Design Ethnography

This open access book describes methods for research on and research through design. It posits that ethnography is an appropriate method for design research because it constantly orients itself, like design projects, towards social realities. In research processes, designers acquire project-specific knowledge, which happens mostly intuitively in practice. When this knowledge becomes the subject of reflection and explication, it strengthens the discipline of design and makes it more open to interdisciplinary dialogue. Through the use of the ethnographic method in design, this book shows how design researchers can question the certainties of the everyday world, deconstruct reality into singular aesthetic and semantic phenomena, and reconfigure them into new contexts of signification. It shows that design ethnography is a process in which the epistemic and creative elements flow into one another in iterative loops. The goal of design ethnography is not to colonize the discipline of design with a positivist and objectivist scientific ethos, but rather to reinforce and reflect upon the explorative and searching methods that are inherent to it. This innovative book is of interest to design researchers and professionals, including graphic artists, ethnographers, visual anthropologists and others involved with creative arts/media

Characterizing the Application of Design Ethnography Techniques to Improve Novice Human-Centered Design Processes.

Design is a central, distinguishing feature of engineering, requiring the development of technical solutions to societal problems. Successful design solutions must not only be technically sound, but also well-adapted to the context and culture in which they will be used. However, the most commonly used methods for eliciting and characterizing stakeholder preferences do not typically reveal critical stakeholder and contextual information. Through the studies described in this dissertation, I explore the use of design ethnography during front-end engineering design phases to capture both stakeholder preferences and contextual knowledge to inform engineering design decision making. Design ethnography is a set of primarily qualitative data collection and analysis techniques that have been adapted from the field of anthropology to augment the engineering design process. Studies from the fields of human-computer interaction and product development have demonstrated that design ethnography techniques are cost-effective and lead to more successful products. However, the design ethnography literature lacks critical understanding of the major barriers and factors that influence design ethnography success, methodologies for synthesizing and applying design ethnography data, best practices to engage with stakeholders, developmental trajectories of novice to expert skill acquisition, and case studies of how design ethnography has been implemented in diverse settings. The studies detailed in this dissertation employ a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods to address these gaps in the literature. Through this research, I have characterized novice design ethnography implementation strategies and identified internal and external factors that affect design ethnography execution; investigated correlations between information processing ability and the quality of product requirements developed; established a framework for evaluating and directing design ethnography stakeholder interviews; developed a case study within a global health design context; and interpreted the findings within a theoretically grounded model to represent novice to expert development. This body of work informs strategies and processes for engaging with stakeholders and understanding broader contexts in design work to improve design decision making within both design professional practice and engineering education.PhDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133391/1/imohedas_1.pd

Design ethnography in information systems

Until recently, most ethnographic research in information systems has been based on the traditional anthropological model of ethnography. In this traditional model of ethnography, one of the most important data-gathering techniques is participant observation. The ethnographer observes and participates but does not actively seek to change the situation. In recent years, however, a new type of ethnographic research has emerged - one that can be called design ethnography. Design ethnography is where the researcher goes beyond observation and actively engages with people in the field. Our view is that design ethnography has much potential for research in information systems. It is a new form of engaged scholarship that bridges the gap between ethnographic research and design science research

Designer as Ethnographer: A Study of Domestic Cooking and Heating Product Design for Irish Older Adults

In many ways, the design of domestic cooking and heating products reflects the zeitgeist of Irish culture throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. From domesticity to materialism, these products have evolved to meet fundamental human needs within the home. Concurrent with this, the methods and processes designers use to create domestic artefacts have evolved and changed. The emergence of Design Ethnography illustrates an evolution where Design has appropriated an established method of Anthropology for its own particular objectives. However, the integrity of the ethnography practised by designers has been criticised by many, e.g. Dourish questions whether it creates forms of “discount ethnography” (2006, p.548). The designer ethnographer has different objectives to the anthropologist and the particular principles, methods, and understanding of design ethnography have not been fully elucidated for use by professional designers. Bichard and Gheerawo observe “…if anthropologists and ethnographers appear to be becoming designers as such, then perhaps designers should allow themselves to reflect on their ‘field’ and ‘work’ more as anthropologists and ethnographers”(2011, p.55). The identification and construction of a design ethnography, epistemology, and methodology that is distinct from, while respectful of that of anthropology, is required. Design ethnography has been heralded for its ability to investigate future complex issues for humanity, and to produce powerful, democratising, and radical effects (Plowman, 2003). Meeting the demands of a growing older population will be one of these future complexities. Ireland is rapidly becoming an ageing society with its population living longer in ill health (McGill, 2010). 89% of older Irish people would prefer to live at home rather than in institutional care (McGee et al., 2005). Therefore developing healthy environments in which they grow old must be a priority. Particular attention must be given to the design of domestic products that provide older people with basic daily requirements. Domestic cooking and heating products offer basic health and wellbeing needs in the form of nutrition and heat. Prior to designing these products a deep understanding of older people’s needs must be determined. To achieve this, empathy and sensitivity are essential (Newell et al., 2010). Comprehensive field studies such as ethnographies are important in gaining understanding and eliciting true user insights (Seidel, 2009, Newell et al., 2010) This thesis contributes to two domains. Firstly, it identifies and develops an understanding of the essence of design ethnography, and a process by which designers can harness ethnographic methods for the purposes of design practice. Secondly, it provides an example of a designer ethnographic approach to product design for older people, producing insights and product design requirements for cooking and heating products. The research involved design ethnographic fieldwork over twelve months within the homes of forty older adult participants across Ireland and from various socio-economic groups. Personas, design requirements, and concepts were produced, which allowed the researcher to reflect on the role of design ethnographer and inform future practice. Insights into product requirement were deep and far reaching, revealing important and diverse health and wellbeing needs to be addressed for older people in domestic products. A methods and process framework is formulated for conducting future design ethnography, from fieldwork and data analysis to design practice

Seeing ethnographically: teaching ethnography as part of CSCW

While ethnography is an established part of CSCW research, teaching and learning ethnography presents unique and distinct challenges. This paper discusses a study of fieldwork and analysis amongst a group of students learning ethnography as part of a CSCW & design course. Studying the students’ practices we explore fieldwork as a learning experience, both learning about fieldsites as well as learning the practices of ethnography. During their fieldwork and analysis the students used a wiki to collaborate, sharing their field and analytic notes. From this we draw lessons for how ethnography can be taught as a collaborative analytic process and discuss extensions to the wiki to better support its use for collaborating around fieldnotes. In closing we reflect upon the role of learning ethnography as a practical hands on – rather than theoretical – pursuit

Notes on Design ethnography

Este artigo pretende pensar o design a partir de um estudo etnográfico realizado em um escritório de design. Convivemos com os designers durantes seis meses e procuramos abranger uma espécie de ideologia dos designers sobre sua profissão. Tornaram-se aparentes certos mecanismos percebidos como fundamentais para a autonomia e para o desempenho profissional. Partimos aqui de uma proposição elementar: os designers detêm uma percepção particular de sua profissão; considerá-la é uma forma de se aproximar de elementos do design, que somente se revelam pelos olhos de quem enxerga a profissão pelo lado de dentro.Palavras-chave: Design, etnografia, aspectos da profissão.This article aims to consider the design from a design ethnographic. We lived with a group of designers for six months, and we reached some of the designer’s ideology. Some mechanisms perceived as fundamental for the autonomy and professional performance came to light. We start with an elementary proposition: the designers have a particular perception of their profession. Considering it, is a way of discover some design elements that only appear by those who see the profession from inside.Key words: Design, ethnography, professional aspects

Digital Barriers: Making Technology Work for People

This paper was originally given as an oral presentation at the ‘3rd International Conference for Universal Design’, International Association for Universal Design, Hamamatsu, Japan (2010) and subsequently published. Peer reviewed by the conference’s International Scientific Committee, it looks at how the emerging techniques of design ethnography could be applied in a business context and qualitatively evaluates the benefits. It outlines the differences between inclusive design research conducted for digital devices/services and the large body of existing research on inclusive products, buildings and environments. It advances the view that technology companies are today in danger of repeating the same inclusive design mistakes made by kitchen and bathroom manufacturers 20 years ago, and calls for technology companies to develop new techniques to avoid this happening. The paper charts in detail the challenges and processes involved in transferring academic inclusive design research into the business arena, describing research conducted by Gheerawo and his co-authors on projects with research partners Samsung and BlackBerry. The paper helped define the ‘people and technology’ research theme in the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design’s Age & Ability Research Lab, which Gheerawo leads. It was also important, as part of evidence of the benefits of an inclusive technology approach, in persuading a number of companies (Sony, BT, Samsung) to undertake new studies with the Lab. Gheerawo used this pathfinder paper in further work, including an essay on digital communication for www.designingwithpeople.org (i-Design3 project EPSRC), membership of the steering committee for Age UK’s Engage accreditation for business, and lectures at ‘CitiesforAll’ conference, Helsinki (2012), ‘WorkTech’, London (2010), ‘Budapest Design Week’ (2011) and the ‘Business of Ageing’ conference, Dublin (2011). Gheerawo also co-wrote an article ‘Moving towards an encompassing universal design approach in ICT’ in The Journal of Usability Studies (2010), for which he was also a guest editor

Self Constructed Representations: Design Research in Participatory Situations

This paper proposes that the blurred line between designer and researcher can have a positive effect on design processes. The aims of the paper are firstly, to show how design ethnography is an emerging field of design practice in its own right, and secondly, to give some examples of how open ethnographic methods have been used in public-facing field research. Finally, to propose some recommendations related to the design of open design-ethnographic instruments and activities. Design ethnography integrates two distinct understandings of ethnography. The first is observational, designers present people with designed objects and observe how they interact with them (Houde and Hill, 1997). The second is shaping, designers give participants unfinished prototypes or sketches and invite participants to modify them (Baskinger, 2010). Designerly ethnography involves methods more familiar to designers than to ethnographers, and may be directed towards more general categories of inquiry than product development. This idea draws on Ingold’s (2013) concept of correspondence with materials as a way of awakening the senses to experience

Anticipatory ethnography:design fiction as an input to design ethnography

Here we consider design ethnography, and design fiction. We cast these two approaches, and the design endeavor itself, as forward-looking processes. Exploring the means by which design ethnography and design fiction derive their value reveals the potential for a mutually beneficial symbiosis. Our thesis argues that design ethnography can provide design fiction with the methods required to operationalize the practice in industry contexts. Meanwhile design fiction can provide design ethnographers a novel way of extending the temporal scope of the practice, thus deriving actionable insights that are applicable further into the future. “While we are more than ever aware of both the promise and the threat of technological advance, we still lack the intellectual means and political tools for managing progress.” Andrew Feenber