BA Design EN

Revised Thesis Plan Template

January 2023

Student name Fiona Keil

Working tle of the thesis Ar cula ng the value (and challenges) of biopolymers for Designers
Submi ed date 19.01.2023

REVISED THESIS PLAN

ABSTRACT
The world climate crisis is happening all around us and humanity’s excessive use of non-biodegradable
plas c has damaged the environment heavily. Aiding in the development of sustainable recycling behavioral
pa erns and furthering bioplas cs research are relevant to addressing the UN Sustainable Development
Goals. The growth and necessity of the bioplas cs market in turn necessitates the study of the diverse
material catalogs' full life cycle and the planners thereof to design products in ways that make them as
easily degradable, and therefore sustainable, as possible. There seems appears to be much confusion
surrounding the proper es & u lity of biopolymers in designer circles, which is why my thesis will be
addressing the topic ‘Ar cula ng the value (and challenges) of biopolymers for Designers‘. In order to
engage designers they first need to be informed about the field in ques on in a compelling & approachable
manner, especially in the field of biopolymers which has a rather high entry barrier due to very specific
chemical/ biological knowledge & even just vernacular prerequisites. The thesis's main objec ve is to
analyze the values and issues of biopolymers for designers, discover issues in related interdisciplinary work
via interviews, and test hypotheses for be er coopera on in an empathy workshop confron ng students
from both sides of the spectrum. The expected outcome of the thesis is analyzing interviews with
biopolymer experts, designers working with biopolymers, and designers without experience with
bioplas cs. The thesis will be approached with the design double-diamond concept for gathering
informa on and other well-established methods learned during bachelor studies in mind. They will be used
as a baseline guide for all research proceedings followed by a planned small empathy workshop between
chemical engineering and design students to test out hypotheses to alleviate poten al interdisciplinary
issues discovered during research.

INTRODUCTION
Significance of Thesis Topic
The thesis topic ‘Ar cula ng the value (and challenges) of biopolymers for Designers’ was chosen for and is
jus fied by the societal relevance of any topic with the poten al to aid the UN Sustainable Development
Goals, in this case, environmental sustainability. It is undeniable that the global community's extreme
overuse of nonbiodegradable plas cs damages the environment over extremely long periods.
Biodegradable plas cs, and to some degree nonbiodegradable biobased plas cs are a way to confront the
issue. While a lot of research is done on advancing and diversifying bioplas cs to replace non-bioplas cs,
not all research results are easily accessible to different stakeholders, such as designers, due to high
exper se barriers, which in turn causes misconcep ons and assump ons which create unnecessary hurdles
and inefficient integra on of biopolymers into produc on chains. This issue should be addressed as its
significance will only grow with the market. My main audiences are both biopolymer experts and designers
with an interest in studying or working with bioplas cs in any capacity. This thesis topic is par cularly
suitable because relevant experts in both fields are readily accessible right here in the greater Helsinki
metropolitan area, which is already heavily involved in bioplas c research and produc on, for example
through the CHEMARTS project at Aalto University and relevant startup companies.
 BA Design EN
Revised Thesis Plan Template
January 2023

Academic Context
The global study and u liza on of bioplas cs as an industrial resource is highly relevant as it has both a long
research & market history as well as a skyrocke ng steady growth in recent years. Biodegradable plas c’s
days-short decomposi on me compared to non-biodegradable plas cs provides hope for an
environmentally sustainable future. Various sta s cs, for example from the European Bioplas cs
Associa ons Conference 2020 Development Update report back the topic's relevance. The report has so far
been correct in its forecast over the last two years and predicts a further 35% global bioplas cs produc on
capacity growth rate within the next 3 years as well as rapid further diversifica on of both bioplas c
material research and market segments. This means that the necessity for efficient interdisciplinary
coopera on between stakeholders such as material researchers, chemical engineers, and designers on the
topic of bioplas cs is becoming more relevant by the day. Specific literature streams can be found later on in
the literature review.

Research Ques ons

The primary ques ons this thesis poses can be summarized as ‘What are the values of Biopolymers for
designers, and what are prac cal issues associated with them?’, ‘Do designers need to be informed about
and engage with Bioplas cs? If yes, why, in what context, and in what scope?’ and lastly ‘Are there
communica on or collabora on hurdles between biopolymer experts and designers? If yes, why do these
communica on & coopera on issues exist and how can they be alleviated to facilitate more efficient
interdisciplinary work in the field of biopolymer?’
The secondary ques on is ‘How can I analyze and present the answers to the main research ques ons in a
useful, approachable manner for both designers interested in bioplas cs and bioplas cs experts?’

Expected Thesis Outcomes

The main thesis goal is the compila on and interpreta on of gathered data from interviews as well as from
the planned empathy workshop into a guideline. The Guideline should enable designers to understand the
value and challenges of working with bioplas cs, which in turn should lower the entry barrier into this
essen al field. On the other side of the spectrum, it should convey the needs of designers to biopolymer
experts, which in turn should enable be er communica on and therefore collabora on with designers.
A er the main goal is accomplished the gathered data can be used to develop a very preliminary blueprint
for a thema cally suitable project for Design Impact III, which could be from various design fields I have
gathered experience in over the years at the Aalto University design department such as service design or
product design.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature Streams
Background Literature from several streams will be used during the thesis. Firstly literature introduces the
prac cali es of research, such as how to conduct qualita ve interviews frui ully. Secondly, literature proves
the importance of the thesis subject and explains the scien fic context and material facts of bioplas cs.
Lastly, literature on the facilita on of interdisciplinary coopera on & understanding in general. The given
key literature is only exemplary for the type of literature used, in the actual thesis others may be referenced
depending on the development of the thesis.

Key Literature: Prac cali es

Co-creation and the new landscapes of design
Sanders, E., B., N., & Strappers, P., J. (2008). Co-crea on and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign, 4(1), 5-18.
h ps://doi.org/10.1080/15710880701875068
 BA Design EN
Revised Thesis Plan Template
January 2023

The ar cle explains some of the relevant design research and interpreta on methods & approaches that
will be used in the thesis such as codesign with users for be er design solu ons.

The qualita ve research interview

Dicicco-Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B., F. (2006). The qualita ve research interview. Medical Educa on, 40(4), 314-321.
h ps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02418.x
Qualita ve research interviews are absolutely essen al to my thesis. This ar cle does not only explain the
concept but also acts as a helpful guideline on who to interview and how to structure sessions.

Key Literature: Scien fic Context

Roadmap to Biodegradable Plas cs—Current State and Research Needs
Ghosh, K., & Jones, B. H. (2021). Roadmap to Biodegradable Plas cs—Current State and Research Needs. ACS Sustainable Chem.
Eng., 9(18), 6170–6187. h ps://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c00801

This journal ar cle summarizes issues of sustainability in the value chain of biodegradable plas cs from a
chemical engineering in material science perspec ve and emphasizes the necessity of mul disciplinary
collabora on of all cogs in the value chain to make biodegradable plas cs sustainable. Addi onally,
poten al produc ve implementa ons and behavioral influence methods for consumer acceptance are
touched upon. An effort is made to provide scien fic data on bioplas cs in an approachable manner for
cross-disciplinary researchers which makes it suitable for a chemical engineering laywoman such as me.

Degrada on of Cellulose Acetate-Based Materials: A Review

Puls, J., & Wilson, S. A., Hölter, D. (2010). Degrada on of Cellulose Acetate-Based Materials: A Review. Journal of Polymers and the
Environment, 19, 152-165. h ps://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-010-0258-0

This ar cle provides thorough material scien fic background informa on on a specific biodegradable plas c
and its lifecycle, in this case, Cellulose Acetate. This and many other scien fic ar cles on different types of
bioplas cs are highly relevant to this thesis as background informa on is needed to prepare for biopolymer
expert interviews.

Key Literature: Facilita ng Interdisciplinary Understanding & Coopera on

Condi ons for experien al knowledge exchange in collabora ve research across the sciences and
crea ve prac ce
Groth, C., & Pevere, M., & Niinimäki, K., & Kääriäinen, P. (2020). Condi ons for experien al knowledge exchange in collabora ve
research across the sciences and crea ve prac ce, CoDesign, 16(4), 328-344. h ps://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2020.1821713

The paper u lizes cross-disciplinary coopera on in the CHEMARTS project and other crossovers between
chemical Engineering happening at Aalto to gather informa on on etymological issues in interdisciplinary
work. At its core, it is about the necessity of increasing the general understanding between any
cross-disciplines and enabling strong coopera on and not the specifics of Chemical Engineering and Design
coopera ng. It lends further insight into the CHEMARTS topic, helps pinpoint local experts to approach for
my thesis interviews by looking at the contributors' list, and inspires ques ons on new bioplas c material
research. Most importantly, it gives great insight into how interdisciplinarity is enabled right here at Aalto
University in the thesis’s area of interest and thereby enables the prepara on of in-depth interviews for
experts.

Posi on of Thesis in my Study Career

My thesis is based on personal frustra on with bioplas c labeling, a fascina on with the rapidly growing
field of bioplas cs roused by par cipa ng in the CHEMARTS minor and recently comple ng a research
 BA Design EN
Revised Thesis Plan Template
January 2023

project on Cellulose Acetate, a well-established bioplas c that has been in use for over 150 years. I
inten onally selected this topic due to its strong interdisciplinary bonds to Material Science and Chemical
Engineering because it is a personal challenge to myself to involve fields that I am very interested in yet
academically inexperienced in. On top of that, I wanted to take advantage of access to research venues I
usually could not access as a designer. A er all, here at Aalto University, the Chemical Engineering and
Design Departments cooperate closely on interdisciplinary research on the topic of bioplas cs, which means
that many experts are available for relevant interviews and relevant students for interviews and a poten al
workshop. Addi onally, doing qualita ve interviewing with interdisciplinary experts is an efficient way to
figure out whether or not becoming an interdisciplinary researcher, in general not necessarily in the
biopolymer niche, might be a good career path for me personally.

METHODS
Introduc on Thesis Approach & Methods
The very bones of the thesis structure is the well-known design diamond through the lens through which
both the research and solu on-finding processes are planned. The plan is to collect data represen ng the
views of all involved stakeholders and cross-examine them at different steps of the research process to
create a mul faceted thesis that depicts all stakeholders' views as accurately as possible and provides an
interdisciplinary thesis useful for all target audiences.
The results from interview analysis can then be used as a basis for determining core problems which can
then in turn be used to hypothesize & test solu ons in a facilitated mee ng/ workshop with students from
both disciplines: biopolymers & design.

Research Sourcing, Analysis, and Interpreta on

The first research step is achieving a deep comprehension of the main stakeholders needed to further
interdisciplinary coopera on in the field of biopolymers. The first round of data collec on for the thesis will
be done via expert interviews. Experts can not only give professional insights into their respec ve fields but
may also have helpful, relevant, and for a design student such as me, otherwise inaccessible
interdisciplinary experiences or informa on to share.
The following three categories of experts will be interviewed, approximately 3 experts per category, to
cross-examine the results for clearer mul faceted, insigh ul results & insights.
Firstly, biopolymer experts from the Aalto Chemical Engineering Department and/or CHEMARTS project will
be interviewed with the goal of understanding the current biopolymer market, its future, its issues, the
involvement designers have in their work & the future of bioplas cs and how these experts communicate
this informa on interdisciplinarily. This category may also include experts working in the field outside of
Aalto University, such as workers/ researchers for biopolymer-based startups/ companies if any accept my
interview requests.
Secondly, Designers affiliated with Biopolymer-related projects at Aalto will be approached for interviews to
discuss with someone who has experience naviga ng between these two fields, who can pinpoint where
the issues lie they have experienced over the years and how they solved them for themselves/ their
projects.
Lastly, Product and/or Material designers unaffiliated with Biopolymers will be interviewed based on
Biopolymer informa on gained earlier to measure whether they are aware of the value, poten al & issues
of biopolymers and whether they comprehend quotes taken from biopolymer expert interviews.
When results from all three types of expert interviews are cross-examined the difference in results should
give insight into both the specific necessity of designers in the field of bioplas cs as well as whether or not
there are collabora ve or communica ve issues.
In the second step, I will generate hypotheses to alleviate poten al found issues based on the interviews.
 BA Design EN
Revised Thesis Plan Template
January 2023

In the third step, the hypotheses on be ering communica on and designer needs will be tested on a very
small scale with design students and chemical engineering students in an empathy workshop. The workshop
is expected to be very small to enable all par cipants to discuss together without breaks and fully engage
them all. The empathy workshop is planned to include a maximum of four students, two from each field to
account for at least some personal differences in informa on levels, interests, and perspec ves. The
students will be selected without connec on to my Bachelor Thesis course to avoid them being impacted,
for example being be er informed on the topic of biopolymers than they would otherwise be, by my
previous presenta ons.
Lastly, the analyzed results from the Workshop will be used to refine hypotheses and create the finalized
guideline in combina on with the analyzed results from step one, which is the final expected thesis
outcome.

Ra onale of Thesis Approach & Methods

Both the qualita ve interviewing of experts & the group of people in ques on as well as the planned
Empathy workshop were chosen since when facilita ng coopera on & understanding one first needs to gain
the empathy of all stakeholders and then, with newfound understanding, test with the target audience on
how to communicate together on the topic of choice. The intent of confron ng both biopolymer
researchers and designers is firstly to facilitate a be er understanding of the value and connota ons of
biopolymers as a material in designers, therefore making the field more approachable, and secondly
exemplifying for biopolymer experts how to best communicate the topic to designers. To enable this one
needs to go beyond the barebone facts on what goes wrong currently by also learning about why exactly it
goes wrong from the people in ques on. Qualita ve interviewing is a common way of studying behavioral
pa erns as can be seen in some of my literature. Addi onally, experts can give more in-depth and specific
answers in interviews compared to just perusing their published research.

Boundaries
The thesis is about ar cula ng the value and challenges of biopolymers to designers as well as providing a
guideline for the biopolymer research community on the needs of designers working in the field and how to
effec vely communicate interdisciplinarily on the topic of biopolymers.
This means that the material science and chemical composi on of bioplas cs will only be addressed as far
as necessary to prove the relevance of the thesis topic and prepare in-depth interviews with biopolymer
experts and analyze their answers. Addi onally, all original research, aka interviewing, is limited locally to
the greater Helsinki metropolitan area due to a small data-gathering meframe to focus on more concise
results on a smaller scale instead of less relevant ones on a large one.

Ethical Considera ons

There are no major ethical concerns concerning personal informa on or violence. There might be concerns
with the phrasing of the thesis for specifica on due to where and from whom the data is gathered locally
here in Finland, in the greater Helsinki metropolitan area. Instead, it might be named ‘Ar cula ng the value
(and challenges) of biopolymers for Designers for Designers in the greater Helsinki metropolitan area’.