International design project researches gentrification in Berlin and Cape Town
The Koeln International School of Design, the Faculty of Informatics and Design of the Cape Peninsula University and Formula D interactive cooperate on an international design project investigating the effect of gentrification in Neukölln, Berlin and Cape Town, The Fringe. A UN report predicts that 4.9 billion world citizens will be living in cities by [...]
World Design Capital 2014 – Participatory design and experimentation are key to urban innovation
Although, there had been hopes for an economic boost which did not materialise in the form it was anticipated, South Africa’s FiFa World Cup 2010 was a success story. The deliverables were clearly set: Build stadiums, manage infrastructure, and provide safety for an event that would merely endure 4 weeks. In turn, the deliverables for World Design Capital 2014 are far from clear, a fact which on one hand provides an opportunity to shape the scope around the unique requirements and capacity of the region, but also bears the risk of disappointed expectations on the other. The World Design Capital project should be used as an opportunity to focus on developing change strategies following a bigger vision, instead of settling in on preconceived expectations for solutions.
Multitouch table helps young people to understand how personal choices affect their lives
The ability to choose is one of the things that makes us human. But making decisions is not always easy. The consequences of one bad decision can affect the rest of our lives. What happens when you’re faced with a difficult choice? Say you’ve just completed high school. Do you get a job or study further? How do you know what to do? Which path is the right one to choose?
For young people in Uitenhage, Formula D’s Life Choices Touch Table Game is helping them to understand how personal choices affect their lives.
Toppling Godsigner – Jenna Mervis talks to Cape Town’s Mugendi M’Rithaa about Transformative Design
“…Participatory design is almost a reaction against taking the end-user for granted. We’re saying that there is an embedded or tacit knowledge which the consumer has that will enrich the design process. Designers too can learn something in this relationship. We learn more about the context and the consumer becomes more visually literate, more design conscious. It is actually in our interest as designers to co-create with the consumer, because then they start to appreciate our role and our work even better…”
Technology Education versus Design Education?
It is a chicken-and-egg-question: What drives innovation? Technology or Design? What inspires what and what came first? One can follow an an interesting debate around the subject in a post (and comments) by Bruce Nussbaum in Businessweek. Don Norman has an interesting point when shaking the tree with his statement Technology first, invention second, needs last. But what is actually the essential difference between technology and design?
The IBP Game: World wide learning through online gaming
The IBP – game is an online learning game designed for the International Budget Partnership. The umbrella organisation offers training and knowledge resources supporting civil society organisations around the globe focussing on budget advocacy and monitoring. In the scenario based learning game, players travel to the imaginary country of Polarus. The user takes on the [...]
Requirements for computing devices in education
 |
This is what the world’s cheapest computer may look like |
| Recent rumors about India’s launch of a 30 USD computing device for education sparked some thoughts on requirements for devices that should rather be cost efficient than provide excessive functionality that is not required by the user group. | |