Symbiots: Conceptual interventions into energy systems

Symbiots set out to examine values such as ease-of-use, comfort, and rationality assumed within conventions of ‘good design’, in order to expose issues related to energy consumption and current human- (versus eco-) centered design paradigms. Exploring re-interpretations of graphical patterns, architectural configurations and electrical infrastructure typical in Swedish cities, Symbiots takes the form of a photo series in the genre of contemporary hyper-real art photography. Painting a vivid picture of alternatives to current local priorities around energy consumption, the three design concepts depicted are strangely familiar, alternatively humorous and sinister

Ajna: negotiating forms in the making of a musical cabinet

Ajna is a musical cabinet made from a rich composition of acoustic materials and designed to perform digitally composed music. In this paper, we aim to unpack the design as well as key aspects of the design process that lead up to this unique artwork. We base our analysis on interviews with its two creators as well as on observations of Ajna performing in different contexts. From the perspective of interaction design, we first analyse the process of its making through the negotiations between physical form, temporal from, and the interactive gestalts. Lastly, we place these negotiations in a larger picture of bricolage as a design approach. Based on this we then discuss the qualities of bricolage in interaction design.QC 20141106Arts and Craft

Embodied Design Ideation Methods: Analysing the Power of Estrangement

Embodied design ideation practices work with relationships between body, material and context to enliven design and research potential. Methods are often idiosyncratic and - due to their physical nature - not easily transferred. This presents challenges for designers wishing to develop and share techniques or contribute to research. We present a framework that enables designers to understand, describe and contextualise their embodied design ideation practices in ways that can be understood by peers, as well as those new to embodied ideation. Our framework - developed over two conference workshops - provides a frame for discussion of embodied design actions that leverage the power of estrangement. We apply our framework to eight embodied design ideation methods. Our contribution is thus twofold: (1) a framework to understand and leverage the power of estrangement in embodied design ideation, and (2) an inspirational catalogue demonstrating the diversity of ideas that embodied design ideation methods can foster. Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM