[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS

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  • Exploring multispecies urban futures: An integrative literature review of emerging socio-ecological imaginaries, pathways and design implications
    (2024-12-30) Urra Schiaffino, Mariela
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    The biodiversity crisis highlights the need to rethink urban planning, reimagining cities as places for combined human-nature flourishing. New narratives of environmentalism advocate for re-configuring human-nature relationships to account for the complexities of interdependent eco-logical and social systems. New theoretical frameworks have emerged to guide urban develop-ment to be more inclusive towards other species. However, despite their growing influence, these propositions imply such a level of abstraction that their practical implementation remains chal-lenging. Envisioning cities that welcome other species, protect their welfare and ensure sustain-able environments and livelihoods remains a critical challenge for planning, systems of ethics and politics, and imagination. This thesis investigates an emerging and expanding framework referred to as multispecies tran-sitions. It researches possibilities of translating its diffuse theoretical concepts into the urban context, identifying pathways for practical applications. Additionally, it considers the potential of Design for Sustainability Transitions (DfST) to support this translation. The research examines emerging narratives in academic discourse, framing the findings through the lens of socio-ecological imaginaries to illuminate the cultural, conceptual, and systemic barriers and enablers of change. The research is motivated by a pressing need to guide urban planning and design for sustainability practices toward fostering biodiversity and multispecies flourishing. The methodology involves an integrative literature review of 73 academic publications across disciplines concerned with multispecies thinking in the urban context. The review synthesises key insights into a conceptual typology, termed the "Typology of pathways for multispecies urban futures." This typology identifies and describes in depth seven thematic pathways representing the diverse actions and interventions proposed by the authors. The findings are further contex-tualised through the DfST framework, mapping how designers for sustainability can engage with these pathways to address biodiversity challenges in urban contexts. The findings highlight the emergence of urban imaginaries characterised by a renewed focus on life, although practical applications remain diffuse. They reveal the need for systemic interven-tions at multiple levels, from materials and design to shifts in governance structures and deeply ingrained societal perceptions. This approach requires further interdisciplinary actions involving collaborative radical imagination to raise awareness, unlearn outdated practices, and develop new methods for understanding socio-ecological dynamics. The thesis contributes to ongoing discussions on multispecies transitions by providing a structured framework for understanding and advancing the various directions of these concepts, highlighting the significance of DfST in this endeavour.
  • Näppituntumalla
    (2025-01-01) Lehtonen, Ida
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Taiteen maisterin opinnäyte Näppituntumalla tarkastelee valokuvaa veistoksena: kolmiulotteisena esineenä sen perinteisen kehyksen ulkopuolella. Se tutkii niitä materiaaleja, joilla valokuvasta tulee fyysinen teos ja teoksen muotoa yhdessä merkityksiä luovana kokonaisuutena. Valokuvan materiaalisuus toimii opinnäytteen kirjallisen osan viitekehyksenä. Työ kysyy miten työskennellä kolmiulotteisesti kaksiulotteisen valokuvan kanssa. Työn keskiössä on taiteellisen työskentelyn prosessi, jota opinnäyte käsittelee sekä taiteellisen osan teosten että kuvataiteilija Sauli Sirviön kanssa käydyn keskustelun kautta. Kirjallinen osa keskittyy erityisesti valokuvaamisen jälkeen tapahtuvaan työskentelyyn. Taiteellinen osa tarkastelee, miten valokuvan materiaalisuus tulee teoksessa näkyväksi ja miten se voi samalla muuttaa ja monimutkaistaa valokuvan katsomisen tapaa. Taiteellisen osan lähtökohtana toimii Turun Satavan saaressa 13.–30.5.2021 esillä ollut paikkasidonnainen Avantgarden-näyttely ja kaksi näyttelyyn tehtyä nimetöntä veistosta. Toinen taiteellinen osa, veistos Is melting a good thing? kehkeytyi Avantgarden-näyttelyssä mukana olleen installaation materiaaleista. Teokset toimivat kirjallisen osan tutkimuksellisina työkaluina. Teosten kautta tarkastellaan, miten valokuva muuttuu erilaisten materiaalien, tilan ja kosketuksen myötä. Opinnäytteen teoreettisena kimmokkeena toimii sekä Georges Didi-Hubermanin että Gilles Deleuzen ja Félix Guattarin materiaalinen filosofinen ajattelu. Jälkimmäisten rinnalla kulkee taidehistoroitsija Katve-Kaisa Kontturin uusmaterialistinen tutkimus ja antropologi Tim Ingoldin taiteen tekemistä käsittelevä ajattelu. Tämän lisäksi mukana on muun muassa valokuvaesineen materiaalisuutta tutkivat Elizabeth Edwards ja Janice Hart, sekä ei-inhimillistä valokuvaa teorisoiva Joanna Zylinska. Kirjallisen osan teorian ja taiteellisen osan teosten pohjalta syntyneiden havaintojen avulla hahmottuu työskentely, jossa valokuvasta tulee fyysinen esine yhteistyössä materiaalien kanssa. Päästämällä irti etukäteen muodostetuista ideoista ja kontrollista, kuvasta tulee teos avoimessa ja muuttuvassa kokeellisessa prosessissa materiaa ja muotoa seuraamalla. Seuraaminen tapahtuu moniaistisesti työskennellen: ”näppituntumalla”.
  • Leyla, Bahman Khan, and the man who lives on Hedayat Street; Four stories about remembering, one about forgetting
    (2024-12-31) Tashakorinia, Mana
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    This thesis explores the fragmented stories of modern Iran (1905–2022) and the voids within historiography through embodied encounters with people, places, and traces. Traveling to the locations, I navigated material and immaterial remnants, allowing these histories to intertwine with my own lived experiences. This approach led to the creation of a toolkit for engaging with history in non-reductive ways, particularly in contexts where power structures dominate narratives and rituals, but still counter rituals and storytelling tools expose traces of power’s anxieties. The toolkit focuses on mistakes and their potential to open possibilities for re-imagining withered historiographies. It emphasizes imagination not as a resolution but as a practice of resistance—against governments, communities, or even oneself. The accompanying practice is a film, blending site footage, archival material, and crafted elements like glass sculpture and puppetry. Film as a ghostly media reflect on my encounter with fragmented historical events and fictive traces, and together with the research they offer tools to interpret and act upon history.
  • Fabricated Plastic - Examination of costume as fashion in the film Barbie
    (2025-01-01) Hummelin, Isa
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Step into the heart-shaped world of Barbie and hop into the pink Corvette! Fabricated plastic - The examination of fashion as costume in the film Barbie is a thesis that examines the connection between fashion and costume design within the film Barbie (2023), while shedding light on the film's multifaceted portrayal of gender, identity, and the construction of a matriarchal society within the imaginary world of Barbie Land. This thesis focuses on exploring and addressing how ideas are represented and conveyed through Barbie's body, its techniques, performance, and the materials that cover it, in the film Barbie (2023). In its aim, the thesis combines in-depth theoretical reflection with creative practice. In the creative component, the thesis explores how an unconventional material within fashion design context, like thermoplastic, specifically Worbla, can be employed as an innovative material in the pattern making and cutting process. This process utilises the Barbie doll as a mannequin, allowing for the playful manipulation of proportions and distortions, resulting in the creation of new shapes and innovative approaches to emerge. The thesis is divided into two parts: a theoretical study and a complementary creative project. The research employs literature review and a theory-practice methodology, bridging the gap between theoretical discussions and practical design work. While the literature review acknowledges and showcases prior academic sources and scholars in the fields of gender studies, fashion and costume studies, and semiotics that support the new analysis, the theoretical section focuses on the role of the Barbie doll, her dress and fashion, and the doll’s portrayal in the film, with particular emphasis on the juxtaposition between patriarchal film realism and the matriarchal world of Barbie Land. This analysis extends to the depiction of gender and the biases embedded in these representations, also investigating the influence of Barbie’s plasticity on identity formation. This analysis lays the groundwork for the creative part, that presents an ending to the analysis of Barbie. In this process Worbla thermoplastic opens a creative path for innovative form-making, exploring the relationship between the body, the space around it, and the materials used. Prototypes created through this process lead to the generation of new, imaginative shapes. The creative research is presented through photographic documentation that highlights the progression from initial ideas and prototypes to experiments, challenges, and final outcomes. The overall outcome of this thesis aims to foster a reciprocal discussion between the theoretical study and the design method derived from it, emphasising the importance of both for the future. The theoretical analysis and reimagining of the creative process offer valuable insights for future designers, encouraging exploration of new materials and contributing to the development of innovative approaches within both fashion and costume design.
  • Urban imaginaries of refugee youth: Insights from place-making with Ukrainian teenagers in Warsaw
    (2024-12-31) Rey, Bartlomiej
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of Warsaw's central urban parks has become a gathering place for Ukrainian teenagers. The city plans to renovate part of this park through an architectural competition. Despite being one of the primary users of the space, Ukrainian teenagers have little influence on its future design. Warsaw faces challenges in engaging youth in urban planning and lacks a comprehensive integration strategy for refugees. Youth participation in urban planning is recognized as a pathway to achieving sustainable futures in European cities and a means of fostering resilience and belonging among refugee youth in host communities. The urban imaginaries of Ukrainian teenagers could provide innovative insights for Warsaw. However, refugee youth participation in urban planning remains an understudied field. This study investigates the urban imaginaries of Ukrainian teenagers in Warsaw and explores methods of working with them in the planning process of an urban park. Through participatory action research suspended between the City Office and Ukrainian teenagers, a place-making exploration of Świętokrzyski Park was conducted. The study included 12 interviews with city officials, experts on public space and participation, as well as 35 interviews with refugee youth frequenting the park and Spoko Café, a safe space that became a key partner. Mapping techniques were employed to produce situated knowledge. Thematic analysis of the collected material revealed three tensions regarding Warsaw public spaces. Ukrainian teenagers in Warsaw desire a clean, well-maintained park; however, achieving this could unintentionally exclude them. Their desire to socialize in public spaces and the conflicts this generates highlight broader challenges related to youth rights to public space. While Ukrainian teenagers perceive Warsaw as boring, Polish experts describe it using chaotic imaginaries. Furthermore, analysis revealed three tensions regarding their participation in urban planning. Although teenagers are not professional designers, involving them offers valuable insights and learning opportunities. Ukrainian teenagers should primarily be seen as adolescents who are non-native Polish speakers, rather than solely as refugees. Participation, while complex and often misunderstood, can become a self-reinforcing process when managed inclusively and effectively. For Warsaw to realize its policy of developing public dialogue, city officials must revise their perception of teenagers and public space for youth and start preparing for organizing participation in a multi-cultural city that Warsaw is becoming.
  • Designing Future of Employment Services: Design choices in a case study project
    (2024-12-30) Helin, Esko-Matti
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Co-design methodologies have witnessed a marked increase in utilization within public sector projects, with the aim of fostering collaboration between diverse stakeholders and addressing complex challenges. In recent years, these methodologies have been employed in the development of public services. While co-design is intended to encourage innovation, the decision-making processes in these projects often appear disorderly and unstructured, creating challenges for stakeholders to anticipate how design choices impact project outcomes. The extant research in Lee et al.'s (2018) "Design Choices Framework," which forms the foundation for this thesis, explores this subject in greater detail. In their study, Lee et al. present the design choices in co-design projects and bring them to life by presenting two case example projects. However, in this thesis, one full public sector co-design project is analyzed using the framework in detail. This thesis explores the role of design choices in co-design projects through a detailed case study of the "Employment and Economy 2032" project, conducted in collaboration with Aalto University and Työllisyys Espoo. The project had the objective of formulating a vision for Espoo's employment services in 2032, with a focus on inclusivity, adaptability, and responsiveness to evolving labor market dynamics. This study utilizes Lee et al.'s framework to analyze how decisions, ranging from project preconditions to co-creation events, influenced the project's outcomes, thereby facilitating the mapping and comprehension of these complexities. This thesis explores the role of design choices in co-design projects through a detailed case study of the "Employment and Economy 2032" project. To this end, the framework developed by Lee et al. is employed to map and comprehend the intricacies of the project. The case study project was based on co-design activities, including workshops, guerrilla interviews, and participatory activities with a multidisciplinary team of stakeholders, including municipal officials, students, employers, and citizens. The design choices from these activities were analyzed using the design choices framework. The study was conducted two years after the project, based on a single researcher's perspective and documented data, which limits the scope but provides valuable reflective insights. The findings indicate that early decisions, such as the openness of the brief and the diversity of participant knowledge, significantly influence the project, with different choices also affecting one another. For instance, the open brief allows flexibility for creative exploration but also leads to time-consuming negotiations due to differing participant priorities. Similarly, the inclusion of multidisciplinary participants enriches the process but necessitates additional facilitation to address conflicts and balance power dynamics. A significant outcome of the analyzed project was the identification of 18 core elements for designing future employment services, emphasizing user-centered and sustainable approaches. For the project team, a key output was the experience of working in multidisciplinary teams and with public sector clients. These findings demonstrate the interconnected nature of design choices in co-design projects and highlight the importance of structured frameworks like Lee et al.'s for navigating complexity. The study provides actionable insights for future public sector initiatives, emphasizing the need for clear decision-making processes and balancing stakeholder diversity to maximize co-design's potential. This work contributes to bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks and practical applications in public sector co-design.
  • Gatherings – Urban foraging as diverse provisioning in Southern Finland
    (2024-12-13) Tahvonen, Amir
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Urban foraging, the gathering and use of natural ingredients from cities, is a long-practised activity emerging as a recent area of study. Foraging is considered a promising way for people to increase feelings of nature-connectedness, which in turn is associated with heightened pro-nature attitudes. With a widespread crisis in resource overuse and sustainability, increasing possibilities for foraging could have positive impacts on urban sustainability. While picking of berries and mushrooms and to some extent the gathering of herbs have been officially tracked in Finland, little research has focused on urban gathering. This work inquires into urban foraging and explores what foraging provides in the Finnish context, what sustainability implications it might have and how desirable future foraging cities are imagined. Nine semi-structured interviews were held with Finnish foraging experts, augmented by two field visits to parks where forageable species were distinctly marked and presented. The interviews informed thematic descriptions for the imagined future cities, illustrated with collage. This study finds that urban foraging seems to provide material and nonmaterial goods, with overlapping benefits for health and wellbeing, as well as potential for diverse livelihoods in supplementary or somewhat self-provisioning forms. Further, the results inform that urban forager experts in the Finnish context practise and teach various methods for sustainable foraging, including species selection based on commonness and abundance of plants. Sustainability implications of urban foraging also include the possible mechanism of heightened species perception, leading to stronger connection with nature. Additionally, this study suggests a wider highly speculative effect of foraging associated experiences initiating sustainable lifestyle changes. The imagined dream cities integrate foraging more fully into the urban fabric and citizen lives through urban design choices and wider inclusion into structures of education and commerce. Further research is required to ascertain the sustainability implications of wider urban foraging, and inclusive participatory processes for examining how foraging could be more integrated into cities are proposed to ensure that the potential multifoliate positive effects of foraging can be actualised in ways that are just for human and non-human life alike.
  • Defining a customer journey management concept – A case study in B2B envi-ronment
    (2024-12-20) Niemi, Tytti
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Service design is a practice of various tools. One of the use cases is gaining understanding of customers, which might lead to new insights, innovation and competitive advantage. A customer journey is one of the tools to facilitate the customer insights: it is a mapping that leads the way of communicating customer experience for the people who deliver it. Customer journeys can be utilized in studying, developing, improving and visualizing how people who deliver customer experience are linked and collaborating together and what is their impact on the customer experience. Although the concept of a customer journey is fairly well established, there is a research gap when it comes to managing multiple journeys. E.g. Harris et. al. (2021, 68) state that the ‘domain of the customer journey is an immature field of study for academics’. Experience from the case company proposes that the customer journeys are at risk ending up to a desk drawer or only to a small specific audience’s attention, and could be utilized more efficiently. This thesis examines the gap within the context of an organization in a field of global business-to-business services. This B2B environment is less studied in the literature so far. The study aims to define a concept of customer journey management and thus extending the concept of a sole customer journey. The research further includes characteristics of a customer journey management and expected benefits. The thesis includes insights from the literature that are utilised in the ananlysis of the data gatherered in expert invterviews internally and externally. The result of this thesis is a holistic view on journey management concepts and future scenarios for the case company that would support in efficient implementation of the change. The thesis would serve as a starting point for utilizing customer journeys in their full potential with a clear concept and structure, for others to research and develop the implementation further.
  • Scaling Creativity: Supporting high-growth creative entrepreneurship through university ecosystem development
    (2024-12-10) Väänänen, Vera
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Creative Industries (CIs) are increasingly recognized as vital contributors to the knowledge-based economy and societal development. Despite their demonstrated societal impact and economic potential, these industries face persistent challenges in achieving scalable entrepreneurship and generating compelling success stories. This scarcity of growth-oriented entrepreneurship creates a dual challenge: limited successful examples hinder broader societal interest and investment opportunities, while simultaneously the fragmentation of the sector limits the opportunities for employment and globalization, thus creating a cycle where the sector's full potential remains unrealized. University Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (UEEs) emerge as critical intervention points for addressing these systemic challenges. These ecosystems are uniquely positioned to cultivate the essential skills and mindsets required for fostering new high-growth ventures within creative sectors. This study examines the dynamics of high-growth creative entrepreneurship within a case university ecosystem, investigating how these environments can enhance the emergence and success probability of growth-oriented creative ventures. The research specifically explores three interconnected dimensions: the formation of entrepreneurial identity and culture, the inherent tensions within the creative sector, and the various aspects of ecosystem support mechanisms for creative entrepreneurs. Key findings encompass the necessity for systematic collaboration across ecosystem levels, development of tailored funding and support mechanisms, and specialized communication strategies. The study concludes with a proposed framework for ecosystem stakeholders, providing guidance for optimizing ecosystem development to support creative sector growth. This research contributes to the evolving discourse on entrepreneurship in creative sectors while offering practical insights for policymakers and educational institutions seeking to enhance their support for creative ventures.
  • Nakit silmillä - Työväenluokka muodissa
    (2024-12-31) Vilo, Jere
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Muoti itsessään on syntynyt eri yhteiskuntaluokkien tarpeesta imitoida tai erottautua toisistaan. Nykypäivänä tyylit ovat sekoittuneet enemmän kuin koskaan kun ylemmät yhteiskuntaluokat hakevat pukeutumiseensa autenttisuutta perinteisistä työvaatteista. Tämä opinnäytetyö tarkastelee miten työväenluokka on inspiroinut muotia historiassa sekä nykyhetkessä ja miten tekijän oma työväenluokkainen tausta näkyy hänen suunnittelijaidentiteetissään. Työn tutkimuskysymys on: Miten työväenluokkainen taustani on vaikuttanut suunnittelijaidentiteettiini? Opinnäytetyö koostuu kahdesta osasta: kirjallinen osa käsittelee työn taustatutkimusta ja produktiivisen osan työprosessin kuvaamista. Produktiivisena osana syntyy kuuden asukokonaisuuden tarinallinen vaatemallisto, jonka tapahtumapaikkana toimii tekijän kuvitteellinen nakkikioski nimeltä Nakit Silmillä. Kirjallisen osan alku keskittyy työväenluokkaan muodin inspiraationa niin historiassa kuin nykyhetkessä. Tämän jälkeen käsitellään pikaruokaa muodin muusana. Tekijä tutkii myös huumoria suunnittelun välineenä ja tapana käsitellä vakavaa ja ajankohtaista aihetta. Taustatutkimus päättyy autoetnografiseen haastatteluun tekijän äidin kanssa ja haastattelun tekijässä herättämiin ajatuksiin. Työn pääpainotus on sen produktiivisessa osassa. Produktiivisen osan työprosessia kuvataan suunnittelua, valmistusta ja lopputuloksia tarkastellen. Lopputuloksena syntyvän vaatemalliston suunnittelua avataan luonnosten, visuaalisen ilmeen ja materiaalien avulla. Materiaalipainotteiseen mallistoon on suunniteltu ja valmistettu uniikkeja kudottuja, neulottuja ja kankaanpainomenetelmin käsiteltyjä kankaita. Vaatemalliston valmistus sisältää tuotteiden kaavoituksen, ompelun ja viimeistelyn. Ompelun lisäksi malliston tuotteissa on hyödynnetty erikoistekniikoita, kuten brodeerausta, 3D-tulostamista ja laserleikkaamista. Taustatutkimuksen ja sen kautta tehtyjen havaintojen avulla syntynyt vaatemallisto on humoristinen ja oivaltava kuvaus kuvitteellisesta nakkikioskista, jossa tavataan yhteiskunnan koko kirjo. Samalla se on keskustelunavaus yhteiskuntaluokista 2020-luvun Suomessa.
  • Embracing Ultra Slow Fashion: Creating emotional connections to clothing through hand knitting and materiality
    (2024-12-22) Parikka, Saimi
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    This master’s thesis addresses the problems associated with the short lifespan and lack of fundamental appreciation of garments. The work combines handicraft and fashion culture, aiming to find understanding and a way to produce garments that have meaning and value to their owner. The work is divided into two parts and consists of a theoretical section and a creative productive section. The study begins with a theoretical examination of the current state of the textile industry and the difficulties in fostering sustainable practices amid a culture of overconsumption and rapid production. Building on this foundation, the thesis delves into the emotional connection individuals form with their clothing, highlighting the importance of time in nurturing such relationships. The thesis investigates the factors influencing the longevity of garments and why some are considered disposable while others are made for life. Through an exploration of DIY culture, the thesis highlights the profound significance of handmade garments, particularly within knitting communities. These communities offer not only a space for creative expression but also a sense of belonging and well-being in an increasingly fast-paced world. The author's personal experiences with knitting serve as a foundation for understanding the deep fulfillment and satisfaction the craft provides. The act of knitting becomes a meditative practice, offering respite from the chaos of everyday life and resulting in garments imbued with memories of the making process. In the productive section, the author extends this sense of meaningfulness to clothing creation by emphasizing an emotional connection to materials and manufacturing processes. Drawing inspiration from themes of nature, comfort, and the process of making. The author incorporates self-processed Finnish Sheep wool, natural dyes, and slow handicraft techniques to challenge the ever-accelerating pace of fashion. Coined as "ultra-slow fashion," this approach advocates for a more deliberate and sustainable mode of clothing production. Furthermore, the thesis examines the potential of finding ways for more meaningful garment production outside of this very personal process of finding sustainability and emotional connection. Ultimately, the thesis offers a holistic exploration of clothing appreciation, DIY culture, and sustainable fashion practices, positioning the author as both a researcher and practitioner in the pursuit of more meaningful and enduring clothing experiences.
  • Kirppuhyökkäys - Lapsen mielikuvitus lastenvaatesuunnittelun inspiraationa
    (2024-12-21) Nissilä, Tiina
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Tämä maisterin opinnäytetyö on kaksiosainen, ja se koostuu kirjallisesta tutkimuksesta, sekä viiden asun lasten vaatemallistosta. Kirjallinen osa esittelee ja tutkii malliston syntyyn vaikuttaneita tekijöitä: lasten työpajoissa tekemiä töitä, rinnastaen niitä suunnittelijan omaan luovaan prosessiin. Opinnäytteessä on keskitytty kehityspsykologiaan, lasten kehitysvaiheiden ymmärtämiseksi ja tutkimuksen näkökulman saamiseksi. Opinnäytetyössä kuvataan lapsilähtöisen vaatesuunnittelun työprosessia, sekä avataan ja tutkitaan käsitettä; lapsilähtöisyys. Opinnäytteessä pyritään tekemään havaintoja siitä, miten lasten mielikuvitus toimii ja miten sitä voidaan hyödyntää sekä tarkastellaan, millaisin menetelmin lastenvaatemalliston taustatutkimus voidaan toteuttaa. Tutkimuskysymyksiä ovat: Millaisia menetelmiä voidaan käyttää lasten mielikuvituksen integroimiseksi suunnitteluprosessiin? Miksi lasten osallistaminen on arvokasta? Miten nämä menetelmät voivat muokata lastenvaatteita ja miten ne voivat muuttaa suunnitteluajattelua lapsiystävällisemmäksi. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on myös selkeyttää suunnittelijan omia arvoja, työskentelymenetelmiä ja lähtökohtia sekä jäsentää suunnittelijan identiteettiä lasten vaatesuunnittelijana. Lastenvaatteiden suunnittelussa on lukuisia erityisvaatimuksia, kuten turvallisuus ja puettavuus, mutta silti lastenvaatesuunnittelun ytimessä tulisi aina olla lapsen näkökulma. Lasten näkökulmasta kumpuaa loputon luovuuden, mielikuvituksen ja ilon lähde. Tässä tutkimuksessa nostetaan esiin haaste, joka liittyy lapsen mielikuvituksen kanavoimiseen ja hyödyntämiseen lastenvaatteiden suunnittelussa.
  • Vaivun uniini – unet ja alitajunta osana luovaa työskentelyä
    (2024-12-31) Mäkäräinen, Jenna
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Vaivun uniini – unet ja alitajunta osana luovaa työskentelyä on maisterin opinnäytetyö, joka tutkii unien ja alitajunnan merkitystä luovassa prosessissa. Opinnäyte koostuu kirjallisesta ja produktiivisesta osasta. Taiteellinen produktio alkaa unipäiväkirjojen kirjoittamisesta ja jatkuu niiden pohjalta luonnostelun, kudontakokeilujen ja tekstiiliteosten suunnittelun kautta valmiiden teosten toteuttamiseen. Kirjallisessa osassa syvennytään uneen niin fysiologisena kuin psykologisena ilmiönä. Tarkastellaan erilaisia suuntauksia ja uniteorioita sekä pohditaan unen ja luovuuden välistä yhteistyötä taiteen eri aikakausien kautta. Työ tarkastelee unia luovuuden ja taiteellisen ilmaisun lähteenä, joka yhdistää alitajunnan ja tunteet visuaalisiin elementteihin. Aihe kumpuaa omista unista ja kiinnostuksesta niiden merkitykseen luovuuden välineenä. Unet nähdään henkilökohtaisina ja symbolisina kokemuksina, jotka voivat toimia inspiraation lähteenä taiteellisessa työssä. Opinnäytetyössä analysoidaan unipäiväkirjojen sisältöä, erityisesti veden toistuvaa teemaa, joka muuntuu unissa moniin eri muotoihin. Tämä teema toimii punaisena lankana luonnostelussa ja lopullisten teosten visuaalisessa ilmeessä. Veden symboliikka kuvastaa jatkuvaa muutosta, elämän kiertokulkua ja alitajunnan syvyyksiä, jotka inspiroivat tekstiiliteosten suunnittelua. Unipäiväkirjojen aikana aineistoa kerätään kirjoittamalla muistiin unien tunnelmia, visuaalisia piirteitä ja tunteita. Luonnosteluprosessissa keskitytään erityisesti unien herättämien tuntemusten siirtämiseen visuaaliseksi materiaaliksi, kuten musteluonnoksiksi ja tekstuureiksi. Luonnosteluun liittyy kokeellisuutta ja sattumanvaraisuutta, joka heijastaa unien orgaanista ja muuttuvaa luonnetta. Luovaa prosessia ohjaa alitajunnan ja intuition välinen vuorovaikutus. Teoreettinen taustatutkimus käsittelee unien merkitystä luovassa prosessissa ja taiteellisessa tutkimuksessa, tarjoten samalla uusia näkökulmia unien tulkintaan taiteen kautta. Produktion pääasiallisena materiaalina toimii kudotut tekstiilit, ja toteutuksessa hyödynnetään erityisesti kudontatekniikoita. Lopulliset kankaat ommellaan peitoiksi, jotka heijastavat unien esteettisiä ja emotionaalisia elementtejä, kuten symbolisuutta ja abstraktiutta. Teokset yhdistävät intuitiivista luovuutta ja taiteellisuutta, mikä mahdollistaa unimaailman herättämisen osaksi valvemaailmaa. Lopulliset tuotokset ilmentävät unimaailman rikkautta ja sen tarjoamaa luovaa potentiaalia. Unipäiväkirjojen ja taiteellisen työn kautta tutkimus vastaa kysymyksiin siitä, miten unet voivat rikastuttaa luovaa prosessia ja toimia merkityksellisenä inspiraation lähteenä. Unien toistuvat teemat, kuten vesi, toimivat siltana alitajunnan ja taiteellisen ilmaisun välillä. Tämä opinnäytetyö korostaa unien arvoa paitsi taiteellisen työn osana, myös tapana tutkia tunteita ja alitajuntaa. Lopulliset teokset avaavat keskustelua unien potentiaalista taiteen ja luovuuden välineenä.
  • Nudging towards sustainable garment use
    (2024-12-31) Rossi, Kia
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    One way to view sustainable fashion is as the total environmental impact a single garment creates over its lifetime. The different phases of the lifecycle of a garment include production, the required logistics to reach the consumer, use, possible reuse and disposal of the garment. Research has shown that during the use phase a significant proportion of the harmful environmental impacts is created, comprising the water and energy use from laundering, drying, and other clothing maintenance practices. Thus even small design interventions targeting the use phase could make a difference environmentally, yet little research exists on possible interventions. The thesis investigates the role of surface pattern design in garment laundering frequency and its potential to lessen a garment’s environmental impact. The focus is on visible stains in relation to the colour or surface pattern design of the garment. The hypothesis is that certain colours or surface pattern designs may visually camouflage visible staining, leading to reduced laundering frequency of the item, and as a result lessen the resource intensity of the use phase. The gap in research is explored in a qualitative manner with the use of wardrobe interviews. A total of seven garment users were interviewed using semi-structured interview method in one group interview and three individual wardrobe interviews in the interviewees’ homes. In addition to a discussion on the interviewees’ own garments’ tendency to either visibly stain or camouflage staining, a probe of twenty-nine surface pattern cards elicited further insights on colours’ and patterns’ stain hiding capacities. The data was analysed in an inductive manner from interview transcripts and photographic records. The analysed interview findings, in addition to relevant literature, formed tentative design guidelines which were exemplified in a prototype collection of six surface pattern designs. The thesis uncovered some possible surface pattern design guidelines for sustainable use phase, such as the advantage of using dark colours or full, lively patterns. However, due to the small sample size, the findings can not be generalized and thus more research is needed on the topic. Nevertheless, the findings suggest a potential in further investigation of sustainable surface pattern design for garments. Together with other sustainability strategies, such as shared use, sustainable surface pattern design holds potential for significant reduction of environmental impacts in the use phase of produced garments in the future.
  • Transformation Imagination – Connecting citizen agency to political imaginaries of sustainability transformation
    (2024-12-20) Reinikainen, Iines
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    The escalating global environmental crises, coupled with unpredictable social impacts, demand a re-evaluation of traditional political paradigms and a shift toward an ecologically and socially sustainable society (Ripple et al., 2024). Ecosocial sustainability transformation, as a profound restructuring of societal systems, must be understood as a construction of political imagination, emphasizing the need to connect the ecological and social dimensions of these imaginaries and ensure their democratization (Stirling et al., 2023). This thesis explores the role of Citizen Participation Design in addressing this gap and creates a frame of ‘transformation imagination’ to further conceptualize the interconnectedness of citizen agency with the imagined processes and outcomes of societal change. This study examined how citizens construct political imaginaries through creative and socially embedded participatory processes. A two-part research process was employed: expert interviews with design professionals to uncover methods for engaging with citizens’ political imaginations and a prototyped workshop process that adapted scenario and future workshop methods, informed by literature research and creative techniques derived from the interviews. The study highlights the potential of participatory processes to foster citizens’ interconnected political imaginations of sustainability transformation processes and outcomes by enabling expressions of agency through democratic and civic methods. Creative tools – such as those supporting storytelling, emotional expression, and playfulness – were identified as potential in supporting these imaginaries. However, the need to balance creative exploration with tangible outputs that align with democratic institutions was emphasized. This thesis calls for new approaches to Citizen Participation Design that recognize diverse expressions of citizen agency and connect these contributions to governance. Such work underscores the designer’s responsibility for self-reflective practice and a deep understanding of ecosocial sustainability transformation.
  • Designing System Change: Design supported micro-level strategies for local-global transitions
    (2024-11-21) Kristovič, Nikolas
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Implementing changes in socio-technical systems presents a prevalent challenge for society and the actors who pursue it. The system’s complexity and resilience make transitioning to improved configurations, which can address its current challenges, difficult. This study addresses this impediment by exploring the prevalent dynamics in radical multi-actor innovation efforts. It uses GLocalFlex as its focal case, covering a consortium initiative that pursues implementing a radically new energy system configuration on a Europe-wide scale. Through intensive interviews with the initiative participants and the author’s observation by participation, the study provides a micro-level overview of the initiative participants’ attitudes, processes, challenges, and the dynamics that link them. Furthermore, the study analyzes strategies of two distinctive management processes, one focused on decoupled coordination while the other on design-led innovation. It highlights their value, synergies, and challenges in the initiative’s context and suggests their implementation improvements. As more resources and attention are given to international initiatives that aim to address the social and environmental sustainability challenges emerge, the study provides valuable insights on building strategies for large-scale innovation efforts.
  • Harmonising Cultures through Design: Collaborative creation of a Finnish-image-inspired electric guitar design for potential users in Japan
    (2024-11-25) Okada, Nozomu
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    This thesis presents the design of a new electric guitar and its development process. The initial concept arose from a casual conversation with a guitar enthusiast between the non-guitar player product designer back ground author. Part 1 focuses on theoretical research using secondary sources to establish the design rationale. Chapter 1 identifies the target market for electric guitars in Japan, assessing demand through shipment data and trends from major guitar companies like Fender and social media influencers, suggesting potential needs. Chapter 2 explores Finland's image in Japan, examining the positive cultural resonance. Chapter 3 delves into the history of electric guitars and examines Finland’s prominent position in metal music, enriching the understanding as literature reviews. Chapter 4 studies the basic structure of electric guitars, focusing on the consistency of popular body shapes and the rise of unique, designs. Chapter 5 addresses the disparity between Finland’s image in Japan and its association with metal music, proposing a ‘combination’ approach to reconcile these perceptions. Chapter 6 provides product design references based on existing products. Chapter 7 synthesises insights and hypotheses from these studies, paving the narrative and way for design ideas in Part 2. Part 2 details the creation of a working prototype through primary research methods. Chapter 8 documents the design process in three phases. Phase 1 involved developing concepts and creating a full-scale 3D-printed model for basic ergonomic testing. Phase 2 refined the design in collaboration with the project partner guitarist and Finnish local craftsman to ensure aesthetic and functional integrity. Phase 3 focused on finalising the working prototype, followed by user testing in Chapter 9, which provided actionable feedback for future development. This project demonstrates a successful designer-led collaborative approach. It highlights the potential for human-centred design, showing the feasibility of collaborative industrial design involving various stakeholders.
  • Conversations at the poolside: A visual approach to studying private swimming pools and sustainability in Sweden
    (2024-12-10) Rynefors, Sara
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    The thesis explores the notions of sustainability by looking at private swimming pools in Sweden. The aim of the thesis is to challenge an initial moralising personal standpoint. It explores how we can talk about sustainability in an empathetic way and what private swimming pools in Sweden can tell us about environmental sustainability. Since 2019, the number of private swimming pools in Sweden has increased rapidly. In a country with a Right of Public Access to nature and a short summer season, it seems unnecessary to have a private swimming pool in the garden. Seemingly, despite an ongoing climate crisis, households keep dreaming about consumption, and the private swimming pool is no exception. However, moralising people on an individual level, without a deeper understanding of the phenomenon in question, can be counterproductive. This is especially true if the goal is to enable long-lasting sustainable change. Through an empathetic, emic, and open-ended approach, the thesis visits four households with a private swimming pool in Sweden. The thesis uses qualitative methods from visual ethnography and presents a short documentary movie, accompanied by findings from semi-structured interviews from the visits covering four different themes. The findings lend insight into how the swimming pool is a place for finding recreation and enabling social activities with friends and family. The findings elaborate on how the swimming pool is a space to control and underline the idea of safety. Lastly, the findings highlight that any sustainability concerns of the pool owners largely focus on energy consumption. These findings are then connected to key theorical framings of this thesis, including the history behind private swimming pools, consumption as a concept, and moralisation within sustainability studies. The short documentary movie adds perspectives from the visits and involves other senses to promote an empathetic approach. The findings of the thesis provide a starting point for learning about different approaches for discussing sustainability in academia and with a broader audience.
  • Capturing everyday moments: Instagram diary inspired surface pattern design
    (2024-12-31) Onishi, Erika
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    Our daily experiences, often overlooked in the flow of life, hold rich potential for inspiration in design. This thesis explores how personal diary entries shared on Instagram can be transformed into surface pattern design collections. By utilizing Instagram as a medium for documenting everyday moments and seasonal transitions, this thesis investigates how these ordinary experiences can serve as a foundation for the design process. The first part, the theoretical background, discusses the concept of inspiration in design. It examines how encounters and experiences in both new environments and daily life function as valuable sources of inspiration and how they influence the design process. Additionally, the research highlights the Japanese philosophy Ichi-go Ichi-e (one time, one meeting), emphasizing the importance of appreciating the uniqueness of everyday moments and using them to enrich the design process. The second part focuses on the design process shaped by the daily experiences, collected and analyzed from the Instagram diary entries, finally developed into surface pattern design collections. Adopting the autoethnography method, qualitative data were gathered from daily Instagram posts, including diary entries and photographs, spanning from August 2022 to August 2024. These data were categorized and mapped based on keywords extracted from the diary with images and then visualized through the creation of seasonal mood boards. The mood boards served as the foundation for sketching, color analysis, and identifying key motifs, leading to the development of four surface pattern collections representing autumn 2022, winter 2022, spring 2023, and summer 2023. Each collection includes three pattern designs reflecting personal experiences of daily life in Finland, with each design available in three distinct color variations. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates how everyday experiences, captured through Instagram, with appropriate theoretical background and philosophy translate into surface pattern design collections. The findings offer insights into transforming ordinary moments into creative sources of inspiration, enriching the design process and enhancing the development of surface pattern collections.
  • Challenges of user experience evaluation in practice
    (2024-12-28) Kremer, Moritz
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    From online banking to remote doctor appointments, digital products served through mobile, desktop and web applications play a growing role in many areas of everyday life. User experience (UX), which comprises the emotions and perceptions resulting from interactions with these products, is a key factor in their success. This thesis addresses a gap in the understanding how the UX of digital products is evaluated in practice. Poorly executed UX evaluation can result in significant costs for companies, limit effective UX management and compromise the quality of digital products for users. While existing research provides evidence for the issue, a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by UX practitioners during evaluation is missing. To explore this topic 8 semi-structured interviews with UX professional from a diverse range of companies were conducted. The results reveal challenges within UX evaluation, including significant time constraints and missing support from management. Qualitative evaluation methods were emphasized due to their actionable insights to improve products. Several user recruiting strategies were discovered as enablers to involve users in UX evaluation despite time constraints. Quantitative evaluation methods were implemented less systematically, missing the opportunity to demonstrate success. In contrast to literature, learnability, associated with cognitive challenges during interaction with digital products, emerged as most relevant UX attribute for evaluation, whereas systematic evaluation of hedonic attributes as stimulation and identity was largely missing. The findings aim to enable UX designers, managers and researchers to understand the challenges of UX evaluation to create and apply evaluation methods tailored to the needs of practice.