research project 2004-2007
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research project 2004-2007 |
| Co-operation... Back to main page |
The project will pursue close relationships
to Finnish and international research groups. Such relationships are especially
important for improving cooperation between the small groups to increase
the effectiveness of researcher training. |
| Finnish UIAH HUT University of Lapland |
The SeFun project is a new initiative to connect
design research with cultural and technological research. Its approach
is novel in Finland. In addition to combining efforts of the University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH) and the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT), SeFun will be in close co-operation with the University of Lapland, which can be seen in the forming of the scientific committee of the project and in the researcher training arranged during the project. |
| AKA programme Academy of Finland |
SeFun project will possibly be
part of
the Research Programme for Industrial Design of the Academy of Finland. The SeFun project is directly linked to several themes of the Programme, especially to interaction between wo/man and technology and cultural research. Semiotic design research within the SeFun project will examine the representational qualities of products embedded in the cultural meanings that connect the project to cultural research. This aspect was deliberately emphasized as a theme of the Programme. Representations are often referred to as communicative or symbolic qualities, namely, as intangible product qualities in opposition to tangible ones (measurable technical and ergonomic properties). Intangible qualities have been studied very little, although their importance for design and product development processes has been recognized and emphasized. The significance of research on semiotic product qualities for the national system of innovation has been proposed by the Ministry of Education in the draft program Design 2005! (1999). The approach was stressed also in the development program of the Finnish Technology Agency in 2002. Emphasis in production is shifting from goods to symbol production, as was stated in the report of the Committee of Culture Industry of the Ministry of Education (1999). Research is, therefore, needed to enhance the understanding and implementation of such changes and to improve design quality. Successful products, be they immaterial or everyday consumer goods, are loaded with symbolic meanings. Culture functions as a source of innovation for this mode of production, as was stated in the programs. The SeFun project will contribute also to artistic aspects of industrial design, because representation and interpretation in design rest heavily on traditions in the visual arts of various cultures. Moreover, the project will produce knowledge for design research concerning new manufacturing technologies and sustainable development, because the outcome of these approaches always includes an interpretation of visual form and product communication. The implementation of design in new areas cannot escape aspects of representation. |
| International |
Internationally,
corresponding projects have been carried out in recent years on a smaller
scale, and SeFun will work closely with the experts involved in these projects. Established research contacts include the following institutions, which work closely within the field of semiotic product functions: University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH, Department of Visual Culture (Dr. Vihma) and Department of Design Helsinki University of Technology (HUT), Department of Computer Science (Professor Nieminen) University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design (Professor Kettunen) Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, Product and Production Development (Dr. Warell) Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk vid Göteborgs universitet (Dr. Wikström) Goldsmith College at University of London, Department of Design (Professor Woolley) Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Design (Associate professor Overbeeke) Wako University in Tokyo, Design Semiotics (Professor Kawama) These scholars will form a scientific committee for the project. |
| Nordcode Nordcode |
A central task of the project will be
to establish an active research network at the Nordic level. In 2000,
a planning meeting to start a network was organized in Gothenburg. It was
initiated by Susann Vihma and partly financed by the Nordic Academy for Advanced
Study (Norfa). Following this, the Nordic Network for research on Communicative
Product Qualities (Nordcode), an initiative of the Meaning of Form Research
Group (UIAH) and the Department of Design Engineering at Chalmers University
of Technology, was established and a grounding seminar was organized in
March 10-11, 2003 in Gothenburg. The SeFun group hosted the second Nordcode seminar and workshop in October 1-3, 2003 in Helsinki/Espoo. Between 2003 and 2007, the SeFun project will function as a key activity of the Nordcode network, encouraging research cooperation of the Nordcode members. The annual Nordcode seminars will be an important part of the SeFun project. Research results and new ideas will be discussed there among a larger audience. The international SeFun conference will be arranged in cooperation with Nordcode. |
