Aesthetics, Cosmopolitics and Design
The Role of Participation in Designing for IoT
Anuradha Reddy, Per Linde
School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University, Sweden
anuradha.reddy@mah.se
Keywords: participation; engagement; design; internet-of-things
Abstract
The widespread proliferation of the internet-of-things (IoT) has led to the shift in focus from the technology itself to the way in which technology affects the social world. Being inspired by the emerging intersection between actor network theory and co-design, this paper emphasizes the role of participation in designing IoT-based technologies by suggesting alternative ways to appropriate IoT into people’s lives. It is argued that prototyping becomes crucial for designing IoT-based technologies where the invisible aspects of “agency” and “autonomy” are highlighted while still drawing on its full capabilities. In that, the value of tinkering and exploration are seen as ways to experiment with and constitute one’s subjectivities in relation to IoT-based technologies. Taking these points into consideration, it is suggested that there is a need to move towards a cosmopolitics of design where aesthetics and materialisation of technology also act as inquiries into issues of performance and social meaning-making.
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Cite this paper: Reddy, A., Linde, P. (2016). The Role of Participation in Designing for IoT. Proceedings of DRS 2016, Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference. Brighton, UK, 27–30 June 2016.
This paper will be presented at DRS2016, find it in the conference programme