• Current 03

    Through a variety of forms and formats interviews, case-studies, critical essays, reviews and photo documentation, we challenge researchers to represent their processes as iterative cycles of research and to skillfully navigate information-led and practice-led methodologies. Current is continually evolving exposition on the people and processes involved in design research. It is a platform for the […]


    No responses June 13, 2012
  • On The Convergence of Ethnography and Design

    Over the past two decades, designers of all stripes have begun integrating the lessons of ethnography into their academic research and professional practices. Under the rubrics of “reflexive,” “participatory,” “human-centred,” “contextual,” and “transformation design,” the relationship between design studies and ethnographic approaches to cultural analysis has been progressively deepened and, at the same time, grown […]


    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Social + Interactive Media Centre

    The social + interactive media centre (sim) helps BC companies tap the design, creative and technical expertise of Emily Carr faculty and students. Funded by a 5-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), SIM supports a wide range of applied social, interactive and design projects. The Centre’s research program engages BC […]


    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Importing a Research Ethics Model into Creative Research

    Developing a university research agenda requires significant changes to the structure and specialization of an Art and Design institution; it also involves a radical transformation to the “art school” culture and overall mandate. When Emily Carr set out to establish a Research Ethics Board (REB) in 2006, it was responding to a condition of eligibility […]

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    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Youth in Transition

    A 3rd year communication design class considered the problem of youth with chronic illness transitioning from child-centred to adult-centred healthcare. Current systems have focused on paper or web-based education and information recording, but compliance rates are low. In conjunction with the British Columbia Children’s Hospital the class conducted primary and secondary research and proposed solutions. […]

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    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Stereoscopic 3D Centre

    In September 2009, Kerner Optical approached us with the idea of forming a Stereoscopic 3D Centre at Emily Carr. We took up the challenge, and by November 2009, during the Interactive Futures conference (on the theme of Stereo) at Emily Carr, we were ready to announce the initiative. Preliminary funding came from Western Economic Diversification […]


    No responses June 12, 2012
  • The Lions Gate Hospital Foyer Project

    The Lions Gate Hospital Foyer project is a detailed example of how participatory, human-centred research can aid the design process and contribute to more effective solutions in architectural design. In this paper, I outline the unique research methods implemented by a research team of four students from Emily Carr over the course of the project. […]


    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Designing the Vignellis: Processes in ebook Production

    This paper focuses on the process of making the vignellis, a digital publication for the iPad and the technical challenges that came along with it. The end result was a functional ePublication that could be read on the iPad in iBooks. The publication explored the life and work of two famous designers, Lella and Massimo […]

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    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Illuminating Vancouver’s Neon

    This paper investigates the definition of design and the topic of the design process in relation to a Museum of Vancouver (MOV) exhibition: The Visible City: Illuminating Vancouver’s Neon. With the growing popularity of design in North American culture, there is an increasing desire to classify and categorize what constitutes design and its impact on […]


    No responses June 12, 2012
  • Using Verticality

    This article explores and elucidates the problems and processes involved in conceptualizing interior architecture for single-room micro-dwellings in urban Vancouver as part of the Ninety Square Foot Space project at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Solutions were developed based off of existing, client-built nine by ten foot rental spaces in downtown Vancouver. We […]

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    No responses June 12, 2012