I have now been a PhD student at Design School Kolding Denmark for a month – seems like time is running to fast!
Settled with lots of great literature on Design Research, Wearable Embodied Emotions and Theory of Experiments I am about to finalize my PhD plan.
The first deadline is handling in the PhD plan, mid October – then establish collaboration partners in Kolding Kommune, Hospital Littlebelt and Southern University of Denmark.
Next, the first empirical research project starts. Together with students at the Accessory Design institute, I will combine ethnographical studies and prototyping skills, in a course on wearables. The idea is to investigate the embodied emotions in personal accessories, observing and interviewing people becoming old of age in the municipality of Kolding. In their own home, I imagine the students personal relate and start their creative processes. Then back in the Lab and start experimenting with wearables technology and personal accessory thinking trying to frame some of the health issues for a citizen becoming old of age. Can’t wait till Spring we we head off, and maybe by the chance to invite Madeline Schwartzmann for a kick-off lecture on design and the sensing body. Want to look into Madelins work? See what I wrote about my visit to Parsons – the New School, seeing and following Madelines teaching, in New York this spring.
Yesterday the CEO of George Jensen, David Chu came by! That was a very interesting meeting – and responding on the question if the brand George Jensen, wants to go in a health direction, David replied, that the innovation of the world, and the brand George Jensen, is to stay on top of the users needs!
My research project is all about exploring the citizen need! The political agenda in Denmark, is that people becoming old of age has to stay in own home longer. My interest lays within finding the gap of opportunity to let personal accessories be a technological empowerment tool for them (and myself one day!) to accomplish this!
My first practical task will be experimenting with existing wearable health technology and personal accessories, to create some engagement pieces for interacting with the students and other stakeholders of my PhD project. I will start the experiment by getting inspired, and share some of the photos I took during spring at the PS1 MoMa Museum in Williamsburg and Bowery Modern Museum in New York.
Please do not hesitate to contact me – for shared information, knowledge or interest!
