Design Directions

This book is a collection of papers, exploring how designers, researchers and practitioners respond to the changing nature of contemporary perceptions of the relationship between humans and technology. Originating from a workshop at the 2012 Design Research Society Conference in Bangkok, the book presents diverse approaches from theoretical explorations to practical methods and educational solutions. The papers are presented in three sections with the first providing background information to the workshop and the perceptions of the relationship between humans and technology. Section two explores the theme of emotions and technology, investigating emotional responses to design solutions, methods for tracing facial and body expressions and the creation of the Kansei Design Education programmes. The final section is titled 'Design and Technology' and provides perspectives on how everyday and educational environments transform in response to the changing nature of the relationship between humans and technology. The book does not aim to provide a unified voice on how design practices change in response to new technologies, but it provides a platform for diverse cross-disciplinary debates on how designers and design educators respond to the changes in our contemporary understanding of the humans/technology relationship.