Relational Interfaces

Description

To further advance emerging directions in interactive and AI-enhanced design, the Design School will launch an interdisciplinary workshop titled “Relational Interfaces: Design (with) AI for (More-than) Humans” this December. The workshop is initiated and led by Dr Aven Le Zhou (Design School), in collaboration with Dr Martijn ten Bhömer (School of Advanced Technology) and Dr Andrew O’Dowd (Academy of Film and Cultural Technology).

Emerging Research: More-than-Human Design

Building on cross-disciplinary and practice-based research, this workshop explores more-than-human design through relational interaction and AI-driven creative practices. It asks how designers can move beyond traditional human-centered approaches. Students will experiment with new forms of interaction that engage technological, ecological, and nonhuman agencies, positioning interactive systems as relational partners and mediators rather than mere tools.

This workshop is part of an ongoing research initiative led by Dr Zhou, aimed at developing “relational interfaces” through “relational embodiment” - a new design perspective that combines embodied interaction, relational thinking, nonhuman agencies, and computational intelligence.

Cross-School Collaboration & Industry Support

This workshop reflects a growing commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration at XJTLU. Students from the Design School, SAT, and AFCT will work together in mixed teams, integrating design thinking, engineering approaches, and creative practices. The workshop is also supported by DFRobot, providing advanced hardware and prototyping tools that enable students to explore physical computing, AI-enhanced sensing, and interactive system design.

Period	5 Dec 2025 → 27 Feb 2026
Event type	Workshop
Location	Suzhou, ChinaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	Local