Design research for all senses

Simon Niedenthal is a researcher at the School of Art and Communication, at Malmö University. He has a bachelor's degree in photography, a masters in medieval English literature, and a doctorate in interaction design. His research interests is design-oriented games and concerns game aesthetics, gaming as emotional stimuli, and game testing processes for innovative game design. The last years Simon has been active within smell research.

Simon Niedenthal saw a need for structured smell training outside a clinical environment. This idea created the concept of Exerscent, a combination of a physical smell training device which connects to a computer. The aim is to collect points by identifying different scents; then the training results are documented and assessed by caregivers and researchers. The device design is free to download and can be assembled from 3D printouts. The electronics and optional fragrances can be purchased commercially.

Åsa Harvard Maare is a researcher at the School of Arts and Communication, at Malmö University. Her research interest is in social learning, observation and imitation – and how the design of learning processes and learning materials can take advantage of the social interplay between learners. She has a PhD in cognitive science and a background as a visual artist – and her research draws on both of these. She is also very interested in using video for capturing and analyzing designed artefacts in use. 

The Symmetry concept was developed by Åsa Harvard Maare as part of her dissertation Designing for Peer Learning and originally realized as a card game.

Charlotte Asbjørn Sörensen is a Product Designer, Senior Lecturer and head of the unit Media and Communication at the School of Arts & Communication at Malmö University. She is researching material practices within product design in a circular and sustainable context and focusing on material driven design, biomaterials and sustainable behaviours. Charlotte has earlier worked with material selection processes in Industrial Design and Circular Design Thinking. She is engaged in exhibitions, inspirational lectures and workshops for both companies and the public. 

"We all live in a world surrounded by materials - the scent of fresh wood, the soft silk cloth and the sound of metal. We experience materials through our senses and interpret them through our memories and earlier experiences. We have become used to plastic in the last 100 years, and it has changed our expectations on materials. Plastic is ok to use and dispose but leather and wood we take care of and appreciate through a lifetime. How can we change our relationship with materials, so it becomes sustainable? What do we consider as material resources? Today we can create new materials from food waste, seaweed, and residue from agriculture. My research focuses on how we, as designers, can contribute to sustainable and reflective material practices."

Pernilla Glaser is a writer, educator, experience designer with a focus on art and learning environments. She has a background as a theater director and senior process manager at Rise and works with participatory processes and collaboration skills for, among others, Världskulturmuseet, Malmö Theater Academy in Malmö and Förnyelselabbet/SVID. Pernilla has carried out the research project Navigating Complexity together with Lisa Carlgren at Rise. Pernilla is also the initiator of Salong Krångel, a platform for cross-competent reflection on complexity in collaboration with Rise and Sweco.

Pernilla will moderate this talk and the design research display.

Malmö University is an innovative, urban and international institute of higher education, located in the city centre of Malmö. Malmö University is characterized by global engagement, community involvement, and a multidisciplinary, challenge based approach to education, research and collaboration.

At the School of Arts and Communication (K3), we work with interdisciplinary education and research in media, culture and design. We combine traditional scientific and academic theory with artistic methods and practical elements.