MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

The student experience at educational institutes is affected by a variety of factors – academic as well as non-academic. Certain key factors related to uncertainties during a student's time at the Institute play an outsized role in determining the quality of the student experience. In spite of knowing the factors affecting student experience and developing solutions to tackle the issues, the problem of stress affecting student experience remains endemic across college campuses. Resources provided by educational institutes to address the problem remain under-advertised and under-utilized among students. The data collected by the University of Cincinnati (UC) Student Wellness Center and the Counseling and Psychological Services show that within the previous year 57.4% of the students felt overwhelming anxiety, 49.9% felt things were hopeless, 36.3% felt so depressed that they difficulty functioning and 59.1% felt very lonely. These statistics point to a problem which is also existent on UC campus. This thesis developed tools to help undergraduate design students at UC deal with stress through interventions focused on positive coping mechanisms. The system is a wellness tool-kit which can be adapted or tailored by students to deal with various other stresses in different situations. The data gathered for this research study was derived from two primary sources, undergraduate Communication Design (CODE) students and experts from wellness experts across campus. Student data for identifying the source of the stress was collected from observations, surveys, focus groups, and poster studies. Data for understanding stress factors came from expert interviews with undergraduate CODE professors, representatives from the UC Student Wellness Center, and researchers and psychologists from the UC Counseling and Psychological Services. Tool development was rooted in understanding how stress affects the students, based on insights derived from the research data. To help student (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Claudia Rebola Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Renee Seward (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Master of Science in Engineering, Youngstown State University, 2018, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The aim of this project is to design a small FPGA chip with 0.5 µ methodology. The standard cell-based ASIC implementation of 8-bit serial communication module using the Synopsys EAD tools is presented. The design was also fabricated by MOSIS. By using Synopsys Design Compiler, IC compiler and Custom Compiler flow, simulation results are presented with the verification of logical and physical design features such as area, timing, any hold violations, Design Rule Check (DRC). This design methodology describes the RTL to GDS implementation of 8-bit serial communication module using Synopsys tools. The proposed design has 10 Input and Output ports, 54 registers. The design has passed all the Timing checks, Functional verification, Metal density requirements, Physical design verification, Layout vs Schematic. The baud rate generator which mimics a clock signal is supplied to the receiver module. The desired baud rate can be chosen from the baud rate generator. The serial communication protocol can be used for reading a sensor's bit stream data.

Committee: Frank Li PhD (Advisor); Eric MacDonald PhD (Advisor); Jalal Jalali PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering; Electrical Engineering

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Humans have been “speaking” with pictures since the beginning of civilization. Developing pictures that speak is a primary task for today's designers. Research methodologies that reveal how users "see" visual concepts should help designers create more effective visual communication. This study investigates whether a user-generated drawing methodology, the Flashdraw, is an appropriate design research methodology for the design of icons and pictograms. This thesis will document the supporting research to establish the basis for a user-generated drawing methodology, the design, development and testing of the methodology protocols, and present potential areas of implementation for this design research methodology. The Flashdraw is a design research methodology based on an existing research tool, the draw-it technique. The Flashdraw utilizes drawings created by user population(s) to create the visual keywords that fuel the design of a specific set of icons or pictograms. This paper will define protocols for administration of the Flashdraw with adult and juvenile subjects, protocols and tools for the analysis of the collected data, and the incorporation of the analyzed key insights into the design process. These guidelines are based on 3 research studies and over 400 data samples. A proven user-generated visual design research methodology could enable designers to bring users into the design process earlier and help to establish a contextually relevant visual language, which could result in shorter development cycles and higher comprehension rates.

Committee: Paul Zender M.F.A. (Committee Chair); Todd Timney M.F.A. (Committee Member); Craig Vogel M.I.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of)

Technology has transformed the role of the architect and the profession over an arguably short period of time. With the invention of the printing press, the method of architectural representation has shifted from an entirely drafted form to an entirely digital form. Issues of efficiency, control, communication, and value contribute significantly to this transition. Value, as measured through the precision in the built form, has pushed architectural representation to clarify obscure and abstract intent, pushing for what some might label a transparency in design. The transition from hand-drawn to digitally drawn representation has additionally introduced new methods for approaching architectural problem solving, most notably in design forecasting, integrated practice, and multiple-solution design outcomes. Building Information Modeling and Parametric Modeling are current tools that make use of these new design methodologies. Beyond simple computer-aided-design representations (CAD), these tools combine functionality into a single three-dimensional digital model that enable the architect to run quantitative analyses during the design process. The result is a better-informed inquiry to arrive at substantially informed design outcomes. It is the goal of this thesis to evaluate the tools of representation against the issues of efficiency, control, communication, and value from architectural design to the built form. Moreover, it will be important to recognize the use implications of these tools, such as application in the academic realm, ethics of building science in architectural design, and perhaps most importantly the relationship between quantitative and qualitative input in design.

Committee: Patricia Kucker MARCH (Committee Chair); George Bible MCiv.Eng (Committee Chair) Subjects: Architecture

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Computer Science and Engineering

Collaborative software plays an important role in firms that rely on teams to work together effectively and in pursuit of a common goal. They allow individuals to interact with one another in ways that were not previously possible, and as mediators of social interactions they have the potential to make an organization's people-driven operations more visible and improve the self-management practices of teams. However, collaborative technologies have never fully realized their potential as tools for sustaining strategic self-management activities. Technology users tend to ignore features that are not directly related to their immediate day-to-day tasks, and they are often unwilling to deal with more complex interfaces or to input additional data into a system even if it would be beneficial from a collective organizational perspective. This research examines the often-conflicting relationship between the needs of individuals and groups in computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) systems and it addresses the lack of established design principles for resolving the tradeoffs that they create in practice. Two contributions are made. First, a set of design guidelines is proposed for building collaborative software systems that can collect useful metadata from a managerial point of view in a way that is transparent to end-users. These guidelines help ensure that technology can support group-level needs, such as self-governance and self-monitoring, without requiring individual end-users to input data or perform actions that have no clear and immediate value to them. These principles are first developed through a critical examination of two divergent areas in the literature and are subsequently assembled into a single software interface design pattern. Next, the pattern is used to develop a prototype system that is evaluated through a naturalistic user study. The results of this study provide evidence that user interfaces can be intentionally designed to capture strategicall (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jayashree Ramanathan PhD (Advisor); Rajiv Ramnath PhD (Committee Member); Philip Smith PhD (Committee Member); Paolo Sivilotti PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering; Computer Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Older people often experience difficulties in performing the activities of daily living. There are two knowledge gaps associated with the problem. First, there is a research void in understanding the relationship between product interface design characteristics and hand dysfunction levels in older populations. Taking jar lids as an example of the product interface as the focus of this study, associations between jar lid design characteristics and the user experiences of older people with hand disability were explored. When investigating jar lid design characteristics, to the best of our knowledge, no prior published research specifically studied older people who were known to have difficulties opening or closing jar lids or who reported experiencing hand pain around the time of their study participation. Second, methods and tools for making it easier for industrial designers to produce inclusive designs during product design processes are still insufficient. Although there are many Human Factors design assist tools available for designers to use, it has been found that designers seldom consult these established resources. It was recognized that a gap still exists between Human Factors information explorers (e.g. engineering researchers) and information users (e.g. designers). Therefore, the aim of the study was to address knowledge limitations in two important areas by applying Ergonomics and product design research methodologies, in concert, to (1) discover what lid design features can improve the user experience of older people with hand impairment, and (2) discover what concepts of Human Factors design assist tools can satisfy the practical needs of industrial designers when solving design problems, such as jar lids that facilitate opening and closing by a wide range of potential users. Accordingly, there were three phases of research activities included: Phase 1 (“Exploration”) – Exploring different levels of user experiences when interacting with product interf (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carolyn Sommerich PhD (Advisor); Steven Lavender PhD (Committee Member); Sharon Flinn PhD (Committee Member); Elizabeth Sanders PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Industrial Engineering

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2009, Art

This research explores a new methodology for idea-generation with multi-disciplinary design teams demonstrating alternative ideation techniques and brainstorming facilitation. Innovators may use this methodology to enhance their company's enthusiasm toward a project, link and generate different ideas together, or train newcomers in a team-building exercise. Researchers can use this dynamic moderator approach that involves careful timing to conduct a compact brainstorming session. Design educators may challenge their teaching styles with various parts of this methodology to encourage their students to practice thinking more broadly and gathering out-of-the-box ideas into one narrative by using the compiled, tested techniques in this study. Current idea-generation methods range from traditional methods such as focus groups, to non-traditional social networking platforms such as GUNGEN used in Japan. However, little to no information details an approach that leverages a combination of social networking channels such as wiki communities to co-create with design teams, while combining generative tools and free association for storytelling during the pre-design phase. Six separate workshops were facilitated at the respective job sites of the participants. Each group was comprised of six to eight professionals screened and recruited through a contact person who also participated in the hour-long ideation workshop. A total of twenty-nine participants tested the methodology. The results reveal novel associations with mundane objects, which add imagination and cohesion to these objects when formulated into storytelling. As a vehicle for collaborative ideation, this methodology is intended for group motivation and idea enhancement in a cost-effective way. It is aimed to benefit those who are thought leaders, and regularly work with ideas to innovate, manage, strategize, educate, moderate, research, and design, without the time or money to go on a creative retreat. A qua (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: R. Brian Stone (Advisor); Elizabeth B.-N. Sanders PhD (Committee Member); James W. Arnold (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education; Business Community; Communication; Fine Arts; Higher Education; Management; Social Psychology; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Industrial and Systems Engineering

The literature on design thinking indicates that, in order to avoid early fixation on a less than effective overall form, product designers are trained to sketch the overall form for a design before focusing attention on the details of individual components. Using a between-subjects design, an empirical study involving 30 experienced designers was conducted to investigate how design tools can influence this process, specifically investigating the potential for color to induce early fixation on the details of a design rather than first exploring concepts for an effective overall form of that design. In this study, the participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Both groups performed a design task that involved creating a concept sketch for a lamp by selecting and combining two features from each of the two lamps seen in a reference picture. The participants were asked to assemble several line segments of various sizes and orientations on a computer screen to create the sketch. Group one was provided with the line segments in a single color while Group two had access to the line segments in multiple colors. It was hypothesized that the availability or use of multiple colors for sketching could influence the participants to focus on the details of the individual components before sketching the overall form. Based on the data from the verbal protocols it was found that the participants in the multi-color group were 33% more likely to verbalize the goal of sketching the overall form than those in the multi-color group. Consistent with these verbal protocols, it was observed that the multi-color group made significantly more revisions (p=0.02) on the first component before leaving it for the first time than after revisiting it (as contrasted with the single color group). This suggests that the multi-color group was more likely to focus on the details of the first component before completing a sketch of the overall form. One way of explaining these results is to s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Philip Smith PhD (Committee Chair); Liz Sanders PhD (Committee Member); Matthew Lewis PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behaviorial Sciences; Design; Fine Arts; Industrial Engineering; Psychology; Systems Design; Technology

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 2012, Career and Technology Education/Technology

Facilitators make decisions when designing and creating differential instructional materials or activities. The materials or activities each embed scaffolding into the creation process of learning design. Instructional materials require a digital solution for the millennial generation (1977—1990) whether in postsecondary education or the business world (Hudson, K. and Hiemstra, G., 2009). A digital format invokes advocacy on the part of a learner's additional work for a facilitator to respond to student-centric learning. Moreover, connectivism enables the inclusive classroom model to function. According to the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), the underlying premise is a reflective awareness of the unique nature of the learner (CAST, 2003). A need exists to accommodate differences, creating learning experiences that suit the learner and maximize his or her ability to progress. A study of generational domains involves differential instruction using pedagogy and tools offering influence for the need of the program, the design, implementation and service delivery, impact or intended learning outcomes, and program effectiveness. Research by Pea (1993), Prensky (2001), and Siemens (2006) gleans information from individuals and shapes their future through learning, discovery, collaboration and personal growth. This study provides information useful to postsecondary education institutions in learning design and practice. Differential instruction theory in this study demonstrated efficient and effective student-centric curricula for improved assessment scores on educational goals/aspirations, foundation to complete under-graduate degree program, and the development of students as future collegiate alumni of critical thinking citizens.

Committee: Terry Herman PhD (Advisor); Paul Cesarini PhD (Committee Member); Edward Whipple PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Community College Education; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Educational Technology; Educational Theory; Instructional Design; Teacher Education; Teaching

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

This research aimed to investigate how important it is to embed business education into undergraduate industrial design curriculum and help design students understand the financial aspects of their design ideas, particularly in the areas of cost and profit. To respond to this question, a user-centered design approach was applied to understand design students' perceptions towards business education. Later on, the research findings were synthesized into a list of design requirements for developing a financial assessment tool. After rounds of ideation and looking into other frameworks from business related disciplines, a financial assessment tool was developed. Consequently, this tool was prototyped and piloted in a senior industrial design class in order to test its effectiveness. At last, students who had participated in the experiment evaluated the tool. Their positive feedback proved such methods could be successfully integrated into undergraduate design curriculum and help industrial design students gain a better understanding of the business aspects related to their ideas.

Committee: Craig Vogel M.I.D. (Committee Chair); Steven Doehler M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

Recent calls for composing process research have pointed to the current lack of empirical data on the broader activities and conditions that shape literate activity. Our understanding of the ways the different modes shape multimodal composing processes is even more thin. We know focusing on the final “frozen” product renders invisible the many intricacies that shift, shape, and alter composing processes, including how composers navigate their processes in the greater context of their lives. By failing to acknowledge these interactions, we struggle to see the dynamic whole of composing processes, along with the many affective, physical, and social dimensions of writing. My research on the multimodal composing processes of fashion design students aims to answer how these various modes shape the affective or cognitive experiences of a person while composing or evaluating their work. Drawing on the scholarship of Jody Shipka, Stacey Pigg, and Paul Prior, my dissertation uses thick description and video and screen capture recordings to produce three case studies. My research interrogates the relationship between the modes during composing processes and provides concrete examples of how environments shape composing, such as through the affordances spaces provide, how they tune consciousness towards the work at hand, and how tool choices reflect a complex ecology of agency, rather than merely representing idiosyncratic preferences. Participants in my study describe their affective responses to windows supplying natural light, the daily rhythms of commutes and food prep, and the many ways they arrange tools, fabrics, notebooks, computers, and other objects in various workspaces. Rather than letting these practices and affective elements slip into the background, my work situates them as central to the activity of composing. Through carefully documenting one participant's workspace, with its wall mounted TV acting as a second computer monitor, computer accessories like a Wac (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Derek Van Ittersum (Committee Chair); Pamela Takayoshi (Committee Member); Sara Newman (Committee Member); Kim Hahn (Committee Member); Kristine Pytash (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Design

Master of Fine Arts, Miami University, 2019, Art

Designers and managers of escape rooms or live-action adventure games are encountering an increasing challenge of implementing highly immersive experiences without the use of (smart) technology, and those that are including technology face high expense, high risk, or both. The increasing complexity of technology opens the door for designing innovative immersive experiences while simultaneously excluding many immersive designers that would benefit from their use. Through a deeper understanding of the design process and common problems preventing or hindering this population's use of immersive technology, we can identify and design empowering solutions. These solutions not only have the potential to dramatically speed up innovation in the live-action game space but to save many existing businesses from failing due to being unable to compete. Focusing on accessibility and flexibility would allow for integrating technology much earlier in the design process thereby reducing risk and increasing the cohesiveness of the design; broadening the scope of what types of experiences are possible which increases competitiveness; and decrease overall time and cost by solving common reliability and maintainability problems that plague inexperienced and non-iterative technology design work.

Committee: Dennis Cheatham (Advisor); Michael Bailey-Van Kuren (Committee Member); Eric Hodgson (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Electrical Engineering; Information Technology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, English

I examine invention practices in designing “webtext” (multimedia) scholarship to understand more fully how this design takes shape through the twists and turns of the drafting process. I apply a principle of digital making through the use of three digital autoethnographic case studies in conversation with seven authors' composing narratives to explore the impact “people,” “tools,” and “metaphors” have on developing a webtext's design. I additionally develop a qualitative analytical approach to narratively synthesize and visually represent changes in drafts across ten months and two terabytes of multimodal composing data. I argue that webtexts help scholars communicate in new ways; develop methodological and presentational research craft; build partnerships across disciplines; and increase access to specialized knowledge. I believe webtext scholarship plays a crucial role toward incorporating all available means of persuasion into contemporary academic information design, and toward valuing multiple modes of communication to increase information access. Chapter 1 introduces my project. Using digital autoethnography, discourse-based interviews, and composing case studies, I map out moments of invention in webtext projects' designs (with attention to visual, linguistic, spatial, and audio channels), noting these moments' correspondence with particular invention influences (in terms of people, tools, and metaphors). In Chapter 2, I trace the discussions around autoethnography as an approach to researching writing and digital composing, with a particular emphasis on its affordances for tracking the differences through which a webtext's design is pulled--and for tracking these differences' impacts on a webtext's design as a knowledge-making artifact. In Chapter 3, I argue that scholars should value multiple modes at both analytical and representational levels when composing digital scholarship, thereby making use of all available rhetorical and epistemological re (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jonathan Buehl (Advisor); Christa Teston (Advisor); Susan Delagrange (Committee Member); Dorothy Noyes (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Design; Rhetoric

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Designers of medical and non medical hand tools need human factors and usability inputs to develop successful and safe products. There are a multitude of documented processes and methodologies within the design profession to gather inputs with usability implications for hand tool design. In addition to the variety of methodologies available, designers can make use of formally published human factors guidelines, reference books, literature and standards. In practice, the challenge with formal methods and reference material is that they may not always be in scope, within budget, readily on hand, or actionable. To overcome these limitations and identify the reality of the design process, it is important to examine how human factors and usability decisions are made within the industrial design profession. The aim of this thesis is to assess how designers make form influencing decisions. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 18 professional industrial designers regarding their design methodology on real world products. The fully transcribed interviews were coded in QSR Nvivo10 using a thematic and descriptive coding process. The objective of the study was to identify the inputs designers used to define handle: shape, size, and form language, as well as control: type(s), size(s) and placement location(s). The study findings report the inputs designers referenced and the connection of those inputs to the outputs of the development process. The results indicate that observation is not explicitly expressed as a primary input to the form and control development process. Notwithstanding, many of the primary inputs documented can be traced back to the ethnography/observational phase of the design process. This research has implications for the development of human factors materials for industrial designers, the education and curriculum of industrial design, and for the further advancement of the industrial design profession.

Committee: Dale Murray M.A. (Committee Chair); Mary Beth Privitera M.Des. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design