Current 03

Current is a multi platform design journal that showcases creative, practice-based and applied research. Through a variety of forms and formats—interviews, case-studies, critical essays, reviews and photo documentation, we challenge researchers to represent their processes as iterative cycles of research and to skillfully navigate information-led and practice-led methodologies. Current is continually evolving exposition on the people and processes involved in design research. It is a platform for the cross-disciplinary, cross-sector professional communities of people with educational and professional interests in the currency of design thinking.

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The theme of Current 03 is Innovating Innovation.
In this issue:

On the Convergence of Ethnography and Design: David Bogen explains how ethnographic research is is no longer a parallel to design but a core element in the design practice and design education.

Importing an Ethics Model into the Creative Research: When working with human participants, proper ethics model is crucial to the protection of those individuals, the school and the creative practitioner. Glen Lowry, Julie York, and Lois Klassen write about the importance of a designated research and ethics board and how it gives Emily Carr a unique multi-disciplinary, practice-driven, and creativity-focused research culture.

Using Verticality Efficiently in Small Space Design: In this article, Bobbi Kyle and Nick Ng explore the problems and processes involved in conceptualizing interior architecture for single room micro-dwellings in urban Vancouver as part of the Ninety Square Foot Space project at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Youth in Transition: “If you find that media preferences are fundamentally different between youth and their caregivers, what media would you choose? To whom should your design be directed? Are you leading the group or following their preferences?” Jonathan Aitken introduces two case studies from the Health Lab initiative about building a community for chronic illness patients and finding a transition from children-centred health care to adult-centred care.

Lions Gate Hospital Foyer Project : Jessica Carson and her team implemented custom research methods to analyze issues of way-finding, traffic flow, space allocation and service usage, while engaging hospital stakeholders in the process to redefine the Lions Cate Hospital Foyer space.

Interview: Alexandra Samuel talks to Celeste Martin about the future of eBooks, their changing nature and their place in our culture.

Designing The Vignellis: Processes in eBook Production: Vivian Ziereisen and Kendra Stalder reflect on the relationship between printed books and eBooks and the processes involved in the creation of EPUB type eBooks.

Changing Views on Research: A Dialogue with Maria Latin: Glen Lowrys conversation with Maria Lantin reflects on the cross-disciplinary practice between conventional academics and creative practitioners, and how collaboration provides a powerful foundation for the ongoing transformation of research across disciplines.

Illuminating Vancouvers Neon: Paige Louie walks us through the creation of an interactive application for Vancouvers Neon Signs that corresponds to the “Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver” show curated by the Museum of Vancouver. The application becomes a secondary narrative for individual neon signs and aims at re-illuminating the existence of the Vancouver’s neon heritage.