The document describes a study that used a culture-inspired approach to gain insights for designing more sustainable bathing practices. The study involved collecting information about bathing practices in the Netherlands, India, and Japan. This information was then used in creative workshops with designers to generate insights and ideas for reducing water usage. The study found that looking at different cultural practices provided a wider variety of styles and actions to consider, which encouraged designers to think beyond their own conventions. Considering different cultures also led to ideas involving radical innovations for sustainability. The challenges and directions for improving the culture-inspired approach are discussed.

1. A Culture-Inspired Approach
to Gaining Insights for
Designing Sustainable Practice
A study of sustainable bathing practice for the Living Lab project
Noriko Matsuhashi (Sudo) 1

2. Contents
1. Background
2. Research questions and approach
3. Research phase 1
4. Research phase 2
5. Conclusions Key words:
• Cross-cultural research,
• Design method,
• Eco-Design,
• Product Development,
• Sustainability,
• Household routines
2

3. 1.
Background
3

4. Practice oriented co-design approach
Aim: Generate insights on less resource-intensive everyday practices
Take shower Shorten the time
less frequently for shower
Shower
culture
D
Difficult for participants to let go of common practice
Different kinds of insights can help participants
to generate ideas with radical innovations
4

5. How to obtain different kinds of insights?
5

6. Looking at everyday practice
in different cultures
6

7. Assumption
Information about everyday practice in different culture
can be a source of inspiration to generate insights on
possible less resource-intensive practices.
proach
In s pired Ap
Culture- ultures
n from different c
+ inspiratio
Shower
culture
Practice-oriented D
Co-design
7

8. 2.
Research questions and approach
8

9. Questions
1. What kinds of information about the everyday
practice can play a role in insight and design idea
generation?
2. What kinds of insights and ideas are
generated by the information about the everyday
practice in multiple cultures?
3. How to collect the information about the
everyday practice from multiple cultures?
9

10. Questions
1. What kinds of information about the everyday
practice can play a role in insight and design idea
generation?
2. What kinds of insights and ideas are
generated by the information about the everyday
practice in multiple cultures?
3. How to collect the information about the
everyday practice from multiple cultures?
10

11. Approach
Qualitative research:
Phase 1 Phase 2
Information Insight and idea Conclusions
collection generation
11

12. Study topic
Bathing practice
12

13. 3.
Research phase 1:
Information collection
13

14. Experimental culture survey
Target cultures (countries):
The Netherlands, India and Japan
14

15. Recording units:
Elements of bathing practice
Action
Expectation Resource
(water)
15

16. Recording format:
Cultural probes (self-observation tools)
16

17. Results of the culture survey
• Participants: 3 Dutch, 2 Indian and 3 Japanese
• Total 11 bathing experiences were collected
17

18. = 20 liters
Different ways of bathing and respective water consumption
1. Shower only 2. Bathtub only 3. Reservoir only
4. Combination of 5. Combination of 6. Combination of shower,
shower and bathtub shower and reservoir reservoir and bathtub
18

19. Different ways of doing single tasks
Task: Rinse soap off from the body
get clean get clean get clean
standing sitting standing & sitting
Shower (fixed) reservoir Shower (by hand)
4–8 liters 2-4 liters 4–8 liters
19

20. 4.
Research phase 2:
Insight and idea generation
20

21. Experimental insight and idea generation
Methods:
• Qualitative interpretation by researcher
• Creative workshop with designers
Communication materials used in the creative workshop
21

22. Results of insight and idea generation
Participant designers of the creative workshop:
3 Dutch master-level students in TU Delft
22

23. Insights on less resource-intensive practice
60 ‐115 liters
Directions to reduce the water use
• Using a water reservoir
20 liters
• Frequent turn on/off the running water
• Reuse the water used for adjusting the water temperature
New possible styles of bathing
• Combination of standing posture and use of a water reservoir
“Rinse soap off from the body”
23

24. Ideas of less resource-intensive
practice and products
24

25. Three types of ideas
Technology User behavior Alternative practice
-oriented -oriented -oriented
e.g. Computer-aided e.g. Clock-timer shower e.g. Bathing suit
pinpoint shower
25

26. Three types of ideas
Technology User behavior Alternative practice
-oriented -oriented -oriented
50%
30%
15%
Looking at different styles of bathing can encourage
designers to step out of their own rituals (shower)
26

27. 5.
Conclusions
27

28. Research question:
What kinds of insights and ideas are generated by
the information about the everyday practice in multiple
cultures?
Insights: Idea:
•Directions to reduce the use of Alternative practice-oriented
resource
•New possible styles of the practice
Standing
Bathing suit
+
Reservoir
28

29. Culture-inspired approach can…
Provide a wider variety of insights on possible styles
of everyday practice than a mono cultural survey
Encourage participants to let go of their
conventions and generate ideas with
radical innovation that has higher
resource-saving potential
D
29

30. Thank you!
Noriko Matsuhashi (Sudo) 30

31. Appendix
31

32. Recording unit
• As many details as possible
• Breaking the bathing practice into many easy elements
• Two basic models
IMAGE
Materials
STUFF
Behavioral
norms
Values and Basic SKILL
assumptions
Model of culture Model of everyday practice
(Based on Moalosi, Popovic and Hickling-Hudson, 2007) (Shove, after Scott, 2008 )
32

33. Process of information collection
R
P
P STEP 2
1 2
P
Self-observation
R
Send out Answer to
a questionnaire questions 3
P
R R
Hand in P
STEP 1
answers
4 5
Work on cultural probes,
Send out 6
Customize take photos
Preparation cultural probes cultural probes
Hand in cultural probes
7 and photos
Feedback interview
Survey tools & techniques: P
R
Preparatory interview
Cultural probe P Participant STEP 3 P
8
Follow‐up
Interview
(workbook & recording format)
Researcher
Wrap-up and R
complement
R
Feedback & follow up Interview
Data analysis
33

34. Example of survey findings:
Unique actions and respective expectations
Get warm Get warm Get warm
Relax muscles Stimulate blood flow
Relax muscles
Relax Relax
Get Feel Smell good
Get soft clean better Get soft
appr. 15-25 liters appr. 10-15 liters appr. 80-160 liters
Standing under the Brushing teeth under Soaking in a bathtub
running water for a while the running water
(without using it)
34

35. Process of information communication
Communication tools:
D Designer
Introduction movie
STEP 1
1 homework
R Researcher
Homework (workbook) D
Preparation for the
Personal cardset workshop Watch the
2 introduction movie
D
Unfinished storyboard
Questionnaire
STEP 2 Ice break and
introduction
Workshop 3 D
STEP 3 (creative session)
Presentation of the
information
D
D
Focus group interview Idea generation round 2
Present
(products) Idea generation round 1 4
(practices) design assignments
Fill in a questionnaire 7
and interview 8 6 5
Idea evaluation D
R and selection D
D D D
D
D
D D
D
Conclusions 35

36. Process and tools/techniques
STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3
Preparation Idea generation Feedback
Homework Workshop Focus group interview
R
D
D
D
Workbook
Storyboards
Based on “Guidelines for
communicating rich experience
information to designers”
Sleeswijk Visser (2009)
Introduction movie Cardsets
36

37. Research question 1:
What kinds of information about the
everyday practice can play a role in insight
and design idea generation?
37

38. Information that can play a role in…
Understanding the everyday practice of different cultures
• Local context (climate, conditions of resource supply, economic and residence)
• Context of the everyday practice (timing, frequency, duration)
• Facilities and products
• Procedure
Generating insights and design ideas
• A variety of styles and their respective resource consumption
• Actions and their respective resource consumption
• Posture and product use
• Body movement
• Expectations for action with resource
• Feelings and emotions during the action
38

39. Recording units for culture survey
Local life Context
•Location
Action
General context •Procedure
•Timing
•Frequency
•Climate •Duration
•Duration (total)
•Resource supply condition •Posture
•Style
•Economic condition •Movement
•Social aspects
•Residential condition •Product
•Feeling &
Emotion
Expectation – Action link Action – Resource link
Bathing practice
Expectation Resource
action with bathing
water use Expectation – Resource link each action
39

40. Research question 3:
How to collect the information
about everyday practice from multiple
cultures?
40

41. Method used in this study
The three step survey method with self-observation
probes resulted in a rich source of data on the actions
involved in the bathing practice from people in three
countries. However….
41

42. Challenges in the survey process
• Finding participants and a contact person in unfamiliar countries
• Handling of the differences in communication means
P
P
P
R
Researcher
PP P
Participants
Face‐to‐face
C P
P
Calling
Contact
person
E‐mail
42

43. Challenges in the survey tools
• Reduction in the overall workload of participants
• Definition of ‘single action’
 Handling of the differences in means for recording resource use
• Localization of distribution means and languages
= duration of shower (min) x 8 liter
= number of mugs x 0.5 liter
Definition of single action can vary Difference in the way of measuring
by participants the amount of water
43

44. Discussion
• A variety of different bathing practices may also be collected
through survey in one culture by looking at different people or past
• What is the incentives to change practice? (when and why people
have adopted new ways of doing practice in the past?)
• Small-scale experiment of insight and idea generation (depends on
researcher and designers)
• Estimation of resource consumption of the new ideas (how to judge
the idea is less resource-intensive than current practice)?
• Application of the approach to other everyday practices
• Ideas with radical innovations may be difficult to try out in context
of co-designer’s own home
44

45. Further directions
Validation of the effectiveness of culture-inspired approach
• Conducting more experimental information collection and
insight/idea generation
(mono vs multi culture, with info vs without info)
Method improvements
• Process and tools for collecting information (on-line survey?)
• Process and tools for communicating information with designers
Practical applications
• Application to other everyday practices (different resource)
• Incorporation into the practice-oriented co-design (scale and timing)
45