-
Decolonisation and Participatory Design
Winschiers-Theophilus, H., Smith, R. C., Amstel, F. V., & Botero, A. (in press). Decolonisation and Participatory Design. In Smith, R. C., Loi, D., Heike Winschiers-Theophilus, H., Huybrechts, L. & Simonsen, J. (Eds.). Routledge International Handbook of Contemporary Participatory Design. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003334330 - Dec 25, 2024 -
Transdisciplinarity is transgression or it is not
Throughout the 20th century, there were many attempts to make design into a single and unified discipline, similar to (or even engulfing) architecture. These efforts failed as new design disciplines kept popping up and creating distinctive professions. The possibility of disciplinary unification under elusive labels like design studies became less and less realistic as designers […] - Dec 20, 2024 -
Culture circles is a participatory educational method developed by Paulo Freire to foster literacy and critical consciousness through dialogue. It emphasizes horizontal, dialogical learning, where participants and facilitators engage as equals in analyzing their lived experiences and co-creating knowledge. The term “circle” underscores this horizontal structure, symbolizing equality among participants and rejecting the top-down dynamics […] - Dec 8, 2024 -
Fall 2024 (Design) Research and Practice
Research and Practice (Fall 2024) is a 45-hour course at the University of Florida that immerses Design and Visual Communications (MXD) graduate students in the practice of doing design research. Students explore qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods through discussions, case studies, writing, fieldwork, and presentations. My approach emphasizes participatory and critical learning, treating students as design researchers rather than […] - Dec 4, 2024 -
Democratic design experiments, as explored by Binder, Brandt, Ehn, and Halse (2015), are participatory processes that bridge the boundaries between “parliamentary” and “laboratory” practices. These experiments bring people together to explore and discuss the controversies around a thing or a matter of concern. Instead of aiming at creating products or solving problems, these experiments turn design […] - Dec 4, 2024 -
Graduate Seminar (Spring 2024) is a 45-hour course at the University of Florida that prepares Design and Visual Communications (MXD) graduate students to critically engage with contemporary design research methodologies. The seminar is organized as an expansive learning journey that begins with the barebones of becoming a design researcher and ends with joining a design research community. The […] - Dec 3, 2024
Frederick van Amstel
Design researcher & educator