TuneCatalogs: Capturing the Goldilocks Zone by Framing Opportunistic Tuning Practices

An often overlooked aspect of making is the art of achieving the perfect fit, property, setting, or aesthetic. Tuning is a common practice, but many in-the-moment adjustments are internalized and rarely documented, resulting in wasted materials, time, and effort. In many cases, only the ideal outcome is recorded, leaving the boundaries of the ``Goldilocks Zone'' undefined and elusive. To address this, we examined different tuning practices across making communities and developed a tuning documentation tool that enables users to author standardized tuning experiments, log and evaluate different candidates over time, and synthesize insights about the tuning space. An applied tuning study with 10 participants and a two-week diary study with 5 participants reveal that cataloging tuning experiments enhances the literacy of tool and material capabilities and aid in sharing and addressing tuning needs. We discuss how formalizing tuning practices can reciprocally support exploratory practices and foster different tuning workflows.