MATERIALITY AND THE MACHINE. MAXIMISING MATERIAL EXPERIENCES IN THE AGE OF AI
Year: 2024
Editor: Grierson, Hilary; Bohemia, Erik; Buck, Lyndon
Author: Almrott, Ceri; Colton, Keith; Ennis, Mark; O'Connor, Ina
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Technological University Dublin, Ireland
Page(s): 366 - 371
DOI number: 10.35199/EPDE.2024.62
ISBN: 978-1-912254-200
ISSN: 3005-4753
Abstract
There has been much written about the importance and impact of artificial intelligence and its associated technologies and the place they will have within the design field[1][2]. No doubt artificial intelligence will emerge to be an important tool that designers of the future will be able to utilise in the development of future artefacts[3]. However, as with CAD and digital visualisation before it, we see AI as being an enhancement rather than a replacement of traditional design methodologies. Product designers have traditionally been educated in making and materiality throughout their studies. With recent developments and integration of digital manufacturing tools, this approach has altered to accommodate these new paradigms[4]. However, designers creating physical objects still require an inherent understanding of the processes and materials that they are likely to encounter and work with. [5]. This is known as material intelligence and is one of the key aspects of designers of physical objects. Like emotional intelligence, material intelligence requires its own customised educational scaffolding to develop the required skillset in the learner. Educational interventions require the correct contextual groundwork to maximise success [6]. A semi-structured, investigative and peer-supported approach which draws on real-world tasks and interactions is an important part of this support framework [7]. This paper explores a structured, multi-year approach to the development of material intelligence within undergraduate design programmes with scaffolded experiential learning and Constructionist ideas around education. It outlines the pedagogical interventions across several sub-disciplines of product design and how these can work in tandem with studio education to support strong material experiences amongst the student body. REFERENCES [1] C. McComb, P. Boatwright, and J. Cagan, “FOCUS AND MODALITY: DEFINING A ROADMAP TO FUTURE AI-HUMAN TEAMING IN DESIGN,” in Proceedings of the Design Society, Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 1905–1913. doi: 10.1017/pds.2023.191. [2] J. Johnson, A. Hurst, and F. Safayeni, “MANAGING DATA-DRIVEN DESIGN: A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS,” in Proceedings of the Design Society, Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 2525–2534. doi: 10.1017/pds.2023.253. [3] J. Saadi and M. Yang, “OBSERVATIONS ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF GENERATIVE DESIGN TOOLS ON DESIGN PROCESS AND DESIGNER BEHAVIOUR,” in Proceedings of the Design Society, Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 2805–2814. doi: 10.1017/pds.2023.281. [4] V. Von Platen and Y. Kitani, “A DESIGNER’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAKER MOVEMENT,” in Proceedings of the Design Society, Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 101–110. doi: 10.1017/pds.2023.11. [5] B. Marenko, “Digital Materiality, Morphogenesis and the Intelligence of the Technodigital Object,” in Deleuze and Design, vol. 9780748691555, B. Marenko and J. Brassett, Eds., Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 2015, pp. 107–138. [6] S. Kurt, “An analytic study on the traditional studio environments and the use of the constructivist studio in the architectural design education,” Procedia Soc Behav Sci, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 401–408, 2009, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2009.01.072. [7] A. Y. Kolb and D. A. Kolb, “The learning way: Meta-cognitive aspects of experiential learning,” in Simulation and Gaming, 2009, pp. 297–327. doi: 10.1177/1046878108325713.
Keywords: studio culture; design education, material intelligence, product design, experiential learning