By Gabrielle Kennedy
There has been a lot of talk, and some disagreement over the past year concerning how technology should be integrated into design education. Many opinions have been put on the table, and all with a thorough and heart-felt defense.
This month in a new approach our first year Social Design (Masters) students participated in Hackathon, a three day workshop in collaboration with the Ideeenlab in Eindhoven.
“It’s not that technology is not my thing,” says participating student Roxane Lahidji, “but my interest in it comes from a more critical perspective. For me, and I think many in my department, this sort of approach to technology offers just the right sort of entry.”
In the program students developed projects that challenged human relationships with smart objects - gadgets that have, for example, integrated wifi, body-part recognition and sensors. Dogs rigged up to a sausage that can be steered remotely, for example, and garments with senses that communicate behavior to far-away lovers.
Over the three days, students were guided through the necessary programming, coding, and electronic circuiting. “We learnt the basics, but when it got too complex mentors were available to help,” Lahidji says. “We did not have to worry about getting totally swamped in the technology so it was really balanced – we could use technology, but we were also free to stay focused on a bigger question. I think this helped me to realize that technology is accessible, and you can use it without changing your design process.”
And most importantly given technology’s mighty impact, it is fundamentally imperative that designers stay close enough to play a role in the speed and direction that it is taking us in.
Typically, or so the general perception goes, Design Academy Eindhoven students remain more interested in the material and ethical considerations of technology. “Which is really its unique approach,” says Lahidji. “It is very different to, say, in Silicon Valley, or MIT, or the Google Office. At this academy I think we are more focused on expanding possibilities and dreaming without ever losing sight of the impact of objects on human behavior.”
This collaboration with Ideenlab is open for students to continue with. “I think a lot of us will go on to use it in our research thesis,” says Lahidji.