Ainoa Abella

Holistic gastronomic experiences include culinary, spatial and multisensory aspects. However, restaurant space design often relies on theoretical principles, without necessarily considering real-world environments. Drawing on the Living Lab methodology, this article aims to investigate the spatial experience linked to stimuli of a restaurant to develop evidence-based design interventions that enhance user experience. Neuroscience AI-driven technology was employed in a real restaurant to observe and measure customers’ emotional responses. In the Diagnosis phase, participants displayed neutral emotions when exposed to the existing restaurant layout, potentially due to high luminosity and the textile quality. Therefore, interventions were implemented focusing on the artificial lighting system and the use of more natural textiles for table settings. During the Implementation phase, participants who experienced the post-intervention environment exhibited slight emotional shifts from neutrality towards positivity. These results entail theoretical and managerial implications for hospitality operators and design professionals. The study offers detailed insights into how minor spatial modifications can stimulate distinctive changes in human responses, while more substantial structural interventions may significantly enhance the overall dining experience. This highlights the potential of AI technologies in evaluating and optimizing user experiences within gastronomic spaces.

En España, las personas mayores de 65 años representan casi el 20% de la población. No es una minoría, pero su presencia en la sociedad parece serlo; el edadismo, o discriminación por motivos de edad, puede limitar la capacidad de la sociedad de beneficiarse de lo que las poblaciones más mayores pueden aportar, aparte de erosionar la solidaridad intergeneracional. La discriminación por edad afecta emocionalmente, puede cambiar la forma en que nos vemos a nosotros mismos y repercutir en nuestra salud y bienestar. Este fenómeno se ha asociado con una peor salud física y mental, y una menor esperanza de vida (7,5 años menos) (Solidaridad Intergeneracional, 2019). La Fundación Caixa, a través de su Programa de Personas Mayores, impulsa proyectos para mejorar la calidad de vida de estos ciudadanos, al promover un estilo de vida activo conectado con el entorno, así como prevenir y afrontar la soledad y el aislamiento. Dicho programa encargó a Barcelona-Centro de Diseño y al equipo de investigadoras de Elisava el diseño de tres cursos para las personas mayores cuyo concepto se basa en el bienestar y el vestir de estas personas. El diseño de los cursos ha sido avalado por un fisioterapeuta, doctor en Ciencias de la salud. El artículo presenta cómo el diseño, a través de procesos y metodologías de investigación de usuario, Focus Group, en este caso, puede ayudar a evidenciar las necesidades de un colectivo minoritario o excluido en la sociedad, ya que se centran en comprender mejor a las personas con una visión empática, inclusiva y afectiva. Palabras clave: edadismo, empatía, inclusión, afecto, bienestar, cursos de formación, diseño participativo. AbstractIn Spain, people over 65 represent 20% of the population. They are not a minority, but their presence in socie- ty seems to be. Ageism, or age discrimination, can limit society's ability to benefit from what older populations can contribute and erode intergenerational solidarity. Ageism affects us emotionally, can change how we see ourselves, and can impact our health and well-being. This phenomenon has been associated with poorer physical and mental health and lower life expectancy (7.5 years less) (Intergenerational Solidarity, 2019). Through its Senior Citizens Program, the ”la Caixa” Foundation promotes projects to improve the quality of life of these citizens by promoting an active lifestyle connected with the environment and preventing and coping with loneliness and isolation. This program commissioned Barcelona Design Center and Elisava's team of researchers to design three courses for the elderly whose concept is based on the well-being and dressing of these people. A physiotherapist and doctor in Health Sciences has endorsed the concept of the courses. The article presents how design, through user research processes and methodologies, Focus Group in this case, can help to highlight the needs of a minority or excluded group in society as they focus on better unders- tanding people with an empathetic, inclusive, and compelling vision. Keywords: ageism, empathy, inclusion, affection, well-being, training courses, participatory design.

Information and data visualisation are powerful tools in order to present results and make decisions. In order to understand how data visualisation may change the group decision-making depending on the graphs seen by the participating members, we created a case study in two different contexts (Spain-Japan). In which, students have to make decisions to manage a small business. For example, to agree on how to run a bakery: total number of loaves to be made, the price at which it has to be sold, and the number of doughs to be made for the next day. Students will participate in a series of rounds where they are asked to: 1) write individually how they would run the business; 2) in groups they decide and discuss the different ideas and what decisions they make regarding the mentioned variables (price, loaves and doughs); 3) the teacher performs a simulation with the students' data and shows the results using tables; 4) Individually, write if what was done was different from what they proposed and explain what they had done differently. After completing some rounds, students are asked to participate again, but this time in step 3 they are given a graph instead of a table. In this way, we can see if there are significant differences when making decisions based on graphs or tables. In the light of the results, some design decisions and recommendations could be provided to teachers to improve decision making activities related to engineering education and new transdisciplinary fields.

El entorno construido y su impacto en el bienestar y salud humanos son analizados en este artículo. Se busca identificar los parámetros del entorno que influyen en el bienestar, cómo se miden y su relación con la salud, para ello se realiza una revisión literaria en la base de datos WOS entre 2008 y 2018. En los parámetros del entorno se muestra una escasa relación entre los estudios aplicados en los materiales y el ser humano, y con poca presencia de la biofilia y la forma. Respecto al ser humano, se encuentra una mayor cantidad de estudios psicológicos en comparación con estudios biológicos.Además, se presentan seis investigaciones empíricas realizadas entre 2018 y 2022. Estos casos tratan de relacionar los efectos psicológicos y biológicos del entorno construido para poder relacionar las mediciones reportadas por los individuos con las mediciones fisiológicas.El artículo concluye que esta línea de investigación es importante para fortalecer tanto la generación de datos como el diseño basado en evidencia en el entorno construido. Se resalta la necesidad de abordar de manera más completa y holística la relación entre el ser humano y su entorno construido para mejorar el bienestar y la salud de las personas.

This article aims to provide in-depth insight into how consumers perceive recycled materials in comparison with natural raw materials at both the perceptual and attitudinal levels. To this end, we combined classic self-reported measures of sensory aspects, preferences, environmental attitudes, and consumption habits together with physiological measures of cognitive–emotional processing. Three different materials—two recycled materials, M2 and M3, and one raw material, M1—were chosen for inspection through three different sensory conditions, which we refer to as channels —visual, tactile, and visuo-tactile. The assignation of materials to sensory channels was counterbalanced so that each participant evaluated only one of the materials per channel. Although participants in general were not very accurate in discriminating between the materials, self-reported sensory evaluations showed that M3 (a recycled material that is made to look non-recycled), was clearly less liked. Meanwhile, the psychophysiological analyses revealed higher levels of electrodermal activity for the tactile evaluations of both recycled materials (M2 and M3). Finally, the results from the attitudes and habits evaluations indicate that the participants had positive environmental attitudes yet poor consumption habits. Altogether, these results suggest that some sensorial properties differ between recycled materials and natural raw materials and that there is a chance to improve and implement new consumption habits. The implications of these results are further discussed both in terms of suggestions for designers and methodological recommendations for researchers.

People's priorities have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with impacts on architectural experiences and work spaces in particular as teleworking and technology have become increasingly relevant in this new reality. Moreover, there is increased interest in the impact that spaces have on health, productivity and well-being as variables such as lighting, acoustics, biophilia, shape, composition, size and more influence perception and emotional, cognitive and behavioural states. Evidence-based design makes it possible to scientifically understand information about the situations present before and after an action, providing a more holistic view of the phenomenon through parameterisation and producing an impact on decision-making as seen in the case of this study. This article presents a case study developed through a mixed methodology that combines theoretical research methods to gain scientific knowledge on the topic and trends in the sector, as well as empirical methods to study the specific context of the corporate headquarters at Tous in Manresa. As to the theoretical side of the paper, we have conducted a literature review in the WOS (Web of Science) database, complemented by two trend reports on the future of workspaces. Regarding the empirical study, we programmed three different sources to compile data from workers at different times, spaces and platforms. In parallel, we measured the parameters of the built environment in different locations over two work days. Among the results, the following stand out: the universe of relationships, evidenced by cross-disciplinary departments such as HR (human resources) and IT (computer technology), as well as the relationship between the Product, Sales, R&D and After-Sales departments; the status of employees, with neutral or positive values in cognitive states, and of the environment, space lacking colour and with little brightness and neutral in terms of light colour, atmosphere and ventilation; the detection of the positive aspects to improve and to incorporate; and the measurement of the physical parameters of the environment, high noise level, CO2 within the comfort range, high temperatures and over illuminated or poorly lit spaces, and their perception. Finally, we propose scientific evidence and trends arising from the relationship between objective and subjective data as a result of design strategies focused on people's well-being. These results are taken as the basis for making the changes implemented within a space.

Students at Higher Educations face a world in need of help to create sustainable solutions for complex systems. But still, European design-graduates finish their studies with a narrow concentration in design skills and lack competencies in order to cope with the complex reality, as well as students lack attachment to the teaching in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In order to change this, educators need to acknowledge the students' personal, motivational and emotional elements before de-signing the courses. This article is based on two new discourses in both entrepreneurial and design didactic research – and how they could be connected. The first is “emotional learning” and “emotional design” – regarding how emotions impact the student’s learning process’ in Educations for Sustainable Development (ESD). Emotions affect the student's learning process and their health and well-being (Pekrun, 2014, p. 28). The other discourse is how the use of value-driven emotional entrepreneurial didactics, based on the connection between emotionally influencing actions/events and the development of entrepreneurial competencies, can present a new emotionally based understanding of the value of altruistic (sustainable) outcomes within entrepreneurial educations (Lackeus, 2020). This paper presents, using one of the experimental methods - comparative - of Research through Design, two emotional tools: “Design for Change - Yggdrasill” from VIA Design, Denmark and “Emotional Analogous Data” from ELISAVA, Barcelona. The first results indicate a need for emotional education, which has an impact on ESD and their development as professionals. For these reasons, both emotional tools presented above can contribute to empowering students and teachers to improve Sustainable Design Educations.

Materials are elements that configure our built environment and are key components in design and engineering education. This research aims to understand learners’ sensorial perception of materials as stimuli and what constitutes the most appropriate communication channel for learning about their characteristics without losing information in accordance with their VAK learning styles–visual, auditory and kinaesthetic–. Seventy-five people participated in this workshop. Using evaluation tools in a test format, they evaluated all the sensory properties of the following materials: Alusion™, PolarMoss, and Silkworms. These three materials were presented in various interaction formats, called channels: a text plus image–C1–, video–C2–, and a physical sample plus audio–C3–. Two types of experiments were carried out: mixed per person—interaction with the three materials in a different channel each time in random order—and blocked per person—interaction with the same material in the three channels, in an order of C1–C3. The data obtained was analysed using mixed models with the channel as a fixed factor and the individuals and material as the random factors. The most relevant results indicate significant differences between channels in accordance with the sensory property, normally C2 and C3. The level of responses between the two experiments is similar, therefore showing that the order C1–C2–C3 does not affect perception. Although the three learning styles–visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic–coexist in the participants, the vast majority agree that they prefer C3 as easier to evaluate, more entertaining and the best way to learn.

El diseño, como disciplina, tiene la capacidad de incorporar las emociones en su proceso y resultado para crear una propuesta de valor distintiva gracias a la experiencia emocional. Las emociones, gracias a su impacto, pueden ayudar a realizar acciones, entre ellas: influenciar en el acto de decisión y adquisición, acelerar la adopción de nuevos valores culturales y empatizar con las problemáticas sociales actuales.Fruto de una revisión bibliográfica, en este texto se presenta la creación de un mapeo gráfico, una visión general de las distintas teorías de diseño y emoción con sus correspondientes autores de referencia que promueven su integración con una base sólida. Además, se muestran proyectos creativos que proponen soluciones a retos sociales y ambientales actuales, que plantean actuar en una de las tres acciones descritas.