Publications
32 results found
Ratcliffe E, Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, et al., 2023, The role of ritual communication in consumption: A consumer coffee experience, International Journal of Food Design, ISSN: 2056-6522
<jats:p>Rituals are part of the consumer experience of goods, especially food and drink, and can contribute to consumer enjoyment of and fidelity to a specific product. However, we lack detailed description of food/beverage-related rituals and their potential impact on consumer perceptions, in particular whether and how communicating those rituals to consumers influences their attitudes. Here we use coffee as an example of a ritualized product within the UK market to explore this potential relationship and identify opportunities for design. In Study 1, we identified rituals associated with coffee preparation and consumption. In Study 2, we found that several procedural aspects of the rituals identified in Study 1 were not consistently conveyed in coffee advertising, indicating a potential gap in communication with consumers. In Study 3, we showed that communicating such rituals to consumers resulted in significantly greater willingness to pay for coffee, mediated by perceptions of social attention. This work connects growing interest in the psychological mechanisms of ritual with work on consumer perceptions and behaviour and carries significant implications for the design of messaging around food experience.</jats:p>
Collis B, Baxter W, Baird HM, et al., 2023, Signs of use present a barrier to reusable packaging systems for takeaway food, Sustainability, Vol: 15, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 2071-1050
Single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste, and reuse has been identified as a key strategy to reduce such waste. However, reusable containers typically become worn, which may influence how consumers think and feel about reuse. The present research explored whether and how evaluations of a takeaway food service changed depending on the appearance of a reusable container. Two studies were conducted (using opportunity sampling) to (i) investigate the effects that signs of use have on people’s perceptions of reusable packaging systems using quantitative methods (Study 1) and (ii) understand the rationale underpinning these evaluations using qualitative methods (Study 2). Study 1 involved an online questionnaire where participants (n = 292) were shown images of reusable bowls for takeaway food with various levels of staining and asked to evaluate the container and the restaurant serving the food using rating scales. Study 2 involved in-person interviews where participants (n = 22) were given the opportunity to inspect either a clean bowl or a stained bowl and then were asked questions about the bowls. Signs of previous use seemed to undermine people’s willingness to reuse containers in the future and were associated with more negative evaluations of the packaging, product, and restaurant serving the food. These findings provide insights into the factors that affect people’s willingness to engage with reusable packaging systems, and we use these findings to suggest behavioural and design interventions that might mitigate negative evaluations and encourage reuse.
Brial E, Aunger R, Muangi WC, et al., 2023, Development of a novel hand cleansing product for low-income contexts: the case of tab soap, PLoS One, Vol: 18, Pages: 1-30, ISSN: 1932-6203
Handwashing with soap is a widely advocated public health measure, but seldom practiced, partly because it is often difficult (especially outside of rich Western country contexts) to make both soap and water readily available in relevant situations. This study used both Behaviour Centred Design and Human Centred Design to guide development of a novel hand cleansing technology appropriate for the context of post-toilet hand cleansing in resource-poor societies. Extensive prototyping and field testing resulted in the pilot production of 'tab' soap, a small but durable single-use, decomposable substrate embedded with soap. It can be produced in dispenser roll or tear-off formats. With this affordable solution, one may use soap without worrying about contamination pretty much anytime and anywhere. A small-scale field test showed that all poor households in rural and peri-urban areas in Tanzania included in the proof-of-concept study (N = 12 households) would use the product reliably over the medium term. Tab soap awaits full-scale production and marketing but could make hand cleansing a more popular practice around the world.
Cedeno MR, Baxter W, Porat T, et al., 2023, A METHOD FOR PRESCRIBING PSYCHOLOGICAL OWNERSHIP: A PROJECT HANDOVER CASE STUDY, Pages: 251-261
Among the topics of psychological ownership (PO) within current literature, a significant gap exists in understanding PO within a prescriptive lens. This study will examine how instigating the PO mapping method will help us understand how the PO mapping method can support an ownership journey. In addition, we want to see how we can create a prescriptive ownership structure that one follows rather than using the tool as a descriptive method. To do this we will follow a Research Through Design methodology and test the PO mapping method in an organisational case study. We believe that the PO mapping method can help frame and guide organisational project handovers. We want to examine the factors that influence the parties (project teams) emergence and relinquishment of ownership, and how that affects the feeling of ownership of a project over time. Based on this understanding we will derive prescriptive phases to integrate into our PO mapping method. Thus this study demonstrates how the PO mapping method can be used in different contexts to support and provide prescriptive guidance for ownership journeys.
Patel AM, Porat T, Baxter WL, 2023, Situation Awareness Failure Factors: Characteristics of Barriers to Situation Awareness in Primary Care & Implications, Pages: 505-509
General Practitioners (GPs) report frustration in locating, customising and prioritising data in Electronic Health Records, which impairs their situation awareness (SA) and consequently impacts decision making and quality of care. Gaining SA in primary care before and during the clinical consultation is challenging, mainly due to barriers including time constraints, fragmented data, limitations in GP-patient interaction, usability issues of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and information overload. This is enhanced with an increasing ageing population, and patients with multimorbidity. Timely and effective communication of information through data visualizations and visual analytics are promising avenues to address some of the GPs situation awareness needs and barriers, potentially supporting clinicians in making more accurate and rapid decisions. In this paper we propose a taxonomy of situation awareness failure factors in Primary Gare, based on interviews with Primary Care GPs and Endsley's SA error taxonomy. We then discuss design implications towards enhancing situation awareness in Primary Care when using EHR systems, supporting the potential of holistic visualisations to enhance SA before and during the clinical consultation.
Mandeno P, Baxter WL, 2022, Six principles for the design of better networking events, Business Horizons, Vol: 65, Pages: 493-503, ISSN: 0007-6813
Networking events are seen as an essential activity for the establishment and maintenance of professional connections. Despite their ubiquity and perceived importance, networking events are often ineffective and unenjoyable. Suggestions for the improvement of networking outcomes typically focus on event selection or participant capabilities. In this article, we posit that greater success can be achieved by improving the design of networking events themselves. We adopt a research through design approach to derive the design features that explain the success of Wok+Wine, a networking event that consistently delivers positive functional and experiential outcomes across a range of cultural and organizational contexts. From a synthesis of these design features, we derive six generalizable design principles that can support managers in the creation of better networking events as well as the analysis and selection of existing ones.
Porat T, Burnell R, Calvo R, et al., 2021, 'Vaccine Passports’ may backfire: findings from a cross-sectional study in the UK and Israel on willingness to vaccinate against Covid-19, Vaccines, Vol: 9, Pages: 1-11, ISSN: 2076-393X
Domestic “vaccine passports” are being implemented across the world, as a way ofincreasing vaccinated people’s freedom of movement and to encourage vaccination. However, thesevaccine passports may affect people’s vaccination decisions in unintended and undesirable ways.This cross-sectional study investigated whether people’s willingness and motivation to getvaccinated relate to their psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness), and howvaccine passports might affect these needs. Across two countries and 1358 participants we foundthat need frustration – particularly autonomy frustration – was associated with lower willingnessto vaccinate and with a shift from self-determined to external motivation. In Israel (a country withvaccine passports), people reported greater autonomy frustration than in the UK (a country withoutvaccine passports). Our findings suggest that control measures, such as domestic vaccine passportsmay have detrimental effects on people’s autonomy, motivation, and willingness to get vaccinated.Policies should strive to achieve a highly vaccinated population by supporting individuals’autonomous motivation to be vaccinated and using messages of autonomy and relatedness, ratherthan applying pressure and external controls.
Patel AM, Porat T, Baxter WL, 2021, Enhancing situation awareness and decision making in primary care: clinicians’ views, 2020 IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI), Publisher: IEEE, Pages: 1-9
Primary care clinicians face the need to process and interpret an ever-increasing amount of patient data, which challenges their ability to review all relevant information needed to make informed decisions that influence patients' lives. Healthcare professionals report frustration in locating, customising and prioritising data in the electronic health records, which was found to impair their situation awareness and have an impact on decision making and quality of care. Towards eliciting opportunities in enhancing physicians' situation awareness and reducing their cognitive overload, we conducted interviews with eight General Practitioners to explore what important information is required before and during the GP-patient consultation to enhance situation awareness, when is the right time to display this information, what is the desired format and what are the main barriers to gaining situation awareness. The Situation Awareness model was used as a conceptual framework to classify emergent themes. Information visualization has the potential to enhance situation awareness during the clinical consultation.
Baxter W, Roots S, Tuomala E, et al., 2020, Ritual Design Toolkit, London, Publisher: Interaction Foundry
Rituals are intentional behaviours with a distinct emotional outcome. They fill our lives with deeper meaning and are found everywhere from the workplace to the kitchen table. We have made the Ritual Design Toolkit to help you understand rituals, how to harness them, and how to design them. In our own work, we have used the toolkit in a range of applications including enhancing key moments in a customer journey, helping people adopt healthier eating habits and building and strengthening communities. The toolkit can be used for grand rituals and micro-interactions. Whether you are a manager of a team, a packaging designer, or a service enthusiast, you can find guidance here to build more meaningful moments into your work. The toolkit offers a ritual design process consisting of three main steps: scoping, creating and testing rituals.
Muranko Z, Aurisicchio M, Baxter W, et al., 2020, Behaviour chains in circular consumption systems: the reuse of FMCGs, Proceedings of the IS4CE2020 Conference of the International Society for the Circular Economy
Patel AM, Porat T, Baxter WL, 2020, 2020 IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI), 2020, 2020 IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI), 2020
Mandeno P, Baxter WL, 2020, BARRIERS to HUMAN CONNECTIVITY and the DESIGN of MORE COLLABORATIVE COWORKING SPACES, Pages: 1475-1484, ISSN: 2633-7762
Coworking spaces - the most prevalent form of collaborative workplaces - are said to offer the ideal solution for a new generation of creative knowledge workers, balancing flexibility and independence with structure and community. Recent studies, however, highlight deficiencies as they relate to the promise of 'community' made by most coworking spaces. This work reports 16 barriers that impede the process of human connectivity in coworking spaces that emerged from in-depth interviews with 26 coworkers. Suggestions are made for how these barriers might inform more effective workplace design.
Li Y, Baxter WL, 2019, Proposing a Design for Tangibility Framework: a Digital Payments Case Study, IDETC/CIE2019, ISSN: 2159-7383
Yang X, Aurisicchio M, Baxter W, 2019, Understanding Affective Experiences With Conversational Agents, CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Publisher: ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY
Ratcliffe E, Baxter WL, Martin N, 2019, Consumption rituals relating to food and drink: A review and research agenda, Appetite, Vol: 134, Pages: 86-93, ISSN: 0195-6663
Rituals are common in relation to consumption of food and drink, and are related to psychosocial benefits such as social bonding, affective change, and enhanced consumer perceptions. However, theoretical understanding of food and drink consumption rituals, and empirical examination of their effects and mechanisms of action, is limited. In this literature review we show a need for greater theoretical understanding of these rituals, and especially mechanisms linking ritual performance to outcomes. Such understanding would be greatly enhanced by a holistic model of consumption ritual and the development of an instrument that can be used to study different aspects of such rituals, both of which are currently lacking. We also highlight specific research questions regarding the cognitive, social, and affective outcomes of ritual consumption of food and drink, and the affective and cognitive-behavioural mechanisms that might precede them. We provide suggestions regarding the research paradigms and methods that might suit such questions, and encourage research along these lines of inquiry.
Tuomala EKSE, Baxter WL, 2019, Design for empathy: A co-design case study with the finnish parliament, Pages: 99-108, ISSN: 2220-4334
Globalisation and the mixing of people, cultures, religions and languages fuels pressing healthcare, educational, political and other complex sociocultural issues. Many of these issues are driven by society's struggle to find ways to facilitate deeper and more emotionally meaningful ways to help people connect and overcome the empathy gap which keeps various groups of people apart. This paper presents a process to design for empathy - as an outcome of design. This extends prior work which typically looks at empathy for design - as a part of the design process, as is common in inclusive design and human centered design process. We reflect on empathy in design and challenge the often internalised role of the designer to be more externalised, to shift from an empathiser to become an empathy generator. We develop and demonstrate the process to design for empathy through a co-creation case study aiming to bring empathy into politics. The ongoing project is set in the Parliament of Finland, and involves co-creation with six Members of the Parliament from five political parties. Outcomes of the process and case study are discussed, including design considerations for future research.
Piselli A, Baxter W, Simonato M, et al., 2018, Development and evaluation of a methodology to integrate technical and sensorial properties in materials selection., Materials and Design, Vol: 153, Pages: 259-272, ISSN: 0261-3069
In the materials selection process, the use of different tools, languages and perspectives frequently causes disagreement between engineers and industrial designers.The aim of the paper is to define an integrated method for materials selection that provides industrial designers with measurable data to support and explain aesthetic decisions on materials.A new method for materials selection consisting of multiple tools structured in a two-step framework is presented. The method is tested through a case study of professional kitchen appliances where metal components are replaced with polymers. The first step involved the application of an established technique to identify polymeric bulk solutions, based on their technical properties. The second step employed a sensory analysis test to choose suitable finishes. Thirty-seven individuals performed the test: the subjects highlighted their main perceptions of metal and metal-look polymer finishes.The research demonstrates that the proposed method is suitable for the evaluation of both technical and sensorial properties of materials. In particular, Mapping test represents a rapid, low cost and effective tool to help industrial designers justify Colour Materials and Finish (CMF) choices with quantifiable information.
Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, 2018, Ownership by Design, Psychological Ownership and Consumer Behaviour, Editors: Peck, Shu
Ownership is central to the successful design of many offerings. This is made more evident with large contextual shifts in terms of immaterial ownership, ownership by multiple users, and time dependent ownership. Psychological ownership theory links naturally to existing experience design models and is thus useful in approaching how to design for ownership. Designers should consider the motives and routes to ownership described by psychological ownership theory but also the paths to ownership formed through interaction with an object. The result is a new frame for design in which the objective is to create a possession, not simply an object. Designing an object, which is owned, means focusing on the interactions between a user and the object through the entire lifecycle including consideration of when an object enters and exits a person’s possessions. Within this new frame, there are at least four main ways in which designers can create intentional ownership experiences. Specifically, they can help: give meaning to the ownership deprived experiences increasingly prevalent in modern digital and shared contexts; structure the ownership experience; reduce redundant effort made once an object is taken into a person's possession; and mitigate contaminated interaction, which is likely to prevent ownership from occurring.
Yang X, Aurisicchio M, Mackrill J, et al., 2017, ON THE PRODUCTS AND EXPERIENCES THAT MAKE US HAPPY, 21st International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED), Publisher: DESIGN SOC, Pages: 499-508, ISSN: 2220-4334
Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, Mugge R, et al., 2017, Decontaminating experiences with circular offerings, Product Lifetimes and The Environment (PLATE) 2017
Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, Mugge R, et al., 2017, Decontaminating experiences with circular offerings, Product Lifetimes and The Environment (PLATE) 2017
Bahrudin F, Aurisicchio MARCO, Baxter WESTON, 2017, Sustainable materials in design projects, EKSIG 2017, Publisher: TU Delft Open
New types of sustainable materials are introduced in our markets every year to minimise the environmental impact of products. The search for more environmentally benign materials is crucial in reducing the depletion of non-renewable material resources. Recent literature indicates that there is a growing interest and rapid technological progression from various industry stakeholders on this matter. Nevertheless, the sustainability issues pursued by designers and other material developers are still ambiguous. The overall aim of this research is to develop new understanding of the sustainable materials being developed and applied in product design. Seventy-two material-centred design projects are analysed in terms of resource renewability and resource origin. The data obtained are further classified according to the material group and products produced with such materials. Renewable materials make up half of the materials used. Moreover, waste materials comprise up to half of the materials used. Three materials groups were found to be more frequently used, namely natural composites, synthetic polymers and organic materials. Most of these materials are being made into furniture, household objects and clothing and accessories. Within the natural composites and organic materials, various extraordinary materials were used, reflecting the dynamicity of designers’ work and experimentation with materials. As for synthetic polymers, recycled plastics are the main materials used and this is not surprising given their abundance in the environment. In general, the application of sustainable materials seems to be at its infancy but explorations are vibrant and progressive. The impact of these materials in the mainstream market is unknown and other sustainability factors need further evaluation. As such, design as a discipline is yet to facilitate the uptake of these materials.
Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, Childs PRN, 2017, Contaminated interaction: another barrier to circular material flows, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol: 21, Pages: 507-516, ISSN: 1088-1980
Contamination poses a significant problem to the circular economy (CE), which derives much of its value from maintaining pure material flows. The aim of this article is to frame contaminated interaction among other forms of contamination and investigate its effects on the CE. The research is based on a review of the contamination literature and case studies. We differentiate between three types of contamination influencing circular material flows: technical, which deals with fitness for use; systemic, which deals with efficiency in processing; and interaction, which deals with user-object interaction and decision making. Our focus is on developing a foundational understanding of contaminated interaction and how it influences circular processes. Through multiple examples, contaminated interaction is shown to create three barriers to the CE: downcycling, disposal, and hindered circulation. Among other proposals to address contaminated interaction, the research calls for the development of experientially transferrable design—products that can move between users and uses without negative consequences.
Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, Mugge R, et al., 2017, Positive and negative contamination in user interactions, ICED17: 21st International Conference on Engineering Design, Publisher: Design Society, Pages: 509-518
The purpose of this paper is to present contaminated interaction as a design construct. Interactions with an object can be altered, positively, neutrally or negatively, due to some prior use. In such cases, the interaction departs from the designed condition and is said to be contaminated. This is particularly significant as objects, physical or non-physical, have multiple uses or are shared amongst users. We propose an ontological model of contaminated interaction based on a review of literature and an analysis of user experiences. The model outlines the process of contaminated interaction including the drivers and outcomes. In a negative context, contamination can lead to consumers misusing, negatively experiencing, or avoiding the object altogether. Positive contamination sees the opposite effect in which usability can increase, users report more positive experiences and users seek out or cherish the object. Together, this model presents an approach to understanding and addressing contamination in the design process to enable the creation and maintenance of meaningful experiences.
Baxter WL, childs PRN, 2017, Designing Circular Possessions, The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Product Design, Editors: Chapman
The notion of possession is one of the most fundamental concepts that guide everyday behaviour. Paradoxically, it is often poorly understood. This is particularly true in a circular context where consumer interactions with possessions are being altered and in some cases redefined. Thus, an understanding of possession serves as a useful, if not necessary, prerequisite to designing circular products, services and systems. This chapter explores the idea of possession: what it is, how an object becomes one and why it is important for the circular economy. Possession is understood through a human-centred lens that considers the consumer’s state of mind towards and relationship with an object. A state of possessiveness can be attained for material or immaterial objects and for objects that may or may not legally belong to the person. The discussion is presented within a design framework that discusses the motives and routes that lead to the state of possession. This framework is substantiated by looking at affordance principles and paths associated with possession. Each section includes a theoretical discussion as well as practical examples and insights that can be incorporated into the product design process itself. This chapter aids in understanding interactions relevant to the circular economy such as the maintenance and care that comes with object attachment and adoption of access-based consumption models. Understanding and designing for these desired interactions should be the first priority of designers followed by an establishment of laws, regulations and policies to support them.
Bahrudin FI, Aurisicchio M, Baxter WL, 2017, Sustainable materials in design projects, Pages: 194-207
New types of sustainable materials are introduced in our markets every year to minimise the environmental impact of products. The search for more environmentally benign materials is crucial in reducing the depletion of non-renewable material resources. Recent literature indicates that there is a growing interest and rapid technological progression from various industry stakeholders on this matter. Nevertheless, the sustainability issues pursued by designers and other material developers are still ambiguous. The overall aim of this research is to develop new understanding of the sustainable materials being developed and applied in product design. Seventy-two material-centred design projects are analysed in terms of resource renewability and resource origin. The data obtained are further classified according to the material group and products produced with such materials. Renewable materials make up half of the materials used. Moreover, waste materials comprise up to half of the materials used. Three materials groups were found to be more frequently used, namely natural composites, synthetic polymers and organic materials. Most of these materials are being made into furniture, household objects and clothing and accessories. Within the natural composites and organic materials, various extraordinary materials were used, reflecting the dynamicity of designers' work and experimentation with materials. As for synthetic polymers, recycled plastics are the main materials used and this is not surprising given their abundance in the environment. In general, the application of sustainable materials seems to be at its infancy but explorations are vibrant and progressive. The impact of these materials in the mainstream market is unknown and other sustainability factors need further evaluation. As such, design as a discipline is yet to facilitate the uptake of these materials.
Baxter W, Yang, Aurisicchio, et al., 2016, Exploring a human-centred design of possessions, NordDesign 2016
Understanding the idea of possession is essential for creating successful products and services, particularly in digital and access contexts. This paper examines current shortcomings in conceptualising ownership and possessions before presenting a framework for the process of developing user possession. The framework is grounded in psychological ownership theory and informed by interviews with thirteen participants. The theory considers ownership as a mental state in which users feel the object is theirs. The interviews explored this mental state underthree contexts: traditional material possession, digital possession, and access-based possession. This work helps inform the meaning of possessions, and can aid designers and policy makers in how to approach the notion of designing possessions from a human-centered viewpoint.
Baxter W, Aurisicchio M, Childs PRN, 2016, Tear Here: the Impact of Object Transformations on Proper Disposal, IAPRI 20th World Conference on Packaging
Efforts promoting proper disposal of packaging generally focus on infrastructure and messaging. Significantly less attention has been given to how the attributes of packaging can be used to change disposal behaviour. This research shows how changes in packaging attributes (e.g. alterations in shape, colour, or size) influence two disposal behaviours: recycling and littering. Specifically, we use an implicit association test to measure the subconscious tendency to categorize altered objects as trash rather than recycling. The results indicate that 82% or respondents showed at least a slight effect and 53% showed a strong effect towards associating altered objects with waste. Next, we evaluate object transformations on littering behaviour through an observational field study. Observations (N = 2823) indicated that littering is influenced by deformed, torn, disassembled, and partially full packaging. No significant effect was found with regard to packaging that is wet, sticky, has undergone colour changes or that is has remains (e.g. sauce) on it. These findings suggest that the (re)design of packaging can significantly influence proper disposal. Based on this, packaging can be (re)designed in two ways. First, many types of packaging have scripted alterations such as the iconic ‘tear here’ indicator. These can be changed to preserve properties associated with recyclables and non-littering. Second, packaging can be designed so that there are fewer alterations during use. This work can also help identify inherent attributes that encourage proper disposal.
Baxter W, Childs PRN, Aurisicchio M, 2015, Using psychological ownership to guide strategies for slower consumption, Product Lifetimes And The Environment (PLATE), Publisher: Nottingham Trent University
Baxter WL, Aurisicchio M, Childs PRN, 2015, A psychological ownership approach to designing object attachment, Journal of Engineering Design, Vol: 26, Pages: 140-156, ISSN: 0954-4828
The mental state in which an individual claims an object as theirs is called psychological ownership. Psychological ownership is associated with motives, routes, affordances, and outcomes directly linked to attachment. This research introduces psychological ownership in the context of designing object attachment and identifies affordance principles that help facilitate it. A framework presenting the motives for and routes to psychological ownership is proposed to provide a holistic understanding of object attachment. In the framework each route to psychological ownership, that is, control, intimate knowledge, and self-investment, has a corresponding class of affordances. Overall a total of 16 affordance principles are identified through contextual inquiry with 4 objects (a car, a mobile phone, a pair of shoes, and a park bench). Previous studies have identified various elements of this framework but have fallen short of clearly defining and relating the motives, routes, and affordances to psychological ownership identified here. These affordance principles are readily mapped to experience design models and provide a practical resource for designers. Together, the framework and the affordances inform design decisions and move towards a prescriptive design method for facilitating object attachment.
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