Michael Hohl

Hochschule Anhalt · Department of Design (FB 4)

This is a commentary on Michael Lissack’s two-part article “Understanding is a Design Problem: Cognizing from a Designerly Thinking Perspective.” In response to the two-part article this short commentary argues, among others, that there is no possible 'whole' perspective upon the world but only different perspectives held by different observers. It...

In diesem Beitrag präsentieren wir ein experimentelles Lehrformat, das Designtheorie an Studierende des ersten Semesters Bachelor des Studiengangs „Integriertes Design“ vermittelt. Unser kybernetischer und konstruktivistischer Ansatz verbindet Theorie und Praxis in angewandter Weise. Im Verlauf des Semesters lernen die Studierenden, sowohl wissensc...

Was macht einen Ph.D. in Kunst, Design und Architektur aus? Wie unterscheidet sich ein praxisgeleiteter Ph.D. vom Dr. phil. oder vom Dr.-Ing.? Über diese Fragen herrscht bislang wenig Klarheit, obwohl der akademische Grad Ph.D. seit einigen Jahren auch in Deutschland in den genannten Disziplinen verliehen wird. Michael Hohl gibt in diesem Grundlage...

In this chapter, I discuss how design educators and design students may learn from cultural traditions of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and from its “Eight Elements of Education”. I argue that this source of informal knowledge, combined with modern means to communicate and to collaborate can lead to new, more empathetic, ethical, and environment...

In §14 of his target article, Ben Sweeting examines Ranulph Glanville's concept of honesty. I think the concept of honesty, while not being central to the main argument of the target article, deserves some more reflection, especially in relation to the concept of rigor.

CYBERNETICS: STATE OF THE ART is the first volume of the book series CON-VERSATIONS. Driven by cybernetic thinking, it engages with pressing questions for architecture, urban planning, design and automated infrastructure; in an age of increasing connectivity, AI and robotization and an evolutionary state of the Anthropocene - perpetuating angst-rid...

Upshot center dot I reflect on the theme of honesty in research and discuss the adjoining requirements of rigor from an academic perspective. Central to my discussion is Glanville's assertion that what researchers - from either science or design - presented was not what they actually thought and did.

Context : The design of academic conferences, in which settings ideas are shared and created, is, we suggest, of more than passing interest in constructivism, where epistemology is considered in terms of knowing rather than knowledge. Problem: The passivity and predominantly one-way structure of the typical paper presentation format of academic con...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to learn from successful educational frameworks how to inform a possible framework for design education that includes ecological literacy, systems thinking leading to more sustainable and ecological designs. Design/methodology/approach I am comparing two models for education, the first being that of the Polynes...

The article focuses on the relationship between people and places from the perspective of a participant observer. We use examples of assisting living facilities in the mental health field, and demonstrate how the process of understanding a research setting as Language and text, may allow for new perspectives to emerge. Mainly by introducing the Nor...

In this text I set out to reflect on different ways of knowing and problem solving by using examples from design experience, the scientific method, indigenous knowledge, and also address the role of intuition and computational methods (‘big data’). I suggest that the scientific method is only one particular way of enquiry into creating (and sharing...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest that physiological experience can contribute to the comprehension of visualisation of scientific data, especially artistic approaches. Design/methodology/approach A number of relevant case studies are used to establish the rationale. Findings “Objective” or neutral data visualisation does not exist....

At the heart of our enquiry lies the need for a deeper understanding of the experiential quality of our interactive environment, Radiomap. This easy-to-use immersive telematic environment can be used by one or more individuals to listen to live radio stations from all over the world. We interviewed sixteen individuals and employed a Grounded Theory...

This article describes an applied investigation into a concept of information visualization where data are not rendered as graphs, charts or diagrams on the screen but as a sensual experience beyond the screen in physical space. It introduces predecessors such as calm technologies and ambient displays among a number of poetic and applied examples f...

Freequent Traveller (2001) is a live interactive installation by the artist Susanne Schuricht, developed in collaboration with Tobias Schmidt [1]. The interface consists of a hammock, whose movement is tracked by a custom-made hardware interface. While relaxing in the hammock one's motion animates text across a projection-sail. The dynamics of this...

This paper describes the unencumbered interactive environment "radiomap". The first version of this interactive environment enables one or more individuals to walk about a projected photorealistic image of the Earth (Mercator projection[1], 8x4m) and listen to live internet radio broadcasts that are located at the corresponding locations. The inter...

Screen-based graphs, charts or diagrams help us to understand how visitors make use of a website. Yet, while we experience the world around us with all our senses this experience is mostly introspect and intellectual. It does not address our other senses, such as hearing or touch and conveys even less of the experience of being visited. It is more...