The Road of Design in Technology-dominated World: Aesthetics in Design Science Research
ABSTRACT
This talk will present our projects as examples which demonstrate the use of a “art to science” research methodology. Our team adopts a creative-driven interdisciplinary approach in their fundamental and applied research on wearable technologies and its applications to effectively enable knowledge transfer and realize market applications. In short, these topics are centered on understanding the customer experience, social needs, and the past to shape the future. Aesthetic research method (or Design thinking research) thus provides a creative approach try to solve complex problems in a user-centric manner. These research works have contributed to discoveries, inventions and developments which have been adopted by some of the largest textile manufacturers and implemented into their products, deriving concrete financial gains. Yet, we believe there is still room for improvement and we hope we can do better in the future.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Li Li is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Textiles & Clothing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include design thinking, functional textile design, and advanced manufacturing. She has strong collaboration with various local and international brands and textile companies. She has successfully secured 64 projects worth a total amount of >HK$ 77 million (US$ 9.9 million), published over 80 research articles in world-leading and top-tier textile journals, and held 24 patents. Her research outcome is highly recognized by both academia and industry, generating a great impact on fashion business. With her achievement, she has won 24 prestigious international awards, including the Golden Award of the 46th and 47th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva for two consecutive years.