Care for Design Research

Malmö university is an innovative, urban and international institute of higher education, located in the city centre of Malmö. Malmö University is characterized by global engagement, community involvement, and a multidisciplinary, challenge based approach to education, research and collaboration.

Indigenous Climate Observatories (funded through the Crafoord Foundation) is a project initiated by Malmö-based design researcher Lizette Reitsma. Her research has been about whether and how designers from outside can work respectfully with Indigenous Communities. She has worked in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Southern Africa, Sweden, and Scotland. She currently is an associate senior lecturer at Malmö University focusing on social change and sustainability. Lizette set up this project in collaboration with different research partners, all with different disciplinary expertise, from around the world, in close interaction with local communities. In Borneo, Malaysia she works with Tariq Zaman (from University of Technology, Sarawak), who has a research focus on Indigenous Knowledge Management and ICT for Development. In Eswatini she works with a team from the Eswatini Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, Medicinal and Indigenous Food Plants, led by Meshack Dludlu and Gugu Sibandze.  In Lesotho, she works with Molibeli Taele from the National University of Lesotho who is specialized in the prediction of weather over a short period, and a team of researchers and forecasters from the Lesotho Meteorological Institute.  

Kristina Lindström is a teacher and researcher at Malmö University. She has a broad experience of working with design that aims to create alternative ways of understanding, experiencing and engaging with climate change. In recent years, she has run the research project Sorrow and hope in transition, which investigates affective dimensions of living with climate change. Beyond that, her research examines design practices that gently try to attend to and untangle themselves from their strong focus on progress. In collaboration with Åsa Ståhl and Li Jönsson, she currently leads the 6-year research environment Design after Progress: Reimagining Design Histories and Futures, funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Li Jönsson works with constructive design research with a focus on speculative and inclusive democratic processes. The focus of her work is to contribute to eco-social sustainability through design.

Christina Lindkvist, Ph.D. in Human Geography and Associate Professor in Urban Studies. Lindkvist is engaged in intersectional perspectives on urban planning and mobility. She is also involved in research on institutional and power dimensions regarding climate change. Currently, Lindkvist is the coordinator of the DUT-financed project JiM-Just in 15 minutes, analyzing justice in accessibility to everyday important destinations.

Jonas Larsen, artistic lecturer at K3 Malmö University. He is responsible for the Product Design program. Jonas expertise is in the intersection of design and sustainable development. Jonas is also working as an artist and designer with sculpture, painting, drawing, ceramics and installation.  

Per-Anders Hillgren, professor in interaction design at K3, Malmö University 

AAC Alternative Air Conditioner 

Heatwaves are more common, and an air conditioner is a popular product to regulate temperature indoors. An air conditioner is however a product with challenges as it is an energy intense appliance. Peak electricity has occurred during heat waves as many people turn on their air conditioner at the same time. So the more heatwaves, the more we buy and use air conditioners and the more we buy and use air conditioners, the more heatwaves will occur. Alternative Air Conditioner (AAC) is an exploration of alternative cooling strategies positioned in close and direct relation to the body. It is an exploration of practices and artifacts designed to regulate body temperature in a low tech manner. 

Stina Wessman is based in the south of Sweden and works as a lecturer in gestalt and Design at Malmö University. She also runs Stina Wessman Studio and BäddBoken. Stina has always worked in consortium with various actors and in her own practice she is now exploring concepts of the future. Stina's work is situated in the very now, in transition bubbles and in the future we can partly grasp. In the intersection of Design and Research, Stina is examining relationships we form and have with nature and resources through her design practice and processes. She has 10 years of experience in the field of interdisciplinary design research at Interactive Institute and RISE where she has been formgiving tangible future scenarios. With a research through design approach she has been involved in many different projects that challenge our attitudes and views on energy, resources and nature.
 

Kasper Medin is intrigued by the idea that seemingly trivial things can hold immense value. By shedding light on the challenges and contradictions inherent in designing new objects, we can uncover the true essence of humanity's relationship with artifacts, transcending traditional design narratives. Through this exploration, creativity emerges as a powerful force with the potential to positively shape society. Kasper is working as a Lecturer in Product Design at Malmö University.

Research through Design is a course in year 2 at Product Design. The assignment is to conduct a limited research through design study resulting in a uppsats and design concept. The purpose of the study is to study how something can be instead of how something is.  

Students that exhibit are: Matilda Brauer, Clara Conte, Tova Ekholm, Klara Gustafsson, Louise Hagberg, Maria Hagnell, Caroline Hansen Strandberg, Sofia Larsson, Moa Lindh, Li Odén, Ellinor Rosell Honnér and Sandra Strömbacka.   

Abdulrahman Alqasem exhibits his bachelor thesis work; The Separation from Nature, a design study that applies speculative and posthumanist design to highlight humanity's relationship with nature. By designing within a future where nature is exploited more than ever, the study aims to open up new perspectives on how humans perceive and relate to non-humans.

Isak Orrhult exhibits his bachelor thesis work; Protecting Anonymity in a Monitored Society A democratic and speculative design study to explore a choice of increased camera surveillance today and what it could lead to in the future. Using a design fiction that would have been functional in the year 2050, this study investigates how people can maintain their anonymity in a future monitored society.