The Media and Design Research focus area (MDR) hosted by Arki Research Group in the Media Lab UIAH organized a study project during the study year 2005-2006. The study project was an organized whole that took students through a research, design and development (RD & D) process, while offering also taught modular activities that contain lectures, assignments and hands-on workshops.

Our objective was to support reflection on the role of design in the development of the development and find ways to comprehend, understand and test its limits and possibilities from a design perspective. The outcomes of the study project included the individual student works, exercises and a 24-page publication 'Exploring Social Media'.

In the publication the students introduce their social application concepts with illustrations and scenarios that shed light on their explorative design and research process, throughout the academic year. The applications and the focus of interest developed by the students are wide and diverse, which reaffirms the fertile ground that exists for innovative and responsible design practice.

Each of the participants developed a topic of their interest through engagement with diverse community groups and by reflecting their design ideas with relevant conversations both in literature, media and in society. We experimented with a design process that will include different media types (video and audio reportages, as well as written research papers) and encourage students to find ways to engage and co-design with the world around them.

In his work Sven Noben introduces a series of considerations for features and production practices that could empower Deaf people to create more media in their own language, live signing. Viki Olgod explores the potentials of the blogosphere by proposing a visualization tool that helps citizen journalists and their readers follow the reliability of the blog conversations. Brenda Castro looks at supporting learning communities in visual fields through facilitating documentation and sharing of artworks through the ubiquity of mobile devices. Eirik Fatland explores conversation and negotiation features that would make an online democratic deliberative process in society more meaningful.

As part of their MA Thesis works, Richard Widerberg and Zeenath Hasan propose the mobile phones as a medium for the exchange and production of everyday sounds and Ida Blekeli an environment in which words are playful building blocks.

Students: Brenda Castro, Zeenath Hasan, Sami Keinänen, Michihito Mizutani, Hanna Niemi-Hugaerts, Sven Noben, Richard Widerberg, Ida Blekeli, Viki Ølgod

Tutors: Andrea Botero, Kari-Hans Kommonen, Sanna Marttila

With contributions from:

Video Reportage workshop: Taku Kaskela
Innovating in the blogosphere workshop: Petri Kola
Concept Desing workshop: Kirsti Lehtimäki
Research and writing clinics: Taina Rajanti
Final seminar opponents: Teemu Leinonen, Alan Prohm, Teemu Arina, Riikka Pelo, Antti Raike and Tommi Raivio