design for global challenges
DESCRIPTION
As part of the INDEX: 2007 events, CIID was asked to run a three week summer camp for more than 30 students who had been invited from all over the world. The aim of the camp was to encourage user-centered design (UCD) and innovation methodologies among future generations of designers. Working in groups on a theme of Global Challenges and Intercultural Dialogue,participants gained understanding of how to identify a problem, how to generate and test concepts, how to rapidly prototype solutions and how to best communicate their final concepts to a relevant audience. Through a ‘bottom up’ approach – using individuals as a starting point – students developed new solutions for issues that will have an impact on people all around the world.TRANSCRIPT
Design for Global Challenges
This map represents the countries represented by INDEX:CIID Summer Camp participants,faculty and visiting speakers
All Aroundthe World
Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Italy, Jordan,Mexico, Norway, Qatar, Spain (including Canary Islands), South Africa, South Korea,Taiwan, The Netherlands, UK, US
What is INDEX: ?
INDEX: is the catalyst which spurs publicand professional awareness of the humanand commercial potential in ‘Design toImprove Life’. INDEX: pursues this goal byawarding the biggest design award in theworld, presenting international designexhibitions, hosting summits for worldleaders on design and innovation and bypublishing and distributing knowledge aboutDesign to Improve Life.
For more information on INDEX: please visit:www.indexaward.dk
Who are CIID?
Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design(CIID) is a new initiative happening inDenmark. The aim is to create a high profiledesign institute that will encourage a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment– providing an international setting for newthinking in design and technology. Thestructure of the institute will incorporatean integrated plan of teaching, researchand consulting allowing the different areasto influence each other in their vision andphilosophy. The school and research labwill provide a platform for a strong academicprogram, innovative research projects andnew research models that interface withboth academia and industry.
For more information on CIID please visit:www.ciid.dk
Table ofcontents
The overall objective of INDEX: is to inspiredesigners, business and societies to unfoldthe human and commercial potential in‘Design to Improve Life’ in order to solvethe global challenges of mankind.
As part of the INDEX: 2007 events, CIID wasasked to run a three week summer campfor more than 30 students who had beeninvited from all over the world. The aim ofthe camp was to encourage user-centereddesign (UCD) and innovation methodologiesamong future generations of designers.Working in groups on a theme of GlobalChallenges and Intercultural Dialogue,participants gained understanding of howto identify a problem, how to generate andtest concepts, how to rapidly prototypesolutions and how to best communicatetheir final concepts to a relevant audience.
Through a ‘bottom up’ approach – usingindividuals as a starting point – studentsdeveloped new solutions for issues that willhave an impact on people all around theworld.
This year’s participants were a fantasticallymotivated group of young people – talentedand creative with a passion for using designas a tool for real world solutions. Thisdocumentation records the range ofactivities and projects undertakenthroughout the INDEX:CIID Summer Camp2007. Video and other digital media createdfor each of the projects is available on thesummer camp website:www.ciid.dk/summercamp
It was an amazing experience for everyoneinvolved. We hope you enjoy the results.
Introduction
Global Challenges
& Intercultural Dialogue
Global challenges are daunting because oftheir scale, yet they influence us all withoutexception. Climate change, epidemics,sustainable development, natural disastersand energy resources – these are challengesthat we are all aware of. It is a commonbelief that solutions to these challengesshould be formulated at internationalsummits and implemented at governmentallevel but at the INDEX:CIID Summer Campwe decided to look at both the macro andmicro scale, starting at the role of theindividual.
The aim of the camp was to provide aplatform for freedom of expression. Eachparticipant has experience of their ownculture’s attitude towards global challengesand we encouraged knowledge exchangewith the other participants from othercultures. The objective was to createinspiring and real solutions for problemsthat could be solved by opening anintercultural dialogue – learning from thosethat do not see the world in the same wayin order to gain a higher level ofunderstanding.
According to the UNESCO definition,intercultural dialogue is built on an effortto understand the differences andmultiplicity of the world in which we live.These differences of opinion, viewpoint, andvalues exist not only between cultures butalso within each individual culture. Aneffective dialogue is an enriching andopening interaction which encourages therespectful sharing of ideas and anexploration of the different thought-processes through which the world isperceived and understood. This interactionemphasises opportunities for broader anddeeper knowledge.
As a process, intercultural dialogueencourages an identification of the
boundaries that define individuals, and thenasks them to relate across those boundariesand even to call them into question.
Usually, when talking about interculturaldialogue there is a tendency to think of aone-way movement of aid and knowledgefrom the first to the third world. However,the third world may have a serious lack ofeconomic means, but they hold a rich pondof cultural values. These values and theirdiversity could very well represent a hugepotential of inspiration when innovatingsolutions on a larger scale. Interculturaldialogue is not exclusive to a conversationbetween the first and third worlds - it canalso be a knowledge exchange betweencountries of a similar wealth with differentattitudes and approaches to global issues.
There were 20 countries represented in thesummer camp which invoked interestingconversation and comparisons about manydifferent topics.
Theme
Approach
Nobody can single-handedly change theworld for the better in three weeks but wemade an attempt to harness design thinking,at both the strategic and implementationlevels, creating valuable solutions that aresustainable and would improve quality oflife. These solutions may not necessarilyduplicate across cultures, but could havethe ability to adapt and transform to suitregional needs.
Design is equally about creating radicalsolutions to massive problems as much asit is about improving existing solutions.Design has the power to change people’slives and have a humanitarian impact. Thesolutions conceived in the summer campemerged from using design thinking as acatalyst. This required collaborative and
cross-disciplinary effort in order to makevaluable solutions that are pragmatic,enabling them to act as agents for change.
Participants were asked to consider theeconomics and feasibility of their solutionsand the context of use. Ideas are not valuableif they are not consciously designed to beaccessible both economically and logistically.They were also asked to maximise localresources and skills to create and recyclethe final outcome.
We tried to understand global challengesin relation to individuals, creating solutionsfrom a bottom up perspective. The bigchallenge was to envision how this bottomup approach could be harnessed on a largerscale and to think about how policy andaction at a macro level can be shaped.
Processand Approach
Facts & Trends Key Insights Synthesis of data
AnalysisUser ObservationKey Data Collection
Potential solutions Proof of concept Specification Hand over process
Experience
Prototype
Service
BlueprintStake Holders
Validate Concepts
Concepts
Creating Sub Themes
In the first week of the summer camp weco-created four clusters of thinking thatacted like sub themes to the umbrella topicof global challenges:
- Awareness to Action,- Design for Society- Energy- Globalisation
The purpose researching under these subthemes was to help the participants focustheir efforts and also align their thinking withtheir peers. This also enabled the collectionof shared resources, references and casestudies. Importantly it also gave participantsenough time to get to know each other whichhelped when it came to the project groupformation at the start of week two.
Team Work
Participants divided themselves in to projectteams of 4/5 people to work on proposalsof their choice for the remaining two weeks.
There was a broad range of proposals whichmade the studio a lively and inspirationalenvironment to work in. Teams built brandidentities for themselves and were incrediblymotivated by each other.
Communication
The final projects were informed andinspired by an intercultural dialogue, whichis connected to globalisation and rapidlyemerging forms of communicationtechnologies. One of the design challengeswas to figure out how to orchestrateindividual efforts to become more powerfulbecause of the collective effort of thousandsof individuals. The INDEX:CIID SummerCamp provided broad but inspiring briefsand took participants though the processof generating ideas, concepts andprototypes. But, designers, business peopleand innovators come up with good ideas allthe time, so how can we ensure that thesesolutions are implemented correctly with along-term vision?
Communication is imperative andparticipants were expected to think aboutthe involvement of stakeholders, decisionmakers and policy makers who would beessential to the implementation of theirconcept in the real world. We hope that theproject teams will continue working on theirideas and take them to the next level.
The summer camp participants startedworking before they even arrived inCopenhagen. They were asked to completea number of research tasks to present totheir peers on day one of the camp. It wasimportant for us to gain insight in to theeveryday lives of each individual in order tounderstand who they are and where theycome from. This research provided us witha rich collection of viewpoints and alternativefutures from people at different life-stagesfrom all around the world.
On the afternoon of day one of the camp,each participant was allocated just 4minutes to present themselves and theirresearch findings. This was a fantastic wayto break the ice and launch the workshop.
The unanimous feeling was that theparticipants knew each other better andeven though it was not deep research, thefindings offered a glimpse in to the verydifferent lives of the people they would bespending the next three weeks working with.
Initial Research
initial research brief
There are two fundamental facts of life: we are born and we will die. In between, our livesare made up of a series of stages. Our life-experiences, our beliefs, our dreams and ourculture influence who we are, the communities we live in and the world to which webelong. Our age and our life-stage influence the way we think and our vision for whatcould improve our lives. Metaphorically speaking our worlds are getting smaller whichmeans that global challenges and inter-cultural dialogue are increasing factors in all ofour lives. New opportunities and solutions can arise through knowledge sharing and opencommunication.
Task 1: Critical Everyday
For this task participants were asked to become more aware of what makes up theireveryday lives by keeping a visual diary: photographing and sketching objects, situations,people, behaviours, services or environments which they encountered. They were askedto observe everyday activities and surroundings with a critical perspective. For example,there may be many things that usually go unnoticed but to people from other culturesmay appear out of the ordinary: catching a bus, shopping for groceries, checking bankaccounts, meeting up with friends. This task could be completed over a period of timeor alternatively done intensely in one particular day.
task 2: text-bytes of the future
We asked the participants to approach eight people - each (if possible) from a differentgeneration i.e. teens, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 years old - and ask them one question:"What is your vision for your future?" These may be people that were already known,family, friends, neighbours - or strangers that they met in the street. The participantswere asked to record the answers, photograph the person and translate the quotes.
task 3: your own vision of your future
Lastly, the participants were asked to take a photograph of themselves with one A4 sheetof paper where they had written their vision for their future.
After the first week of initial research andbrainstorming, the summer campparticipants had a much clearer idea ofwhich topic they would like to focus on. Theydivided themselves in to seven multi-culturaland multi-disciplinary project teams wherethey worked together to develop concepts.The teams worked on topics ranging from;harnessing the kinetic energy produced bythe human body’s movements andtransforming this in to electric energy, to;addressing the conditions of the lives of the
elderly in order to connect them with theirloved ones.
On the final day of the workshop teamspresented their final projects to a variedaudience. As you will see on the followingpages, the results were very impressive.You can watch video and download otherdigital media for each project on thesummer camp website
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/projects.html
Projects
Projects
David Salazar Masip (Spain), Julie Phanstiel (US), Marie Hugsted (Denmark),Martijn The (The Netherlands), Sarasiff Kjærgård (Denmark)
Old Dear
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p1.html
context
By addressing the conditions of the lives ofthe elderly, Old Dear connects the elderlywith their loved ones. The aim of this projectis to develop adapters between connectivetools (internet telephony, SMS, chat etc.)and the ones the elderly use (TV, phone,snail mail). Simplified devices for the elderlyand increased convenience for connectivetechnology will facilitate more frequent andbetter quality interactions. The aim is toincrease the presence of family and friendsin the lives of the elderly. There will beparallel services offered, some targetedtoward us as primary users and sometoward the elderly.
Main tenets of our design remainedconsistent throughout our process: that theproduct work with existing technology, thecontent should be presented in a foolproofway to the elderly, and that these productsshould increase convenience, and thereforeuse, among standard technology users.
project ideas
Hello Grandma ;-) is a service that convertstexts or emails to an easily readable oversizepostcard and delivers them to the door ofthe recipient. The second product, My Story,is a life documentation service. An assistantfrom “Old Dear” comes to Grandma’s homeand helps her to scan her pictures andrecord stories about them. They are thenimmediately packaged onto a DVD withmusic and a zoom function. Poor sightedGrandma and her friends and family canthen see the pictures in clearer detail andthe images are preserved digitally, creatinga durable legacy.
process
These products were researched anddeveloped through 5 visits to BetaniaNursing home in Frederiksberg, where weprototyped and tested our concepts withthe residents and employees. We workedmainly with Henny, who lives in the nursinghome and has particular trouble with sight.Our original motivation, to fosterintergenerational relationships, remainedintact. However, through conversationalinterviews we discovered exactly what kindof relationships matter to the elderly. Theelderly want to have better connections withthe people they already know and love andare not as interested in meeting new friends.They said that they wanted pen pals, or newfriends locally and from around the world,however these needs are secondary to theprimary desire to connect with their families.
next steps
Implementing these services would not bedifficult and because they could be expandedto a larger market, it would also be profitable.Major stakeholders in “Hello Grandma ;-)”could be cell phone companies or the postalservice, who would profit from offering thisadditional service to the suite of servicesthey already offer. Implementation wouldinvolve refining the look and branding of theservice, writing the code for this applicationand licensing the idea and application to oneof the above services. The postcard couldalso be offered to fully-sighted people whoprefer the romance of print mail.
My Story could be offered alone or inconjunction with companies that alreadyoffer archival services but might want toexpand their services to a new customer.The swelling population of senior citizens,and the diminishing need for storing paperfiles, indicates a demand and a likely supplier.We would also need to do market studies todetermine if people are willing to pay enoughper visit to make My Story feasible. If not,this service could be offered part of a culturalinitiative or health initiative within in the EU.
In conclusion, these services are poised tochange the way that old peoplecommunicate with us, and we with them.Old Dear will allow us to involve our elderlyfriends and family members in a broaderspectrum of our everyday lives without ourinconvenience or their discomfort.
“Hello Grandma ;-)” will enablemaintenance of family bonds acrossdistances, decreasing loneliness andisolation of elders as well as increasing ourfeelings of being mentored and loved. MyStory will also help to preserve knowledgeand stories that might otherwise be lostand which can be of use to families,researchers and ethnographers.Implementation of these services is feasiblesimply, and there is much to be gained fromtheir realisation.
learnings
Throughout the process, we proposed severalsolutions. "The Window" a flat-screenintegrated in to a wall or stand alone frameallows the elderly people to access standardcommunication technology in a user-friendlymanner. Possible functions included asimplified video-phone, and a media receiverwith a zooming function that allows theelderly to see that media. Another attemptwas a life documentation service thatincluded a physical book. Throughnumerous rounds of testing on our favoriteold lady, Henny, we learned what productswere cognitively overwhelming and whichhit a sweet spot technologically betweenmagic and incomprehension/fear. We thenrefined and combined our ideas into “HelloGrandma ;-)” and My Story, which bothreceived the Henny stamp of approval.
Dima Masoud (Canada/Jordan), Emerson Velazquez (US/Guatamala),Mikkel Proschowsky (Denmark), Noor Ali (Jordan), Robyn Penhall (South Africa)
Giflerne
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p2.html
context
3rd Party is an application that can be usedin existing online communities like Facebookand Myspace. The application is aimed athelping foreigners integrate into their newsurroundings. It allows the user to establishcommunication with a friend of an existingfriend. We found that during relocation andtravel, people often found themselvesdisoriented and in need of guidance unlessthere was an existing connection beforehand.
project idea
As people generally do not want to connectto strangers, this third party networkingcreates more personal and safe connectionsthrough your existing friends. A person musthave registered with an online communityin order to use the third party application.When they are part of the online community,the user has the option to add the thirdparty application. They need to specify wherethey live and the languages they speak.When the user logs on to their account aworld map is provided. Here the user selectsthe place they are relocating to by simplyclicking on the location on the map. Theapplication then zooms in to the countryselected and the user is provided with allthe contact possibilities through theirexisting friends. After this step the usermay specify the exact city they are travelingto and the application automatically filtersall the third party possibilities, displayingonly those in the specified city. When theuser has selected a third party they arecomfortable with a message is sent to themasking if they accept your request for help.
process
The Giflerne group was formed around acommon interest of connecting people fromdifferent cultures. We began by brain-storminga series of concepts aimed at children of 6-11 years as a way to educate them about othercultures, facilitating interaction betweenparent, child and object. One of these conceptswas the Hybrid Human, a Rubix-cube-typetoy that would create a hybrid figure by movingthe faces. However, we decided not to focussolely on children because we did not wantto limit our design parameters. The secondidea involved sending out an object to astranger in another part of the world, withthe intention of the receiver personallyreturning the object (e.g. diary or meal) to thesender. At this point we realised that the topicwas too broad. We began focusing ondeveloping concepts that would feed people’scultural curiosity while eliminating negativeperceptions between different cultures anddeveloping a sense of belonging. The value tothe user would be expanding their socialnetworks and travel possibilities. To test outour assumptions we interviewed people abouttheir travels, interactions with other culturesand some of the difficulties they faced whenin a foreign country.
We concluded that people were not interestedin interacting with random strangers, andthat financial constraints of travel,communication and mobility were the biggesthindrance for many people.
From our research, we decided the dominanttarget group was immigrants and foreigners. After more focused interviews about personalexperiences and difficulties in a foreigncountry, it was clear our results were divided.The positive feedback was from people whohad existing friend and family connections inthe country, which helped them to adapt tothe culture more easily. Alternatively, thosewithout personal connections felt isolatedand disoriented due to language barriers andlack of social interaction. Establishingconnections prior to travel, whether for tourist
or immigration purposes, was theoverwhelming issue we felt could beaddressed with 3rd Party.
We established a 3rd Party email address andsent out mock invitations for our friends tohelp out another friend of ours who they didnot know, to test whether people would beopen to the concept. All the responses werehappy to help, which confirmed our intentionsthat the third party connections were moreappealing to people than connecting withstrangers, as opposed to the interviewresponses where not one person wanted tomeet a stranger online.
next steps
Our group became very excited about ourfinal concept, as it was something that wewould all personally use if it was availableonline. Because 3rd Party is connected to anexisting social network, it would be feasibleto implement in online communities suchas Facebook or Myspace. Therefore, we areplanning to find someone to implement the3rd Party concept.
We feel we have really benefited from thisexperience and would like to arrange areunion in the future, possibly in a differentcontext. Perhaps by then some of the otherINDEX:CIID Summer Camp final projectswould have further materialised and existas more than just concepts.
learnings
Working with people from different disciplinesand cultural perspectives was challenging andoften conflicting, but the overall results usuallyended up being more comprehensive and clear.Our different perspectives allowed us to bounceideas off each other and generate conceptsthat we would not have thought of on ourown. From our research, we realised that theprocess is just as, if not more, important thanthe end result. Throughout the designdevelopment process, our greatest challengewas that our assumptions were often provedwrong by our user research. We found it difficultto keep in mind the user's needs and not ourown design thinking. It was difficult to deal withglobal challenges when we could only assesslocal information. We could not design for acontext that was removed from our currentlocation, as our research showed that weneeded to interact with the users in order toget a accurate understanding of the problemsthey faced. Finally, we learnt that wine,chocolate and cinnabuns (giflerne) do in factenhance the creative process!
Anders Thogersen (Denmark), Freddie Eksteen (South Africa),Justin Johnsen (US), Nayla Almulla (Qatar)
Team Squat
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p3.html
context
This project is for the fast growing globalpopulation living in squatter cities all overthe world where they lack basic humanrights. It is for the 1.1 billion people whodon’t have access to water & the 2.6 billionwho do not have access to adequatesanitation. It is for the upcoming 2 billionindividuals who will find themselves in asimilar position. In a new world that isunfolding rapidly and strongly, someone needsto take action and through this project we dareto hope that the two ends of the world willcollaborate to explore the possibility of abetter life for all.
project idea
The project aims to help people throughcreating a new method in the way user-centered design is approached. Through it,we hope that design shifts from being aboutthe designer to being about the people. Thisproject does not seek to find the design, butrather to find the appropriate approach.Often, people have tried to bring design to thosein need but yet something always seems tobe missing. It is either not right, not possibleto implement or short lived. The followingproject is a step towards achieving a newwave in design, a lasting one we look forwardto with great optimism.
It is a bottom up system where people whomatter are in charge. By providing an onlineopen-source platform the system aims tocreate a constant flow of knowledge betweenthe people, the designer and anyone whohas an interest to better the world.
So how does this work? The intention is forsquatters to share their situation, problems,and solutions to the rest of the world. Thisinformation will be documented in adatabase along with existing solutions forproblems, the process behind them, andwhy they do work or do not work in specificareas. International and local designersthen use this platform to ground theirsolutions in reality and the practicality oflife instead of false assumptions and thenaiveté of the uninformed.
An important part of this system is thefeedback loop that will emerge as a resultof people implementing the designs,modifying them, and critiquing them. Bydesign, we include products, services,systems, and ideas. This will reduce well-meaning but ineffective projects from beingimplemented in environments that cannotsupport the design. Moreover, it willencourage the effective approaches and addnew spirit to already innovative people.
process
The road leading to this point was quite longand bumpy. The reason is that as youngdesigners, we tend to want to come up withthe design that would save the world, whichis completely inappropriate in this situation.We were four students working inCopenhagen trying to solve third worldissues, something we have neverexperienced. It was hard trying to overcomeour own ego and shortsightedness. Whenwe realised our error, it was all aboutplanning and developing.
As we started to explore the issues ofsquatter cities, problems started to unfold.
The first step was to look at existing solutions.It was amazing to see the amount of user-centered design out there. However, eachone had something missing: designs wereout of context, arrogant and eventually lednowhere, and the research was all aboutstatistics and shallow information, ratherthan details about everyday life that wouldhelp in coming up with an appropriatedesign. Also, every situation is different;therefore, what works for one place doesnot necessarily work for the other. Fromthis line of thought, the idea of the wholesystem approach emerged.
We started out by looking at how the flowof the information would happen, and howthe system would hold itself afloat. We cameup with scenarios as to how this might workand then prototyped. The database is a bigpart of the project so we mapped it out:content, functions and services. We put allthe pieces together, and the projectsolidified. The next step was to look at howthe whole system would be maintained: thebusiness plan.
next steps
We need a dedicated group of people to getthe whole project up & running: director,designer, researcher, web designer/ main-tainer, on location/off location humanresources and a marketing director. Wewould then need to choose a neighborhoodwithin a specific squatter city to makeconnections with the people andorganisations there in order to do a feasibilitystudy. By doing this we would find out howpeople react to it and what needs to beadjusted or deleted. This would lead to a fully-fledged business plan with the exact cost ofthe whole system. Then we would need tofind a sponsor. With funding in place wewould set up the web-page and startcollecting the initial research about pre-existing designs. This informationalstructure would grow over time creating anextensive online reference for solutions toglobal challenges.
learnings
It is easy to drift away from the main goalof helping people and into the realm ofegocentricity. It is hard to design for asituation that one has never been throughor even witnessed. It is impossible to comeup with one solution fit for all. It is unrealisticto try and force foreign objects and ideasonto people who do not know you or sharethe same mindset. Helping people can onlybe done when they decide that they want tohelp themselves and take action. What wecan do as designers is find the means towork with them instead of for them.
As an added value, we learned how to worktogether in a group of multi-cultural peoplewith different educational backgrounds. Itwas amazing to go through the process ofdesign with everyone approaching theproblem in different ways. We gained a lotof exposure to different viewpoints andworking techniques.
Not only did the work matter, but we alsogot to meet some incredible people, learnabout their culture and teach them aboutours. It was a great mix of hard work andsolid fun.
Alejandro Rey-Stolle (Spain), Jeongeun Kim (South Korea),Jihyun Park (South Korea), Yeonoo Shin (South Korea)
4:Sight
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p5.html
context
Keeping memories for blind people in anemotional way
From very early on in the summer camp wedecided that we would like to designsomething for blind people. This is a hugeglobal issue as there are over 40 million blindpeople worldwide. Looking at abilities, feelings,surroundings and needs, and by comparingblind and non-blind people our idea was todesign a product & service for blind people,with blind people, about blind people.
For inspiration we went to "Dialogue in theDark", an exhibition at Copenhagen’sExperimentarium where in total darknesswe experienced and attempted tounderstand our surroundings using ourother senses. The exhibition was done inco-operation with the Danish Associationof the Blind, the Institute for the Blind &Partially Sighted in Denmark and the DanishSociety for Cerebral Palsy.
At the exhibition we found ourselves in aroom from which all light had beenexcluded. We were in intense darkness, withonly a cane, our other senses and a blindhelper to guide us. Our roles were swappedfor a while, as the guide showed us aroundvarious environments we would findourselves in on a daily basis. The trip endedin a café, where we could buy beveragesand talk to our guide – still enveloped incomplete darkness. Without our sense ofsight, we were obliged to make use of ourother senses. For a brief time we learnt tonavigate in the world of the blind and howthey ‘see’.
project idea
‘People just want a simple device that’seasy to use and friendly.’Steve Tyler, RNIB technology specialist
We decided to design concepts for blindpeople in the context of memory and howwe remember things. Memory can befactual or emotional and ideally we wanteda device that could remember in both ways.We came up with a range of concepts, froman album for the blind, to a way ofexperiencing darkness on the web. We werealso aware that whatever we design shouldalso be relevant to sighted people as theseconcepts should be able to enhance the lifeeveryone. The philosophy behind this wasto encourage interaction between those thatcan see with their eyes and those who seethe world in a very different way.
Our final concept was a small sound andscent recording device that can be stuck onto objects around the home and office.Flexing the small disc activates therecording facility and by pressing the buttonin the centre you can replay the message.These devices are subtle enough to beplaced in any environment and simpleenough in terms of interaction to be usedby both blind and fully sighted people of anyage. The device would be formed fromsilicone so it is durable enough to be placedalmost anywhere. New advances in textiledesign mean it is possible to collect a scentand store it for a limited amount of time.We imagine a material like this could beframed by the silicone disc, allowing you torecall smell as well as audio memory.
process
After visiting the Dialogue in the Darkexhibition we spent a lot of time brainstormingabout what it means to be blind. We wereaware that there was a huge differencebetween people who were born blind andthose who lost their sight later in life.
To get some genuine insight in to what itmeans to be blind we interviewed Sun-kyung, a 32 year-old pianist from SouthKorea, who had been blind since birth andMarian form Denmark, who lost her sightwhen she was a child.
Talking to blind people and putting theirinsights in to the context of urban design,memory, society and interaction, genuinelyhelped us realise the needs of blind peoplearound the world. Our early brainstormingled us to think about painting with scent, apresent for the senses and games for blindpeople. We also researched relevanttechnologies such as barcoding which isused to store information. In the end wedecided to combine a number of these areasto explore before deciding our final concept.
learnings
For us the most difficult aspect of thisproject was communication. Three of us arefrom Korea and the other from the CanaryIslands. We learned to be patient and listento one another’s ideas. We all had differentskills ranging from industrial design tovisual communication design and wediscovered that we could learn from eachother and our corresponding culturalbackgrounds. As a team, we had a greatexperience at the summer camp.
Floor Borgonjen (The Netherlands), Malene Bolvig Nielsen (Denmark),Nicola Plaisant (Italy), Phoebe Liu (Taiwan)
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p4.html
Ding Dong
context
Within the scope of global challenges ourperception is that the world is becomingsmaller. International information andcommunication across borders is withinour reach at the click on the mouse. UAE,Australia & Canada are just a flight away.However, we seem to have forgotten asimple thing: talking to our neighbours.Why are we opening up to the outer worldbut closing ourselves to our immediate &daily environment?
Today, we live door to door with people fromdifferent cultures, ages and socialbackgrounds. We can choose to see this asa unique opportunity to inspire and learnfrom each other, create a tolerance, curiosityand understanding for each other that ismore and more needed in the global village.
project idea
Our vision is to provide neighbours in abuilding block with a tool that can connectthem by stating a common goal. This goalprovides a sustainable solution to a globalchallenge: energy consumption. Bymonitoring sustainable energy consumption,neighbours can save money and commonexpenses by cooperating to achieve thisgoal. Initiating conversations and mutualunderstanding will be easier if theneighbours have something to share andtalk about.The proposal is a product/service system,offered by the local energy company to theneighbours living together in a buildingblock. Instead of the energy companiesstating what is a low, middle or high usageof energy, together with the governmentthey would state a sustainable usage ofenergy. This would be a new standard thatnormal people can understand. The newstandard is stated as ”Green”.
The system would be installed in anapartment building, where indicators bothoutside the house, inside the common areaand in the individual apartments, give anindication of the energy usage not byshowing kW, but by a colour system anduse of metaphors that people can relate to.This system will indicate to the people livingin the apartment and also to the wholeneighborhood, if their building issustainable.
The idea is that the energy companies wouldlaunch a Green Plus challenge. Eachapartment building can apply for the GreenPlus challenge, by setting a common goalto achieve the Green Plus standard. If thebuilding achieves the Green Plus standard(awarded every quarter), they then receivea reward from the energy company such asfree trash disposal that the apartmentowners would normally pay for.
Every household would pay their energy billin advance instead of afterwards. The
amount of money is always a conto amount:an average calculation of last year’s usage.The energy company would invest theadvanced money in the best way possibleto gain interest and increase the amount ofmoney. This finances the Green Plus awardsand is lucrative for the energy companies.If a household and a building uses lessenergy, they will receive money back at theend of the year, meaning the energycompany will receive interest on their clientsmoney until the end of the year.
process
The proposal for the product/service systemwas the result of a research on people livingin Copenhagen. We observed andinterviewed 7 people (4 women and 3 men)in the neighborhood of Østerbro andNørrebro.
We were particularly interested in knowingpeople’s attitude toward their neighboursand neighbourhoods. We wanted to discoverwhat type of interaction people have withtheir neighbours and how they feel aboutit. According to the interviews andobservations, we concluded that difficultiesin initiating conversations and personalperception about having nothing in commonwith neighbours are the two main reasonsthat hinder the relationship and keep it fromdeveloping beyond greetings. However,occasions like social events and helpingeach other are what really bring peopletogether.
Brainstorming in staircases of buildingswas done to examine how the architecturalelements in the building could be integratedin our service. By being on-site we couldobserve how people act and interact in thebuildings.
We also tested another of our conceptswhich was conceived to provide a semi-formalised way to ask for help fromneighbours. We posted messages in thebuilding and recorded how people reactedto them. We found that it is still not easy forpeople to initiate connections or to offerhelp if it’s not an emergency. Even if thecommunication is built through helping,people still need a common goal or sharedinterests for further engagement. As aresult, we decided that connectivity can beenhanced through shared responsibility.
next steps
Regarding global challenges, we consideredaspects of natural, social and individualimbalance. Within our concept, all theseelements were taken into account. Savingenergy is the focus point, and providingneighbours with a shared goal functions asa way to connect people. By asking peopleto cooperate in the neighborhood, thebarrier to talk with various people is lowered,encouraging more tolerance.
learnings
Be with the people you design for andexperience what they experience! That wasthe most important thing we learned fromthis process.
We come from different backgrounds andcultures, and we all have our ownassumptions about the relationship betweenneighbours. Talking to people opened oureyes and helped us understand the situationwithin the specific context. People areemotional and unexpected so by observingthem in their own environment, we learneda lot on how they cope with daily situationsin different ways.
By performing the tasks ourselves, weunderstood what it is like in their situation.This approach not only helped us createsolutions that better fits the needs of people,but also helps to reach a consensus amongteam members very easily.
It is also very important to design thingsthat can be integrated in peoples daily liveseasily, rather than designing something thatrequires them to do something verydifferent. Even if we want to make radicalchange, the design solution has to beincremental so that people can adapt to it.Apart from the design aspect, we learneda lot from working with people from differentbackgrounds and cultures. We have a lot ofassumptions based on our culture andexperience when we talk about ideas andcreate design solutions. Misunderstandingand arguments can arise from that. It isbetter to assume good intentions and taketime to understand each other.
The best reward of the INDEX:CIID SummerCamp was not only about understandingglobal challenges from differentperspectives, but also about gettinginspiration and learning how to resolveissues through a diverse and multi-disciplinary environment. We believe thatwill be the future role for the designer.
Camilla Masala (Italy), Isabel Inés Casasnovas (Spain), Maria Foverskov (Denmark),Mie Kongstad Søgaard (Denmark), Trine Roed (Denmark)
PowerBank
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p6.html
context
The municipality of Copenhagen has set upa vision for 2015 to make the city the Eco-Metropole of the world. With that vision inmind a number of goals have been set up,including a demand for sustainablebehaviour from the citizens. Our aim is toteach young Danish boys (10-13 yrs.) apositive attitude about sustainable energyconsumption. Teenagers pollute 20% morethan others and boys are less aware thangirls, so we wanted to address this targetgroup before they grow up.
project idea
Effectricity is a game that teaches 10-13year olds about the effects of their ownenergy consumption. The goal for the projectis not only about creating awareness on thissubject but also to teach environmentallyfriendly behaviour.
The game is played both in the virtual andthe real world. Touch points for the gameare a physical bracelet with pulse meter,RFID tags, Bluetooth, a cell phone and awebpage.
The goal of this project is to stop Dr. X fromdestroying the world with his polluting armywhich consists of oil and coal power plantsand energy consuming products. To fightDr. X the players have to generate energyin the real world by being physically active.The player creates a profile on the web,where he can customise a figure andprogress in to the game.
The generated energy is being measuredby a pulse meter in the bracelet andconverted into points in the virtual game.These points can be used to createsustainable energy sources, like windmills.The most efficient way to win the game isto work together in groups, both virtuallyand in real life.
Aside from creating awareness and teachingenvironmentally friendly behaviour, theconcept also fights obesity and encouragesface-to-face social interaction. Finally theplayer should also influence the parent’sbehaviour.
process
Our process looked like this:
Before the PowerPlay girls came together,in the first week of the summer camp wehad inspirational talks about how to createmassive change and were advised on howto do research on people. We brainstormed,talked and formed research groups. ThePowerPlay girls were in two different groups:Awareness to Action and Globalisation.Through a shard interest we formed ourproject team. During the second week ofthe camp we concentrated on conceptgeneration and scenario building. Ourresearch continued by interviewing peopleon the streets of Copenhagen andbrainstorming in the studio.
The PowerPlay girls were interested in manyissues, most adherent were 'loser' centereddesign, the city of Copenhagen, bikes, youngpeople and a concept of an energy bankwith eco-behaviour as currency.
The rest of the week involved intensiveexperience prototyping and continuation ofconcept generation. Our focus narroweddown to 10-13 year old boys. We invited threeboys to Experimentarium (a Danisheducational amusement place) to observethem play. In the final phase the energybank transformed to an energy game butusing sustainable energy behaviour ascurrency.
next steps
The project is based on two different levels.In the first one, kids win points by generatingenergy. In the second one they can gainpoints by adopting sustainable behaviourtowards energy consumption. This is aconcrete way to teach kids about living asustainable life style. The first level hasalready been prototyped so designing thesecond level would be the next step of theproject. It is important to understand theworking system of the second level both inthe real and in virtual worlds. It is alsonecessary to define the technology toconvert this sustainable behavior in to pointsfor the game.
PowerPlay should be piloted in theCopenhagen municipality before introducingit gradually to a wider context. The goal isto create a platform that starting locallycould become a global game involving kidsfrom different countries.
learninggs
The summer camp offered a lot ofchallenges, but also a lot of fun! Meetingpeople from other cultures with a differentway of life has been very inspiring and usefulto open our mindset, encouraging us tothink of alternative ways to do things.Furthermore the summer camp has taughtus that life is big and beautiful.
Clara Christensen (Denmark), Francesco Fraioli (Italy),Leungo Tumedi (Botswana), Tobias Toft (Denmark)
AAAA
http://www.ciid.dk/summercamp/p7.html
context
The developed world consumes themajority of the world’s energy resources.This results in effects such as globalwarming, air pollution, damage toecosystems and the endangerment of lifein general. Our philosophy aims towardsalternative means of generating power inan eco-friendly way through physicalmovement of the human body.
project idea
Imagine if you could use your bodymovement to generate energy and poweryour personal devices such as your iPod,remote control and mobile phone. Our ideafocuses on harnessing the kinetic energyproduced by the human body’s movementsand transforming this in to electric energywhich could then be used to power electricdevices. It is alredy possible to replacetraditional poisonous batteries with a powersource based on human movement. Lowpower devices such as remote controls,flashlights, and mp3-players could easilybe powered by the simple principle behindthe traditional bicycle dynamo, the shaker-flashlight or the crank-charger. On a microscale a few replacements wouldn’t mean alot, but if the majority of the developedworld’s users replaced their batteries withhuman powered devices it would definitelyhave a positive impact on the environment.The idea doesn’t stop here though. Imagineif you could harness the power that is beinglost in every door that is being opened andclosed, or if you could collect energy fromthe continuous flow of people through abusy metro-station. Door-based generatorsin an apartment block could power thelighting in a hallway, saving money andraising awareness about sustainability andsustainable products.
process
The project started out at a very theoreticallevel concentrating on alternative ways ofharvesting energy from the human body. Wethen looked at current research that wasbeing done around this area such aspiezoelectrics, thermocouplers, and othernew inventions. Half way through theresearch phase we decided to build onalready existing technologies, which focusedon more abundant energy: kinetic energy,using the well-known induction-principlesto generate power, like in both small & large-scale generators ranging from the smallestdynamos to steam powered turbines.
We prototyped a lamp which was poweredby a foot pedal and decided to communicateour other concepts through video. This gaveus the ability to explain our concepts to awide audience in a very clear and conciseway. We wanted to have a powerful impact,making people really think about thepotential of generating energy like this. Itwas important to communicate the fact thatsmall interventions done by millions ofindividuals can have a massive impact onthe environment.
next steps
The next step would be to find interestedorganisations that would be willing to joinus in the project. The project is not onlyabout manufacturing a range of humanpowered products, but also about raisingawareness through untraditionalcampaigns. Besides sending the messageabout taking action to the users, it wouldalso make designers and decision-makersaware about the potential in manufacturingsustainable products.
learnings
As international students we found that theonly difference we have is where we are fromand that as individuals we all possess similarlikes, dislikes and interests. Working in aninterdisciplinary team has been beneficialto us all, as it has opened our eyes to howdesigners with different cultural andeducational backgrounds perceive the world.Last but not least we have extended oursocial and professional networks which willdefinitely be of great value to us later on.
Participants
Alejandro Rey-Stolle Naveira
25
Spain (Canary Islands)
I study industrial Design at the
University Jaume I (Valencia) where
I’m currently finishing my final
project. This is a bench of
accessible urban furniture. I also
study music (percussion) but for
me it’s a hobby. I am a very open
person and I like to meet people
who have different ways of looking
at life. I like to travel and to know
other cultures. My passions are
design, music and body-boarding.
Regarding design, I like to use
pencils & paper to express the
ideas I’m thinking about.
I wanted to have the opportunity
to get to know students from other
countries who are feeling
restlessness regarding design
today. I believe that ideas, work
methods and knowledge from
other countries, will extend my
vision. I hope I managed to
contribute and to be of aid to my
companions at the summer camp.
I also hope that I was an
ambassador for Spanish design. I
consider that environmental
impact is something that concerns
us all and this is the reason why I
hope that we provide appropriate
solutions for it.
Anders Thøgersen
20
Denmark
I finished high school in 2005 and
studied at Krabbesholm in the fall
of 2005. I then enrolled at DTU (The
Technical University of Denmark)
in January 2006 before being
accepted at The Danish School of
Design, where I’m currently
developing my skills as a industrial
designer.
I enjoy generating ideas and
intelligent solutions in collaboration
with talented young individuals and
exploring designs potential as a
tool that can work across different
disciplines. I am all in favor of
improving peoples lives and change
this world for the better.
The INDEX:CIID Summer Camp
has been a great experience.
Having the pleasure of working in
a group with such diverse
nationalities is indescribable. It
has been very giving and
enjoyable!
Camilla Masala
26
Italy
I was born in Genoa but I live in
Milan. I studied Industrial Design
at the Polytechnic of Milan,
specialising in Service Design. I
have experience in projects about
sustainable development and social
services. I’m sensitive to
environmental topics and my wish
is to design for people and the
environment. I love gardening and
I’m an active member of an
animalist organisation.
I was very interested in the
summer camp topic because it is
the field I would like to work in.
Above all I wanted to meet people
from countries where the attention
to global challenges is higher than
in mine. In this way the camp
represented a chance to exchange
experiences and knowledge. It was
an important opportunity to make
people aware of global challenges.
I learnt a lot.
Emerson Velazquez
26
US/Guatemala
Born in Guatemala City, I
immigrated to the U.S. with my
mother at the age of 3, settling in
Long Beach, California. My
attraction to design and visual
storytelling eventually led me to
enroll at the graphic design
department at Art Center College
of Design (Pasadena), where I am
currently working on my
undergraduate degree. I am the
first in my family to attend college.
My inspiration for designing comes
from my life experiences. I believe
that design can be most effective
when one is able to relate on a
personal level.
The idea of being able to exchange
thoughts with people from other
parts of the world is very
intriguing. The summer camp was
a great opportunity to compare the
similarities, and differences in
point of views with people who
share an interest in design. My
hope is that we all gained from
this experience, and that it will
encourage creative and personal
growth.
Floor Borgonjen
24
The Netherlands
I am currently studying Design for
Interaction (Msc.) at Delft University
of Technology. Curiosity is the
driving force behind my work and
lifestyle. I love to explore the world
around me, both in an objective
way as a researcher and in an
active, subjective way when
participating in ‘life’.
Diving into different societies and
cultures is one of the affects of my
curiosity. I love to travel and meet
other people, learn from their
visions and dreams. At the
summer camp I was amazed by
everyone’s enthusiasm from the
very first moment we met and the
intensity in which we were
connecting with each other during
the three-week summer camp.
One of the most surprising things
I found out this during this project
is that working with people from
different cultures is not so difficult
compared to the fact that everyone
has a different background in
education. I had the opportunity
to use the skills I learned over the
past few years. Together we
created a mutual understanding
on the project.
Francesco Fraioli
23
Italy
I am currently studying for my
second degree in Visual and
Multimedia Design at IUAV-
University, Venice. I'm very
interested in visual communication
and new media and I'm focusing
my research on image and sound.
I collaborated on performances
aiming towards the interaction
between electronic music and
theatre. While working on those
projects I realised the potential of
software applications and have
implemented that knowledge in my
work on the Interaction design
courses at university.
Interaction design fascinates me:
I like the idea of helping people
minimise their problems by
designing solutions that allow a
much easier approach with
complicated technologies. I'm
looking forward to meeting other
people involved in this field and to
a reciprocal sharing of our
expertise.
Clara K. Christensen
25
Denmark
I am studying Industrial Design at
Denmark’s Designschool in
Copenhagen. I am very interested
in whatever weird theory I can get
my hands on and try to turn it into
something strategically useful for
problem solving. I love sci-fi,
especially if the authors actually
take inspiration from the present
and take it that one step further.
And don’t get me started on the
newest, coolest, gadgets that can
actually do some good!
My aim for this summer camp was
to develop my international skills.
Talking to someone from the other
side of the globe can be like
stepping into a new world and the
experience will always trigger
something new in a person. This
’new’ is what I wanted to try and
grasp – to see if I can shape it into
something worthy of passing on
to others.
David Salazar Masip
30
Spain (Madrid)
I started studying Interior Design
three years ago, though I’ve always
been interested on it. Before that,
I was an actor but that’s a very
difficult way of living in my country,
so I opened a new door that’s giving
me great moments of joy (and
some headaches too!). Designing
is a perfect mixture of technique
and art matters and I’m very
interested on developing myself in
both ways. There’s still a lot of work
to do.
I was excited about attending the
summer camp, traveling abroad
again, getting to know
Copenhagen, meeting new people
from different places, getting to
work on a bike... There were many,
many things that will made this
experience a great one. Focusing
on the workshop itself, I think the
most important thing was the
subject we focused on: improving
life and taking care of this planet.
Today’s designers, should be
taught in this way because it’s not
going to be a choice in the near
future.
Dima Masoud
19
Canada/Jordan
I am originally from Jordan but I
grew up in Ontario, Canada. About
five years ago, my family and I
moved to Qatar where I graduated
from high school. I am currently in
my junior year at Virginia
Commonwealth University where I
am double majoring in Interior and
Fashion Design. I decided to pursue
my studies in the design field
because I enjoy working with people
and I feel that this field will allow
me to connect and communicate
with others. I enjoy traveling and a
selection of different sports
including swimming, hiking and
basketball.
Before attending the summer
camp I was looking forward to
meeting new people and learning
from them and their experiences
as designers. I got the chance to
share my cultural background and
how this influences the way people
from my region approach world
scale problems. I believe that this
program helped me grow as a
designer and it was a place where
I learned to create change as an
individual. I also learned what I
can do as an individual to help
resolve some of the great global
challenges that people face on a
daily basis.
Frederick Eksteen
22
South Africa
I originally come from Cape Town,
South Africa but I’m currently
studying in Malmö, Sweden. During
my studies I have completed a
three-year course for my National
Diploma in Industrial Design and I
have just completed my first year
in the Interaction Design Masters
program in Malmö.
My focus for the summer camp
was to collaborate with people
from across the globe, interested
in innovative solutions for
problems we as society face on a
daily basis. For me there is a
solution to any problem through
design and it is just a matter of
research and development
through innovative thinking. My
aim was to network and
collaborate with other designers
on an international level to
produce a more sustainable way
of thinking to ensure a better,
more efficient future for
generations to come, by focusing
on user-centred design. Most
importantly I learnt how to
approach problems from other
directions.
Isabel Inés Casasnovas
34
Spain (Madrid)
‘Jack of all trades’, master of none:
entrepreneur, graphic designer,
web interaction designer, project
manager, lab organiser... I’m good
at people.
I have a Masters in Advertising and
PR. Since graduating, I have run
my own Graphic Design studio,
worked for a IT multinational as
GUI consultant and headed-up the
(tiny) UX department. In 2005 I
joined a web-native company to
create a whole Java app. through
user-centered-design.
Now, I freelance, and run away
from working schedules, looking
for what I really want to do. I love
Interaction Design but I need to
widen my limits: new media, new
people, new interaction scenarios...
new challenges. Sometimes I feel
I move backwards like a crab. Is
the next step learning to walk? :-)
I learn ‘by doing’ more than
reading, by listening more than
studying, by living more than
making plans. That’s what I gained
from the summer camp: learning,
doing, listening, living.
Jeongeun Kim
26
South Korea
I have a bachelor's degree,
majoring in computer science and
visual communication design and
now I'm majoring in a visual
communication design at the
Hong-Ik University graduate
school. I am especially interested
in web design and user-centred
interface design. I took a visual
communication design class last
year where I became interested in
user-centered-interface design. I
have a tremendous amount of
energy and love to be challenged.
I have participated in a UNESCO
work-camp in Japan and various
other workshops and internships
around the country.
This summer camp was a great
opportunity for me. Copenhagen
is fascinating because I hadn't
been to Europe before. I had a
deep cultural and social
experience by participating in this
workshop.
Julie Phanstiel
30
US
I have a BA in Art History from
Wellesley College and a BS
Candidate in Environmental Design
from Art Center College of Design
(Pasadena).
Following a lifelong wanderlust,
I’ve lived in the US Midwest, New
York, Boston, Mexico, San
Francisco, Bangkok, The
Netherlands, Berlin, and finally Los
Angeles. My course of study in
theory and culture has prepared
me to focus on content driven
design in the environmental design
program at Art Center where I’ve
worked on exhibitions about Los
Angeles and Berlin, a full-scale
prototype of sustainable modular
housing, and furniture with a
“memory” of place and music.
My goals for the INDEX:CIID
Summer Camp were to learn
about how people across the globe
perceive the future and to deepen
my experience in intercultural
collaboration. Living and working
abroad is such an incredible
opportunity to understand the
world and your place in it.
Justin Johnsen
25
US
I grew up in south-central
Pennsylvania where I developed a
fondness for nature and an interest
in art. After high school, I attended
Harrisburg Area Community
College receiving an associate
degree in art & design. I moved to
Philadelphia where I have spent
the last four years studying
industrial design at Philadelphia
University. I have just completed
my undergraduate degree and have
begun an exploration of new
opportunities.
In this summer camp, while we
were increasing our knowledge of
the global issues, I met a whole
new network of people. Meeting
new people to share experiences
and knowledge with is a valuable
asset that I'm sure we can all
appreciate. I wanted to contribute
and learn new skills and insights
that will help to create an
interesting stepping off point, that
will hopefully lead to further
exploration after the course.
Leungo Tumedi
23
Botswana
My country of origin is Botswana
but I am currently based in South
Africa where I am completing my
BA in Multimedia. I have an interest
in all design fields as I feel there
is a level of integration that can be
applied throughout different design
disciplines.
My main objective for the summer
camp was to meet with and learn
more about what other designers
from across the globe are doing
in terms of interactive design,
from multimedia screen-based
work to tangible, constructed
design works. It was really
interesting to interact with
designers from different
backgrounds as everyone has their
own story to tell, this paints a
collage of interesting design
stories. I hope I succeeded in
enlightening other designers as
to where design is in terms of
progression where I am from, and
share ideas and solutions to some
of the problems that an African
designer or a designer from a
third-world continent might face.
Within the context of global
challenges, these problems might
be the same as those faced by
designers from first-world
continents.
Maria Foverskov
28
Denmark
I have a BA in Industrial Design
from Denmarks Designschool and
have studied various directions
within product design from 2002
until now. In the fall of 2006 I went
to Design Academy Eindhoven in
The Netherlands, to pursue my
curiosity within conceptual design.
It is within my focus on interaction
between people and social life in
design, and throughout my
traveling and work experiences,
that I discovered my profound
interest in user-centred design and
human interactions.
At the summer camp I wanted to
explore how people develop wild
ideas & concepts and then make
more real, tangible solutions
through intercultural
collaboration. I was given the
opportunity to question the way
we live our lives and dream
utopian ideas. Ideas I hope
eventually will become more real,
in the global world we all live in.
Malene Bolvig Nielsen
25
Denmark
After taking my bachelor-degree I
did a one-year exchange at
Politecnico di Milano, where I studied
Product Service System Design,
focussing on strategic innovation and
design in products and services. Back
in Denmark I did an internship at
“Kontrapunkt”, specialising in
corporate identity and product brand
identity. I have now returned to the
Design Department at the School of
Architecture (Royal Danish Academy
of Fine Arts), where I combine light
and furniture in one object.
Studying in Milan introduced me to
user-centered design and gave me
the taste of how innovative and
creative projects can become when
different backgrounds and
knowledge unite. At the summer
camp I wanted to see how far
discussions and ideas can take us
in the aim to create ‘design to
improve life’ and most importantly
- to see how a good idea can develop
and not just remain a good idea.
Working in intercultural &multi-
disciplinary groups gave me
inspiration and a perspective on
solutions that I could never have
come up with alone. Learning about
other cultures has proved to
surprise me in the most positive
way.
Marie Hugsted
29
Denmark
I have a BA in Needlecraft/Textiles.
Previously I had been teaching
textiles, art and Danish in a school
for two years
My aim for the summer camp was
to expand my knowledge on user-
centred design. There was a lot of
discussion about this in the context
of global challenges because we
come from different parts of the
world and looked upon the issues
from different points of view. I
hope the discussions about ‘design
to improve life’ will inspire us to
keep on caring for the subject after
the summer camp.
Martijn The
24
The Netherlands
I was born and raised in a family of
mixed ancestry (Dutch – Chinese-
Indonesian), which is very
commonplace in The Netherlands
nowadays. Having lived in The
Netherlands for most of my life, I
am very Dutch, although probably
with a twist. Since my childhood I
have always been interested in
purposeful creation. I always
wanted to be an architect. A few
years ago I started studying
Industrial Design Engineering and
currently, I am doing the Master
course in Design for Interaction at
the Delft University of Technology.
At the summer camp I met people
from different cultures, exchanged
personal experiences and shared
insights on the global challenges
that we face. I contributed what I
learned over the past few years
about design in general and
interaction design and service
design specifically. As a group we
inspired each other throughout
the process of finding solutions to
global challenges.
Mie Kongstad Søgaard
24
Denmark
I am studying for a Masters in
Design Engineering. After high
school I traveled and worked in
many European capitals. I did an
environment course in Bangkok
last year with different nationalities,
among them students from
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Poland,
Portugal and Thailand. Last year I
traveled the world with my
boyfriend. I've had many jobs:
music teacher, dog trainer, model
and waitress. I've been engaged in
many association activities in my
different schools, my college house
and in an agriculture organisation.
I love to travel the world, to think
and to meet new people, I love to
‘do’ and learn new things. That’s
exactly what I got at the summer
camp. Thank you for a great time!
Mikkel Proschowsky
24
Denmark
I live in Copenhagen and I am
halfway through my master
education in design & innovation
at the Technical University of
Denmark, where my focus is on
interaction design. I have had
several courses in HCI and am
currently doing a small project on
web browsing on mobile phones. I
like prototyping and testing out
ideas on real users, as I believe
user involvement is the only way to
make good products. Beside my
study I am a scout, which I enjoy
very much.
I had a really good experience at
the summer camp where I
exchanged knowledge and shared
interests. I was really looking
forward to the challenge of working
together with new people from
various cultures, and this
intercultural element brought the
innovation to new heights. I was
looking forward to attending the
Index: Award and to work together
with the rather new CIID. Besides
from these points I just wanted to
have a good time, doing what I like
so much, together with new friends
from all over the world.
Nayla Ahmad Al-Mulla
21
Qatar
After graduating from a local high
school, life took me on many paths,
some I liked, and some I didn’t.
Now I am 21, and happy! Three
years ago I found myself in the
parameters of design school and I
am currently studying fashion
design at the Virginia
Commonwealth University of Arts,
Doha, Qatar. In design I see great
potential. Through it I aspire to
solve many problems.
Martin Luther King said, “No man
is an island, entire of itself, every
man is a piece of the continent”. I
see that applicable to design, for
no design form is an island, entire
of itself, every design form is a
piece of the continent. That said;
I would like to experience the
collision of design with meaning.
I want to strive for understanding
and solutions far beyond what a
single design type can offer.
Nicola Plaisant
23
Italy
I live in Mestre, a town near Venice.
I attended artistic studies in Venice,
at Liceo Artistico Statale (Arts High
School) and then my bachelors in
Industrial Design at IUAV Treviso.
The theme of my BA thesis was a
graphic identity for a foundation.
Now I'm attending the
Comunicazioni Visive e Multimediali
(Visual and Multimedia
Communications) degree course
at IUAV - Faculty of Design and
Arts.
For the summer camp my first aim
was to learn more about
sustainable design and to share
experiences and knowledge with
people from other parts of world.
It was a good opportunity to
improve my skills in various fields
of Design.
Noor Ali
22
Jordan
I have the advantage of being from
a bi-cultural family. It has made
me appreciate the importance of
overcoming cultural boundaries
and finding a common ground
where respect and understanding
are utilised to the full. I am
dedicated to improving my design
skills and learning as much as I
can about everything because I
believe that a designer should have
a well-rounded knowledge of how
the world works.
Through my work in the summer
camp I was able to gain insight
into user-centred design in the
context of cross cultural
communication. I wanted to
represent VCUQ and the state of
Qatar, to be an ambassador of
goodwill, a designer who is
socially, culturally and politically
aware of the world, who
understands the culture of this
region and can represent it in a
positive manner, and a designer
who genuinely wants to address
the world’s challenges on a global
scale. This is the purpose of
INDEX, and I truly believe that
going there helped me become a
better designer, and more of a
benefit to community, my peers
and VCUQ.
Phoebe Liu
29
Taiwan
My background is in traditional HCI
and I have a Master of Science in
Information Management and
Systems at UC Berkeley, USA. I
worked as an interaction designer
for Trend Micro and Yahoo! After
three-years of working I decided
that I would like to move beyond
web and software, and learn more
about the tangible aspects of
interaction design, which is why I
started my studies again at Malmö
University, Sweden.
Global challenges impact all our
lives in large scale. Inter-cultural
dialogue is particularly important
to understand how to face these
global challenges in a local context.
At the summer camp I was
interested in applying interaction
design techniques to develop
something good for human beings
and for our environment, to bring
some joy and laughter to our lives.
I gained the best friendship from
being in such a diverse environment
and the inspiration created within
this international group of people
helped me to see things from many
different perspectives. To resolve
cultural differences and create
something we are all happy about
for global challenges was the best
experience ever!
Robyn Penhall
22
South Africa
I am a South African student,
currently studying Interior Design
Honours at Greenside Design
Center. I have already completed a
Bachelor of Architectural Studies
at the University of Cape Town, and
plan to continue with architecture
and obtain my Masters in
Architecture in the next two years.
Last year, I worked in Dubai as a
junior architect for the architectural
firm, Creative Kingdom, focusing
on hotels and large residential/
retail developments in U.A.E.,
Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The summer camp was a good
opportunity to interact with
designers from across the globe,
to gain a better understanding of
how South African design fits into
the global context. Coming from
an African country, it was
interesting to discover how the
same design problem is tackled
from different cultural
perspectives and social objectives.
Sarasiff Kjærgård
27
Denmark
For the last 8 years my main focus
has been on painting. In 2000 I
spent one semester at a BA - visual
arts painting - course at
Camberwell College of Arts in
London. In 2002 I studied
philosophy for a year at the
University of Copenhagen. Since I
attended Danmarks Designskole
in 2006 my interest has moved
towards how it can be possible to
design a better and more humane
world for the people who live in it.
How can we create a material
environment that effects our
relations, our feelings and our
actions?
At summer camp I have achieved
a deeper understanding of
applying user-centered design and
innovation to a design process. I
enjoyed working with people from
different backgrounds and with
different point of view.
Sylvia Holthen
29
Norway/Denmark
I finished my BA-exam in June 06
and am now studying for an MA in
industrial Design at Denmarks
Designschool. I have followed the
glass department program for the
last year, working with lighting in
glass. I do also have experience
making projects in wood, plastic
and metal. The wide use of
materials is one of the main
reasons for me to study industrial
design.
My focus for the summer camp
was to learn and develop in
another context from my usual
work. I was also looking forward
to being a part of a co-operation
across countries and methods,
looking at problems/issues seen
from another angle, and getting
critical feedback on aspects
relevant to my subject.
Tobias Toft
24
Denmark
I am studying for a BSc in Design
Engineering at the Technical
University of Denmark, specialising
in product design & innovation. I've
always been the kind of person who
(sometimes unconsciously) takes
things apart, just to see what's
inside and if I in any way can, tweak
it. Mostly I end up breaking it
instead, but in rare occasions I
actually come up with something
that works (at least for a couple of
minutes).
At the summer camp, I expected
to learn things that I can't learn at
DTU. First of all, I met people from
all over the world – I networked
and made new friends. As a group
I think we came up with some
great innovative solutions. My
focus was on interaction design,
but I also contributed with a little
bit of industrial design knowledge
and some geeky engineering-stuff.
I came to the summer camp to
gain more experience in designing
for global challenges but also to
learn what it is like to cooperate
with people from other cultural
and educational backgrounds.
Simple things that have a big
impact fascinate me – I feel that
this summer camp resulted in
such inventions.
Trine Roed
27
Denmark
I have a Bachelor in Architecture
from Aarhus School of Architecture
and I am currently studying for a
Masters in Industrial Design. I have
a passion for both architecture and
industrial design and love to
combine them in my projects. I will
finish my studies in January 2008
as I only have my thesis left to
cpmplete. I moved to Copenhagen
in January so the city is still quite
new to me – but I really enjoy it
here!
I saw the summer camp as a great
chance to work in an interesting,
multi-disciplinary and multi-
cultural environment and to
expand my network of colleagues
and friends around the world. I
gained new knowledge and
inspiration and enjoyed being
productive and exchanging
experiences. Together we solved
problems and developed design
concepts ’to improve life’ - we
worked hard and at the same time,
had fun. It was great meeting
everyone.
Yeonoo Shin
26
South Korea
I'm a Hongik graduate school
student majoring in visual
communication design. My major
was printmaking at college but I
thought that design is more
effective way than fine art to
communicate with people. So, I've
been studying visual
communication design and I'm
interested in design planning media
art and design management.
User-centered Design is very
essential nowadays. The summer
camp gave me the opportunity to
understand what it really is and
what it can achieve. Using it to
improve and influence people's
lives in the future will be very
valuable.
CIID Faculty& Team
Heather Martin
UK
Heather is one of the Co-Founders
of CIID. Her career has spanned
consulting, teaching and research
in the field of interaction design
with a focus on creating new forms
of tangible interfaces for products,
services and environments. From
2005-6, Heather was the Academic
Director of the Interaction Design
Institute Ivrea in Italy (IDII) where
previously, she had spent one year
as a full-time Associate Professor
advising MA students on tangible
interfaces for objects and spaces.
Simultaneously, Heather was
managing the Projects Unit at IDII,
working to create new interfaces
for various clients including Sony
and Artemide. Before joining IDII
Heather worked at IDEO in London
as a senior interaction designer
and project manager with clients
such as Lufthansa and Prada. She
has an MA in Interaction Design
from the Royal College of Art in
London (1998) and a BA in Industrial
Design from the University of
Northumbria (1993).
Simona Maschi
Italy
Simona is one of the Co-Founders
of CIID. Her main focus is on
envisioning future scenarios and
experiences for people’s everyday
life. She designs new concepts of
services enabled by innovative
technologies for both the public
and the private sector and is
interested in new design solutions
that take companies towards a
stronger attitude to environmental
and social responsibility. Her last
works in collaborations with
academia and industries have
explored different topics, such as
Private and Public Transportation,
Health and Wellbeing and
Sustainable Housing. Simona has
a PhD in Industrial Design and
Multimedia Communication from
the Polytechnic University of Milan,
Italy (2002). She was a visiting
scholar at the Institute of Design
at Illinois Institute of Technology in
Chicago (2002) and has an MA in
Architecture from the Polytechnic
University of Milan, Italy (1996).
Until June 2006 she was an
Associate Professor and researcher
at the Interaction Design Institute,
Ivrea.
Vinay Venkatraman
India
Vinay’s background is in industrial
design. He graduated from the
National Institute of Design, India
and in 2006, he graduated with
distinction from the Masters
programme in Interaction Design
from the Interaction Design
Institute Ivrea (Italy). Currently
working at Copenhagen Institute
of Interaction Design, his interests
include tangible user interfaces,
service design and finding new
models of sustainable economic
development using open source
technologies.
His professional life began as a
product designer for manufacturing
companies designing bicycles,
kitchen appliances, etc. In between
he was enticed by film making and
worked as visual effects designer
for a leading post-production
house, Prime Focus Ltd, on various
advertisements and feature films.
He later shifted focus to software
products and was a consultant to
several software companies
working on information
architecture and user interface
design. In the summer of 2005, he
interned as a product designer at
Microsoft in Seattle.
Alie Rose
UK
Alie is responsible for PR &
Communications at Copenhagen
Institute of Interaction Design.
Before moving to Denmark in
August 2006, Alie worked at the
Interaction Design Institute Ivrea
(Italy) where she managed client
facing innovation workshops
(Applied Dreams), exhibitions and
communications. Originally from a
concept design background, she
has worked across a wide range of
areas including: Innovation,
Interaction Design, Marketing, and
Business & Technology Research.
Alie graduated with a BA in Design
Futures and before embarking on
her vocational tour of Europe, she
lived and worked in London as a
freelance project manager on
creative and design centred briefs
for Good Technology, Ai London,
Research International, and
Ragdoll Productions. Regardless
of whether she is working on
PR/communications or as a Project
Manager, Alie focuses on people
& team building.
Isabel Froes
Brazil
Isabel Froes believes in intuitive
and cross-cultural interfaces. She
holds a Masters degree from ITP
(Interactive Telecommunications
Program) from New York University.
Having a Psychology background
she focuses on the interactions
between humans and technology.
During her studies she was a
researcher for the Brazilian
National Research Center, where
she investigated the changes in
social interaction due to the
spreading of Internet
communication; the results were
published in a book (”Na malha da
Rede, os impactos intimos da
internet”). Her experience as an
interactive designer ranges from
online works to physical
installations for companies and
museums. She has taught the
courses “Interactivity in the
Museum” and “The Culture of Play”
at Kolding Design School and at
the University of Copenhagen,
where she has worked as an
adjunct professor for the past 2.5
years.
Kirsti Reitan Andersen
Denmark
Kirsti Reitan Andersen studied her
BA in the English department,
University of Århus, and graduated
with a Master degree in 2006 from
the European Studies department.
During her studies, Kirsti
specialised in cultural theory and
analysis. Her final thesis explores
the field of fashion design focusing
on haute couture and the
construction of fashion through
magazines, designers, and fashion
shows. During her studies Kirsti
participated in an interdisciplinary
project exploring the background
and motivation of European
entrepreneurs. The project was
based on a co-operation between
the European Studies department,
the Chaos Pilots, and Dansk
Industri - the results were
published in a report titled
'Innovating Europe'. During the fall
of 2006 Kirsti worked as a research
assistant at Danmarks Designskole
in connection with the school’s
report on the relationship between
artistic practice and research. The
report was published in the Spring
of 2007.
Visiting faculty
Anne Kirah
180º Academy
Anne Kirah is dean and faculty
member of 180º Academy, an
international school for radial
innovation created by a consortium
of Danish industry leaders. She is
responsible for running the front-
end research phase in a non-linear
educational programme of concept
making. The curriculum combines
research, design, development and
commercialization of products,
services and organisational change
to meet the needs of a rapidly
growing global world. Prior to
joining 180, Kirah served as the
senior design anthropologist for
the Microsoft Corporation. Kirah
was responsible for global field
research and participatory design
both within the Windows division
and MSN. Kirah’s primary focus is
on people-centered research,
future product innovation, and
strategy. Kirah has a degree in
Cultural Anthropology (with minors
in the Sociology of Education and
Developmental Psychology) and a
graduate degree in Cultural
Anthropology, both from the
University of Oslo and a graduate
degree in Psychology from the
University of Washington.
Toke Barter, Re Dubhthaigh
Radarstation
Radarstation is an innovation
consultancy specialising in design-
led futures. Using design tools and
processes they help their clients
explore, map and create their
future. Radarstation works at the
intersection of service innovation
and strategic transformation,
bringing design methods and tools
to business. Projects range from
technology foresight projects that
help define new markets, to helping
organisations embed design-led
innovation practices. Radarstation
works with a mix of commercial,
academic and cultural
organisations including: BBC, BP,
DTI Foresight, E&Y, Future
Foundation, GN-Resound, Hitachi,
IPA, Lego ConceptLab, Rich Mix,
Tate Britain, Workz, London School
of Economics, Interaction Design
Institute Ivrea, Oxford Said School
of Business and the Royal College
of Art.
Jennie Winhall
Participle
Jennie Winhall is a design
strategist and service designer.
Until recently Jennie was Senior
Design Strategist for RED at the
UK Design Council. An inter-
disciplinary team of designers,
policy analysts, social scientists
and economists, RED was set up
in 2004 to address social and
economic issues through design
innovation. RED projects tackled
issues such as chronic healthcare,
declining citizenship and domestic
energy consumption. Designing
with end users and front-line
workers has led to new policies
and the creation of new public
services. Jennie currently works
for live|work, who pioneered the
field of service design in the UK
and create user-centred,
sustainable services. She is now
setting up Participle, a social
enterprise focused on designing a
new generation of public services,
with the former RED team (Hilary
Cottam, Colin Burns and Charles
Leadbeater). Jennie studied
Product Design at Glasgow School
of Art and ENSCI Paris, and
Psychology at the Open University.
Tobias Lau
Social Action
Tobias Lau is partner in Social
Action, a development firm that
creates new products and services
that help people and companies to
improve the world. He has a
background in ethnography and
design and studied among other
places at Bruce Mau's Institute
without Boundaries. He worked at
Bruce Mau Design for 3 years
where he worked for clients such
as Nokia, Herman Miller, Frank
Gehry and a citizen foundation in
Guatemala. He also helped create
Massive Change - a book and
exhibition on the future of design -
with his colleagues at BMD. Before
starting Social Action, he co-wrote
the book Concept Design at the
Danish Ministry of Business about
the future challenges of the design
consutant industry world wide. He
live and works in Copenhagen. Visit
www.socialaction.dk for more
information.
Vannesa Ahuactzin
Innovation Lab
Vannesa formed part of the
inaugural group of the Institute
without Boundaries, the
multidisciplinary, educational entity
created by Bruce Mau Design to
launch the Massive Change project.
She spearheaded the initial
conceptualisation of the Massive
Change exhibition and helped to
develop the overall identity of the
Massive Change project. Vannesa
went on to become the Design
Manager for Massive Change,
working with the second year
Institute without Boundaries team
to coordinate, design and install
the Massive Change exhibition in
Vancouver, Ontario and Chicago.
Following the success of Massive
Change, she continues to work on
projects that redefine the concept
of design. Vannesa recently
collaborated with the Indianapolis
Museum of Art where she created
a Vision Workbook (ambitious ideas,
events, initiatives, proposals and
programs) that serve as a roadmap
for the vision of the IMA. Vannesa
was born in Puebla, Mexico. She
obtained a B.Arch from the
Universidad de las Americas in
Puebla.
Dan Buchner
Design Continuum
If there’s one thing Dan Buchner
knows, it’s how design can help a
business succeed. He has started
a successful company, run large
manufacturing plants, led product
development and industrial design
for large corporations and
conducted design research in far-
flung corners of the globe. As Vice
President of Innovation and Design
at Continuum, Dan manages
innovation projects for leading
brands worldwide. He strongly
believes in the power of design to
affect positive change in the world.
Dan’s recent work has involved
using design as an economic and
social development tool in
emerging markets such as South
Africa, El Salvador, and India.
Russell Kennedy
Monash University
Russell is an academic and
practitioner of both graphic design
and filmmaking. He is a Senior
Lecturer in Visual Communication
at Monash University in Melbourne,
Australia. Before joining Monash
in 1994, he was the principle of
Russell Kennedy Design, a
corporate identity consultancy and
Co-Director of Onset Productions,
a motion picture and documentary
company. Russell’s research
expertise is in the area of
Vexillography (flag design). He
speaks regularly on the subject and
in 1997 presented a paper proposing
a new Australian flag at the 17th
International Congress of
Vexillology in Cape Town South
Africa. In March 2000 he was
awarded a Master of Arts from
Monash University. Russell is
currently serving his second term
as Vice President of Icograda with
the portfolio of education. He has
been active in the development of
the Icograda Education Network
and the deployment and promotion
of worldwide educational exchange
initiatives
Christopher Scales
ReD Associates
Christopher Scales specialises in
new product development and
innovation strategy. Over 10 years,
his career has spanned California,
London, Munich and Copenhagen.
Christopher is currently a manager
at strategic innovation consulting
firm, ReD Associates, where he
develops product and
communication strategies for
brands such as Samsung
Electronics, Lego, Mars, and Nivea.
Prior to ReD Associates,
Christopher was a Senior Designer
at Nokia Design, focusing on
building Nokia’s market presence
in the premium and youth markets.
He spent one year with Lego’s
concept lab, where he guided the
initial concepts for what
subsequently became Mindstorms
NXT. He worked at Audi Design on
the teams responsible for the show
cars preluding the Audi Q7 and R8.
Christopher also worked on the
innovation team at the Casio US
R&D Center in California. He has
an MA in Product Design from the
RCA, London and a BA in Product
Design from Central Saint Martins,
London.
Thomas Schødt Rasmussen
Danmarks Designskole
Thomas has worked at Denmark’s
Design School since 2002. As head
of research, he has laid down
research strategy and established
an interdisciplinary research unit
of 25. The research strategy is to
investigate design sensibility from
different perspectives:
anthropology, engineering, cultural
studies, design philosophy, practice
based design research and design
practice. His doctorate is in
comparative literature, which
received the gold medal of Aarhus
University. Thomas is currently
engaged in research projects on
fashion, technological textiles and
on the relations between research
and design practice. All of his
projects bridge the gaps between
research, industry and design
practice. He is a board member of
CUMULUS, the Design Research
Society and of the Danish Design
Council, member of the Strategic
Research Council of Norway and
chairman of CUMULUS’ working
group on design research.
Lise Vejse Klint
Director of Program & Events
Lise was assigned at INDEX: in
August 2006. Lise is a former
President of Danish Designers
(2002 – 2006) and was in 2005
elected Secretary General of
Icograda, the International Council
of Graphic Design Associations
(2005 – 2007). Lise is furthermore
member of the Executive
Committee of the International
Design Alliance (IDA) as well. Lise
holds a Master's degree in
architecture from the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts School of
Architecture in Copenhagen and
has many years of experience in
teaching at institutions such as the
Royal School of Library and
Information Science, the University
of Copenhagen and the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts School of
Architecture. In addition, Lise is a
board member of the Danish Arts
Foundation, and in 2005 she was
appointed by the Minister of
Economic and Business Affairs to
join a governmental committee on
strengthening Danish design. Lise
coordinates the 2007 program for
INDEX: Summit & Summer Camp.
Gunnar Näsman
Project coordinator
Gunnar graduated from the
interdisciplinary department TMR
at The Danish Designacademy in
2004.
During his studies Gunnar also
studied at Design Academy
Eindhoven in Holland and at
Accademia Italiana in Florence,
Italy.
Prior to working at INDEX: Gunnar
worked with Bosch & Fjord.
INDEX: faculty
Designing for global challenges is a majorchallenge in itself. Ask anyone to solve large-scale issues such as sanitation, poverty orclimate change and they will probably lookrather daunted. Therefore asking studentsto come up with solutions to global problemswithin a 3-week timeframe was veryambitious. It was even more ambitiousconsidering that these students had nevermet or worked together before, they werefrom different countries from all around theworld (for some it was their first trip toEurope), and were coming from variousdisciplinary and cultural backgrounds. Whatmade these solutions you see here possiblewas the sheer optimism, determination,enthusiasm and critical observation fromevery student, faculty member and visitingguest who participated in the summer camp- and their willingness to face the challenge.
Our biggest learning at CIID was how muchresponsibility people felt in creatingsolutions for real global problems, and howtimely and critical it is for designers to usetheir skills to build ideas that will genuinelyimprove the quality of peoples lives. As agroup, the aim was how to shift people'sfocus from acknowledging global problems(awareness) to actually trying to solve realproblems (action) from the ground up - andat a local level. Small interventions done ata sustainable level became the focusthroughout the workshop.
We were very aware that every student whoparticipated wanted to make a differencein the world. But even with all of thisoptimism – we didn't anticipate how difficultit would be for them to design for globalchallenges when they were not in the context
of the problem. It is extremely hard to designfor people who have no fresh water supply,little sanitation, very little electricity, andlive in the slums of Brazil for example -when you are sitting in a comfortable designstudio in Denmark. No matter how hard youtry to imagine or research this worldremotely - in truth you never reallyunderstand the issues by working inisolation. How is it possible for instance totest your ideas on real people, if those peopleare in a totally different reality?
With this in mind, we challenge the summercamp format and hope that in the futurestudents may have the opportunity to meetin a place where real global challenges areexperienced every day - and where studentscan live and work in a real context, buildsolutions with local materials and test thesesolutions with local people. Not only wouldwe expect the work to become grounded,but it would become more powerful - andin the end more sustainable.
The Summer Camp provided everyoneinvolved with the opportunity to worktowards a common goal. The final projectsand the research generated throughout thesummer camp should not be thought of asa set of final deliverables, but as provocationfor further development and to inspire otherdesigners and entrepreneurs to take action.
We hope this was the first of many CIIDsummer camps and look forward to thenext one.
If you have any questions or require furtherinformation, please contact Alie Rose([email protected])
CIID Learnings
CIIDFacultyHeather MartinVinay VenkatramanSimona Maschi
Project ManagementAlie Rose
Website & Technical CoordinatorIsabel Froes
Project AdministrationKirsti Andersen
Documentation DesignIsabel Ines CasasnovasTristam SparksRafael Cardona
INDEX:Especially…Kigge Hvid - CEOLise Vejse Klint - Director of Program & EventsGunnar Näsman - Project CoordinatorThomas Jensen – Communications OfficerNiels Jarler, 2007 Publications EditorTine Willenbrack, CommunicationCoordinator
Visiting Faculty & Advisors
Anne Kirah,Dean180°academy, Denmark
Toke Barter & Re DubhthaighPartnersRadarstation, London
Jennie WinhallDesign Strategist and Service Designer,London
Vannesa AhuactzinDesign Researcher, Mexico
Tobias LauDesign Researcher, Denmark
Dan BuchnerVice President of Innovation and DesignContinuum, Boston
Russell Kennedy ma rsaSenior Lecturer in Visual CommunicationMonash UniversityAustralia
Christopher ScalesDesigner, ReD AssociatesDenmark
Thomas Schødt RasmussenHead of ResearchDanmarks Designskole, Denmark
Danmarks Design SchoolEspecially…Martin PincelHenrik Mathorne
Credits