Articles by Toke R Ebbesen
This article proposes a method for critical analysis of design contributions and the material pro... more This article proposes a method for critical analysis of design contributions and the material properties of digital textbooks aimed at tertiary schools, in the transition to digital publishing and from paper-based books to digitally available learning materials. The suggested method, adapted from an analytic methodology proposed by design semiotician Giampaolo Proni, is grounded in a material and cultural interdisciplinary perspective on books as designed artefacts. The method, combining close descriptions of material properties, production, use, and cultural framing, is shown to be sufficient for predictive and practical design purposes in an analysis of the digital textbook iBog from the Danish publisher Systime.
In this paper I introduce what I call the indicative framework as an analytical tool for understa... more In this paper I introduce what I call the indicative framework as an analytical tool for understanding the shifts of meaning between art, design, and cross-domain objects. This semiotic framework is presented through the case of the solar lamp Little Sun, created by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, in collaboration with Danish engineer Frederik Ottesen (see Figure 1). Although the design of Little Sun can be seen as just one example of the interplay of art and design, the case highlights the available strategies of meaning-making in this type of hybrid object.
Building on a preliminary case study of the Danish educational publisher Systime A/S and its fla... more Building on a preliminary case study of the Danish educational publisher Systime A/S and its flagship product, the web-based 'iBog'/'iBook', this article explores how digital textbooks can be understood as design. The shaping of digital books is seen as being intertwined in a wider circuit of design culture, constituted by changes in designer roles, consumption and mediation practices and restructuring of book production. Following this perspective entails an investigation not only into the shaping of the book as an isolated artefact or product but also into how business models, internal reorganization of the publishing company, web-based user interfaces, and ultimately the branding, which market these new digital objects, are building powerful discourses around the product. Thus it is suggested that the design process of the iBog case can be understood in a model of database-based publishing with multiple levels. In the final analysis, the iBog is much more than a product and a technology. It is a brand that goes beyond what can be studied by looking at the digital textbook as a singular artefact.
PhD Thesis by Toke R Ebbesen
Books by Toke R Ebbesen
A compilation of student essays on digital publishing and design issues, with an edited essay app... more A compilation of student essays on digital publishing and design issues, with an edited essay appendix by Toke Riis Ebbesen.
A book (in Danish) with analysis of design as cultural phenomenon
Blogs by Toke R Ebbesen
Book chapters by Toke R Ebbesen
A chapter on the history of the Apple iMac in interplay with user cultures and marketing in the b... more A chapter on the history of the Apple iMac in interplay with user cultures and marketing in the book Designkulturanalyser.
Conference papers by Toke R Ebbesen
Connecting Fields, 2006
This conference paper tentatively explores connections between material culture studies and the f... more This conference paper tentatively explores connections between material culture studies and the field of design.
Nordes 2015 In the Making, 2015
Papers by Toke R Ebbesen
Northern Lights, Jun 1, 2015
Nordic Design Research Conference, May 29, 2005
The salient features of the clock-a functional semiotic design analysis of relevance to digital d... more The salient features of the clock-a functional semiotic design analysis of relevance to digital design What is the basis for talking about digital design products? How can designers be more concise in their discourse on design. This paper argues for the use of semiotics in practical design processes as well as within historical and interpretive research approaches. For this purpose the position of functional semiotics is explained in short terms and then further demonstrated in the analysis of a basic mechanical alarm clock. On this ground, the digital watch and digital design products in general are characterised and three possible avenues for the interpretation of the interactive possibilities of design products are discussed. Finally some consequences for the role of the designer and the practical applicability of semiotics for design are brought into light.
Design Issues, 2017
Introduction: The Case of Little Sun Some of the most conspicuous art objects today are, it seems... more Introduction: The Case of Little Sun Some of the most conspicuous art objects today are, it seems, close to being "design," and what is commonly referred to as design objects certainly are often seen to be artful in many respects. Perhaps the most important thing is that both art and design can also seem to be alluringly close to life itself. Although most people tend to speak of these types of objects as design or art, they seem also to be posited as everyday objects, destined to be parts of the material cultures of which they partake. 1 Of more interest, a class of objects seems to work to cross this border in a conscious manner. These are what we may designate art and design "hybrids." 2 One such case is the solar lamp, Little Sun, by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, in collaboration with Danish engineer Frederik Ottesen (see Figure 1). This object is interesting to study, I argue, because of the way it performs this border crossing. Although Eliasson is principally renowned as an international artist, working with color, light, steam, and monumental pieces, and is popular both within art circles and with the general public, 3 this specific project seems to blend together the concepts of "everyday" technological objects, designed for a practical use with "art" objects. From the outset, Little Sun might not seem to be art, when understood as a singular object, but when looking closer at its built-in complexities and its mediations, it plays at nonfunctional properties that make it a compelling example of this Figure 1 Little Sun, front and strap. Photo by the author.
Uploads
Articles by Toke R Ebbesen
PhD Thesis by Toke R Ebbesen
Books by Toke R Ebbesen
Blogs by Toke R Ebbesen
Book chapters by Toke R Ebbesen
Conference papers by Toke R Ebbesen
Papers by Toke R Ebbesen