The Resourcefulness of Everyday Design

Speaker
Ron Wakkary
Associate Professor, School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Simon Fraser University

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Description

The seminar will focus on recent research that studies how families appropriate artifacts and surroundings that lead to the design of everyday household systems, such as combining a chalkboard, a door frame, a hanging basket with paper and sticky notes to manage lists and messages. Such systems continually evolve through the catalytic pressures of individual actions, shared creativity, and design-in-use. I will report on a study of four families in which we were researching the concept of everyday design in the home. Presented are in-depth descriptions and discussions of our observations and patterns. The design implications of our study are also discussed. The research contributions are an explanation of everyday design as a novel way to understand interactions and routines in the home, descriptions of the key actions and process in everyday design, and the need to reconstruct the user in the sense of an everyday designer.

Speaker's Bio

Ron Wakkary is an Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Arts & Technology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. His primary research is in interaction design with a focus on tangible computing and responsive environments, and the study of everyday design in which we all contribute to the ongoing design of artifacts and surroundings. Previously he was faculty in Interactive Arts at the Technical University of British Columbia and the Digital Design Department at the Parsons School of Design, New School University. Wakkary led the Am-I-able Network for Responsive and Mobile Environments, a national research network in the design of wearable and ambient intelligence computing and he was the co-leader of the Interactivity Theme in the Canadian Design Research Network. His research projects include a mobile-based social game for mobile communities in collaboration with Nokia Research, projects in adaptive audio and tangible user interface museum guides with the Canadian Nature Museum and the Surrey museum, and ambient intelligent environments for physical play. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Heritage, Canarie Inc., Canada Council, Networks Centres of Excellence, and Canada Foundation for Innovation have funded his research. Prior to his academic career, Wakkary was cofounder of Stadium@Dia in partnership with the Dia Center for the Arts in New York where he collaborated and co-developed pioneering projects in art and the Internet, and partnered on projects with the Museum of Modern Art, Dia Center for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum. He was also principal designer and co-founder of oo-design, a digital design firm. When not teaching or engaged in research, he is trying keep up with his two sons down the ski hill or in the warmer months training and straining to qualify for the Boston Marathon!

Host
John Zimmerman