Science has been doing a lot of research in the area of mindfulness and the effect it has on the brain/mindset. I am very curious the role mindfulness has with design.

Simply put, mindfulness is full engagement.

Questions I have: 

• How does design in the environment affect our ability to be mindful?
• How might design impact design education? Could mindfulness increase capacity for innovation?
• Can design improve people’s ability to be mindful in their day-to-day life?
• If students were to integrate mindfulness into their creative process, how would the results be impacted?
• Can design be used to promote mindfulness on a larger scale?
• Are there any initiatives that encourage mindful (or related) design?
• What frameworks might relate to creating mindful design solutions?
  • HCD: Human Centered Design—Generates solutions for a need in low-income communities. Three phases: Hear, Create and Deliver. How to talk to research participants, gain empathy and capture stories that will give context.
• What are some examples of existing mindful design?
  • Happy Tapper: Apps that seek to improve lives and overall well-being. Designed by Carla White (designer for NASA).
  • The Mindfulness App
  • Headspace App
  • Happify

Research I found pertaining to mindfulness + design:

• Search Inside Yourself | Chade-Meng Tan, one of Google’s earliest engineers and personal growth pioneer, offers a proven method for enhancing mindfulness and emotional intelligence in life and work
• Mediating Mindful Social Interactions through Design | Dr. Kristina Niedderer
• Mindful Design as a Driver for Social Behavior Change | Dr. Kristina Niedderer
• Designing Mindful Interaction: The Category of Performative Object | Dr. Kristina Niedderer
• 5 Techniques for a Mindful Day
• Exploring the Effects of a Mindfulness Program for Student of Secondary School
• Brainball
• http://www.affectiva.com
• 101 Patterns for Influencing Behavior Through Design (wiki) | Neville A. Stanton
• Examining the Protective Effects of Mindfulness Training on Working Memory Capacity and Affective Experience | 2010
• “Mind the Trap”: Mindfulness Practice Reduces Cognitive Rigidity | Jonathan Greenberg, 2012
• Meditate to Create: The Impact of Focused-Attention and Open-Monitoring Training on Convergent and Divergent Thinking | 2012
• Carla White | Freelance app designer with focus on mindful design
• TEDTalk | Carla White
• Social Influences on neuroplasticity: Stress and interventions to promote well-being
• UX Mindful Design | Section on being mindful when designing solutions
• Mindfulness: The holy grail of design education? | Christian Montarou
• The Mindfulness Revolution | book
• Meditation research | Headspace
• Digital Overload | Course at Stanford called “Designing Calm”
• Towards quality communication design in interpretive settings | Margaret Woodward
  • “Researcher in tourism studies, Gianna Moscardo uses the concepts of ‘mindfulness’ and ‘mindlessness’, developed in the field of social cognition, to describe visitor behaviour in interpretive settings. Her findings conclude that where visitors control the flow and pace of information, they are likely to retain more, have memorable and engaging interactions and be what she describes as ‘mindful visitors’. Similarly, Krippendorf describes visitors as being either in a state of animation or isolation. These positive states described in the literature as mindfulness, animation and engagement are desirable yet often elusive outcomes in any communication project. The literature from visitor studies and other related disciplines also reveal real and potential barriers to communication. Research shows visitors can feel separated from displays, distanced from of the meaning of exhibits, overwhelmed by the amount of information in interpretive settings, and physically disoriented in interpretive and tourist settings. These barriers can lead to negative visitor experience including passivity (Tyler), fatigue (Gilman 1916, Robinson, 1928)4, anxiety (Pearce 1988; Pearce and Black 1984), disorientation, mindlessness (Moscardo 1996) insecurity (Kaplan 1998) and incompetence (Olds 1990). Clearly this research offers designers valuable insights that can be transferred into design practice.”

Mindful Technology

• Spire
• Fitbit