*This topic is studied in both studio and graduation project courses.
In this project, the students are expected to design a system including product(s) and service design, either to convey the cultural heritage and traditional practices to the daily lives of urban dwellers or to facilitate the practices of local producers. The project's primary feature should be prioritizing the transfer of cultural knowledge, introducing cultural heritage, and encouraging sustainable behaviors. The scenario of introduction, promotion, and display of the product should be considered in tandem with the product(s).
Projects can be supported by smart technology, digital solutions, and/or experience design if necessary. The students need to conduct consistent and thorough research on traditional methods of production and cultural practices related to technologies. ICOMOS report Heritage and the Sustainable Development Goals: Policy Guidance for Heritage and Development Actors (Labadi et al., 2021) serves as a reference for further information about cultural heritage and case studies related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The salient goal is Number 12: Responsible Consumption and Production within the scope of this brief, with its Policy Statement.
The following criteria should be considered for the final product:
User needs
Product attitude
Cultural identity
Product identity
Perceived novelty
Perceived sustainability (Qin et al., 2019).
The students should consider the ways to display and promote the products they will design. The scenario may include but is not limited to the:
cultural heritage awareness events
experience design
service design
marketing strategies
smart and digital technologies
to introduce the heritage and raise awareness.
Service and Interaction Design for Swissôtel the Bosphorus Istanbul
The design scope has substantially expanded to encompass intangible aspects, including experience, service, and interactions. Although these elements have always been embedded in the design of tangible objects, the rapid advancement of technology has brought intangible aspects to the forefront (Eneberg & Svengren-Holm, 2015). As a result, the sectors utilizing design to create value have broadened in recent years. One such sector is tourism, particularly in hospitality and hotel management, where the guest experience is highly prioritized due to its inherently pleasure-focused nature (Kandampully et al., 2018).
The hotel guest experience is shaped by both the physical and social environment of the hotel, creating an intangible yet powerful impact through elements such as atmosphere, tourism, leisure, food and beverages, and lodging (Walls et al., 2011). This type of experience, while powerful, is also highly complex and requires qualitative research to fully understand guest needs, motivations, expectations, and frustrations (Sanliöz-Ögen & Kozak, 2023; Walls et al., 2011).
This studio course focuses on improving the guest experience at Swissôtel The Bosphorus, as well as enhancing the working experience of hotel employees, which is grounded in their close relationships with guests. Students are expected to conduct proper qualitative user research, develop experience and service design concepts related to the topics outlined below (See Possible Working Areas), prototype and test their ideas, and present their overall design projects throughout the 2024-2025 Fall Semester.
Keywords: Service design, Hotel experience, Hospitality experience, Customer experience, Hedonic consumption, Pleasure/Delight, Employee experience.
References:
Eneberg, M. & Svengren-Holm, L. (2015). From goods to service logic: Service business model requirements in industrial design firms. The Design Journal, 18(1), 9-30. DOI: 10.2752/175630615X14135446523189
Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., & Jaakkola, E. (2018). Customer experience management in hospitality: A literature synthesis, new understanding and research agenda. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), 21-56. DOI: 10.1108/IJCHM-10-2015-0549
Sanliöz-Özgen, H. K. & Kozak, M. (2023). Customer experience in five-star hotel businesses: Is it an “experience” for customers? Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality, 18(3), 306-320, DOI 10.1108/CBTH-11-2022-0197
Walls, A., Okumus, F., Wang, Y. R., & Kwun, D. J. (2011). Understanding the Consumer Experience: An Exploratory Study of Luxury Hotels. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 20(2), 166-197, DOI:10.1080/19368623.2011.536074
Possible Working Areas:
Customer Feedback Mechanism
Spa & Fitness Management
Gourmet Market Service & Experience
Research Methodology:
Spotting, documenting, and analyzing the user experience in designated spaces in hotels and relevant places where the target user group spends time, such as offices, living spaces, airports, recreation and leisure places, vehicles, etc., and searching for potential problems to enhance the guest and/or hotel employee experience. The students are expected to conduct thorough research, including observation, semi-structured interviews with employees, in-depth interviews with hotel guests (if applicable), and/or interviews with individuals representing the target user groups.
The students must document the entire research process through visual means, such as photographs, videos, recordings, etc., along with the unobtrusive observations and interviews to be conducted with the participants. It is highly recommended that qualitative research methods, such as netnography, autoethnography, and/or cultural probes, be used.
The students are expected to:
● Conduct ethnographic user research that includes methods of archive research, mapping, observation, visual documentation, and semi-structured interviews to enrich the data and understand the dynamics of guest needs, motivations, and expectations for hotel experience, besides the employee experience, to enhance customer relationships.
● Identify user needs, perception of pleasure, and hotel procedures and strategies to develop the project accordingly.
● Develop design concepts that offer creative solutions derived from field research.
● Generate customer/staff journey maps based on field research
● Design feasible service processes (i.e., feasible both for the company and the service-providing humans)
● Design high-quality visuals and/or prototypes of touchpoints
● Plan and build realistic prototypes and test them with potential customers and staff
● Re-design the service offer in accordance with test results
● Finalize and present the project in a professional manner.
Submissions:
● Field research: process, analysis, and results
● Problem/opportunity Definition and Design Concept
● Customer and/or staff journey maps
● Service blueprints
● Service prototypes
● Prototype tests and test results
● Final design based on the tests
Bio-inspiration is an umbrella term that encompasses concepts such as biomimicry, biomimetics, bionics, and bio-replication. Basically, it is about taking “nature as a model, measure and mentor” in Benyus’s words (Benyus, 2002). Bio-inspiration is the primary theme of this studio course, serving as a model and/or tool for designing more sustainable solutions to address climate change.
In this course, the students are expected to design a bio-inspired system and its products (at least two products) to develop solutions for climate change. Through the analysis of the causes and effects of climate change, the systems should regulate and/or prevent and/or reverse its negative consequences. Bio-inspiration is the primary tool considered in this project in one or more aspects of design, such as process, structure, form, material, texture, function, and behavior.
During the process, 4 studio workshops are held simultaneously with the project research.
Bio-inspired pattern/texture study
Bio-inspired structure study
Bio-inspired form study
Bio-inspired behavior/function study.
