Experientia

Experientia

Dancing to silent algorithms

More and more, we live our lives according to the unknown auspices of machine codes, writes Frank Swain. “Our lives are influenced by technologies not simply as objects but invisible systems that surround us, and whose architecture shapes the patterns…

The Qualified Self

Looking at yet another tweet and another post about the Quantified Self, I started reflecting this morning on the Silicon Valley-driven fascination with the quantification of one’s own activities, body and habits. The Quantified Self movement is portrayed as the…

Ethnography and speculative fiction

Two new articles on Ethnography Matters: Ethnographies from the Future: What can ethnographers learn from science fiction and speculative design? Laura Forlano (@laura4lano) is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Design at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology…

Mobile mastery

Lauren Pope of Nokia writes that there are three things to think about if you want your devices and your brain to sing in unison: mindfulness, attention and metacognition. The video is cute and well-done, but doesn’t match the three…

Does digital age overcomplicate design?

Alice Rawsthorn, design critic of the New York Times, argues that too many products use complexity to mask their flaws. “Designing self-explanatory products is even more important — and more challenging — in the digital era, when devices like phones…

Is design still about making things?

The future of design is a broad and slippery subject, one examined number of designers and critics at the recent Alvar Aalto Design Seminar in Jyväskylä, Finland. “With a distinct focus on product and furniture design – as befitting to…