Developments in Design Research and Practice II

This study focuses on tourists’ sensory experiences of traditional, touristic bazaar atmospheres in Istanbul, Turkey and changes experienced after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on the sense of smell. The fact that research regarding the effects of the pandemic is relatively new and thus lacking in terms of a comprehensive understanding, and that the topic requires an interdisciplinary approach are the main arguments of the paper. In the paper, the aim is to discuss existing literature on the topic and means by which it can contribute to newly developed research, and utilizing the Peak and End Theory in a touristic environment, focusing on further advancing experiences in these environments.

The global crisis that we are going through and which may soon degenerate positions several questions about what the urban form will be after the end of the Pandemic, what the new social and human relations will be and, more generally, what life in the cities will be like. This essay will try to explore a research teaching project that involves 30 international students – with different design backgrounds (product, interior, communication and product service system design) – from the Master’s Degree elective course, Temporary Urban Solutions (TUS) in the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano, to project possible cultural resiliency solutions enhancing the semi-public spaces of the city. This experimentation between research and didactics, starting from cultural and social investigation, translates into analogical visions and digital practices emphasizing artistic disciplines to give a post-pandemic urban and collective redemption.

The aim of this article is to present different points of view, with a design purpose, and in order to create a collective legacy, in terms of spaces and activities, for the future. The academic research and educational exploration, in the field of Design, highlights this forced urban silence even when the lifecycle of the city will become frenetic again, with a new normality.

“Designing From Within” stands for a specific area of interest and a related new design approach characterized by endogenous and endemic processes. Starting from a culture studies theoretical framework, in which anthropology intertwine with artifacts’ social life, in this paper, we will investigate the possibility to think of designed objects as a direct and pure representation of humans’ activities (=endogenous), and/or rooted in specific geographical and cultural contexts (=endemic). Moreover, we will analyze how adjacent subjects, such as material studies and circular design could play a fundamental role in explaining how endemic and endogenous design is defined and what are its principles and methods. Finally, we will illustrate and reflect on a case study based on the use of bioplastics within the viticulture sector providing a ground for reflection on a specific design scenario within which to test our assumptions.

The paper aims to implement a critical reflection on some changes underway on the theme of narrative in design disciplines, an aspect that affects today the design, especially since the field is assigned the task of managing, in their formal and interactive aspects, information and transactional contents. The application field of the paper is focused on the museum, as it has been till now the reference point for a visual narrative in which Art has played a central role.

This issue, the language and narrative that derives from it, in the '80s was an exquisite prerogative of architectural disciplines. Rather today, it extends to design and art, disciplines inevitably called to compare with the rampant and noisy world of images, witness today of an excess of communication and information, but at the same time of a narrative deficiency.

Methodologically, through the analysis of some philosophers of the twentieth century who have repeatedly sought a path of meaning for the complex world of signs, the paper aims to give a place to a certain contemporary phenomenology expressed by some museums’ case studies.

In the final part, the paper ends up drawing some conclusive lines over this contemporary scenario, with particular reference to the role of narrative and how it is today radically changing.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the engineer Camillo Olivetti developed a streamlined industrial system for the production of typewriters, based on the model of similar successful trials in America. After some initial difficulties and the stop caused by the war, the project of the engineer from Ivrea resulted in an absolutely typical manufacturing model which combined the serial production culture with the quality of the Italian manufacturing tradition.

Over the years, the Ivrea-based company’s range of machines and equipment increased in line with its vocation for experimentation and research in the field of culture and society, man’s condition and man’s working conditions.

Olivetti products actually reflected peculiar ideologies and concretized their ways and contributions in the field of reality and life, moving from the work environments to social service, architecture and urban planning, until to cultural and editorial initiatives.

This paper intends to analyze the Olivetti case as emblematic for Italian design because it was able to combine the “taste for the machine” with Italian manufacturing culture by recounting how it was used as a case study for the teaching activity aimed at building a methodology of historical approach to design project.

This paper examines the topic of the surfaces applied to interiors. It represents a new step in cladding research that broadens the investigation’s horizons from soft materials (Pagliarulo & Carullo, 2013, 2018; Pagliarulo, 2017) to rigid materials. This study opportunity is provided by the furniture design research conducted as part of the degree thesis (The paper collects part of the results carried out in the context of the degree thesis entitled: “GE | WAND. Ri | vestimenti di graniglia in terra di Puglia” [GE | WAND. Grit re | Claddings in Apulia]. Relatore: prof. R. Pagliarulo. Studenti: G. Addati, C. Colluto, A. Colonnato, F. Gallone, D. Gentile, M. Losito, A. Marotta, M. Merra, G. Monopoli, M. Morelli, N. Paradiso, G. Pastore, G. Valenza, A.M. Vitucci.), for the Industrial Design degree program at the Polytechnic of Bari, in collaboration with a company ( The company involved in the activity of the degree laboratory is the “Attivissimo”, active since 1950 in the production of grit, pastina and cementine.) that produces cement paste covering in Apulia. Knowledge of both the traditional grit decoration patterns and of the production techniques formed the basis of a process of minute variations in the relationships between the materials. The cement mixture varies in size, shape, colour, and type of aggregates depending on the variational gradients. By enhancing the composition’s register, they also enhance the covering’s perceptional sensory qualities. By varying the materiality of the composition, the surface rises from a two-dimensional plane of the composition to become an expressive text. The latter concerns mechanisms of perception and sensation, which intercept the most current design issues of interior coverings.

The reflection on inter-generational dynamics, and on the role of the inter-trans-actions that can be activated in design, is read in this contribution through an in-depth examination of the notion of discipline as an instrument of inter-generational transmission of knowledge and as a tool for interdisciplinary confrontation. This last aspect came into play in the design debate when it entered the university system in Italy. Since then, the problem of defining disciplinary boundaries and determining its trans-actions with other disciplines – present in the university institutions and competing in the formation of the figure of the designer – has arisen.

The composite nature of the discipline of design, in the Essential Tension between disciplinary convergences and divergences, is not yet adequately supported by easily transferable or exemplary methodological processes. The aim is to provide the context of complexity in which to place the very notion of interdisciplinarity and with it its crucial node, that of lexicons and interdisciplinary communication: “communication is crucial. The varying use of language across disciplines might seem a superficial problem, but it is one that must be solved, or misunderstandings will undermine the foundations of the project” (Mind meld, 2015, p. 290).

The unique contribution of design in addressing increasingly complex and cross disciplinary challenges, and how design education and research must change to answer to these challenges, is being discussed by the worldwide design community. At the same time, as it shifted from a purely practice discipline to an academic one, design is still taking the first steps in establishing itself among other more mature academic fields. The relative place of design projects within academic research is still not consensually accepted. This paper addresses these two concerns at the critical juncture between design education and research: doctoral education. What we propose is a framework aiming to assist the conversion of a mere interest in a design subject into accurate, theory-driven and post-disciplinary research questions for global ‘trans-action’. Through an integrative review, we gather contributions from different authors and academic fields. After reviewing the characteristics of effective research questions, we discuss how different types of research questions combine with each step of the theory building cycle. Then, we adapt an innovation model to help PhD candidates to unveil post-disciplinary research opportunities while incorporating design projects in PhD proposals. Finally, using our own research as example, we show how to synthesize research planning relevant information into a research matrix.

This paper investigates the idea that undergraduate design courses are predicated on project work framed by a design studio educational setting. To answer the research question, we followed an empirical approach supported by a grounded theory methodology: (1) we gathered 31 publicly available undergraduate design courses programmes and descriptions, (2) we followed the procedures of classic grounded theory to code the data, categorise any clusters that emerged, and finally identified any patterns or insights that emerged from the data. The results of this study support the notion that the design project is still the preferred pedagogical tool for undergraduate design courses; furthermore, the design project is also clearly associated with the design studio educational format. Moreover, the key design education concepts that emerged from our analysis are also evidently interrelated; this finding suggests that an underlying coherent design education theory crosses national boundaries and is familiar to any design course. Finally, the prevalence of learning by doing pedagogy supported by project work within the design studio context suggests that undergraduate design education may not fit distant education formats.

A growing area in design research concerns learning from local practices and diversifying design’s knowledge space. By understanding and documenting how women in a village in Turkey learn the craft of weaving, this paper reformulates the relationship between the design field and the local context as learning from the local and aims to contributes to the design education field. During the summers of 2017, 2018, and 2019, fieldwork using the participant observation method was conducted in the village. The detailed account of the learning process in this local weaving practice allows us to define this learning as “apprenticeship type learning in the local.” The practice consists of a process in which the forms of learning and teaching are inseparably interwoven with socio-spatial elements. It draws together flexible learning processes where the teaching moments blur and students learn in action in a dialogical exchange through observing and making. During these interactions, the importance of considering the cooperative and social aspects of the learning arises: not only technical knowledge, but also social values and beliefs are transferred in an interdependent process.

The Design practice has influence not only on society, but also on the environment, economy and culture as well, being it formulates innovative solutions for specific problems. Even so, this science is not fully recognized by its true value and potential – neither in the public sector, nor in the private sector. Furthermore, Design Management is also a component that has an essential role in the proper performance of the projects and teams. Nevertheless, Portugal has no Order for the protection and organization of the professionals; the Responsibility, Conduct and Law as a rule are not present in the course teaching plans; and, sometimes, the legislation does not acknowledge the designers’ needs. Design was considered a discipline and began to have courses around 1975, making approximately 45 years of existence in Portugal (Gomes 2003). The area is an interdisciplinary practice and is present in several projects and companies. It is a comprehensive discipline, from Graphics with the perception of a brand, to Product Design with the conception of consumer pieces. The various branches of study within the Design hat have a great influence not only on society, but also on the planet, as it is present in everything (Papanek 1984). Furthermore, the number of trained designers and companies is growing in the country, according to data from the General Directorate of Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC). Even so, to date, there are no regulations or guidelines for the conduct of the area and, consequently, its professionals do not have protection or guidelines when exercising.

As for the general objectives of the study, this article seeks to deepen and contribute to the investigation in the area of the responsibility of Design and the analysis of the laws, rights and conduct of the designer in the activity of the profession. In terms of specific objectives, in addition to a literature review, three data collecting moments were executed in order to understand the perception and experience of the students, professors and professionals about the topic in question. In regard to the Methodology, first an Online Questionnaire was conducted (129 participants) to collect general quantitative data, then a qualitative research with Individual Interviews (12 people interviewed) and lastly, another quantitative research with a Survey (19 answers) so that participants could validate all the data collected and potential solutions generated throughout the study. With this data, it will be possible to interpret existing problems, find out what changes need to be implemented and how to move forward with raising awareness of the issues. Therefore, it is intended to investigate the role of the Design manager during the responsible creative process, contribute to the recognition and importance of the responsibilities and rights of Design in Portugal and, finally, understand that the area is an important strategic tool and should plan means of support and organization for its professionals.

While Design is a problem-solving activity, Design Management not only participates in the activity but also coordinates the Design process (Borja de Mozota 2003). As can be seen, Design has a great impact both on the economy, the public sector, and on business; Added to this, Best (2006) states that Design Management is another extremely important element to incorporate. Within an organization, Design Management is present in brand communication, products and services. Outside the organization, Design Management has the ability to respond to incremental pressure on organizations from the government and attitudes towards local management and global resources. With this, the essential question arises, if Design manages to have this influence on the lives of citizens and impact on society, it will be necessary to create changes in the dissemination and awareness of the area, updating the legislation, new plans or teaching methodologies and it will be necessary to investigate the organization of professionals? The world is constantly changing, social, historical and technological. Design has to keep up with these changes, it cannot ignore the sociocultural environment that surrounds it. (Monteiro 2004, p.27). Jet Gispen (2017), a researcher who developed toolkits on Ethics in Design for designers, says that Design has a great influence on the way people behave and live their lives. There is rarely a reflection on what a good solution entails, hence Gispen (2017) believes it is necessary for designers to understand the impact of their work and how they will incorporate it.

In essence, the investigation has the objective to comprehend how designers should act in terms of social, professional, ethical and environmental responsibility, which legislations do they have at their disposal to protect themselves, which conducts exist to regulate the field and what changes are necessary to make in these settings. It is expected that with this study it’s possible to aid the advancement of the conceptualization of the necessary structures to support the Design’ professionals, so that their contribution has a greater reach and has more recognition by the society.

This research seeks to respond to a current problem, which has to do with the impact of remote work, from home, on the mental health of “knowledge workers” in particular. One of the greatest struggles people report having is being able to disconnect from work, a state known in the field of psychology as Psychological Detachment.

In this context, the main objective of this work was to create a product capable of helping people in the process of disconnecting from work at home. To this end, we established an interdisciplinary research where the contribution of psychology stood out. After conducting a literature review, which culminated in the definition of a theoretical framework, we carried out user research, starting with surveys to find out about users who are being affected and concluding this stage with an Ideation workshop where users were encouraged to design solutions to help them disconnect from work. This collaborative and iterative process resulted in a number of ideas emerging alongside the theoretical framework, culminating in the proposal of three product concepts specifically aimed at helping people disconnect. These were subsequently evaluated by users and, according to their perceptions, gathered using User Experience Questionnaire. One of the concepts was chosen for refinement. Due to constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic it was not possible to produce a prototype of this concept for evaluation with users, which limits this study. Obtained results and their implications are discussed.

The research presented is placed in the field of design for health and well-being and focuses on the role of play in supporting educational inclusive practices aimed at children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). More specifically, the paper proposes some outcomes of the interdisciplinary research “Pro-Ability/Sens-Ability”, carried out by the authors, that led to the development of a play interface (physical and virtual) that implements music therapy for the enhancement of the motor skills of children with ASD.

The paper presents:

This work aims to address the need of creating visualization tools for better self-awareness of not visible daily life conditions, such as stress and emotional peaks, to facilitate the detection of patterns that could be related to some physical symptoms. It is focused on women because of the constant hormonal changes and the close relation of these with stress responses; and the fact that women are more likely to present psychosomatic disorders.

Women who reported been affected with this condition, remembered not being able to relate the emotional cause of the symptom until after the diagnose. That would usually trigger a vicious cycle of stress and frustration that would worsen symptom.

In the literature review it was found that psychosomatic disorders affect women in a 2:1 ratio compared to male pairs, due to biological, socio-economic, and cultural differences. It was also found that emotional self-awareness might decrease somatic related symptoms and that heart rate variability might be a valuable tool in the target tracking of users’ physical conditions in a near future. This kind of tools might not only serve as visual feedback but also it can help the physicians to detect patterns or relations for some common mental-related affections.

The error in pharmacological therapy is a significant issue in the context of hospital care practices. This contribution does not consider the error as a mere casual event, nor as the result of deviations from defined procedures, but inscribes it within the framework of the activities (and relations between activities) that define care. As a privileged point of view, the analysis circumscribes the communication system, highlighting as a critical point the passage of information between medical and nursing staff. The article takes its cue from a real case study, in which we analysed the networks of information and communication, starting from the medical and nursing documents that accompany the care activities. The interpretation of the processes investigated stems from the design culture, particularly from a human-centred perspective. The first design elaboration follows the analysis phase; in this context, the artefact acts as a transitional prototype, a bridge-object between the established routines and practices of the current reality and their role as a gateway to a digital future.

Assistive technology is a new paradigm in information technology in which people are empowered by a digital environment that is not only aware of their presence, but also sensitive, adaptive, and responsive to their needs, habits, gestures, and passions. Most assistive technology research focuses only on the indoor environment, making use of gadgets that must be installed in the environment or worn especially for the elderly who are more exposed to risks and dangers that prevent them from being active and having a routine of activities outdoors. If the solutions that seek to generate safe environments could be implemented in outdoor scale, the elderly would have greater security to perform outdoor activities, increasing their quality of life and autonomy. The main objective of this paper is to understand the needs of the elderly population in urban areas by the help of experts in architecture. Expert interviews were conducted to understand specifically the problems of the elderly in large cities. The results showed that only experts in architecture are not enough to understand the problems and foreseen possible solutions. However, it is foreseen to include experts from other areas as well as elderly to give insights into what they think about possible solutions to elderly’s problems in the Smart City context.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for change, raising questions about the current approach to health. The re-definition of the role of health and well-being towards an interdisciplinary approach is knowledge-driven and technology-enabled and the focus of innovation is shifting from the treatment of disease to prediction and prevention. The new model of the ‘co-benefit belt’ through design activates a process of systemic improvement and extends beyond the digital, pursuing the logic of interaction.

The role of Design as a mediator is emphasized, lending itself to emergency situations, to the design of protection devices by implementing multifunctional and shared protection dynamics, intervening in rethinking the universe of devices with Human Centered Design approaches, optimizing methods and processes. The case study presented describes the development of the research project funded by the Campania Region, “Smart&Safe”. Design for new individual protection devices”, among the initiatives to fight against Covid-19. The research proposes an update in the redesign of individual Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to explore a new dimension of the project that highlights the transition to an Individual and Intelligent Protection System (IIPS), reflecting on the various levels of safety faced during health emergencies.

The development of projects has more evidently incorporated the inspiration in natural processes for the solutions of artificial systems. Methods that include biomimetics and biophilia have favored analogies and inspirations in nature, as well as encouraging and highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary approaches for translating these analogies into artifacts, constructions or environments. This article aims to present the Echinochess case study. The work points out contributions from morphological and symbolic analogies and presents representative examples in Equinodesign. The design methodology followed the steps: (1) Research and Analysis on the echinoderms; 2) Choice of the bioinspired product; 3) Research and analysis of similar games; 4) Sketches of the pieces and board inspired by the morphology of echinoderms; 5) Selection of alternatives; 6) 3d modeling and 7) Game production.). The result was a chess game inspired by sea urchins, translating the morphological analogy of these animals through symbolic aspects, theme to a traditional artifact that stimulates cognitive development and interaction beyond virtuality; also aiming to provide a new look at this natural reference, as well as to apply the method and the interdisciplinary development process proposed by Perricone, which moved between Design, Science and Art.

In people’s imagination, the dwelling represents a fundamental part of life. The house has forever been not only a shelter, but it also occupies the majority of people’s economic and temporal resources. The matter of housing has become however noticeably more complex following the COVID-19 pandemic, since it has imposed a different relationship between the dwelling and the way of living the population was used to, as well as working, entertaining and conducting their own lives. Therefore, in addition to the energetic matters, already highlighted for some time, also problems related to the general welfare have been added, with particular attention to the quality of the space in which the daily life takes place. The paper reports some initial considerations of a piece of research which intends to investigate the domestic space and its relations with the users in the new house-hold configurations and in possible evolutionary scenarios of the concept of house and domestic space.

Portugal is a country with a long maritime tradition and with a continuous process of extension of its continental shelf; however, to guarantee the sustainability of the oceans, it is necessary to implement mechanisms for cleaning the coast, as well as, the reuse of the collected materials, giving them a new purpose. The circular economy (EC) is currently one of the most discussed terms among scientists in environmental economics and one of the focuses of the European Union's Horizon 2020 strategy (Geisendorf and Pietrulla 2017).

According to this, our project, Blue Circular Postbranding Project, is a pioneering blue circular economy initiative in our country, Portugal, and has emerged as a way to not only tackle the excessive consumption of goods and reduce unnecessary waste while promoting awareness of environmental education with our partners, but also to remove tons of end-of-life materials and products from the ocean, namely fishing nets, and marine litter, to create new and sustainable products, “100% made in Portugal”. To do that we’ve established a value chain and, together with our partners, we’ve developed a performance scheme that comprises the stages of marine garbage collection, transportation, dismantling, recycling, and creation of new products.

This paper suggests that merging Critical Design and Transition Design approaches might mutually complement them and increase their efficiency in inducing change. The discourse departs from acknowledging the necessity for a large-scale transition towards sustainable lifestyles. It recognizes as problematic the current mainstream design approaches that are focussed on immediate problems and ‘technological fixes’ within the dominant socio-economic paradigm. The emerging Transition Design is a promising step towards tackling transition as a systems-level issue, and towards conception of entirely new lifestyles. Critical Design is already recognized as a useful tool within one stage of the Transition Design – the visioning. In this paper, however, the two design approaches are shown to have considerable similarities and hence their relationship could be expanded. Critical Design could productively contribute also to adopting a different mindset, proposing other values, and in facilitating research and participation.

Biofabricated and grown materials are an emergent trend in the design discipline. The push towards the re-search of innovative and sustainable material solutions has recently increased since there is a real necessity to find solutions compatible with sustainable production paradigms. In the presented work, bacterial cellulose (BC) from kombucha tea fermentation has been chosen for investigation. The biofabrication of this peculiar material enables the realisation of several textural and aesthetical features, giving the designer important freedom. However, to properly look for possible applications in products design, some precise characterisations must be observed and discussed. In this contribution, the authors analysed the sensorial and aesthetical dimensions of six different BC samples to highlight and assess the peculiar element of this promising material.

This article examines how through material experience, glocal philosophy of “think globally act locally”, and experimentation of tinkering, it’s possible to renew and imagine new materials, products, and processes in a specific territorial context. During the research, a design framework on materials and territories emerged, starting from research on the context and territory, analysing the economic, social, tangible, and intangible factors that compose it. Moreover, it’s necessary to understand what type of resources it offers in terms of materials and processes to start active experimentation with the material by adding biological resources or reusing waste. The new material will experiment with local workers or the community. As a result, human capital and companies are involved in restoring the economy and cultural heritage to lead to social innovation. This framework was then applied in the case of ceramic processing in Nove territory (Italy). This enabled a different design approach to re-discover and re-innovate traditional materials and a renewed vision of their role as bearers of local values. Researchers and designers, through this framework, play a fundamental role in conserving and implementing the territorial cultural heritage.

This paper provides a critical overview of Design for Sustainability (DfS) and Design for Well-Being practices as, today, sustainability, human behavior, and well-being are inextricably linked. We present a case study in response to a pharmaceutical company brief about cosmetic self-production packaging. Since the research takes place during the first lockdown due to Covid-19, it depicts quite a complex and extensive desk phase and a limited field phase. The research is approached on two levels. First, is the intention to change the way we interact with the packaging. As a container of elements, packaging can be a resource on all levels, not only because we can recycle it but also because we can replant it. In this way, we would return part of what had been taken away to the environment while also improving the product’s life cycle. Thus, packaging becomes “behavioral”, producing and stimulating conscious behavior and motivating end-users while also educating them about environmental norms. Second, the Critical Design method traces the connections between DfS and Design for Well-being by leveraging the two practices within product design, clarifying the role of the designer in this transdisciplinary integration.

The human exploitation of resources is currently exceeding the real possibilities of the planet. New sustainable models of consumption and production have been implemented in the last years to limit the impact of human activities, i.e., the definition of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Design and digital technology can potentially foster the achievement of these goals, although their real contribution to this transition has not been defined yet. This paper aims to investigate the link between additive manufacturing technologies and design for sustainability for the achievement of the 17 United Nations SDGs. After a preliminary review of the goals and the theoretical framework, the most relevant case studies from the practical context were selected to deepen the investigation. Three matrixes were then created to detect the possible interconnections with the SDGs and the key aspects of the theoretical framework. Potential links were found with 15 of the 17 SDGs. Accessible additive manufacturing technologies can foster sustainable models, especially within local scales and communities. Designers can be seen as facilitators or creators of this transition from a practical point of view, fostering behavioral change towards more sustainable models.

This research presents an analysis of Avatar Therapy, a method of treating auditory hallucinations for patients with schizophrenia through images that supposedly represent the voices that people with schizophrenia hear. The objective proposed here is to understand how the aesthetics of these images can successfully produce their therapeutic effect through design and technology tools. The study conceives the therapeutic process as an intersemiotic mediation and translation. In addition, it aims to analyze the processes of figuration and representation and the characteristics of the graphic software. It is an internal validity study with external validation capacity in its applicability and generalizability character. The research modality performed here fits (1) in the theoretical scope for aiming at fundamentals and structuring systems that can help in improvements for the development of Avatar Therapy; and (2) in the bibliographical scope for recovering the scientific knowledge of the followers of C. S. Peirce’s semiotics and applying it to the design of this therapy images.

As interaction design is clarified as a physical/digital area, media usually considered to be devoid of interactive capacity can gain new encouragement in their relationship with people. Print media, which have played an important cultural, economic and social role, have been declining in recent decades, becoming a preferred media for experimenting with interactive features. We have conducted an exploratory study of print related media as interactive systems, by making a characterization of print media, articulating with physical interaction and presenting different cases, their characteristics and relevance for interactive purposes. We collected several projects as examples of print media being understood or connected with interactive systems. For each project, in addition to a synthesis description, we noted the type of media, materials and technologies used, types of interaction and usage context. Results show that approaches to relate interaction with print media are experimental, most at a prototype stage and with a speculative design proposals frame, revealing interventions that allow us to understand printed artefacts as interactive interfaces and as opportunities for future work in interaction design.

The lack of privacy in digital services is one of the main features of contemporary surveillance capitalism. Privacy can be understood as the right not to have intrusions into one’s private life and information, which we call negative privacy. Conversely, we regard positive privacy as the right to have personal data processed by service providers in a way that respects and enhances users’ preferences and tastes. This paper—which is part of a PhD project in design, ethics, and privacy—explores the relationship between UX design and positive privacy for a specific group of vulnerable users and citizens: children. In particular, this paper analyses to what extent design patterns found in YouTube Kids protect and enhance their positive privacy by recommending content consistent with the videos they (and their parents) have previously watched and searched for. The methodology followed involves field research and an assessment of the legal provisions governing the processing of children’s data under European and American legislation, along with YouTube Kids’ privacy policies. Our research reveals that the app’s UX has major loopholes that do not guarantee users’ positive privacy adequately.