Fiction as Function: Unusual Objects from Japan

Thesis Eleven, 2009

2018

More and more design researchers and practitioners are expected to design objects that deal not only with the actual but with the imaginary too. Many of them see their practice developing in a reality where alternative facts and fake news complicate any attempts at rationalization. This dissertation attempts to provide a new way of making sense of the real and fictional character of the objects that designers make. My research question is “What makes design objects real or fictional?” and the research contribution is a design theory of fiction. This research contribution focuses on design researchers and design practitioners. People entangled with the practice of designing. It is structured in three parts: Part I is called Methodology. It is composed of two chapters. Chapter 1, Path, first develops the ethos that grounds this research endeavor. A description of the rationale and research questions of this research program follows. Then, I proceed to review the methods that have info...

Architectural Design, 2005

Design fiction is an emergent field within HCI and interaction design the understanding of which ultimately relies, so we argue, of an integrative account of poetics and design praxis. In this paper we give such an account. Initially, a precise definition of design fiction is given by drawing on the theory of possible worlds found within poetics. Further, we offer a method of practicing design fiction, which relies on the equal integration of literary practice with design practice. The use of this method is demonstrated by 4 design projects from a workshop set up in collaboration with a Danish author. All of this substantiates our notion of a poetics of practicing design fiction, and through our critical examination of related work we conclude on how our approach contribute to HCI and interaction design.

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016

Connectivity and Creativity in times of Conflict, 2023

This paper presents results of an ongoing research aimed at analysing design fictions created in the Baltics. This research is put forward with purpose of rendering the geography of design fiction more complete and fostering appreciation for diverse worldviews and a pluriversal imagination. The paper introduces the method of design fiction, offers a concise overview of its history, and explains its functionality and use. It discusses the necessity to increase visibility of design fictions from diverse geographical and cultural contexts and places a particular emphasis on Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. Four examples of design fictions generated in this region are presented, all of which are related to a recurring topic of interest in this region: a confident and even intimate relationship with nature. The paper demonstrates that these design fictions reflect (on) one or more of the following factors: 1) arguably nationwide societal beliefs, assumptions or concerns; 2) a specific natural or artificial environment typical to the area in consideration; 3) a personal lived experience of the author in the given context.

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2014

A contribution to "Modes of Criticism Vol.1 - Critical, Uncritical, Postcritical" [http://modesofcriticism.org/magazine/]. A series of short stories about various kinds of Speculative Critical Design. The intention is to ask questions about 'what success would look like' for SCD and to point to the Media Ecologies that must be designed if SCD is to any designed affect (let alone effect).

Temes de Disseny

The aim of this paper is to contribute to a new conceptual foundation for design fiction. Much attention is dedicated to theorising how design fictions relate to our so-called actual world. This work can be seen as an attempt at securing the seriousness and legitimacy of design fiction as an approach to design research. The theory of possible worlds has proven promising in this regard. We argue, however, that a detailed understanding of design fiction is still lacking. In design fiction literature, authors often engage in critiquing techno-centric approaches while paying less attention to how design fiction has a potential to foster social change in situated actual affairs. We argue that analysis should start from the messy unfolding of the design event itself rather than from big ontological discussions of the boundaries between fiction and reality. To grasp the messiness of design fiction, we offer an interdisciplinary framework, bridging knowledge domains such as literally theory...