A temporal vocabulary of Design Events for Research through Design

Title of the Paper

A Temporal Vocabulary of Design Events for Research Through Design

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Temporal narratives and process analysis in Research Through Design (RtD)
• Keywords: Research Through Design, design events, temporality, design process, dissemination, design research, narrative

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problem: Existing Research Through Design (RtD) methods predominantly focus on the final design outcomes, with limited attention to temporality and key moments in the process. This neglects critical contextual knowledge, invisible labor, and potential knowledge contributions.
• Significance: Emphasizing temporality can uncover hidden labor, the role of materials, and deeper relationships in the craft, fostering transparency in the design process and enhancing the generative potential of outcomes.
• Research Motivation and Related Work:
  • Current RtD narratives (e.g., linear processes from concept to testing) insufficiently address nonlinear paths, failures, and undocumented prototypes.
  • The authors aim to help designers identify and document key events in the process by expanding the temporal vocabulary, thereby emphasizing the knowledge value of "the process itself" and reducing the pressure on final outcomes.
  • The literature review mentions attempts at alternative temporal narratives, such as comparing design artifacts across labs, documenting interruptions or lost prototypes, but no systematic temporal vocabulary has been established.

Proposed Solution

• Proposed Solution:
  • Introduce the concept of "design events" as an analytical tool to describe various temporal nodes in the RtD process;
  • Develop a temporal vocabulary consisting of seven terms: Moments, Encounters, Transitions, Pauses, Rhythms, Other-Time, and Temporal Dissonances.
• Innovative Contributions:
  • Reframe the temporal structure of RtD by using design events as a tool for temporal perception, emphasizing process-oriented research contributions.
  • This vocabulary provides an analytical framework to help researchers organize studies within nonlinear, non-human-centered, or diverse temporal frameworks.
• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:
  • Using the concept of design events, the authors identified significant temporal nodes and instances through practice and project reflections;
  • Detailed annotations of examples to explain the applicability of each term in human and non-human temporal contexts;
  • Encourage the use of this vocabulary to enhance sensitivity to design events during the process and promote nonlinear narratives.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:
  • Proposed and defined seven terms, with "design events" serving as a tool for analyzing the design process:
    • Moments: Brief and acute event nodes (e.g., material breakage, system failure).
    • Encounters: Contact points between different participants (including non-human entities) (e.g., interactions between materials and machines).
    • Transitions: Processes of phase change (e.g., transitioning from one material state to another).
    • Pauses: Active or passive waiting times (e.g., material drying time or supply chain delays).
    • Rhythms: Cyclical patterns (e.g., seasonal changes or machine operation cycles).
    • Other-Time: Temporal frameworks driven by non-researcher agency (e.g., material aging or machine time).
    • Temporal Dissonances: Conflicts and misalignments between events or temporal frameworks.
  • Provided examples illustrating how these terms generate knowledge value in actual RtD projects.
• Comparison with Existing Solutions:
  • Existing temporal narratives focus on process nonlinearity but lack a systematic temporal vocabulary;
  • The new temporal vocabulary expands RtD's theoretical framework and emphasizes the knowledge contributions of observation, documentation, and process generation through specific terms.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • The authors validated the effectiveness of this approach through personal experience and multiple projects (e.g., Odd Interpreters and Inner Ear projects);
  • The seven terms help designers identify and document different types of events, fostering nonlinear narratives.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Limitations: The vocabulary may be overly broad, and the specific application contexts for describing events may require further exploration by designers;
  • Future Directions:
    • Systematically test the vocabulary's application across different RtD projects;
    • Further develop tools and methods for nonlinear narratives;
    • Expand the vocabulary to other related design research fields (e.g., material-driven design, bio-design, craft design).

Suggestions for Output Format and Further Considerations

• Propose the vocabulary as a "sensitizing tool" for identifying and analyzing design events;
• Encourage design researchers to experiment with diverse temporal narratives, such as nonlinear storytelling structures and event-based multi-perspective narratives;
• Advocate for the adjustment and expansion of this temporal vocabulary to meet the needs of cross-disciplinary practices.