Re-thinking Design and Social Innovation

September 27, 2022

By Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science

Despite the Typhoon, the 35th edition of the Café des Sciences Lecture on social design was held successfully on-site at Swissnex in China.

We were glad to have Prof. Michael Krohn, Co-head of “re-source | sustainability in the Arts” at ZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, and Prof. Dr. Miaosen Gong, Director of DESIS lab, School of Design of Jiangnan University to contribute to this insightful discussion. Prof. Michael Krohn shared his perspectives on the role of Social Design and insightful thoughts about future design education. Then Prof. Dr. Miaosen Gong introduced the projects of the Keyihui Social Design Lab, which show how design could support people with intellectual disabilities.

Design with Social Impact

With technological and social improvements, the boundary of design is blurring; thus, the role of design needs to be re-defined. Nowadays, designs are more of human relations, environment, and social- and cultural developments rather than objects, information, systems, and services. Moreover, for designers, it is essential to think about for whom they design and with whom they work.

This leads to the concept of social design, which emphasizes the role of design in social development. The new concept requires design thinking and design methods to open a new scope towards social aspects. It also includes the affected society as part of the solution to gain empowerment by “co-design”. During the process, the designers will look at the problems from a creative perspective and materialize innovations in a very applied way.

So what can the designers do today, and how can we transfer the design education system to the new field? The solely disciplinary thinking no longer fits the current context, and the designers have to adjust their mindset to a holistic approach. As for education, entrepreneurial thinking is a new metaphor, and the disciplinary field of design will broaden based on traditional competencies and the field of knowledge and practice. Furthermore, the design and education in the future will focus on:

• Objects, systems, and processes

• Social development and human relations

• Innovative entrepreneurial- and business models

• Sustainable environments and use of resources

• Alternative education formats

• Smart use of technology

• Creative learning environments

With the shift of the design education system, the learning platform – design with social impact was developed for the students to explore social design. And various international summer camps and joint courses took place to prepare the students to think beyond the boundaries and to be more engaged in social developments.

Design for Social Good - A case of design for social innovation “Keyihui”

Prof. Gong starts his presentation with his study experience with Prof. Ezil Manzini at Politecnico Di Milano on Design for Social Innovation. Early in 2009, Prof. Manzini founded Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) Network, and Prof. Gong set up the DESIS Lab at Jiangnan University in Wuxi after his return to China. The Lab Interplay between teaching and research on the project areas includes food network and rural vitalization, active welfare and public service, health and elderly, mobility, and cultural renaissance.

During one of the symposiums organized by DESIS, a design proposal called YIGONGFANG was formed to support the community with intellectual disabilities. The design proposal was later developed into an independent social enterprise - KEYIHUI, in 2014, and it benefits a lot to the local community, especially intellectually disabled people (IDP).

Over the years, KEYIHUI has organized various activities to engage the IDPs, such as Collaborative pieces of training, Community workshops, Manual product design, and development, as well as design theme exhibitions. One of the particular projects is the IDP hand-made soap. It is not the product that matters the most but the process of getting all the IDPs working together smoothly. The IDPs are not the target users of the soaps, but the IDPs are the target group of the social design project.

To make this happen, the designers are facing a lot of challenges. First of all, it is difficult to communicate with the IDPs; thus, it is difficult to understand their needs. After a long period of observation and experimentation, they developed a production line with special tools of hand-made soap catering to the IDPs. During the process, the IDPs only need to follow simple instructions and repeat their work. The project turned out well that the IDPs could enjoy their work and also financially benefited from selling the products.

To utilize the artworks done by the IDPs, KEYIHUI developed a Co-creation design platform based on the art Brut of the disabled. This project is not the designers providing an enabling solution but the co-creation between designers, IDPs, and other actors involved. In the end, Prof. Gong emphasized that the projects at KEYIHUI mainly cater to the IDPs. However, the social design is not only for vulnerable groups but for everyone in society.

Watch the recording here and onsite photos.

Creation and Curation with Artificial Intelligence

September 14, 2022

By Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science

On 6th September, we had an inspiring discussion on curation and artificial intelligence with Mr. Patrick Keller, Architect & Co-founder of fabric | ch - studio for architecture, interaction & research, and Ms. Xi Li, Curator & Director of Aiiiii Art Center.

Mr. Patrick Keller introduced the architecture studio, fabric | ch, where architects and computer scientists work together on a variety of experimental projects that combine architecture, networks, data, and algorithms.

Delving into these projects, Patrick first introduced the work - Platform of Future-Past, which was shown at HOW Art Museum in Shanghai in 2022. “Platform of Future-Past” is an architectural device and monitoring installation, it is equipped in three zones with environmental monitoring devices. The sensors record as much data as possible over time, generated by the continuously changing conditions, presences, and uses in the exhibition space. The data is then stored on Platform Future-Past’s servers and replayed in a loop on its computers. It is a “recorded moment”, “frozen” on the data servers, that could potentially replay itself forever or is waiting for someone to reactivate it. A “data center” on the deck, with its set of interfaces and visualizations screens, lets the visitors-observers follow the ongoing recording process. However, as the exhibition was interrupted by the pandemic, the museum was closed for a few months, and the data from the real exhibition space was very limited. Thus the artists fed the platform the prepared data to generate the moving images. With the touch on artificial data, Patrick reminded us to think about massive ways to treat datasets while talking about artificial intelligence.

* Platform of Future-Past, fabric | ch, 2022

The practice of using networks, data, and algorithms led the artists to develop a systematic approach to combining digital information with physical elements according to certain rules. Furthermore, such practices brought the artists to the exhibitions and curation projects. In the context of Entangled Realities, Living with Artificial Intelligence at the House of Electronic Arts (Basel), 2019, fabric | ch developed the work of Atomized (curatorial) Functioning (A(*)F), which was later also exhibited during Art and Science in the Age of Artificial Intelligence at the National Museum of China (Beijing), 2019.

A(*)F is an architectural project based on automated algorithmic principles, to which a machine learning layer can be added as required. It is a software piece that endlessly creates and saves new spatial configurations for a given situation, converges towards a “solution”, in real-time 3d and according to dynamic data and constraints. During the exhibition at HeK, the sensors collected data both from the artworks and the physical environment, including the walls and the lighting. The information collected by the sensors mapped out the space and helped the curators to organize the exhibition flows.

* Atomized (curatorial) Functioning, fabric | ch, 2019

As an ending note, Patrick shared with us the ongoing research project between fabric | ch, the Nam June Paik Art Center (Yongin, South Korea), and ECAL / University of Art and Design, Lausanne (HES-SO), on "viewing rooms" and "digital exhibitions". The research is to give access to the collection of the art center in new ways and forms, out of the physical museum and through digital means. In addition to the research project, fabric | ch is also working on a new project about the digital presentation of the past exhibitions at ZKM (Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe), the exhibition is planned to open at ZKM at the end of the year.

Next up, Ms. Xi Li introduced the Aiiiii Art Center and its two major programs – The International Conference on AI Art as well as the Opening Exhibition of the institution – Book of Sand. During the presentation, she tackled the questions of AI and authorship, what AI art is, and the narration in the context of AI.

The International Conference on AI Art was co-organized by the Aiiiii Art Center and the Art and Artificial Intelligence Lab of Tongji University. With the theme of “AI and Authorship” (2021) and “Artificial Imagination” (2022), the conference combines the most radical of research from a diverse international curation of fields ranging from art, design, computational science, cultural critique as well as political philosophy. This network is established to pioneer and push the boundaries of artificial intelligence and creative production.

While looking at the exhibition space, two questions came to Xi’s mind: how to physicalize the digital artwork into the space and how to visualize AI art. The two questions lead Xi and her team to the curation concept of the Book of Sand. She chose literature to narrate the exhibition to catch the public attention and tell a good story of AI art. The exhibition starts by employing literary imagination to juxtapose seemingly infinite, random generative art and Borges’ “Book of Sand”, a book that possesses neither a beginning nor an end, just like sand. A book in which “I”, the subject, can turn the pages but cannot predict the outcome, just as we cannot fully comprehend the operational logic of the “black box” embedded by and into a neural network. Against the joy of possessing the book grows the fear that the book is not really infinite, just as we fear that the infinite productivity of AI will make us its captives, as well as the fear that its “infinite creativity” is simply the outcome of intelligent permutations of existing human ideas.

*Artificial Remnants, Entangled Others Studio

“The Book of Sand” is an exhibition done by the joint efforts of machines and humans — the output of the machines interferes with human curatorial and artistic practices. By showcasing the works of Jake Elwes and Dabeiyuzhou, Xi explained further how they worked with the artists to turn web-based artwork into spatial installations.

It is inevitable to talk about what AI art is and who the author is when curating the programs and research projects at Aiiiii Art Center. However, such questions are not at the core of their curatorial practice but to discover the potential of AI itself and deliver the message appropriately to the target audience. With the involvement of machines in the creation and curation process, the question of the role of the machine became a challenging topic. Moreover, it also leads us to think – is there have to be a curator/creator’s name in the exhibition?

Responding to Xi’s question, Patrick pointed out that there are different cases dealing with the question. Taking their own practices, for example, the algorithm is at the core of their work. With the help of AI, the artists could dig deeper into their works, but the concept and the way of working are developed by the collective over years of research and practice. It is important to have their names in the exhibition as they are the creators of the work. Nevertheless, it might be challenging to define the creator for other works using open-source software and text-image software. However, in Patrick’s view, any machine learning program is fed with a huge dataset, without this, the algorithms could not do anything. The things the machines are trained to do and how they are trained to make it essential to define the creator.

We would like to thank everyone for their participation, your engagement during the Q&A session has made the conversation vibrant and the event all the more valuable. If you have further questions for our speakers regarding their work, please email us at artscience.china@swissnex.org. We will try our best to forward them to our speakers.

Click here to watch the recording of the webinar.

Insights into New Media Design Education

August 25, 2022

By Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science

On August 18, the webinar ‘’Design And Innovation In The Digital Age” kicked off our 2022 Art x Science Dialogues focusing on new trends and initiatives in the field of art, design, science, and technology both in China and Switzerland.

The webinar featured two experts from the art and design institutions who shared their perspectives and practices on integrating new technological tools, such as data analysis, machine learning, and immersive technology, into the teaching curriculums and their own works.

Starting with course projects, Ms. Alexia Mathieu, Head MA Media Design program at HEAD – Genève University of Art and Design, shared the topics of interaction design with limited resources, interactive narrations, and machine learning in MA Media Design teaching curriculums. Then Mr. Tongzhou Yu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Media and Interaction Design at the School of Design & Innovation, China Academy of Art, shared with us the concept of design fiction, the case of implementing artificial intelligence into conceptual art, and how teachers and students can work together to explore the application of new technologies.

Creating Tomorrow’s Connected Experiences

The MA in Media Design at HEAD-Geneva offers a two-year professional program based on learning about interactive design for scientific and social innovation. The program is organized through workshops, practical courses, work in labs, as well as graduation projects which include a research paper and a practical project. The goal of the program is to anticipate the impact of digital technologies on human, society, and the environment.

The three accesses of the course are Interaction Design with Limited Resources, Interactive Narrations, and Machine Learning. For the course Interaction Design with Limited Resources, students will learn how to observe and collect natural materials and implement them into the research with technological tools while trained to be mindful of climate changes as well.

Regarding Interactive Narrations, students will be devoted to game design, narratives, and applications, while considering the interactive potential of mobile computing and immersive technology, such as augmented reality and virtual reality. However, with virtual reality, students are required to think about the entire experience, including the tactile perception and sonic environment beyond the VR headset.

Machine Learning has been the main focus of the program for four years now. The courses have centered on how machine learning will impact the designers and how they could approach the tool more ethically and keep a critical eye on it. Students are requested to think about how to make technological improvements, especially in computing and artificial intelligence, to change the way we perceive and sense the world that surrounds us. Through the workshops, new graphical representations and outcomes unfold, and new possibilities are created by the algorithm operating in dialogue with artistic inputs given by students.

*Designing with Machines with Matteo Loglio 2018 - ongoing

Along showcasing the students’ projects, Alexia again emphasized the importance of being mindful and ethical while working with machine learning and training the algorithm.

In the next phase, the program will look into the topic of Metaverse, and they will continue the research of the new technological tools and experiment with the students to create innovative design projects and also look into virtual productions.

*AI Facial recognition, Marta Revuelta, 2018

*Appia, virtual production workshop, March 2022

There is no Media Design for Future Storytelling

Starting with the metaphor of the washing machine, Tongzhou compared the change in the washing process with the design process. The clicks on the design software are just like pushing the button on the washing machine. The hidden technology behind the buttons simplified the whole process and making everything much more efficient.

*Curriculum structure at the Institute of Media and Interaction, CAA

Having set the tone for the technological tools in art and design, Tongzhou shared the teaching structure at the Institution of Media and Interaction Design and the major theory he uses – Design Fiction. Originated from Futurism, design fiction is a design practice aiming to explore and criticize possible futures by creating speculative and often provocative scenarios narrated through designed artifacts. Design fiction draws inspiration from our daily lives and uses extrapolation to build disruptive visions of society. By challenging the current reality, this practice aims at making us explore and question interactions between people and human-machine relationships. Through the courses and workshops, students are introduced to the theories of the algorithm, data analysis, transmedia storytelling, virtual reality, and tools such as Unity and Dall-E to explore new ways to create artworks.

*Student work from 3rd-year course: Future Media and Extended Reality

A new focus for the university in recent years has been artificial intelligence. Both teachers and students began to think about the things behind the new technologies and new terms such as IoT, Smart living, Metaverse, etc.

In addition, augmented reality and spatial narratives are essential courses for the students to engage in actively. In order to bring a critical view on art and technology, students are led by the teachers to review the history and development of augmented reality.

**Will the data know about screens?* By Tongzhou Yu, 2020

In the final part of the presentation, Tongzhou presented the concept of Distributed Narrative they have developed during the workshops in collaboration with science fiction writers. Moreover, he pointed out that in the future, more content on the philosophy of technology and media invention will be added to the curriculum, and he expected the students to acquire a critical way of thinking about art and technology.

During the discussion session, the two speakers expressed their opinions on the shift of the topics of artificial intelligence and immersive technologies in the teaching curriculums. It was sometimes challenging for the teachers when it came to new technologies as they were learning with the students at the same time. Nevertheless, it is important to know the impact on the design process and use the technological tools innovatively and ethically. Furthermore, the fundamental skills the students need to acquire are to conduct their own field research, understand the context they are in, and also the ability to collaborate with other people from different backgrounds.

Click here to watch the recording of the event.

Innovative Approaches towards Circular Economy

July 28, 2022

By Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science

In the 34th edition of the Café des Sciences Lecture series, we were pleased to partner with Impact Hub and invited experts from Switzerland and China to explore the innovative approaches towards Circular Economy and Sustainable Consumption.

In the first part of the lecture, representatives from Impact Hub, Ling-Yi (Carol) Chou, Partner of Sustainable Consumption at Impact Hub Shanghai, Jaïra Guevara, Programme Lead of Circular Economy Incubator at Impact Hub Geneva, and Taleb Bruno, Community Catalyst at Impact Hub Lausanne, shared with us their insights on circular economy and how the hubs in various locations empower the startups in social innovation.

Circular Economy & Impact Hub

Impact Hub is an innovation lab that brings engaged people together to enable the transition into a more inclusive and respectful future. It is the world’s largest network of entrepreneurial communities for impact, with over 100 locations across the world. In 2017, Impact Hub Shanghai was set up and started to support entrepreneurs with incubation programs and community events.

With a common goal and shared value, the Impact Hub Lausanne and Geneva also have a particular focus on Circular Economy. Their vision is to Shift Switzerland into an innovation leader in Circular Economy, considerably reducing the consumption of natural resources and contributing to sustainable development.

Upon sharing the limits of the model of Linear Economy, the concept of Circular Economy was introduced to the audience that it is a systemic approach whose purpose is to reduce the consumption of natural resources and to contribute to sustainable development. It is further explained through key principles, business models, activities, and mindset, and it is emphasized that the circular economy cannot be done by one individual, but it is a collective effort where we need innovative ideas to move forward.

Following the introduction of Impact Hubs, startup founders Aileen Wei, Founder of Safone and Zero Waste Beauty, and Nicolas Weber, Co-Founder & CEO of Voltiris, presented their entrepreneurial stories and practices towards a more sustainable future.

Safone - Sustainable Personal Care

It is reported that more than 120 billion packaging units are produced every year by the global cosmetics industry, much of which are not recyclable. While water appears plentiful, it is suggested that of the available 3% percent of fresh water on Earth, only 0.4% is available for use. If signiﬁcant changes in water consumption are not made, two-thirds of the world may be facing water stress by the year 2025. The environmental issues lead to the creation of Safone, solid personal care products with natural ingredients but without water or plastic packages.

Besides the product, the company also exercises the concept of “zero-waste” in its marketing practices. They do not generate any waste in any of their community event as well as pop-up exhibitions. Through this, they try to deliver the idea of a sustainable lifestyle to their customers.

Voltiris – Enabling greenhouses’ energy transition

Sustainability is the key to the development of agriculture and the food system. After studying the problems of the current greenhouses, the co-founders of Voltiris came up with their innovative solutions: color-optimized solar modules compatible with crops.

Voltiris modules offer spectral filtering specific to crop production, combined with photovoltaic performance. Crops receive the light wavelengths they require to grow (i.e., red and blue), while the rest (i.e., green and NIR) is filtered and concentrated for electricity generation. Modules can be adapted to the specificities of any crop type: tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers, fruits, etc.

The device and method for sunlight-based power generation improve PV efficiency by 50%, and the method for solar tracking protects the sun-tracking system optimized for under-roof use, resulting in a light and cost-effective structure, which saves energy cost.

The technology could not only be used in glass greenhouses but also apply to plastic greenhouses, open crops, fish farms, and other scenarios. As a young startup, they are also looking for support and collaboration in terms of financing, pilot projects, and technological development.

During the Q&A session, the audience was very engaged with questions and comments. However, due to time constraints, we could only take a few questions for the speakers to answer. We encourage our audience to email us at artscience.china@swissnex.org with any additional questions. And we hope we could meet in our physical space soon for our future events.

Watch the recording of the webinar here!

Guarding the Healthy Mountains and Forests

May 27, 2022

Collaborated with the Consulate General of Switzerland in Chengdu, the 33rd Café des Sciences Lecture with a special focus on the Sustainability Strategies of Mountains and Forests was successfully held at Zhongshuge Bookstore in Chengdu. Guest speakers from both China and Switzerland shared their research and projects on the protection of mountains and forests in Southwestern China.

The first speaker – Ms. Xiaojing Chen, Senior Vice President of Novartis Group (China), shared the Southwest Sichuan Carbon-sink Forestry Project with us and also elaborated to the audience on the sustainability efforts made by Novartis.

Since 2007, Novartis has established a strategy to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through both internal and external actions. Internally, Novartis has improved energy efficiency and uses or purchases energy from renewable sources. Externally, our company has established our own carbon-sink forestry projects in countries all over the world, specifically in Argentina, Mali, China, and Colombia.

In 2010, Novartis launched the Southwest Sichuan Carbon-sink Forestry, Community and Biodiversity Project in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Over a period of 30 years, Novartis will invest RMB 100 million, or 15.3 million USD, in reforestation, which will remove an estimated 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Progress has already been made and measured in the past 12 years. Since the beginning of the project, more than 21 million trees have been planted in 5 counties, restoring more than 4,000 hectares of land and creating land care and forest maintenance jobs that benefit over 4,000 rural families.

On top of the forestry project in Sichuan, the Green Chemistry project initiated in 2021 at Changshu Site demonstrates their efforts in upgrading technology to promote sustainable chemistry. Green chemistry technologies not only help reduce the use of harmful chemicals, but they also save energy through mild reactions and reduce our environmental footprint. Over the past year, Novartis has been working closely with the local government and industry to share best practices and technical know-how.

Following the presentation from Novartis, Dr. Davide Fornacca, a Swiss-Italian Researcher from the Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research of Dali University, shared his research on forest fires in northwest Yunnan.

Yunnan province in China has rich forest resources but high forest fire frequency. Therefore, understanding the ecological consequences of forest fires helps research the protection of forests. Forest fires can cause damage, but sometimes their occurrence is necessary in order to maintain the health and proper functioning of the ecosystem, and forest fires are essential natural processes needed to regenerate a decaying landscape and have resulted in the evolution of many important plant species.

However, the scientific monitoring and fire management system is needed to put the risk under control. Various research tools are employed to map out the risk of the fires and develop the ways to respond to the fires.

The final speaker of the evening is Prof. Lijun Su, Deputy Director-General of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He introduced the technologies and systems they use for disaster risk reduction and presented the international exchanges and activities between IMHE and other institutions.

Mainly focusing on mountain surface systems, IMHE is engaged in research on mountain hazards, mountain ecology & environment, and the sustainable development of mountains, of which debris flow research ranks the world's first class. In the past five decades, IMHE has completed more than 1,000 research projects and substantially contributed to the prevention and mitigation of mountain hazards, recovery of vulnerable eco-environment, and sustainable development of mountain regions. Furthermore, various technologies for disaster risk reduction have been developed by the researchers at IMHE, such as the Dual-source surface wave detection of slope structure, the method for detecting the distribution and flow of groundwater, new landslide mitigation technologies and so on. He also showcased the system for disaster process simulation and risk management.

Besides the research projects, Prof. Su also introduced the international exchanges between IMHE and other institutions worldwide. IMHE established the Chinese Committee of International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (CNICIMOD), China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, and CAS and Alliance to promote a partnership of connectivity between China and South Asia countries International Science Organizations on Disaster Risk Reduction (ANSO-DRR). These international cooperation platforms will play a critical role in promoting academic and scientific exchange and collaboration along the Belt and Road.

During the Q&A session, both the online and onsite audience were very engaged, however, due to the time constraints, we could only take a few questions for the speakers to answer. We encourage our audience to email us at artscience.china@swissnex.org with any additional questions. And we hope the lecture could bring more thoughts to everyone on the protection of mountains and forests.