Prototyping and Experiential Knowledge

Edited by Nithikul Nimkulrat, Silvia D. Ferraris, Francesca Mattioli

Prototyping and Experiential Knowledge. Unfolding shifting views on the use of prototypes in design research explores the evolving role of prototyping as a fundamental tool for transforming abstract ideas into concrete knowledge within design research and practice.

The volume shows how prototypes - understood as intentional and transitory objects - make it possible to imagine future scenarios, investigate materials and processes, understand complex data, and developmore informed design solutions.

Lo-fi prototype of a wearable soft robotic orthosis for communicating needs and requirements during a workshop with users. Note: From “Designing a Wearable Soft-Robotic Orthosis: A Body-Centered Approach” by R. Flechtner, K. Lorenz, and G. Joost, in Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI ’20) (p. 867), 2020, Association for Computing Machinery. Image taken from the essay “Deliberately abstract: the tactics of low-fidelity prototyping” by Paula L. Schuster, Rolf Brändle.

Organized into four thematic sections:

  • Imagining the design process,
  • Exploring the design process,
  • Understanding the design process,
  • Developing the design process.
Prototype showing a slow-bus concept in a speculative city of the future by F. Thomet, outcome of the hybrid participatory workshop The Other City 2 led by J. Tost, P. L. Schuster, R. Flechtner, K. Budinger, and F. Heidmann for PROTOTYP, a design research project at FH Potsdam in 2021. Image taken from the essay “Deliberately abstract: the tactics of low-fidelity prototyping” by Paula L. Schuster, Rolf Brändle

The book brings together interdisciplinary contributions ranging from biodesign to gaming, from virtual reality to assistive technologies, examining low-fidelity prototyping tactics, collaborative learning environments, multisensory translations of materials, data interaction, and the political dimensions of design. What emerges is the situated, relational, and epistemic nature of prototyping and its capacity to generate knowledge. The volume concludes by showing how prototyping goes beyond mere technical validation to take on pedagogical, ecological, and speculative functions, becoming a vehicle for interdisciplinary collaboration, critical reflection, and the negotiation of contemporary design challenges.

Selections from the Feeling Fabrics collection of materials, developed using this methodology. For each material design, both a digital prototype (left) and a physical textile (right) were created, in some cases using a digital-first approach and in other cases a physical-first approach. Image taken from the essay “Experiential substance: tactile translations using digital materials” by Elizabeth Meiklejohn, Felicita Devlin, Caroline Silverman, Dani Epstein, Yue Xu, Joy Ko.

The book is available in the FrancoAngeli open access catalog.

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