Publications
Henry Lee is actively pursuing academic research. He has published in a number of conferences (E&PDE, DRS, DTRS, Memory Full?) and journals (Digital Creativity), and co-authored a book chapter on packaging. Henry has served as a peer-reviewer for a number of conferences. He has also directed conference workshops for AIGA, Georgetown University, and BYU. See the links below to read his published work:
Exploring the Experiential Reading Differences Between Visual and Written Research Papers
Abstract: Visual or pictorial research papers have emerged in recent years in academic conferences as a non-written archival contribution. Dual Coding Theory teaches us that visual knowledge is distinct from written knowledge and is arguably a universal language (Dreyfuss, 1984), with the ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity, precision, and efficiency (Tufte, 2001). This study explores the reading experience differences between a visual and written research paper containing identical content from design, engineering, and business disciplines. Reading experiences were assessed using a ‘think, feel, and do’ survey, and comprehension was assessed with a quiz. Participants tracked time spent reading and how many times they revisited information. Visual papers provide an improved overall reading experience. Quiz comprehension results were mixed, showing no advantage of one modality over the other. Participants reading visual papers revisited information twice as much as those reading written papers. Designers, engineers, and businesspeople were favourably united in their visual paper reading experience ratings but were not on their written paper ratings.
Preferable Futures of Design Thinking Education: a Discussion of Existing Programs, Perceptions and Directions
Abstract: The existence of numerous design thinking programs, certificates, and bootcamps indicates a continuing interest in design thinking as a perspective used to enhance innovation, creativity, and problem-solving. This article supplements the discussion surrounding design thinking and its interpretations by analyzing a number of existing design thinking programs currently offered. The analysis consisted of an exploratory assessment, comparing keywords and descriptions as well as looking for patterns and consistencies. The goal was to understand the nature of contemporary design thinking dissemination and perception on a basic level, suggesting its trajectory and function within business, design, and academia. Our findings indicate that design thinking is largely perceived as an explicit business-oriented approach to innovation, as opposed to a tacit designerly way of knowing. In tandem with other design thinking practitioners, educators, and scholars, this article discusses redefining, or even renaming, design thinking in order to reclaim it for designers. Additionally, this article offers up the suggestion that design futures methods and pluriversal perspectives be used to aid designers in the redefining of what design thinking could, and should, be.
Examining Reflexivity: Questioning Values Through Visual-Verbal Design Models
Abstract: Design models have been a foundational method to properly understand design praxis and theory, while also perpetuating priorities and knowledge for the discipline. These models, both visual and verbal in nature, embody design values and serve as an important medium for collaboration and setting expectations among designers and non-designers. Indeed, designers of all experience levels use these models to understand and enact the design process. This study assesses the visual and verbal characteristics of 38 design process models to better understand the projection of traditional pragmatism versus more reflexive elements in design process dissemination. The findings of this study demonstrate that there is a myopic history of prevailing design models, even amidst the presence of evolving methodological and theoretical exploration within the design discipline. This is indicated through pragmatic language, single-outcome orientations, and narrow perspectives on the design process. Through this study it is revealed that prevailing design models contain verbal patterns and visual cues that focus primarily on pragmatic processes and outcomes and generally omit reflexive and pluralistic practices that could place the designer amidst their work, their users, and the larger development of designed knowledge. Here, researchers suggest creating and testing alternative models that challenge existing model structures and languages in favour of more contemporary paradigms, such as reflexive practice and pluriversal design. This research also prompts further inquiry into model usage in education and practice, including their function, development, and interpretation in the academic space for design students.
Artificial Intelligence as Relational Artifacts in Creative Learning
Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly advanced in creating professional-level media content. In creative education, determining how students can benefit without becoming dependent on them is a challenge. In this study, researchers conducted an exploratory experiment that positioned AI as a relational artifact to students in a series of drawing activities and examined the potential impact of affective relations with machines in socio-cultural creative learning. The resulting artifacts, observations, and interview transcripts were analyzed using the Consensual Assessment Technique and a grounded theory approach. The study's results indicate that the design professors reliably evaluated the student drawings as more creative than the AI drawings, but neither demonstrated a consistent increase in creativity. However, the presence of AI engaged the students to explore different approaches to artistic prompts. We theorize that AI can be mediated as a learning artifact for transformative creativity if the students perceive their relationship with AI as empathetic and collaborative.
Applying the Carrier-bag Framework of Design to Symbolic Violence and Design Histories
Abstract: The need to rewrite and reimagine design history from alternate perspectives is only increasing as design itself becomes widespread. It is particularly necessary to address the symbolic violence of design. For this, inspiration is taken from Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1986 essay, “The Carrier-bag Theory of Fiction,” which re-envisioned our popular understanding of prehistory by denouncing a focus on the violent tools that mankind used to gain an evolutionary edge: the stone, stick and bone. Instead, she directs our attention to the often overlooked and mundane ancient tools: the bag, sling, pouch, and anything used to carry. In sum, any kind of ‘carrier-bag.’ How might we reimagine design history through the lens of a carrier-bag? The Carrier-bag Framework of Design might create the opportunity to critique past and current design systems and provides a mental framework in which designers can effectively address design’s support of symbolic violence, such as extractive industries, private property, and the global supply chain. We refer to histories from other fields and knowledge systems as alternatives to current design history cannon, drawing attention away from colonial design histories as the singular history. A Carrier-bag Framework of Design underscores the ethical implications of design systems throughout history by challenging what designs and designers receive attention, what systems support successful design, and essentially suggests that design need not exist in a colonial framework. Simply discussing an alternative theory of design prompts further design critique and open discourse.
Academically Informed AI vs. Human-designed Packaging: A Comparative Evaluation
Abstract: As advancements in language model-powered text-to-image AI platforms accelerate, individuals can increasingly generate high-fidelity visual content more efficiently, regardless of background. These platforms are powerful tools for rapidly iterating and visualizing packaging design concepts. This study assesses whether AI-generated milk package designs, steered by academic packaging research, will produce packaging outcomes that perform equal to or better than human-designed outcomes with minimal designer input. For this study, researchers curated, summarized, and combined leading academic articles on packaging design into textual AI-prompts. The textual prompts were input into the platform RunDiffusion to generate visual milk packaging designs. The images created by the platform were reviewed by 48 human participants and compared to existing, human-made milk packaging designs to determine which designs perform better according to metrics used in a previously published study at E&PDE ‘23. The survey results indicate that the human designs slightly outperformed the AI designs in purchase likelihood and most other categories when including all survey participants. However, when non-milk users (those who rarely or never drink milk) were excluded from the results, the AI designs slightly outperformed the human designs regarding purchase likelihood. This outcome suggests that AI platforms can efficiently produce packaging design outcomes that can compete with human designs. Further, it is important that design educators understand the implications of these results, suggesting that AI platforms will increasingly be used in design workflows and academic training.
Book Chapter: Influence of Packaging Characteristics on Consumer Product Perception and Purchase Intentions
Abstract: Packaging plays a vital role in shaping consumer perceptions and influencing purchasing behavior. This chapter examines how packaging characteristics, including material, form, color, and text, influence consumer attitudes, trust, and product choice. It examines the historical evolution of packaging and the growing preference for sustainable packaging solutions. Recent research and industry trends are evaluated to provide insights for manufacturers and marketers looking to align with consumer preferences for food packaging attributes. The findings emphasize the importance of synchronizing packaging innovations with evolving consumer values, sustainability concerns, and technological advancements.
Patent: Convertible Hip Belt and Backpack System for Efficient Travel
Abstract: A convertible hip belt and backpack system for efficient travel include an apparatus with the convertible hip belt. The system includes a backpack having a main compartment and right and left shoulder straps. The system further includes a convertible hip belt having a backpack mode and an independent mode. In the backpack mode, the convertible hip belt includes a right hip pocket and a left hip pocket detachably coupled to the backpack. The convertible hip belt includes a separable fastener that adjustably couples a strap end of the right hip pocket to a strap end of the left hip pocket. In the independent mode, the convertible hip belt is decoupled from the backpack and the right and left hip pockets are instead coupled to each other.