Clusters

131

Researchers

Vectors

Clusters

At UNIDCOM, research transcends disciplinary boundaries, exploring the intersections of Design, Communication, Media, Art, and Science. Our intentional approach fosters inter and transdisciplinarity. Instead of creating separate research groups, we have embraced a broad research program revolving around 5 thematic clusters. These clusters evolve dynamically to address global societal concerns. Operating without fixed teams, each cluster promotes collaboration and agility, allowing us to respond swiftly to evolving dynamics and priorities.

C3 Crafting Cooperation and Coexistence
Concern: Design in a world of tension

R3 Rethinking for Regeneration and Resilience
Concern: Design in an unsustainable world

T3 Thoughtfulness Technology for Thrive
Concern: Design in a sociotechnical world

E3 Exploring Economic Ethos
Concern: Design in a capitalist world

F3 Finding Flourishing Futures
Concern: Design for a flourishing world

C3 Crafting Cooperation and Coexistence

Concern: Addressing Tensions through Design

Conflicts, inherent to human history, shape societies and individuals, stemming from diverse causes like resource disputes and ideological clashes. Despite their toll, conflicts can spark innovation and social change. Recent conflicts underscore global fragility, challenging international systems and democracy itself. Societal radicalization and climate change exacerbate tensions, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. This cluster focuses on promoting dialogue, tolerance, democracy, and peace, addressing causes of conflict and fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion. Priority themes include tackling fragmentation and tensions, social innovation, cooperation, citizenship, conflict management, mediation, and social justice.

R3 Rethinking for Regeneration and Resilience

Concern: Design Solutions for an Unsustainable World

Human activity has accelerated climate change and planetary crises like pollution and biodiversity loss. Despite sustainability efforts, urgent action is needed to transition to carbon neutrality, adapt to climate change, and regenerate ecosystems. This cluster focuses on sustainability, climate change mitigation, and ecosystem regeneration. Priority themes include circular economy, biodesign, nature-based solutions, regenerative design, decarbonization, smart cities, biodiversity protection.

T3 Thoughtfulness Technology for Thrive

Concern: Ethical Design in a Technological World

Technology has shaped human civilization, enhancing user experiences. Yet, technology carries risks, especially with emerging disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence and bioengineering. Critical reflection and regulation are vital to address ethical concerns. This cluster focuses on designing technology-based solutions across various domains, prioritizing their positive impact on society and the environment. Priority areas include digitization's effects on education, health, and society.

E3 Exploring Economic Ethos

Concern: Designing Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Capitalism's impact prompts reflection on its sustainability. This cluster explores the design role in crafting new forms of entrepreneurship aligned with democratic values and sustainability. It aims to combat inequalities and foster businesses prioritizing social and environmental well-being. Research seeks new proposals for fairer and more equitable markets, ensuring the dignity of human life in harmony with the planet.

F3 Finding Flourishing Futures

Concern: Shaping a Positive Future through Design

Design influences culture, decisions, and behaviours, shaping narratives and worldviews. This cluster explores research on design theory, philosophy, and practice, contributing to solutions that foster human flourishing in harmony with the planet. Emphasizing robust principles, systemic awareness, and long-term vision, research seeks to prioritize meaningful communication, innovative technology, cultural enjoyment, health and well-being, and inclusive engagement.

In response to new challenges, both social and internal, the Unit has redefined itself in order to explore areas of interest at the intersection of the quadrants drawn by the Design-Technology-Art-Communication-Marketing vectors. Thus, and without prejudice to future updates, the research is now organised into seven clusters, instead of groups, corresponding to strategic areas of research, materialised in projects: Mapping Design; Design for social innovation and sustainability; Interaction Design and UX; Envision future; Communication, Culture and Consumption; Art and Visual Production and Design Principles and Practices.

Due to their very nature, clusters foster interaction and cooperation among interdisciplinary project teams, incorporating young researchers, as much as possible, from different programmes and study cycles, as well as external partners (e.g., companies, laboratories). In the portfolio there are about 30 projects, some already in execution, encompassing a great diversity of interests and methodological approaches.

MAPPING PORTUGUESE DESIGN

This research cluster focuses on design history and studies, and its main goals are to contrast different research experiences in order to think critically on the development of Portuguese design and understand how design practices and products contribute to our cultural values. We seek to map the circulation and valorisation of aesthetic forms, the paths of our national identity, including the contributions of ethnicity and gender, highlighting the cultural and economic relevance of Portuguese design products and their potential to be developed into new ones. Through this mapping, we can examine and confirm the relevance of ‘memory archives’ and also provide content for cultural products, as part of a creative economy strategy embraced by the research unit.

DESIGN FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

The Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability cluster is concerned with the sustainability of economic, environmental and social systems, developing ideas and solutions that promote social value as well as the processes through which they are generated, perceived and maintained. Aiming to develop and deploy effective and meaningful solutions to promote a better use of assets and resources, social resilience and wellbeing in a challenging, complex and changing world, this research cuts across sectors and fields of action, engages a broad range of organisations and actors. It impacts on areas such as cities and population issues, economic empowerment and management, production and market dynamics, environmental sustainability, healthcare and tourism, cultural practices and education, ethics and governance, civil liberties and human rights.

INTERACTION DESIGN AND UX

The Interaction Design and UX cluster is concerned with digital transformation and is interested in understanding interactivity: what interaction means, its benefits and drawbacks, as well as the extent to which it affects us, at personal and social levels, to help designing digital artefacts offering a useful and meaningful UX. Interactivity seems to be everywhere and is increasing in applications, devices, wearables, services and systems, health and safety, education and entertainment, industrial production and transportation. Examples of related research include the design of social robots and drones, interactive infographics, virtual or augmented reality solutions, IoT and web-based solutions.

ENVISION FUTURE

The Envision future research cluster, is focused on developing an experimental and experiential framework, demanding new design roles, contexts, and methods, enabling the establishment of possible future scenarios from the perspective of speculative design research. The future of society is envisioned as a space to imagine, test and shape new possibilities for design itself; new artistic possibilities for technology, education and cultural issues; and ethical implications for science and technological research; as well as large-scale social and political problems. Using the language of design to pose questions, provoke, inspire, and by developing an interdisciplinary and multicultural community that seeks permanent contact and cooperation to break boundaries, the research explores and speculates on new ways to answer challenges to humanity.

COMMUNICATION, CULTURE AND CONSUMPTION

This cluster focuses on cross-cultural research to grasp production, diffusion and consumption processes. Key areas are: brand identity & image; branding & advertising; planning & implementation; management, monitoring & evaluation; consumer behaviour. Issues of ethics and sustainability are to be transversely considered. The backdrop against which these processes occur is also of interest, particularly regarding the relations between the cultural, creative and media sectors and society. This cluster will also review the impact of better access to design, architecture, marketing and communication services on innovative practices, bearing in mind the growing significance of the use of new technologies.

ART AND VISUAL PRODUCTION

The Art and Visual Production Cluster is concerned with the growing de-humanisation of authorship in cultural products. Therefore, we promote studies rooted in drawing and photography, forefathers of illustration, comics, graphic arts, independent cinema, documentaries, animation and video game characters and settings. These studies aim to confirm the resistance of “visual arts” and “visual culture” against human and mechanical digital communication device hybridisation. We wish to study and actively promote practice-based research on crafted visual production that embodies pre-digitalisation processes in using and mastering digital technologies as part of re-humanising visual culture.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

The Design principles and practices cluster is concerned with the essence of “simplicity” and is interested in understanding what happens in Design’s different existences, particularly in its praxis. Design today is less an act of drawing or designing something than the act of designing a programme that in itself conceives a diversity of solutions pertaining to the service or function that we intend to draw or design. This drawing and designing activity may thus be defined by the creation of new materials and the new industry 4.0; genetic manipulation; software and interface conception; formulation of new forms of communication and languages, mostly those of a visualisation nature; conception (design) of social, political and cultural ideas; and the generation of new behaviour with growing complexity. In contrast, and as a consequence of complexity, as well as Design intervention, we all can access better life quality. We can access better technological artefacts and products, while enabling their simpler interaction.