{"id":262857,"date":"2016-07-20T14:52:35","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T21:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-event&p=262857"},"modified":"2025-08-06T11:59:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T18:59:54","slug":"design-expo-2015","status":"publish","type":"msr-event","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/event\/design-expo-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Expo 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

About: <\/strong>Be inspired by top design schools from around the world on how they created inclusive solutions for today’s world problems. This year, Design Expo is excited to align with Imagine Cup and Microsoft’s 40th anniversary.
\nAbout Design Expo<\/a><\/p>\n

Past Events:<\/strong>
\nDesign Expo 2017<\/a>
\nDesign Expo 2016<\/a>
\nDesign Expo 2014<\/a>
\nDesign Expo 2013<\/a>
\nDesign Expo 2012<\/a>
\nDesign Expo 2011<\/a>
\nDesign Expo 2010<\/a>Opens in a new tab<\/span><\/p>\n

2015 Design Challenge:
\nInclusive Design & Technologies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Watch the Full video of Design Expo 2015 (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> or view individual videos per school in the Participating Schools and Liaisons section.<\/p>\n

Thank you all for attending Design Expo 2015! Check out #dexpo15 on Twitter (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> or view more event photos in the photo section.<\/p>\n

In 2014, the World Health Organization radically revised their definition of disability. The crux of this change was to define disability as context dependent<\/i> rather than as an attribute of a person<\/i>. Interactions with technology are a clear example of this shift. Design solutions can create new access and new barriers for people participating in society.<\/p>\n

Consider the things that are common to all human beings as we interact with the world around us. We all are motivated to achieve something greater than our momentary tasks. We all build relationships that change over time. We all have limits to our abilities: physical, social, emotional and cognitive. How can we design to embrace these universal things that make us human, but also create solutions that are highly adaptive to an individual person?<\/p>\n

Physical interactions with technology depend heavily on what a person sees, hears, says, smells, and touches. Yet a person\u2019s physical abilities are constantly changing. With increasingly longer life spans and increased ubiquitous technologies, designers must create adaptive solutions that address a person\u2019s permanent, situational and temporary constraints.<\/p>\n

Consider that a person\u2019s physical abilities also change dramatically as they move through multiple environments. In a loud crowd, they can\u2019t hear well. In a car, they\u2019re visually and cognitively impaired. A new parent spends much of their day doing tasks one-handed.<\/p>\n

What innovative interaction systems address the spectrum of human capabilities in changing physical, social and technological contexts? What are the new requirements that enable adaptive and proactive systems via voice, touch, sight, or otherwise? How could these systems scale across a range of contexts such as domestic, public, office spaces, or on the body?<\/p>\n

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The Goal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Design a product, service or solution for someone with a context-dependent disability. Your creation can improve that person’s abilities in an existing context, or change their context to lessen or remove the disability. It must meet a clear need and be extensible to wider applications. Demonstrate how your solution maps to a person’s motivations and addresses them in context. Your project may be near-term practical or blue sky, but the idea must be innovative, technically feasible, and have a realistic chance of adoption if instantiated. Imagine a future of adaptive systems that puts human empathy at their design core.<\/p>\n

Disability is not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person\u2019s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.<\/em>
\n\u2014The World Health Organization, 2014<\/p>\n

In the context of health experience, a disability is any restriction or lack of ability (resulting from an impairment) to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.<\/em>
\n\u2014The World Health Organization, 1980<\/p>\n

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Why Design for Inclusivity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Designing for people with permanent disabilities can seem like a significant constraint, but the resulting designs can actually benefit a much larger number of people. For example, curb cuts in sidewalks were first created to make it safer and easier for people in wheelchairs to cross the street. But curb cuts also help people with a wide range of circumstances, from kids riding bicycles, to parents pushing strollers, to workers hauling heavy equipment.<\/p>\n

High-contrast screen settings were initially made to benefit people with vision impairments. But today, many people benefit from high-contrast settings when they use a device in bright sunlight. Similarly, the OXO Good Grips were initially designed for people that suffer from arthritis, but later became widely popular.<\/p>\n

In its inactive state, the Nest thermostat is subtle and unobtrusive on the wall. Motion sensors light up the interface when a nearby hand is detected; particularly useful in a darkened hallway so there is no need to drag your hand along the wall to find and operate the device. In a similar way, vehicle manufacturer Ford, is aware of how cumbersome it is to open your car when you have your hands full. They recently added a feature that allows people to \u201ckick the bumper\u201d as a way to open the trunk.<\/p>\n

Also consider situations that leave you in a temporarily disabled state, such as being in a foreign country. When you travel to a foreign country, you now have a different level of ability. Because you’ve never been there before, you are not familiar with your surroundings, you don’t speak the language, you need to look at your cellphone, or walk around with a guide book, etc. This is a very different situation than walking around in a familiar environment and culture.<\/p>\n

The project Cities Unlocked creates a 3D soundscape to aid people with severe blindness in navigating a city. They use sound as an element of navigation. For all other humans, wouldn’t it be great \u2013 without getting out your phone or book \u2013 to be guided in your own language and be informed about the environment around you, while keeping your eyes free to explore the new city?Opens in a new tab<\/span><\/p>\n

ArtCenter College of Design, Graduate Media Design Practices<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Los Angeles, USA<\/strong>
\nProject: Radical Sensing
\nProfessors: Anne Burdick, Philip van Allen
\nStudents: Jay Hong, Selwa Sweidan
\nMicrosoft Liaison: Colleen Estrada, Julio Estrada
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

Carnegie Mellon University, School of Design<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Pittsburgh, USA<\/strong>
\nProject: GatherWell
\nStudents: Jane Lien, David Scoville, Lorraine Shim
\nProfessors: Bruce Hanington, Peter Scupelli
\nMicrosoft Liaisons: Austin Lee, Annika Ushio
\nCourse website: https:\/\/graduatedesignstudio2.wordpress.com (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

Delft University of Technology, Industrial Design Engineering<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Delft, Netherlands<\/strong>
\nProject: Fuzzy Bird
\nProfessors: Dr. Dipl. Des. Stella Boess
\nStudents: Sophie Kelder, Minsung Kim, Thomas Latcham, Max Rijken, Astrid van Smoorenburg
\nMicrosoft Liaison: Jeremy Jobling, Jakob Nielsen
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Department of Industrial Design and School of Computing<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Yuseong-gu, Korea<\/strong>
\nProject: Sparkle
\nProfessors: Youn-kyung Lim, Alice Oh
\nStudents: Sungwon Cho, Cheolho Jeon, Jonghyuk Jung, Sungbae Kim
\nMicrosoft Liaison: Jane Park, March Rogers
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

New York University Shanghai, Interactive Media Arts<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Shanghai, China<\/strong>
\nProject: Adaptool
\nProfessor: Clay Shirky
\nStudents: Hilary Burrowes, Ellina Nurmukhametova, Che Wang, Tong Wu
\nMicrosoft Liaisons: Joyce Chou, Kati London
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Arts & Design Department<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil<\/strong>
\nProject: MeSh – Memory Sharing
\nProfessors: Claudio Magalh\u00e3es, Manuela Quaresma
\nStudents: \u00cdris Carlota Arraes, Patr\u00edcia Carrion, Jessika Dangelo Rocheski P. De Freitas, Rafael Gon\u00e7alves
\nMicrosoft Liaison: Jiwon Choi, Melissa Quintanilha, Sara Siritaratiwat
\nCourse website: https:\/\/workshopdesigndeinteracao.wordpress.com\/ (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Interface Design Program<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Potsdam, Germany<\/strong>
\nProject: Tracktile
\nProfessors: Boris M\u00fcller
\nStudents: Johannes Herseni, Patrick Oswald, Cecile Zahorka
\nMicrosoft Liaison: Richard Banks, Don Coyner, Andreas Koller
\nCourse website: https:\/\/interface.fh-potsdam.de\/inclusivedesign\/ (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>
\nView presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

University of Washington, Interaction Design Program<\/strong> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>; Seattle, USA<\/strong>
\nProject: Loom
\nProfessor: Axel Roesler
\nStudents: Jennifer Cheng, Jaewon Hwang, Catherine Lim, Kendall Paulsen, Charlotte Ziob
\nMicrosoft Liaison: Nathan Auer, Gino Scarpino
\nView presentation<\/a>Opens in a new tab<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome Dinner<\/strong><\/p>\n