, who might contribute to its improvement, who determines the relevancy of research, and how such research is used.
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    Participatory Innovation: A Pedagogical Approach To Help Students Reveal Real-World Problems
    (IUPUI Research Day, 2014-04-11) Ganci, Aaron
    In the digital sector, ‘innovation’ is a frequently overused word. Entrepreneurs worldwide are trying to innovate within their market. However, the drive for innovation can blind the creators of these products, obscuring what people actually need and want to use. Countless applications struggle or outright fail because they are created without the user in mind. Digital technology can be a powerful tool in people’s everyday life but it has to be integrated in meaningful ways. Careful consideration must be placed on how these new products will integrate—and improve—life. When new products truly help people, they are more likely to resonate and succeed; this is real innovation. Everyone involved in the production of digital products—entrepreneurs, developers, and experience or visual designers (the focus of this project)—must abide by this philosophy in order for the product to be successful. Students who are preparing to be involved with the design or production of these products need to learn ways to more deeply understand their users, identify problems, and craft meaningful solutions. With this in mind, research was conducted to identify and test methods that allow students to acquire this deeper understanding. This poster will outline one pedagogical approach which utilizes participatory design methods to help students identify problems in people’s lives. For this research, visual communication design students utilized these methods in a project for the course Visual Design for the Web. An overview of the pedagogical approach, project, student outcomes, and implications for future work will be highlighted.
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    Understanding the designer’s role in Latin American Public Sector Innovation Labs
    (2021-08) Garcia, Luis; Napier, Pamela; Ganci, Aaron; Bosch Gomez, Sofia
    This project explores Public Sector Innovation Labs (PSI Labs) in the Latin American context with a particular focus on designer’s contributions. PSI Labs provide a fantastic opportunity for governments to experiment and innovate how public services are delivered to citizens and improve public institutions’ operations. PSI Labs are becoming increasingly visible, but research has mainly focused on PSI Labs in Europe and North America. Moreover, research has also concentrated on PSI Labs as an institution but not on the people working in them. This thesis attempts to contribute to this growing body of research by studying the particularities of operating PSI Labs in Latin America and design/ers contributions in a space that, according to some proponents, can play an important role in addressing pressing social challenges. By engaging with designers and public servants from other disciplines through semi-structured interviews, this thesis presents insights and proposes future directions that could strengthen PSI Labs structures in Latin America and design contributions. Finally, research findings are synthesized in the form of a Giga map that includes the following themes: challenges, best practices, ideal conditions, expert design, learning opportunities for designers and other public servants, and qualities and expertise of people working in PSI Labs.