Carefully Crafted Exploring and Experimenting with Materials in the Interaction Design Process

Abstract

Over the last few decades, the design space of the interaction designer has been extended to new forms of computing beyond desktop applications. It has been suggested that digital technologies can be regarded as materials for interaction design. This contention has made available an extended range of materials for application in the design process. Interaction designers face new opportunities as well as challenges when creating new applications with this diverse and rapidly evolving range of materials. The objective of this thesis is to explore ways to learn about this continually expanding range of available materials to generate new possibilities for interaction design. I have applied a craft approach to material explorations as a means of generating knowledge about materials in the interaction design process. My overall approach has been a 5-Step method combined from the methodologies Research through Design and Material Centred Interaction Design. I have closely read selected perspectives on digital materials to investigate what kind of knowledge we need in material explorations as part of design processes. I have designed a tool kit for material explorations to explore materials in the interaction design process. The design process serves as an example of how we may generate knowledge by operationalising theory through an applied methodology of design and material exploration. The overall contribution of this thesis is an examination of how we may generate knowledge by operationalising theory through an applied methodology of design and material exploration. I offer an example of such a process. My analysis shows that the knowledge we need to apply materials in a design is specific and contextual, rather than general and extensible. A range of approaches and competence are needed because digital materials comprise a broad range of materials and technologies. I propose to understand new digital materials through approaches to transform materials instead of aiming to define general principles for digital materials.