Design Research Podcast

On Popular Culture, Norms and Values Crys Leung (Communication, BA), Felicity Morris (Social Design, MA) and Lara Chapman (Design Curating and Writing, MA) in conversation with Agata Jaworska and Arif Kornweitz How do we participate, and how are we implicated, in the production and circulation of narratives that shape certain norms and values? In the project Through the Emoji Looking Glass, Lara Chapman creates an augmented tour of the Rijksmuseum, exploring cultural battles that transcend a collection of historic artworks and emoji. In Confident Face Swap, Crys Leung photoshops her face onto the models featured in the September issues of 50 years of Vogue in order to mimic the standard of beauty propagated by the magazine. In Post-Bed-Post, Felicity Morris creates a self-broadcasting bed that live streams to Instagram, turning an intimate object into a site for public broadcasting. From the supposed privacy of our bedroom to the public museum, the projects manifest various techniques of infiltrating and inhabiting mediascapes—from imitation to superimposition and augmentation—as possible modes of critical engagement and commentary.

On design communicating about abstract phenomena Marianne Drews (Social Design, MA) and Camilla Kennedy (Information Design, MA) in conversation with Liesbeth Fit and Arif Kornweitz This podcast was recorded during the Dutch Design week in the Design Academy’s Arena. Both Camilla Kennedy and Marianne Drews address abstract and hard to grasp topics in their graduation work. Camilla Kennedy’s project 'The best descriptor is Fuzziness' deals with the representation of quantum gravity while Marianne Drews discusses a possible future peak soil in her project 'Soils in Residency'. We talked about how design can bridge communicating about these abstract or even invisible phenomena and how to make them visible, understandable or even experienceable to an audience. What role can design play in representing or complementing science? Camila Kennedy Image: Copyright: Design Academy Eindhoven Photographs: Ronald Smits Marianne Drews Image: Copyright: Design Academy Eindhoven Photographs: Iris Rijskamp

On Whiteness Héloïse Charital (Design Curating & Writing, MA) and Baiba Soma (Well Being, BA) in conversation with Liesbeth Fit and Arif Kornweitz Whiteness is a construct that maintains credence in contemporary society. From the illusion that white products are newer, safer, more hygienic, and somehow more “pure”, to the false assertion that Ancient Greek sculptures were and are supposed to be white, whiteness is a myth that not only promotes throw-away consumerism, but also erases history, fuels white supremacy, and incites racist violence. In different ways, Héloïse Charital with her project When is White, White Enough? and Baiba Soma with her project Expired White problematise the signification of whiteness. By staging a re-enactment of the infamous “cleaning” of the Parthenon sculptures by the British Museum at the late 1930s, Héloïse Charital brings the subtle violence enacted through the Museum’s maintenance activities to the fore. By salvaging discarded white consumer goods, and transforming them into “new” products, Baiba Soma challenges the prevailing mentality that perpetuates throw-away consumerism. They speak of their sources, their understandings of research and materialisation, and their publics. Two contrasting examples of “digging into whiteness”, the conversation points to the necessity of gaining greater literacy and awareness of how whiteness continues to perpetuate the unequal distribution of power through myth formation and its institutionalisation.

On Mythical Animals of the Food Industry Anne Kamps (Food Non Food, BA) in conversation with Liesbeth Fit and Arif Kornweitz Anne Kamps was struck by the mystery of an alleged six-winged chicken used for the fast-food industry. Could this animal really exist? Through visiting farms and other institutes within the food industry she ‘discovered’ more mythical animals that in their specific forms each talk about the possibilities and challenges of the meat industry. In her project 'The Six Winged Chicken and other Mythical Animals of the Food Industry' she uses the format of a children’s book to describe the mythical world of animals that might be found today.