This practice-led, project-based research charts, simultaneously, my disenchantment and re-engagement with graphic design. By it's dissemination I hope to articulate: 1. How an evolving understanding of my sense disenchantment emerged from the research, and enabled the process of re-engagement. 2. The role, and importance, of provocation and doubt in creative practice generally, but specifically in practice-led research. The difficulty of provoking one's self, and the strategies through which I have tried to enact a disruptive reframing of my practice. 3. That through the highly reflective nature of practice-led research and the greater sense of self-awareness that inevitable comes from that I have been able to re-engage with graphic design. That this re-engagement has, for me specifically, had much to do with my ability to begin to negotiate my own personal terms of reference, so as to be able to locate myself within a community of practice, and to begin to take part in a discourse that has a certain resonance for me. Central to this research are questions about professional practice, dislocation/disinterest, research, resonance and reinvention. As disenchantment is common, perhaps pervasive, within professional practice, my account of this research will propose that a more general understanding of practice-led research-highly reflective, self-initiated work-is essential if graphic design is to support and sustain imaginative, innovative, and inventive practitioners. Rather than target graphic design's inability to support provocative practices (the studio, or the industry), my research focuses on the potential of the individual practitioner to motivate and design a more generative and engaged practice. As such any observations and/or discoveries are not presented as quantitative 'findings', but should be seen rather as generative understandings that promote future possibility and potential for the practice.

This thesis reinterprets the architectural implications of Heidegger’s concept of dwelling. In particular it stresses the importance of the concept of poetry on dwelling that was outlined in ‘ ... Poetically Man Dwells ... ’. This essay from Heidegger’s late period has been less frequently quoted in the literature of the architectural profession than some of Heidegger’s more well known essays. The importance of poetry is developed in this thesis through creative practice explorations of Heidegger’s philosophy supplemented by deep textual analysis. By developing Heidegger’s concept of poetic dwelling, it is possible to reinterpret his ideas about building in richer ways than have previously been carried out in architecture. We will discover that space has a particular kind of emptiness that allows for poetic experience. Ways of building that manifest this emptiness can be considered building for dwelling. The focus on poetic dwelling unravels previous architectural interpretations of Heidegger’s concept of dwelling. These interpretations tend to focus on the creation of a certain type of product rather than on enabling the poetic dwelling process. Consequently, by shifting this understanding of dwelling new links can be suggested to the work of architectural writers and practitioners who hitherto have not been considered to be Heideggerian.

A challenge ignited the research outlined in this thesis. Design is increasingly being framed (across academia and industry) as an integral method and strategy for social, cultural and economic innovation. How is this value to be communicated within the museum context, which is more commonly rooted in an object-centric tradition? Temporary exhibitions are a primary means of communication and engagement for museums. The presentation of contemporary design has followed traditions of display stemming from fine art practices, as well being influenced by those in commercial environments. Consequently the thesis argues that there is a prevailing tendency to display the outcomes of design activity, to celebrate aesthetics and functionality, and to concentrate on the personality and talent of the designer. A key concern underpinning this research is that many museum design exhibitions arguably struggle to reveal the complexity of design activity: the intellectual and material processes driving innovation. This arguably risks limiting broader interpretation, and stifles the opportunity to extend audience understanding of design. The aim of this thesis is to question and explore key concepts that constitute the communication and exhibition of design in the museum. Design, innovation, curating, exhibition, audience: in the dynamic, transitioning contexts of design and the museum, all concepts must be scrutinized. In order to navigate this territory, a core method of design inquiry is adopted: prototyping. In this research, prototyping actively puts concepts to work through a dialectical investigation. This involves actively engaging in design to examine the concepts of curatorial practice, the exhibition, and innovation, whilst concurrently exploring concepts of design and innovation through the process of curating exhibitions. This dual-focussed research approach that has been developed, can be described as a hermeneutic, practice-led methodology. Hermeneutics supports a belief in contextually situated, practical action as a basis for developing understanding and knowledge (Bolt, 2011; Heidegger, 1962). The method of exhibition-making is framed and employed as a practical prototyping process: curating exhibitions in order to reflect on the construction of design narratives from within. Prototyping becomes a way to reflexively explore, analyse and question the practice of framing, mediating and communicating design as innovation. Three iterative practical projects act as case studies for the thesis, situated in three concrete contexts: the industry sponsor – V&A Museum of Design Dundee; design in Higher Education; and a national innovation festival. Each can be seen as the exploration and delineation of a design space (Heape, 2007), with all three forming part of the wider design space that is the thesis as a whole. Through reflecting on the acts of evaluating, selecting, editing, juxtaposing, connecting, framing and presenting design practice through exhibition, the research has formulated a curatorial strategy that aims at attending to the complex nature, changing priorities and values of particular design contexts. The thesis names this approach ‘the constellation’: adapting this term from the work of critical theorist Theodor Adorno (1973). The constellation takes the form of a series of visualisations that draw on, combine and develop research on design theory, design processes, and prototyping, by a number of key design researchers (e.g. Buchanan, 1998, 1995a; Dorst, 2015a, 2008; Heape, 2007; Lim et al., 2008; Sanders and Stappers, 2014, 2008). Operating at two levels, the constellation is the manifestation of the reflexive research process, illuminating both design and curatorial practice. It makes an original contribution to knowledge in two ways: firstly as the visual delineation of a prototype curatorial strategy for researching, framing and communicating narratives of design; secondly it offers a conceptualisation of concept development in design practice, shown as the continuous exploration of a design space. This articulates how prototyping, as a key design method, can encourage innovation through the exploration and analysis of concepts at varying levels of detail, with the aim of developing new perspectives. This thesis also makes an original contribution on a methodological level by extending the practice and discourse of prototyping to the method of exhibition, framing it as a strategy for innovation in design research. This adds to current discourse surrounding practice-led research within art and design. It also contributes to nascent discourse in relation to curatorial practice for design, and the growing interest in the specificities of design curation, in the context of the museum.

This project investigates the apparent contradiction of a female artist who prioritises embodied presence in her art works, but produces Minimalist installations. It does this by describing in detail and analysing, and thus re-evaluating the significance of, the full range of actions and processes that are performed to produce the work. It further proposes that, in the actions of crafting the individual elements and in designing, planning and installing the work in Modernist gallery spaces, conditions are set up for viewers of the finished work to experience a physical awareness that echoes that of the artist in those actions and processes.

Holography is a form of 3D imaging. Its practice spans the disciplines of science and art. My original contribution to knowledge is in making a claim for holography as a new context for writing ekphrastic poetry which most usually refers to poetry written in dialogue with the visual. The scholarship of ekphrasis cites examples of poems written in response to painting, sculpture, photography and film but not to holography. This is practice-led research and my collection of poetry Equinoctial arising from it derives its structure, and the linguistic and formal properties of its poems, from a process of holographic enquiry arising from processes of holography and the properties of holograms. Furthermore, I construe this holographic enquiry as a form of ekphrastic enquiry. My primary sources for ekphrastic dialogues are the holopoetry and theories of holopoetry of Brazilian artist and poet, Eduardo Kac; the essay: ‘Stopping Time: Harrison’s Holograms’, and holograms of John Harrison’s timekeeper, ‘H4’ by Martin Richardson; the essays in The Aerial Letter and the novel, Picture Theory by French-Canadian writer, Nicole Brossard. For Brossard, the hologram is a trope associated with liberatory and visionary feminist reading and writing practices. The scholarship of ekphrasis revels its gendered nature which I go on to scrutinize via the various lenses of my primary sources. In order to consolidate my positioning as a feminist researcher, I develop the methodology, ‘flâneuserie’ from poetry and poetics by women poets and scholars which describes an agency-making approach to bringing together the creative and critical components of a practice-led thesis in creative writing in a poetics I come to describe as ‘holopoetics’. I conclude by upholding holography as a technology of perception that emphasises the position of the viewer or reader in relation to artwork and poem, and, in doing so offers multiple perspectives and possibilities of interpretation. Throughout, I emphasise the significance of my study as an example of concept-driven practice-led research in creative-writing which upholds a claim for poetry as new knowledge.

The increasing prevalence of digital fabrication technologies and the emergence of a novel materiality in contemporary craft practice have created the need to redefine the critical context of digital jewellery and wearable futures. Previous research in this area, such as that presented by Sarah Kettley (2007a) and Jayne Wallace (2007), has provided the foundations for further enquiry but has not been advanced significantly since its inception. The artistic research presented in this thesis focuses on how smart materials and microelectronic components could be used to create synergetic digital jewellery objects and wearable futures that reflect changes in the body of their wearer and their environment through dynamic responses. Laying the foundations for a theory of <i>Interactive</i> <i>Craft</i> through evaluating different aspects of creative practice that relate to responsive objects with a close relationship to the human body is at the centre of this enquiry. Through identifying four distinct categories of wearable object, the <i>Taxonomy of the Wearable Object</i> is formulated and clearly delineates the current existing conceptual, technological and material perspectives that govern the relationships between different types of wearable objects. A particular focus is placed on exploring the concept of <i>Digital Enchantment</i> and how it could be utilised to progress towards developing the <i>Uncanny Object</i> that appears to possess biological characteristics and apparent agency, yet is a fully artificial construct. The potential for the practical application of a design methodology guided by playful engagement with novel materials, microelectronics and digital fabrication technologies is analysed, taking into account Ingold’s concept of the <i>textility of making </i>(Ingold, 2011). Through exploring the notion of the <i>Polymorphic</i> <i>Practitioner</i> in the context of <i>Alchemical Practice</i>, a model for experiential knowledge generation through engaging in cross-disciplinary collaboration is developed. This is supported by a qualitative survey of European materials libraries, including accounts of site visits that evaluate the usefulness of materials libraries for creative practitioners invested in novel materiality as well as visually documenting a selection of the visited libraries’ most intriguing material holdings. Utilising a scientific testing protocol, a practical body of work that centres on conducting extensive experiments with smart materials is developed, with a particular focus on testing the compatibility and colour outcomes of chromic pigments in silicone. The resulting chromic silicone samples are collated, together with sourced smart materials, in a customised materials library. Investigational prototypes and the <i>Microjewels</i> collection of digital jewellery and wearable futures that responds to external and bodily stimuli whilst engaging the wearer through playful interaction are presented as another outcome of this body of research.

The practice of communication design has developed from a visual-communication service industry into a multi-facetted profession, directly involved with the maintenance and creation of social and cultural capital. The ancestry of communication design has led to its continued perception as a neutral tool for the achievement of communication. This research project aims to investigate the possible contributions of communication design as a practice, if it were to re-align its goals towards supporting and facilitating the community within which it is practiced. This research project is about the communication designer and the communities within which they practice: clients; target markets; companies; managers; neighbourhood groups; groups in a particular place and time; communities of practitioners; and emergent or yet to emerge communities. The project investigates designer agency and the ways for a communication designer to work holistically within communities: being or becoming part of them; working through and with them toward the achievement of communication goals. As much as it is about communicating, it is also about community. It is about designers working as conduits, facilitating and enabling the communities of their practice to find expression. It is about a democratisation of communication design authorship and power. It is about the design process as an educational process - all parts and participants within a design projects' community learning and teaching simultaneously. The research project encompasses a series of component projects, across a range of different media, using a practice-led-research framework and a reflective practitioner methodology as the key investigative tool.

This research is situated within the practice-led method, enabling me as a playwright to gain stimulus for creating trauma informed plays. The framework for creating such plays in this research is the centre-periphery concept (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin, 2013, 43) situated with the imagined nation as backdrops for understanding postcolonial trauma. In order to gain stimulus for playwriting in this research, I explored Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman to understanding postcolonial trauma in my part of Africa, being Nigeria. I also explored other sources for the purpose of gaining stimulus from embedded trauma motifs, useful for writing The Longest Snake, The Endless Walk and the Alternative plays. The Alternative plays draw meanings from the initial plays and are interventive and socio-dramatic; revealing how trauma may be understood from other perspectives. The originality of this research and contribution to knowledge may be perceived in the new plays which incorporate trauma notions; the role of the 'circle' in conceptualisation and the use of the 'centre-periphery' concepts as template for playwriting and analysis. The originality may also be inferred from the interventive relevance of the created plays, touching on how postcolonial trauma may be understood from the lens of the imagined nation, and events in the centre-periphery context. It is also important to mention how the collectives are traumatically affected by the negative effects of colonisation as mirrored in the textual sources explored. Equally relevant are my personal experiences and the African folklore and folktale milieu, which are relevant for understanding postcolonial trauma through praxis; reiterating Gray and Marlins' (2016: 2) thoughts that 'We learn most effectively by doing - by active experience, and reflection on that experience,' which may be seen in the context of the practice-led approach I adopted in this research.

This research investigates the theory of organisational knowledge creation as a viable model in the management of multi-practitioner arts-related practice-led research projects conducted at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. In this regard Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page (2009-2012) (an interdisciplinary exploration of a practice-led research project by means of the artist’s book) is analysed according to the said theory in order to ascertain the compatibility of this theory and the projects outlined. It should be noted that the particular project is not discussed as an example of the application of the theory of organisational knowledge creation. Rather, the purpose of this research is to identify the appearance of salient aspects of the given theory in order to ascertain whether this could be an appropriate management model for future projects of this nature. Accordingly, the goal is to identify such a model that will facilitate and promote creative practice and accredited research within the History of Art, Graphic Design, and Creative Writing disciplines at the North-West Universities Potchefstroom campus. The proposed coupling of the theory of organisational knowledge creation and multi-practitioner arts-related projects by way of practice-led research is underpinned by the fact that both can be situated within the participatory paradigm due to a common conceptualisation of knowledge. This paradigm offers an extended epistemology consisting of practical, experiential, presentational, and propositional knowledge. This paradigm effectively integrates both the tacit and explicit knowledge modalities, which are fundamental to practice-led research and the theory of organisational knowledge creation. A further commonality is the fact that knowledge is considered as an interdisciplinary, subjective and socially constructed phenomenon. In the context of this research, practice-led research involves the self-reflective process, which involves the making, reading and interpretation of creative outputs in the academic milieu. This requires the utilisation of reflective practice to communicate both the tacit and explicit knowledge dimensions. Additionally the participatory paradigm, practice-led research and the theory of organisational knowledge creation advocate a knowledge process that moves through a tacit–explicit knowledge cycle. This knowledge creation cycle in the participatory paradigm and the theory of organisational knowledge creation occur in four levels. In consequence, the Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page project has been managed in four phases. It is against this background that the four knowledge conversion levels of this theory are linked with the extended epistemology of the participatory paradigm to analyse the four phases of the Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page project. The first phase of the Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page project entailed the conceptualisation, planning, and preparation during August 2008 to March 2009. This phase is analysed by means of level one of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (explicit to tacit knowledge conversion) and practical knowledge of the participatory paradigm. The second phase of the project, namely knowledge creation, took place from March 2009 to January 2010. The analysis of this phase is accomplished by means of level two of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (tacit to tacit knowledge conversion) and experiential knowledge of the participatory paradigm. The third phase of the project, namely knowledge presentation and communication, from February 2010 to July 2010 corresponds with, and is analysed by, level three of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (tacit to explicit knowledge conversion) and presentational knowledge of the participatory paradigm. The fourth knowledge formalisation and dissemination phase of the project occurred during July 2010 to December 2011. This phase is analysed by means of level four of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (explicit to explicit knowledge conversion) and propositional knowledge of the participatory paradigm. Consequently, I argued that each phase of the project correlates with the corresponding levels of the theory of organisational knowledge creation, knowledge conversion mechanisms and the knowledge modalities of the participatory paradigms. The four phases of the project and the four levels share common knowledge conversion and creation processes and goals that are attributed to the common conceptualisation of knowledge. Distinct correlations between the knowledge creation goals of the knowledge conversion levels and phases were identified. Therefore, the mechanisms used to achieve knowledge conversion and creation were applicable to the assigned management phases of the project. It was further argued that it is possible to adapt the current management approach to the more structured theory of organisational knowledge creation without negating either the tacit or explicit knowledge modalities. Consequently it is concluded that the theory of organisational knowledge creation, which is a management model normally used in the commercial business context, could be utilised to manage multi-practitioner arts related practice-led research projects more effectively in the academic context. / PhD (History of Art), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This research investigates the theory of organisational knowledge creation as a viable model in the management of multi-practitioner arts-related practice-led research projects conducted at the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus. In this regard Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page (2009-2012) (an interdisciplinary exploration of a practice-led research project by means of the artist’s book) is analysed according to the said theory in order to ascertain the compatibility of this theory and the projects outlined. It should be noted that the particular project is not discussed as an example of the application of the theory of organisational knowledge creation. Rather, the purpose of this research is to identify the appearance of salient aspects of the given theory in order to ascertain whether this could be an appropriate management model for future projects of this nature. Accordingly, the goal is to identify such a model that will facilitate and promote creative practice and accredited research within the History of Art, Graphic Design, and Creative Writing disciplines at the North-West Universities Potchefstroom campus. The proposed coupling of the theory of organisational knowledge creation and multi-practitioner arts-related projects by way of practice-led research is underpinned by the fact that both can be situated within the participatory paradigm due to a common conceptualisation of knowledge. This paradigm offers an extended epistemology consisting of practical, experiential, presentational, and propositional knowledge. This paradigm effectively integrates both the tacit and explicit knowledge modalities, which are fundamental to practice-led research and the theory of organisational knowledge creation. A further commonality is the fact that knowledge is considered as an interdisciplinary, subjective and socially constructed phenomenon. In the context of this research, practice-led research involves the self-reflective process, which involves the making, reading and interpretation of creative outputs in the academic milieu. This requires the utilisation of reflective practice to communicate both the tacit and explicit knowledge dimensions. Additionally the participatory paradigm, practice-led research and the theory of organisational knowledge creation advocate a knowledge process that moves through a tacit–explicit knowledge cycle. This knowledge creation cycle in the participatory paradigm and the theory of organisational knowledge creation occur in four levels. In consequence, the Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page project has been managed in four phases. It is against this background that the four knowledge conversion levels of this theory are linked with the extended epistemology of the participatory paradigm to analyse the four phases of the Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page project. The first phase of the Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page project entailed the conceptualisation, planning, and preparation during August 2008 to March 2009. This phase is analysed by means of level one of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (explicit to tacit knowledge conversion) and practical knowledge of the participatory paradigm. The second phase of the project, namely knowledge creation, took place from March 2009 to January 2010. The analysis of this phase is accomplished by means of level two of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (tacit to tacit knowledge conversion) and experiential knowledge of the participatory paradigm. The third phase of the project, namely knowledge presentation and communication, from February 2010 to July 2010 corresponds with, and is analysed by, level three of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (tacit to explicit knowledge conversion) and presentational knowledge of the participatory paradigm. The fourth knowledge formalisation and dissemination phase of the project occurred during July 2010 to December 2011. This phase is analysed by means of level four of the theory of organisational knowledge creation (explicit to explicit knowledge conversion) and propositional knowledge of the participatory paradigm. Consequently, I argued that each phase of the project correlates with the corresponding levels of the theory of organisational knowledge creation, knowledge conversion mechanisms and the knowledge modalities of the participatory paradigms. The four phases of the project and the four levels share common knowledge conversion and creation processes and goals that are attributed to the common conceptualisation of knowledge. Distinct correlations between the knowledge creation goals of the knowledge conversion levels and phases were identified. Therefore, the mechanisms used to achieve knowledge conversion and creation were applicable to the assigned management phases of the project. It was further argued that it is possible to adapt the current management approach to the more structured theory of organisational knowledge creation without negating either the tacit or explicit knowledge modalities. Consequently it is concluded that the theory of organisational knowledge creation, which is a management model normally used in the commercial business context, could be utilised to manage multi-practitioner arts related practice-led research projects more effectively in the academic context. / PhD (History of Art), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015