Meaningful objects: complementary research documentation of experiential qualities in art and design

The goal of art and design disciplines is often to produce objects possessing experiential qualities. Both consumers and practitioners in art and design may come across emotions, expressions and experiences in various occasions. However, when these disciplines enter the academic research, which aims to produce knowledge, objects created by the researchers who are also practitioners are rarely included. This paper addresses the meaningfulness of objects as the complementary documentation of research processes by emphasising how experiential qualities occur in the art and design practices of the practitioners-researchers. Two case studies of art objects exemplify the experiential development. While the first case focuses on the experiential qualities evolving in the dialogue between the artist and the material, the second case focuses on those qualities in the artist’s interaction with the target group. Experiential qualities are identified in comparing similarities and differences of phenomena in the two cases. These are related to the subjective approach and to the personal experience. A greater focus on these phenomena can generate methods for experiential knowledge in art and design.