Design skills and methods have been at the conceptual foundation of the design discipline(s) for at least the past half century. Over this period, design has also changed, focusing on new outcomes, serving new goals, and addressing different scales and broader application areas. On the one hand, there is a large set of methods and tools; on the other hand, there is growing visibility with ‘design thinking’ both giving design greater appeal and a shallower message. Currently many design schools struggle with adapting their curricula to meet the new demands for sustainability, diversity, and incorporating new technologies such as AI or Biodesign (designing as, with and for nature). Several academic initiatives have produced visions giving direction to those efforts. This paper reports the outcomes of a series of discussions by experienced educators, attempting to produce a specification of the goals and detailed objectives of design methods education. We share these outcomes not as a definitive prescription for the incorporation of methods within a design curriculum, but as a reference point for further development.@en

Wearable technologies draw on a range of disciplines, including fashion, textiles, HCI, and engineering. Due to differences in methodology, wearables researchers can experience gaps or breakdowns in values, goals, and vocabulary when collaborating. This situation makes wearables development challenging, even more so when technologies are in the early stages of development and their technological and cultural potential is not fully understood. We propose a common ground to enhance the accessibility of wearables-related resources. The objective is to raise awareness and create a convergent space for researchers and developers to both access and share information across domains. We present CHIMERA, an online search interface that allows users to explore wearable technologies beyond their discipline. CHIMERA is powered by a Wearables Taxonomy and a database of research, tutorials, aesthetic approaches, concepts, and patents. To validate CHIMERA, we used a design task with multidisciplinary designers, an open-ended usability study with experts, and a usability survey with students of a wearables design class. Our findings suggest that CHIMERA assists users with different mindsets and skillsets to engage with information, expand and share knowledge when developing wearables. It forges common ground across divergent disciplines, encourages creativity, and affords the formation of inclusive, multidisciplinary perspectives in wearables development.

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