Over the past year, Marco Rozendaal, Nazli Cila, and Jordan Boyle have been collaborating with the SUSAG foundation to advance the professional painting industry by exploring the design and implementation of smart agents, like robots, exoskeletons and intelligent equipment. In partnership with MUZUS and many students from IDE, they have conducted research, developed innovative concepts, and created a comprehensive roadmap for the industry’s future.
Evolving needs of painters in the painting industry
The painting industry is deeply rooted in traditional craftsmanship, often characterized by a work culture resistant to change. Painters frequently endure physical strain from the manual labour involved, making it challenging to sustain a career until retirement without experiencing pain or health issues. The new generation of painters has different needs and demands, prioritizing safety and job appeal.
To address these challenges, the team focused on developing smart agents for the future, tailored to the needs of painters and the possibilities offered by technology. Think about robots, exoskeletons, and intelligent equipment. Our goal was to collaboratively envision with the painting industry what their future could look like and initiate conversations on how to move forward together. Our findings show that painters are enthusiastic about the idea of having “superpowers” by working with agents that enhance safety and ease without taking away their joy and craftsmanship of their work.
Our findings show that painters are enthusiastic about the idea of having ‘superpowers’ by working with agents that enhance safety and ease without taking away their joy and craftsmanship of their work.
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Marco Rozendaal
Towards a future design vision
The project team envisions a future where painters enjoy sustainable employment in an inclusive working environment. The profession is accessible to everyone with the drive, passion, and skills for painting, including women, who are currently underrepresented in the Dutch painting industry.
Our goal is for every painter to find pleasure in their work from the start of their career until their retirement. Several considerations become crucial. What makes smart agents acceptable, and what needs to be considered when deploying them in practice? This includes evaluating their capabilities and appearances, their presence in the work context, the interactions they facilitate, and their social-ethical aspects, including trust and privacy. In adopting such an integral approach, research and design has been conducted in close collaboration with the target group throughout the entire process.
This project shows how collaborating with societal partners helps to articulate the value of design, celebrates the knowledge and skills or our students, and provides opportunities for researchers to make real-world impact.
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Marco Rozendaal
Approach and outcomes
In collaboration with MUZUS, the team employed a context mapping approach to gather insights into painters’ needs and desires about future technology. This research informed multiple education projects, including a graduation project by Lenny Martinez, the ‘Interactive Formgiving’ elective, in which students created design fictions using a cinematic prototyping technique, and the ‘Advanced Concept Design’ course, where students imagined concepts for smart agents.
The project led to a comprehensive research report by MUZUS that integrated student findings, as well as an explanatory video produced by Marica De Michele.
As a result of the context mapping research and the analysis of trends and developments in the painting profession, 3 design opportunities (1. Ensuring Health, 2. Enhancing Craftsmanship and 3. Embracing Uncertainty) were identified
