Sheng-Hung Lee

Designed by Sheng-Hung Lee, Janka Csernák, 2024.
| Design for Vulnerability (D4V) |

2024 ─ Design for Vulnerability (D4V): Adaptability, Artifacts, and Apprehension ─ DesignWanted, February 2, 2024 [ article | pdf ]
2024 ─ Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) ─ Social Design Hub Visiting Research Fellow
 
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) Innovation Center Social Design Hub conducts practice-based research at the intersection of social and environmental sustainability, seeking solutions to decrease inequality and foster resilience. A central aim of ongoing research projects is to develop and support practice-based design inquiry in order to seek opportunities for a more sustainable lifestyle and economy. A recent, ongoing research project, FRUSKA, investigates how disadvantaged girl groups can be supported through design tools. The FRUSKA research project and workshop series enables girls aged 10 to 18 to engage in a creative learning and shared creative process who would otherwise have no such opportunity. The goal is to help participants master technological and tool use skills and experience the freedom and consequences of choice through the customization of items created, and in turn enable them to shape their broader environment. Based on participatory design and mutual learning, the program is designed to enhance the girls’ self-esteem, sense of autonomy and empowerment to give them better chances later in life and in work.

How do we apply co-creation workshops and prototyping to empower disadvantaged communities?

Design for Longevity (D4L) Amid the advancement of technologies, robust socioeconomic systems, transformational healthcare systems, and sustainable wealth management, people not only live longer but want to live better: with purpose, delight, and respect (Coughlin, 2017). As lifespans extend, the traditional stages of life—learning, earning, and retiring—have transformed into multi-generational stages (Golden, 2022). The demographic shift and social-economical context have inspired and generated the concept of Design for Longevity (D4L), which emphasizes a sustainable life-long cycle (Lee et al., 2023; Ulrich et al., 2020; Sedini et al., 2020; Justice, 2019). One key factor to maintaining a better quality of life depends on strategic planning and executing the idea of D4L. Thus, D4L can be seen as a universal language that empowers individuals to make sustainable decisions with keeping longevity in mind (Attia & Gifford, 2023). 

FRUSKA + D4L = 4E questions Based on the previous research project FRUSKA, the study can focus on exploring, integrating, and creating the concept of Design for Longevity (D4L). Therefore, we want to apply the proposed 4E questions as a medium to connect FRUSKA with the concept of D4L. The 4Es framework is a tool to help participants form the target group brainstorm concepts and ideas for tangible and actionable answers that address issues of longevity. There are four stages to the framework: ensure, evolve, empower, and enjoy. Each stage offers a question to guide participants to think more dimensionally about the challenges and opportunities of longevity.
 
1. What do you need to ensure? What is basic to your future wellbeing?
2. What needs to evolve with you? What transforms with you over time?
3. What can empower you? How can you extend your impact?
4. What do you enjoy? What outcomes do you benefit from?

Special Thanks to
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME): Lāsma Ivaska (Director of MOME Innovation Center), Bori Fehér DLA (MOME Innovation Center Senior Research Fellow, Social Design Hub Lead)
Belvarosi Tanoda Foundation Secondary School (Belvárosi Tanoda Alapítványi Gimnázium): Szőllősi Bea (school teacher and social worker)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Maria C. Yang (Deputy Dean of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering) and Joseph F. Coughlin (Founder and Director of MIT AgeLab)
Northeastern University: Sofie Hodara (Professor of College of Arts, Media and Design)