On March 6, Jay Yoon delivered a talk at the 38th International GRAVENS Conference on the environment of care for high-risk newborns and their families. The presentation combined lecture and interactive tutorial formats to explore design aspects related to positive emotions, interpersonal and intrapersonal experiences, and happiness. The talk covered theoretical foundations, design approaches, and practical applications, introducing evidence-based strategies for enhancing well-being in healthcare environments through family-centered patient care. The session addressed implicit biases in traditional hospital design, which often focuses solely on reducing negative emotions or oversimplifying positive experiences. By highlighting the importance of nuanced positive emotions, the presentation promoted culturally and linguistically sensitive design strategies that honor the diverse emotional needs of patients and families

On February 11, 2023, Micheal Kowalski successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Positive Sustainability: Unlocking Complementary Potential for Sustainability and Subjective Well-Being Through Design.” The thesis was advised by Dr. Jay Yoon of Human Centered Design, Dr. Anthony Ong of Psychology, and Dr. Malte Jung of Information Science.

Dr. Michael Kowalski recently accepted and started an assistant professorship at Syracuse University, NY.
Congratulations, Dr. Kowalski!

Summary

This doctoral dissertation investigates sustainability and subjective well-being in relation to the theory and practice of design. The research strands of design for sustainability and design for subjective well-being have grown over the last several decades, though have remained siloed, with minimal investigation across these high-level concerns. Generating further understanding in this area and developing strategies for practicing designers to integrate the concerns of sustainability and subjective well-being in their work, three connected areas of investigation were undertaken. The three studies connect the end-users of design, professional designers, and the designed artifacts that unite them.

On November 6th, 2024, Michael Kowalski of MDTL delivered a presentation at a seminar hosted by DRS SIGWELL (Special Interest Group in Design for Well-being, Happiness, and Health). Kowalski’s talk, titled “Connecting Sustainable and Well-being-enhancing Behaviors: Reflections Through Daily Practices of Young Adults,” was one of three presentations showcasing novel approaches to enhancing personal and environmental well-being through design. The seminar, which expanded on research originally presented at the DRS conference in Boston, offered attendees the opportunity to engage with researchers and explore the positive influence of design on subjective well-being.

On October 17, Jay Yoon delivered a virtual guest lecture for Sensory Aspects of Design at Carleton University, CA. The lecture explored how food-related activities—from grocery shopping to cooking and eating—can be enhanced to promote individual and community well-being, focusing on creating opportunities for positive emotional experiences.

On July 15, 2024, Sofia Ozambela, MS successfully defended her master thesis entitled “Inner visions: Designing a behavioral intervention technology to assist young adults in the understanding and articulation of personal goals.” The thesis was supervised by Dr. Jay Yoon of Design+Environmental Analysis and Dr. Qian Yang of Information Science.

Abstract
This study explores how technology can help users understand and articulate their personal goals, using vision boards as a case study. Vision boards were selected as a research tool, as they are popular with young adults and they enable individualized goal-setting. First, we conducted focus groups with young adults who were familiar with vision boards to learn about their experiences. From the insights gained in focus groups and co-design sessions with a National Board Certified Health and Wellness coach, we developed an Artificial Intelligence-based goal-setting tool to help users reflect on and refine goals. The web-based tool, entitled “Inner Visions,” guides users through a variety of exercises related to their enjoyments, life roles, strengths, contributions, and psychological needs, and generates a customized mind map composed of nuanced self-reflection questions. From their responses to the questions posed by the mind map, users may construct meaningful goals, or use the mind map as a starting point for other goal oriented practices like vision boards. In the primary study, we then tested the effectiveness of this tool through user interviews and surveys with both young adults and health/wellness professionals. The findings indicate the tool provided a positive experience, sparked introspection, and facilitated the development of individuals’ goals. Users also shared insights on how to improve this technology to better assist users with goal-setting and self-reflection, thereby enhancing wellbeing.

On April 30, Dr. Jimenez gave an inspiring lecture, “PERSONAL INFORMATICS: Sensing and Feedback for Guiding Everyday Human Behavior,” for DEA 4700 Applied Ergonomics Methods. Dr. Jimenez is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at Carlton University, Canada. The lecture highlighted the intersection of human-computer interaction, user empowerment design, and the integration of qualitative and quantitative data, particularly in healthcare and well-being scenarios.

The lecture covered:

1. Enhancing understanding of ethnographically informed design in technological systems
2. Illustrating the application of human-centered and personal informatics design in real-world contexts
3. Fostering insights into designing socio-technical systems that meet diverse stakeholders’ needs

Dr. Jimenez’s lecture provided a rare opportunity for students to gain insights from his work on personal informatics systems, emphasizing user empowerment and healthcare technology accessibility. The session involved analyzing real-life scenarios where Dr. Jimenez’s methodologies had been applied, promoting a hands-on approach to learning.

On March 28, Lucas Wozniak delivered a lecture titled “Positive Design for Extended Reality Experiences” for DEA 3308 Positive Design Studio. Mr. Wozniak develops accessible mental health technologies, combining his expertise in interactive telecommunications with Extended Reality (XR) digital therapeutics. In his lecture, Mr. Wozniak explained the methods behind the development of the Audio Labyrinth, an innovative AR smartphone app that guides users through an immersive, audio-driven landscape while encouraging behaviors that enhance their well-being. He demonstrated the technology using a prototype “episode” that guided users through somatic mindfulness practices, such as breath-work with an audio-immersive walking meditation. After the lecture, Mr. Wozniak led a workshop where students chose from a list of evidence-based Positive Emotion Regulation (PER) techniques (e.g., self-congratulating, gratitude) as the central experiential goal of their own Audio Labyrinth “episodes.” The presentations of the students’ speculative designs sparked in-class discussions about applying Positive Design principles in experience-driven contexts.