Social Cohesion Design / a ‘course-competition’
A product designer according to the definition of Industrial Design Institutes is a person or a team that develops a product from initial idea to the full set of specifications needed for production. Designers are typically not educated to include social cohesion in their designer practise. The Social
Cohesion Design Foundation (SCDF) in Delft,The Netherlands therefor has initiated the ‘Social Cohesion Design’ course, aiming at providing designers with a robust ‘step by step’ methodology to include aspects of social cohesion in design projects. The methodology is named: The 3-i Methodology, and is structured in three modules, i-1: Identification, i-2: Integration and i-3: Implantation. The course has the ambition to cope with following challenges:

Can technology play an active role in improving aspects of social cohesion in our society?
Can designers be social activists?

Assignment 2014
From 2012-2016 the concept of a “Social City Delft” is the challenge for which the IO-students conduct ‘streetfurniture’ assignments for existing companies. Streetfurniture such as, bikeparkings, waste containers, public benches, streetgames, green plaza’s, cafe terraces, a community center, children playequipment, etc. The students work in teams consisting of 2-4 students depending on the number of students that enroll in the course. The assignment for 2014 reads: develop “community integrated streetfurniture systems” to enhance social cohesion / face to face contact in the ‘Gillisbuurt’, a community in Delft consisting of approx. 500 households, 60 % unemployment,multi culti, lack of social cohesion and safety. The teams work for existing companies that are selected when they have the intention to realise prototypes for testing social impact in Delft in the years after. Some results of course 2013 have already been realised and some projects are going to be realised in the coming years.The course is called a “research-design-realise” course. The course is a “course under construction” since the multi disciplinairy setup and the focus on one district and companies that particpate to realise output is new. In that sense the project is an explorative project. The course seeks proactive students that want to make a difference: social change!

Multi disciplinairy context.
In the project students from different disciplines are working on the same case. Developing social interaction among inhabitants. In each module the IO students have workshop-sessions with students from Leiden University (Anthroplogy/Psychology) and students from Willem de Kooning from Rotterdam (Animation).During these sessions students discuss the project in progress.
Studio location: The design studio is located at the faculty of Industrial Design where IO students work on monday, wednesday and friday. Lectures are also conducted in the studio and guest-speakers are invited. Some lectures are outdoors like the lecture about islam at the Mosque by the imam.

Wise Owl Award
The end-presentation is in Theater de Veste in Delft for students but also for the general Delft public.Best teams (design teams, psychology teams, animation teams) receive Wise Owl Awards. Students have 3 interaction moments where they brainstorm about the issues at hand and stimulate eachothers projects.

Study Goals

Learning goals:

1.The student is capable of applying 3-i methodology to develop a ‘community integrated product system’. As such the student is capable of reflecting on design as a potential driver for social change;

2.The student is capable of working in a project with a multi disciplinairy
set-up. The students learn to be conscious of the differences in mindset when working with other disciplines such as psychology, public management or art.

3.The student is capable of presenting his concept in short pitches in front of an audience, public, jury, media and press.

Education Method

The course (http://ocw.tudelft.nl/courses/product-design/social-cohesion-design/course-home/) is structured in 3 modules:

i-1/ Identification: Student-teams have to sample the community ( a district/community in in the city of Delft) in which the technology has to be implemented, and have to build a 3D Scenario board of this community. In this community, called Setting X, actors, elements and events have to be identified leading to a mainscenario(in i-2) that envisions how social contacts are stimulated by the future technology.

i-2/ Integration: Starting from the mainscenario student-teams start sketching, ideating and modelling, leading to a 3D concept along with an operational system that explains how the inhabitants from the Gillisbuurt are in control of the technology. How they maintain, promote it and organise events around it.
In short: how they are engaged and have ‘ownership’.

i-3/ Implantation: For the newly developed community integrated streetfurniture system students develop a business, branding & promotion plan for the Gillisbuurt and the municipality of Delft and a step-by-step plan for a test-pilot for the company and the district coordination team of the Gillisbuurt.
Q methodology:

In the i-2 module and the i-3 module ‘Q Board’ Research, a new research methodology for designer practise, is conducted. Q measures perception of respondents,their opinions and viewpoints about a specific theme.
Q Research i-2:
How do inhabitants of the Gillisbuurt perceive of design concepts as developed by the teams?
Q Research i-3:
How do inhabitants of the Gillisbuurt perceive of pilot (realisation) plans as developed by the teams?
Deliverables of the project:

Written test/survey:
Each module a written 30 minutes ‘test/survey’ has to be accomplished proofing that the student masters the basic concepts of the 3-i methodology and is fully engaged and aware of the projectprocess at hand. This way students have to profoundly reflect for 30 minutes on the basic concepts of the 3-i and their ongoing design process.

PPT presentation:
Each module ends with a PPT presentation pitch of 3 minutes.

Draft-reports/Final report
Each module the students hand in a draft-report of that module at their PPT presentation. The draft reports can be upgraded each next module so in the end the students hand in their best final report. Students will receive extensive feedback on these draft reports and a mark is given.
This way students have a clear notion of how they are doing so far.

Wise Owl Award:
The final report is handed in at the so called “Wise Owl Award” event, the last friday of the 10 weeks course. In front of a jury of inhabitants of The Gillisbuurt they hold a 5 minutes presentation pitch. The best team receives the “Wise Owl Award”.

Assessment

• Final report;
• Presentations;
• Written tests;

Final report is assessed on:

Analytical skills.
Is the student capable of constructing a logical framework
to plan, conduct, communicate and evaluate his 3-i design process.

Research skills.
Is the student capable of conducting research necessary to collect data for his 3-i design process.

Creative skills.
Is the student capable of envisioning creative scenarios and ideas and conducting the assignment in a ‘fresh’ and original manner.

Design & Construction skills.
Is the student capable of materialising ideas into a 3D concept elaborated enough to make construction drawings for prototyping.

Presentational skills.
Is the student capable of communicating his 3-i design process
in reporting,live-presentations and coach meetings.

Social Cohesion mission.
Did the student finally develop a concept that matches
with his mission statement and is expected to enhance social cohesion aspects.

FINAL MARK.
Final mark is based on final report (85%), presentations (10%) and written tests (5%).

Special Information

Information:c.j.m.delange@tudelft.nl