Making Spaces: how design workbooks work

In this paper, I discuss design workbooks, collections of design proposals and related materials, both as a method for design and as a design methodology. In considering them as a method, I describe a number of examples of design workbooks we have developed in our studio and describe some of the practical techniques we have used in developing them. More fundamentally, I discuss design workbooks as embodiments of a methodological approach which recognises that ideas may emerge slowly over time, that important issues and perspectives may emerge from multiple concrete ideas, potentially generated by multiple members of a team, rather than being theory-driven, and that maintaining the provisionality and vagueness of early proposals can be useful in supporting a quasi-participatory design approach that allows participants to interpret, react to and elaborate upon the ideas they present

Evaluating the Double-Deck Desk

The Double Deck Desk (Dddesk) was a two-storied work station with accompanying software that we installed in the foyer of a large office building over a two-week period. Evolved from several iterations of speculative design proposals, it addressed the need for contemplation within the workplace by literally lifting people from everyday commotion and by providing software that encouraged people to reflect on their activities and aspirations. Assessing the contribution of such a project is not simple. We suggest that traditional HCI criteria are inappropriate, and instead the Dddesk and the proposals that preceded it should be seen as embodied narratives. They serve as ‘projective objects,’ eliciting stories from people that highlight issues relevant for design

What Makes A Good CHI Design Paper

What We Mean By ‘Real Design Papers’ In the last issue, we suggested that the ‘perfect CHI design paper’ is a myth, not just because it is all but impossible to achieve but because there are so many ways to pursue and report design research. In this article, we suggest that there are a few ingredients that seem to be present in all, or at least nearly all, submissions that the subcommittee considered successful enough to accept for this year’s CHI. Each of these are key factors in delivering design practice as design research. We hope that describing them here will help replace the imaginary ‘perfect CHI design paper’ as a guide both for authors and – equally importantly – for reviewers trying to identify valuable contributions to CHI

In Search of the Elusive CHI Design Paper

Fresh out of this year’s CHI paper committee meeting, we thought it might be helpful to share a few reflections from the Design subcommittee about what we found. We had time for a group discussion in the hotel meeting room we had shared over a long two days, discussing and debating which papers to accept from well over one hundred submissions...Our hope, in sharing our observations, is to encourage and reassure designers wanting to submit to CHI, to suggest to reviewers what they should look for in submissions, and, in the end, to continue to improve the quality of design papers at the conference

Energy Babble: embodiment of a research device

We will present the Energy Babble, a networked audio based artefact, as the object outcome of a design and social science research project. This device is an interface for a system that provides a kind of automated talk radio to communities of practice concerned with energy demand reduction within the UK. Designed with a ludic design approach, the Energy Babble is an example of how the physical and aesthetic attributes of an object outcome are developed as a means to encourage playful engagement with a research context

Designing and Making the Datacatchers: Batch Producing Location-Aware Mobile Devices

In this paper we describe the Datacatcher, a location-aware, tangible and embodied mobile device that displays a continuous stream of statements about its location that are drawn from a large number of data sources and which speak to sociopolitical issues. We describe how the design and our underlying research interests emerged and changed over the course of three distinct phases of development: the device’s conceptual design, its refinement to a final design, and the final detailing leading to batch production of 130 of the devices. We discuss the Datacatcher as resonant with many current issues in HCI, including augmented reality, environmental issues, political systems and using data as a design material

Form and Movement in Domestic Networked Systems

It is increasingly desirable for electronic artefacts in the home to be grouped as sets, sharing data and properties across a network. A range of strategies can be used by a designer to explore the value and use of the systems for users, in particular through the properties of form and dynamic behaviours, including visual output and movement. This paper focuses on a range recent work which exploits rich behaviour and novel forms to highlight opportunities for user engagement in the home

The Key Table (Overview)

The Key Table is an interactive device developed by the Interaction Research Studio as part of the Equator project, a six-year Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). During the project, the piece was loaned to various households for field study