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Propective Design Studies (2025)
Prospective Design Studies is a 60-hour graduate-level course in the Master’s in Prospective Design at UTFPR. The 2025 cohort was co-taught with Rodrigo Fresse Gonzatto and Geraldo Augusto Pinto. As an introductory course, Prospective Design Studies aims to provide an overview of the field, discussing the categories of structures, relational qualities, trajectories, projectories, and prospecting. […] - Feb 26, 2026 -
Object Theater is an extension of Theatre of the Oppressed that scrutinizes technology-mediated oppression and its symbolic and sensitive dimensions. Building upon the dramatic games developed by Augusto Boal that already engage everyday objects, Object Theater elevates the practice to a full-blown technique, including the possibility of generating an interactive play, similar to the Image […] - Feb 26, 2026 -
Now we know: Findings from a critical pedagogy experiment on the nature of codesign knowledge
Jalali, A., Londoño Davalos, L., and van Amstel, F. M. C. (2025). Now we know: Findings from a critical pedagogy experiment on the nature of codesign knowledge, in Pombo, F., Moreira da Silva, F., Nielsen, L. M., and Börekçi, N. (eds.), DRS Learn X Design Conference 2025, 22-24 September 2025, University of Aveiro, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.084 - Feb 20, 2026 -
Designing the world precedes designing the word: Critical pedagogy in typography education
Phan, L. D. H., Jalali, A., and van Amstel, F. M. C. (2025). Designing the world precedes designing the word: Critical pedagogy in typography education, in Pombo, F., Moreira da Silva, F., Nielsen, L. M., and Börekçi, N. (eds.), DRS Learn X Design Conference 2025, 22-24 September 2025, University of Aveiro, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.091 - Feb 20, 2026 -
Mapping migration paths through the dwindling institutional diversity of Florida
Phan, L. D. H. and van Amstel, F. M. C. (accepted). Mapping migration paths through the dwindling institutional diversity of Florida, in Sharma, A., Dey, S., Venkataraman, S., Khadilkar, P., Kar, G., Singh, S., and Tewari, S. (eds.), ICDHS14: Cultures of Design, 10–12 October 2025, at IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India - Feb 20, 2026 -
Algorithms are mathematical and logic structures that sort, transform, and create information in computers and, increasingly, in society. Algorithms change human-to-human interactions in ways that are difficult for users to understand. Most people cannot grasp algorithms implications to everyday life solely by reading academic papers or, even less, by reading source code. Embodied algorithm helps […] - Feb 14, 2026 -
Pixelated Dreams is a collaborative surrealist game designed to help people grasp the stable diffusion algorithm behind generative AI such as DALLE, MidJourney, and others. As an embodied algorithm simulation, the game turns an invisible computational process into a physical, social activity where players collectively perform the roles normally executed by a machine using their […] - Feb 14, 2026 -
Critical consciousness in Prospective Design
Prospective Design is a field of research opened by researchers from the Graduate Program in Prospective Design (PPGDP) at UTFPR, of which the proponent is one of the founders. Since 2019, the proponent has been conducting participatory workshops with faculty, students, and others interested in what would become PPGDP. The workshops are being recorded in […] - Feb 6, 2026 -
Design and Culture is a 45-hour course in UTFPR’s Bachelor of Design. In this course, culture and design theories are presented to encourage students to develop their own explanations of the different forms of design cultivation. Classes are structured around the culture circle, a participatory educational method developed by Paulo Freire to promote literacy and […] - Feb 4, 2026
Frederick van Amstel
Design researcher & educator