- Patterning Dialogues A good conversation can change everything. As this three-year partnership between Powertech Labs and Emily Carr University of Art + Design demonstrates, good conversation can seed insights and change trajectories. In our case, iterative dialogue clarified business strategy, identified new markets, and deepened understanding about the technical and social systems surrounding the use of energy […]
- Co-creating Spaces: The Tag Project Abstract This article examines how participatory design strategies can serve as an effective tool when working with multiple design constraints. Emily Carr University of Art + Design students were asked to collaborate with children with special learning needs to create a textile-based product from reclaimed fabric that endorsed sustainability among both the users and the […]
- Sustainer: Designing Sustainable Systems Abstract This paper discusses the research and design of ‘Sustainer’ a reminder-based, behavior-change mobile application ( app ) paired with a re-usable container meant to help reduce waste caused by disposable to-go food containers. The project is the collaboration of communication design student Kieran Wallace and industrial design student Andreas Eiken of Emily Carr University of Art […]
- Designing the Youth Vote Abstract The focus of this paper is the process of creating an advertisement campaign to increase youth voter participation in the upcoming 2013 British Columbia provincial election under the leadership of Professor Chris Hethrington. The voter campaign is created through a partnership between Elections BC and Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Through collaboration […]
- 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 […]
- 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 […]
- 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. […]
- 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 […]
- Case Study: Powertech – Service Oriented Strategies for Sustainability This morning, I spent two dollars on a coffee and put 834 grams of carbon into the atmosphere. That’s 417 grams per dollar, according to us carbon intensity data (us Energy). In our resource-based economy, it should come as no surprise that this can be measured, and certainly no surprise that our spending habits have […]
- Rest + Recharge: Long Distance Travel Using Electric Vehicles Across Canada Rest + Recharge is a collaboration between Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD) students Amanda Klassen, Ada Chiu and Kevin Tsuyuki Tomlinson, and Powertech®, a company specializing in clean energy consulting, testing, and solutions. Electric vehicles (EV) can be recharged from a standard wall socket (12o Volt); they are generally viewed as a […]
