Research through Design
Research through Design (RtD) employs the methods and processes of design practice to explore possible futures. It operationalizes design thinking and problem reframing to create new knowledge. Instead of reacting to sudden, technical advances, RtD explores possible futures to more effectively inform where we want emerging technology to take society.
This research approach complements science, engineering, and the humanities by asking research questions about what could and should be. Research projects both critique current technology trajectories and produce visions of preferred futures. RtD centers speculation and the construction of possible futures to gain insights and a felt understanding of the future. This research approach is especially useful for working on wicked social problems and for problematic situations where we know we do not know what would be good.
Students who want to learn more about design in HCI might be interested in the following course:
Studying and designing for human-AI collaborative work in real-world contexts
PROJECTAcross a range of real-world contexts, we are studying how AI is currently being designed and used to augment or transform worker practices. Moving beyond...
-
CMU Launches Responsible AI Initiative To Direct Technology Toward Social Responsibility
NEWSArtificial intelligence has the potential to improve our daily lives, whether it's by helping doctors better diagnose and treat disease, r...
Increasing Design Innovation
PROJECTDesign innovation often follows technical advances. For example, when Philips invented the cassette recorder in 1962, designers innovated this technology ...
IoT Coffee Table
PROJECTCommunicates what the environment is sensing Today people increasingly find themselves in spaces that invisibly sense them. The increasing use of cameras...
ClassInSight
PROJECTWhile much of education research is focused on student performance, this research turns the focus to the development of the teacher....
Virtual Possessions
PROJECTThe Project on Virtual Possessions investigates how people make sense of and construct value with their ever-increasing collections of virtual things. The...
Online Feedback for Design
PROJECTThis project explores novel opportunities for how innovators can obtain and make sense of diverse feedback from potential stakeholders or customers. We ha...
Pediluma
PROJECTPediluma is a shoe accessory designed to encourage opportunistic physical activity. It features a light that brightens the more the wearer walks and slowl...
Designing for the Self
PROJECTThis project investigates the value of product attachment theory, which describes how people develop relationships with and learn to love their possession...
Design Research in HCI
PROJECTThis project investigates the role of Design and Design Thinking in HCI research and practice. On the research side, the work investigates how research th...
User-Constructed Workflows
PROJECTThis project develops mixed-initiative interfaces designed to allow administrators to construct their own workflows and train agents to perform mundane da...
The Product Ecology Theory
PROJECTThe product ecology is a way to understand and design for different social relationships and experiences that people develop with intelligent products....