Bio: Fazil is a lecturer in Industrial and Product Design at the University of Liverpool, School of Engineering. He is trained as an industrial designer and interaction designer, holds an MSc in Product Design from Middle East Technical University (Turkey), an MA in Product Design and Management from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Switzerland), and a CAS in Interaction Design from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland. He continues his PhD studies in the field of design and philosophy of technology at Hessen State University of Art and Design (Germany).
As a design educator, Fazil has worked in several universities since 2015 on subjects of Designing for Experiences, Design Theory, Critical Design, Design Activism and Materialising Design Ideas. Occasionally he holds workshops for utilising design activities to discuss or develop ideas in several fields. A short list of these workshops is: New Experiences through Materials, Experience Design for the Digital Space, Resistant Design Practices for Cities, Critical Design Supermarket, Designing Imaginative Atmospheres, Designing Deliriously Happy Making Objects, Designing Theoretical Gifts, Design with a Theory in Mind
Email: f.akin@liverpool.ac.uk
School: Engineering
Department: Engineering
Module code: ENGG290
Suitable for students of: Industrial Design, Product Development, Product Design, Design Management
Desired experience or requirements: N/A
Places available: 5
Start dates: 1 July 2024
Project length: 4 weeks
Virtual option: No
Project description:
Liverpool is one of the cultural hubs of the UK, housing more museums and cultural institutes than any other city outside London (Visit Liverpool, n.d.). Besides museums, music and media industries are an important aspect of the art culture of the city, including the Liverpool Biennial being the ‘largest festival of contemporary visual art in the UK’ (Liverpool Biennial, n. d.). This makes the city an ideal field to research the materialities that the art world creates that could be transferred to the product design activity.
Although art objects have distinct characteristics compared to everyday products, the materialisation process can be an inspiring source for industrial designers. Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby state “I kind of feel that art exists because the design has failed. In an ideal, utopian world, everyday life would be so rich, meaningful and challenging that we wouldn’t need this separate category called art.” (cited in Puolakka & Sutela, 2010). The relationship between art with usefulness is an ongoing field of discussion, at least since Oscar Wilde’s famous ‘all art is useless’ claim (cited in Howard, 2020). On the other hand, the interest of the art world in the ‘use of art’ is very interesting (Byrne, 2016). Stephen Wright’s Towards a Usership Lexicon (2013) can be an example of this or other works around the Arte Útil formation.
The use value of objects and products is a key specification of product design. User-centred design is a well-established field within the design profession alongside human-centred design. It is very interesting to observe while the design profession widens its focus from the user to the impact of products on earth and other living entities beyond the users of the products, the art world is rethinking the role of art by discussing the use of art objects. This intersection area could be a very productive field for product designers to observe and learn from the art objects and implement this learning into their practice.
The researchers involved in this subject will look at the objects exhibited in the museums and art institutes around Liverpool, including the city. Each researcher needs to develop first his/her field book by utilising several design methods interpreted according to his/her interest. Throughout their fieldwork, they will fill their book with the details they learned from the vast number of objects artists produced for the city and its exhibition spaces. The project will end with a discussion session where the observations and field notes are shared, and possible uses of materials, techniques, and approaches are defined for product design.
Byrne, J. (2016). Social Autonomy and the Use Value of Art. Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry (Autumn/Winter 2016), Vol. 42, pp. 60-69.
Howard, M. (2020). Uselessness is a Rarefied Thing. In Howard, M., & Parodi, L. (Eds.) Uselessness: Humankind’s most valuable tool? Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH.
Liverpool Biennial (n. d.). Khanyisile Mbongwa Announced as Curator for Liverpool Biennial 2023. Retrieved on 20th of December, 2022 from https://www.biennial.com/news/khanyisile-mbongwa-announced-as-curator-for-liverpool-biennial-2023
Puolakka, A., & Sutela, J. (2010). Science Poems. Helsinki & Paris: OK Do.
Visit Liverpool (n. d.). Museums and Galleries in Liverpool. Retrieved on 10th of December, 2023 from https://www.visitliverpool.com/things-to-do/attractions-in-liverpool/museums-and-galleries/
Wright, S. (2013). Toward a Usership Lexikon. Retrieved on 20th of December, 2022 from https://www.arte-util.org/tools/lexicon/
Additional requirements: N/A
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