Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design

Deborah Maxwell; Liz Edwards; Toby Pillatt; Niamh Downing

Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design

Deborah Maxwell, Liz Edwards, Toby Pillatt, Niamh Downing

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

This paper explores the role and potential for design as process, artefact and experience to help frame and address societal problems. We consider this through examining a future folklore dialogical object, designed to stimulate conversation and question assumptions. Beekeeping is a particularly rich context with which to adopt this methodological approach, given the significance of global threats to insect pollination aligned with beekeeping’s extensive cultural heritage. By drawing on past narratives and contemporary knowledge and practices, the Beespoon, a small copper spoon representing the amount of honey a single bee can make, was codesigned as an experience that actively engaged people with concepts of work, value and pollination. Our design process oscillated across past, present and future stories – the Beespoon as future folklore artefact and experience reflects this complexity, operating across time and value systems to provide new ways to think about how we perceive and understand bees.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of DRS2016
Subtitle of host publication	Design + Research + Society - Future-Focused Thinking
Editors	Peter Lloyd, Erik Bohemia
Publisher	Design Research Society
Pages	3485-3502
Volume	9
Publication status	Published - Jun 2016
Event	50TH Anniversary Design Research Society Conference : Design + Research + Society Future-Focused Thinking - Brighton, United Kingdom Duration: 27 Jun 2016 → 30 Jun 2016

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of DRS
ISSN (Print)	2398-3132

Conference

Conference	50TH Anniversary Design Research Society Conference
Abbreviated title	DRS2016
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Brighton
Period	27/06/16 → 30/06/16

Access to Document

beespoon_maxwell_edwardsFinal published version, 2.6 MBLicence: CC BY-NC

http://www.drs2016.org/proceedings/

Telling the Bees
Maxwell, D., Downing, N. & Pillatt, T.
1/04/15 → 1/09/16
Project: Other project › Project from former institution

Cite this

@inproceedings{25463d2cc8524f2ba9dd2910637d4b8b,

title = "Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design",

abstract = "This paper explores the role and potential for design as process, artefact and experience to help frame and address societal problems. We consider this through examining a future folklore dialogical object, designed to stimulate conversation and question assumptions. Beekeeping is a particularly rich context with which to adopt this methodological approach, given the significance of global threats to insect pollination aligned with beekeeping{\textquoteright}s extensive cultural heritage. By drawing on past narratives and contemporary knowledge and practices, the Beespoon, a small copper spoon representing the amount of honey a single bee can make, was codesigned as an experience that actively engaged people with concepts of work, value and pollination. Our design process oscillated across past, present and future stories – the Beespoon as future folklore artefact and experience reflects this complexity, operating across time and value systems to provide new ways to think about how we perceive and understand bees.",

author = "Deborah Maxwell and Liz Edwards and Toby Pillatt and Niamh Downing",

year = "2016",

month = jun,

language = "English",

volume = "9",

series = "Proceedings of DRS",

publisher = "Design Research Society",

pages = "3485--3502",

editor = "Peter Lloyd and Erik Bohemia",

booktitle = "Proceedings of DRS2016",

note = "50TH Anniversary Design Research Society Conference : Design + Research + Society Future-Focused Thinking, DRS2016 ; Conference date: 27-06-2016 Through 30-06-2016",

}

Maxwell, D, Edwards, L, Pillatt, T & Downing, N 2016, Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design. in P Lloyd & E Bohemia (eds), Proceedings of DRS2016: Design + Research + Society - Future-Focused Thinking. vol. 9, Proceedings of DRS, Design Research Society, pp. 3485-3502, 50TH Anniversary Design Research Society Conference , Brighton, United Kingdom, 27/06/16. <http://www.drs2016.org/proceedings/>

Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design. / Maxwell, Deborah; Edwards, Liz; Pillatt, Toby et al.
Proceedings of DRS2016: Design + Research + Society - Future-Focused Thinking. ed. / Peter Lloyd; Erik Bohemia. Vol. 9 Design Research Society, 2016. p. 3485-3502 (Proceedings of DRS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

T1 - Stories in a Beespoon

T2 - 50TH Anniversary Design Research Society Conference

AU - Maxwell, Deborah

AU - Edwards, Liz

AU - Pillatt, Toby

AU - Downing, Niamh

PY - 2016/6

Y1 - 2016/6

N2 - This paper explores the role and potential for design as process, artefact and experience to help frame and address societal problems. We consider this through examining a future folklore dialogical object, designed to stimulate conversation and question assumptions. Beekeeping is a particularly rich context with which to adopt this methodological approach, given the significance of global threats to insect pollination aligned with beekeeping’s extensive cultural heritage. By drawing on past narratives and contemporary knowledge and practices, the Beespoon, a small copper spoon representing the amount of honey a single bee can make, was codesigned as an experience that actively engaged people with concepts of work, value and pollination. Our design process oscillated across past, present and future stories – the Beespoon as future folklore artefact and experience reflects this complexity, operating across time and value systems to provide new ways to think about how we perceive and understand bees.

AB - This paper explores the role and potential for design as process, artefact and experience to help frame and address societal problems. We consider this through examining a future folklore dialogical object, designed to stimulate conversation and question assumptions. Beekeeping is a particularly rich context with which to adopt this methodological approach, given the significance of global threats to insect pollination aligned with beekeeping’s extensive cultural heritage. By drawing on past narratives and contemporary knowledge and practices, the Beespoon, a small copper spoon representing the amount of honey a single bee can make, was codesigned as an experience that actively engaged people with concepts of work, value and pollination. Our design process oscillated across past, present and future stories – the Beespoon as future folklore artefact and experience reflects this complexity, operating across time and value systems to provide new ways to think about how we perceive and understand bees.

M3 - Conference contribution

VL - 9

T3 - Proceedings of DRS

SP - 3485

EP - 3502

BT - Proceedings of DRS2016

A2 - Lloyd, Peter

A2 - Bohemia, Erik

PB - Design Research Society

Y2 - 27 June 2016 through 30 June 2016

ER -

Stories in a Beespoon: Exploring Future Folklore through Design

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Access to Document

Projects

Telling the Bees

Cite this