Emotional Value of Applied Textiles: Dialogue-oriented and participatory approaches to textile design

The present PhD thesis is conducted as an Industrial PhD project in collaboration with the Danish company Gabriel A/S (Gabriel), which designs and produces furniture textiles and ‘related products’ for manufacturers of furniture. A ‘related textile product’ is e.g. processing of piece goods, upholstery, mounting etc.

This PhD project addresses the challenges of the textile industry, where the global knowledge economy increasingly forces companies to include user-participation and value innovation in their product development. My project revolves around the challenges which the textile designers at Gabriel face while trying to implement an innovative and process-oriented business strategy. The focal point has been the section of the strategy which aims at developing Blue Ocean products, which have a functional and an emotional value for the user.

The thesis examines and explores emotional value of applied textiles. The objective is to operationalise the strategic term ‘emotional value’ as it relates to applied textiles. The procedure includes the development of user- and stakeholder-centred approaches, which are valuable for the textile designer in the design process.

The research approach is application-oriented and practical. In chapter two, I explain the ‘programmatic approach’ to design research, in which design experiments are the core of the project. The research programme is dynamic; it is developing in the course of the project and in tandem with the knowledge generated. The outcome of the research is ‘exemplary’ and the research contributions are presented as ‘exemplars’, ‘frameworks’, ‘tools’ and ‘structures’, which are relevant for the design process or can be the subject of critique and further investigation by other researchers. The project is a contribution to the broad and multifaceted field of design research with a particular focus on textile design including the discourse and methodology used in the field of design. In addition the project relates to the Participatory Design approach and to the design research fields which focus on emotional aspects of design.

Based on my experiences with the programmatic approach I propose a distinction between ’overall challenges’ and ’research questions’. I view this thesis as a research contribution which facilitates a programmatic approach to a project such as this one. The ‘overall challenges’ (challenges within the field of textile design) is a constant variable against which the programme (challenges which Gabriel’s textile designers face) can be benchmarked. Thus the ‘research questions’ (emotional value and user and stakeholder involvement) are ‘shapable’ and situation-specific, and they constantly interact with the experiments (procedures of user and stakeholder involvement).

In the course of the thesis I explain and elaborate on four themes each of which
contributes to the outcome of the project.

1) Creating a frame of reference for the textile design process and a systematic approach to applied textiles.
In chapter three I compare a textile design process with Donald Schön’s definition of design as ‘a conversation with the materials of a situation’. Subsequently, through design experiments involving several participants, I develop the ‘Tripod Approach’– a structured and systematic approach to design and research of applied textiles.

2) Understanding and exploring emotional value related to design of applied textiles.
In chapter four I argue – based on Jesse Prinz’s and Antonio Damasio’s emotion research – for a perception of emotional value of applied textiles which acknowledges bodily feedback as a core concept in the process which leads to ‘emotion’. This approach is used when exploring and adjusting Patrick Jordan’s framework of ‘the four pleasures’ to the study of emotional value of applied textiles as presented in this thesis. My experiments lead to the creation of a framework of four adjusted categories of ‘pleasure’ based on which a group of stakeholders can establish, support and explore individual experiences of emotional value.

3) Developing tools for dialogue about the emotional value of applied textiles.
In chapter five I explore the interview technique the ‘Repertory Grid’, developed by the psychologist George Kelly, and suggest that it can be combined with ‘design probes’ and ‘design games’, which are proven concepts in design research. The design experiments are based on research of textiles and images of office chairs and office environments, which subsequently leads to the development of the Tripod Approach. I also discuss the rules and procedures of the Repertory Grid and their application as support for the discussion among the participants about the emotional value of applied textiles.

4) Developing a procedure which invites participation in the design process from users and stakeholders.
In chapter six I elaborate on the creation of the design game the Stakeholder Game. The purpose of the game is for the participants (different stakeholders) to develop emotional concepts for future design based on personal and professional experiences. The Stakeholder Game summarises and refines the Tripod Approach, the ‘four pleasures’ categories and the dialogue tools; the game procedure is structured as an adjusted variation of the Repertory Grid technique. This procedure encourages the participants’ articulation of the strategic concept ‘emotional value’; sharing personal experiences facilitates a common dialogue. This dialogue helps develop
and formulate emotional concepts for future design as well as new knowledge about the emotional value of applied textiles.