The Department of Design was recently honored to host Professor Galen Cranz of the University of California-Berkeley. Professor Cranz visited as the opening speaker for the Department of Design's 'Design in Context' lecture series for 2019-2020. 

“As a school, we were very lucky to host Professor Cranz and have the opportunity for our students to learn from her work and experience. Both her master class and her talk in the “Design in Context” lecture series brought in a welcome perspective on design and has already had a positive impact on the involved students' projects”, says Associate Professor Johann Nicholas Sagan, who initiated the visit.

Galen is a designer, a consultant, and a Professor of the Graduate School in the Architecture Department at the University of California at Berkeley, where she teaches social and cultural approaches to architecture and design, and established the field of Body Conscious Design. 

How human bodies actually work
Galen visited Bergen to present her work entitled "Re-envisioning the Chair: Culture, Bodies, and Design." In her talk, she explored how the social history and status has been a more important factor in chair design than concerns for how human bodies actually work and what users need from chair design. While ergonomics has shown a partial way out of this, somatic practices such as the Alexander Technique have offered alternate approaches that are more holistic and integrative, unifying mind and body systems. According to recent research on metabolic systems, sitting is more detrimental to the body than age, fitness, or even smoking. The need for movement and variety in posture demands that we rethink our approach to designing chairs, shoes, working spaces, schools, transportation, and homes. 

Body-conscious design
Following this talk, Professor Cranz led a workshop “Designing for the Body from the Body”, in which she led some of the design students on an exploration and activation of the principles introduced in her talk. The week-long workshop provided an overview of the concepts about postural alignment and movement based on the Alexander Technique and its application to design. Within a framework of body-conscious design, the students applied the principles of design that accommodates human form and function to three design problems: shoes that are stylish but not harmful, chairs that transcend the traditional right-angle pose, and rooms that support five to six different postures. 

Lets students engage with real-world
The “Design in Context” lecture series is a weekly hosted theory lecture series on Monday afternoons in Knut Knaus from 1300-1500. These lectures are an opportunity for students to learn about issues directly relevant to design, but not necessarily from within the design world. It is a platform for guest speakers and special projects, for experts and researchers in both design and other fields to bring perspective and insight to the design process. Topics and speakers vary from term to term, but center on existing and emerging issues relevant to the design world.
The lecture series lets students engage with real-world professionals and researchers, to benefit from alternate perspectives, and to reflect on their own emerging design practices.

Images from Cranz' workshop with students from the Department of Design at KMD, UiB. All photos: Jane Sverdrupsen.