Design for balance: wellness and health

Main Article Content

Mariluz Soto
Haian Xue
Emmanuel Tsekleves

Abstract

Health and well-being are areas that undoubtedly have a significant relevance in people's lives. Design from research and practice has the challenge of responding to the needs and challenges that emerge on a daily basis and those that generate crises worldwide, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, health has the ability to destabilize people's personal lives and currently the entire world. This article explores the connections between design, health and well-being, emphasizing reflections that specifically involve people's quality of life. This article proposes placing design in an active role in the creation of solutions and opportunities that benefit people in those aspects that largely determine the perception of well-being. As a consequence, the design could be considered the balance between both concepts, aiming to benefit human life.

Article Details

Author Biographies

Mariluz Soto, School of Design, Universidad del Desarrollo

Mariluz Soto is a researcher and professor at Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile) member of the Service Design Research group at the University of Lapland. Her research interest include service design, co-creation, emotions, community, and transdisciplinary exploration that opens new perspectives for design research and practice. She holds a Doctor of Arts in the Service Design Culture-Based programme from University of Lapland. She works, before academia, as consultant in communication and design in Chile and Latin America.

Haian Xue, Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology

Haian Xue is an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, and a faculty member of Delft Institute of Positive Design. His research interests include design for experience, emotion, mood, and well-being; and alternative (artistic/humanistic) epistemology and methodology. He holds a Doctor of Arts (the Finnish equivalent of PhD in Design) from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Before joining TU Delft he had worked as a design researcher and teacher in Finland, the UK and the USA.

Emmanuel Tsekleves, Future Cities Research Institute, Lancaster University

Emmanuel is a Professor of Global Health Design Innovation and the Co-Director of the Future Cities Research Institute at Lancaster University. Emmanuel is the convenor for the Design Research society Special Interest Group on Global Health. His research addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in health & wellbeing. Emmanuel has published over 100 articles in international research publications and has been featured by national and international media outlets reaching over 15 million readers.

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