This project contemplates where New Zealanders will turn to in the future for resonating, identity-based design, and explores two potential scenarios. The first scenario questions whether existing ‘classic’ motifs – currently enjoying pride of place on national identity T-shirts and accessories, and commonly used over the last century within the tourist souvenir industry – will still be relevant, and still resonate, if used in different ways. The second scenario questions whether a new round of more obscure, overlooked, ‘lower case’ and everyday domestic artefacts and experiences will resonate with New Zealanders. This project sets out to ‘craft nostalgic resonance’, through conceptual recycling from my own biography, in order to connect with viewers through personal recognition located within their own biography. It draws from experiences and artefacts specific and personal yet at the same time, inevitably, part of a larger collective story, in the creation of a new range of identity-based souvenirs for New Zealanders. The resulting body of work, and its successful public dissemination, proves that it is possible to craft nostalgic resonance through conceptual recycling, and that this approach could be extended to both a wider range of original artefacts and experiences, and a wider range of souvenir products in the future.

As an expressive language, fashion design has an innate capacity to engage a full gamut of sensorial responses. This research explores the contribution of synaesthesia to fashion design in an effort to highlight the positive aesthetic and intellectual impact of this integration. Such research advances my creative practice. The method of realising garments which address synaesthetic principles is an extension of personal interest in synaesthesia, driven from both an experiential perspective and a desire to gain a greater understanding into theories in relation to challenging the senses in a contemporary fashion world. If fashion includes novelty as a crucial and desirable aspect, and can be defined as an ever evolving and self rejuvenating art form, then the energy and frivolity of these components in association with multiple sensory stimuli and response will expose the consequence of the study through design-work. Recognition of the importance of sensory cross-overs in fashion design will reveal the quintessence of how humans position themselves and respond to a specific environment. If realisation of the senses is with regard to surroundings, and fashion becomes the surrounding which elicits multiple involuntary responses from stimuli, a conscious recognition has begun. Traditional theories on the organisation of sense modalities speculate that humans perceive their world with five senses, the most dominant generally being sight. The combined effect of these senses creates the environment in which we inhabit. The visual and tactile senses have long been the focus of the fashion product but, of all the senses, touch is most key to our species (Ackerman, 1990). Sound, taste and smell have been under-recognised as providers of ceaseless information about our environment. The investigation into the notion that fashion and other sensory systems are not separate entities assists with establishing the links between sensory integration and fashion design. The emergence of the synaesthetic paradigm has highlighted a unity between the senses rather than the traditional hierarchy of favouring the visual. The research on synaesthesia relative to fashion design occupies a parallel position to neurological theory and allows synaesthetic investigation to be a pivotal determining factor towards my outcome. I have engaged in critical self-reflection of my design process and production as a means of elucidating stimuli associated with multi-sensory perception.

This study arises out of the researcher’s experience in the fields of costume and fashion. It develops, through design practice and reflection, a design process for fashion wear made from post-consumer recycled materials. Theoretical analysis provides global, historical, philosophical and design contexts within which to develop an ethos for this variant form of fashion wear designated ReFashion. Differences in design process between conventional fashion and ReFashion are detailed to highlight the significance of provenance of materials in the light of a perceived need to slow down clothing production and consumption. This perception is informed by scientific predictions that failure to engage with urgently needed changes to the prevalent economic paradigm will result in planet earth reaching a tipping point with potentially disastrous results for its inhabitants. Fundamental to the ReFashion ethos is preparedness for a speculative post-apocalyptic future that might render the fashion system unable to operate as it currently does, necessitating a more self-sufficient approach to clothing needs, with an accompanying shift in perceptions of what is deemed fashionable. The theme Survivalist Fantasy provides a lens to bring conceptual and material aspects of the work into focus. Informed by sustainability, Survivalist Fantasy recontextualises a failure of sustainable initiatives on a global scale and their adaptation on a local scale specifically in the arena of clothing.

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Why, and what does it involve for an individual to perform Arts and Crafts, are the questions studied in this thesis. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the pedagogical conditions of Arts and Crafts objects, through studying the processes that take place where people give form to personal expressions and to understand the meanings these processes have for them. Phenomenological theory, especially the theory of the lived body, which presents the body as a unity not separated into body and thought, with object and subject in an inter-relationship, is used as a theoretical standpoint throughout the thesis. A phenomenological and a semiotic approach have been used to analyse and describe the empirical data. This thesis consists of three different studies, the examination of a place where Arts and Crafts are performed, the study of people's experiences of creating Arts and Crafts objects, and finally how people relate to their chosen Art and Craft materials. This contributes to an understanding of the pedagogical conditions and processes present in their relationship to work materials. The analysis illustrates that an opportunity for a new level of understanding is reached when particular pedagogical processes are carried out whilst working with various forms of Arts and Crafts materials. These processes understood as pedagogical conditions consist of: time and pace, physical and mental environment, materialization, the object and experience. Another finding is that there are different ways of relating to the Arts and Crafts materials, a bodily relation or a cognitive relation. These ways of relating exist in one person, but one of these relating attitudes is often more salient than the other. Making Arts and Crafts is in this thesis seen as an activity of both bodily and cognitive meaning making.

The aim of this study is to find out the reasons of progressive obsolescence and product non-use in small kitchen appliances and to examine the relation between the consumer&rsquo / s pre-purchase expectations and post-purchase experiences with these products to understand the deficiencies of kitchen appliances which cause consumer to stop using them. The reasons of progressive obsolescence and product non-use might be informative for further studies on this subject. Throughout the study, the general issues of need, want, purchase motivations, pre-purchase consumer expectations and post-purchase experience, satisfaction/dissatisfaction were discussed through the literature survey. Progressive obsolescence and product non-use were analysed both through literature survey and a field study which was conducted as in-depth-interviews among kitchen appliance users. It has been seen that progressive obsolescence and product non-use is mostly affected by usability of products, by the changing needs and changing life style and by the emerging of new technologies.

Users evaluate and assign value to products regarding several factors, one of which is design attributes. The attributes can provide certain consequences, which can, in turn, serve to users&rsquo / desires or ultimate goals in life. Value is attributed regarding the desirability of the sequential chain of attributes, consequences and goals. Considering value creation for the users as designers&rsquo / main responsibility / they should focus on how these chains are shaped while designing products. This study mainly concentrates on this relation between design attributes, the consequences these attributes provide, and the ultimate goals of users these consequences satisfy. Three main types of consequence and user goals, which are together called as value types, are identified in the literature: pragmatic, experiential and symbolic. How these value types can be provided by design attributes is examined both with literature review and a research on users&rsquo / pre-purchase value assignment to portable digital audio players. The research on portable digital audio players is conducted using laddering technique. After the interviews with 30 respondents, the value types identified in the literature review as pragmatic, experiential and symbolic value are supported by the data / and and an extension is suggested within the subgroups of experiential value. The salient design attributes that are valued at pre-purchase, and outstanding relations between designed attributes, consequences and user goals are identified.

No description available.

This study examines the work of Elwyn Stuart Richardson, director and teacher of Oruaiti School between 1949 and 1962, an experimental school in Northland, New Zealand and places it with the context of the history of art education in New Zealand. After documenting the historical and educational reform contexts of the first half of the twentieth century, Richardson’s philosophy of art education is framed through an analysis of moments of his early life, schooling and teaching experiences. Richardson (1925-) is best known for his book In the Early World published by the New Zealand Council of Educational Research in 1964. The book describes his work as a teacher at Oruaiti and highlights his pedagogical belief that the most powerful learning arises out of children’s own lives and experiences, that learning through the arts raises students’ potential for self-knowledge, critical discernment, imagination, understanding, awareness and empathy for others, and that the arts have an important role to play in the fostering of community and social reform. The administration of art and craft education in the New Zealand primary school during Richardson’s years at Oruaiti was shaped by early advances in manual and technical education. The development of these reforms and the varied educational doctrines school officials used to advocate for the inclusion of these subjects in the curriculum are examined from 1885 to 1920. As well, significant educational policies and events in the 1920s provided exposure to progressive education ideology from abroad. These initiatives contributed to the great interest in child art which grew out of the New Education movement of the 1930s. New ideas about the development of artistic ability in children led to innovative policies in art and craft education that transformed teaching practices and the place of art and craft in New Zealand schools during the 1940s and 1950s. The newly formed Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education in 1946 reorganised the administration of art education to change public perceptions of art, create contexts of art appreciation and develop community education in tandem with primary school art education. Examining Richardson’s educational biography is another lens used to understand his philosophy and pedagogy. Oruaiti's status as an experimental school is explored through the unique relationship of Oruaiti School to the Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education. Further, Richardson’s developing educational philosophy, in particular his ideas about artistic ability in children and the growth of aesthetic standards, is explored relative to the teaching practices of his day. The study also uncovers the critical role that science played in Richardson’s educational pedagogy and curriculum and the profound influence Richardson’s early educative experiences were to have on the development of his educational philosophy. Locating Richardson’s work within its historical context demonstrates both that he worked in an environment which was hospitable to educational experimentation in the field of art and crafts, and that, on many levels, he transcended the educational practices of his times.

This thesis gives a voice to the call for a holistic approach to the preservation of commercial and particularly domestic architecture. Interior architecture is an important piece of the whole in need of consideration. Arts and Crafts interiors in the state of Indiana are considered in reference to this fact and the case studies chosen exemplify the connection between cultural history and the interior architecture and design.The Arts and Crafts Movement's philosophy worked to integrate the entire design with the surrounding site. The interior was the focus of the synthesized design and it is this emphasis that must be captured. The Midwest played an important role in the development of the Arts and Crafts Movement and central Indiana's interior residential architecture gives evidence to the movement's influential philosophy as well as social changes in the early twentieth century.An introduction to the Arts and Crafts Movement briefly discussing its history in England and the United States is provided as well as a discussion of the Movement's philosophy. Following the history is a chapter concerned with the Arts and Crafts influence in Indiana. Manufacturers and retailers are identified as well as products marketed. Architects and artisans are discussed. Next, a chapter identifies significant interior elements, furnishings, finishes and floor plans. Finally, four case studies are examined ranging from a self-built bungalow to an architect-designed estate. Floor plans, architectural features, and finishes are covered. / Department of Architecture